Chapter Sixteen
Kurt let out a sigh as he slipped into a seat in the dining hall that afternoon. He hadn't actually begun classes yet, but had spent the day being shown from class to class to meet with each of the teachers he would have that semester and going over the curriculum. Most of the teachers had seemed unimpressed with him, though the French teacher had been enthusiastic when he conversed with her in near perfect French. She had corrected him on his pronunciation of Jourdanaire, but otherwise was very pleased with his ability.
After he had met all his teachers, he'd been given a tour of the rest of the school by an overly enthusiastic human boy, who had been very forward in letting him know that he thought Kurt was hot, and that he'd be down for fooling around anytime Kurt was in the mood. Kurt didn't know how to react to that, and had pretty much told the boy no thanks.
All he really wanted to do now was go back to Ethan's room and check on Blaine, but Jackie had asked to meet with him and Wes here for a bite to eat before they began working on helping Kurt hone his memory reading powers. He wasn't sure he was really up for this today. His head still throbbed every once in a while when the light was too bright, or the noise a little too loud.
"Where is Thad and his foul tasting headache tea when I need him?" he muttered to Wes, who was sitting across from him.
"Are you really still feeling that bad?" Wes said with a frown, looking rather concerned.
"I think I'm just still sensitive to certain things, like light and noise. And my human tour guide was hitting on me. But I don't want to back out on Jackie. That's not the kind of person I am."
Wes studied him for a moment, still looking concerned. "I'll have Thad bring you something. Jackie should be here any moment, and Mercedes just texted Beatz that they are on their way, and bringing another member of their Circle."
That last bit got Kurt's attention. "Wait, they're bringing someone else from their Circle? Who?" he said.
"I'm not sure, one of the adults, apparently. Maybe one of their mothers? Beatz didn't say."
Kurt frowned. "Are we really sure we want to bring an outside adult into this? I mean, one of your dads, fine, but I don't know." He was still a little apprehensive about other people knowing he was a witch.
"Adults can be really useful, Kurt. Their powers are stronger because they're more experienced," Wes said. "Besides, if it's someone Mercedes and Santana are bringing, I'm sure they both thought she could be useful."
Kurt sighed again, rubbing at his eyes. "Okay, I trust the girls, I guess I will trust whoever they bring."
"Kurt?" Jackie said, taking a seat next to him. "Are you alright, dear?"
"Hi, Jackie," Kurt said, managing to muster up a smile for her. "I'm fine, I guess. Trent said Ethan's powers overloaded me last night. I'm just a little sensitive today, that's all." While Kurt hated backing out, he wasn't going to outright lie to Jackie. In fact, he had a weird feeling that he wouldn't have been able to keep the bullying issue from her if he tried to.
The older woman reached out her hand and took one of Kurt's, turning it palm up and placing her other hand over it, looking deep into his eyes. He saw her blue eyes glow faintly, and he knew she was reading the memory of what had happened the night before. After a moment, she blinked and sat back. "I think our lesson today will need to be postponed. Your mind is too chaotic to focus."
The pale witch shook his head slowly. "Oh Jackie, I don't want to be any kind of burden, or ask you to do that," he said, frowning. Kurt hated the fact that he felt like he was letting her down because of this. "I really do want to learn. It's just weird. What happened last night has never happened before."
"That's just it, Kurt, darling. That has never happened before, to any other witch, ever." She turned to Wes. "Perhaps you should have your healer add an amethyst infusion to the medicinal tea. It will help clear the mind."
Wes nodded his head. "If he doesn't have any on him, there's probably some in the potions store closet in the Sanctuary chambers."
"There's a potions store closet down there?" Kurt said in awe.
Wes shook his head. "I forget sometimes you haven't been here long and haven't really had a chance to explore the Sanctuary and it's antechambers. There is a potion store closet, as well as a closet for storing items to make charms and amulets."
Kurt just shook his head and sighed. "I still have so much to learn about this witching thing," he said.
