It turned out that the palace was just as impressive up close as it had been from afar. The closer they came, the more awed Kurt became. Hed read about the Charming Palace time and time again, heard about it from his parents and uncle, his grandmother and great-grandmother. But no amount of wordy descriptions could have prepared him for the sheer beauty of the smooth, porcelain-like material or the homey feel of the elegant, bright houses around it that were finally coming into view. Kurt had never thought hed feel any desire to live in a wooden house covered in ivy but the sight in front of him was severely tempting.

By the time Blaine had gently pushed him past the guards, a soft smile on his gorgeous face as he studied Kurts awed expression and the way he took everything in with curious, wandering eyes, Kurt had almost forgotten what had brought him here. He caught sight of the golden doors he knew led to the ballroom as Blaine ushered him up a set of stairs, feeling a pang of longing in his chest. That was the one room hed wished he could visit and see with his own eyes more than anything every time he had read or heard Cinderellas story. He had pictured it in his mind so many times he wasnt even sure if he should take a look at the real thing, scared that it might not meet his expectations. Soon enough he was distracted by the plush red carpet his feet were sinking in and the abundance of family portraits of all Charming dynasties covering the walls though and didnt spend another thought on the haunting ballroom for now.

Blaine just let him stare without comment, guiding him into a cozy-looking room dominated by a fireplace so huge that Kurt couldnt help but gape at it. The furniture was so close to the dancing flames he was wondering for a minute why it hadnt caught fire just yet, until he noticed the servant standing in the corner, keeping a careful eye on everything. He smiled when he saw Blaine entering, raising his eyebrow barely noticeably at Kurts presence.

"James, as you can see we have an unexpected guest. Hes had a very tough journey and itd be really polite of you if you could spare some of your time to bring us some tea and maybe a piece of cake," Blaine said, smiling back and ushering Kurt over to a seat close enough to the fire to warm him up thoroughly but not so close he felt like he was being roasted.

"Of course, Your Majesty. I trust youll be looking out for the fire in the meantime?" James bowed slightly but rose back up with a wink. The polite tone and formal wording seemed to be more of a habit than a requirement or an indicator of their relationship with each other.

"Naturally. It would be most unfortunate if the palace were to burn down in your absence and it would be my fault."

Chuckling to himself, James left them on their own to fulfill Blaines wish. As soon as he was out of the door, Kurt turned back to Blaine, eyes wide. "Your Majesty? You didnt really mention that when you introduced yourself. Should I have addressed you differently?"

"Well, I did mention that Im a heir to the Charming Dynasty, didnt I?" Blaine chuckled, trying to sound nonchalant but Kurt could see the first traces of red appearing on his cheeks. "And I think after everything you told me it would be a touch too formal for you to address me by my official title, so dont worry about that."

"And what, exactly, would your official title be?"

"Prince of the Red Riding Hood Kingdom and nephew to the King of the Charming Kingdom, which is the reason for my presence at the palace."

"Oh God, I should probably-" Kurt almost fell over his own feet in his haste to get out of the chair hed been sitting in and curtsy.

"Goodness, no, thats not necessary at all!" Blaine jumped out of his seat as well, gently pulling Kurt upright again and making him sit back down. "Its just a title, no need to make such a fuss about it. Im sure it wouldnt even mean all that much in your world, from what youve told me."

"Actually, Prince is still a very important title where I come from, though maybe not to the same extent," Kurt mumbled, obediently sinking back into his comfortable seat, thinking it better not to anger the prince by arguing further.

"Either way, I dont want you to feel like you cant just talk to me because of it, Kurt. Youre a guest in this palace and while respect will be expected from you, just like from anyone else, nobody is going to ask you to curtsy for them or to address them with their full title."

"I- Its just- Ive never met anyone royal before."

"Dont worry, youre doing just fine," Blaine laughed and he didnt look upset in the least, so Kurt relaxed back into the soft cushions of his chair, enjoying the warmth of the fire and the way it lulled him into letting go of the nervous energy that had had him buzzing ever since hed stormed after Karofsky. For a while, they just sat there in companionable silence. With anyone else, Kurt might have called it awkward but somehow it wasnt, not with Blaine. There was some kind of connection between them Kurt couldnt honestly say he completely understood, but he was not about to question it. Maybe it was just that Blaine was one of the very few people hed met that werent family and still treated him decently or that hed admitted to being gay as well.

Kurt had always had his suspicions of at least a good handful of students who might also lean towards their own gender, but none of them had ever taken the step and outed themselves to the school. He couldnt reproach them, it was basically social suicide in their high school. If hed had the choice, hed probably have tried to stay under the radar as well. But since everyone just happily assumed away and hed been a target of ridicule ever since hed admitted to his love for reading in elementary school, anyway, hed decided early on to just own it. If they wanted to bring him down to feel better about their meaningless lives and nonexistent plans for the future? They might as well do it for all he was because he was done hiding parts of himself away in sophomore year. He wouldnt give them the satisfaction of handing them the power to suppress his real personality just so their small brains wouldnt be offended by someone who didnt share their interests and inclinations.

