The next two days were blissful. Blaine had never enjoyed himself so much. Sure the other nobles he had met with weren't as warm and friendly as the first one. One of the nobles had even gone so far to pull a knife on him which Kurt quickly and skillfully disarmed before the man even knew what was going on. That meeting had ended early on official account of 'inability to reach a compromise'. It worried Kurt, noticeably so, but whenever they had a moment alone they found themselves relieving the stress with small, chaste kisses.

So even though he had his work cut out for him in impressing the nobility, and his father was still at large, Blaine found himself intoxicated with Kurt and that balanced out his world.

Now he was preparing for dinner. Rachel had stopped by earlier and let him know they could expect Emily to arrive at suppertime and Burt agreed to meet with her at dinner to reduce the intimidation she might feel in a more formal setting.

Blaine was checking to see what Trent was making in the kitchen, eagerly tasting the samples offered to him. He wanted Emily to have a good evening. He wanted his sister to feel safe. Blaine was going to introduce her to some of the women warriors and female specialists like Quinn and Rachel. He desperately wanted something more for her than an early marriage and spending her life in the shadow of a husband.

Burt entered and smiled warmly over to Blaine. "All ready for a family reunion?"

Blaine walked over to Burt and nodded. "So very much so. I had them set up the meeting chamber for dinner. We should have plenty of room for everyone there. I invited Quinn and Rachel as well. I would really like Emily to see women who use their voice."

Burt laughed at that and slapped a friendly hand down on Blaine's shoulder, "I don't know. Rachel uses her voice a little too much if you ask me." He glanced over his shoulder and then looked back at Blaine with a wink, "Just don't tell her or Finn that I said that though alright?"

Blaine laughed and nodded in agreement. He led Burt down to the meeting room where some of the servants were already setting dishes down in the centre of the table. Quinn was already there, along with Noah beside her. They stopped speaking as soon as Burt and Blaine entered and it was evident a private conversation had been interrupted.

"Evening gentlemen." Quinn nodded to the both and Noah nodded as well without speaking.

As they took their seats, Blaine sitting at a centre spot at the table so Burt could take the head of the table position, Kurt, Rachel, and Finn entered, still engaged in a conversation.

"You can not tell me that is stylish in any realm. Do you have a mirror in your room at all?" Kurt spoke towards Rachel.

"I am merely expressing my unique personality through my attire and if you can not appreciate that then you are obviously not as open minded as I thought." Rachel's clothing looked fine in Blaine's opinion, though a little bit grandmotherly for her age.

Finn was purposely not getting into the middle of it and went to greet his mother when she came in. Kurt threw his hands up as if to surrender to to Rachel and immediately went to sit by Blaine which created a small, but noticeable rise in Burt's brows.

They were keeping their romance to themselves so Kurt hadn't told his father. Kurt kept telling Blaine that he wasn't sure what was going to happen and he didn't want anyone making a big deal of it or have people giving their input when he didn't want it. Blaine had felt like a dirty secret that Kurt was keeping, but whenever Kurt looked at him, those beautiful glasz eyes begging him to understand, Blaine forgave him entirely and reconciled himself to be happy for what they did have.

Finn led his mother to sit between Burt and Quinn, while he took up the spot on Burt's other side. A place had purposely been left empty beside Blaine for Emily. Blaine felt the excitement in him welling up and was having a hard time staying still in his seat as they waited.

"Man... just relax. You look like a puppy that has to pee." Noah stated, pointing a fork at Blaine as he spoke.

Blaine didn't get a chance to engage Noah in response as one of the soldiers came in, a female one with blond hair and a happy smile. She had Emily's hand and led her into the room. "Here you are Emily. I hope you have a nice supper."

"Thank you Brittany." Kurt nodded to the woman and she left, Blaine noting the odd skip in her step.

"Oh Emily!" Blaine stood out of his seat and knelt to hug the small female version of himself with much longer locks of hair. She was stiff in his grasp and his heart sunk a little when she didn't return the hug. She must just be tired... stressed... overwhelmed. That's it.

He pulled back and stood up, pulling the chair out for her which she stiffly sat at and allowed him to push back in. Her amber eyes scanned the group and then looked back down at her plate.

Blaine sat back in his seat and turned his head to her, "Can I get anything for you?"

