As he reached his cottage, though, he noticed that there was a light coming from the window in his father's room. He entered the home and was greeted with the sound of violent coughing. He rushed to his father's room to find Burt lying in a pool of his own sweat and shivering.

Feeling Burt's forehead, he noticed that he was burning up. Kurt fled from his home to the apothecary. He could not lose another parent, not again. Kurt grew impatient as he banged on the apothecary's door. When the door finally opened, Kurt explained his father's condition. The apothecary looked grim and told Kurt that he did not have the medicine for that level of illness.

"Well what can I do? I'm not letting my father die, that is absolutely not an option."

"Truthfully, son, the only thing I can think to do would be to travel to a nearby kingdom and visit one of the apothecaries they have in the citadel. I would suggest the Kingdom of Brighton, but I have heard word that they have not yet hired a new apothecary to replace their newly deceased one. The closest kingdom is 3 days away, though," the apothecary informed, looking tired but worried.

"I'll travel as far as I need to. What can I do in the meantime to assure that he stays alive while I'm gone?" Kurt begged, sounding more and more desperate.

"I would suggest having someone watch over him, making sure he is drinking fluids and keeping himself bundled in blankets." Kurt left the apothecary's home with a mumbled thank you and rushed to Rachel's home. Finding that she was asleep, Kurt banged on her window. Grumpily she opened the window and was about to yell when she was interrupted by Kurt's tear-filled explanation. She grabbed her shoes and ran with Kurt back to his home. Grabbing all of his money and very few belongings, Kurt wasted very little time in leaving Lima. He stole a horse from the stable, and with a promise that Rachel would explain to the owner, Kurt rode away to the East in search for the kingdom.

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Though the trip should have taken three days, Kurt found himself in the out-skirting woods late in the afternoon on the second day. Dismounting his horse to allow it a moment's rest, Kurt decided to look around the woods. He thought he could hear the faint sound of a man's voice in the distance, but when he listened carefully, he did not hear it again and blamed it on his own imagination. His thoughts moved back to his father, and he let his mind wander. Suddenly, an arrow flew past his head, and he froze.

"State your name and your business in these woods," Kurt heard a voice call from behind him. As he slowly turned around, Kurt was faced by three men. Two of these men were very obviously knights by how they dressed and the small fact that they were wielding swords, pointed in his direction. Their tunics displayed the crest of the kingdom, a large "W" across their chests. The third man was dressed as a commoner. Kurt figured he must be the servant.

"K-Kurt Hummel of Lima. I'm on my way to the citadel to visit the apothecary. My father is very sick and he needs proper medicine or else he will die."

"Men, lower your swords," Kurt heard from a hidden voice behind the two large knights. Chancing a look around, his eyes instantly met with the almost golden eyes of a fourth man.

"Kurt Hummel you say? Well Kurt, allow us to guide you to the citadel ourselves, as you seem to be roaming around these woods lost."

"I wasn't lost. I was simply allowing my horse to take a break," Kurt retorted.

"You should be grateful for what the prince is offering you! Show him more respect!" one of the knights exclaimed.

"Prince? Oh your majesty, I am so sorry," Kurt stammered and bowed instantly.

Laughing, the prince walked up to Kurt and offered his own hand. "My name is Blaine Anderson, prince of Westerville. These are my men, Sir Jefferson and Sir Nicholas. This man behind them is my manservant, David. No need to look so frightened, I will not harm you," Blaine laughed, seeing Kurt standing awkwardly.

Kurt had to admit to himself, the prince was easily the most handsome man he had ever laid eyes on, with his golden eyes and broad stature. His hair was cut very short, but Kurt could see some curls beginning to form. The prince was very muscular, yet lean. Kurt laughed inwardly at his height, though, which was easily 4 inches shorter than himself. He always pictured a prince to be tall, but Kurt was definitely not complaining. But what stood out to him most was the prince's smile. It was toothy and genuine. Kurt found himself smiling, but suddenly dropped his smile, realizing he had been staring.

"Yes, thank you, sire. A-an escort would be perfect. I've never been to Westerville, let alone a citadel..." Kurt practically stumbled over his own words.

"David, fetch Kurt's horse. I would like to walk, of course, only if you don't mind, Kurt," Blaine offered, sending David away.

"O-of course not, sire!" Kurt exclaimed, startled that the prince was asking him for permission.

"Excellent!" And there it was again; that smile. Kurt found himself staring again and turned his face quickly to hide the blush rising on his cheeks.

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Blaine noticed Kurt turn away and a smile crept onto his lips. He couldn't help it though. Something about this boy, who couldn't be any older than he was himself, made his heart swell. Blaine had known from a very young age that he was interested in men, but living in the kingdom made it so the desires he carried to have a husband and a life with a man were made impossible. There was absolutely no way that anyone, especially the King and Queen, would allow him to sin in that way.

