Chapter 25

With that new piece of information that Cooper had revealed, things seemed to look brighter for Blaine, but he was still not calling it a victory because his father and Raymond kept looking at each other with very confused and clueless looks.

"Are you sure about that?" Pamela asked, she was the only one who seemed to know to where her son was going with that conversation.

"Yes, mother, I already met her." Cooper confessed.

Ray and Richard turned around at the same time to look at Cooper.

"Why?" Blaine asked.

Cooper smiled and with the arm that was still over Blaine's shoulder gave him a sweet pat on the back. "Because I'm going to marry her."

"What?" Four voices asked in unison.

"Calm down, okay?" Cooper said, motioning everybody to not lose their heads just yet. "A couple of weeks ago, when I made my mission to find a way to help my little brother, I also thought about how unfortunate the situation was. My brother didn't choose to like boys the way I like girls and however, destiny seems to want to punish him by putting on his way the only Smythe boy available at the moment who also happens to like boys. I thought about turning the tables a little and imagined myself in his situation. And do you know what I realized?"

Pamela and Blaine shook their heads at the same time, but Ray and Richard didn't say or do anything.

"That if I were in his place, I would have done it in the blink of an eye. I would have married that Smythe boy right away...and do you know why?" Cooper asked again, and once more only Pamela and Blaine shook their heads. "Because I really don't care with whom I end up getting married. So after meeting Ludovico's goddaughter and making sure she was available, I decided that I'd marry her. That for sure is going to gain us Ludovico's favors, don't you all agree?" He asked, "With that we'll have Fortezza practically in our bags."

"But, you can't do that!" Blaine protested.

"Why not? That way you wouldn't have to marry Sebastian and-"

"I know that, but you don't love her, Cooper. It's not fair." Blaine trailed off, he was suddenly feeling very emotional.

"Look, Lamb." Cooper said, sounding all paternally. "Arianna was and always will be the love of my life. I know I'll never be able to find another one like her, so it really doesn't matter with whom I get married. And if marrying her will help us get Fortezza without any of us having to get involved with that devilish family, then so be it! I can do it! For you, for our family, for our Kingdom." Cooper said, and Blaine had to fight back the tears. "You deserve to be happy, Blaine. And if you're happy I will be happy too. I love you, Lamb, and I just want the best for you, and I know that right now you can only find that with Kurt, so…"

Blaine instead of replying laced his arms around his brother and hugged him tightly; sobbing a little and probably staining the caramel jerkin his brother was wearing.

"Are you sure you want to marry again so soon, son? It's been only a year since Arianna." Pamela asked, naturally worried for the well being of her son.

"I know, mother, and like I just said...I know I'll never find someone like her. You better than anyone knows that she was my everything and we both know that I have to get married anyway in order to get the crown or rule a city, so it was just a matter of time and she's nice. I had lunch with her last week. I didn't tell her who I was, though I suspect she knows, and I just pretended to bump into her. She's sweet and very attractive…" Cooper said, "besides, it's about time that you have some grandchildren, don't you think?"

o-o-o-o-o

Rinaldo Smythe couldn't be fooled, he knew something was up the moment his servant informed him about the lack of activity back in the Anderson's palace.

"Are you sure he's not been hiding somewhere in the palace?"

"I'm sure, my Lord. Our informant confirmed me that it have been more than a week since the last sighting." Enrico said.

"He can't be gone."

"He's not, my Lord. One of our informants asked some of the servants who knew about him and apparently he's at Padavia."

"Have you sent someone to check if he's there?"

"They are on their way, my Lord."

"Good, I want them to follow him everywhere he goes. I don't know why, but I think that the boy is not who Armati says he is."

"Don't worry, my Lord, we'll find out who he is." Enrico said, walking away and closing the door behind him.

"You better...you better." Rinaldo murmured under his breath as he drank his wine in one gulp.

o-o-o-o-o

After the initial shock of Cooper's plans, Ray finally decided to fully join the conversation and ask Cooper as many questions as he could about this apparently goddaughter of Ludovico Ripole. Blaine, on the other hand, couldn't believe his luck. Now thanks to his brother he wouldn't have to marry Sebastian.

