People were turning their heads and looking down as he rode past. They all seemed so intimidated, and to know he was the one doing the intimidating wasn't very heartwarming. Blaine rarely left the castle. He wasn't one for hunting, or riding, or any other extremely physical sports so he had no reason to. He was trying to remember the last time he had ventured into these parts of the kingdom and he knew it must have been years ago. A lot had changed since then. No one addressed him and no one looked happy. The houses seemed dirtier and decades older than they should, even the smell had changed and not in a good way.

"Look mama, it's the prince!" A young boy yelled and his mother quickly grabbed him, hugging him close to her chest and telling him to be quiet. The whole atmosphere felt like some morbid parade. Mike and two other guards were on their own horses behind him but he knew that everyone's gaze was only on him. No one spoke or even moved until an old woman walked into the middle of the road and stopped in front of him. Blaine and his team all halted while the woman glared at them. She spat on the ground in front of her and the guards behind Blaine were instantly moving to restrain her but he held up a hand to stop them.

"Your highness, she disrespected you and-"

"Let her speak her mind." Blaine interrupted the guard who had spoke. "Well?" He prompted the lady.

"You scum!" She shrieked and Blaine felt his stomach churn knowing that her hate filled tone was directed at him. "You come strolling through on your well fed horses, wearing your expensive clothes, and carrying bags stuffed with food while your people sit here dying from hunger." She continued.

"Ma'am, I'm sure that if your family doesn't have enough to eat there are ways for you to get support." He offered sympathetically.

"No, there's not, because every one in this god forsaken kingdom is just as starving as I am. That is of course unless they live in the palace." She yelled once more and Blaine stopped for a minute. He had heard his father talk about how poor the kingdom was but he never thought it could be this bad. Surely this woman was over exaggerating.

"Ma'am if you will step out of the way, we have royal business to attend to." He said with less confidence or understanding.

"One day, I tell you, the people will overthrow you lot and you just might be the sucker on the thrown." She sneered at him before stepping out of the way. Blaine tried to continue with as much composure as possible, staring directly in front of him with a blank expression. He felt unshed tears burning his eyes as he urged his horse to move faster. When the four of them had reached the forest and were a fair distance away from any townspeople Blaine stopped and tried to calm his emotions.

"Your highness?" Mike asked him gently. He simply shook his head and started to move on. This was one of those moments when he absolutely hated being part of the royal family. People that he didn't know screaming at him, and hating him, and acting scared of him. He despised it all. As ridiculous as it sounds, he often felt jealous of the average citizen in his kingdom. They may not have much but at least they aren't judged solely by the family they happened to be born into. At least they don't have to deal with keeping up an image and running the kingdom. At least they can marry who they want.

What the woman had said might also be true and that scared Blaine. In a few years he would get the throne, and if the people didn't like the way he ran their kingdom they could do something drastic. These were the fears that haunted Blaine every day. He thought about stopping and whipping out the book he had brought along with him to take his mind off things, but it seemed silly to stop this early on. So he kept riding, thoughts of catching a thief distracting him instead.

Kurt had been walking all night. He was soaking wet, and cold, and he had no idea where he was going but at least he had gotten away. His biggest worry is that he had left all his stuff in the castle, including his light blue cloak. He desperately wanted to stop and build a fire so he could get warmed up and try to sleep for a few hours but he was too worried someone was going to catch him and he'd be right back in the dungeons. So Kurt kept walking. He had a lot to think about when he was walking and most of those thoughts involved Prince Blaine. He kept replaying their exchange over and over in his head, imagining the look in the Prince's eyes when he had said "Go." Kurt still didn't understand why he had done it. He was fully expecting the Prince to kill him right there on the spot. Also, his attitude towards his own wedding was puzzling. Kurt had imagined all of the royal family were greedy, selfish people who married for money and were incapable of love. Now, seeing that he was probably wrong to judge them that way was causing some confusion for Kurt.

He felt like he was just about to pass out from exhaustion when he came across a little cottage. He didn't think anyone lived in these parts so he was quite surprised. It was a cute little thing with a garden on the side and laundry hanging up on a line. Maybe he could ask whoever lived there to let him stay for the night. It was better than wandering around aimlessly until he either froze or starved to death. He was actually overwhelmed with the shape of the little home when he got closer. It looked so much nicer than the shacks the village people lived in. He knocked on the solid, wooden door and waited. To his surprise a hole slid open in the door and a pair of dark brown eyes looked out at him.

"Yeah?" A female voice, who he guessed belonged to the eyes, asked sounding impatient.

"Uh, hi." He said.

"What do you want?" She asked.

"May I come in? You have such a lovely home." He said nervously trying to get on this woman's good side.

"Why do you want to come in, are you part of a royal force? Are you going to try to arrest us?" She asked.

"No!" Kurt exclaimed. "I'm actually running from the royal force." He admitted.

"Well then they'll be after you. We can't house a fugitive." She snapped at him and then shut the eye hole in her door.

