This story is mainly about finding your own happiness, but it's not the typical rom-com fic. In fact it has a bit of fantasy, so I'm kind of nervous about it. I suck at summaries so I apologize in advance for the summary of this fic, but I didn't know how to write it without giving away the main plot. I think it's better when you guys discover the story through the chapters. Anyways, I tried to use mostly S2 Kurt's canon story, but since some of the events I used for the story didn't happen in the order or way I used them, I changed them a bit to fit the timeline and plot of the fic. I really hope you like it and please don't forget to fav, share and review! This is the first time that I write something like this, so I don't know what you guys are going to think.
General Warnings: There's a bit of angst in Kurt's storyline, but nothing very descriptive.
Disclaimer: I do not own Kurt, Blaine or any of the characters mentioned in this story. The story was slightly based on the parallel world used in the book, Stravaganza: The city of masks, by Mary Hoffman.
Prologue
In a tower at the far end side of a palace, four men were seated around a small table covered in black silk. The oldest man of the four, known for his ability in card reading, methodically placed twelve cards next to the other until he made what looked like a strange rhombus.
"Weird," he murmured.
With trembling hands he placed a thirteenth card in the middle of the set. A few weeks ago, he had dealt a similar pattern, not the same, but very close.
"Very weird," he murmured again.
The rest of the men gathered there, leaned over to look at the cards displayed on the table and shrugged. They didn't know how to read cards, but they knew that when Signor Raymond was frowning while reading his precious cards, something wasn't right.
"What is it?" One of them asked intrigued. His blond hair was gleaming in the candlelight.
Raymond frowned without looking up. His eyes were still fixed on the cards he had in front of him. The card in the middle—the most important one—was the Sword, meaning danger. Great danger. Raymond was used to that particular card setting the tone of some of his readings. It was not a surprise either to see the King of Water as the seventh card to the right of the Sword. Danger often appeared next to the Royal family, and the King of Water card was obviously representing Richard Anderson, the King of the Kingdom. But the Prince of Air was the card to the left of the Sword, and he had no idea what that card could mean. Last month that card had been the Wheel of Fortune.
It was the oddest reading he had ever seen. The only number cards to appear were fours, all four of them, one from each element—Water, Fire, Wind and Earth. They were placed on either side of the King and the Prince. All the other cards were major arcanas—the Lovers, the Magician, the Hanged Man, the Tower, the Moon and most disturbingly, Death.
"Ray?" The man with blond hair asked again.
Raymond looked at the array for a very long time before sweeping the cards up, shuffling them thoroughly and setting them out again. King of Water, Four of Fire, the Lovers, the Magician…by the time he set the Sword in the middle, Raymond's hands were shaking badly. He had dealt exactly the same pattern.
Hastily, he swept the cards up again and wrapped them in the black silk. The other men exchanged concerned looks while Raymond stowed the cards in a drawer and took out a red velvet bag containing glass stones. Closing his eyes, Raymond put a hand in the bag and drew out a handful of stones, and cast them lightly on the table. The stones glittered under the moonlight.
Each piece of shining glass had a silver hieroglyph engraved in the middle. Frowning, Raymond identified a crown, a heart, a mask, the number 16...a book. He jumped when he saw the book.
Stunned, he stood up and glanced to the other men in the table. "I don't like this." He said, sharing his concern.
"Evidently." One of the men replied sardonically. He didn't like the art of card reading, but one of his best friends was a true believer and his other friend, well, he was always curious about everything.
"What's in the cards?" The blond man asked curiously.
Raymond didn't reply and instead, walked to one of the cabinets there and took a pair of twelve-sided dice. He threw them, six and ten, eight and eight, seven and nine—whatever he looked tonight the number sixteen kept coming up. That and the symbols of a young man and danger. Whatever it meant, it was linked to the King or the entire Royal family, and he would have to tell them all about it. Knowing Richard, he knew it was a long shot. The King didn't pay much attention to the significance of his divinations, however, his youngest son, who was seated at the table, was a true believer.
'Is he involved in all of this?' He thought to himself. After all the Prince of Air could be him, his brother or any young man for that matter.