Not that his plans were about to change drastically, he was still determined to go to Kurt's world and be with him forever, but now at least he could go in a state of internal peace with himself since his family would be okay, and that was as if they were suddenly removing one big rock from his shoulders.

"So...are you really doing this?" Richard asked, just to make sure things were settled.

"How many times do I have to repeat myself, father? Yes, I am sure. Now, can we please move on? I want to interrogate my little brother...he has a lot to tell us about this other world and I want to know everything so if you don't mind." Cooper said, motioning for his brother to follow him out of the library.

"Actually, Cooper, I would like to have a few words with your brother first." Richard said.

"You're not going to keep insisting on that stupid wedding, are you?"

"No." Richard finally said, and the whole room breathed again. They hadn't realized that they were all waiting to hear those words coming from the King's mouth.

"Okay, then." Cooper said, grabbing his mother's arm. "Mother and I will go and have a proper breakfast since all this unnecessary drama stopped us from having it earlier. Lamb, when you're done with father and you've eaten something, meet me at my chambers, you have a lot to share with me."

Blaine nodded and gave his brother a warm smile. Right now he was his favorite person in the world—obviously always after Kurt.

Pamela leaned over and kissed her son's forehead, whispering, "I'm so proud of you." As she left the room with Cooper walking in front of her.

Ray excused himself to the King and walked to the door. "Blaine?" He said. "I'll see you at night so you can fill me in with Kurt's health and everything that you experienced there."

"Yes, I'll meet you at my chambers." Blaine said, giving him a sweet smile. He knew Ray had been very supportive through this. He owed the man a lot.

Ray nodded, walking out the room and leaving Blaine alone with his father. Blaine felt awkward; he was still not sure about his father's reaction. He knew that his old man had gone through all kind of emotions in the past hour, so he really didn't know how the man was feeling.

"What happened to Kurt?" The King asked, catching Blaine a bit off guard.

"Huh-hmmm," Blaine stuttered, "some guys attacked him, but he's better now. He was in a coma which is this state in which you're like sleeping but not really, he looked like a corpse."

"La morte di sonno." Richard whispered, making the good fortune gesture.

"Yes, but here we can't know if they are actually sleeping or not, there they have these machines that help them breath and show if their hearts are still beating. I was so scared." Blaine confessed, recalling all he had been through.

"But he's fine now?"

"Well, yes...he's all bruised and hurt, the dottori there said he has a lot of broken bones and that it will take him some time to recover, but that he will be fine. But it was a close call, father, one of his friends told me they beat him to death."

"Why would anyone do that?"

"Because there's this group of boys who hate him because he likes boys instead of girls." Blaine sobbed, trying not to cry in front of his father. "And they almost killed him because of that." He said, but a couple of tears actually rolled down his face, and his father surprised him by giving him a hug.

"Come on, son, men can cry too. Let it go, come on...you're shaking." Richard said, hugging Blaine tightly.

Blaine was, indeed, shaking badly. He had had 24 hours of pure horror and now that he was finally secure in his father's arms he felt like a small kid again, crying because ha had fell and bruised his knee.

"I was so afraid of losing him." Blaine said between sobs. "I thought he was never going to wake up and then I kissed him and he opened his eyes, father."

"He woke up when you kissed him?"

"Well, not in the exact moment, but a few seconds later. His father had just walked in and he was asking who I was when Kurt said my name, father. The first thing he said when he woke up was my name!" Blaine said, while the tears kept rolling uncontrollably down his face.

"Well, he must love you very much then." Richard said.

"Do you really think so?" Blaine asked. He looked like a 5 year old who was asking for some reassurance after his pet had gotten sick.

"Yes, not everybody comes back from la morte di sonno. In fact I haven't known of anyone."

"Well, I love him more than he can imagine."

"Is that so?" Richard asked, but there was not a disapproving tone in his voice, on the contrary.

"I know you wanted a different thing for-" Blaine was saying, but Richard put his hand on his mouth to shut him up.

