My kryptonite is fairy tale AUs, y'all. I can't not do them.
Blaine clenched the reins tighter in his fist as he and his men cantered toward town. Though it was only a few leagues from the palace where he lived, he felt as though they weren't going fast enough - as though the man he was searching for would somehow slip out of his grasp if he didn't get through the forest as soon as possible.
After all, it wouldn't be the first time.
Why did you have to go? Blaine asked mentally, anguished. I thought you were enjoying yourself - enjoying my company. Then the clock tower tolled and you ran out of my life before I could even ask your name.
Blaine shifted his grip on the reins to one hand in order to stroke over the fabric in his pocket for the millionth time, both to bolster his spirits and reassure himself that it hadn't fallen out somewhere. The translucent, silvery-blue scarf was all he had left of his erstwhile dance partner, but it was more than enough to find the other man with, doubtful as his mother had been.
"Sweetheart, anyone could claim that scarf was theirs once they know you wish to betroth the owner. What's to stop someone unscrupulous from trying to win your hand?" she had asked when he'd told her of his plan.
"I thought of that, Mama," Blaine had replied. "But there's a catch - the owner of this scarf had it pinned together with a matching brooch. If anyone tries to claim it but doesn't have the pin, I'll know they're lying."
"You can't simply ask for all the tall brunets who live in town to appear in the square?"
"Someone could fake their hair color, too, Mama, And using the scarf feels right somehow - like it will show the owner that I was willing to exert myself to find them, not simply call for anyone who matches their description and hope they'd appear. I need to do it this way."
After a moment's pause, Pam had finally told Blaine to follow his heart and bade him to go, which he did with a smile and a hopeful heart. The process of gathering his men and riding to town had drained him of some of that optimism, but as they dismounted in the town square, Blaine felt a surge of energy.
"I will find you, do you hear me? I don't know what made you run, but I swear, I won't let it stop us from reuniting," he said softly, not wanting anyone else to hear. Blaine thought Wes might have turned to give him a strange look at the muttered words, but thankfully, his promise seemed to go otherwise unnoticed.
"Hear ye, hear ye!" David cried out, gaining the attention of the myriad citizens out doing their daily shopping. "Prince Blaine has found the man he would like to wed!"
An excited chatter burst out, with many audible queries of "Who?" coming from multiple directions.
"He doesn't know, actually. He needs your help," David said. "The man Prince Blaine wishes to wed was dancing with him at his birthday ball a few nights ago before he left unexpectedly. All His Highness has left of the man is the scarf he had around his neck. Whoever fits the scarf and has the coordinating pin to keep it shut is the man the prince is searching for!"
The crowd chattered again, causing David to have to yell the last part of his message even louder than normal.
"We ask that you all go home and prepare your eligible sons! Another announcement will follow when the correct young man has been found."
Blaine watched as the people dispersed quickly, some literally running back to tell their families and friends about the search.
"You sure about this?" Wes asked, clapping Blaine on the shoulder and making him jump.
"I know he's here somewhere," Blaine said, staring out over the square like his missing partner might simply appear out of the blue. "We'll find him today, Wes. We have to. I don't know what I'll do if we don't."
"Have faith, Blaine. If you're determined, you'll find him."
At that, they remounted and rode off to the first row of houses, ready to begin the quest for Blaine's intended.
Of course, the afternoon didn't quite go to plan. Blaine had been hoping one of the first houses would turn up his partner, but after the sixth street was explored, he resigned himself to a long afternoon of searching, worried that the overpowering aroma of horse and sweat that was beginning to cling to him would deter the other man. Some of the potential matches also refused to take no for an answer even after it was proven that the scarf didn't fit, trying to flirt or beg their ways into his heart. By far the most bemusing incident was when one boy ripped the buckle off his shoe, forced it to work as a scarf pin, and tried to wrap the material around his bulky neck, nearly strangling himself in the attempt. Still, Blaine carried on, doggedly hoping that the next house would reveal the man he was looking for.
"This is the last house in town, Your Highness," Thad said as they approached a large, well-lit estate. "If he's not here-"
"He has to be," Blaine said, kicking his horse a little faster and dismounting almost before Pav had stopped. He strode toward the house as confidently as he could, hoping the crown would make up for his obvious exhaustion.
"Your Highness!" a thin, richly dressed woman cooed the instant Blaine hit the threshold. "It's an honor, truly. I'm Lady Isadora Smythe-Hummel."
Blaine saw a flash of brown disappear behind a hastily closed door as the woman ushered him inside and called for her son, Sebastian to come downstairs.
"I always knew my Seb was destined for greatness," Lady Isadora continued once they were seated. "Wise choice, Your Highness."
"I can't wait to meet-" Blaine cut himself off at Sebastian's first appearance, taking note of his long legs and coiffed brown hair. Something about the face, though….
It's not him, Blaine thought, actively restraining himself from frowning - he had to give Sebastian the benefit of the doubt. His eyes. They aren't kind like my partner's.
"Your Highness," Sebastian said, and his voice didn't match either. "I brought my best scarf pin."
"It doesn't coordinate," Blaine said, noting the blood red gems set in gold.
"It doesn't need to. Besides, that scarf is tawdry at best - my brooch will give it a little more dignity," Sebastian said, snatching the scarf out of Blaine's hands. He prissily arranged it around his neck, scooping up both ends in his pin-
-and couldn't make it buckle.
"What?" Sebastian said, a look of fury twisting his face.
"It doesn't appear to fit," Blaine said, knowing he had a slight smirk on his face. He took the scarf back from Sebastian before he could mangle it into submission. "What a pity."