"Ray what is it? Tell us! You're scaring us!" The last man, the one with the curly dark hair asked, looking at the old man with desperate eyes. He wanted an answer, and he wanted it now.
Raymond took a deep breath. "Danger, Blaine...I see great danger."
Blaine looked at the other two men and gulped. If Raymond was talking about something his cards had told him, then, he wasn't kidding and this was serious. Blaine had no doubt about it.
"Who's in danger?" He asked worriedly.
"I don't know." Raymond shrugged. 'You? Your family? The entire Kingdom? A young boy?' He thought to himself. Sometimes he wished his cards could give him all the answers, but unfortunately, they couldn't. So for now, he would have to let it go and be aware of what could happen. After all, the future was always uncertain. Predictable, but uncertain.
Chapter 1
Kurt was running desperately to his car. Pushing his way through the flood of students who walked around the halls of the William McKinley High School. Adrenaline ran through his veins with every stride he took. He had to escape, he had to run away. What had just happened in the male's dressing room was, simply, the worst experience of his life so far.
Dave Karofsky, his biggest bully and one of the members of the football team, had just kissed him—kissed him. Kurt could still taste the sweaty breath of Dave's mouth against his own, and his body trembled with chills every time he remembered that menacing look the football player had given him before storming out of the dressing room.
'Why me?' He questioned himself.
Tears were all over Kurt's face when he bumped into Ms. Emma Pillsbury, William's McKinley counselor.
"Hey, Kurt! Are you okay?" She asked, noticing the tears running down Kurt's usually pale, but now practically see-through, face.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." He lied.
"Then, why are you crying?" She asked, in her usual sweet and attentive demeanor.
"It's nothing! I hmmm…I have to go!" He said, and ran out of the school.
Kurt still had the Glee rehearsal, but after what had just happened, he simply couldn't stay, so he reached his car and after dropping the keys twice, he managed to get inside and start the engine. He took a few deep breaths and tried to calm his trembling body. He had to arrive home safely and at this point, he wasn't sure if he was going to even make it out of the parking lot without crashing his car against a tree, or some passing-by student.
He looked toward the main entrance of the school just when Ms. Pillsbury was walking out. She looked worried and was standing on her tiptoes looking for someone. Surely looking for him.
"Crap!" Kurt muttered, and with one last deep breath, he put the car in reverse and drove away.
o-o-o-o-o
Half an hour later, when he finally made it to his house, Kurt expected to find an empty and quiet place. His dad was supposed to be at the tire shop, Carole was away for the weekend to visit some relatives, and Finn was still at school. But to his surprise, he found his dad sitting on the couch watching a football game.
"Kurt!" Burt Hummel exclaimed when he first noticed him. "What are you doing here? Didn't you have Glee practice or something?" He asked surprised.
Kurt didn't reply. What could he say to his dad? He knew him so well, so instead of staying there and giving him an answer, he just sobbed loudly and ran up the stairs.
"Kurt! Wait! Why are you crying? What happened?" Burt asked worriedly, following Kurt to his room.
"Nothing dad!" Kurt yelled. "I just need to be alone!" He said, slamming and locking the door behind him.
Completely heartbroken, Kurt dropped his bag on the floor and rushed to his bed, covering his head with a pillow to drown out the sound of his own tears and his dad's desperate knocks on the door. He kept crying for hours, letting out the pain he felt inside with every shed tear, until he eventually fell asleep.
o-o-o-o-o
When Kurt opened his eyes again the first thing he noticed was that he had a blanket around his body and that he was not alone. His dad was there, uncomfortably seated in a chair placed in front of the large bed, and snoring like a bear.
Kurt looked at him with tenderness. His dad was a good man and the greatest dad ever, but this time, Kurt knew he would have to keep the kiss incident to himself. His dad had just recovered from a heart attack a few months ago and he didn't want to worry him with his existential problems. He would have to solve what had happened with Dave all by himself. He was not willing to risk his dad's health just because some stupid Neanderthal couldn't accept the fact that Kurt was gay and proud of it.
