When morning came, Blaine had a campfire set up a couple feet away from Kurt. The air was cold and foggy, and he didn’t want either of them getting sick. He didn’t sleep much at all through the night. He had to stay alert in case anyone came looking for them, and keep an eye on Kurt.

Blaine was incredibly on edge. It’s not like he pictured this mission would go smoothly, but he hadn’t expected these types of complications so early. The fact that the king wouldn’t give up the war to save his son still pissed him off, but it wasn’t unexpected. However, since it was likely Kurt’s clothing he had left in the forest has been found, Blaine had to redirect his original planned route to the Palace of Vastar to go to Crylan City. Whoever the King of Renova had sent to look for Kurt would hopefully assume the Palace would be where they were taking him, and since Crylan was in a completely different direction, Blaine hoped their pursuers would lose their trail.

Kurt stirred, and Blaine glanced over. His ocean blue eyes fluttered open, and it was probably sinful that Blaine couldn’t help but admire what an amazing color they were. He quickly averted his eyes back to the fire, feeling rather ashamed and confused that he would even think about that.

“Good morning, your highness,” he said, grabbing a small branch from the pile he had collected and placing it into the fire.

Looking back at Kurt when he didn’t respond, he found the prince staring back and forth between him and fire in confusion. Blaine watched as realization fell upon Kurt and those blue eyes became tinged with sadness, which made Blaine’s heart clench.

“Since you’re awake, we should start moving,” Blaine sighed and stood up. He walked over to their horse and opened up one of the saddlebags. Tina, the woman from the post office, had been kind enough to give them a few supplies, including the blankets, matches, two water canteens, and a loaf of bread.

He broke off a decent-sized piece of bread and walked back over to Kurt, who was now sitting up and staring blankly at the fire. “Here,” he said softly, holding the bread,” I know it’s not exactly lobster thermidor, but it’s all we’ve got right now.”

Kurt glared up at him.

“Sorry…that was rude,” Blaine frowned.

After a long pause, Kurt muttered “Thanks” and took the bread from Blaine. His first bite was reluctant, but then he wolfed it down rather eagerly. Considering all he ate yesterday was one bowl of Blaine’s stew, he was famished.

There was silence as they got ready to leave. Blaine put out the fire and tried to scatter the remainders thoroughly to hide the fact that they were here. Kurt helpfully folded the blankets back into the saddlebag, much to Blaine’s surprise, and then the two left the little clearing.

---

It was a long day of travel. The sun was high above them in the sky, signaling the time as mid-day, when they emerged from the forest. Kurt took in the landscape-sloping green hills and meadows growing patches of wildflowers, a farming town down the road with acres of sowed land, and more dense forest in the distance.

“We’ll go into town and stock up on food, considering you ate our entire loaf of bread,” Blaine said, heading down the trail towards the buildings in the distance.

“Don’t blame me! You ate some, too!”

“I had barely a quarter of the loaf.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not used to living off so little food for this long.”

“It’s only been a day and a half.”

The bickering continued all the way until they reached the farmer’s market. Blaine found a post to tie up the horse, and then the two of them starting wandering around the various stalls selling all sorts of different merchandise. There were mostly food stands, but some sold clothing and jewelry as well, or some had medicines and other general supplies.

Kurt was shocked by how the townspeople reacted to Blaine. The few who were unaware of what the symbol on his uniform stood for gave him confused looks, but most people who would acknowledge him as they walked by with a smile or a nod of the head. A couple people even greeted him and shook his hand, and Blaine was very friendly and polite with all of them, returning the acknowledgments.

“You want me to dress inconspicuous, yet here you are parading around in that outfit. You aren’t afraid of all this attention you’re drawing to yourself?” Kurt asked, raising an eyebrow.

Blaine smiled. “Well, this insignia is most definitely well-known. A lot of people are aware of what the Gladius Occultus has done to help the country. It doesn’t matter if people recognize me, however, as long as they don’t know who you are we’re okay.”

“Speak for yourself. I’m dying in these rags.”

“That’s a bit dramatic, no?” Blaine chuckled.

As the two approached one of the food stands and began arguing over what to buy, they were completely unaware of the two men a couple stalls down that had set their sights on Kurt.

“…that’s definitely him,” one of them whispered.

“I know. What do we do?”

“What do you think? We’re going to get a little payback,” the man smirked.

---

“My legs are getting stiff from having to sit on this damn horse all day,” Kurt whined.

“We’re stopping to make camp soon. I know a little place near here that’s perfect,” Blaine said.