"That's impossible! I'm the only boy left in town!" Sebastian ranted. "Well, the only boy worth your time."
"Excuse me?"
"Our servant is here as well," Lady Isadora explained. "Kurt. But he wasn't at your ball - gods forbid we let him out to shame us in public."
"Bring him out here," Blaine commanded, remembering that glimpse of brown he'd seen at his arrival.
"Your Highness, he's not-"
"Bring. Him. Out. Here," Blaine said, enunciating each word very clearly.
Cowed, Lady Isadora hastened out of the room to fetch Kurt. Sebastian tried to charm Blaine into a conversation, but Blaine didn't engage - he knew Sebastian wasn't the one he was looking for.
Loud footsteps in the hall alerted them to Lady Isadora's return. She pushed a ragged boy in in front of her before closing the door and saying, "As you can see, Your Highness-"
"No," Blaine said, walking closer to the boy who had to be Kurt. A distant sense of rage boiled in his stomach as he noticed the bruises and cuts all over Kurt's fair skin, including a nasty looking black eye. "Wait."
"Your Highness," Kurt said softly, sending a shiver down Blaine's spine.
"Would you please try this on for me?" Blaine asked. Instead of holding out the scarf for Kurt to take, though, he carefully looped it around his neck, feeling a deep sense of rightness as he did.
"He has nothing to pin it with," Sebastian cut in from across the room. "Unless he's been stealing from us, too, in which case-"
"Actually, Sebastian," Kurt interrupted, eyes defiant. "I do."
He reached into his filthy pants pocket and pulled out a sparkling sky blue brooch, affixing it to the scarf as Blaine gasped.
"That's it," he said, light-headed. "You're the one."
"I can't believe you were searching for me," Kurt said, stance suddenly going shy. "That you saw me like this and didn't run away."
"Kurt, those moments at the ball were among the best of my life," Blaine said fervently, taking each of Kurt's hands in his own. When he noticed that they were ice cold, he rubbed his thumbs over the back soothingly as he continued, "I would have done anything, anything to find you again."
Blaine was dimly aware of Lady Isadora and Sebastian squawking behind them, but at that moment, he couldn't stop himself from leaning in and kissing Kurt gently, hoping he wasn't agitating any of Kurt's bruises too much when he wound his arms around Kurt's waist. Kurt hissed at first but kissed back, sending Blaine's heart pounding in his chest.
"You're coming with me," Blaine said once they broke apart. "Immediately. Is there anything you wish to pack?"
"You can't just take him!" Lady Isadora said.
"Even if he weren't my betrothed, he'd be leaving with me," Blaine said fiercely. "The way you treat him is appalling! He's covered in bruises, dressed in rags, and I could feel his ribs sticking out!"
"Betrothed?" Kurt asked.
"Oh - I mean - I was hoping - but I still need to ask-"
"Blaine - if I may - of course I'll be your betrothed," Kurt said. "I just didn't know if you'd want-"
"I want," Blaine said, taking one of Kurt's hands again. "And of course you can call me Blaine, darling. Did you think you'd have to call me Your Highness for the rest of our lives?"
"I just wanted to be polite," Kurt said playfully.
Blaine reeled him in for one more kiss before saying, "Go get whatever you wish to bring with you. We're going home before I can lose you again."
He waited as Kurt went to gather his things, glaring icily at Sebastian and Lady Isadora the whole time. Once Kurt arrived with his tiny bundle, he instantly swept him out the door and onto his awaiting horse, to the applause of Blaine's men.
"I'm sorry we have to share," Blaine said, head hooked over Kurt's shoulder to steer. "But at least I can keep you warm this way. How long have you been working for Lady Isadora and Sebastian?"
"Most of my life," Kurt said, burrowing back into Blaine's hold. "Since my father died."
"They hired you on from the orphanage?"
"No, he was Lady Isadora's second husband."
"What?" Blaine was seething with rage - how could someone treat their own family that way, however tenuous the connection?
"Quiet, sweet - Blaine. I'll explain everything."
"Pet names are also fine, dear heart. Whatever you'd like to call me," Blaine teased, though his heart ached slightly at how careful Kurt thought he had to act around him.
"Then quiet, sweetest. I'll explain everything," Kurt said, turning faintly pink in the moonlight but smirking anyway. He went on to tell his story, telling about Burt's wedding to Isadora when Kurt was four and his subsequent death three years later. The following twelve years had been miserable, until recently, when a curly-haired woman with a long face appeared after Isadora spoiled Kurt's ball outfit even though she had promised he could attend. She claimed to be Kurt's fairy godmother, and presented him with the outfit and accessories he had worn that night, warning that they'd turn back to rags at midnight.
"So when the clock started to ring, I had to run," Kurt said as they approached the castle. "I didn't want you - or worse, Isadora and Sebastian - to see me there in my servant's clothes. Had they not been there, though, I might have…."
"Might have?"
"Might have stayed, outfit be damned," Kurt said softly. "I didn't want to leave, but I knew I'd already earned myself a black eye for not being home to turn down their bedsheets and put the warmer pans in. Why borrow more trouble?"
"So these bruises-"
"Are for my various failings. Most of them don't hurt, though - I'm used to them."
"No more," Blaine said fervently. "The doctor will come first thing tomorrow. You're safe now, Kurt, I swear it."
"I believe you, Blaine," Kurt said. "I know you won't let me go."
"Never."
As they kissed again, the clock began to toll midnight. This time, though, Kurt curled closer to Blaine, a change he welcomed wholeheartedly. He was already certain that life with Kurt was going to be much better than life without.
Time proved him right.