For my fans, on the (roughly) one year anniversary of my posting of this, my very first fanfiction which ended up being a featured fic on Scarves & Coffee and that people still send me messages about. Thank you all. :)

Meetings, meetings, lunch, meetings, meetings, meetings....

Whatever they said in the stories Blaine liked to read to his sisters, there was no glamorous life when it came to being royalty. A lot of it was self-imposed though. They were making up for decades of neglect and abuse carried out by Blaine's father. There was a lot of infrastructure that needed attending to, and even more people that did. Between meetings with various groups about the state of their affairs - whether it was the smiths, the orphanages, the medics, or any of the other many trade groups that seemed to have formed overnight under Blaine's rule, the nobility, or just individuals who had come to meet with the king to plead for assistance for one reason or another.

Kurt had it a little easier, though to help Blaine he did try to stay at his side as often as possible. He had given up his life of diplomacy and politics... for a life of diplomacy and politics. There had been no retirement when it came right down to it. If it wasn't for the excuse of needing to walk Joy, Kurt might have never been able to take a break from it all.

Their first year of marriage had been an absolute blur of meetings and talking and not visiting his dad at his Lima homestead. The romance had taken a dive too once the Hummel army had departed, leaving Blaine with all of the authority even though he was still trying to delegate some of that away.

People just weren't used to monarchs wanting to give away their power.

Now Kurt had to sit aside Blaine in his own stupidly uncomfortable throne and listen to one of the nobles, was this one Will or Bill?, drone on to Blaine about how taxes on the nobility should be reduced since the nobles were the ones who put Blaine power in his mind.

"Are you starving Will?" Blaine asked of the man, finally cutting in as it was clear he had had enough of the rambling.

"No..." The man peered up, clearly confused by the change in conversation.

"Do you have at least two pairs of clothes?"

Will looked down upon himself, "Why yes sir... several dozen outfits in fact... all tailored by -"

"Do you have shoes on your feet?"

Will blinked and glanced down at the pair. Kurt knew where Blaine was going with this line of questioning, but Will was definitely stunned, wondering if the King was blind not to see them. "Yes sir..."

"Do you have a home over your head with room enough for your family?"

"Sire... I have several homes... but -"

"Then you are more comfortable than over ninety nine perfect of my subject, all on the taxes you currently afford. Would you have me tell my other subjects I gave a break to the wealthy simply because they helped me rise to this position?"

"Well.... no...."

"Good. Then it's settled. NEXT!" Blaine dismissed Will with a wave of his hand, who blankly walked off to the exit, finally at a loss for words.

Kurt set a hand on Blaine's and patted it gently. If he could endure the idiots of Westerville nobility, surely he could handle anything.

"Noblewoman Sylvester m'lord!" The caller announced, a flurry of blue passing him by as the woman they already saw all too much of advanced upon them and didn't bother with the customary bow.

"Noblewoman... correct me if I'm wrong, but we already have a meeting scheduled later this afternoon to discuss progress being made in the markets..." Blaine said, voice gaining that slight tense twinge it always did when Sylvester was around. Kurt knew very well Blaine always felt he had to be on guard around her since she had no problem calling him out on anything and everything from what he was wearing to how he pronounced certain words. If there was one person that hadn't had a problem taking on some of the power Blaine wanted to distribute - it was her.

"We do. However I want this recorded in the public logs..." She glanced towards the scribe who perked right up at being under her watch and scribbled a little more intently.

"Noblewoman Sylvester... we've been over this...-" Blaine began as the pair of them up in the thrones knew exactly what she was about to talk about.

"And again I will protest your stance on it. This realm needs an heir apparent. I applaud the progress you've made and certainly back the decision to move away from a monarchy, however it's time and time again been made clear that not everyone shares my convictions, and in the event you and the Prince die then there needs to be an heir!"