The sun was setting, turning the sky and clouds pretty shades of orange, pink, and yellow. They had long passed the open fields and meadows and were in the woods once again, but have stayed on the road for quite a while. Now Blaine turned into the trees, and after riding a little ways a narrow trail began to form which they followed.

Kurt gasped. The trail lead to another clearing, but much larger than the one they camped at last night. There was grass and patches of wildflowers and a small pond with lily pads floating on its clear surface. There was even a small fire pit that looked as though it was frequently used with a large log placed next to it to sit on.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Blaine said happily.

Kurt slid off the horse and looked around. It looked like a picture out of a painting. “Yeah…it’s lovely…,” Kurt admitted softly. He glanced over at Blaine, who was tying up the horse. “How did you know this was here?”

“It’s actually a popular little spot, but we don’t have to worry about anyone finding us here for tonight. No one comes here after the sun goes down because there’s some silly rumor about a ghost who frequents here at night,” Blaine explained, rolling his eyes.

Well, now the place just felt eerie. “And you don’t believe it?” Kurt asked, looking around again as though he were really expecting a ghost to turn up.

Blaine looked at Kurt, raising an eyebrow. “Do you?” his smirk was taunting,” You’re not afraid of ghosts are you?”

“No,” Kurt answered quickly, glaring at Blaine.

Blaine laughed, noticing how Kurt’s cheeks turned a little red. “I’m joking. Want to help me find some firewood?” he asked, smiling at Kurt expectantly.

The prince stared at him blankly, feeling as though he should be put off by Blaine’s cheery disposition. Was it horrible that he wasn’t though? That it actually felt almost contagious? Like he should be happy right now too because, wow, look at that charming smile?

There’s something wrong with me. It’s these clothes. I’m being driven insane…Kurt thought.

“Um…sure…” he answered, and the two set out into the woods.

---

A while later, Blaine and Kurt were seated on the log in front of the campfire with a considerable amount of space in between them, wrapped in their own blankets. Kurt had his knees pulled into his chest, his arms wrapped around them and the blanket around his shoulders as he watched Blaine cook the raw chicken they had purchased earlier on a skewer.

It wasn’t right for Kurt to be feeling so comfortable. He was fooling himself by trying to forget the reality of his situation. He was being held captive, and his father was probably worried about him and so were all the people who worked in the castle that he considered his friends; those caretakers and chefs and guards are people he has grown up with and grown to care about.

Also, there was Puck and Rachel. His best friends. Kurt felt his heart ache as he imagined what their reactions must have been to his disappearance.

“They’re going to find us, you know,” Kurt murmured.

Blaine looked over at him, confused at first, but then he frowned when he realized what Kurt was talking about. His hazel eyes darkened as he looked back at the fire. “Not if I can help it.”

“They’re looking for me. I know it, and they’ll find me,” Kurt said, though he wasn’t sure if it was Blaine he was trying to convince or himself.

Blaine had to bite his tongue to keep from saying what he wanted to, knowing it would hurt Kurt’s feelings to remind him that his father denied saving him when he had the chance.

“I can’t have that happen. Even though I’m sure you’d be happy to watch me be arrested and beheaded,” he replied bitterly.

Kurt cringed, but didn’t say anything. The two of them sat staring at the chicken browning over the fire with heavy tension in the air.

“I wouldn’t be happy…” Kurt whispered.

“Hm?”

Kurt closed his eyes and spoke up. “I said…I wouldn’t be happy…to watch…that. People dying doesn’t make me happy, whether they deserve it or not.”

Blaine stared at him. “Do you think I deserve it?” he asked, his voice coming out as a low whisper.

Kurt’s eyebrows knitted as he thought about it. Blaine shook his head. “Nevermind. That was a stupid question.”

Kurt answered anyway. “For this…no. You kidnapped me to try and save thousands of others. Although it’s causing me and my family quite the inconvenience, I can see there was some good intention behind it. Although there was the small matter of you and your friend threatening to kill me…”

Blaine cut in. “I don’t intend to kill you. Never did. Yes, it was a part of the ultimatum we gave your father, but it’s something I’m going to make sure we don’t have to do,” he said surely.

Chewing his lip, Kurt was confused by how adamant Blaine sounded, like he wanted to protect Kurt, which didn’t make sense to him. “Why not though? I’m sure you must hate me as much as that Sebastian guy and the rest of your country do. Why wouldn’t you just want to kill me for revenge?”

He was surprised when Blaine laughed. Kurt immediately narrowed his eyes at him in annoyance, not seeing what was so funny, but the more he watched Blaine laugh, the more he realized it was quite a pleasant sound.

