Okay so we actually have some much over due Kurt and Blaine interaction in this one! Whoop whoop! Also, I didn't have anyone look over this chapter so please forgive the mistakes;P
Blaine was brought back to the present when he felt something grab onto his pant leg and tug. He looked down to find a small elfin child looking up at him, clutching the material on his leg.
The guards started to move in to extract the girl from the king, but Blaine held up his hand to signal that it was okay. He bent down to the girls level and smiled.
"What's your name?" He asked gently.
The little girl looked shyly at the ground as she answered, "Redina."
"Redina, that's a beautiful name." The girl looked at Blaine and gave a timid smile.
Sue, one of Blaine's advisers, cleared her throat to signal that it was time to go.
Blaine swallowed his annoyance with the woman. He had never liked her. "It was nice meeting you Redina, but that grumpy old lady over there is telling me that it's time for me to go," He whispered loud enough for Sue to hear, making Redina giggle shyly.
Blaine stood up and shot a scathing look in Sues direction. She had the decency to look chastised as she shifted her weight uncomfortably.
With a small wave in Redina's direction, Blaine continued on to the palace.
"Wait!" Redinas voice came from behind him.
Blaine stopped and turned around to see the little girl running towards him.
"I have to tell you something!" Redina said as she caught up.
"What is it?" Blaine asked, ignoring the look Sue gave him.
Redina tugged on his hand until Blaine was once again at eye level with her. "My mom is really sick," she said quietly with tears forming in her eyes. "She started feeling ill a couple weeks ago, but has been getting worse."
Blaine didn't know what to say. For all she knew, Redina's mother could just have the common cold, and it was just being exaggerated by the young elf.
"It's not only her either," Redina continued. "People all over the village are getting the same thing. A lot of people have already died."
This caught Blaine's attention. "People are dying? Why wasn't I told of this?" He demanded, whirling around to face Sue.
"You never asked, Your Majesty." She said the words with such disdain that Blaine was taken aback.
"I never asked?" His voice was beginning to rise. "I shouldn't have to ask. The reason I have you and the rest of my court is so I can be informed of the happenings of my kingdom. If I am not being told when something major is going on, I'm not sure why I keep any of you around." He finished in a stone cold voice.
Blaine turned back to Redina, who was still crying. "Redina, thank you for telling me. I will do everything I can to find out what's going on, and fix it."
Redina nodded, but still looked troubled.
"Here," Blaine said, holding out his hand.
From the center of his palm, grew a beautiful purple rose. He gave it to Redina, and took satisfaction in the look of wonderment and joy on her face.
"You better be getting home now. Tell your mom that I said I hope she feels better."
Redina nodded and hurried off, excited to show her flower to her family.
Blaine turned to his counselors. "We're going back to the palace, and you're going to tell me everything you know about this sickness. And I need one of you to call for the barons over the cities. Have them at the palace as soon as possible."
Nobody moved. They stood there staring as if Blaine had grown another head. They clearly weren't used to him giving demands, and they didn't look like they were planning on following.
Blaine had to calm down. He could feel himself starting to lose control. The grass and vines surrounding the path began to grow, the wind blowing fiercely.
He took a deep breath and calmed slightly. It wouldn't look good if the King lost control in the middle of the village as his people watched on.
"Lets go," Blaine said through gritted teeth.
They resumed their walk back to the palace, Blaine in the middle of the loose circle of knights.
As they walked, Blaine noticed the lack of people in the streets. Usually the roads were bustling with elves going about their business. Now, the streets were almost empty. There were only a few stragglers, but they looked like they were closing their shops, ready to go home.
"Where is everyone?" Blaine asked to no one in particular.
No one answered him. He had just about enough of this disrespect. Normal elves shouldn't be treated this way, much less the king. He was just about to let them know that he wouldn't tolerate it anymore when someone spoke.
"A lot of them are ill, or taking care of sick loved ones" said a voice that Blaine would recognize anywhere.
He almost stopped walking as he turned to the guard on his left. "Kurt?" He asked in astonishment. He hadn't even known that he was with his small group of guards.
He glanced at him without turning his head. "Hi," he said with a small grin.
Blaine just gaped at him and slowed down. "How long have you been here? I didn't even notice you!"
"You never do," he tried to smile, but it was pained.
Blaine opened his mouth to deny that, but he knew that it was true. He had seen him only a few times in the last year, and that was only in passing. He was just too busy. It was hard for him to even find time to sleep.
"Kurt…" He started
"Its fine, really. I know you've been busy," he said with a weak smile.
The fell into an uncomfortable silence, Blaine noticed the grief in his eyes. Kurt, like Blaine, had just buried his best friend. And similar to him, Kurt also didn't have family to lean back on.
From a young age, he had been alone. His parents had given him to the palace to look after shortly after he was born. A child born with more than one power were almost always given to the palace to become knights. It wasn't a rule that elves had to give up their children, but it was expected. The few people that didn't were seen as ungrateful to their kingdom and were shunned by their neighbors.
This was how most of the guards had started working at the palace. They almost all had been abandoned.
Kurt was no exception.
Kurt's parents Burt and Elizabeth had tried to deny the fact that Kurt was born with more than one power for as long as they could, but they knew that they couldn't hide it for long. Kurt of course could always go back and visit his parents, but by the time he was ready to forgive them for making him leave, his mother had passed away. Kurt was devastated and furious at himself for not going home sooner. He lost the chance to say goodbye to his mom, and would never forgive himself for letting her die thinking that her son hated her.