"Dad?" Kurt whispered, slightly poking his dad, trying to wake him up. "Wake up dad! Come on! You can't stay there all night! I'm fine, I promise."
Burt opened his eyes and looked at Kurt with sleepy, but still concerned, eyes.
"Really, dad, I'm fine. Go to your bed, I'm okay."
Burt looked at him again, scowling in discontent. He was not pleased with the 'I'm fine' answer, but he knew his son too well to know that tonight he wouldn't get an answer. "Okay, okay, I'll go. But we will talk about what happened to you tomorrow. No excuses, Kurt!"
Kurt smiled reassuringly and nodded, helping his dad to walk out of his room. His mind was already plotting the cover up story he would have to tell in the morning. He hated to lie, but this time, he knew he had to.
"Goodnight, dad." He said.
"Night, kiddo." Burt said, walking away and closing the door behind him.
o-o-o-o-o
The next morning Kurt woke up with a soft smile playing around his lips despite the sadness he felt inside. He already had a complete, and very believable lie ready to tell to his dad as soon as the latter asked him about what had happened the day before.
He took a quick shower and after getting himself ready for school, he went to Finn's room to wake him up. His brother was the laziest teenage on the planet, so naturally, it was Kurt's duty to wake him up every day for school.
"Wake up, Finn! It's time!" Kurt said, kicking the mattress softly.
"Five more minutes." Finn mumbled.
"No! It's time! Come on, wake up!" He said, pulling the covers.
"Kurt!" Finn protested.
"What!? Stop complaining and thank whoever you believe in for having a very nice brother who wakes you up every single morning! Now get up!" Kurt said, trying not to laugh. Sometimes his brother—actually step brother, but he didn't like that label—acted like a toddler.
"Fine! Fine!" Finn muttered with his eyes still closed.
Kurt huffed. "I'm serious, Finn! It's late!" He said, walking out the room just when Finn was dragging himself out of bed.
o-o-o-o-o
When Kurt entered the kitchen, he was not surprised to find his dad already there with his favorite mug of coffee and the newspaper's sports section in hand. Kurt knew that that was Burt's way to start every important conversation.
"Morning, dad!" Kurt said, trying to fake a very enthusiastic smile.
"Good morning, Kurt. I made some breakfast, you want some?" He asked.
It was extremely weird when his dad took care of the kitchen; it was usually Carole or Kurt the ones in charge of making food for everybody. Healthy and edible food.
"Sure, thanks!"
Kurt sat down and started eating the scramble eggs that his dad had managed to prepare without burning them. The awkward silence filled the room as the two men waited for the other to make the first move. After some very long minutes, Burt cleared his throat and Kurt breathed deeply.
'Show time!'
"So…" Burt said, "what happened yesterday? Why were you crying? And don't you dare tell me that nothing happened because you cried for hours, Kurt! Hours! I want to know the truth, young man. Are you having problems at school?"
"No dad, nothing serious happened. It's actually pretty silly now that I think about it."
"Tell me."
"Well…" Kurt said, slowly swallowing his last bite to gain some time, "it's just that I'm having some hmmm, difficulties when trying to reach a note. I've been having these private sessions with Mr. Schue to help me get to it, but I still can't reach it and yesterday, I just kind of…lost control. I reached my breaking point and I just felt overwhelmed by everything. I was frustrated with myself and that's why I cried. You know me, sometimes I'm over-dramatic, but don't worry, it's nothing bad. It's just that I really want to sing that song so badly."
Kurt felt his dad's gaze scrutinizing him. He smiled warmly, trying to reassure his story, but something in the way Burt was looking at him showed that the old man was not completely convinced with that explanation.
"Are you sure it's just that?" Burt asked.
"Yeah, really dad. It's just that."
"Okay, then, try not to worry that much about that stuff, Kurt. I'm sure you'll be able to reach that note. Just don't pressure yourself so much, kiddo."
"I know, dad. Sorry if I worried you…I think I overreacted with the crying, but I'm fine." Kurt lied again.
"Okay, but if you were having other problems you would tell me, wouldn't you? Don't use my condition as an excuse."