Insane. You’re going insane. Blaine’s probably slipping drugs into your food. That’s why you’re thinking about stupid stuff like this. What does it matter if he has a nice laugh? He’s a fucking assassin for God’s sake!

“I’m sorry! I don’t know why I’m laughing so hard. It’s just that…I’ve realized I don’t hate you at all. Believe me, I did at first, but that was before I met you,” Blaine smiled at Kurt, who suddenly felt a bit dazed. “You’re kind of funny actually. In a good way. Makes it really hard not to hate you.”

Kurt blushed and looked down. “That doesn’t make sense…” he murmured.

“Well, you told me that you hate the war as much as I do, and I believe you. So I really don’t have reason to hate you,” Blaine shrugged. He removed the chicken from the fire and tore off a leg, examining the meat inside. “Looks pretty well cooked. Here. Eat as much as you want. I’ll have this and whatever you don’t finish,” he said, holding the stick with the chicken skewered on it out to Kurt.

“Um…thanks,” Kurt said and took it. He watched Blaine take a bite of the leg as though he wanted to make sure it wasn’t poisonous or something before he ripped a small bite out of the flesh. It was bland, but well-cooked which was good enough for him considering how hungry he was.

“So…if you don’t mind me asking, how old are you?” Kurt asked between bites.

“Twenty. Same as you.”

Being a well-known public figure, Kurt wasn’t surprised Blaine knew how old he was. He was used to people he’s never met just knowing facts about him. Besides, it wouldn’t surprise him if Blaine did research on him before he kidnapped him anyway.

“When I think of the word ‘assassin’, someone my age doesn’t immediately come to mind. How does someone so young get into the art of murder and kidnapping?” Kurt asked, smiling slightly to show he wasn’t trying to be insulting or anything.

Blaine smirked. “My father is our leader, so I’ve had a bit of an advantage over others since he’s the one who trained me. Being taught by the most skilled assassin in the group makes rising through the ranks easier. Not easy, but definitely easier.”

“So…you never had any…doubts about making this your lifestyle? I imagine it can’t be very easy to convince a girl to marry you and start a family by telling her your job is…well…killing people,” Kurt said, although in the back of his mind he knew with Blaine’s looks he could probably still get anyone he wanted regardless.

Except for me…of course…the fact that Kurt even needed to remind himself of that made him want to slap himself.

He was taken from his thoughts when he realized Blaine was staring at him, looking contemplative. Kurt immediately thought it was because he was asking rather personal questions. “That was…uhm…you don’t have to answer that…” he stammered.

Blaine smiled lightly. “No, it’s just…you’re right that, for a lot of us, living this sort of lifestyle makes the idea of settling down is very difficult one…but for me it’s even more complicated.”

“…why’s that?”

“Well, not only are there not very women who would be completely partial to the idea of having an assassin as a husband, but there are even less men who want that to choose from.”

Kurt stared at him blankly, not understanding what he meant for the longest time until-oooh.

“You’re…gay…?” he asked, his voice coming out as a small whisper.

Blaine nodded, his eyes tentatively scouring Kurt’s face, gauging his reaction.

Kurt tried to ignore the feeling of his heart swelling due to the fact that…this is the first time he’s ever met another gay man in his life. He couldn’t though. He was shocked.

Realizing he was staring at Blaine with wide eyes, he dropped his gaze. “Oh…me, too,” he said, trying to sound casual but failing miserably.

“You look really surprised.”

“Back home…there aren’t many others like me…actually there aren’t any others like me,” the prince admitted softly.

“Really?” Blaine raised an eyebrow. He felt his heart go out for Kurt because he couldn’t imagine going through life not having anyone to relate to on that front. Blaine didn’t know very many gay men either, but enough that he was able to have two previous relationships.

“I’ve known that there were others out there like me, but I’ve never strayed very far from the castle ever since the war began so I really didn’t give myself much chance to meet anyone. Besides, royals aren’t exactly encouraged to mingle with commoners anyway, especially romantically,” Kurt rolled his eyes.

It was silent for a moment before Blaine spoke again. “I’m sorry, Kurt. That sounds…lonely. I mean I don’t know very many gay men either, but that’s why Sebastian and I have always been good friends. We’re the only ones in our clan that have that in common.”

“Sebastian’s gay, too?”

“Yep, so I guess now you’ve met two gay men,” Blaine said, smiling. It was obvious he was trying to cheer Kurt up.

“Yes, because he was such a pleasure to meet,” Kurt said sarcastically, but still smiled back at Blaine. “So…you and Sebastian…are you…?”