Jackie smiled and patted his hand again. "There is plenty of time for that, don't worry too much about it. Right now you just need to concentrate on calming your mind."
"Thank you, Jackie. You've been so good to me," Kurt said, giving her hand a squeeze.
She squeezed his hand in return. "I know we're not supposed to play favorites, but Lizzie was my favorite niece. I was never able to have children of my own, but your mom was like a daughter to me."
Kurt gave her a watery smile. "My mom was the best mom I ever could have asked for. I feel like she would have been thrilled to learn the truth. Now I know why it felt like she always seemed to have a secret. I remember when I was younger thinking that she was so ethereal, she must know all the secrets to the universe and sadly could not divulge them all to dad and I."
That made the older woman laugh. "Give me your hand," she said, holding her hand out as if to arm wrestle him. He looked confused, but did as she asked. Instead of gripping his hand, she simply rested their palms together, and looked into his eyes again. Suddenly the room seemed to shift around them, and when Kurt glanced away, they were in a hospital room. There on the bed was his mom, looking younger than he remembered, and holding a tiny baby in her arms. A younger Jackie stood beside the bed, looking down on the infant with a beaming smile.
"He looks like you, Lizzie," younger Jackie said, reaching out to brush a tiny auburn curl off the boy's forehead.
"He's so beautiful, isn't he?" his mom said, looking up at the older woman.
"Of course he is. Where is Burt?"
Lizzie giggled. "I told him he needed to take a walk. I thought he was going to pass out during the delivery. He actually looked a little green around the gills."
Jackie laughed. "Poor dear. How are you feeling?"
"Tired, but so happy. I have a son! I know I should be disappointed that he's not a daughter I can pass my powers on to, but I just can't. There is just something about him, Jackie. I swear he has magic within him!"
The older woman just shook her head. "There is nothing to be disappointed about, darling. He's as the Goddess intended him to be."
The memory faded, and Kurt blinked his eyes, fighting back the tears threatening to fall. "Thank you."
Jackie patted his hand. "Now you can have an idea of just how much you meant to your mother. Though, maybe you'd like to speak to her one last time?" The look on her face was unreadable.
"You can do that?" he asked.
"If you want. I can bring back a memory of a conversation the two of you shared, or I have a friend whose specialty is spirit walking. She'd be able to bring your mother here so you can talk to her directly," Jackie said.
Kurt's eyes went wide. He could actually talk to his mother again? He couldn't speak for a few minutes. "I would love that. But maybe after we solve the mystery here first? I think I would be too distracted to concentrate after that."
She patted his hand again. "Of course dear," she said with a smile and then leaned in closer. "Though it might be a good idea to keep this from your father. He's not as quick to adapt as you are, yeah?"
Kurt just nodded. "I think I am going to go upstairs and check on Blaine now, if you don't mind?"
"Take up a dinner tray for him," Wes suggested. "It's early yet, but if you ask nicely enough, Angela will set you up."
Kurt nodded again. "Thanks Wes, and thanks Jackie. For everything," he said, before leaving the table.
Wes turned back to Jackie. "Do you really know someone who is a spirit walker? I thought that ability was a myth."
"It's a very rare talent. The Line only produces one every generation. When one passes on, another will acquire the ability."
"That's incredible," Wes said, watching Kurt practically flattering Angela. The elderly lunch lady was giggling like a schoolgirl. "I've never seen anyone charm her like that other than Blaine. You would think those two were interchangeable some times."
"I think the two of them are oblivious buffoons when it comes to each other," Jackie said, a small chuckle escaping her mouth.
"I'm not so sure they are completely oblivious," Wes said. "You haven't really seen the two of them together since you arrived. I know you saw the way Kurt rushed to Blaine's side when he thought the other boy was in danger."
"Yes well, Kurt is a lot like his mother, which means he's probably just as stubborn willed as Elizabeth was," Jackie said, chuckling again.
