Blaine straightened his jacket while he power walked down the hall; a small group of guards following him and struggling to keep up. He didn't have time to deal with this right now and the stress was starting to get to him.

"I need you to close the gates, and don't let anyone in or out until the Fabrays get here. I want all guards very alert, so if anyone sees the run away you grab him and keep him in the dungeon. Someone needs to stay with him at all times. He's smarter than most and the last thing we need is him interrupting the ball or the feast." Blaine commanded. He heard the usual "yes sir" from everyone he was speaking to before he continued down the hall towards the large dinning room his mother was waiting in.

"Oh Blaine what happened? Are you alright?" the woman gushed as soon as he strolled through the wooden doors.

"I'm perfectly fine mother. All's well that ends well." he said with a reassuring smile.

"But it's not over yet is it? The prisoner got away didn't he?" She asked raising an eyebrow that made Blaine feel guilty.

"Well technically yes, but he's still inside the walls. We'll have him soon." He explained optimistically.

"You better, you wouldn't want any trouble to stir up right before your engagement to Quinn." The Queen said reminding Blaine once again of the fate coming his way that he could do nothing to change.

"Of course mother." He said giving her a nod before she walked away to help with some arrangements for the upcoming party. Not only were his family having a massive feast with the Fabrays but they would also be hosting a ball for the richest in the country where it was planned that Blaine would propose to Quinn. Then the Fabrays would stay for a few weeks as they prepared for and had the wedding, and then they would head back to their kingdom leaving Quinn with Blaine to eventually join kingdoms and bring everyone out of poverty. It was the perfect plan, yet Blaine's gut twisted painfully whenever he thought about it. He would never admit it out loud but he had always dreamed of falling in love. Maybe that was foolish of him. Love was for the poor, for those who couldn't afford anything else, but lately Blaine was wondering if it was better to have money, or to be happy. It was a tough question to ask.

"Sir, The Fabrays are here." His honourable page Mike informed him, stirring him from his thoughts.

"Oh well I'd better go and greet them, and would someone please find the missing criminal? I'll be damned if he causes any trouble!" He shouted to the staff as he left the building to greet their guests. When he got outside he took his place next to his father, his mother standing on the other side, and stood tall and proper like he had been taught. A carriage rolled up beside them and King Fabray got out first helping his wife down with one hand and then turning to help his daughter down the step. She lifted up the hem of her long pink dress and took her father's hand before walking over to them and giving Blaine a smile which he returned.

"Russel, Judy, Quinn. So nice to see you!" Blaine's dad greeted them. Blaine bowed to The King and kisses The Queen and The Princess on the hand as they curtsey. None of this is necessary, the two families have been best friends for years, but it's tradition and it's polite.

"I missed you!" Quinn whispered into Blaine's ear, wrapping him in a hug.

"You too." He whispered back. They broke apart and he offered her his arm, she took it and they followed their parents back into the castle. He wondered if she knew what was coming. If she would be surprised or happy or angry. He wondered if she knew people of their class couldn't afford to marry who they love, or if she was clinging to the belief that she'd find her soul mate like he used to. Thinking about it she probably wasn't delusional and she probably would be expecting the proposal eventually. She was a smart girl and as far as Blaine knew she hadn't met many other princes. She probably had it all figured out before he did. Even if she didn't her parents would never let her say no. This was a done deal from the moment their fathers had decided it, and there was nothing either of them could do. Blaine could almost accept it. Almost.

Kurt was pretty surprised no one had found him yet considering he had been in the castle for almost two days, stealing food and sleeping in a linen closet. He had managed to steal a suit and mask from some unused bedroom, and although he wouldn't consider it the most flattering thing on him it let him blend in with the crowd of similarly dressed men at the ball. Every once in a while he would see a guard march by the hallway or poke his head in the door and he would laugh. It was so easy to avoid detection with so many guests mulling about the castle; Kurt had picked a perfect time to try and escape. As he was scanning the food laid out on the table he felt someone bump into him and quickly turned around to apologize before stopping dead. Standing in front of him was Prince Blaine.

"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't see you there." The prince said with a smile. Kurt struggled to find words. Hiding from guards was one thing but Blaine had seen him up close in the dungeons and was much more likely to recognize him even with the mask on.

"It's no problem." Kurt said trying to pitch his voice lower so he wouldn't be recognized and filched when he forgot to address Blaine with the proper title.

"I'm pretty nervous tonight, must be making me clumsy." Blaine joked and Kurt wished he would just walk away and leave him alone.

"Why's that?" Kurt continued the conversation anyway, as he didn't want to draw more attention to himself by being rude to the Prince.