"Wait!" Kurt yelled banging again. "I just need somewhere to sleep for a few hours. I swear I won't take anything from you and I'll be gone before you wake up tomorrow. Please, I escaped from the dungeons and now I'm just trying to say ahead of-" His sentence was cut short when the door swung open revealing a slender woman with tanned skin and the same brown eyes that were looking through the door.

"Did you just say you escaped from the dungeons?" She asked him.

"Yes?" He answered slowly, unsure of where she was going with this.

"I've never heard of anyone being able to do that before." She said with an astonished look.

"Well, now you have." Kurt said awkwardly. She eyed him for a minute before opening the door wider and walking back into the house. Kurt stood there for a moment not knowing of what to do.

"Come in or don't but don't leave the door wide open." She yelled to him and he quickly entered the cottage shutting the door behind him. It was nice on the inside, much nicer than any of the houses Kurt had ever been in. There were elegantly crafted chairs and beautifully sewn quilts next to a roaring fire. "Sit." The woman commanded handing him a plate of bread and a jar of jam. "Eat." She instructed and Kurt complied right away. "So here's the deal, I don't care what you did to get thrown into the dungeons but I want to know how the hell you managed to get out because I know for a fact you are the only one to have done that."

"It wasn't that hard." Kurt said with his mouth full of food.

"God, swallow first! That's disgusting!" She exclaimed and he did so.

"Look, all I did was grab the keys unlock myself and run out. It was nothing fancy." He explained.

"But how did you get the keys? The guard is always holding them." She asked.

"They were short on guards because they had a big feats coming up so prince Blaine was the one patrolling, I just started talking to him and he came close enough that I could grab them."

"Interesting." The woman said leaning back in her chair. "But then, how did you get outside the walls?" She asked.

"You know, you ask an awful lot of questions and I don't even know your name. How do I know I can even trust you?" He asked.

"I don't know your name." She remarked.

"It's Kurt. Kurt Hummel." He said.

"Whatever, I don't care." She remarked.

"Well I'm not telling you any more until you at least tell me your name." Kurt said putting down the bread, crossing his arms and giving her his best glare. She glared right back for a long time before finally sighing.

"My name is Santana."

"And why are you so interested in how I escaped?" He asked but she stayed silent.

"Hey babe, I picked us some really pretty flowers but I had to convince some bees to let me take them and I think they might be a little mad, so it might be hard for us to get honey for the next couple weeks." Kurt turned toward the voice that just walked into the room. It was a blonde woman who looked at him with blue eyes for a second before asking. "Who are you?"

"He's no one honey." Santana told the woman with a smile and got up to take the flowers. "These are beautiful!" She said in a sweet tone that was vastly different from how she had been addressing Kurt. She then leaned in and gave the other woman a small kiss. Kurt was surprised. He had never seen two women treat each other this way, like they were married. Santana turned and saw the look on his face, immediately glaring at him.

"You got a problem with us you can hit the road." She told him harshly.

"No, no problem." He answered quickly. "It's just... different." He said struggling for the right words to explain it.

"I love Santana the same way any girl loves any boy or any boy loves any girl. There's nothing different." The blonde woman said and Kurt smiled. He liked that idea, it made a lot of sense to him.

"I'm Kurt." He introduced himself.

"Brittany!" She replied enthusiastically taking a seat next to him.

"Kurt's just going to be staying here for tonight and then he's gone. He's a criminal." Santana explained.

"He doesn't look like a criminal to me." Brittany said.

"No, she's right. I stole some food and other things from my kingdom's castle." Kurt admitted.

"Why would you do that?" Brittany asked, her face surprised and full of innocence.

"Because the people of my village are starving and I'm not going to sit around and let that happen." He said defiantly. He truly believed that what he did wasn't wrong, it's wrong for the royal family to be stealing from those who have less than them. He was doing the kingdom a service really.

"I don't think that makes you a bad person, you just wanted to help right? You didn't want to hurt anyone." Brittany said and Kurt faltered for a moment. He had wanted to hurt the royal family in a way, not physically but give a good jab to their ego maybe. That's not what Brittany was talking about though. Was it?

"Yeah, you're right." He responded feeling a little unsure of himself.

"Oh Santana, you should tell him his future!" Brittany said enthusiastically.

"Brittany, he doesn't know!" She said urgently.

"I don't know what?" Kurt asked cautiously.

"Santana is a witch so she can cast spells and tell the future and stuff." Brittany said with a proud smile. Kurt turned to Santana with an astonished look.

"Is she kidding?" He asked quietly, Santana simply sighed.

"No, it's true." She admitted, then sat down in another one of the other wooden chairs. "I'll predict your future but if you tell anyone about this I will turn you into a dung beetle or something equally disgusting." She threatened pointing a finger at Kurt. He just stared at her with wide eyes, still wondering if this is a joke. "Let's see, give me your hand." She told him and he did so.

"Is this going to hurt?" He asked nervously.

"No it's not, shut up and let me work." She placed her thumb in the centre of his palm and closed her eyes. Kurt looked over to Brittany who gave him an encouraging smile. "You are running from the King's men. He has sent his son out to find you-"

"He sent prince Blaine out of the castle?" Kurt asked in shock.

