Oh derp...
A few years gone by and the changes set in place by the Witch's takeover had become increasingly obvious. By this point everyone knew something huge was taking place, but only to a certain level. Blaine was pretty sure no one had guessed yet that the reason so many strange things were occurring was because hundreds (possibly? How many worlds were there?) of worlds were being merged into one huge world.
What people did know was that strange things were happening and right in the center of it all was this huge, dark stone castle. Piecing together rumors Blaine had heard throughout his travels so far, the castle surrounded by dense, gloomy fog had appeared only a few short months after the Witch had taken control of the universe globe in the brothers' destroyed throne room. Blaine had yet to see the Witch's castle for himself, but soon that would change. For over a week now he had been traveling in the direction he had heard the castle to be in.
In the beginning the loss of the Tor had been a real problem. Blaine had figured he would be stuck in the same world for the rest of his life. Once the Witch's plot to merge all of the worlds had started to commence, however, Blaine had realized that would not be so. After all, he would not have to jump between worlds now that they were all starting to connect, right? He would just have to travel on foot, or by horse. The horse he was using was still the same one he had received from Mike all those years ago, when Kurt first disappeared and the Witch took over.
His hope was that Jakob, who had yet to be found, may have already attempted to find the Witch's castle as well. If he had he might still be around and then Blaine could find him. If Jakob was not around there then he could at least scope out the castle to maybe pinpoint some weak spots, or even find something that could help him stop the Witch.
It was day eight of his journey to find the castle. The weather had been on his side so far, compared to the occasions he would have to travel in horrible conditions, such as rain or in a blizzard. He had passed two villages so far along the way. Despite the confusion and speculation over all the changes occurring in the world over the past few years, people Blaine met along the way were at least trying to retain some sort of a normal life.
On this bright, early morning he found himself traversing a well beaten path through a dense wood. He had already passed over two streams and was approaching a third. Along the bank there was a worn out sign that showed a warning; the stream was cursed. Blaine had been hoping to take a break and let his horse have a drink, but they would not stop there if the stream was a danger to them. He was just moving on when a rustling in the bushes across the stream made him pause.
"Who's there?" Was it just an animal? In these days it was never a bad thing to be too cautious.
A figure, bearing a confused look upon his face, stepped out from behind a tree. Blaine forgot to breathe for a moment in his shock. He was staring at his self.
It was as if someone had placed a mirror in front of him, albeit a mirror that showed him maybe a few years younger and with more facial hair.
"Who are you?"
"I'd ask you the same question," said the other man, "but I may as well say 'myself'. How is it that you share my face?"
Blaine knew the correct answer to the man's question, yet he did not think speaking it out loud would garner him a positive response. Before the Witch had started to combine worlds, the general rules that Blaine and Kurt had assumed included the fact that there could not be more than one of the same person – or a twin of that person, basically – in the same world at the same time. Now that worlds were joining it meant the rules had to change, right? This was the first time Blaine had run into a twin of himself, so this pretty much confirmed it…but that did not make things any easier to explain.
"I'm sorry," Blaine started, "but the answer is a long one and I'm sure you would not believe even half of it. What are you doing out in these woods? It's become quite dangerous to travel alone nowadays."
The seemingly younger Blaine gave him a look he could imagine on his own face. The entire situation was quite peculiar and he could only wonder what the other man was thinking, considering he knew nothing of what was going on. "I could ask you the same thing. My sister and her husband rule these nearby lands. I live in the castle with them. When we were little my sister and I were all each other had until another joined us. After my sister married we all moved to the castle until one day our friend left. Now I return to the woods every so often, to the spot that he departed from, to see if he has returned."
There was a sad, longing look upon the younger man's face. Blaine wondered if that was how he, himself, looked when he was lost in his thoughts about Kurt.
"I am sorry to hear about the loss of your friend." He told the younger Blaine. "Did he give you any idea as to when he would return?"
The younger Blaine shook his head sadly. "No; and I don't know if he ever will. The circumstances of his arrival and leaving are of which you would not believe even if I told you. I must continue living with hope that one day he will return. It's not just me; my sister misses him as well and wishes to see him once more."
Something about this man's story was starting to make Blaine wonder. What about the friend's arrival and departure would Blaine not believe? Could it be that this Blaine and his sister had met Kurt early on, when Kurt first started his journey in this universe?
It was when Blaine tried to remember what Kurt had told him before about his adventures that he realized why this younger Blaine's story sounded so familiar. First he had to make sure though that this Blaine had actually met Kurt, otherwise he may come off as even stranger.