But in his own mind, he carried crushes on the different knights he faced in tournament or other princes he met while visiting other kingdoms. Never, though, had one of these crushes felt the same as the one he was feeling for Kurt, a poor commoner from a village he hadn't even heard of. But this boy was something different, very unlike the other boys he had met.

Kurt was slender and tall, with pale skin that seemed to glow in the light. His chestnut hair seemed to fall just right, and his features were delicate, yet very much belonging to a man. What was most impressive to Blaine, though, were the boy's eyes. From afar, they seemed to be blue, but now, walking in such a close proximity to Kurt, he could see flecks of green within them.

Yes, in his mind he could carry this small crush, but in the world around him, he was very much the model of the perfect prince, in line to become King. He, of course, would have to marry first. His father, Gideon Anderson, spoke frequently of the princess of a nearby kingdom, but Blaine had never met her. The idea of marrying a woman and having a family with her made Blaine uneasy. But it was his duty, and the Kingdom of Westerville was his pride. He would do what was best for the kingdom, regardless of his own needs.

As the men were walking, a silence took over. Only the sound of crunching twigs beneath their feet and the occasional tweet of a bird from above could be heard. Normally, Blaine would have made easy conversation, but this boy left him without words. His name repeated itself through Blaine's thoughts. Kurt, Kurt, Kurt. Even his name was beautiful. Chancing a glance at the other boy, Blaine found Kurt to be fiddling with his thumbs lost in his own thoughts. Again, Blaine could not help but smile.

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Entering the lower town, Blaine once again glanced at Kurt and was surprised to see Kurt's eyes full of wonder. Kurt was absolutely thrilled. He had never been in a real kingdom before. In fact, he had never left Lima in his 18 years of life.

The previous minutes walking alongside the prince had been almost too much for Kurt. He was hyper-aware of every movement the prince made, and could have sworn the prince had been looking at him, smiling. But no, that would never happen. What could Kurt have worth smiling about, unless it was from the form of a crude joke? Here in the town though, Kurt grew excited. All of the people bustling around and all of the shops to see. It was too much for him to take in all at once, but he smiled, and tried to look at everything he could.

As they approached the citadel and the castle, Kurt's breath got caught in his throat. It was beautiful. Everything he expected from a royal castle, and the thought of visiting again, let alone living there was everything Kurt could dream of. Blaine noticed Kurt's intake of breath, as odd as that was. He noticed everything Kurt had been doing since the moment he saw him. Clearing his throat, he grabbed Kurt's attention.

"The apothecary's quarters are just down this hall."

"Thank you, sire. You have been too kind to allow me to walk with you."

"Oh, but it was my pleasure, Kurt." Blaine's smile almost took over once again as he said the boy's name, but he managed to keep it in control. Smiling at every instance with Kurt would raise suspicions that he could not afford to have.

As the boys reached the apothecary's quarters, Kurt explained to him that the man's name was Ulrich and that he came off a bit grumpier than he meant to. Kurt nodded and moved to knock on the door, but Blaine pushed passed the door and allowed himself in.

"Ulrich! I am in need of your assistance. My friend here has a father that has fallen very ill." Momentarily startled by the use of the word friend, Kurt fell silent, but came back to himself when he saw the look of waiting in both Blaine and Ulrich's eyes.

"Yes, yes... My father... He was shaking and his face was very warm. I asked my own apothecary and he said that you would know what to do." Kurt's eyes followed Ulrich as he moved to his shelf and plucked a vial from his collection.

"Two gold pieces," Ulrich grunted. As Kurt moved to reach into his pocket to grab his money, he felt a hand on his arm.

Looking up, he saw the prince looking at him very sternly. "Allow me to pay. You've gone through enough trouble. Money should not be another issue to put on top of it." Kurt could not turn in time to hide the blush that rose to his cheeks.

Accepting the vial from Ulrich, he was lead out of the room by the prince. "Well, there you are. It is getting late though, I must encourage you to wait until morning to ride back to Lima. In the meantime, why don't I find you a room to stay in for the night?"

"Sire, that is too much. Please, you have already done enough by paying for the potion. Anything else would be me imposing and I just couldn't do that," Kurt rushed out in a frenzy of words.

"Nonsense. I insist. In fact, I would be insulted if you turned down my offer," Blaine offered, with a smile on his lips. Kurt nodded and allowed the prince to show him to a room. The room was beautiful, and held the largest bed Kurt had ever seen. It was at least 3 times as big and had more pillows than Kurt had in his entire home. Blaine placed a hand on Kurt's shoulder and winked at him before exiting the room. Kurt's breath hitched and he instantly felt lightheaded from the events of the day.