Chapter 11


Kurt hums a happy little song as he flits about the kitchen laughing and telling stories with the cooks and the baker boys. Not even noticing their shocked looks as he goes on about Eric's birthday and stories of how he use to sneak down into the kitchen and help the old chef when his father was still alive and how the baker woman taught him how to make this simple cake that has since become a tradition. A tradition for his sons birthday that every year he would make the cake himself to show him how much his son is loved. This year it may be a little rushed and under planned, what with the birth of his twins and marriage to Blaine, but he is determined that his son has a normal fun birthday even if they never got around to telling the Andersons it was his birthday. He drizzles the honey glaze over the top and smiles brightly at how well it came out. He makes sure to add berries and two glasses of fresh milk to the tray before carrying it off to his sons room. Fully unaware of the drama that will unfold starting with this small act of love towards his son.

"Blaine, son is Kurt not joining us this morning?" Victoria fixes the napkin in her lap before starting to eat their morning meal.

"He was gone from bed before I arose, so I assume he is spending the morning with Eric, Timothy, and Anthony." Blaine tries to not let his sadness be fully apparent. He had wanted today to start magical and joining for the first time in the month since their sons were born.

Edward frowns. "Does he not know what today is?"

"No father, he does not know what today is. I have never.. we have never talked about it."

"What do you mean you have never talked about it? Son, we humored you when you said a big celebration was not needed. That you would forgo the normal ball and dinner and that all you wished to have was your husband by your side. That was acceptable when we all thought the children would be born about this time, but they are now a month old and you tell me you have yet to tell your own husband that it is your birthday today?"

"Correct father. I have yet to tell Kurt when my birthday is. I have no idea when his birthday is, so why would he know mine?"

"Because your birthday is a kingdom wide Holiday! Just like the birthday of your sons is!" Edward slams his hands down on the table, turning to a servant. "You go and fetch that son-in-law of mine and bring him here. He will have this meal with us so that plans might be made to celebrate his husbands seventeenth birthday."

"Yes Majesty." The guard bows and runs off to fetch Kurt.

Kurt who popped his head into the nursery where Maria is overseeing the wet nurses feeding the twins and smiles over at him when she sees his tray. "Eric?"

Eric looks up with a huge grin. "You remembered papa!!" He runs over his mouth opening wide as he sees the silver tray with his cake and milk on it. "Oh my! It is so pretty Papa!"

"So are you my birthday boy." Kurt sets the tray down on a table before wrapping his arms around his son. "You are growing up way to fast. Look at you. Five already." He kisses Erics cheek.

"Papa!" The boy giggles as he squirms to get out of his hold. "I want to eat my cake before we go tell daddy about my birthday! I want a new pony."

"Slow down there, a new pony? really? You have already gotten three ponies." Kurt sits down in a chair as he hands Eric a fork so they can both enjoy the cake.

"I know, but I saw a really pretty mare that showed up as a present for the birth of my brothers and I think if her and the black stallion have a pony then it will not only be fast, but really strong because the mare is a very strong muscled horse." He plops a large bit into his mouth as Kurt just watches as his little boy seems to be learning so much.

"You really know your horses. We will talk with Blaine after our birthday cake." He takes a bite and the two boys talk about the new things his pony has learned and how big they are getting.

As soon as the two babies are laid down for their after meal nap, the nursery door flies open startling Kurt and waking the infants into crying fits. Maria and the other nursemaids trying to sooth them as Kurt pats Erics back as he coughs on the cake he was trying to swallow. Two guards stepping into the room and eyes going straight to Kurt.

"You are summoned to the dinning hall by the King."

"You had no other way of doing that without nearly choking my son and terrorizing the twins?" Kurt glares at the men, causing them both to take a step back.

"Sorry Sir. The king made it clear that you are to come with us immediately to join the family for breakfast."

"Fine." Kurt stands and scoops Eric into his arms while he checks Anthony and Timothy. Kissing each on the forehead to sooth their frayed nerves. "You will get an ear full after I tell Blaine you tried to kill his children with fear." He storms past them with Eric crying in his arms and coughing still as his throat hurts from the cake going down the wrong pipe. The two guards follows fast as they can on his heels as he bursts into the dinning hall, red faced, and obviously mad. the three royals turning to look at him with mixed expressions. Edward in rage, Victoria in worry, and Blaine having his eyes go straight to Eric who looks like he's going to be sick. "I was summoned so here I am. Though I would have appreciated my children not being given heart attacks because the nursery door was flung open in the guards haste to fetch me."

Edward glares back at Kurt. "You are rather rude for someone who should have been at this table for their husband on his big day!"

