A/N: As most things do in my life, this story simply found me…well, the idea for the story. I was working on activities to do for a training I am facilitating in late April when I came across a prompt. After reading it, I could see Klaine living it. So…here I am, writing this story when I told myself I was going to take a break. I have absolutely NO idea where this story is going to go. NONE. ZERO. Which…I sort of love. I love to see where my muse leads me. So, without further adieu, here is Nine.
It was a beautifully warm night in the little village of O'a Nalore. The townspeople could be heard celebrating in the town square, and the small river that snaked its way from the east end of the town to the west could be heard if one was quiet enough. Kurt Hummel was one such person that night. He was a tall, lithe man with pointed ears, though not so pointed as some of his kin.
Kurt's mother was an elf, and his father was a human. They fell in love at a young age and not long after they wed, they found out they were expecting. The trio had never been happier as those early years they all spent together.
On Kurt's 10th birthday, his parents gave him a brown leather cuff that held magical powers. What those magical powers were, he wasn't exactly sure. When he asked his parents, they told him all would be revealed to him when it was time. Kurt felt something happen when he put the cuff on, and he wouldn't know for several more years what the magic in the cuff meant or where it would lead him. That night, when he bathed, he took the cuff off, and there, on the underside of his wrist, was a number: 9. He had absolutely no idea what it meant, and he certainly knew it wasn't there when he'd woke up that morning, nor was it there before he'd put the cuff on.
After he finished bathing, he showed his parents the mark.
"We cannot tell you what the magic is," his father told him.
"I know, Papa," Kurt said. "You said that before you gave it to me."
"Then why did you think we'd have a different answer now?" his mother asked.
"Because this happened!" Kurt exclaimed. "Do I have nine minutes to live? Do I have nine days? Will I have nine children? Will I have nine husbands?"
His parents simply smiled at him. "Kurt," his father said as he pulled him down to sit between the two of them, "when the time is right, you will know what the number means. Can you honestly tell me, though, that you think we'd give you something that was going to cause you pain and heartache?"
Kurt thought about that question for a second and then shook his head. "No. I know you wouldn't. You both love me too much."
"We do," his mother replied and kissed his cheek. "Now, I don't want you to worry anymore about what the number means. Worrying won't make it make sense and will only distract you from living your life."
Kurt nodded his head, took a breath, and then hugged his parents. "Good night, Momma. Good night, Papa. I love you both."
Both of his parents returned the sentiment and watched as their little man went back to his room.
"Do you think he'll keep worrying?" Elizabeth asked.
"For a while," Burt replied. "We know what that cuff will bring him, and I only hope that I can be here to witness at least some of it."
"Me, too," Elizabeth said and kissed her husband.
Then, when Kurt was around 11 years old, his father was hunting and came across a group of bandits. He tried to defend himself as best as he could, taking out a couple of the bandits and injuring a couple more. In the end, though, he was severely outnumbered. Both Kurt and his mother wept at the loss of Burt, wondering if they'd ever stop grieving the man.
"I feel like if I stop grieving him, I'll forget about him," Kurt sobbed into his mother's chest on the first anniversary of Burt's death.
"I understand," Elizabeth said, her own tears trickling down her face. "What if we thought about it in another way?"
"What do you mean?" Kurt asked.
"Well, what if we look at our tears as bits of love we didn't get to show him while he was alive?" Elizabeth suggested.
"I don't want to cry all of the time, though," Kurt whispered.
"No. I'm not suggesting that," Elizabeth said, trying to find another way to explain her thoughts to her child. "We will continue to remember him and tell stories about him and laugh at memories. And when tears leak out of our eyes, that just means we had love left for him we didn't get to give him. Our tears can carry that love to him, wherever he is." The elves all believed they went to the afterlife when they died. And since Burt was human and had been cast out from his family for marrying an elf, he believed what Elizabeth did. They could never really know, though.
"Momma, you're smart," Kurt said with a smile.
Elizabeth kissed Kurt's temple and smiled. She didn't know if she was smart or not. What she did know was she wanted to make her and her son's heartache a little better, and she truly believed that their tears were love they didn't get to show Burt when he was alive. If telling her son what she felt in her heart made her smart, then so be it.
Neither he nor his mother ever really got over the loss of Burt, and they knew they never would. The days did become easier, though, and they were able to continue on with their lives as they knew he would want them to do. Over the next several years, Kurt grew and became quite insightful. He learned to read people and could sense if their hearts were pure or had any evil intent in them.
On the night of the town's harvest celebration, Kurt snuck away for some peace and quiet. He enjoyed the party every year, though it seemed like something was pulling him away from it this year. His mother had met a new man, another elf like her whom he really liked, and she was content, so he didn't feel bad leaving early. He stopped at the apex of the little bridge near his home and started to hum a song he had in his head. Kurt had no recollection of ever hearing it before, nor was it anything like any song he'd ever heard in his life.
Living in my own world, didn't understand
That anything can happen, when you take a chance
I never believed in what I couldn't see
I never opened my heart to all the possibilities
I know that something has changed
Never felt this way
And right here, tonight
This could be the start of something new
It feels so right to be here with you
And now, looking in your eyes
I feel in my heart the start of something new
Kurt was obviously confused. The song made no sense. None at all, yet he could hear it clear as a spring day when the sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud to be seen. It has to mean something, he decided. And just like the magic of my cuff, it, too, will reveal itself to me when the time is right.
He thought about the song as he listened to the water trickling over the rocks and through the town. Several minutes later, he heard movement behind him. As he turned around, he saw an old woman sitting up against one of the buildings in a nearby alleyway. Kurt could sense she meant him no harm and walked over toward her, seeing the pureness in her heart.
"Are you alright?" he asked gently.