Blaine shook his head. “Almost everyone in the brotherhood expects us to get married someday, being the only two gay men, but I don’t see Sebastian that way. He’s like a brother to me. We grew up together. Though we sort of…tried once…to date I mean, but it was just too awkward.”
The strangest feeling took hold of Kurt as he listened to Blaine talk about Sebastian. He couldn’t place it though until Blaine mentioned them trying to date and Kurt felt his anger flare a little and it surprised him. He was jealous. Not because he…wanted…Blaine or anything like that, but because he wished he had his own Sebastian. A friend he could relate to in that way.

Speaking about friends made him think of Rachel and Puck anyway, which made him yearn to be back home. Suddenly, he really didn’t want to talk about this anymore. “Well…as standoffish as Sebastian may be, that’s good that you have a friend like him,” he said, trying not to let the jealousy drip into his tone. “Here…I’m full. You can have the rest. I’m going to get some sleep,” Kurt said, handing the half-eaten chicken to Blaine.

Blaine nodded. “Alright. Good night then,” he said politely.

Kurt laid his blanket out by the fire, and settled himself on his side with his back turned to Blaine. He lied. He had no intention of sleeping yet. Blaine was exhausted, Kurt could tell, and he had to fall asleep sometime tonight. When he did, Kurt as going home.

---

Around two hours later, Blaine was sound asleep.

He wouldn’t get another chance.

Kurt backed away from their little makeshift camp slowly, working very hard to make sure his feet made as little noise as possible. Luckily, the grass was a soft cushion and helped mask his footsteps, so he turned around and began to walk faster, looking back to see if Blaine stirred at all.

Then he was far enough way that Kurt could barely see him through the trees, and he was taking the trail that led back to the road. His adrenaline was pumping as he walked at a faster pace, holding himself back from a full on run in case Blaine might still be able to hear him.

This was it. He was escaping. He would head back down the road and find his search party and finally go home.

Kurt emerged from the trees onto the dirt road to find himself face to face with two men.

“Well, hello there, Princey. And here we were about to come get you, but looks like you’ve come to us instead,” one of them drawled. He had scraggly, dirty blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, and a very unhygienic appearance. The man was missing a tooth and his face was dirty. The man beside him had about the same appearance except he wasn’t as stocky and little shorter. The two looked like brothers. Bandit brothers.

Body frozen, Kurt immediately put up a defensive front, clenching his fists and trying to keep his fear from showing in his eyes by glaring at the two. “You know who I am?” he asked, surprised that the man called him ‘Princey’.

“Of course,” the other man answered, and started walking in a slow circle around Kurt. “You’re Prince Kurt of Renova. Son of King Mattius. We spotted you back at the town square, and me and my brother here knew we just had to make your acquaintance.” He came to a stop behind Kurt.

“Just get to the point, what do you want from me?” Kurt said in a low voice, every muscle in his body tensed. He was frightened, so frightened. It was obvious these men were dangerous, and for some godforsaken reason, Kurt’s first thought was that he hoped Blaine was awake now. He looked pretty knocked out though when Kurt left.

The other brother was still standing in his same spot in front of him, arms crossed and a dark smirk on his face. “You’re right. Enough with the bullshit, yeah? You see, Princey, your daddy is responsible for our daddy’s death, and that’s not something we’re willing to forgive.”

Kurt paled. Oh no, bandits with a thirst for revenge. Not good. There was no use wondering how his father was responsible for theirs death because he was responsible for a lot of people’s deaths. There was no questioning it.

The prince fight or flight response kicked in and he made a break for it, trying to run to the side, but the bandit behind him caught his arm and pulled him back. Kurt whirled around and surprised both himself and the bandit when his fist connected with the man’s jaw.

“Fuck! You little-“the man pushed Kurt backwards, and right into the arms of his brother, who managed to lock Kurt’s arms behind his back.

“Help!” Kurt managed to shout before a hand was placed over his mouth. He continued to yell even though it was muffled, and the man’s other hand was still gripping Kurt’s wrists behind his back as he started to drag the prince back into the woods. The brother followed and they stopped once they were sure the trees shielded them from anyone who might be coming by on the road’s view.

“Time for some payback,” the one who Kurt had punched said, smirking as he watched how Kurt continued to try and struggle out of his brother’s grip.

“You know, I heard a rumor once that Princey here has a thing for cock, Seth,” the man holding Kurt yanked his head back so he could look in his eyes. “Is that right, Princey?”

“You know, I think I did hear about that Roger. I bet he would love to be fucked, what do you think?” Seth said as he walked slowly towards Kurt.

