It took Kurt a few minutes to compose himself before he could get up and leave the room, he was on his way back to his sleeping chamber when it struck him that that would be the first place Blaine would think to go if he came looking for Kurt.
So turning on his heel, Kurt all but ran for the front doors and burst out of them running into the vast gardens that covered the palace grounds. He kept up his fast pace until he entered a section of the gardens with high hedges and he was sure that he couldn't be seen from the palace.
He took a deep breath still feeling shaken up as he slowed his footsteps to a stroll and wandered deeper into the garden, he took a few turns lost in thought and not paying any mind as to where his feet were taking him. It was some time later that he came across a stone bench surrounded by roses and a fountain a small way in front of it.
Kurt hadn't realized how badly he had taken the shock of Blaine's sudden actions until he looked down at his hands folded in his lap and saw that they were still shaking badly. Kurt was by no means a coward and he could stand up to bullies, but what Blaine had done had triggered something in him; a memory that Kurt had locked away and swore never to think about again. But right now he had no choice; the memory kept replaying itself even when he wished it to stop.
The feel of being cornered, of being trapped, strong arms holding him tightly; being pinned against a wall, the press of unwanted lips and hands that hurt, fighting for breath and a struggle to be free. Dark eyes, a cruel sneer and harsh words. Kurt shook himself free of the memory as best as he could.
He sat in the garden for a long time, until the sun had sunk low in the sky and he was starting to shiver, it was still winter and he had ran out of the palace so fast he had forgotten to get his cloak. He had also not eaten his breakfast, it had been left untouched in his haste to get out and away from Blaine. Kurt sighed making the decision to turn back and go to his chambers, it was then when he stood up that he noticed that all the pathways looked identical and he had no idea what one had taken him here.
Kurt cursed his desire of not wanting to be seen from the palace because now he could not see the palace either, with nothing to guide him, he closed his eyes and listened, but these trees were not like the ones at his home land and they did not talk to him nor did they give any hint at the way back to safety.
All Kurt could hear was the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves and water trickling in the fountain. He was lost, cold, hungry and alone. Kurt took a moment to fight the panic that was trying its best to take over and he took a deep breath, he had been lost before and gotten home safe, he was sure he could do it again and if not he was going to give it a dam good try.
It was at this moment that Kurt remembered something his Father had said once. 'Always take control and put your best foot forward.' Kurt smiled at the sound of his father's voice in his head and took the offered advice, lifting his right foot and taking the path to his right.
It wasn't long however before Kurt ended up back in the same spot at the fountain, only it wasn't the same, this fountain he realised had a different decoration of the stone on it and the roses had less bloom in this garden. It was now that it dawned on Kurt where he was, he in his need to get away and be hidden he had wandered into a maze and had paid no attention as to where he was going.
Kurt wanted to scream with frustration, to cry and shout and just go home. But home was a long way off and he couldn't even find his way back to the place he had been sent to live the rest of his life in misery, maybe it was best to be lost here and just let himself stay in this small garden forever.
But determination took over, Kurt was no quitter and if he had got even a tiny little bit of his father in him then he was not going to back down and let something like this stop him so easily.
Blaine on the other hand had spent his day pacing, and thinking of ways that he could just get Kurt to see things his way, he didn't want to be mean but sometimes his anger just took over and Kurt, for whatever reason, was very good at making it come out.
With a deep sigh, Blaine made the decision to let Kurt have the day to cool off and then he would apologize to him at dinner and ask for them to work things out without it turning into an argument. Maybe Kurt was just finding it hard to settle into a new land and a new home. There had to be something Blaine could do to make Kurt feel like he could be happy here.
Yes that was it, Blaine just had to show Kurt the good things about his land. The things that always made Blaine smile, like the little town to the north and the view from the hills in the west. Blaine smiled to himself. This could work; he just had to woo Kurt.
However when dinner came and Blaine was left sitting alone, his plans to stay calm and be gentle with the other prince left his mind. At first, he sent a maid to call on Kurt and to inform him that his presence was wanted in the dining hall. When the maid came back and said that Kurt was not answering, Blaine had to stop himself from shouting at her.
He was not in the best of moods and so being ignored by Kurt was the last straw, he had been difficult from the start and Blaine had had enough, he just wanted to be shown a little bit of respect from the man that was to be his husband in a few short weeks. So standing up and forcing his chair out of the way, he marched to Kurt's chambers and knocked on the door.
No answer came and so his knocking turned into harsh banging as he more shouted, rather than called Kurt's name. Still no answer! Blaine dropped his clenched fist to his side and took a deep breath in a last effort to calm himself before he turned the handle and walked in without waiting to being invited, it was his home, dam it and Kurt would obey him.
When greeted by an empty room Blaine's first thought was that Kurt had run away and his anger flared, his grip on the door tightening to a death grip, then he looked around and noticed that all of Kurt's things were still in the room, not just the things that he didn't need, but everything...was still there. Kurt must still be close by.
Blaine shut the door and closed his eyes for a second thinking of where Kurt could have gotten to, he ordered a search of the palace rooms and when they came up empty he wondered if the other prince had left the palace to explore the city.
Worry began to set in when Blaine looked out the window and saw that it was getting darker by the minute, Kurt was going to get lost or worse if he had wandered into the city. Blaine turned to his staff asking if any of them had seen Kurt since the morning. The only one to say anything was a small boy who was the son of a gardener and had been playing by the lawns when Kurt had run out to the south gardens.
