CHAPTER 4:

From the Witch Quinn's treehouse, Kurt and Blaine headed south – at least, what they thought was south. Kurt had lost track of where they were so he led them through the trees in search of the Forest Stream. It was getting colder and Blaine wondered how much daylight they had left.

When his cloak was no longer keeping him warm, he called out to Kurt. “Can we stop soon? I'm freezing.”

Kurt sighed. “Yeah, I suppose so. I have no idea where we are. We'll just have to keep trying in the morning.”

They stopped where they were and set up camp. Kurt collected wood for a fire while Blaine tied up the horses. When they settled down to have a meal of bread and salted beef, Blaine could feel Kurt's eyes on him.

“If you want to ask me something, just ask. You don't need to sit there staring at me.”

“Sorry,” Kurt murmured. “I was just thinking.”

“About what?”

“Back at Quinn's you asked me to describe everything – where we were, who we were with. You never asked me what I look like though. I was just wondering why.”

Blaine shrugged one shoulder. “I don't know. I feel like I have a good idea about you already.” Blaine took a breath before he continued. “When I was younger, I always used to ask my parents or my brother to describe the characters in stories. The good people would always be soft and gentle, even when they were in trouble, but the bad guys would always be rough and ragged. Maybe I was just trying to figure out whether they were good or bad.”

“How do you know I'm good? I could be evil. I did kill someone.”

“No, you're not evil. Your voice is soft and your touch is gentle. You don't lose your patience with me. When I can feel your eyes on me, I know that they're filled with kindness. I didn't need you to describe yourself because I knew you wouldn't hurt me.” Blaine paused before he added, “I would like to know what you look like though.”

There was a smile in Kurt's voice when he spoke. “I'm fairly pale for a northerner. I have blue eyes and chestnut-coloured hair. My ears are a weird shape – Father thinks there must have been some magic in the blood of our ancestors somewhere.”

“C-Could I, um, could I touch your hair?”

“That's fine.”

Blaine heard Kurt shuffle over before he took Blaine's hand and lifted it to his hair. Blaine curled his fingers into the softness before he brushed it back. Kurt's hand was still on his arm and he could feel Kurt's breath against his cheek. He smoothed a thumb over Kurt's forehead before Kurt's hand fell from his arm and he leaned forward. He pressed his lips against Blaine's and held a hand to his cheek. Blaine's forehead creased in confusion before he tried to kiss Kurt back. The movement of their lips was awkward and halting but it sent sparks across Blaine's skin. It felt unlike anything he'd ever known.

When Kurt pulled away, Blaine fell forward a little before he straightened. “That was nice,” he murmured.

“Are you sure? The last time I kissed someone didn't go so well.”

“I liked it.” Blaine felt heat rush into his cheeks. “Could we, um, try again?”

Kurt chuckled. “You're so bashful.”

Blaine tried to apologise but Kurt was already kissing him. They tangled their arms together and lay down on Blaine's bedroll and eventually fell asleep in each other's embrace. The cold didn't reach them that night.

***

In the morning, Blaine let his horse lead them through the trees. The horse had been taught to follow five signals: one for each direction and one to stop. Knowing that Anders laid eastwards, Blaine directed his horse and waited for them to break through the trees. Meanwhile, he and Kurt talked.

“Do you have any brothers or sisters?” Blaine asked.

“No, not at the moment anyways.”

“What do you mean?”

“There was woman who had a son about my age. She's been helping my father around the house since my mother died. I think he wants to marry her.”

“What's she like?”

“Carole's lovely. Her son can be a little insensitive sometimes but hopefully it'll be better when I don't have the hallucinations anymore.”

“How have they been since we started travelling together?”

“They haven't been too severe. I usually see things out of the corner of my eye throughout the day and that doesn't bother me too much. It's when the shadows come into focus and get in my way that I struggle. But not for much longer.” Kurt cleared his throat before his tone lightened and he asked, “Do you have siblings?”

“My brother Cooper is the king now. Mother and Father had to go to my uncle's kingdom to rule when he died.”

“What will happen when you come of age? Will you take over that kingdom?”

“I might. Or Cooper will and I'll rule Anders. Or maybe the kingdoms will join together. I don't really know.”

“You'd have to marry if you became king, wouldn't you? You'd have to marry a princess and produce an heir.”

“Or two. There have always been two siblings born to each monarch in our line.”

“But not your uncle?”

“He had a son and a daughter but they both died. The weather in my uncle's kingdom is cold and harsh. They fell ill and couldn't recover.”

“We used to have a lot of travellers come to Hummel for the warmth. It helped ease some illnesses.”

Blaine nodded. “We get the warm breezes off the ocean if the wind is blowing just right. Sometimes the wind is so hot you can't sleep at night.”

Kurt hummed. “That sounds nice.”

“What sounds nice?”

Blaine stopped his horse at the sound of the female voice. “Kurt, who is it? What is it?”

“It's a dryad.” There was a rustle of leaves before Kurt spoke again. “Two of them. One blonde and pale, the other dark hair and tanned skin.”

“What's this?” the female voice said with a laugh. “A blind man leading his companion through the most perilous part of the Silver Wood? This has the potential to be entertaining.”

“We're just trying to get to Anders,” Kurt said. “We'd be obliged if you would get out of our way.”

“Aww, they want to get to Anders, Brittany. Do you think we should let them pass?”