"Youre being so silent," Blaine interrupted him after their tea and cake had arrived and hed politely shooed James out of the room with a pleading look and an apologetic smile. "And youve been biting your lip all that time, so Im just going to assume you werent lost in happy thoughts."

"Not really, no," Kurt chuckled, not surprised when it came out more bitter than hed intended it to. Blaine just looked at him, brow furrowed in concern before he slowly and very deliberately put his cup back down on the saucer.

"I dont mean to pry, feel free to tell me off if you dont want to talk about it," he began, eyes fixed on Kurts and oh so beautifully earnest and kind. "But would you mind telling me more about your world? Ive always been curious about what else is out there, outside of the boundaries of our lands and kingdoms. I want to better understand what youve told me earlier. And, most importantly, I want to know how this world managed to treat someone as bright and shining as you so unkindly."

Kurt couldnt help but blush at the compliment, praying in vain that Blaine wouldnt notice the pink in his cheeks. "Thats very kind of you, but you dont have to say that. Im not shining. Not yet." He smiled at all the plans hed made for the future, the ones that would hopefully come true soon when he found his way back and was finally free to leave his oppressing home town. "But whatever you want to know, just ask. Ill do my best to satisfy your curiosity."

What Kurt hadnt expected was the flood of questions that followed this statement. Blaine wanted to know literally everything. How their society worked, how many countries there were, who was governing them, means of travel and communication and their hows and whys. He wanted to know about the education Kurt had received and how representative it was of what most children and adolescents in his world received. He wanted to know about the role of royalty and the currency and economy, about wars and hunger and diseases and human rights.

Somehow Blaine even managed to weave questions about Kurts family and friends into the sometimes very arbitrary succession of topics. He asked about Kurts plans for the future once he thought hed understood the basic workings of his world and Kurt felt his breath catch in his throat when Blaine looked just as fascinated and interested in anything Kurt had to say about himself and his admittedly rather boring life (so far) than he did in the complicated workings of the globalized, modern day society hed described.

Kurt was well aware that he sometimes got a little absorbed in his explanations, that he gesticulated too dramatically, spoke too high-pitched or too quickly, jumped from thought to thought. Even his own family had often had to tell him to slow down and take a deep breath and his uncle Connor had never been afraid to not-so-subtly switch the topic when Kurts descriptions got out of hand. He often lost people at some point in conversation, but Blaine just sat there and listened and looked so very attentive, like he was absorbing every word, like anything Kurt had to say was the single most interesting fact hed ever come across. In all honesty, it was almost more unsettling than someone just plainly interrupting him and Kurt had no idea how to deal with it.

Hed talked so much that the tea was long gone and the stars were shining bright from where he could see them, his mouth feeling parched and like it was filled with cotton when he finally stopped. Even his arms started to feel tired from all the gesticulating hed done, the images hed tried to draw into the air for Blaine as he explained. For someone whod grown up knowing nothing else it was really difficult to describe things that, for him, were almost as natural as breathing to someone whod never seen anything like it, or even close to it. How did you explain the workings of a television or a computer to someone who had a hard time imagining electricity? By the time Blaines endless curiosity was satisfied enough for the day Kurt was almost exhausted from just sitting around in a comfortable chair by a warm fire and talking to someone with that person really listening for the first time in quite a while.

"Oh my, Im so sorry, Kurt!" Blaine gasped as he took a look out of the window, looking like he only now noticed how late it had gotten and how long theyd been talking. Or rather, how long hed asked questions and Kurt had answered them extensively. "I shouldnt have kept you up with my nagging questions for so long after the day you had. Excuse my inconsideration, I promise Ill make it up to you tomorrow. You can ask me all the questions youd like then, if you want to."

"Id like that," Kurt said quietly, a shy smile tugging at his lips as he looked over at Blaine and their gazes locked. It took him a while to notice that someone else had entered the room, even though he was facing the door. Assuming it would be James asking if they wanted to leave for their chambers now, Kurt only spared the door a quick glance out of the corner of his eye, until there was a flash of what was clearly the finest silk hed ever seen in his line of vision. His eyes shot up to fully take in who had interrupted them- and his breath hitched in his throat, a loud, echoing gasp escaping him as his heart stuttered in his chest.

Standing in the doorway was no one else than his favorite fairytale princess, his friend and companion of lonely, misunderstood childhood and sometimes adolescent days, the one story that would always leave him feel warm and at home no matter how many times hed read it. He probably should have figured out that it wasnt unlikely to come across her here since he was in the Charming Palace, after all, but somehow the thought had never occurred to him. It was only when Blaine was right next to him, his warm hand wrapped around Kurts arm and his worried voice sounding a little distant in his ears although he was standing so close, that the thought occurred to Kurt that it might be a bit counterproductive and moreover undignified to suffocate in front of Queen Cinderella of all people.