"Of course, dad!" Kurt exclaimed. "You'd be the first one to know." He lied again.
"Good."
Burt didn't say another word and Kurt neither. He knew his dad was not completely convinced with the explanation he had given him, but he also knew his dad was the kind of father who respected privacy, and that was something Kurt loved about him.
o-o-o-o-o
The rest of the week flew by and Kurt managed to avoid Karofsky all week. However, on Friday, he was seriously thinking about skipping school completely. He shared three classes with him and there was no way he could get to avoid him all day. English and Math were not a problem, but Biology was. On Fridays, they usually went to the laboratory to make some practices, and Kurt knew that his bad luck had been so in tune during the past few weeks that the odds that he ended up being the lab partner of no other than Dave Karofsky were high. So before leaving for school Kurt approached Finn.
"Finn! Hey!" He said, while his brother was finishing his breakfast. "Would you mind dropping me at the Lima Bean before school?" He asked.
Every Friday Kurt and Finn shared the car to go to school. Since their parents had remarried that had been one of the conditions after letting them have separate rooms. They had to share the ride to school at least one day per week—for bonding purposes, or so they had told them. After hours of discussion they had agreed to do it every Friday because they both had Glee rehearsals and Finn didn't have late night football practices since almost all Fridays were game days, and even though Kurt hated football—or any sport for that matter—he, as the quarterback's brother had to be there. Cheering for the team and his brother, even when half the time, Kurt didn't know if Finn had done something good or bad. That game seriously confused him.
"Aren't you going to school or what?" Finn asked intrigued.
"Yes, but my first class got canceled and I'm in the mood for some Mocha latte. I can walk to school from there." Kurt suggested. His plan was entirely different, he wasn't going to walk to school—he was just going to spend the whole day at some mall until the Glee rehearsal started.
"Okay…yeah." Finn nodded in agreement.
Kurt felt bad about lying to his brother too, but he couldn't tell him about the incident with Dave either because he knew that once Finn knew what had happened, he would tell his dad. And Kurt didn't want that, at least not yet.
"Thanks!" Kurt said, smiling relieved. He had just managed to put in motion his plan to avoid school. He would just have to show up for Glee rehearsals and everything would be fine. He would be fine.
o-o-o-o-o
When Kurt and Finn came back from the Glee rehearsal that day, they found Burt already home. He was waiting for them in the living room. The TV was on, and some local news were echoing through the small room.
"Hey kids! How was school?" Burt asked, as soon as the boys entered the house.
"Fine," Finn replied nonchalantly, "I have a lot of homework, but I'm dead! Mr. Schue made us dance our asses-I mean our bodies off with some mash-up of Michael Jackson and I'm too tired to think." He explained.
"Yeah, that was intense." Kurt said, verifying the story and not wanting to talk about school. He felt exposed just by thinking about it.
"I'm going to take a shower." Finn informed.
"Me too!" Kurt immediately said. He didn't want to stay there with his dad alone. He had been avoiding him all week too.
"Not so fast, Kurt!" Burt said. "I need to talk to you."
Kurt took a deep breath and turned around defeated. He had no option but to take a seat and listen to whatever his dad wanted to tell him.
"Look, kid, though you said you were fine, I know you better than you think and I know you are not. You look sad and you've even worn the same outfit twice this week, and that's not you at all. I know there are things that you can't tell me because it's kind of against the father-teenager set of rules, but I'm worried. I can't help but worry about you, kid."
"I'm fine dad, really." Kurt lied.
"Yeah, okay. Look, I really want to believe you, but try to understand, buddy. You're my son, it's my duty to worry about you."
"I know, dad."
"Okay, so can you promise me that if something bad was happening to you at school or outside school, I would be the first one to know?" Burt asked carefully.
"Of course, dad!" Kurt said, trying to reassure him and feeling terribly bad on the inside for lying so blatantly. He hated to lie to his dad. He really hated it.
"Okay, well…that's good to know. Anyway, today I was running some errands and I found this antique store near Columbus and I saw something that I knew you'd love. Here, this is for you." He said, handing Kurt a small brown paper bag.