"Listen to me, okay Blaine? Yes, I had plans for you, but as you are well aware off, they were just plans that I, as the King, did to save this Kingdom, but as your father, my one and only desire has been and always will be to see you happy. I'm sorry if I made you believe otherwise. I know that a few minutes ago I was yelling and scolding you, but you can't start to fathom the emotions that were going through me."

"You were really upset." Blaine murmured under his breath, still hidden under his father's neck.

"I was, but not because of what you're thinking…" Richard said, leaving a soft kiss on Blaine's mess of curls, but the boy didn't notice it, "but because I knew I was losing you, Blaine. When you told me that you simply 'didn't care' you made me remember a younger version of myself yelling the exact same words to my father, and you know what?"

"What?"

"I was afraid because I knew you actually meant them. Not that I did not mean them at the moment, but I didn't have what you have, Blaine."

Blaine looked up and frowned. He didn't know what he could have that his father didn't.

"Courage, Blaine...courage." Richard said. "And when I noticed that in your eyes I knew that there was no way to make you change your mind, so I panicked and started yelling at you trying to intimidate you in hope to make you change your mind."

Blaine suddenly understood every word his father had yelled, he was genuinely scared of losing his son and that thought sent shivers through all his body.

"And I'm proud to say that you're just like me, but better...because you're stronger and clearly smarter than I ever was."

"Father…"

"It's the truth, my son. Now, let me give you something that I'm sure will make you very happy." Richard said, releasing Blaine and standing up.

Richard took out from one of the drawers a wooden box with the Anderson's Coat of Arms on it. He opened it and revealed a set of fine jewelry that Blaine had never seen before.

"This was your grandparents,'" Richard explained, "these are actually the only things I have left from them. Your aunts and uncles have the rest of them, but I was lucky enough to conserve some things that are pretty close to my heart." He said, taking a seat next to Blaine.

"Like this set of cuff-links," he said, handing him a pair of silver cuff-links, "they were my father's favorites."

"Just like the ones you are wearing right now are your favorites?" Blaine pointed out, noticing the usual pair of cuff-links his own father loved to wear.

"Good eye, my son. I wasn't expecting you to notice it so soon." Richard said with a smile. "But let's leave that for another occasion, today after what happened I want you to have something very special."

Blaine looked intrigued; he was dying to know what was that mysterious object. Richard took out a simple silver band with small blue sapphires encrusted on it.

"Here." He said, handing him the ring. "This was your grandfather's Nicholas wedding band. When he proposed to my mother he did it with a huge blue sapphire ring, which I'm sure you're familiar with since I gave it to your brother when Arianna came into his life."

Blaine remembered that ring, and the way it matched Arianna's blue eyes.

"When my parents got married they didn't request the traditional wedding bands. Your grandmother loved her blue ring and didn't want another ring that could overshadow it, so my father decided to make a matching ring instead and those two rings became the symbol of their love. Your grandfather used to say that he could see the sea in my mother's eyes, so the sapphires in this ring reminded him of her eyes. Even after she passed out, he always looked at this ring and smiled."

Blaine felt his eyes welling up with tears. He had his own pair of blue eyes that reminded him of the sea...Kurt's.

"I want you to have it and give it to Kurt when you think it's the right moment. For the arranged marriage I was going to give you one of the common rings from the family, but now that things have settled for the better I want you to have this so you can give it to the person you want to share your life with, and since we already know who that is, well…"

"But…" Blaine trailed off; he couldn't take that with him to the other world. He couldn't take that ring that had so much meaning to his father. His plan of going to Kurt's world was still intact.

"It's fine, Blaine, I know what you're thinking, but it's fine. I wish you could stay and be happy with him here with us, but if you think that being with Kurt in that world is what you want, then you'll have my blessing." Richard said. "You and your brother are the most important things I have, and like I told you before, I just want you to be happy. I'm sorry for all that misery I made you went through, but sometimes, I forget to be a father before a King, but I love you deeply, my son," Richard said, fighting back the tears. "And I'm going to miss you so much."

Blaine sobbed loudly and hugged his father, holding the ring tightly in his hand. "I love you too, father."

Richard rocked his son for a couple of minutes until Blaine could breathe normally again. "Now, there's something else I want to share with you."

"What is it?" Blaine asked, wiping the tears that still remained in his eyes.