Another female voice spoke. “I think they should have to pay the toll, Santana.”

“We don't have any money,” Blaine said.

“We don't deal in money,” the one called Santana said. “We deal in challenges. If the two of you can find three golden pebbles along the Forest Stream by sunset, we will grant you safe passage through the forest. But only if you find them all by sunset.”

“He's blind! What good is a scavenger hunt for a blind person?” Kurt asked, angry.

“That's all part of the challenge,” Brittany said. “See you at sunset.”

There was another rustle of noise before Kurt groaned.

“They're gone,” he said. “I suppose I'd better start looking.”

“I'll come with you.”

“No, it's fine. How hard can it really be to find three gold pebbles?”

Blaine dismounted. “I'm coming to help you.” He heard Kurt dismount before he felt the boy's hands on his shoulders.

“I don't want you to fall or get lost or get hurt. You heard what they said – this is the most perilous part of the woods. Just stay here with the horses and you'll be safe.”

Blaine reached back towards his horse and found the shield where it hung from his saddle. The steel was cold beneath his fingers. “Quinn gave me this to protect you. Let me.”

He could sense Kurt's eyes on him before the boy embraced him and kissed him. “You foolish, headstrong, wonderful man.” He squeezed Blaine's hand. “Let's go.”

Blaine took his shield and Kurt grabbed his sword before he led Blaine through the trees. He could hear the sound of running water and Kurt yanked him back when his foot slipped over the edge.

“Careful now,” Kurt said. “I'm going to stay between you and the stream while we look. You listen for anything in case we're being followed and I'll look for the pebbles.”

Blaine nodded and followed as Kurt pulled him along. All he could hear was the rustle of leaves being blown about in the breeze and the rush of the water beside him. Sometimes Kurt would crouch down to dig through plants or search around a rock but Blaine just listened.

“How much time do we have? Do you know?” Blaine asked while Kurt inspected something.

“It's just past midday now. We have time. Shall I collect some of the water for a drink? I brought one of the water skins with me.”

“Yes please.”

“Kneel next to the stream. Just there, that's it. I'll climb in and hand it up to you.”

Blaine listened as Kurt stepped down into the water. He heard the pop of the water skin before Kurt pressed it into his hand.

“Drink. I'm just going to – hold on a minute.” Kurt fell silent and Blaine frowned as he held the water skin in his hand.

“Is everything alright?” Blaine asked.

Kurt laughed. “I found it! I found one! It was embedded in the bank where I climbed down. We have one of the pebbles!” Kurt clambered back out of the stream and pressed the pebble into Blaine's hand. He showered droplets every time he moved but Blaine's attention was captivated by the smooth round pebble in his hand.

“One down, two to go,” Blaine murmured.

“Come on,” Kurt said as he pulled Blaine to his feet. “Let's keep looking. Surely the other two can't be far away.”

They walked further along the stream and it began to grow colder.

“I think it's going to rain,” Kurt murmured. “We'd better hurry.” Kurt took another step and the crunch beneath his weight changed. It no longer had the quiet crackle of stepping on leaves but the wobbling clatter of walking across stones.

“Kurt, where are we?”

“It's a little fjord,” he murmured. “The ground is covered in pebbles. Totally covered.”

“Oh no.”

Blaine felt Kurt's hands on his shoulders again. “How did you know something had changed?”

“The sound of your footsteps. It sounds different when you walk across leaves.”

“Have you got the gold pebble we found before?”

Blaine nodded and took it from his pocket. Kurt took it.

“I'm going to put it on the ground and I want you to listen to how it sounds when I walk across it.” Kurt walked and the clatter was quieter, almost unnoticeable. “Can you remember that sound? Will you recognise it again?”

“Yes,” Blaine said as Kurt pressed the pebble back into his hand.

“Keep that safe,” Kurt said. “I'm going to walk across the stones and look for the second one. If you hear the change in sound, let me know. Hopefully we'll be done soon.”

Blaine lingered at the edge of the stony beach and listened as Kurt walked across the pebbles. He pulled his cloak around himself as he waited and sighed when rain began to drizzle down over them.

“Any luck yet?” he called out to Kurt.

“No.” Kurt was walking back towards him, his steps getting louder, before they made no sound at all.

“There,” Blaine said quickly. “That last step. It didn't make any noise.”

There was silence before the pebbles rattled again.

“Found it,” Kurt said. He hurried back over to Blaine just as the rain got heavier and put the pebble in Blaine's pocket. “Let's wait a while to see if the rain stops. We should have plenty of time to find the last one.”

“Any idea how long until sunset?”

“It's hard to tell with it so overcast. It hasn't taken us long so far though.”

“In the stories, challenges always got harder the further you went. Maybe the last one will be harder.”

“We'll find out. Come on, there's some dense trees over here we can shelter under.”

Kurt led him into the trees and they sat down against a wide tree trunk, the roots shielding them on either side. Kurt wrapped Blaine's cloak around them both before he rested his head on Blaine's shoulder.

“You're nice and warm,” Blaine murmured.

“So are you.”

“I like you, Kurt.”

“I like you too.”

“Will you stay with me when the spell is complete?”

“As long as you'll have me.”

Blaine nodded and leaned his head back against the tree. “I'd like that.”

With the sound of the rain and the stream filling his ears, Blaine fell asleep.