"I shouldn't be telling you," The prince said and Kurt rolled his eyes. Why would he bring it up in the first place if he couldn't talk about it? "But I need to tell someone so can you keep a secret?" Kurt wasn't going to be keeping any of the royal secrets but having some dirt on the King's only son could help him escape later. Besides, if Blaine was dumb enough to give away information to complete strangers than it's his fault.

"Of course." Kurt told him, still speaking in his lower register.

"I'm supposed to propose to Princess Fabray tonight, that's the point of this ball." Blaine said quietly.

"And?" Kurt prompted, waiting for the punch.

"And- and nothing." The prince said. Kurt already knew that Blaine was proposing to Quinn, he had overheard the conversation in the hallway, but Blaine didn't know that. The public probably had no clue about the engagement.

"Well, why wouldn't you marry Princess Fabray?" Kurt asked trying to save himself from his slip and maybe get Blaine to confide something he could really use against the royal family.

"Because I don't love her that way!" Blaine said looking exasperated. "No one seems to think that's a problem. They expect that just because I'm a prince and she's a princess that we'll be perfect for each other and I honestly like Quinn, she's my best friend, but I can't see myself marrying her." He rambled running his hands over his face.

"Well wouldn't it be a good thing to marry your best friend?" Kurt asked.

"I suppose it's better than marrying someone I dislike but what about romance you know? What about finding your soul mate and loving them forever?" Kurt was surprised at Blaine's questions. He never knew the prince was such a romantic. Then again he had never spoken to him personally, but he had always expected a giant ass and Blaine seemed to be proving him wrong. He's still letting everyone starve, remember Stevie and Stacy? A voice in his head reminded him and Kurt stopped thinking about it.

"Well you shouldn't back out now, who knows maybe you'll fall in love with Princess Fabray once you're married." Kurt offered with no sincerity.

"I suppose." Blaine muttered quietly.

"Blaine! There you are dear, it's time." The Queen said excitedly appearing behind Blaine and giving Kurt a polite nod.

"Guess there's no backing out now." Blaine said under his breath before giving Kurt a smile and strutting to the front of the room. He stood on the raised platform in front of the thrones where his mother and father sat, and who Kurt vaguely recognized as King and Queen Fabray were standing off to the side as well. Blaine invited Quinn up on to the stage, taking her hand in his. Kurt really didn't understand what Blaine was so upset about, even he could tell that Quinn was one of the most beautiful girls you could find and she seemed very sweet. He had heard their kingdom is very prosperous and can provide more than enough food for everyone making them a thousand times better than Kurt's own rulers in his eyes. Maybe this marriage was a good thing, maybe it could help the kingdom. He continued to watch the scene unfold before his eyes with a new excitement.

"Um- uh... Quinn," Blaine started obviously very nervous and visibly shaking. "We've known each other for a very long time now and our kingdoms get along so well that this was probably just inevitable. You're my best friend Quinn and I can't think of anyone else I could say this to so..." Blaine let out a breath and shook his head. He seemed to really mean the words he was saying but Kurt had a feeling the general audience would interpret them differently than he meant. "I would like to ask you for your hand in marriage." He finally finished and everyone held their breath.

"The ring." Kurt heard the Queen hiss at her son.

"Oh right!" He exclaimed and rushed awkwardly to get out a large ring with a red stone. "So? Will you marry me?" He asked again.

"Oh Blaine..." Quinn breathed out and for a second Kurt was sure she was going to reject him but then, "Yes." They hugged and their mothers cried and everyone clapped and cheered. Kurt was clapping right along with them when he felt the hands grab him from behind.

Blaine let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding as he hugged Quinn. That was it, they were getting married. There was no backing out now, no way around it, and in a few weeks time Blaine would have a wife. He felt like he might be sick. As him and Quinn pulled apart she grabbed his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. He looked over to her and she offered him a small smile which he returned nervously. Suddenly they noticed a commotion from the back of the hall and Blaine dropped Quinn's hand to go see what all the fuss was about. When he had pushed his way through the crowd of people he saw the scene he had been trying to avoid that night. The escaped thief was struggling in the grasp of a guard and the guard looked like he was having a hard time controlling the criminal.

"You!" Blaine yelled pointing at the thief and recognizing him as the man he had been talking to right before the proposal. How he hadn't recognized him he had no idea. He guessed nerves probably had a lot to do with it.

"Well hello your royal highness, we meet again." The thief said turning to Blaine and stopping his struggle. His tone wasn't nearly as cocky as it had been in the dungeons, and Blaine could hear him breathing heavily from back where he was standing. He looked up and his bright blue eyes met Blaine's.