"I'm just fine, child," she responded in a gravelly voice. Kurt couldn't decide if that was the way her voice was all of the time or if she had been crying so hard it made it that way.
"Are you new in town? I haven't seen you here before," Kurt asked.
"I'm just passing through," the woman replied.
"Well, I hope you have safe travels wherever it is you are heading," Kurt said and pulled out a few gold pieces to give the woman, coins he didn't need.
The woman accepted the coins and smiled. "You have a gentle soul, child," she whispered. "And, to repay your kindness, I'd like to give you something in return."
"Repayment isn't necessary, really," Kurt tried to explain.
"I know, and that's why I want to repay you. You gave me these coins out of the goodness of your heart because you are a generous and compassionate man. I would guess you don't ask much of the world, even though it has taken things precious to you away."
Kurt's eyes began to tear up, as they always did whenever he thought of his father, and he smiled. They were mostly happy tears these days, especially when happy memories entered his mind. Tonight was no exception. His father loved the celebration and what it stood for.
The woman reached into the pocket of her tattered robes and pulled out a vial that contained a shimmering blue liquid. The design around the vial was very intricate. Vines wove around it, and at the top, metal that looked like the bud of a rose covered the stopper. The liquid inside seemed to swirl like the stars when it was jostled.
"I want you to have this. Its contents will bring you glory and adventure and wonder in an unknown world."
"I couldn't possibly accept something so special," Kurt protested.
"I have been waiting for years to bestow this upon the right person," the woman explained, undeterred. "When you turned around and saw me, I knew you were the person I had been waiting for. Can't you see? The liquid is the color of your eyes. This has never been mine; I was simply the courier."
"And where did you get it from?" Kurt asked, intrigued.
"That, I am afraid, is a story I cannot tell you," the woman said. "Whether or not you use what is inside is up to you, Kurt."
Kurt looked down at the vial in his hands and stared at it. The liquid was the exact color of his eyes, and it was mesmerizing. He had no idea how long had passed when he realized he never told the woman his name. When he looked up, though, she was gone. He looked around and couldn't see her anywhere. Even beside him, the place where she was sitting looked as though nobody had ever occupied the space. Did she disappear, or was she ever even there? Of course, she was there. I am holding this vial as a result of her giving it to me. Kurt took a deep breath and attempted to calm his mind.
Not getting any negative feelings about the interaction—sure, it was strange. It wasn't bad, though—he decided to go home. As he crossed the bridge, he began to hum the song he had sung earlier.
Now who'd have ever thought that, mmm
We'd both be here tonight?
Yeah, and the world looks so much brighter
Oh, with you by my side
I know that something has changed
Never felt this way
I know it for real
This could be the start of something new
It feels so right to be here with you, oh
And now, looking in your eyes
I feel in my heart the start of something new
When he arrived home, he laid the vial on his nightstand and got ready for bed, all the while humming the song under his breath. It was like the song wouldn't leave him, not that he minded really. He really did like it. Its lyrics spoke of starting somewhere new with someone. While he was getting ready to bathe, his mind wandered.
Should I drink what's in the vial? Where would it take me? Do I want to leave here? What do I have to stay here for? I am not remotely interested in a relationship with anyone here, and Mom has met Emmyth. She seems happy, and I am so glad. I want her to be happy. Kurt's mind kept running as he both asked himself questions and then answered them. He bathed quickly, and when he was finished, he had finally decided. He wrote his mother a letter, explaining what happened with the woman and to not worry about him. Everything in his being was telling him that this felt right, that this was something he needed to do, almost like it was his destiny.
Kurt got dressed again in his nicest everyday clothes. He had no idea where he was going, and he didn't want to be under or overdressed, though he had no way of knowing if his attire would accomplish this. Next, he packed his backpack with his most prized possessions and put the money he had in a pouch at the bottom of his backpack. He added in some clothes and a couple of books.
With everything ready to go and his mind was clear and ready, Kurt unstoppered the vial, and before he could think another thought, he drank the liquid.
In the blink of an eye, Kurt found himself atop a hill, looking down over a city, though it didn't look like any city he'd ever seen before. I guess she was right about an unknown world, he thought as he took in the red, orange, and green leaves of the trees that were in front of him. Kurt stood there for several minutes, taking in the beauty of the river that ran through the city and the large body of water that it originated from. There were large houses, larger than anything in his village, as well as large bridges crossing over the river in multiple places.
Kurt had no idea how much time had passed when he was broken out of his awe of the sight in front of him. He quickly turned around when he heard it.
"That's impossible," he whispered, and before he realized what he was doing, his feet were carrying him toward the sound. He walked for just a couple of minutes before he came to where a man was swinging an axe to chop down a tree, likely for firewood judging by the pile that was already cut. The man had on clothes like nothing Kurt had ever seen. His shirt was black and red checkered, and he was wearing some sort of blue-colored pants with sturdy-looking work boots. Kurt could only see the back of his head, and atop that head was black curly hair.
I never knew that it could happen, 'till it happened to me
Oh, yeah
I didn't know it before, but now it's easy to see, oh
It's the start of something new
It feels so right to be here with you, oh
And now, looking in your eyes
I feel in my heart
That it's the start of something new
It feels so right (so right) to be here with you, oh
And now, looking in your eyes (looking in your eyes)
I feel in my heart (feel in my heart)
The start of something new (the start of something new)
The start of something new
Kurt couldn't help himself and started singing along with the man. They added to what each other was singing by repeating certain lyrics, and it just fit. When the other man turned around having noticed someone else was there, their eyes met, and Kurt knew in that single moment that this was only the beginning of his journey.
A/N: I got the grief idea from Andrew Garfield. He did an interview with Stephen Colbert and talked about losing his mom. I thought it was beautiful and adapted it for this story. The song used is "Start of Something New" by Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens from High School Musical.