“Refused to forfeit what? Are either of you going to explain anything to me?” he asked, thoroughly annoyed at the fact that this was the third time he’s asked and has yet to receive an answer.

Blaine sighed and seemed very reluctant as he turned to Kurt. His expression was sympathetic, but there was a slight flash of anger that he covered up quickly before speaking.

“Kurt…our plan in kidnapping you was to use you as a sort of…ransom against Renova. We gave your father an ultimatum. If he agreed to forfeit the war against Vastar and give us back our land, we would return you safely…” he trailed off, letting Kurt soak in that information.

The prince repeated Blaine’s words in his head. Okay, so at least they weren’t just going to kill him for revenge like he originally thought.

Sebastian said his father refused to forfeit though. Kurt paled.

“What’s supposed to happen then…if my father refused…?” his voice came out in a hoarse whisper, because he was afraid of what the answer was going to be.

“We told him that if he refused…you would be killed,” Blaine admitted. It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. The King of Vastar and Devarion were sure when they formulated this plan that the King of Renova would give in and save his son. The fact that the man refused, basically saying he didn’t care if his son died, was completely despicable. If Blaine didn’t hate the man before, he sure did now.

Especially since Blaine was the one that was ordered to kill Prince Kurt if his father declined. He honestly didn’t want to have to do that, but would if necessary.

There was a long silence. Kurt felt his body began to quiver as he mulled this situation over in his head. His father refused…knowing it meant he would die. The plethora of emotions that surged through the prince caused him to sway, and Blaine reached forward and grabbed Kurt’s arms when he realized he was about to faint.

Despite the fact that he strongly disliked him, Kurt held onto Blaine’s sleeves tightly to keep himself upright. Hot tears were clouding his vision, and he pushed away from Blaine and turned around to hide them from the two assassins’ view.

“So…this is it? You’re going to kill me?” Kurt asked with an underlying anger in his shaky voice.

Blaine opened his mouth, but Sebastian spoke first, “Not yet.”

Both Blaine and Kurt turned to stare at him. Sebastian rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “Devarion believes the reason the king refused is because he thinks he can find you himself before he needs to forfeit. Unfortunately, we can’t just kill you because if he finds out we did, he would have nothing left to lose, and the war would only get worse,” he explained.

“Ah, I see. So we’re going with the backup plan then?” Blaine asked. Sebastian nodded.

“What backup plan?” Kurt asked, sounding almost hopeful. After all, anything is better than having to potentially have his head chopped off, or however it was they planned on killing him.

“There’s no way to tell for sure, but I believe the prince was here at some point. There are shackles on the bed, and the dresser has been rifled through recently,” a knight proclaimed as him and another knight exited the small cabin.

Puck sighed at this news and glanced around, his piercing brown eyes scanning the forest. The sound of horseshoes on the forest floor, rustling branches and leaves, and men shouting back and forth filled the air. The search party sent by the King of Renova to find the prince was made up of twenty men, all determined to bring the king’s son back safe and sound.

“Let’s search this area more closely. Perhaps we can figure out which direction they went in,” Puck commanded, and the three men with him nodded in agreement.

Noah Puckerman, a colonel in Renova’s army, was put in charge of Kurt’s search party for a number of reasons. He was focused, strategic, and level-headed, but the main reason was because he was a good friend of Kurt’s. One of the few that the prince had in the castle.

Not only was he incredibly determined to rescue Kurt, but he also couldn’t wait to make the bastard who took him pay.

Suddenly, a knight’s voice began calling out loudly through the trees. “Colonel! Over here! Clothing! We found the prince’s clothing!”

Puck’s heart sank. He jumped on his horse’s back and rode in the direction of the voice. God, please let Kurt be okay.

After Blaine and Sebastian refused to give him any information on this backup plan of theirs, which was highly frustrating, Sebastian and Blaine talked for a moment in a different language and then Sebastian went his separate way, giving Kurt nothing but a hard glare as a goodbye.

“What language was that?” Kurt asked once Sebastian was gone.

“Latin,” Blaine gave him a small, sort of timid smile and then began walking out of the alley. “Come on, looks like we’re going to be staying in town for the night.”

Blaine brought Kurt to one of the many small, shabby houses of Spade. The place only had a small bedroom, a kitchen, and a bathroom; a very drastic change from the prince’s own extravagant home. When they had entered the house, Blaine had eyed the bed rather longingly, and it occurred to Kurt that he probably hadn’t slept at all last night.

“You want to take a nap?” Kurt asked, trying to make it sound completely casual as he walked to the middle of the tiny kitchen, scanning the place with a not-so-satisfied look on his face.

Blaine chuckled softly. As if he would ever be that stupid. “No, of course not, but you can if you’d like,” he offered.

Kurt looked at him, eyebrows knitted in slight confusion at the politeness in Blaine’s tone. “I slept enough last night, remember? You made sure of that.”

The smile on Blaine’s face faltered, and the two of them stared at each other, obvious tension in the air.

