A/N: So tired... I was tempted just to upload this tomorrow and get some sleep, but then I realized something. I haven't updated in over a week. And so, here is an update. Gets us rolling along to the plot, yes! Anyways, thank you redrosegal for nagging me to get this done and beta'ing it! I'd likely have forgotten if it weren't for your awesomeness! And thank you to the 18 people with this on their Story Alerts~

Anyways, enjoy, and I'll make sure to update faster next time! I get out of school in... 9 days (the 23rd) so I should have a bit of free time after then. But I have camp too, so we'll see!

Also, I appear to have forgotten a disclaimer. So...
GLEE BELONGS TO FOX.

thar.


As the sun set over the horizon, Kurt continued walking along the streets of Durbendy. They were mostly cleared out now, and most shops had been closed up, the possessions being locked away safely or chained to posts depending on their size. Guards were standing still as statues every few shops, watching for anyone who dare to steal.

And yet, they allowed Kurt to walk right under their noses, not even expecting that the scrawny, feminine boy could be one of the many thieves that had been attacking the village.

As he walked, a sign caught his eye. It was a large, white posted taped to the post of a large fruit stand. The corners were tapped, as well as the top and bottom being stapled strongly. There was a black border around the center, framing a small painting of girls in ball gowns and men in suits dancing together. Kurt smiled, and looked down to read what the sign was for.

'Prince Anderson's 18th Birthday Gala'

So, it was the prince's birthday? Kurt tilted his head, a finger on his chin as he continued to read.

'On August 14th,-'

Kurt stopped, realizing that that was a simple three days away. How on Earth had he not heard of such an event? That must have been what caused the many people filling the marketplace – they were preparing.

'- six o'clock at night,the castle will be holding a large gala for the coming-of-age party for Prince Blaine Anderson. At this event, he will be seeking out a wife to take the thrown with him on his 19thbirthday. All of the village of Durbendy is invited to attend this event, but any and all who show any signs of rudeness or have any weapons will be taken out immediately, and dropped outside of the walls of Durbendy where they will be stuck forever. Anyone who is thrown out will no longer be a citizen of Durbendy, and will have to relocate.

We hope to see you there.'

Kurt's eyes widened as he read over the sign. Prince Anderson was looking for… a wife? Looking around, the pauper spotted a small costume shop that was still open, an idea popping into his head. He knew he would regret this later, but he had to do this. Something in him told him he had to.

And so, he did.


Blaine looked around the preparations going on in the ballroom, and nodded his head. Yes, everything seemed to be going nicely. The cooks were already preparing what Blaine could only expect to be a giant feast of food, while the rest of the staff worked on preparing the room.

Decorations were being hung, tables were being pulled out for guests to sit at, and the music was being prepared. Yes, Blaine was very excited for his eighteenth birthday. With any luck, he would finally find the girl he needed to help him fund the village.

Yes, Blaine had a big feeling this birthday would be a great one.


Slipping quickly away from the clothing stand he'd just taken from, Kurt tucked his items safely into his brown rucksack, careful not to make any noise. Once he was a good distance away, he took off in a run, hiding in the shadows that the night cast down as best as he could.

He continued running until he reached the outer walls of Durbendy for the third time that day. Or the first time the next day. Looking up at the sky, he realized that he really didn't know what time it was, and figured that that meant it was time to retire for the day.

Making his way out towards the woods, Kurt adjusted the strap of his rucksack, gripping onto it tightly. Even after all this time, the woods still scared him at night. He always feared that something would just pop out of the trees and try to kill him.

Sure, it was an irrational fear, but knowing that didn't help his problem at all.

Kurt glanced all around him, jumping at even the slightest sounds. The farther he walked, the tighter the grip on his bag got. The more sounds he heard, the more he'd quicken his pace. An owl hooted in the far off distance, causing a shiver to run down Kurt's spine.

He felt like he had a very logical reason to be scared. In every one of the stories his mother use to read to him, something bad would happen to the protagonist when they were alone in the dark. And being in the forest just made it worse.

Just as Kurt was nearing the place he and the Evans had taken refuge at the past week, he heard the bushel beside him shake, and screeched out a very high-pitched scream that was quickly muffled by a hand. When the hand shot out to cover his mouth, Kurt slipped backwards, falling, and his rucksack dropping from his shoulder and spilling the contents out onto the dirt ground.

Just as Kurt was about to start screaming again, the man hidden in the shadows spoke. "Kurt! It's just me! Calm down, dude!"

Adjusting his eyes to the darkness a bit better, Kurt quickly recognized the face of the boy, and let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Sorry Sam," he said, smiling apologetically at the boy.

"Don't worry; I just wanted to let you know we moved locations." Kurt nodded and went to stand up, but Sam stopped him and reached down to pick up one of Kurt's 'purchases'.

"Uhh... Kurt? What's this?" asked Sam, investigating a small pile of hair that was very close to the shade of Kurt's own. Kurt quickly scrambled to his feet, and snatched it back, brushing his fingers threw it in an attempt to brush out some of the dirt.