"Don't interrupt me!" Santana snapped before continuing. "Your journey does not end here, in fact-" Suddenly Santana's eyes flew open and she stared at Kurt. Her eyes were wide and filled with fear.

"What? What is it?" He asked frantically.

"I can't tell you." Santana whispered.

"Why not?" He demanded.

"Having the ability to see the future isn't a gift like most think. It is a curse always knowing what is going to happen. I am not living my life like the rest of you I'm just waiting for what I know is coming. There are some things that are not supposed to be known, and they can destroy a person. I will not do that to you." She said and then got up to leave.

"That's it? That's all you're going to give me?" He yelled, furious at her. She had obviously seen something important, something that he needs to know so he can be prepared for when it happens.

"I'll say this, you are special Kurt. After all, you escaped from the dungeons and I never saw you coming here in the first place." She then left the room in a stunned silence Brittany taking his hand in an attempt to comfort him. He didn't understand what she had meant and now he doesn't think he'll be able to sleep at night until he's got it figured out.

That night he made sure to leave Santana and Brittany's house long before dawn without saying a word. When they woke up he had already been walking for hours.

"Your highness how long do you think we will have to look for this runaway before we can give up and pronounce him dead?" Mike asked after a full day of riding through the forest. Blaine was growing slightly impatient with his men who seemed to have given up the search already.

"What makes you think we won't find him?" Blaine snapped turning his torso around to look at him.

"He was skilled enough to escape the dungeons and the walls of the castle I think he must be a professional at this sort of thing." Mike answered and Blaine stayed silent. The thief may have been good, but it was Blaine who let his guard down in the dungeons, and it was Blaine who let him go after the ball. The reason why he did these things was still unknown and troubling to him.

"Face it your highness the thief is probably long gone by-" Another one of Mike's suggestions they head back to the castle was cut off by a loud crash and a grunt.

"What was that?" Another one of the guards asked.

"Let's go see." Blaine said steering horse in the direction of the noise. The path didn't go very far in that direction so the men tied up their horses and continued on foot. "This is Prince Blaine of the royal force, I command you show yourself immediately!" Blaine yelled loudly. Much to his dismay, nobody revealed themselves.

"Maybe it was just an animal." Mike suggested from behind him.

"Maybe." Blaine said, although his gut told him that whatever made that noise was undoubtedly human. They continued on for a few more moments and then they heard the crack of sticks breaking off to their left. Blaine hurried over to investigate what was making the noise and he that's when he saw the thief. They stared at each other for a fraction of a second, both speechless and wide eyed, but then the thief moved and Blaine chased after him. The Prince could see that the thief was running with a limp, and he was sure he would catch up with him soon. Just then the other boy tripped and fell to the ground with a cry of pain. Blaine was then beside him and drawing his sword. "I've got him!" He yelled pointing the tip of his blade at the runaway's chest. Behind him he could hear his men approaching but he didn't take his eyes off the boy laying on the ground.

"No way!" Mike exclaimed with astonishment when he saw the scene before him. "I can't believe you got him."

"I think he's hurt, he wasn't running very well." Blaine said.

"He's also right here and can hear everything you say!" The thief snapped glaring at Blaine. This caught the attention of everyone. "Also, he may have been running funny because he twisted his ankle when he fell out of a tree."

"Why was he in the tree in the first place?" Blaine asked curiously.

"Because he was trying to hide from a group of men who are chasing him." The thief admitted looking annoyed. Blaine made a noise of understanding then drew back his sword and offered his hand. The thief stared at it, looking unsure, then rose to his feet himself hissing when he put weight down on his bad ankle.

"You'll ride with me. I doubt you can get anywhere on that foot but I'm not taking any chances." Blaine informed him.

"Oh I'll be the envy of everyone in the kingdom. A ride on Prince Blaine's horse, all my dreams are coming true!" The thief said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"You should watch your mouth. I could still kill you with one swipe of my sword." Blaine threatened. The thief simply shrugged.

"Go ahead, I'm going to die once we get back to the kingdom anyway. At least if you kill me now I won't have to suffer the humiliation of it being in front of an audience." He said and Blaine looked around to see that they were alone. The rest of the men had started to travel back to the horses.

"Can you please not..." Blaine gave a frustrated huff, searching for the words. "Say stuff like that!"

"Why?" The thief asked. "It's true."

"Well it makes me uncomfortable." Blaine told him.

"Well I'm sorry life isn't always perfect for you your highness." The thief said spitting out Blaine's title as if it were an insult. "Some of us have to be uncomfortable every night we go to bed hungry because your damn kingdom is crumbling while you're too busy turning your back because it makes you uncomfortable." Blaine felt like he had just been slapped.

"Just start walking." He said and pulled the boy along by his arm. There was no use arguing with some one who was always going to hate his guts and who, as much as he hated it, was probably going to die in the next few days. Blaine honestly didn't know why he wanted this thief to live so badly. He had seen other criminals executed, they weren't very often in his kingdom but they happened. So what made this criminal so different? Blaine hoped he found the answer and a way to save the boy soon, or else it would be too late.