…
Blaine was pacing in front of the fireplace in Ethan's room. He'd been anxious and fidgety all day since Kurt had left. David and Trent were there, conversing with each other about the focus spell for Kurt, but both of them were aware of Blaine's agitated state.
"Would you sit down, you're driving me nuts!" David complained.
Blaine wrung both hands and threw them up in surrender. "I can't! I don't know what it is but something about Kurt not being in this room is making me nervous!"
"Is it that he's not in the room, or that he's just not with you that is the problem?" Trent asked.
The curly haired witch threw the boy a glare, but didn't say anything, frantically pacing to the window and turning to move back when something caught his eye. "What in the name of Katy Perry?"
"What is it?" David asked, standing and moving to join him at the window.
"I could swear I just saw someone darting through those trees," Blaine replied, pointing to a cluster of trees on the outskirts of the campus.
David frowned, squinting his eyes. After a moment he reached into his pocket and pulled out a clear quartz crystal, and began murmuring a spell to augment his eyesight. "I don't see anyone, just your boyfriend's aunt's cat."
Trent's head perked up. "Jackie said that the cat is either always with her, or stays in the room when she leaves. What would it be doing out on the grounds when she's down in the dining hall?"
David frowned, and began a different incantation. "It's definitely her cat, but there is something odd about it. I don't sense anything malicious about it, but…"
"But what?" Blaine asked, frowning. "What's odd about it?"
Trent's eyes widened. "Oh my gosh! You don't think her cat is one of those familiars, do you?"
Blaine turned to the younger boy. "'Those Familiars?'" he asked.
"There are familiars that have the rare ability to take a human form," Trent said. "They're exceedingly rare, though."
The three boys turned back to look out the window again, but there was no sign of the animal now.
"He should be okay," Trent said. "Glamour can only imitate humans. Like, actual humans. Even if he is one of those familiars, he's still officially a cat no matter what form he's in. But that doesn't explain why he's out there by himself. We need to tell Jackie."
"Tell Jackie what?" Kurt asked as he entered the room, a large picnic basket on his arm.
"That her cat is out in the Forbidden Forest," Blaine deadpanned. "Where have you been? I was worried about you!"
"I had to meet with all my teachers, and put up with an overly eager human tour guide. I just left Jackie and Wes downstairs."
"We just spotted Jackie's cat in the woods on the outskirts of campus," David said with a frown. "But Trent says the cat is either always with Jackie or left in her room so we don't know what he was doing out there."
Kurt frowned. "Should I call her and let her know?"
David nodded. "Yeah. Maybe she might have an idea why it is out there. I did a spell, so we know it's definitely her cat. Then Trent said something about it possibly being a familiar that can take human form."
Kurt raised one incredulous eyebrow, but didn't speak. He set the picnic basket down on the coffee table and pulled out his phone, dialing his great aunt's number.
"Kurt? Is everything alright, dear?"
"I'm fine, Jackie, but Trent and David said they saw your cat out in the woods and wondered if you knew he was out of your room."
"Living up to his name, most likely. Why do you think I normally shut him up if I don't take him with me?" she joked. "On a serious note, it's possible he might have seen something out there and went to investigate it. You'll find Mischief is a very resourceful animal."
"He's not just a cat, is he?" Kurt asked.
"Well no, he's not," Jackie said. "Part of the reason why he doesn't trust strangers right away. Which reminds me, I should ask him why he was so comfortable with you and Blaine. Not that it's wrong, it's just curiously out of character for him."
"Will he be safe out there alone if there is something or someone lurking about?"
"One thing most witches don't know about familiars, dear, is you cannot take their lives away from them. The Goddess will remove them from the earth when she deems their job has been satisfied. So essentially, you can say they are immortal because they cannot be killed."
"Good to know. I'll talk to you later, Jackie."
"You rest up now, dear. Love of the Goddess bless you."
He hung up the phone and slipped it into his pocket, turning to the other boys. "She says he will be fine, familiars can't be killed, only the Goddess can take their lives."
"I didn't know that," Blaine said, looking slightly surprised. "Does she have any idea what he's doing out there?"
