Blaine Anderson was questing.
True, not many three year olds knew what questing was, but Blaine was quite educated in these matters. Questing was something you did when you needed to find something, but you didn't want it to be boring. Blaine hated boring things.
Blaine scampered around the room quietly, wearing the faded bathrobe his mother had left crumpled in the corner of her closet when she ran away from the ball – which was far too big for him, but looked like a royal robe if you squinted a bit – and his father's pocket watch, which served as a magic medallion to aid him in his quest. He was almost there… he could feel it…. Ah, ha!
But the magic book was so high on the bookshelf! Blaine pouted, crossing tiny arms over his chest. It looked like the true test of his valor was at hand. Blaine pulled himself up onto the couch, his curls getting ruffled by the thick fabric. Soon, he was standing on the couch cushion, testing his balance. So far, so good. Blaine hooked one leg over the back of the couch, pulling himself up to the top of the couch. He looked down with wide eyes; he was so tall!
Blaine turned back to the task at hand, reaching for the magic book. He was almost there, just a little higher…
"Blaine? What are you doing?"
Blaine turned, beaming, to where Daddy was standing in the doorway, "I'm questing, Daddy!"
"I see," Daddy said, his mouth pursing at the corners, "Is there any reason you had to climb on our couch?" He made it to Blaine in ten easy strides, lifting the child into his arms. Blaine took the boost of his father's arms to snatch the magic book off the shelf.
"I like climbing on couches," Blaine said, rubbing a hand over the front of the book.
Daddy laugh/sighed, the way he always did when Blaine discovered a new game to play. "I swear child… Tell you what. When you are older, you can jump on as many couches as you want."
Blaine's eyes bugged, "Really?"
"Yep, but only if you stay off of them now," Daddy took the book from Blaine's hand. "Do you want to read this?" Blaine nodded wildly, curls bouncing. Daddy laughed and kissed his cheek as he settled into the couch, the boy cuddled into the crook of his arm. Daddy pulled his reading glasses out of his pocket, placing them on the bridge of his nose. "Now, let's see; where we were…"
"The prince and princess were gonna meet each other!" Blaine said. His father regarded him doubtfully.
"Are you sure, Blainey boy? Let's see… the princess is locked in a castle… the prince falls in love with her…"
"- Because he hears her singing!"
" That's right… But an evil Wizard also hears the princess sing, and he wants her, too… What does the prince need to save the princess?"
"Courage!"
"That's my boy, hmmm… well; it looks like you were right. The prince agrees to meet the princess at the coming sunset." Blaine snuggled deeper into Daddy's side, waiting for his father's voice to lull him into story land. "But the Wizard knew of their plan, and he was determined to keep the brave and handsome Prince from reaching the Princess. So he went into the deepest forests to visit the trolls…"
"Oh, no," Blaine covered his face with his hands.
"The forests were very dark, but the Wizard was not afraid, for he was the darkest creature of all. He reached into his cloak and pulled out a bag filled with beautiful gold. The trolls gathered, entranced by the beautiful gifts. The Wizard gave them all the beautiful gold he had, but he was clever. He knew that the trolls would not be satisfied until they had even more.
"'Oh, please!' The trolls cried. 'Please give us more of the shining gold and silver. We'll die if we don't have it!' Of course, the silly trolls would have been just fine with no gold or silver at all, but to the trolls, that gold was more important than anything."
"Pffft!" Blaine laughed, "Silly trolls!"
"The Wizard promised them more gold, but only if they would capture the prince, and keep him locked away, so that the Wizard could sneak into the castle and take the princess for himself."
Blaine's laughter vanished, replaced by a gasp, "What! But the prince has to meet the princess! They can't do that, can they, Daddy?"
"Shh…. Let's see… The trolls agreed, and when the prince rode through the darkest forests, they all attacked him at once. The prince was very brave and strong, but the trolls were quick and clever, and they tied the prince up in a trap. The prince struggled to escape, but he became tired and discouraged, and the trolls all stood around and laughed at him. The sun set and the princess cried alone in the tower, because she thought the prince had forgotten her. And… it looks like that's the end of the page, baby boy… hey? What's the matter?"
Blaine sobbed, tiny tears dribbling between pudgy fingers, "It's so… sad!"
"Well, if you want, we could read some more."
Blaine shook his head, "No. One page at a time. It's more fun that way. Just let me peek…" He lifted Daddy's hand and turned the page just a bit, peering at the page underneath. A small, pretty little redheaded pixie grinned back at him. "Pixies! Daddy, the pixies will help the prince, won't they?"
Daddy smiled at him in that annoyingly grown up way and leaped at him, long fingers digging into Blaine's sensitive stomach. Blaine shrieked and giggled, trying to bat Daddy's tickling hands away.
"Now, no more crying, Blainey," Daddy said, kissing the top of Blaine's head this time. "Daddy has some work he needs to do, and he can't do it if Blainey keeps being a little monkey. So, what do you want to do to get your wiggles out?"
Blaine bit his lip, "Hmmm… Can I watch a movie now and get my wiggles out later?"
Daddy paused a moment, considering, "You know what? Sure. You can watch any movie you want."
"Even Aladdin?" Blaine asked.
"We have a winner!" Daddy announced, grabbing the movie and popping it into the player. Blaine curled up on the couch his eyes wide with excitement as the music began. "I love you, Blaine."
"I love you, too, Daddy."
…
"Do you think this will be okay?"
Blaine stared at the Hummel's guest room. Kurt was standing next to him, hands clasped together nervously. Blaine tried to look excited, tried to smile, but the effort just drained him. "It's adorable, Kurt."
The room was adorable. Kurt had decorated it himself, if the elegant French theme was anything to go by. Blaine sat on the bed, looking out passed gauzy curtains to see blue sky and the peeking branches of a tree growing on the side of their house.
"Oh… Okay," Kurt said, and Blaine knew he was disappointed. He walked over, going to lay a hand on Blaine's shoulder. Blaine flinched away, and Kurt's eyes turned blue. "Are you sure you don't want anything?"
Blaine shook his head, asking for privacy. Kurt clicked the door shut. Blaine was lying. He did want something.
He wanted his dad.
He stared out the window, reflecting that if he were a princess, this would be a beautiful tower to hide away in. But he wasn't a princess anymore, and there were no more princes coming for him.
Blaine lay down on his new bed and curled into a tight ball, crying into the empty room. His dad wasn't coming for him.
He'd been forgotten.