"Was your friend's name 'Kurt'?"
The younger man's face lit up as he nodded eagerly in response. "It was! How did you know? Have you met Kurt? Did he make it to your world somehow? Do you know if he was any closer to getting home? Is he okay? Is-"
"Woah!" Blaine laughed, gesturing for the other man to slow down. "Yes, I have met Kurt. He visited my world a few years ago and a lot has happened since then. "
"Please tell me everything!" Younger Blaine pleaded. "Oh, first let's go back to the castle so you and your horse may rest. My sister, Rachel, will want to listen as well."
If this was all true then that meant this was the first world Kurt visited on his journey. Blaine wondered if it was fate or something else that had brought him to this particular wood where another Blaine lived.
He followed the younger man further through the wood until they came upon the edge of the line of trees. A cobbled stone road lay further ahead and led along to a magnificent castle in the west. Once they were nearing the castle's gate, however, Blaine had to wonder what others might think laying sight upon him. Was it safe for him to be here, or would there be distrust and suspicion due to the times they were living in?
In the end he did not have to worry. Having Blaine pause, the other man led Blaine's horse off to the stables for care and rest; then younger Blaine led him not through the gate, but around to a small secret entrance. It seemed he was thinking along the same lines as Blaine, himself, was. They made their way through a stone encased stairwell, lighted with small torches every few feet, until they reached a wooden door. Through the door they came out into a small, dimly lit chamber. No one was about, but, as they progressed, younger Blaine continued looking out for anyone they might possibly run into.
There hardly seemed anyone about. In fact, the castle was eerily quiet their entire journey. Blaine wanted to question as to why, but he felt that if he spoke the sound would echo off the walls.
Finally they reached the end of a short corridor and came to another room. The younger Blaine had barely knocked on the door before it was flung open and a seemingly slightly older lady, her hair a mess of loose wild dark curls, flew out of the room.
"Did he come back? I saw you walking back with someone- oh!" The lady stopped in shock, her eyes widening at the sight of the two Blaines before her. "Um…Blaine?"
This was going to become a problem fairly quickly. If Rachel kept calling her Blaine by his name, the two of them may get confused as to which 'Blaine' she was talking to.
"He knows Kurt, Rachel." The younger man explained, leading Blaine into the room so he could sit down. "I met him traveling in the woods and, well…" he turned to Blaine, "can you just tell us your story? How did you meet Kurt?"
So for the next hour or so Blaine spoke of his first meeting with Kurt and the adventures that followed them afterward. Both Rachel and younger Blaine were sad to hear that Kurt was gone, but glad to know he had finally made it home where he belonged.
When it came to the Witch and her evil plans, both younger Blaine and Rachel were relieved to finally know what was going on. For a long time now they had known something was clearly going on, something bad, and it was affecting the kingdom. Rachel left the room and returned with her husband, King Finn.
Even though Blaine had yet to find the Witch's castle, Finn was pleased to know that there was at least a location for them to find the evil Witch. Seeing as Blaine knew more about what was going on, Finn and Rachel were both willing to let him take charge of their plans; the Witch was a danger to not only their kingdom, but also to the other worlds that now joined their own. Blaine did not think it wise to just send an army after the Witch however, so he explained that he still wanted to just find the Witch's castle first so they could get a better idea of the layout.
Finn stated that he would travel with him to find the castle. Younger Blaine wished to go as well, but Rachel protested. She did not want all of her family members – minus her child – going off on a potentially dangerous journey. Neither of the two men would relent, however, so in the end Blaine promised he would do his best to keep them both safe on their journey, as well as he was able at least.
They were just about finishing with their plans when something odd occurred. It was if an earthquake suddenly struck, the castle shaking violently. Finn grabbed onto the mantel of the fireplace, while Rachel and younger Blaine moved to the floor.
Blaine struggled over to the open window and held onto the stone windowsill as he looked out. There were a few people down in the courtyard shrieking and trying to grab onto things. Off in the distance he could see trees shaking and birds flying off into the sky. Dark clouds were spread out further off in the sky, somewhere towards the south. He wondered if that was the direction in which the Witch's castle stood.
It was not until the earthquake had ceased and everything had stopped moving that Blaine finally let go of the windowsill. "Are you all okay?"
The others were fine, if not a little bit unnerved. "What was that?" Rachel questioned. "We don't get earthquakes in this area very often."
Did it have to deal with the Witch? Was it a result of more worlds colliding? For some reason Blaine had a weird feeling in his gut, and he was not so sure that something else, something bigger, had just occurred. There was a weird change in the air, something was coming.