The rest of the group had started filling up their own plates, watching the interaction quietly. It seemed no one wanted to jump on her right away with questions, which Blaine was thankful for.

"No. I don't want to eat the food of a traitor." Her small voice was heavy with the implication.

Blaine blanched and sat back in his seat. She thought he was a traitor. She wasn't happy to see him.

Carole cleared her throat and looked over at Emily, "How was your journey sweetheart?"

Emily continued to stare at the table in front of her, not making eye contact with anyone and not responding to the question. Everyone at the table was noticeably uncomfortable and glances were exchanged all around.

Blaine felt a hand under the table on his thigh. It took him a second to register that it was Kurt's hand trying to reassure him. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He needed to make this right. He needed to try.

"Emily.. I know our father has probably said some things about me, and about these people... but they're not the bad guys here. They're here to help, and I want to do the right thing so I'm helping them."

"You're a traitor."

"This is crazy..." Burt mumbled and looked down the table at Emily, "Listen to your brother. He knows what he's talking about. He spent the past two days so happy to have you back with him and you're treating him awfully for no reason."

Once again, Emily refused to respond.

"Emily please. They're going to want to know what you know about father and then you're going to get the chance that so many of our sisters haven't. You're going to get a real education. You can be like Quinn or Carole here..." he gestured towards them but Emily didn't look up, "and learn about the sciences, or like Rachel..." another unwatched gesture, "And become a master in speaking and writing. You could even become a warrior like the girl who brought you in here. You don't have to be what father decides."

Blaine was fully turned to Emily and had his hands out, palms up and open as he spoke to her. When she again refused to respond, Kurt put a hand on his shoulder and spoke over Blaine to Emily. "Your brother is trying to help you. Who are you trying to help?"

The girl turned her head up finally and glowered at Kurt, "Myself."

Blaine opened his mouth but a squeeze on his shoulder stopped him as Kurt spoke again, "And how are you helping yourself?"

"By minding what I say around people who could use it against me."

Kurt nodded and Blaine felt his brow furrow up. He wasn't understanding what was going on here, but he knew it wasn't good. Everyone at the table was watching silently and he wished now that this conversation had occurred in a private room with fewer people.

"That's very wise... you won't let yourself get hurt and will be able to claim innocence no matter which side wins."

Emily shook her head, "No."

Kurt stood out of his chair and pulled it over to Emily so he could sit beside her, "No?"

The small girl repeated. "No."

"I'm afraid I don't understand Emily. Can you tell me what you're saying no to?"

"No. I'm not wise. No. I can't claim innocence. If you don't win then my father will kill me. I already picked my side."

Blaine shook his head and spoke up, having been trying to let Kurt lead this unusual conversation, "Emily... what are you talking about? What side?"

Emily's glance shifted from Kurt to Blaine and he could see the ice in her eyes, "Theirs. Not yours and fathers."

Kurt shook his head, "No Emily. Blaine is helping us. He's not on your father's side."

"Then why hasn't he told you where father is hiding?!" She stood straight up and pushed her chair back behind her, "HE KNOWS."

Suddenly the room went very still and all eyes were on Blaine. He could feel the heat crawl up the back of his neck. He looked to Kurt pleadingly, "I don't..."

Quinn looked to Carole who looked back. "Well I think I need to deal with some matters in the infirmary..." They left with Rachel also excusing herself and following after.

"You could have saved me and gotten me out of there - but you didn't. You're conspiring with him! You let him try and sell me to all sorts of disgusting people." Emily spat her words out loudly and angrily to Blaine.

Kurt looked lost in his own mind and Blaine looked back and forth between them. Finally he looked to Burt who seemed to be waiting, hands crossed in front of him and watching intently. When he caught Blaine's glance his eyebrows arched up and spoke.

"Noah... can you escort Blaine to his room until further notice and put a guard on the door. I'm afraid we're going to have to cancel this dinner." Burt spoke, keeping his eyes connected with Blaine's the entire time.

Blaine felt his heart sink into his stomach and he stood up, letting himself walk in front of Noah in a stupefied state. He cast one glance back before leaving the room, catching sight of Kurt who had shut his eyes and was shaking his head down at his lap.

Blaine's heart formed another crack.