Blaine’s life continues. His days are filled with practising alchemy in order to turn it into his Passion, prince duties, reading and meeting up with his friends. He knows that Kurt is still at the infirmary. The staff update him and his parents on Kurt’s condition, since the queen requested that. Blaine almost wants to tell the staff to stop.

But he is curious. He cannot deny that. Blaine tries to ignore Kurt, but he’s a fixture in his life now. Blaine keeps thinking about what Kurt said, especially when David sends him a bird with the first chapter of a possible book about Cooper’s life.

It’s terribly written, but that’s not the point.

Kurt’s healthy and all right, thanks to Blaine, but he’s still in the infirmary for his confusion. No one knows where he came from, so they also cannot help him get home. Kurt keeps mentioning names like New York, America, Earth, but Blaine’s consulted the huge digital atlas in the castle’s library and there are no kingdoms or empires or whatever nations that bear those names.

When Cooper and his posse visit home, he’s also told about Kurt.

“I can see if I can help him,” Cooper tells his parents.

“Please do. He seems to long for home, but we do not know how to help him,” the queen says.

So Cooper and his wife Arasha go to the infirmary, but he comes back later, looking defeated.

“Mother, I know it might sound rude, put to put it plainly, I think we have a lunatic in the infirmary,” he says.

“Oh my,” the queen gasps, “Poor man. I wonder what happened to him!”

“Did you use your magic?” the king asks.

Cooper nods.

“Of course I did, father.”

The king looks deep into thought.

“I was trying to find a position for him in the castle, so that he could at least leave the infirmary and start a life in Daltonia while we find a way home for him, but this changes things.”

“Can he live on his own?” the queen wonders.

“Mother, are you suggesting that we confine him?” Blaine asks. The thought makes him uneasy. Sure, Kurt’s words make no sense, and it greatly upset Blaine, but he doesn’t know if he agrees with Cooper’s assessment.

“Maybe. If it’s for the best.”

“The best for who?” Blaine asks.

Cooper sighs.

“Blaine, I have met many people who couldn’t be saved. I wish it weren’t this way, but some people cannot be left unsupervised.”

“And you think Kurt is one of those people?”

“He’s talking as if he’s from another world!” Cooper says back.

Another world? That does sound insane to Blaine’s ears. Even with Cooper’s All Power, which is the most powerful magic in the world, there’s never been a reason to believe there’s another world. This is the world. That’s it.

But Kurt mentioned places that don’t seem to exist. Did he make them up? Or does he believe them to be real?

Even so, confining him seems wrong. He just wants to go home, wherever that is.

“Father, mother, you cannot…”

Blaine’s father holds up his hand.

“We will not make any rash decisions. We cannot call anyone a lunatic and confine him without a proper assessment. That wouldn’t be fair. But we must at least consider it.”

Okay, so Blaine has time.

Time to warn Kurt.

“Blaine, what a surprise,” Kurt says, “It’s been a week since you ran out.”

“Oh. Uh. Hi,” Blaine says awkwardly, “Sorry. I’ve been busy.”

“Gosh, I wish that were me. I am bored out of my mind,” Kurt laments, “Nurse Marcus gave me one of those nifty digital books, so I have been reading. It’s nifty that good ole B.D. Dalton already came up with ebooks, in the nineties! But man, I just want to leave. But people seem to think I am mentally unwell or something.”

Blaine cannot argue with that. Cooper said it himself.

Speaking of…

“My brother visited you,” Blaine says.

Kurt laughs.

“Yup. That’s Cooper of Daltonia. He sold it. It almost makes me believe this is real, especially when he used that magic.”

“You still believe this to be a dream.”

Kurt sighs.

“Honestly, Blaine… I start to doubt it. I don’t think dreams can be this long. But what other explanation is there? I’ve been telling myself this is a dream to keep sane, but… I don’t know how much longer…”

Kurt seems really upset by this, so Blaine needs to choose his words carefully, but how can you be careful in this weird situation?

“Maybe… this is another world?” Blaine says, thinking about what Cooper said.

“Another world?” Kurt sounds sceptical, “Sure.”

“You don’t think so?”

“It sounds straight from a-” Kurt cuts himself off.

“From a?” Blaine prompts.

“A story,” Kurt says, voice strained, “From a work of fiction. Like The Cooper Chronicles.”

“But we don’t, uh, have other worlds.”

And Daltonia isn’t fictional, but Blaine keeps that comment to himself.

“True,” Kurt frowns, “There’s never been a multiverse storyline in The Cooper Chronicles, and boy oh boy, there are a lot of extras. But if it isn’t a dream, or a prank, then… a different world sounds like the most logical thing.”

Nothing about this is logical, but Kurt knows that too.

“Then how do we get you back to your world?” Blaine asks, “Assuming this theory is true.”

“I have no clue,” Kurt sounds defeated, “I guess we just need time to figure it out.”

But time is a thing they might not have. Everyone seems to believe that something is wrong with Kurt’s mind, and Blaine cannot blame them, he did so too (and still does, since all of this sounds too weird!), but that means that even if the king and queen aren’t going to immediately confine Kurt into a place for lunatics, it will happen. Every doctor or professional will say that something is wrong with him.

Blaine tells Kurt this, and he watches how Kurt’s face morphs from confusion to shock.

“They want to lock me up?” Kurt whispers.

Basically. It’s not the word Cooper and Blaine’s parents use, but yes.

“That can’t happen,” Kurt sounds distressed, but he tries to keep his face neutral so that the nurses or doctor don’t come asking what’s wrong.

“I’m sorry,” Blaine says quietly, “The Royal family can do these things.”

Kurt stares into space for a while, and Blaine gives him time to process this. After a while, Kurt leans towards Blaine.

“You’re Royal too, right? You’re Blaine of Daltonia.”

“Yes?”

“Then get me out of here. Now.”