Chapter 47

A/n: plot twist! *evil laugh* (Hey Ashley)

I was planning to post this yesterday as it was my 17th birthday yesterday, yay! But I ran out of time, so today it is. Due to popular demand I tried to make this chapter a little longer. Thank you to everyone who reviewed!.......ignore typos.

"Remind me what the point of that was?" Craig asked as he and Cas made their way back inside the huge glass double doors. The fires were burning all around the Palace but the hallways were still cold, "It's freezing out there!"

"Well if Blaine feels like we're drifting apart he's going to take it out on Kurt," Cassy told him pointedly, rubbing her hands together in attempt to create warmth from the friction.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Cassy paused and put on a huge fake grin, raising the pitch of her voice considerably, "I've been fooling dear Blainey boy for almost a year now. He thinks we're best friends, " her voice dropped back to normal again with a chilling grin, "I know the kid."

"But the governors didn't say anything about doing this," Craig pointed out, brushing his hair from his eyes.

"Look, everything they've told us to do so far as only brought Kurt and that little curly haired brat closer. Do you want Blaine out of the picture or not?" Cas asked, annoyance filtering into her tone.

"Of course. But the governors brought me into the picture because you haven't managed it yet," Craig smirked, shoving Cassy to the side.

"Yes, because I've been following their intrusions," Cassy gave him a powerful shove back, "Now it's time to try it my way."

"Hey, the cakes were my idea," Craig reminded her, raising an eyebrow as their boots fell heavily on the marble hall floor.

"You wouldn't be able to execute the plan without me though would you?"

"Well...no but..."

"Exactly, so shut up."

"Why are you so cranky?" Craig screwed up his nose.

"Because I'm cold, let's find a fire."

"Fine...are sure that potion is strong enough?" Craig hinted as they walked around the corner.

"We don't wanna make it any stronger. We don't want to kill Blaine just knock him out, that way we have his life as leverage against Kurt."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few days later Kurt sent Blaine out for the day with a tub of his favorite pasta salad and a pocket full of silver. Partly to get him out of the way while he did a little preparation for the slaves birthday and partly because he hoped it might cheer him up a bit. He was still acting weird and distant and the Prince was starting to get fed up of fighting with him to get an ounce of conversation. Blaine was just too much of a stubborn fool to admit that there was something bothering him. A crash from the kitchen sent the Prince running around the corner, to see Cassy with flour up to her elbows in flour.

"Cas, what are you doing?" Kurt raised an eyebrow.

"Oh. Er...Prince Kurt, I hope its okay I was...I was just trying to bake...bake something for Craig, " Cas replied, blushing red, "I'm not exactly a skilled baker."

Kurt laughed, "I was actually coming in to bake a cake for Blaine's birthday.

"Oh, well great minds think alike...do you think you could maybe, er, give me a hand? He's been so helpful I just want it to say thank you and...well I think it would be better if it were edible. "

"What are you trying to make?"

"He mentioned how much he loved apple pie the other day..."

"Sound's like fun," Kurt agreed, "Wanna help me bake the cake too?"

'Er, is that a good idea?" Cas gave an awkward laugh.

"I'm sure it'll be fine, " Kurt smiled, rolling up his sleeves.

"You know it would be cute if you made eighteen cupcakes instead of one large one," Cassy offered.

"That does sound nice...maybe a large one and eighteen little ones too. I want to spoil him," Kurt winked, helping Cassy to get some of the flour off her arms.

"You always spoil him."

"Only because I can," Kurt laughed, "Let me wash my hands and we can get started."

"Okay," Cassy tapped the small glass bottle in her pocket while the Prince's back was turned, "Then help me with the pastry?"

"And then help you with the pastry. "

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blaine had been walking around the market for most of the day, looking at the pretty trinkets and silk clothes for sale. He'd never really been able to enjoy the bustling of the market before , not with a pair of shackles wrapped around his ankles. The smell of hot food from stalls covered the scene like a blanket and there was a constant buzz of laughter and talk even though it was cold. Blaine was wrapped up in a thick puffy red coat, heavy winter boots and fluffy purple gloves, but his cheeks were still numb and frozen.

"Umm...excuse me?" Blaine felt a light tugging at his sleeve, "Sir? Down here."

A small boy with sandy brown hair and green eyes shivered beside him in a dirty tee and jeans.

"What's up little buddy?" Blaine smiled, crouching so he was an appropriate height.

"Do you have any s-sspare change?"

The boy looked terrified and stared at his grubby bare feet.

"My Daddy is s-sick and my mommy doesn't have enough money to by the med-medicine to make him better."

Blaine reached into his pocket without a second thought, pulling out a handful of silver and gold coins, "Here, this should be enough to buy what you need...and possibly some shoes."