Kurt’s eyes went as wide as saucers and his heart was racing. No, no, no, no, Blaine! Help! Someone help! Kurt continued to try and shout, but Roger had his hand tightly clenched over Kurt’s mouth.

“I’ll bet you anything he screams like a whore, too,” Seth chuckled as he reached for the button of Kurt’s pants. Kurt began to struggle wildly and tried to kick Seth, but the bandit dodged before it made contact. “Quit struggling, damn it,” he growled, and had pulled back his fist to punch Kurt when suddenly Roger let out a strangled choke and released Kurt.

Kurt slumped to the floor and looked back to see what happened. The bandit’s throat was slit, blood pouring out. Roger clenched his throat and fell to his knees, blood spluttering from his mouth as he attempted to gasp for breath.

“Roger!” Seth looked at his brother in horror, and both he and Kurt looked up to find Blaine standing there with the bloody blade in his hand.

Blaine’s hazel eyes were blazing with fury as they glared at Seth, who suddenly looked extremely frightened. He put his hands up in surrender and began backing away, his mouth opening and closing as though he wanted to speak, to beg for his life no doubt, but the words weren’t coming out.

Taking slow steps past Roger’s now dead body, Blaine approached Seth, who kept walking backwards until his back hit a tree. “Did someone send you to find us?” Blaine asked forcefully as he came to a stop in front of Seth and brought the blade to his throat.

“Wha-? N-n-no, no one! P-please don’t-“

“Then you’re of no use to me,” Blaine cut him off and, without even the slightest hesitation, slit his throat as well. Seth fell to the floor, dead in an instant. Blaine crouched down and wiped the blood off of his blade into Seth’s shirt. He placed it back in its sheath as he stood, and when he turned to look at Kurt, his expression had gone from furious to concerned.

Kurt was sitting on the floor, leaning back slightly on his hands, staring at him with what Blaine registered as fear, and he could see tears welling up in Kurt’s eyes. “They didn’t hurt you, did they?” Blaine asked with the utmost concern, taking a tentative step towards Kurt. When Kurt didn’t immediately try and back away, Blaine took a few more steps.

Kurt opened his mouth to answer, but he just couldn’t get the words out when he was trying so desperately to hold back his tears. He just shook his head instead, and Blaine actually fell down to his knees in front of Kurt in relief.

“I was so worried I was too late….” Blaine admitted. “I…I’m so sorry you had to see all this,” he said, glancing over at Roger’s body and then looking back at Kurt, who was staring at him with an expression Blaine couldn’t really place. He panicked. For reasons he wasn’t entirely sure of, he didn’t want Kurt to think of him as a cruel killer.

No, he did know the reasons. Blaine cared about Kurt. Too much. He hadn’t realized it at all until now though, when he had spotted the men terrorizing Kurt and the thought that they were hurting him sent him into a rage unlike any he’d ever felt before.

“I saw what they were going to do you, Kurt, and it…it really pissed me off,” he said, his voice almost a growl. He was speaking through gritted teeth, and at first Kurt was confused, but then he realized Blaine was trying to explain himself, explain why he killed them. As though he didn’t want Kurt to be afraid of him.

“I had to make them pay, and maybe I went too far, but I wouldn’t have done it any other way,” Blaine continued. His hazel eyes locked onto Kurt’s and held his gaze as he said, “I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself if they had hurt you. If I had failed at protecting you.”

Suddenly, in one fluid movement, Kurt launched himself forward and into Blaine’s arms, clutching his uniform and burying his face into Blaine’s chest as he let out a choked sob. Blaine was completely dumbstruck. He held his arms open stupidly as looked down at Kurt’s face pressed into his torso.

“Y-you saved me. I…I didn’t think you would,” Kurt cried, allowing the tears he had been holding back to fall. He had never felt more relieved and he couldn’t believe Blaine was sitting here thinking Kurt was going to hate him when in reality his heart swelled with gratitude. “Thank you…thank you so much.”

If Blaine hadn’t already been completely dumbstruck, that sure did the trick. “Kurt…I would never let anyone hurt you…” he said softly, knowing full well he was giving a promise he wasn’t sure he could keep. Right now though, he wanted nothing but for Kurt to feel safe, as messed up as that was.

Blaine glanced over at the dead bandits, and knew they were going to have to get moving again. Silently, he lifted a still sniffling Kurt into his arms. Surprisingly, the prince didn’t protest at all, just pressed his face into Blaine’s shoulder. This was wrong. Whatever the hell these feelings were that he was developing, they were so wrong…but for this moment, Blaine allowed himself to let it feel right as he carried Kurt back towards their camp.