“Look…as it turns out, we may be stuck with each other for a while. I don’t want this any more than you do, but I think it would make things easier if we acted more…civil…toward each other,” Blaine said, trying to choose his words carefully.

Not carefully enough though. Kurt’s ocean-colored eyes turned dark. “Oh? You think we can get along?” he let out a harsh laugh. He knew it would probably be smart not to argue with Blaine, but at the moment, he was far too fed up with everything to care. “You drugged me and kidnapped me from my home. You told me that you might have to kill me. If you think I could treat you as anything but a filthy criminal, then you have got it so wrong,” he said, his voice rising with each word.

“I’m the criminal?” Blaine narrowed his eyes at Kurt. Considering what the Hummels have done to the people of Vastar, Blaine hardly considered this criminal. “Well, your highness, I hate to tell you this, but this wouldn’t be happening to you if it weren’t for you and your goddamn father trying to tear my country apart!” Blaine growled, his hazel eyes blazing.

Kurt took a step towards Blaine, his fists clenched at his sides. “First of all, this isn’t something that’s just ‘happening to me’. This is all your damn fault! Second of all, I have nothing to do with the stupid war between our countries!”

Blaine’s voice turned low and menacing, and he didn’t hesitate to step towards Kurt as well, the two were standing barely a foot apart in the tiny kitchen. “Don’t give me that bullshit. While your father has his army slaughtering our men, women, and children, you probably sit idly by in that damn palace of yours letting it happen. You probably have servants feeding grapes into your mouth while our villages affected by the war starve!”

Kurt’s hand shot forward to slap Blaine, but Blaine caught his wrist before it could reach its target. The prince didn’t give up and raised his other hand, but Blaine was fast and grabbed that one as well, turning Kurt and pushing his back against a wall, pinning his wrists against it on either side of his head.

“Did I strike a nerve? It’s because I’m right, isn’t it?” Blaine said in that snarky tone of his that annoyed Kurt so much.

“Shut up! You really think I don’t care about what my father is doing?!” Kurt spat, struggling against Blaine’s grip. The fact that it didn’t look like Blaine was putting much of a strain on himself to restrain Kurt infuriated the prince even more.

“Why would you? It’s not like any of it affects your perfect royal life!” Blaine shouted back.

“You. Know. Nothing. About. My. Life,” Kurt snarled, his eyes glaring daggers into Blaine’s golden ones.

“Tell me about it then. I would love to hear all about the fancy clothes, the feasts, the furniture made out of gold-“

“You are infuriating! Let me go right now!”

"Are you going to attack me again?"

"Yes!"

"Then no."

Kurt brought his knee up to try and hit Blaine where it would really hurt, but he was greatly underestimating Blaine's reflexes. Blaine dodged it easily with a twist of the hips, and pressed his legs against Kurt’s to hold them against the wall as well.

Kurt squirmed. Blaine was far too close for comfort, and struggling wasn’t any help at all now. Kurt bit his bottom lip and shut his eyes. Helplessness was settling in again, and Kurt hated the feeling so much.

“Let me go,” he said again, his voice a small, almost pleading whisper.

Blaine did immediately and backed up to the other side of kitchen to give Kurt space. He felt a twinge of guilt as he watched Kurt smooth his shirt, a rather disheartening look on his face. Blaine knew he probably shouldn’t have pinned him like that. He let his anger take control and forgot about what he wanted to do, which was try and get along with Kurt.

Kurt finally lifted his eyes to Blaine, and the two stared at each for a long while before Blaine finally sighed and put his hands up. “Look…you’re pissed. I get it. I can’t imagine how it you must feel after your father…did what he did…” he said in a calmer tone.

Kurt scoffed and rolled his eyes. Blaine wasn’t wrong though. His father practically rejected him. “Yeah, and for some reason you guys are taking your anger at him out on me,” he complained, but his voice also more calmed down than before.

Blaine cringed. “I…shouldn’t have gotten so angry with you…but if you’ve seen the things that I have seen…it’s just difficult not to feel as strongly as I do.”

The two became silent again as Kurt eyes Blaine warily. He sounded sincerely apologetic, and as much as Kurt wanted to just purely despise him with his entire being…Kurt understood where he was coming from.

“I told you…I don’t agree with this war either…” Kurt said, his expression softening. “I know it might be hard for you to believe, but I want this to end as much as you do. You aren’t the only one losing people out on the battlefield.”

Sadness overcame Blaine as he realized Kurt was right. Sure, Renova was to blame, but that didn’t mean they weren’t experiencing hardships as well.

“I apologize for losing my temper. I shouldn’t have reacted that way. You have every right to be angry with me,” Blaine said with utmost sincerity, gazing at Kurt with a small, apologetic smile on his face.

Kurt felt a twinge in his heart as his eyes made contact with Blaine’s. He never fully realized what an incredible color they were. They shone as bright as his father’s golden crown, and were practically the same color, too.