Blaine sighed and flopped down into a chair, that had been straight after breakfast, Kurt could be anywhere by now, but as it was their only lead, Blaine ordered five of the men from the kitchens to search the grounds and forest by the Palace. Blaine himself headed straight for the south gardens.
Darkness was setting in fast, and Kurt was getting more and more worried about getting inside to a warm and surely safer than outside, room. He had been searching for about an hour since he had worked out that he was in a maze and had found no hope of getting out. Kurt didn't want to be outside by the time the sun had disappeared completely, who knew what was bound to be lurking in the darkness.
Kurt didn't even dare to be outside after sunset in his own home land and he had no idea what could be out there in this land, it really could be anything from an unsettling ghost to a creature that wanted nothing more than to kill and eat him, or worse a witch that wanted to use him for any number things relating to her craft.
Kurt swallowed hard and pushed those unhelpful and rather scary thoughts away. This was NOT going to help him get out of here he had to stay calm and just keep looking until he found a way out. So taking a deep breath Kurt placed his left hand on the hedge next to him and kept his hand touching it at all times as he walked.
Blaine looked up at the sky as he rushed to the south gardens, the sun was almost under the horizon and the moon would be up in an hour or so. Things would not work out well if Kurt was outside when that happened. Blaine changed his fast walking into a jog as he saw the tall hedges come into view.
He only hoped that Kurt really was in there, or surely they would have no hope of finding him in time. When he reached the confining hedges of the maze Blaine called out Kurt's name as loud as he could. No answer came. "Dam it." Blaine swore and shouted louder cupping his mouth with his hands hoping for the sound to carry further.
A few seconds passed and Blaine held his breath and then very faintly he heard his name drifting over the tops of the maze and relief washed over him.
Kurt was still walking and now his feet hurt and he was shivering with the cold, not to mention that he was weak with hunger. Then out of nowhere he heard his name echoing around the garden, at first he was sure he was hearing things, but then, it came again this time louder. It sounded like Blaine and for the first time since Kurt had woken up today he was so unbelievably happy to hear the other prince's voice.
"Blaine!" Kurt called back, a few seconds went by with no answer and Kurt felt the hope start to fade, he must of be hearing things, but then Blaine called back asking if he was ok. Kurt wanted to snap back that no he was not ok thank you very much, but then he remembered that snapping at Blaine would get him nowhere and that this was 'his fault' not Blaine's, Mainly.
"I just fancied a midnight picnic." Kurt called back and heard Blaine laugh, a sound that if he was being honest he wouldn't mind hearing again. "Well, I think that's not the best idea if you don't have any food." Blaine called back, this time making Kurt laugh lightly.
"Yes well. Next time I will try to remember that." Kurt said back. "How about next time I take you in daylight and I bring the food?" Blaine asked, Kurt raised his eyebrow at that but smiled. "IF you can get me out of here alive and well then you're on." He told Blaine.
Blain smiled. "It's a date." He called and then moved to the entrance. "Right now Kurt I need you to get to the closest garden to you, and describe it to me." Blaine called to him. Kurt nodded and remembered that he had passed a garden a few steps back. He walked back to it.
"It has yellow roses and a round fountain that has mermaids carved around the side." Kurt called out and Blaine nodded. "Ok stay there I'm on my way." Blaine called back. However no sooner had he said that the last rays of the sun died and the blackness of the night seemed to fall unusually fast. Blaine stopped his footsteps for just a second to listen and then doubled his pace to reach Kurt.
Kurt looked around when it got darker, he held his breath so that he could hear better and turned around slowly on the spot. Anyone who didn't come from this part of the world wound think that the sun had been set for over an hour, by how dark it had suddenly got.
Blain was halfway to the garden that Kurt had said he was in when he heard a shout from across the garden, his men were retreating back into the safety of the palace. Blaine wished they wouldn't be so loud it could alert anything that may be lurking nearby that there were people outside.
No sooner had he had this thought, Blaine heard the rustling from the forest and hoped that it was just wind blowing through the leafs, the moon wasn't up high enough to light much of the ground yet and even though Blaine knew his home by heart, Kurt did not.
Kurt was still standing in the same place he didn't dare to move for fear of giving off his location to anything that could be out there. Then he heard it, the rustling of the trees did not worry him much, but he soon felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up when he heard the very loud creaking of a twig … and then another.
Kurt froze, it was close. He wanted to run, but if he ran then he would get lost and if he got lost then he would surely die or worse before Blaine could find him. The noise came again. Kurt felt his body shiver and although his hated to admit it, not entirely from the cold. Should he call out? If he did then would the thing out there get to him first?
Blaine heard the same sounds that were worrying Kurt, something was in the maze with them. Blaine didn't bother to stop this time. "Kurt!" he called loudly as he rushed towards him. "B-Blaine?" Kurt called back his voice uneven.
Crack.
"Blaine!" Kurt openly calling the other boy now, he was sure he had never wanted anything more then to 'not be alone' right now.
Crack.
"Kurt, its ok - I'm almost there."
Crack.
Kurt could hear two sets of noises now and he had no idea which one held life and which one held death. Both of them were moving toward him and both of them were just as close and getting closer with every shuddering breath he took.
Crunch. Rustle. Snap.
Kurt held his breath and felt his quickening heart beat shake his whole body.
Cracking, crunching, Rustling, snapping. The sound of his own fast breathing. Growling.
Wait! growling? Kurt spun around to face the now shaking bushes and tried to hear anything to indicate who or what it was over the sound of his deafening heartbeat. "Kurt!" Growl! Something burst into the garden behind him.