Kurt shrugged. "Investigating, apparently. She thinks he may have spotted something and went to check it out."
The other three boys exchanged looks. "Well, as long as Jackie says he's okay," Blaine said with uncertainty.
"She didn't seem too concerned," Kurt replied. He looked the other boy over more closely now that he wasn't distracted. "How are you feeling?"
"Better, now that you're here." Blaine looked away, blushing. Neither boy noticed Trent and David exchange a look.
Kurt smiled softly at him. "Are you hungry? Angela down in the dining hall packed enough food to feed a small army when she found out you had been ill the last few days."
"That was sweet of her," Blaine said, looking back at Kurt. "I always try to make sure she's having a good day, that's all. But, I could eat."
The paler boy smiled. "Me, too. I didn't realize how hungry I was until now."
"Then you'll join me?" Blaine asked, looking up at Kurt from beneath his long eyelashes.
"I feel like we are intruding on a date or something," David muttered to Trent.
"I think they've both forgotten we are even here," Trent replied.
David snorted. "I think you're probably right." He pulled his phone out. "In which case, a perfect opportunity for heart eyes blackmail material." He grinned and turned on his video camera.
Before he could start recording however, Kurt raised his hand, and the phone flew into it. "You can have it back when you learn manners," the sassy witch said.
Trent and David exchanged glances and the former threw his hands up. "Don't look at me. I didn't tell you to try that."
Blaine laughed, shaking his head. "You don't want to mess with this one. He's unlike any other witch you've ever met."
Kurt just smiled at him and offered his arm. "Shall we, then?" he said, unable to keep the grin off his face.
Blaine smiled and took his arm. "Where are we going?"
The taller boy led him to the couch. "On a picnic," he said, setting the basket down. "Imagine where on the banks of the Seine River and it's a beautiful summer afternoon."
"Is there music playing?" the shorter boy asked, picturing the scene.
"Yes, light, airy, cheerful, and fun music from a nearby band," Kurt replied, smiling at him.
Blaine could almost feel the warm breeze on his face as Kurt opened the picnic basket and pulled out a bottle of sparkling cider and two glasses.
"The blanket beneath us is soft and lovely shades of blue tones. There are birds chirping nearby and a family also picnicking a little ways down," Kurt continued as he poured the cider into the glasses. "Their little girl is laughing with delight."
Across the room, watching the two boys, Trent's eyes went wide. He didn't think anyone but him realized what was happening. As Kurt described the scene, he was drawing energy and building a bubble around him and Blaine, creating a dimensional pocket, bringing a little area of France into the room.
David nudged Trent. "Dude, what's going on?" he asked.
Trent shook his head. "Something impossible."
"What do you mean, something impossible?"
"I mean Kurt is using magic in a way I've never seen before. I need to call my granddad and talk to him about this. This shouldn't be possible!"
"What is it that shouldn't be possible?" David asked, slightly aggravated. He wasn't really understanding how Trent could say it was impossible if he'd never seen it before.
Trent sighed. "Look at them, David!" He turned the darker witch towards the two boys on the couch. At first David didn't notice anything, until Kurt began to speak, and he realized that there was no sound at all coming from that area of the room. That was when he noticed the shimmery boundary of the bubble the two boys were in."
"What is that?" he asked.
"It's a dimensional pocket. Kurt literally took them to Paris."
"Wait, so, you mean, they're here, but they're not here? Because they're like, really in Paris?" David said, trying to understand.
"That's exactly what I mean."
David just stood there gawking at the pocket, wondering what in the world was actually going on.
On the other side, Kurt was serving Blaine a plate with a sandwich, grapes and some cheese. "Anything else I can get for you?" he asked him, smiling yet again, really unaware that the two of them weren't at Dalton anymore.
Blaine smiled and took the offered plate. "This looks delicious. Are there any apples in there? I love apples with my cheese."
"Coming right up," Kurt said, pulling a few apples out of the basket. "Do you want them cut or are you happy to eat them whole?"