Wait was he thinking? Who cares about Blaine’s eyes? Kurt realized he was blushing and looked down. “Yeah, well….maybe I shouldn’t have called you a filthy criminal…I mean you’re not filthy at all, you’re actually surprisingly well-kept, though no offense you are still pretty much a criminal because you did kidnap me and all, and-,” he took a deep breath and smiled sheepishly, putting a hand to his head,” I’m rambling, aren’t I?”

“Yes, but it’s alright. Hopefully it means you forgive me. Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m starving. You can take a seat and I’ll make us something,” Blaine offered, gesturing to the little dining table for two placed in the corner of the kitchen.

Kurt stared in slight surprise as Blaine turned and began looking through the cupboards. He didn’t say anything as he walked over and took a seat, watching Blaine silently. What just happened? Did he forgive Blaine? Maybe for the argument they just had, sure, but not for kidnapping him. He couldn’t…..could he?

So many conflicting feelings were stirring within him, and it was beginning to give the prince a headache. It almost felt as though…he and Blaine had reached some sort of understanding with each other, but he wanted to slap himself for thinking that. Blaine was the enemy here, right?

His own father rejected him though.

But he didn’t know that for sure, did he?

Blaine started up a fire on the stove, and it appeared as though he were planning on cooking some sort of stew. His kidnapper cooking food for him. Kurt shook his head at the notion. How was any of this really happening?

It seemed as though Blaine wasn't planning on starting up any conversation, so Kurt decided to take it upon himself to ask questions.

”So…I don’t understand. If you’re really assassins like Sebastian said, why don’t you actually do what your title implies and assassinate my father?” he asked.

Blaine paused his task of chopping up the vegetables he had on the counter and looked at Kurt, slightly taken aback at the straightforwardness of the question. He chewed his lip as he contemplated on whether to answer or not.

“Oh no, you don’t. I am sick of you withholding answers from me! If you really want me to act ‘civil’ towards you, you’ll tell me what I want to know,” Kurt said sternly.

Having Kurt around was proving to be quite entertaining. Being the son of the leader of Gladius Occultus, very few people dared speak to him the way Kurt did. Blaine was pleased at the fact that Kurt had a lot of spirit, and wasn’t the petty weakling Blaine had always pictured him to be.

“Ah, using my words against me, huh? And you call me the criminal,” Blaine chuckled, throwing Kurt a mischievous smirk before returning to cutting vegetables. He didn’t see the blush that spread across Kurt’s face.

“We did consider that, of course, but we felt that doing so would be…hypocritical. There was no sense in trying to end bloodshed with more bloodshed. And before you say anything, no, we never really plan on killing you at all,” Blaine said as Kurt opened his mouth to refute.

Kurt’s eyebrow raised in confusion. “So...you're saying that back in the alleyway...you were just trying to scare the hell out of me for no reason?”

Blaine poured the vegetables in the pot of boiling water he had placed over the flames and began to stir. “No…I’m saying that we will do absolutely everything necessary to make sure this situation won’t have to come to that,” he frowned.

“Who is ‘we’?” Kurt questioned.

“The Gladius Occultus. That’s the name of our band of assassins. We’re rather well known throughout Vastar,” Blaine answered simply. “Dinner’s ready. You can question me more later,” he said, and poured some of the vegetable soup into two bowls. He brought them to the table, placing one in front of Kurt and sitting down across from him with his own bowl.

“It’s not poisoned, is it?”

Blaine rolled his eyes. “You watched me make it.”

Kurt eyed the soup skeptically, but when the smell hit his nostrils, his stomach rumbled in yearning. He looked up and saw Blaine practically halfway finished, and figured it must be safe and took a spoonful. “I’m surprised. You’re actually quite a decent cook,” he said after he swallowed the bite.

“Now what is that supposed to mean?” Blaine laughed, and Kurt couldn’t hold back a small smile.

“You’re no royal chef is all I mean,” Kurt teased before taking another bite.

“Well, I’m sorry. I’ll make a note that the next time I kidnap a prince, I’ll make sure to kidnap the necessary servants as well.”

Kurt knew it was a joke, but his smile faltered anyway. “Well, you could have at least let me have brought some personal items along,” he grumbled.

Blaine chuckled and took another spoonful of soup, but paused before he put it in his mouth, something clicking in his head. His eyes widened suddenly and he looked up at Kurt in alarm. “Your clothes. Where are they?”

Kurt stared at him, confused by Blaine’s sudden change in emotion. “Clothes…?” he trailed off, instantly realizing what Blaine was talking about. His clothes that he had to change out of, that he had been carrying with him through the woods…the ones he had dropped when he tried to escape. Kurt paled, his blue eyes widening slightly.

Blaine slammed his fist down on the table, and Kurt flinched at the noise. “You left them in the forest, didn’t you?” he demanded. There was a flash of fear in Kurt’s eyes as he nodded quickly.

Cursing, Blaine stood up and began to pace back and forth, running a hand through his curly, dark hair in exasperation. Kurt watched him warily. No matter what understanding him and Blaine reached with each other earlier, the man was still an assassin, his kidnapper, and there was no guarantee that he would not hurt him, no matter how many times he said he wouldn’t.

“We need to leave Spade. Now.”