"It's a disguise, Sam," Kurt lied, easily. Well, it was truthful, but not entirely. "I think the prince knows I've been stealing from the marketplace, and just because he let me go once doesn't mean he will again. So, I've decided to try and do something so I'm not caught." There was a slight bit of annoyance (and bitchy-ness) in his voice as he spoke to his friend as though he should know this already.

"Ya, um…" Sam pulled out a ball of white and blue fabric, and gently shook it out. "So, you're disguise is… a ball gown?" he asked in disbelief.

"Y-ya… you know me, I've got a high pitched voice," and to prove that point, his voice went up about an octave higher while he was speaking. "So, I thought, why not? No one will expect it's me."

"Ya, but why the extravagant gown? Why not a sun dress or something like that?"

"B-because…" Kurt stuttered, trying to think of an excuse. 'Come on, come on… think or something… thi-"

Sam interrupted his thoughts with a loud 'Ah-ha!'. "You're going to the ball, aren't you?" Sam had a sly smirk on his face, causing Kurt to bite his lip, neither confirming nor denying anything.

"Why?" Sam asked, honestly curious. Kurt snapped his eyes closed, and began to shake. He couldn't tell Sam the truth, but he didn't want to lie either. He couldn't lie to him, the Evan's had been so kind to him, taking him under their wing, and not to mention giving him a job when no one else would.

But he really couldn't tell the truth either now, could he?

"I just wanted to see what it was like, I guess…" Kurt mumbled quietly, hoping that Sam wouldn't delve deeper into the conversation.

Instead of speaking, however, Sam just knelt down on the ground in front of Kurt, who was currently biting his lip so hard it was white around his teeth. Placing a calloused, rough hand on the porcelain-like boy in front of him softly, Sam smiled.

"Hey, Kurt, if you want to go, I'm not gonna stop you. Have fun, okay? I don't really understand why you're going as a girl, yea, sure, and maybe I'd like to know why, but you don't have to tell me. Just have fun Kurt, okay?" Patting the boy's shoulder – whose gaze never lifted from the ground – Sam stood up and patted his old jeans, getting some of the dirt off before smiling at Kurt again.

"Well, we've got to get going. That is… if you still want to travel with us?" Sam asked, praying that Kurt would. He'd grown so close to the younger boy ever since Kurt had simply been working for his family's farm, and would hate to lose him now. But he wouldn't force Kurt to stay – he'd lost too much, and it made sense to Sam that he wouldn't want to get close to anyone else.

But that didn't stop him from wishing that Kurt would open up towards people more. Let them get close. Because you shouldn't close yourself off from the world just because you fear loss, because then you'd be missing out on the gain.

Kurt looked at Sam and grinned, quickly shoving his possessions back into his bag, and jumping up to his feet before nodding.

"Of course I am. Who else would be able to help you take care of the twin devils?" Kurt joked, elbowing Sam as they set off west. "Although, I bet both of them put together aren't even half as bad as you were, according to some of your mother's stories."

Sam stopped, and starred at Kurt, mouth agape, eyes wide. "What did she tell you?"

"Nothing!"


The soft sounds of a piano melody filled the large and yet quite empty room. All the lights were turned off, no music on the stand, but Blaine didn't care. His eyes were closed as his fingers caressed the keys, playing whatever notes came to mind and creating a soothing, soft melody.

He was wearing a tight-fitted black suit with a slightly puffy white dress shirt underneath. The coat had a small tail at the end, and golden-brass buttons. It was the attire his mother had requested for him to wear that evening for dinner, which he had to go to in another thirty minutes.

But for now, he let his mind drift away in the music. His old, white grand piano being the only thing on his mind, as well as the soft sounds coming from it. He tried not to think of what he was playing, and just played whatever seemed right on instinct.

Blaine had always loved the piano. When his mother first told him he had to play, he had been reluctant to do so. But now, music was his outlet. He had taken up learning any instrument he had been able to get his hands on, ranging from the harp to the cello to the guitar, and he found that music was a gift for him. Not to mention, a wonderful outlet.

He could let out all the emotions he could never show anyone else into his music. Because Anderson's don't show their weaknesses. Because that's how Blaine was raised, and this is his life and how he was taught to live it.


The minute Kurt reached the new site they were staying at, Kurt crashed under his old, worn, and slightly shredded blanket. They were currently in a small clearing surrounded completely by a mass of trees, and a few fallen ones making entrance harder.

In rough times like these, you can't stay in the same place. Kurt and the Evans' know that. If they were in the same place, they were more likely to be found by someone, and have their few possessions stolen, or worse, they could be killed.

So once or twice every fortnight, they would change locations as precaution. There were a few sites they went to more than once – such as the one they were at now – but for the most part, they always tried to find somewhere new.

Kurt's dreams were filled with dancing, music, and most of all, a faceless man with curly, black hair. Elegant colors and melodic sounds joined in with endless laughter and chatter that he couldn't make out. But he wasn't even trying to – he was too focused on the faceless man in front of him.