"What are you doing here?" Blaine demanded unable to break eye contact.

"Enjoying the festivities." The thief answered. Him and Blaine stared at each other for a few long moments before Blaine felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked away from the boy to see Quinn at his side. She was staring at the thief with curiosity.

"Blaine-" she started to speak but was interrupted by a grunt from behind them and screams from the crowd. Blaine spun around to see the thief pulling a sword from the guard's hand and running directly for him. Blaine let out a yelp and the thief grabbed him and held the sword to his neck.

"Nobody move!" The thief yelled and the crowd, including Blaine, went completely still. "I really don't want any trouble but I need to get out of here and you need your prince." He said in a strong voice contradicting his shaking hand gripping Blaine's chest. He started to back out of the room Blaine following his step. When they had left through the doors and were into the vast empty hallway the thief shoved Blaine to the ground and took off after him.

"Guards!" Blaine shouted jumping to his feet and running after him, drawing his own sword. They were both faster than the others and their footsteps rang out through the empty hall. The thief turned a corner and Blaine felt a bit of relief when he realized the corner led to a dead end. When the thief got to the end of the hall he seemed to also realize his predicament and he spun around pointing his sword at Blaine. The Prince was able to knock it out of his hands; albeit, not as easily as he usually is able to defeat his enemies, and those are ones with formal training with a weapon. Blaine was now standing a few feet away from the boy pointing the tip of his sword directly at his throat.

"Do it." The boy said looking Blaine in the eye. Blaine simply stared back. His hand started shaking as he willed himself to do it but he couldn't. He couldn't bring himself to kill the man standing in front of him; something in his gut was telling him this criminal was different and that he deserved another chance. "Kill me now because I'm not going to sit around and wait for death!" The boy urged him once more. Blaine could hear the footsteps of running guards quickly approaching behind them and he lowered his sword.

"Go." He said swallowing the feeling that his stomach was in his throat. The boy looked at him with wide eyes for a second before turning around, opening the window and jumping out. Blaine ran to the window and looked down into the moat where he could see the thief had safely landed in the water surrounding the side of the castle.

"Blaine!" The boy in question spun around to see his father flanked by two guards on each side.

"I... he got away." Blaine stuttered out. His father's gaze shifted to the window and he took three quick strides so that he could join Blaine gazing at the ground below. The thief was no where to be seen, having moved quickly to escape.

"Damn it!" The king yelled. "Can't anybody get anything done around here?" He let out a sigh and started pacing back and fourth, his fingers gripping the bridge of his nose. "Since I can't seem to trust any of you incompetent fools to finish this job I'm going to have to send you out personally Blaine. I'm sorry to do this so close to the wedding but I trust you more than anyone to end this." He said.

"Of course father." Blaine said nodding his head. He couldn't wait to get out of the castle, out of the kingdom maybe. He knew he was probably anxious about the wedding and hoping to postpone it as long as possible, but he also had this feeling that he needed to talk to the escaped thief. He wanted to understand him because at the moment he just doesn't. However, there is also a part of him that doesn't want to catch the boy. He doesn't want to have to drag him back to the castle and watch him get executed in front of everyone. Not that people haven't been executed in his kingdom before but the thief as so young, probably around the same age as Blaine, and it felt so much more personal.

"Come now Blaine, we must get back to the ball and try to clean up this mess." The king said, spun on his heels, and made his way back to where the ball was being held with his guards following behind him. Blaine stayed behind for a minute staring out the window. He thought back to the thief and how he had not been wearing his blue cloak like he had been the first time.

He started searching every room he could think of looking in every possible hiding spot. He had lived in this castle all his life and had played hide and seek too many times to count so he knew the best places to hide away. Sometimes when he was younger he would curl up in a little nook even if he wasn't playing a game and he would sit there four hours enjoying the solitude. He didn't get to be alone much as a child. Everyone was always buzzing around him making sure he was doing his royal duties. Sometimes he felt like he never really got to be a kid, at least not like the kids in the books he read. He read as many books as possible even to this day. They helped him escape the real world for a while and he could pretend all his problems didn't exist.

Eventually, he came to a linen closet and when he peeked his head in he spotted a small pile of things on the floor including the blue cloak. He picked it up and ran his fingers over it. There was silver embroidery at the top just below the hood, and while it was beautiful it was also recognizably meant for a woman. Blaine wondered why a thief would wear such a noticeable item but then remembered the boy had been no ordinary thief. Holding what he assumed was such a prized possession of the boy in his hands made everything all the more real to Blaine. He found himself vowing to return the cloak to the boy even if it meant leading him to his death immediately after. How he would do this though, Blaine didn't know.