Blaine found his room had been left untouched by the invaders that seem to have filled in every other free spot in the castle. He had collected Cat from the room of one of his sisters, which Kurt had taken over, and come back here to collect his thoughts while Kurt had to deal with some troop requests.

Sitting on the edge of his bed, he found himself suddenly overcome with tiredness. He had just been napping in the dungeon cell, but it was far from a restful sleep, and since this whole mess had begun, he may have slept, but he had not rested.

Cat pulled away from Blaine's arms where the feline was being held and hopped down to the floor, sashaying over to the door where Cat pawed and meowed.

"Oh so suddenly now my room isn't good enough for you?"

Cat looked back at Blaine as he spoke, then turned back to the door and continued to try and pry it open with a paw.

"Well I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you would want to leave me either."

Cat was now trying to dig a paw under the door to try and pull it open from below.

"Well I'm sorry to say that you're stuck with me! I'm sorry for putting you in that trunk but I didn't even know if they'd like cats! You could've been in a stew by now if they didn't!" Blaine was getting exasperated and he didn't know why. Why was Cat making him so mad?

Cat decided that trying to open the door was futile and instead circled in spot by the door and laid down. Cat would be ready to bolt when the door was opened.

Blaine fell back on his bed, his legs still dangling off the edge. He stared up at the red canopy over his bed. "I am never complaining about my room again. I can tell you that much."

Maybe in an odd way his father did care about him. His father did let him stay in the castle with his own well furnished room after all. He could have spent all his time cooped up in one of those dingy little cells. Unable to eat because the smell of the dungeon kept his stomach in constant flux. He could have been reduced to peasant wear instead of his soft, fine linens. Servants had been tasked to always deal with his night bucket and bring him fresh water to clean himself. In the end, Blaine supposed he was allowed by his father to be treated royally and that had to count for something.

He would find out what he could about the plans of Marshall Hummel and his army and then figure out how to get past the personal guard he had been assigned, who now watched outside his door, and send his family the information.

In the courtyard he had seen all castes of people mixing together. How were the peasants and soldiers supposed to respect their leaders if they were allowed free reign in the presence of their betters? This couldn't last. The peasants needed direction so they could live productive lives in the service of the empire. They didn't have the education or sense to be speaking to leaders of the empire. Blaine was sure they were nice, even good people, but there was certain protocols to being a leader that were being broken all over the place here.

At least he had found himself partnered with someone who had some authority. It would make getting important information easier. His heart seemed to drop a little as he thought this. Kurt was gorgeous, especially once all the blood and dirt was off him. Blaine was able to see just how creamy his skin was, how ethereal his eyes were, and to feel the softness of his hand was absolute heaven. If he didn't know better, Blaine would have never been able to know the armored invader he met in the hall this morning was the same person who had taken care of Cat while he was in that cell.

Blaine rolled over onto his stomach and pressed down on the hardness forming in his slacks, trying to will it away. Don't think of the enemy like that. Don't let him get to you. Don't think about him in your bed... Blaine groaned and reached for one of his pillows to bury his face in. He was so utterly pathetic. How was he supposed to pay attention to military details when he was going to have to focus on keeping himself from being aroused around Kurt.

A knock sounded at his door and he lifted his head up and turned towards it, "Yes?"

Without asking permission, the door was pushed open and Cat bolted out. Blaine pulled himself up to sit again on the edge of the bed, his grimace forming into a grin as he saw who was coming in.

"Jeff!" and behind him, "Trent! Wes! David! Nick! Thad!" Blaine stood up and a small laugh of joy escaped him, "I thought you were all gone by now!"

In turn, each of the Warblers gave Blaine a pat on the shoulder and they together formed a circle.

"We locked ourselves in the kitchen cellar. We didn't know how things were going to turn out so we grabbed some wine and cards and had probably the best day off ever!" Trent laughed as he spoke.

"I came with the army. I was so worried when I couldn't immediately find everyone I'm sure the soldiers thought I was mad running through the castle and screaming everyone's names." Jeff spoke and Blaine couldn't help but feel betrayed when Jeff admitted his connection to the troops that had overtaken his home. He kept it to himself though. He wasn't about to alienate one of the few friends he had, especially if he needed them to help with his mission.