"Well excuse me! What big day might this be? Is it more important them my son turning five? Or is he not important anymore because I popped out two heirs to the throne?" Everyone freezes at Kurts outburst. Edward dropping his jaw in shock that no one knew it was their grandsons birthday as well.

Blaine hurries up out of his seat. "Eric sweetie are you alright?" he rushed over as the boys coughing turn more to gagging. No one having any other warning before Kurt can just feel the warm mushy vomit come out of his sons throat and down his back. "Eric!" Blaine turns to the servants who are now rushing around to get something to clean up the mess. "Have Maria fetched please and no more flinging open the nursery door!" A maid curtsies and hurries off to fetch the nursemaid as Blaine pulls the crying boy from Kurts arms and hugs him close. Not caring if he gets the regurgitated cake all over him. "Everything will be fine. Daddy is right here with Papa." He looks at Kurt as he kneels down, running his hands all over his sons head to check for a fever and make sure he's alright.

Victoria hits Edward while everyone is busy. "You caused this. You could have just went and asked him about this morning instead of hurting our grandson."

"I did not think the guards would be silly enough to cause havoc to the children."

Kurt kisses Erics forehead as Maria comes running in. "Sh. Papa is here. I will make you a new birthday cake when you feel better and we will eat it with Daddy."

Blaine smiles down at the crying boy. "We can make it two cakes because today is so very special."

Eric looks up at them with tears streaming down his face. "Why is it so special? My last daddy never thought my birthday was special."

"Because it is my birthday as well." Blaine smiles at the boys wide eyed expression. "And because you are younger then me today is very special because you were born as my present. I just had to wait a few years to get you."

Kurt sits back. Watching the two of them before turning towards Edward and Victoria. "I had no clue it was a double birthday."

Victoria comes over as a servant wipes off Kurts back and Maria offers to take Eric for a bath. "You have been very busy, we should have known you would not know seeing as you have always spent this day the past five years now with your son."

Blaine passes the boy off who starts to cry again as he clings to Maria. he want's to stay with his daddies. "Kurt, we should get you cleaned up and then we can plan a great way to spend the day celebrating both birthdays."

Edward stands up, moving towards the two boys as they head to leave. "Kurt, I am very sorry. I had no idea they would startle Eric so."

"Well maybe you should have a talk with the guards then because Eric was not the only one startled. They scared Anthony and Timothy as well. Though at least they did not have food in their mouth to chock on." Kurt turns away from the King, still pissed at being summoned so rudely.

Everyone parts to clean up and get regrouped. Eric falling asleep with a warm compress on his upset stomach and being kept away from the infants just incase his upset stomach turns into a fever. Kurt slowly warms up to Blaine sucking up for forgiveness and believes him when he says it was all the king and not him. Blaine gets his first reward for being such a loving husband with Kurt on his knees sucking his husband to completion.

Edward and Victoria fight over what happened. Victoria very upset that her husband treated Kurt like a common servant. their fighting only being interrupted when the steward comes to announce an arriving party from the north academy. They hurry to the greeting hall just as the one person Edward does not want in his home walks through the doors.

Cooper smiles happily towards his Uncle and Aunt. "Edward! Victoria! Such a pleasure to see you both!" he hurries over kissing Victoria on the cheeks before hugging a reluctant Edward. "My favorite Aunt and Uncle. Though you seem not to be thrilled I am here. why is that?"

"Cooper, we are thrilled you have come, but what is the occasion?" Victoria puts a calming hand on her husbands arm.

"I heard my cousin has two sons now along with a third he has taken as his own, plus it is his birthday. I wish to bring him presents and shower him with praise for being such a virile young man and having two heirs at the same time!" Cooper throws his arms out wide and smiling in his apparent joy for his cousins good fortune. "Now is it to much for me to ask to stay with you a few days at least? Make sure everything is going well, sad business all these rumors that have been spreading about your new son and law."

Edward narrows his eyes at the young man. "You are always welcomed nephew." He turns towards the steward "See that he and his entourage is placed in the far south wing. That way their coming and going will not disturb my son and his family."

"As you wish Majesty." The steward bows and hurries about to get the servants unloading bags and escorting Cooper and the handful of people with him to different rooms. Edward and Victoria hurrying away to make sure the kitchen knows about the added guests and to make sure dinner is a special meal for the double birthday.

Just before dinner Kurt goes to check on the Eric while Blaine runs off to do something, refusing to tell Kurt what he is up to. His face falls when he sees a strange man talking to one of his nursemaids outside of Erics door.

"Excuse me. I need to get in the door you are blocking sir." Kurt watches as the maid curtsies, her cheeks all a blush from the obvious flirting the man had been doing.

"Oh I am sorry." Cooper turns his eyes to the man he was waiting to run into. "I was just doing a tour of the palace and stopped to ask this nice young lady about this wing."