The two were dancing happily together. Kurt couldn't see himself, but he could feel hair brushing over his shoulders. For all he knew, he was dreaming as being another person entirely. But he didn't care right now. A large grin was plastered on his face as the two waltzed on a large dance floor filled with men and suits and woman in long, flowing ball gowns.

To Kurt, something like this seemed so… perfect.

But of course, all good dreams need to end. Kurt's eyes slowly blinked open, and he let out a groan of despair in knowing that his dreaming was over and he now had to get up and live the life of a pauper.

The sun was slowly breaking way into the sky, filling it with gentle hues of pink, red, and orange. Kurt smiled at the sight.

He had always loved sunsets. He and his mother would watch them every morning before she passed. After that, he would always be sure to be up in time to watch them – even though he was doing it alone. And every time he felt a gust of wind – as he was now – he pretended it was his mother, watching over him, and watching the sunset with him.

His father never did such things with him, always sleeping during that time in order to keep up his health as best as he could. But Kurt didn't mind. Watching sunsets had always been his and his mother's thing – it just wouldn't have been the same with his father.

Kurt continued watching as light filled the small clearing. After a bit of time passed, he saw the twins begin to stir from their distance a few mere yards away from him. Smiling at the two tired bodies, he slowly pushed the blanket (if you could call it that – it was tattered and worn, hardly giving him any warmth) off of him, and reaching for his bag.

He dug his hand into the now overflowing bag, trying to reach the bottom where the food was. His hand brushed past the material of the dress and the hair of the wig, bringing the dream back to him, and causing his smile to widen a bit. Eventually, he pulled out two apples and a small piece of bread.

"Stacy, Stevie, I know you two are up," he whispered, not wanting to wake up Sam. He knew that by now, Mr. and Mrs. Evans were already gone, looking for a job in a far off village, and he and Sam were once again in charge of the two youngest Evans.

Speaking of which, they were currently stirring underneath their slightly-better-of-but-not-by-much blanket, rubbing the sleep from their eyes and slowly sitting up.

"Is it morning, Kwurty?" asked Stacy, holding back a yawn until she finished speaking. Her hair was no longer held up, and was now flowing freely behind her back, slightly matted and tangles. Kurt giggled as she blinked her eyes a few times, adjusting to the little light there was.

"Yep, and that means breakfast!" he responded, smiling at the two. They both smiled at the thought of food, and half-crawled, half-ran over to where Kurt was holding out the apples and bread. When they got there, each one quickly snatched up both of the slightly dry apples, taking small bites of it.

Kurt sighed slightly, doing his best to keep a smile on his face. But it was so hard for him. To know that such small children felt as though they had to savor every bite of something as small as an apple seemed to break his heart. But he shook the thought from his head, and broke the small piece of bread in half, handing one half to each child.

Looking back in his bag, he smiled at the bit of fabric leaning out. It had been a rash decision, sure, but he couldn't help but be excited for what was a mere two days away now.

But those two days wouldn't be easy, if the raise in guards he had seen were any proof.


Blaine awoke from his deep slumber and couldn't keep the smile from his face. Tomorrow, he would be eighteen. And the day after that would be the ball, where he hopefully would find his wife – and one day, his queen.

The thought only increased the smile, turning it into a full-fledged grin. He pulled the blanket off of him, and slid his legs over the side of the bed, slipping is feet into the warm, red slippers on the ground. Brushing his hands down the red silk pajamas he wore, he couldn't help but think that that ball was going to be a great day.

And he sure as hell couldn't wait for it.


A/N: Just so you know, I'll describe the dress as well as give a link to a picture of it in the next chapter. YOU NO GETS TO KNOW WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE 'TILL THEN! 3 It's blue and white. That's all I'm tellin' ya.

I had EVERY INTENTION of including the ball in this chapter. But, I didn't. I wrote too many other words, and my average for a chapter is high 2,000's, low 3,000, since that helps me update more frequently without it being too short. And you would've had to wait another day or two for me to include the ball. So, I'm putting it in the next chapter.

And yes, Kurt's gonna crossdress. I'm not trying to be offensive and say 'ohh, he looks like a girl so he should wear a dress!'. Not at all. He lives in a place where being gay could get him killed, and he wants to dance with some frigin' boys! So, he's going to wear a dress. I'm a guy and I've worn a dress before... you stink Tori.

ANYWAYS, thanks again to everyone :3

ilovehappiness - No, he doesn't know really. He knows times are harder now, but that's about it. He lives in a closed-off environment, and his parents can choose what he can learn and what he can't.

Spark Of Insanity - Klaine hugs are magical and heal all. Period. There is no arguing that fact.

GleeFangurl721 - Sorry it took so long, but here ya go! :D

I'll have the next chapter out in 2-3 days, or if you're lucky and I'm not exhausted, tomorrow after I do the next chapter of my other story~

~Joshua