Kurt would occasionally visit his father, but he was a shell of the man he once was after losing his son and his wife. Kurt lost both of his parents the day that Elizabeth died. He was alone.
Blaine never even thought about what would happen to Kurt when Mercedes died. He was stuck worrying about what he would do. But now, staring Kurt in the face, his eyes showing the sorrow he was trying to hide, he realized that they were in a more similar situation than she thought.
Mercedes had been both of their best friends. When he wasn't with Blaine, she was with Kurt. Mercedes had never been too busy for her friends in spite of her hectic schedule.
Blaine wished he could say the same. But he had failed as a friend.
"It's not okay." he broke through the silence.
Kurt turned to him. "What?"
"The fact that I abandoned you. Both of you. The only reason Mercedes and I stayed close was because she was a force of nature that refused to be ignored." They both shared knowing grins at that.
"Blaine, really. I get it. It can't be easy ruling a whole kingdom by yourself, and from the looks of it you haven't had a lot of help." He said as he looked at Sue, walking at the head of the group.
"Yeah, tell me about it. I didn't even know about this sickness that is supposedly going around. How long has that been going on anyway?"
"A few weeks. I'm honestly surprised you didn't know."
"How could I have known if no one in my court is doing their job," he said, not even trying to keep his voice low.
"Why do you even keep them around? Couldn't you get elves that are more… Accepting of you?"
"At this point I'm not sure if there are any elves that accept me as their king. And I can't even imagine kicking out all of my advisors and having to find new ones while everything is still so hectic." Blaine said bitterly.
"They'll get used to you soon I'm sure." Kurt reassured him. "Or maybe they won't. Who knows. Maybe you'll go through your whole serving period having subjects that hate you and reject everything you say until you are faced with an inevitable rebellion that ends with them winning and stealing the throne from right under your nose." He teased casually.
Blaine scoffed and summoned a root from the ground to trip him.
Kurt, who was chuckling at his own joke, didn't notice the root. He took another step and stumbled over the offending branch. He tripped so suddenly that even with all of his fast knightly reflexes he couldn't catch himself. Blaine, expecting his tumble to the ground, lifted Kurt back up to an upright position with a gust of wind.
Kurt, who was usually graceful compared to Blaine, continued to trip over his feet, until he came to a stop.
The guards surrounding them were failing to hide their smiles and laughter. Blaine however, was unable to stop laughing. Hee was bent over himself wheezing harder than ever. He would straighten up, only to bend back over and laugh some more.
Kurt couldn't help but laugh a little with him. He hadn't even seen him smile much in the last few months, and this was a nice break from the expressionless faces he had gotten used to. It was like the wall hiding his emotions had finally broken.
Blaine was finally calmed down enough to straighten up and wipe away the tears of laughter that had formed in his eyes. He looked back at Kurt and cheekily smiled.
Kurt rolled his eyes and retaliated with a small blast of wind of his own, making Blaine stumble.
The rest of the trip continued in the same manner. They tripped and shoved one another the whole way back, acting like children. It was the first time in almost a year that Blaine laughed so hard, or had this much fun. His stomach was hurting from laughing and her cheeks were stained with dried tears. Kurt was in the same state.
The previously somber mood from the burial had lifted, and everyone was in high spirits. Sue was a different story. She was getting increasingly agitated, sending warning looks at the two of them.
By the time they got to the top of the spiral staircase they had all calmed down significantly. The discussion that was to be held with the barons was looming ahead of them like a dark cloud, halting their laughter.
It would be awhile until everyone arrived, but Blaine had to prepare. He dismissed the guards and set off down the hallway to get ready for their impending arrival.
"Blaine, wait," Kurt stopped him with a hand on his arm. "I wanted to tell you that I had a lot of fun today. I haven't seen you laugh like that in ages."
"I wouldn't be too surprised if I woke up with abs tomorrow, that's for sure." He grinned up at Kurt.
"We should spend more time together. I miss you." Kurt said, almost whispering.
Blaine blushed, suddenly finding the ground fascinating. "I miss you too," he replied.
Kurt looked at him, a glimmer of hope shining in his eyes. "Have dinner with me tomorrow. Or breakfast, or lunch, whatever works best for you." He said excitedly.
Blaine's smile fell. "Kurt, I don't think I can. I just have so much to do and I-"
"Please," he begged, grabbing his hand. "That is what you kept telling me before we stopped talking, and look where it got us. Barely speaking other than a quick hello when we pass each other in the halls. I don't want that to happen again. Please, just one hour of your time is all I ask," he pleaded.
Blaine was taken aback by the desperation on his face. He suspected Kurt was lonely, but didn't realize how deep it went.
"I…" he hesitated at the heart wrenching look of discouragement and sadness on Kurt's face. A look that he decided he never wanted to be the cause of again. "Dinner sounds wonderful," he finished, squeezing his hand.
The look of triumph on his face put all of her worries to rest. "Yes!" he shouted. "I promise you won't regret this."
Blaine laughed at his enthusiasm. "I'll hold you to that promise," he teased. "But for now I really have to go."
"Right, I guess I'll see you later then," Kurt said, releasing his hand.
"I guess you will."
They turned around and headed down the opposite sides of the hallway, both of them looking forward to the next day already.