The boy blushed and laughed, "Th-thank you Sir. "

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Oh my God, these smell so good," Cassy groaned has Kurt pulled out eighteen perfectly baked fluffy cupcakes from the oven an hour later.

Kurt laughed, "Where's your pie?"

"Need's fifteen minutes longer," Cas told him, licking her thumb and wiping a smudge of batter from Kurt's cheek.

"Ew, wash your hands, " Kurt flapped her away, "Wanna help me decorate them?"

"Of course, how do you wanna do it?" Cassy asked, strolling over to the sink.

"Well I was going to cut numbers out of fondant from one to eighteen," Kurt smiled.

"Aw, and Blaine has to have number eighteen of course, " Cassy replied, turning her head away from the running water and soap to look at him.

"Of course, it's the rule, " Kurt smiled, bending over to look in the cupboard, "But what color should the icing be?"

"Do each a different one?" Cassy suggested, drying her hands and walking back over to the counter.

"That would be awesome, lots of washing up to do though...We'd need a different bowl for each color of icing."

"I'll help. What's Blaine's favorite color?" Cassy asked, reaching into the cupboard above her on her tippytoes to take down some small bowls.

Kurt placed each tiny bottle of food coloring on the counter, red, blue, and yellow, "Light blue."

"So we can do the eighteenth cupcake that color. I'll do that one," Cas, grabbed the blue coloring and a bowl.

"Okay, I'll start with number one," Kurt agreed.

A light silence covered the kitchen as the two started added different amounts of food coloring to get the desired color, Kurt didn't notice the single drop of silver liquid Cassy discretely added to Blaine's birthday cupcake.

"How much longer till the bigger cake is baked?"

"Another twenty minutes."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey...Hello? Earth to Blaine, Earth to Blaine.",

"Me?" Blaine looked up, numb from cold and exhausted from exploring all day.

"Yes you. Who did you think I was talking to?" Cassy giggled.

"I don't know, " Blaine mumbled, looking at the floor, "What's up?"

"Have you seen Craig?" Cas asked, cheeks flushed and twirling her hair around her index finger.

"No," Blaine replied through tight lips, "I've been out all day."

"Oh well if you see him let him know... I'm missing him," The blond girl smiled, her pink wings fluttering behind her in the cold.

Blaine chewed the inside of his cheek, "Anything else?"

"Nope, that's it. See you around Blainey," Cassy smiled,scrunching up her face before she turned on the heel of her thick winter boots and walked away back across the garden.

Blaine's hands turned to fits in his gloves for a moment before tears sprang to his eyes and he blinked furiously to clear them, pretty sure they would turn to ice on his cheek if they escaped. He let out a long breath, watching as it turned into dragons breath and floated up higher in the sky. What did Craig have that he didn't anyway? Why couldn't Cassy be friends with him as well as being with that idiot. He bet that it was Craig's fault. He'd probably asked Cas to stay away from him, or told her something untrue about him. This was so unfair. Blaine had always been a good friend. Why should he lose someone so important to him just because Craig didn't want to...well to share? He was perfectly capable of being friends with Cassy and being with Kurt at the same time. Why did they have to be any different?

"Stupid...blonde..." Blaine muttered, walking inside and kicking off his boots and outerwear as the feeling started to return to his cheeks. He didn't realize where he was going until he opened the door to his and Kurt's room to find the Prince lying on the bed ticking things off in a small yellow notebook, that he quickly closed when the smaller boy entered.

"Hey Blaine, how was...oh."
The Slave fell directly into Kurt's arms, burying his frozen face into the crook of the Prince's neck

"Holy crap, you're freezing!" Kurt exclaimed, wrapping his arm around Blaine's shoulder, "Are you okay?"

"What's so good about Craig anyway?" Was the reply Kurt received, quiet and mumbled into his shirt through chattering lips.

Kurt frowned, tugging Blaine closer to him in an attempt to warm him up, "Craig?"

"Cas is my friend not his," Blaine continued, clinging to Kurt.

Kurt chewed his lip, "It's about time to told me what was going on," he said gently, running a hand through Blaine's hair.

"M' sorry," Blaine shrugged, "It just sounded...so stupid in my head."

"That you're scared of losing your best friend?" Kurt questioned, "That's not stupid at all."

"I was thinking more along the lines that I was jealous of her boyfriend," Blaine admitted.

Kurt paused, "Well," he said slowly, "Wasn't Cassy kinda jealous of me when we first started...being together?"

"Hmm, yeah I guess so," Blaine recalled, "I didn't think of that."

"Surprise, surprise," Kurt smiled into Blaine's hair.

"What's that meant to mean?"

"Oh nothing...nothing," Kurt trailed off innocently, "I love you."

"I love you too," Blaine pressed a kiss to the crook of Kurt's neck, "So...what did you get up to today?"