Nick noticeably moved closer to Jeff as he spoke and smiled warmly at the blonde boy beside him. Blaine was shocked when he saw their fingers brush and Jeff turning his head to return the warm smile back to Nick.

"Nick... Jeff... the laws..." Blaine tried to remind them. Sodomists could be killed on sight if discovered.

Nick and Jeff looked to Blaine in unison, and it was David who spoke for them, "The laws no longer apply. Blaine. Westerville is liberated. Nick and Jeff can love each other without fear."

Blaine opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He shut it again after a moment his apparent shock must have been obvious because Wes sat beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. "The changes this brings... they're going to be good changes. We always said things couldn't get worse and that was true. There's only room for them to get better, much better now."

"I'm going to get to go home..." David spoke quietly, his eyes looking between all the Warblers and Blaine.

"What do you mean home? You are home." Blaine looked to David in shock. He couldn't remember a time without David.

"No Blaine. I was taken from my home when I was a boy. I saw my mom for the first time in years this morning..." David began tearing up and Trent placed a hand on his shoulder. "She was able to get into the castle now and... I'm going home."

Blaine sat, mouth agape once again. He had never considered that his Warbler friends thought of the castle of anything but home. They had all been there so long. Well at least Trent wouldn't leave. He was the child of servants who still worked here so he had only ever known the castle.

"We're so happy to see you Blaine... we didn't know what they'd do to you, or if your father would've left you here dead by his own hand." Thad spoke for the first time since entering.

"Well... I knew they would be alright..." Jeff admitted, further implicating himself in Blaine's mind.

Blaine shook his head. "Thanks you guys. I am happy to see you all. It's just been... one hell of a day."

The group around him was a mix of small chuckles and nods.

"And I really think I need to wash up. I was stuck in a cell for the better part of today and I've never smelled anything so awful. I'm sure it's rubbed off on me.." Blaine admitted.

Within a moment, the Warblers were a flurry of activity, getting his bath ready, which stood in the back of the room to the side of the fireplace.

Blaine smiled, so thankful for his comforts now. When the Warblers exited, Blaine undressed himself, tossing his clothing into the fireplace. He wasn't about to rewear those items. He would be amazed if half of the stench could be laundered out.

Slipping into the bath he found that most of the tension in his small, athletic frame washed out of him. He leaned his head back against the high part of the tub and allowed himself to soak.

"Oh! Excuse me!" Kurt's now familiar and very startled voice spoke up.

Blaine made a small gasp of surprise and looked over at the man, who had Cat in his arms, standing in the doorway.

"I just found something that belonged to you and I thought I'd return it." Kurt ran over to Blaine's bed, dropped Cat there, and ran back out the door, shutting it behind him.

Blaine groaned. So much for the tension being gone. He had forgotten, at least for a moment, that his home had been invaded. Kurt's gorgeous face stayed stuck in his mind after he left. That look of surprise, all his walls down as he found himself surprised. Had he seen anything?

Blaine looked down at himself to make sure everything was hidden from view, and noted that aside from his head and arms rested on the sides of the tub, Kurt shouldn't have been able to see anything.

Cat had returned to sitting in front of the door, looking back at Blaine and yowling towards him.

"I am not letting you out Cat."

Cat hissed and returned to staring at the door, waiting for the chance to run again.

Kurt really was beautiful... and if Wes was right, he could now feel the freedom to think that way. He wasn't sure if Kurt was interested in boys, but at least Blaine could feel alright about the fantasy now. Jeff and Nick looked so at peace. How had they looked before? Blaine tried to think back and found he hadn't really been paying attention to reading their feelings before all this because all he came up with were images of Nick peeling potatoes and Jeff brushing horses.

Blaine let himself sink further into the water, groaning with pleasure. He reached for a scrub and began the process of getting rid of the grime and stink he could feel on his skin. When he reached his member, he let the scrub fall to the bottom of the tub and let his mind go back to Kurt, his groaning now a result of more than a nice warm bath.