Blaine groaned, rubbing one of his temples with a finger in a move Kurt recognized of Blaine trying to stem off a headache. "My sisters -"

"Are all too young to be married - as you've said on other occasions. Moreover, it is well known that most of them have indicated that they would like to learn a trade now that those options have opened up for women. The realm can not wait on the whims of young girls. You either give them their freedom to choose and make an heir or push them into marriages."

"This is neither the time, nor the place...." Blaine pointed a finger at Sylvester as he spoke, trying to deflect the argument but finding himself being spoken over once again.

"There is no time nor place but the present milord. I bring this to the attention to the public because it needs to be addressed. Your people look to you for not only guidance, but security. Security that would best be served by having an heir."

She left with that, Blaine not speaking of it again until they had had more meetings, the one with Sylvester included, and they were both back in their bedchambers where Blaine promptly collapsed atop the bed. Thinking that it meant playtime, Joy jumped up on him and tugged playfully at his cloak with her teeth.

"No girl...." Blaine groaned, nudging her off the bed only to be replaced by Cat who sat on Blaine's stomach and meowed at him insistently.

Kurt just watched and chuckled as he changed into his night clothing by the wardrobe. "They just want to love you."

"I wish I had the energy to play with Joy... or even just talk with Cat like I used to...." Blaine grunted, covering his eyes over with the back of his hand.

"Well we could make that trip to see my dad..." Kurt suggested quietly, sitting on the edge of the bed and taking Blaine's other hand in his own.

Blaine sighed, lifting the arm from his face and setting it down at his side, his other hand squeezing Kurt's. "I want to... you know I do... I just... I don't want anyone to think I'm trying to escape my duties...."

Kurt nodded. This was a conversation they'd had many times before. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to Blaine's forehead, getting a happy hum in response. "I wish I could bare you a child."

"She's getting to you too huh?" Blaine huffed, shaking his head a little as he looked up to the canopy of the bed vacant eyed.

"Well it hasn't been as easy to establish a regional government as we'd hoped... and you've read all the papers I have from around the realm. Everyone is hoping you'll bed a girl to make an heir... everywhere... they want someone to come after you with your same vision and ideals and virtues..."

"Yeah... but my sisters..."

"Are too young. Sylvester was right. Plus, how long would we have to wait for one of them to find love on their own and get married and then have a child? And even then... would the people accept them?"

Blaine's gaze drifted back to Kurt, face cold and stoic, "You think I should..."

"No!" Kurt quickly shook his head and squeezed Blaine's hand back, "No... I mean..." He sighed. "I don't want you to... gods you know I never want to share you.. especially when there's barely any time to have you as it is with all the business..."

"But you think there's something to it at least..."

Kurt shrugged and looked away. He didn't want to think about it. At least not the mechanics of it.

"Kurt...." He heard Blaine grunt and the bed shift under him as Blaine sat up behind him, forcing Cat to find another place to sit with a grouchy mewl. "... I don't want anyone but you."

"And you have me... I just... maybe we should try and figure out how to have a child..."

Another groan, and not one of the pleasant variety as Blaine rested his head against the top of Kurt's back. "It's not that I don't want to have a baby with you Kurt... it's that I would only want it to ever be with you and there's not a witch in the world who can make that kind of magic..."

Kurt's mind jumped, and his body followed, looking back at Blaine, "Maybe not a witch... but there is a warlock...."

The conversation that followed led to a vacation, one that Kurt had been desiring since his dad had left. They visited his ancestral homeland of Lima, now part of the Dalton empire where his father, Carole, Finn, and Rachel had all retired to. The reunion was bittersweet - far too short for Kurt's liking. If there hadn't been a need for sleep he would have stayed at his father's side throughout it all.

Blaine made use of his time there by letting Finn and Rachel take him around, meeting individuals from the region and addressing their concerns and answering their questions. Ultimately he admitted it was good for him to travel away from Westerville, if only to get better understanding of all the regions he reigned over. Where Westerville was largely urban and flat, Lima was an agricultural powerhouse, full of valleys and hills. The contrast took Blaine's breath away when he first saw it and Kurt couldn't help but smile happily at the look on his husband's face. It had been far too long since he had seen him happy and relaxed.