Kurt frowned confused and picked up the bag. It was a bit heavy, so Kurt was intrigued with its content, but before he could open it, Burt revealed what it was.
"It's a notebook. I saw it and I liked it. It has this air of fanciness that you like so much and this drawing of an old version of Venice—and I remembered you once said you wanted to visit that city some day, so I thought you would like it. It's not exactly that city, but it looks like it." He explained.
Kurt took out the notebook and held it in his hands with a pretty shocked expression. It was a beautiful notebook with thin pages and a beautiful marbled framed cover in which dark reds and purples threads swirled together in the middle to create some sort of landscape of a floating city. Kurt had to scrunch his eyes a little to get the full picture.
It was amazing, his dad knew him so well. It was a perfect notebook. Beautiful, fancy and unique—just like him.
"It's amazing, dad, I love it!" Kurt exclaimed, excited for the first time in weeks.
"I thought that it could be useful. It has a lot of pages, so maybe you could use it to write your private stuff or sketch those garments designs you're always talking about."
Kurt smiled warmly and hugged his dad. He loved his old man so much and this was, by far, the best gift ever. Sweet and simple, just like he liked them.
"Thank you, dad! It's amazing…you are amazing!"
"You're welcome, kiddo. I hope you really use it! Now, let's go make some dinner…we're running out of time!"
"Sure!" Kurt replied, smiling and putting his brand new notebook inside his bag. It was time to get into his chef persona. After all, Friday night dinners didn't cook by themselves. Someone had to make sure that the chicken wasn't raw or burned, and with Carole still away, Kurt was the only person properly qualified to assume that role in the entire house.
o-o-o-o-o
Several days passed by and in the blink of an eye it was Friday again—the day Kurt hated the most. This time, he was not so lucky and although he skipped school like he had done last week, the thing he was so afraid that could happen finally happened. He bumped into Dave Karofsky. He had avoided him again all week, but inexplicably, Karofsky was waiting for him outside the hall of the auditorium when the Glee practice was over.
"Hummel!" He yelled.
Kurt didn't turn around, and instead kept walking; afraid of what could happen if he faced his bully.
"I'm talking to you!" Dave yelled again.
Kurt continued walking, completely ignoring him and trying to reach the door of the choir room as soon as possible. He needed to be in a safe place. He could feel the adrenaline rushing through his veins as he tried to make his way to the door. The room looked so close and yet so far that he stretched his right hand to try to grab the doorknob, but he was too slow because just when he was about to grab it, Karofsky stopped him.
"Don't you dare keep ignoring me, Hummel!" Dave said, pushing Kurt and cornering him against the door and his huge bulldozer body.
Kurt looked at him scared. His whole body was trembling, but he knew he couldn't let this idiot see him weak, so he took a deep breath to collect his thoughts and gain the courage to face his attacker.
"What do you want, Dave? To kiss me again?" He challenged him.
"Shut the fuck up, Hummel!" Dave said, pushing Kurt against the closed door. "If you dare to talk to anyone about what happened the other day, you're going to regret it for the time you have left to live, which by the way, could be a very, very short period of time. Did you hear me?" He said, his breath was against Kurt's face.
Kurt gulped terrified. Dave's eyes were menacing and his last words made every bit of his body to shiver. Dave had just threatened to kill him and by the way he was looking at him, Kurt knew he wasn't lying.
"Consider yourself warned." Dave said, hitting the wall with his fist and walking away, leaving Kurt frozen in place.
After some seconds, Kurt's brain decided to function again and suddenly he felt dizzy. He grabbed the doorknob for support while his body trembled from head to toe. He felt his whole mind shutting down and the wall starting to spin. He knew he was about to pass out, but fortunately, a warm hand held him and gave him some support.
"Kurt, are you alright?" Tina, his Glee Club friend, asked.
"No." Kurt whispered, unable to articulate a complete sentence.
"You want me to take you to see the nurse?" She asked, and Kurt just nodded.