"I can slice them, if there is a knife. And is that a pear tart for dessert?"
"It is," Kurt replied, handing him the knife. "You look really handsome today, by the way," he said, feeling a blush color his cheeks.
Blaine was also blushing. "Thank you. I was getting tired of walking around in pajama pants and t-shirts. Wes was nice enough to have someone bring some of my clothes from my parents' house." He unconsciously straightened the sapphire blue bow tie with the grey and green streaks running through it.
Kurt's eyes were drawn to the bow tie, and he felt his heart skip in his chest. But everything about Blaine made his heart skip in his chest. "I…" he started, ducking his head and busying himself with his own plate for a moment. He was at a loss for words, not sure exactly what to say. Only knowing that he didn't think Blaine had ever looked more beautiful.
As he made himself a sandwich from the selection of cold cuts and cheeses, he forgot that this was all make believe, a scene he had set for him and Blaine. He'd even forgotten about David and Trent on the other side of the room. It felt so real, he didn't question it. He and Blaine were on a picnic, in Paris. No other world existed but this one in that moment.
Blaine inclined his head to one side, regarding Kurt curiously. He studied his movements, watching his beautiful long pale fingers as they nimbly put another sandwich together, studying his profile. Instinctively, he reached out and swept back a single strand of auburn hair that had fallen into the other boy's eyes.
Startled, Kurt looked up at him as the other boy's hand lingered on his cheek a moment longer. Kurt's heart skipped a beat as Blaine began leaning closer. Kurt slowly moved forward, eyes darting between Blaine's hazel orbs and pink lips. He closed his eyes, waiting for something to happen...
...only to have something large and hairy push between the two boys, startling him. The large dog knocked Blaine over as a woman came running after it, apologizing profusely in French. Kurt frowned. This was supposed to be just his imagination, so why was a dog breaking into his moment?
Blaine blinked, seeming to come back to himself. "Um...Kurt? I don't think we're at Dalton anymore," he said.
Kurt frowned, looking around them. Even his imagination wasn't this detailed. "Are we actually in Paris?"
Blaine looked kind of scared, his eyes wide and his mouth agape. "How did we get here?" he asked.
Kurt shook his head. "I don't know? Did you do this?"
"What? Me?" Blaine frantically shook his own head. "Of course not. You were the one setting the scene."
Kurt frowned, biting his lip. "I didn't do anything. At least I don't think I did. You know I have no control over my magic." As the panic began to settle in a little more, the sunny scene around them began to fade out, until they once again found themselves sitting on the couch in Ethan's room.
"What the hell just happened?!" David yelled at the two of them.
"Don't yell at Kurt!" Blaine said, glaring at the older boy. "He can't help it!"
Trent was pacing the room on the phone with his granddad, unaware that whatever spell Kurt had created had been broken.
"Blaine, you two were physically gone from this room! Do you not realize how serious this is?" David retorted, raising an eyebrow at the shorter witch.
"Everyone just shut up!" Kurt yelled, rubbing at his temples. "I don't know what happened. I didn't even realize we weren't here until a dog got in our way. So stop yelling at us! My head is still sensitive. Do you really think I would have done something like that on purpose?"
Trent glanced over then, noticing that the two boys were no longer surrounded by the dimensional pocket. "Wait," he said into his phone. "They're back. Kurt, can you explain what you were feeling when you set your scene?"
Kurt groaned, still rubbing at his temples. "I don't want to think right now. I just need peace and quiet and Blaine."
Trent frowned, moving closer to the couch cautiously. "I'll call you back, gramps. I think I need to call Thad right now."
Blaine was studying Kurt as well. "You're white as a sheet, and your nose is bleeding."
Kurt's eyes went to Blaine. "I don't feel so good," was all he got out before he collapsed, his head falling into the younger boy's lap and his eyes falling shut.
Trent and David both began swearing, as Trent sent Thad and Beatz a text, and David dialed Wes.