Kurt sighed softly and rolled over in the puffy cloud of blankets and pillows, absently patting the empty space beside him and frowning when he realized that Blaine was no longer curled up beside him. He cracked open his eyes and found the other boy standing by his bedside, fully dressed in his military uniform.

Kurt sat up, letting the silken sheets pool around his naked hips and stared at the startlingly handsome man before him. 

Blaine was still, allowing Kurt to fully drink him in. He was dressed in fitted white slacks with a thick gold stripe running of the side of each leg. His boots were a soft brown, laced to mid-calf, and looked comfortable, but sturdy. A forest green jacket with gold buttons hugged Blaine’s torso well, molding effortlessly around his waist, arms, and shoulders. Dozens of pins and small ribbons adorned the left side of the jacket, and a golden sash decorated with a white ribbon of honor, worn by royals in the King’s army, completed the ensemble.

“Do I look okay?” Blaine asked nervously, holding up his arms and eyeing himself critically one more time to make sure that everything was in place.

Kurt smiled. “You look so regal,” he said. “And handsome.”

Blaine grinned and leaned forward to press a kiss to Kurt’s lips. “So do you,” he whispered against the other boy’s mouth.

“Mmm,” Kurt sighed, grabbing onto the collar of Blaine’s coat to pull him closer. “I know we don’t have time, but let it be known that there is nothing I would rather do right now than pull you back into this bed and ravish you all day.”

Blaine chuckled and pulled back, taking Kurt’s hand in his.

“Will you accompany me to the Grand Hall for the official departure?” Blaine asked, a gentle sadness creeping into his loving gaze. Kurt bit his lip and looked out the window at the sky that was orange with the approaching dawn.

Struggling out from underneath the covers, Kurt nodded and Blaine gathered his clothes for him, which were scattered around the bed.

Before they left the room, Blaine buckled a golden belt around his middle and attached the glittering hilt of a sword to it. Then he slid his hands into thin, white gloves and entwined the fingers of one gloved hand between Kurt’s bare ones.

“Duke Finn told me that our mission won’t last much longer than a month,” Blaine said, convinced that if he filled the silence with words, it would make this moment less heartbreaking. 

“Carmel is at a large disadvantage, numbers wise, now with the aid of McKinley along the way, so do not worry that we will come out of this without a victory,” he continued, moving his thumb in smooth circles on Kurt’s hand. “I will return to you as soon as I can.”

Before the couple rounded the corner and entered the Grand Hall, Kurt pulled Blaine towards a small, enclosed space that was hidden from view.

“Make me proud,” Kurt whispered in the fading darkness of the buzzing castle. The clink of armor and rustle of footsteps echoed towards them from a short distance away as hundreds of men gathered in the Grand Hall and the adjoining courtyard, preparing to leave. 

Kurt pressed a short kiss to Blaine’s lips, which Blaine leaned into readily.

“A kiss for good luck,” Kurt whispered, kissing Blaine again. Blaine sighed contentedly.

“A kiss for confidence.”

He kissed him again.

“A kiss for goodbye.”

One last kiss, and then the two boys parted at last and entered the bustling, crowded Hall.

Letting go of Blaine’s hand, he locked eyes with him and tried to communicate all of the love he held inside his soul for him before he was swallowed by the crowd of men wearing identical green coats and several dozen scurrying royals.

He found Rachel standing by the edge of the room with the Queen, who he knew was privy to the secret world he and Blaine and Rachel lived in. They exchanged polite smiles and then Kurt stood close to Rachel, both to offer her comfort, and also so that they could speak without having to raise their voices over the din.

“Why are you crying?” Kurt asked, taking note of the thin trail of tears marking his sister’s pretty, rosy cheeks.

“I’m just so worried for Finn,” sniffled Rachel, glancing over at her older brother with red rimmed eyes. “Blaine, too. Aren’t you?”

“Of course,” Kurt said, furrowing his brow and standing on the tip of his toes, hoping to spot the familiar head of dark curly hair in the crowd for one last glimpse, but to no avail. “Finn and Blaine are strong, though. They’re smart, and they know what they’re doing. They’ll return to us before you know it.”

Rachel didn’t look very convinced, but she nodded anyway, dabbing at her face with the ivory sleeve of her gown.

“And when they return, everything will settle where it is meant to, and we will finally get to live happily ever after, with the person we truly love.”

Rachel smiled kindly at her brother and placed her hand in the crook of his arm, leaning her head of long, dark tresses onto his shoulder.

“You are the dearest brother a girl could ever ask for,” she said, grinning up at him with eyes that sparkled like the sun. “You deserve happiness, Kurt.”

A quartet of trumpets blared before Kurt could respond and the Hall quickly began to empty out, the thick crowd of men marching towards the training fields to mount their horses or begin their travel on foot. Kurt and Rachel stood in the grand emptiness of the Hall, filled now only with a few dwindling royals. Even the Queen had disappeared, probably to her husband’s side.

Kurt wondered where the King and his team of military strategists spent their time during a war. He imagined a large table strewn with crumpled papers and rough sketches, surrounded by men speaking of tactics and plans in low murmurs, their eyes serious and focused on the task in front of them.

Kurt wondered if he would ever see his own warrior Prince do such a thing. He hoped not, for he prayed that when they reigned together someday, it would be a time of peace and acceptance. Acceptance throughout, at last.

Sighing forlornly, Kurt stood faithfully by Rachel’s side as the siblings stood alone in the deserted Hall that had been full to bursting not moments ago.

He’s gone, Kurt thought to himself, staring blankly at the space around him. He’s really gone now.

“They will return,” Rachel said, mostly to herself, but Kurt felt as if she were answering his own thoughts.

Finally, Kurt allowed Rachel to drag him down to the kitchens for breakfast, as a formal arrangement would not be available that day due to the circumstances. But, Kurt couldn’t eat, because suddenly his mind was so full of thoughts that he felt as if his brain would burst.

He thought of Blaine huddled against a fire for warmth with nothing but a thin tent to protect him from the weather. He thought of him sloshing around in the rain and mud, covered in grime and absolutely miserable. He thought of him rearing backwards on his horse in a frantic effort to retreat from a fiery explosion. He thought of him engaged in battle, barely escaping the flashing silver of an opponent’s sword.

He thought of the danger that surrounded the love of his life, growing stronger as Blaine’s fleet of men got closer to the enemy, hanging like a dark cloud over his head. Kurt bit back a whimper, and did his best to retain his regal composure, remaining strong and proud on the outside while a worrisome monster wrecked havoc on his insides.