"That nice young lady should stay at her post. On the other side of that door unless you entered the chamber?" Kurt holds his head up high. "May I ask who you are?"

The man laughs as the nursemaid hurries a couple doors down into the nursery to watch after the young princes. "Of course you may. My name is Cooper Anderson." His smile grows when Kurt flinches at the name. "And I am going to make sure you and your husband are never on the throne, because I am the rightful heir. Not some weak child and his whore of a husband."

Kurt clenches his jaw as his hands ball up into fists at his sides. "You will never be able to take the throne. All you have done so far is throw slander around and it has yet to make any difference in who is going to be king."

"We will see what I can or can not do. I will promise you this." Cooper steps closer, backing Kurt against the wall. His hands gripping at Kurts hips and his leans in closer, ghosting his lips over the pale skin of Kurts neck. "Your bastard children will be exposed for what they are and you will be known as the slut we both know you are." His hands move to caress between Kurts legs. Kurt responding with a whine as his hands start to push at Coopers chest. "I have heard you are so very good when on your back."

"Get. Off. Me." Kurt keeps pushing as the hand between his legs rubs harder.

"You are not finding pleasure in this? Not even a little? I think you are."

Kurt finally kicks his foot out and pries himself out from under Cooper when the other man tries to get his hand down his pants. Moving away fast. "Never do that again. what ever you have heard was a falsehood. Trust me Sir, I am a faithful and loving husband."

Cooper shifts his eyes somewhere down the hall and smirks towards Kurt. "Let us test how much trust he has in you then." He surges forward kissing Kurt and pressing his entire body in to make sure Kurt can't get out from under him. Only backing off when he hears a gasp and a then feet running away at the same time Kurt bites his lip. A hand slapping across his face as soon as Kurt can get free enough. "You are a feisty one."

"NEVER touch me again!!" Kurt hurries into his sons room with tears threatening to fall, especially when he sees his son sleeping with a cold compress to his head and Miss Pierce sitting at his bedside. Obviously confirming his fears that his son worked himself into a fever.

"Sir are you alright?" The young woman looks up at Kurt. "You seem pale. Shall I fetch the Prince for you?"

"No. I am going to find him straight away. I just.. how is Eric doing?" Kurt holds back from walking closer. Knowing his hands are shaking and his need to be held by Blaine overpowering. he really hates Cooper and needs Blaine to know what happened before someone else tells him a stupid rumor that isn't true.

"He is doing better. The fever has come down and now he is just sleeping to regain his strength. The queen has advised me that if his fever spikes back up I am to send for her straight away and the doctor will be fetched."

"Make sure you stay away from the twins then. They are to young to get sick yet, if what he has can spread." Kurt moves closer to his son leaning down to kiss his cheek. "I will be back to check on him after dinner." He turns and hurries from the room. Going off to find Blaine. Asking every servant he can if they have seen him and happily getting a positive that he had gone to the library. He finally starts to relax when he enters the room and sees his husband in the back corner, curled into a chair. "There you are. Blaine, love, I need to tell you something."

Blaine shudders and tries to hold back tears. "What? That you are going to warm the bed of my cousin now that you have given me my heirs?"

Kurt freezes when he gets to the front of the chair and sees Blaine with tears streaming down his face. "No. I would never leave you. I love you."

"I beg to differ."

"Why? Why do you fight what I say. I came to tell you what that snake of a man did to me and to warn you of his intentions."

"His intentions? Does his intentions include you kissing him because that is what I saw." Blaine wipes his sleeve across his eyes before glaring up at his husband. "You were kissing in front of Erics room when you were suppose to be checking on how our son was doing!"

"I did not kiss that man! He forced himself upon me twice! Threatening to ruin us and remove our sons from being in line for the throne!"

Blaine jumps up from the chair and starts to pace the floor. "I am so confused."

"About what?" Kurt runs his hands through his hair as he watches his husband pace. "He is trying to make you doubt me. Make you think those rumors of the twins not being yours true so you disown them and kick me out, therefore weakening your claim to be king." Kurt goes into telling Blaine word for word what Cooper had said and what he had done in the hall.

"It seems to be working." Their eyes meet before Blaine breaks down again. "it is so hard not to believe you still want to be with me. This morning was the only time we have been anywhere close to being intimate since the boys were born. I admit I was getting a bit worried we would never make love again or that you would find someone else to warm your bed."

"After what I told you Fitzwilliam put me through you really think I would look anywhere but you for physical pleasure?" Kurt moves closer, wrapping his arms around his husband. "I was not intimate with you because I was healing the first few weeks and then I had my cycle. "

Blaine smuggles into the warmth of Kurts chest. "Your cycle?"