"Blaine, my dear. Whos your guest?" she asked, smiling at Kurt and well, maybe starting to breathe again wasnt quite as easy as hed thought it was.

"Aunt Ella, thats Kurt. He... somewhat involuntarily ended up here? I was just taking a walk in the gardens when I saw him literally fall from heaven, so of course I tried to catch him. He told me what had happened and how hed come here, so I offered him to accompany me into the castle so he could warm up and eat and drink something to help with the shock. I think we lost track of time, weve been talking for so long. Im sorry I missed dinner."

"Its fine, Blaine," she chuckled, sending another smile Kurts way, an elegant brow raised. "He fell from the sky, you said?"

"Yes, he did. Well, you see, Kurts... out of this world. Quite literally and in every sense of the word." Blaine grinned at Kurt, briefly tightening the loose grip on his arm.

"Out of this world, so." In a whirl of rustling, shimmering silk she strode over to them, delicately sitting down on Blaines recently vacated seat and looking at them both expectantly, expression still friendly and inviting but a lot more intrigued now. "Kurt, you wouldnt happen to know a certain pair of siblings named Alex and Connor, would you?"

"I-" Kurt was distracted for a moment by the flickering light of the flames reflected by Cinderellas hair, trying to process the fact that she seemed to know his mother and uncle for some reason he couldnt quite fathom. "Yes. Yes. But how do you know them?"

"They came here, much like you did from what Ive heard, quite a while ago. Actually, you remind me a lot of them, though they were much younger when they came here."

"So it was all true," Kurt breathed, eyes wide, unable to grasp the concept in his mind. All the stories hed heard, about twins falling into a book when they were just kids? All those adventures, theyd actually been real? And theyd happened to his mother and uncle? He felt like he was less than a second away from hyperventilating and collapsing into his chair, in true drama fashion. How was this his life? He was just Kurt Hummel, the boy everyone mocked and loved to torture, son of a bookstore owner and a successful lawyer. If his parents had gone on adventures in the fairytale world, shouldnt his own life have been a little more adventurous as well? A little more exciting? Though he supposed falling through a magic book that was a family heirloom and chatting with Cinderella and an actual Prince Charming was at least a step in the right direction.

It was Cinderellas quiet laughter that shook him out of his scrambled thoughts. "I knew you looked familiar. Somehow, I dont have the impression youre Connors son. Am I right?"

"Yes, yes you are," Kurt choked out, still a little breathless from this last revelation. "Alex is my mother."

"Did they ever tell you what happened here?"

"Yes, they did. But they didnt tell me it happened to them. They just... told it like a... like a fairytale," Kurt said, chuckling at the irony behind the words. Cinderella and Blaine smiled at him, seeming to get the joke as well.

"What happened to them when they got back? How are they?" So Kurt told her, trying to keep this conversation shorter than the one hed led with Blaine because the events of the day caught up with him at last and he felt like he was two seconds away from falling asleep on his childhood idol. Only Blaines warm, reassuring hand kept him grounded in the waking world long enough for James to bring them another tea that thankfully helped him wake up a bit again.

"But how do I get back home now?" Kurt wondered aloud after taking his last sip, setting the expensive porcelain back down on the saucer carefully. Theyd been drinking in pensive silence until then. "Do I really need to set out and collect all those objects?"

"I fear that wont be an option, Kurt," Cinderella sighed, setting her cup down as well. "As far as I know, the Wishing Spell can only be used twice."

"But how will I get home then? I cant just stay here forever, everyone at home will be worried sick!"

"Well, my best guess is that youll have to return the same way your mother and her brother did. Youll have to find the Fairy Godmother and ask her to take you back."

"It shouldnt be too difficult to convince her," Blaine threw in, gently squeezing Kurts shoulder where he was still standing next to him. "Im sure shell gladly help you."

Cinderella nodded. "The difficult part will be finding her, I fear."

"Is she even here right now?" Kurt asked, feeling the panic rise back to the surface. "What if shes at the other end of the world and doesnt come back here for weeks?"

"Even is she isnt here, shouldnt the Fairy Council be able to contact her somehow?" Blaine inquired, eyebrows furrowed.

"Im not sure if it works like that. But I think visiting the Fairy Kingdom might be your best shot."

"I could accompany Kurt," Blaine offered, deliberately avoiding his aunts eyes. Before any of them could react to his statement, the door opened again and once more, Kurts breath caught in his throat. The man entering looked so much like Blaine Kurt didnt even have to ask to know who it was. He seemed to have literally just stumbled out of the pages of Kurts favorite fairytale, or maybe the screen of a Disney movie.