"Have I ever shared with you how your mother and I met?"

Blaine shook his head even though he already knew the story. He was sure that hearing it from his father was going to make it even more amazing.

"Then pay attention because you're about to hear a story that's going to sound very familiar…" Richard said, smiling at his son, "you see? You and I are not so different, my son."

o-o-o-o-o

Kurt opened his eyes very reluctantly, he was having such a good dream that it was hard for him to want to face his reality, but even though the dream had been good he couldn't compare it with the excitement he felt with just the thought of seeing Blaine again. Kurt stretched a little, he was tired, after all, he had had a nightmare and a good dream all in the same night.

"Good morning, kiddo!" Burt exclaimed. He was seated on the couch next to the bed reading the newspaper.

"Hi, dad." Kurt whispered, still sleepy and rubbing his eyes with his free hand. The other one was under the sling. He hated to have a dislocated shoulder.

"How are you feeling?"

"Hungry." Kurt said, they had been feeding him with serum, but now he was allowed to eat real food—solid food.

"The nurse will be here any minute now." Burt informed him.

"Have you eaten something?"

"Not yet, I'll wait until someone is here with you to go down to the cafeteria."

"I can stay alone some time, dad. I'm fine...I promise."

"I know that, but I'll still wait."

"What time did Carole say they would be here?" Kurt asked, being very careful not to sound too desperate to know when was he going to see his boyfriend. "Because they are coming, right?"

Burt smiled. "Just say it Kurt, you just want to know when you're going to see Blaine."

Kurt blushed slightly. "Okay, yeah...I want to see him, but I also want to see Carole and Finn."

Burt chuckled. "Well, I already called Carole and they'll probably be here in one or two hours. The boys are still sleeping." Burt said, as a matter of explanation.

For a second Kurt panicked. 'What if Carole had entered and checked on Blaine?' He thought, but he knew that he was probably just overreacting. If there was a person in that house who respected privacy that was Carole.

"Did she check on them, or just assumed they were asleep?" Kurt asked, just to make sure they hadn't discovered Blaine.

Burt shrugged. "She assumed, I guess? Because she knocked in both doors but they didn't reply, so she's letting them rest for a little. Finn hasn't had a great week either. He stayed here with you five days in a row until Carole sent him home, he was feeling guilty."

"But it wasn't his fault." Kurt said.

"We know, but you know him...anyway, and Blaine...well, he looked dreadful last night. I think that the shock of seeing you unconscious and all the traveling exhausted him."

"Yeah, probably." Kurt replied with a smile.

"But don't worry, they will be-" Burt was saying when the door of the room swung open and Kurt's doctor came in.

"Good morning, Kurt! Burt..." He said, looking at the two Hummel men. "How are you feeling today?" He asked the young boy.

"Fine...can I go home?"

The doctor chuckled. "Well," he said, taking the charts that usually hang in front of the patient's bed, "if you keep getting better, I think that you'll probably be out of here on Monday."

"But that means two more days in here!" Kurt complained, clearly not happy with the doctor's answer. He was expecting to be discharged today.

"Kurt..." The doctor said, looking up from the charts, "you woke up from an eight days coma. And even though it was not a lot of time, it's not as simple as it sounds. Before you go home, we have to make sure that you are okay. That your brain is okay."

Kurt rolled his eyes and snorted. He was not happy with the idea of staying two more days in the hospital. "Fine, but can you promise me that I'll be home on Monday?"

The doctor gave him a reassuring smile. "You know? It's a good sign that you're grumpy in the mornings. I have a young son too, and when he's not grumpy during breakfast we know something is not fine. So keep up with the morning bad mood and I can promise you that you'll be home soon." The doctor said, making some final notes in Kurt's charts and leaving the room.

"I hate hospitals." Kurt murmured under his breath.

This is it for now. I hope you've liked it. Sorry for adding some angst, but we needed a bit of drama. This was starting to look like a fairy tale and although (like Cooper) I'm a full-time advocate of happy-endings, I wanted to spice things up a little bit. You'll see why ;) Anyway...we still have 13 chapters to go so keep an eye for new updates. See you soon!