Kurt watched from his bedroom window as Quinn tried to effortlessly flirt with Blaine. He regretted ever telling Blaine that he could come and see him. Quinn had told him to stay up in his room once she realized it was Blaine at the door and then she had gone out there and Kurt had heard her tell him that Kurt was out. Then, when Blaine tried to leave she’d stepped outside and started talking to him.

Blaine looked up and Kurt did not pull back from the window, but instead of fighting Quinn to let him see Kurt, Blaine frowned and Kurt couldn’t mistake the hurt look in his eyes. Did he think that Kurt would deliberately lie to him and use Quinn so he wouldn’t have to see him?

He tried to wave, to use sign language, and even tried spelling letters out with his fingers, but Blaine was pulled away by Quinn and eventually he left. He only looked back once, shook his head and then walked away and Kurt sank against the window. There went his friend. He probably thought that Kurt hated him. He cried again.

Kurt didn’t leave his room until the next morning when Carole demanded that he go down for breakfast. “I know you’re upset, sweets, but you have to eat. I hate what they’re doing to you.”

He didn’t speak or look at Quinn or the rest of the family, and then left the table before they could say anything and walked out of the house. He was surprised that they had let him go. He walked directly to the palace even though the night before he’d tried to convince himself that breaking ties with Blaine would be for the best.

Pavarotti wasn’t in the stable, but a stablehand was.

“Where can I find Blaine?” he asked.

If the stablehand was surprised by his familiar use of the Prince’s name, he didn’t show it.

“Are you Kurt?” He asked instead.

“Oh, you know my name,” Kurt said, “does he talk about me?”

The stablehand shrugged. “He’s by the river.”

Kurt pet Margaret, but didn’t take the horse. Instead he walked and hoped to find Blaine somewhere on the path. Kurt didn’t even know how he was going to explain anything without telling Blaine about the curse, but he knew that he had to.

He found Blaine just where they had stopped the day they’d gone on their ride. He was throwing rocks into the water. Kurt watched him for a while and then walked towards him.

“I’m sorry about yesterday,” he said, “but my dad left unexpectedly and now I’m stuck with my stepmother and stepsisters and it’s been an adjustment and I did want to see you, but Quinn thinks she’s in love with you and she pretty much forced me to stay up in my room and…”

Blaine shook his head and then he was breaking into a smile and sweeping Kurt into his arms and Kurt had to gasp at how wonderful it felt.

“I’m just glad I didn’t do anything wrong,” Blaine said, still holding onto him tightly.

That was when the curse kicked in. “But, you know Quinn isn’t all that bad. She’s really beautiful and she’d make a great queen.”

Blaine pulled back. “You’re joking.”

He could nod. The curse was satisfied. He’d talked about her. It was enough.

“Good.”

Blaine dropped the rocks he’d been holding onto and smiled at Kurt. “You know, you’re my best friend. Yesterday I didn’t know what I was going to do – I thought you were mad at me and I couldn’t stand the thought that I wouldn’t see you again. I like you, Kurt.”

His heart gave a pang. “I like you too.”

It had dangerous territory. Blaine was already too close to him. Kurt couldn’t imagine what could happen if their friendship evolved into more. A part of him wanted it. The part that was logical knew that it could never happen – not if he wanted Blaine to be alive and well, and definitely not if he wanted the kingdom to continue to flourish.

“I have to go,” Kurt told him.

Blaine grabbed his arm. “Can you stay a while longer? I – I’m going to Carmel in two days, I won’t be back for six months. I want to spend as much time as I can with you.”

He yearned to stay. He wanted to just stand there by the river with Blaine forever. But he had to think about everything else and not just what he wanted. He couldn’t do this to Blaine. And maybe the six months would help to separate them and Blaine might even find someone more suitable for him while he was gone. Kurt hated how that made his chest ache.

“I can’t,” he said.

“Then let me write you.”

Kurt nodded. “Sure. But address them to Carole Hudson – that way…that way Quinn won’t try to read them.”

He laughed, but he nodded. “I won’t even put my name on them. And I hope you’ll write me back?”

Kurt nodded again.

“Can I have a hug?”

It wasn’t an order. Kurt could ignore when they were requests, when the other person asked and didn’t tell. But he hugged Blaine anyway and he tried to tell himself it wasn’t just because he wanted to hug him. When they pulled away Kurt missed his warmth, but he didn’t go back in for another hug. He couldn’t do that to himself or to Blaine.

“What will you write me about?” Blaine asked and he had a playful tilt to his head.

They started walking down the wide path and Kurt swatted a fly away. “I’ll tell you about Quinn and the shrine she’ll build to you, I’ll write about helping Carole in the kitchen, and about watching these leaves change color when autumn comes. I’ll even visit Margaret and brush her hair and talk to her about everything I’ll write to you. But you’ll have far more interesting things to write me.”

“Carmel’s not that interesting,” Blaine said, “not as interesting as you are to me.”

Blaine looked away, but he couldn’t hide how flustered just saying that had gotten him. Kurt tried not to stare at him. He needed to make Blaine stop – the flirting just couldn’t continue. He couldn’t give Blaine the wrong idea. It wouldn’t be fair to either of them. Still, he didn’t say anything. Instead he asked about Carmel.

“There is lots of singing,” Blaine said, “Prince Jesse and Queen Shelby are very good and they hold many singing competitions. It’s very beautiful really, but they are also very formal. I always feel like I just don’t fit in with anyone at court there. But I do like their music.”

“Do you sing?” Kurt asked.

Blaine nodded. “I do. My first summer in Carmel, when I was six, I spent some time with a singing master. He said I had a natural talent.”

They walked for a while longer before they had to turn back again. It was on their way back that a group of masked men jumped out at them. Blaine had his sword out at once, but one came up from behind them and grabbed Kurt.

“Stay still,” he hissed at Kurt.

Kurt was limp in his arms.

Blaine fought against one of the other men, but he stopped when he saw Kurt caught.

“Kurt!” he shouted.

The man that held him got over the surprise to having Kurt be so obedient and he pulled out a knife.

“You’ll come with us,” he told Blaine, “or I’ll hurt your friend.”

Kurt wanted Blaine to give him an order, to say anything other than just stare at him and at the men that had assaulted them. Kurt couldn’t believe that this had happened to them – this was exactly what he was trying to avoid.

“Let him go,” Blaine said, “I’ll come along if you let him go.”

“So he can go get the castle guards?” The man that spoke sported a cut from Blaine’s sword, right on the cheek and he had his hand pressed against it, “I don’t think so.”

“Run,” Kurt said, “please just go, Blaine, I’ll—”

The Prince shook his head and then he dropped his sword. Kurt fought to go against his curse and the order – he fought to get free and save Blaine, but he couldn’t do anything. The man with the cut was tying Blaine’s hands together and Kurt wanted to run and stop it from happening. He couldn’t.

But then a guard was there and Blaine had pushed the man that was on him away.

“Duck,” he yelled at Kurt and suddenly he could move and struggle out of the hands that had been holding him loosely.

The fight was over quickly and the men apprehended, but Kurt was still shaking after they had been taken away. He and Blaine could have died and he would have been completely useless. The men had noticed his peculiarity but Blaine luckily hadn’t. Kurt definitely had to start being more careful. It was good that Blaine was going to Carmel and that he wasn’t going to be around for a few months.