Then they were off again. According to the public record, their trip was to meet with locals in the outlying regions and for Blaine to familiarize himself with the regions, the actual reason though, was much more questionable.

Kurt had only been fourteen when his father's army had come into contact with the man, a former magician of a mad ruler that, in his insanity, had people killed on sight because he said he could see ghosts hanging over them. The magician, who preferred the term warlock, was of an old caste. There wasn't many people who could use the old magic anymore, but he had proven himself to Burt by mending broken bones and skin right before their eyes - making it look like the damage had never occurred.

Burt had never lost contact with the man, and arranged a meeting for Kurt and Blaine to see him where he was living now in solitude, just near the mountain ranges of Lima.

They went in private, with no guard and dressed as commoners. When they reached the door, Kurt's legs were burning from the constant uphill walk. His year of sitting had definitely caught up with him as he was sure the walk wouldn't have caused him any grief before.

The door opened before they could knock, and there he was. Starchild. He hadn't aged a day and Kurt had to wonder if that was part of his skill set. Wordlessly he stepped back, allowing Kurt and Blaine inside the small, one-room hut before closing the door after them.

"You want a child and you think I can somehow manage that..." The dark haired man with equally dark eyes said simply, walking towards a cauldron in the center of the room where he was stirring what smelled like a stew.

"I... er..." Blaine looked back at Kurt. "I thought you didn't tell you dad that."

Kurt shook his head, "I didn't. I just told him I'd like to set up a meeting..."

"Please... I'm not some hedge wizard. It can be done too... but you'll need a vessel." Starchild snorted, picking up the small cauldron he had over the fire and setting it to the side to replace it with an empty one.

"A vessel?" Kurt mouthed softly.

"A woman. I can't change anatomy." Water was poured into the cauldron, followed by some herbs that Kurt couldn't identify just from the way they were sprinkled over the water.

"Well... we came to you because we didn't want a woman that I'd have to -" Blaine began, cut off by Starchild.

"You don't have to do anything intimate with the woman, but you need her to carry the babe. She will need to drink an elixir that will make her full of your child..." More herbs, then something that looked suspiciously like an eye was tossed into the cauldron.

"Now I'm no master of biology... but I'm pretty sure drinking something doesn't make a woman pregnant...." Blaine uttered, looking over at Kurt with nothing short of a 'what the hell have you gotten us into' look.

"Well normally no... but you're dealing with magic. It doesn't have to follow any normal rules."

Blaine and Kurt just exchanged glances. Disbelief, questioning, hopefulness... it was all there in the air between them.

"Come here." Starchild summoned them over, taking Kurt's hand as soon as he got close and swiping a knife over it. It stung, probably more so because Kurt hadn't even seen it coming and he counted himself at being pretty good at reading that people were about to attack him. Maybe he was losing his edge.

"What the hell!" Blaine moved to defend his husband, but Starchild lifted his own hand to stop Blaine, directing Kurt to let his blood drip into the mess of ingredients in the cauldron before waving Blaine over. "Your turn."

Kurt cradled his cut hand instinctively, but when he glanced down he saw it was healed over. Magic. He shook his head to himself, watching as Blaine offered his own hand, yelped at the pain of being struck, and then emptied his own blood into the dark pool. This time Kurt was able to see Starchild wave his hand over Blaine's and saw the wound repair itself. He wondered if he could convince this man to come work for them in Westerville. They could certainly use someone with his unique skill sets.

"I'm not working for any empire but my own." Starchild uttered, glancing over at Kurt whose eyes widened in surprise. Add mind reading to this man's skill set, he thought with a bemused shake of his head.

"What do you want for this all..." Blaine asked, looking down at his healed palm in wonder.

"I need a new guitar."