"Hm, not much..." Kurt lied easily with a shrug, "I hung out with Cassy for an hour or two actually...Jealous?"

"Insanely," Blaine rolled his eyes, "What did you do?"

"Hmm, not much. Just chatted. Then she got whisked away by Craig."

"Urgh...What kind of name is Craig anyway?" Blaine spat, "He's not even that good looking."
"Not my type. I prefer short, dark and curly," Kurt giggled.

Blaine raised his head, "Are you making fun of my height? Again?"

"No, no...not at all..." Kurt looked away.

"You're so mean," Blaine stuck out his tongue.

"You're so cute."

"I hate you.

"I love you too."

Blaine sighed, resting his weight on one arm so he could reach up and brush his nose against Kurt's, "My heights not a problem when you're around. You can reach the cookie jar on the top shelf for me."

"Ohh, I see. So that's the reason you're keeping me around?" Kurt raised an eyebrow, "Cookies?"

"Obviously," Blaine bit back a smile, "Totally worth putting up with you for."

"Those must be some pretty special cookies then."

"Most definitely, best I've ever tasted. Why else would I wake up next to you everyday?"

"I have nooo idea," Kurt shook his head.

The two paused. Grinning madly at each other.

"We're mad," Kurt shook his head, settling further down into the mattress.

"Only the best people are," Blaine replied, snuggling into his boyfriends chest.

Kurt sighed, playing with Blaine's curls, "Are you excited for your birthday?"
"Um, I'm curious."
"About what?"

"What you've got planned," Blaine replied with a large yawn.

Kurt mirrored the yawn, "Who says I've planned anything?"

"Oh please, you think I don't know you after all this time?" Blaine teased.

"What do you know?"

"I know that you're completely unpredictable," Blaine yawned again, Kurt following close behind.

....................................................................

Out the door.

Turn left.

Twenty steps forward.

Down the stairs.

Turn right.

Thirty five steps forward.

Turn left.

Three steps forward.

Turn left.

Fifty six steps forward.

Stop.

P.s. Steps may vary due to leg length

P.p.s. I love you

Blaine stared down at the note through blurry eyes. He'd just woken up to a room empty apart from a small red love heart that contained these instructions. He frowned a tiny bit. He hadn't expected to wake up on his birthday to an empty room, but it was obviously all part of Kurt's plan as an alarm had been what woke him up. So he put the note down, took a shower and dressed in something he felt was not too smart and not too casual as he didn't know what the day would hold. He ended up in a royal blue shirt, the same color as his boyfriends wings, and a pair of dark jeans that Kurt had complimented the other day. On his way out the door, with instructions in hand and hair carefully styled (as best he could with these crazy curls), he grabbed a gold bowtie on his way out to complete the outfit.

He was so busy counting his steps that he didn't realize how dark it was outside until he looked up, where he was sure he was meant to 'stop.' He had also forgotten how cold it was and as soon as he was still it hit him in a gust of freezing wind. He guessed it must be the early hours of the morning, no more than four, causing his mind to wonder about all of the things Kurt could possibly have planned at this time of day. He was stood in the middle of the garden, in front of him was a large shrub, neatly kept, blocking his view of anything else. Not that he could see much anyway, the only light came from the full moon and stars above in the clear sky. Undoubtedly beautiful, but the missing smokey clouds just making the temperature even lower.

"Hey," A soft voice came up behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist, "Happy Birthday," was whispered in his ear and he shivered from the contrast of hot breath and freezing air.

"What-?"

"Shh," Kurt soothed, "Trust me. You're going to love this."

The Prince tried to keep his voice soft but Blaine could hear the excitement leaking through, and he smiled.

"Okay."

"Good," Kurt pressed a few kisses to Blaine's neck and cheek before he stepped away, leaving Blaine to feel as cold as ever. He considered requesting going to get his coat but decided against it, it was was obvious how hard Kurt had worked to put this together, and if Kurt wanted quiet then quiet he would get.

"Close your eyes," Kurt whispered, slipping his hand into the slaves, "And come with me."

Blaine obeyed, excitement growing with every step Kurt lead him away (which wasn't very far.) Blaine guessed to the other side of the shrub. He could hear a familiar sound but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was as he shivered. Curiosity burned inside him but he was his eyes closed (he knew Kurt wouldn't refrain from messing up his hair as punishment, even if it was his birthday.)

"Still closed?" Kurt checked, squeezing Blaine's hand.

Blaine squeezed back, "Mmhmm."

"Okay, I'll be two seconds, " Kurt promised, his hand leaving Blaine's, "...don't look yet."

Feet crunch over frost bitten grass for a few steps before grass music started playing, soft and soothing. Something like paper rustled for a moment or two before Kurt spoke again.

"Okay, open your eyes birthday boy."

"Kurt. Oh my God."