'I'm a dead man.' He thought.
o-o-o-o-o
Burt was driving Kurt home. The small streets of Lima Ohio were passing in a blur as they made their way back home under a very awkward silence. Kurt knew he would have to face his dad's lecture sooner or later so, not wanting to have this unnecessary discussion at home, he spoke up.
"I'm fine, dad. I just forgot to eat before the Glee rehearsal. The choreography was kind of intense and I just lost my breath. The nurse said it was an imbalance, but I'm better now. I promise you that I'll take better care of myself. I'm sorry you had to come all this way to pick me up." He said.
"Are you sure that's what really happened? Because these days you've been acting weird, Kurt."
"Yes, dad, I'm sure. I thought I was fine, but when I was walking to the choir room to pick up my bag, I felt the room spinning and thank God Tina was there because she took me to see the nurse in time."
"And Finn?" Burt asked.
"He was not there, dad. Coach Beiste scheduled a last minute football practice. I'm sure he's still on the field…I heard they would be practicing until late. They're getting ready for next week's game, I think."
Burt just frowned. He couldn't hide how worried he was about his son. "You're always bothering me with my diet, I guess now I'll have to do the same with yours."
Kurt smiled. It was true. Since his dad had suffered that small heart attack he had been keeping a close eye in all the things that concerned his dad's health. Including a very strict diet that banned any kind of junk food from the house—except from Finn's room, you could always find some bag of Doritos under his bed—and the tire shop.
"Don't worry, dad, this won't happen again. I promise."
"I hope so, kiddo…lately you've been acting different. Hell! You look different, you've changed. Are you sure you're fine?"
"Yes, dad. I'm fine." He said. 'No, I'm not.'
"Okay, just know that you can trust me, okay? My heart is strong enough."
"I know, I love you." Kurt said, trying with all his heart to keep his emotions at bay. He knew his dad was strong, but he didn't want to take the risk, so now it was his turn to be strong in front of him, and put on his best poker face.
"I love you too, kiddo."
o-o-o-o-o
Once Kurt was safely locked inside his room, he allowed himself to cry under the shower. He cried until he felt the fear slipping away from his body, but not from his mind. For some reason, Dave's words kept echoing through his mind and although he didn't want to think about it, deep down Kurt knew that Karofsky was someone who kept his word.
"If you dare to talk to anyone about what happened the other day, you're going to regret it for the time you have left to live, which by the way, could be a very, very short period of time. Did you hear me?"
Kurt shook his head; his mind kept replaying those words over and over again, and his whole body shivered with anticipation. To say that he was terrified was an understatement.
He hopped out of the shower and walked to his bed already wearing his pajamas—a plain white t-shirt and a pair of his favorite sweatpants. Right on top of his nightstand was the notebook that his dad had given him last Friday. He looked at it and grabbed a pen to start writing.
Kurt had never kept a diary before, and quite frankly, he had always considered that childish and a bit pointless. He knew it was useless to talk to a piece of paper, but right now he didn't have anyone else to talk to. It was just him and his notebook. He was afraid and didn't know what to do, so he thought that maybe writing about his feelings could be his best shot.
"How do I start?" He murmured to himself while the words 'Dear Diary...' came to life through the ink of his pen.
o-o-o-o-o
Kurt wrote for several hours until he started to feel sleepy, the clock marked 4:50am. He hated to admit it, but writing all his feelings down had really helped him to feel more relaxed. He smiled slightly and lay down on top of his bed with the notebook still in his hands.
He took some minutes to admire the cover again under the dim light. It was beautiful, all those colors reflecting the odd beauty of that ancient city that could only exist in Kurt's imagination.
'It certainly looks like Venice,' he thought. But this place looked slightly different, more cheerful and magical. The water canal circuiting the buildings and the palace at the far end of the picture gave Kurt this sense of fairytale-ness that he couldn't explain.
Laughing at his own imagination, Kurt closed his eyes and let his mind wander about this magic version of Venice. He tried to picture the lagoon and all those domes and spires hovering over the water. The gold ornamentation and the fancy clothes he knew the inhabitants had to wear to blend with that amazing city.
Smiling, he began to dream of a city floating over the water, laced with canals and full of domes and spires. The notebook remained closed above his chest.