Wrinkled brows and questioning eyes were shared between Blaine and Kurt. The former making sure they had heard right. "A guitar?"

"Yes. I can't make them with my own magic... and a well crafted one is hard to come by. My last one became warped in the neck and is of no use for playing anymore."

"Wait..." Kurt wanted to make really sure they got this right. "You're willing to make an heir for the kingdom... in exchange for a guitar?"

Starchild looked up, curiosity etched in his own features. "Well it's not like the task is hard for me. You on the other hand need to find a reputable guitar maker."

"Oh... oh-kay..." Blaine drew out his syllables, shaking his head, probably sharing the same thought that Kurt had - that Starchild was nothing they had expected and that they were getting the deal of the century - assuming it worked.

After some murmuring and some more herbs being sprinkled over the cauldron, Starchild dipped a flask down into the murky liquid and pulled it out to cork it - now full of the tar like substance he had created. "I recommend that whatever lady you choose for the honor drink it down quickly and follow it up with a minty tea. Helps the stomach."

The flask was taken by Blaine, who offered his sincerest thanks and assured the warlock that they would find and deliver a guitar as promptly as they could find someone who was a master of building them.

Now they just had to find a vessel.

The choice was made for them on their return. Noblewoman Sylvester, through her impression spy network, had found out they had visited Starchild and was the first to meet with them.

"If you had a flask of baby making juice made, then you should know I am the best person for the job of carrying it." She announced as she walked in, drawing the eyes of everyone in the room who went dead silent.

"But... but... you're so...." Blaine was about to say old and Kurt knew it, so he broke in.

"So important! We couldn't have you bogged down by carrying our child!"

The Noblewoman huffed and shook her head, "I will do it. It will show your people that you are truly a man of the people by allowing a common woman that rose to nobility to bare your offspring... and I have no interest in raising a child either so you wouldn't have to worry about my butting in to parent."

Blaine and Kurt looked at one another, both eyes wide. It made sense... at least in theory. There was no one else that had presented themselves as a viable alternative anyhow.

The flask was offered to Sue, who drank it quickly with a smack of her lips and waved away the offered tea. "Tastes fine. Like my usual breakfast but sweeter."

Kurt had to hold himself back from gagging.

After that things progressed quickly. A nursery was set up just across the hall from Kurt and Blaine, a nannies and wet nurses hired, and royal announcements made. Blaine's sisters were ecstatic - not just because of the new addition to their family, but because it officially freed them from having to carry on the royal line. Kurt heard all sorts of rumors of gambling being made on the sex of the baby, as well as the birth weight, length, hair colour, eye colour, and name. People were apparently even betting on when the infant would walk and talk. It became apparent that this child was more than just Kurt and Blaine continuing their family. It would be someone who grew up in this new Westerville, someone the people could look to as a sign that things had truly changed. It represented the rebirth of the realm.

"It's a boy." Quinn announced, months later, as she stepped out of the birthing chamber where Sue had been screaming for the past several hours while Kurt and Blaine had paced the halls.

Moments after that, a small bundle, pooled in white blankets was set into Kurt's arms and Blaine hastily stepped over to look at their son.

"He has your eyes..." Kurt murmured, looking at the honey sweet eyes of the baby that was squinting up at him.

"Your hair..." Blaine mumbled back, reaching down to smooth his fingers over the light brown strands of straight hair. Kurt knew that alone would be a blessing for the baby, given how much he watched Blaine struggle to deal with his own curls.

"The callers would like to know the name so they can make announcements through the realm..." Quinn interrupted, smirking as she watched them.

"Alexander... it means..."

"Defender of the people." Quinn smirked. "I know.... I also know that it's a name found in both your genealogies... I win some cash off that. Thanks guys."

She left, the smirk still on her face, and Kurt just had to chuckle as he looked down at the sweet baby in his arms and then to the side at his husband who seemed equally as smitten.

Hopefully Joy and Cat would be just as okay with the new addition.