Kurt laughs slightly. "My period silly boy. The first one after giving birth is one of the worst one I have ever experienced."

"Oh." Blaine blushes bright red. "Kurt we need to tell my father. About what Cooper did before the servants start talking."

"Then let us go find him." Kurt lifts Blaines chin up, connecting their lips softly. "Never doubt me. We went over that the last time you doubted me."

"Never again. I promise to never doubt you again." Blaine takes his hand leading him out of the library and making his way towards his fathers study as Victoria comes their way at a fast pace, her attendant having trouble keeping up. "Mother?"

"Thank goodness I found you both. I think it would be in your best interest to retire to your chambers for the evening." She looks at both of their confused faces. "there are rumors flying around about Kurt having been in the private company of Cooper and that you, Kurt, advanced on him."

Kurt groans. "That is false! Blaine saw it happen and can say that I did not force myself on anyone. He forced himself onto me after having lured one of the nursemaids away from Anthony and Timothy."

Victoria frowns. "Both Edward and I know the rumors are false, we just believe it would be best for you to lay low while Wes and he try and clear it all up. I will tell him about the nursemaid. It makes what else I have to tell you a bit more suspicious."

Blaine clings tighter to Kurts hand. "Mother what has been happening?"

She tries to smile at them as she guides them both towards their own chambers. "We have sent for the doctor. Erics fever has spiked back up and it seems the twin have one as well. Which is odd. Eric had a slight upset over the chocking this morning, but he was better last I checked and now all three have taken ill and all after you say you saw Cooper, who was purposefully put in a location so he would have no need to go into your hall or near the children's rooms, near the rooms."

Kurt starts to shake again. "If I find out that bastard did something to harm my children, I will kill him." Kurt takes off running to go see his kids. Worry at losing any of them deeply seated in his heart.

Blaine watches as his husband runs off. "Mother... Please tell me I am not going to lose my family..."

Victoria pulls her son into her arms. "I wish I could, but not even Maria knows what is wrong with them. Now go with him. Kurt will need your strength when he sees how pale they are."

The rest of the evening finds Kurt and Blaine at their children's bed sides. Eric having been moved into the nursery now that all three seem to have the same thing. The doctor making his way between all three as Kurt holds Eric in his arms and rocks him while he sings a lullaby to keep him settled. Blaine sitting at his side watching the examination on their twins. Maria checking everything and blaming herself for all of them being sick.

When he finishes checking Timothy, the doctor goes over to Kurt and Blaine with a frown on his face. "I see no reason for them all to be sick. They show no signs of any exposure or swelling in the glands." He reaches down to recheck Erics sweaty forehead. "They all have the sweats, but no fever." He turns towards Maria. "What happened before they all took ill? I know Eric was not feeling well from a near chocking this morning, but this is just plain odd."

Maria shakes her head. "I have no clue. We did everything like we normally do. Miss Sarah fetched their bottles and some soup for Eric while we settled them for feeding time. Miss Brittney took the soup and glass of warm milk for Eric and Sarah and I fed the babes with their bottles this time since the wet nurses are only being used for breakfast and lunch."

The doctor moves to pick up one of the bottles, opening the top and sniffing the milk inside. Quickly pulling it away from his nose. "Peculiar smell." He offers it to Maria to smell. "If the milk is not rotten then I would say someone put something in it. Maria have water boiled and brought here right away with three new bottles. We will use one on Eric even though he is a bit old for one and Maria make sure no one else touches the water."

Blaine frowns. "You think someone did this on purpose?"

"I think we will try something to prove that it was deliberate. It will make them vomit, but with their systems cleaned out and then flooded with water mixed with sugar we will get them strong again." the doctor sets about pulling things from his bag to be mixed with the water.

Kurt clings tighter to Eric as tears run down his cheeks. "Blaine. I keep my words from earlier." When their eyes meet Kurt frowns.

The rest of the night the Doctor treats the kids causing them all to empty their stomach in fits of sickness. When they start to gain their color and strength back, Blaine goes to tell his parents that someone poisoned the kids. Immediately they launch into a plan to try and find who did it, though they all know who did. Wes sends for some help to sneak around and gain proof. Emergency missives going out in the dead of night.

By the light of morning Kurt is curled up in a bed. The twins in front of him and Eric on their other side in Blaines arms. Wes pulls his two guests, two men named Nickolas and Jeffrey, into the study to meet with Edward and go over their plans for finding the information needed to bring Cooper down. Their plan is simple. Wes will ride north to infiltrate Coopers home, as he has been there as a guest in the past and there would be no suspicion of why he would be dropping by. Nick and Jeff would gather information locally. Until everything is cleared up and the person guilty of trying to harm the young children is in prison, only a selected few would be allow to touch anything that would be touched or used by the kids.