"Ive heard we have a guest. Why did no one invite me to join your cozy little round?" he asked, eyebrow quirked but smiling in a way that made it clear that he wasnt really upset.

"Im sorry, Dad, I guess we didnt think of it. This is Kurt," Blaine offered him a warm smile before he turned to face his father again.

"Hes Alexs son," Cinderella threw in.

"Alex as in Alex and Connor?"

"The very same."

Kurt could actually see the kings eyes light up at that bit of information. He squirmed a bit in his seat when their gaze turned on him, feeling like he was being examined under a magnifying glass.

"Dad, stop it, youre making him uncomfortable," Blaine whispered, rolling his eyes at his father.

"Im sure hell survive." With a few long strides, the king had crossed the distance between them and held out his hand for Kurt to shake. "Its a pleasure to meet you, Kurt. Just call me Charlie. And may I say, you look quite a bit like your mother."

"Ch- Charlie? Charlie Charming, as in Froggy? Ive heard so much about you, Ive always wanted to meet you!" Kurt cried out, eagerly taking the offered hand. He was almost vibrating in his seat with nervous energy, way past the point of caring that he was behaving like a screaming fangirl. He couldnt even remember how hed held back from doing the exact same thing when Cinderella had first walked into the room.

"The very same," Charlie laughed, good-naturedly shaking Kurts hand and acting as if he didnt notice Kurts wide-eyed staring. "I hope you only heard good things."

"The very best, in fact," Kurt chuckled, forcing himself to let go off the hand gripped in his after what was probably a little longer than what was deemed appropriate.

"Glad to hear it. So I figure Alex and Connor are fine?" And so Kurt slipped into another retelling of his mothers and uncles lives, but this time around he didnt mind the minutes passing by at all. After all, the company just kept getting better and better, so it was more than worth the little sacrifice. Charlie looked determined by the time Kurt had finished his story with how hed ended up here (he might or might not have edited out the parts where Karofsky forced a kiss on him, though; that was not information he needed to share with everyone around him).

"Yes, I guess it would be best if you set out for the Fairy Kingdom as quickly as you can. You should rest tonight and Ill let the servants know to prepare everything for your departure tomorrow. Blaine, I think itll be a good idea if you accompany Kurt, though Ill have to talk it through with your mother."

"Do you really think thats necessary, Dad?" Blaine asked, suddenly shifting nervously on his feet where he was still standing next to Kurt. "Im sure she wouldnt mind if I just-"

"Blaine Devon Charming," Charlie said, voice low and arms crossed threateningly over his chest. The only hints betraying his somber appearance were the quirked eyebrow and the beginning of a grin tugging at his lips. "Are you asking me to lie to your mother?"

"No! Just... Omit the truth for a while? Please, Dad, you know shed want to come along and you know how she is. She wouldnt leave Kurt alone for a minute and I dont think thats what he needs right now."

"Well... Im sure shes already gone to bed for the night. How about I dont wake her to ask her tonight and you leave early tomorrow?" Charlie winked at his son, shooting Kurt a playful smirk.

"That sounds like a deal to me," Blaine laughed, quickly shaking his fathers hand in a business-like manner. Kurt watched their interaction raptly, only then realizing that the perfect, kind-hearted, painfully gorgeous prince hed spent all evening and most of the night talking to was not only related to Cinderella on some level, but also the son of his favorite fairytale prince. He definitely knew what hed be asking Blaine about tomorrow now.

It was silent for a while after their chuckles had ceased, the quiet only broken by a loud yawn from Kurt, who hid his face behind his hands in embarrassment once it registered what hed just done - and, most importantly, who hed done it in front of.

"Looks like our guest really should be led to his chamber," Charlie laughed, waving over one of the servants and giving him directions Kurt barely could bring himself to listen to. Stumbling a little when he got out of his seat, he simply followed the woman after having said his goodbyes to the royal family, not even really taking the time to admire his room before he let himself fall face-first into the soft, heavenly bed. Now that he finally had a comfortable place to rest, exhaustion rolled over him in waves, pulling him under hard enough that he didnt even care that he was falling asleep fully clothed (he hadnt even removed his shoes!) and without any semblance of a skin care routine or even brushing his teeth. He just surrendered himself to sleep, hoping this wouldnt just turn out to be a really weird, vivid dream in the morning.

Because it was by far the most exciting and terrifying thing that had happened to him so far in his life and even if that made him more than just a bit crazy, he felt like he needed it badly. He was aware of the dangers lurking everywhere, the obstacles on his way home, but he didnt really care in face of the thrum of life in his veins, screaming for the adventure. Kurt Hummel was ready to face whatever this world would throw at him, just as hed always held his ground in his own. And with that reassuring thought, he finally let go and just let his body catch up on much-needed sleep.