Tags: Capture

A/N: Translations at the end

The group was lucky and had smooth sailing during their journey to Slosa. They traveled for several days, which, thankfully, allowed everyone to heal fully. Kurt practiced his magic and began to really get the hang of it with Blaine's help, especially since Blaine was able to teach him a few of the spells he knew. They all learned about each other's backgrounds during the journey, as well. Finn, who was more than happy to talk about himself, was born and bred to fight for the purists, and, when he learned that this was his purpose, he left his home and family. Santana took a little bit longer to open up about herself. She said that she was looking for the monsters that killed her mother in her sleep one night and suspected that they were connected to the purists due to the mission the group was currently on. It was common knowledge that most dragonborn's were elitist, so when Santana's mother stood up for someone of a different race, Santana believed that she was killed in order to send a message to any other sympathizers.

Several days after they left Zhallas, they finally spotted Slosa. They could make out the outlines of the city as it rose through the mist, and the details became clearer as they approached the docks. None of them were prepared for the sheer size of the island city, though. Santana docked the ship, and they were met by a female gnome as they disembarked. She had extremely long, wavy gray hair, but the sides of her head were shaved short. Her brown skin was smooth, and she had a soft, attractive face. She was about three feet and four inches tall with a beefy build.

"Howdy," the woman said. "Will you be staying long?"

"We're not quite sure how long we are staying at the moment," Blaine answered. "We have business with the king and queen as well as some personal business."

"It will cost you 10 gold per day to leave your ship here," the woman said, matter-of-factly.

"That won't be a problem…I'm sorry. Where are my manners? My name is Blaine, and these are my travel companions," he said, pointing to the group behind him.

"I'm Grenceli," the woman said. "I'm one of the dockmasters, so if you want to leave your ship here, I can take your gold," she explained in a no-nonsense way.

Blaine pulled out 70 gold and handed it over to Grenceli. "This will pay us up for seven days. I'm not sure we will be here that long, but this way we won't have to come all the way back down here if our business takes us longer than we think it will."

"Thanks," Grenceli said, pocketing the money and taking note of the ship and the gold she had received in a notebook she kept in her pocket. "Enjoy Slosa," she said and walked away without saying anything else.

Now that the group had the dock fees paid, they could really take in the city in front of them. They could see hundreds of sturdy looking homes that looked as though they could withstand the harshest of storms. The houses were all tightly packed together and went up the mountainous island for at least 8 levels. Stairs led all over the city, connecting the multi-level complexes together. At the top of the town, they spotted the structure they were looking for: the castle. It was golden and had pillars and spires prominently on display, distinguishing it from everything else on the island.

As they made their way to the castle, they could smell the salty sea air, baked goods, and the musty smell of the animals that assisted the gnomes daily. They could hear the dockworkers in the distance, the tradesmen, women, and merchants selling their goods to locals and visitors alike, and children playing and laughing. The group didn't get the sense that this city was under any kind of spell like Frosa had been. It seemed like a generally happy place to live and visit.

"Dudes! This place would be so freaking cool to live in," Finn stated as they went up yet another flight of stairs.

"It seems lovely so far," Blaine commented. "I don't think I could live this close to so many people myself."

"The people don't bother me that much," Finn replied.

"Then, you should do it, Finn," Kurt answered. "If this is where your heart is pulling you, you should follow it." As Kurt was saying this, he was looking at Blaine, silently communicating with him the double meaning of his words. It did not go unnoticed by Santana. She had had her suspicions about the boys from the start, though they didn't seem ready to share their feelings with anyone but themselves. She respected that.

Once they got close to the castle, they decided to call it a night and get some rooms at The Colossal Meerkat Inn. Upon seeing the name, Blaine and Kurt looked at each other and laughed, knowing it reminded the other of Sebastian. They got two rooms, Blaine and Kurt in one and Finn and Santana in the other. Santana had been offered her own room, but said she didn't mind sharing with Finn as long as the windows opened.

After getting to their room, the night started just like any other. Both boys got ready for bed, doing their separate nighttime routines. But, when it came time to actually get into bed, they found themselves frantically kissing in the middle of the room. It was almost like Blaine nearly dying in the fight with the minotaur had finally caught up with them, and they needed to just be close to each other.

It started off as just kissing, chaste, but passionate. Blaine wasn't a stranger to kissing. While he was in college, he had found a couple of boys that he thought he might be able to really fall for. As it turned out, they only wanted sex, and Blaine knew that he wasn't that kind of guy. Kissing Kurt wasn't like anything he had experienced before, though. This was so much more, and he knew it was because he felt for Kurt and Kurt felt something back for him.

Blaine led Kurt to the bed so that they could lay down next to each other and continue their kissing, which Kurt had no problem with. The boys were in a tight embrace and continued to hold each other close and kiss. Nothing more than that happened that night, and they fell asleep happy and content in each other's arms.

Everyone met downstairs to have breakfast the next morning before trekking the rest of the way to the castle. When they reached the palace, Blaine let the guards know that they would like to speak to the King and Queen as they had knowledge of their missing daughter. The group was quickly led to the throne room where they were announced to King Piedmont and Queen Cellma.

King Piedmont was sitting on a very decorative throne and had long, straight brown hair and golden eyes. His skin was a smooth pink with a muscular build and was covered in ornate green robes. He had a square, common-looking face with a short, chinstrap beard. Queen Cellma sat to his left on her own decorative throne and wore complementary silver robes. She had extremely long, braided, auburn hair and gray eyes. Her skin was golden and smooth like her husbands with a petite build and an oval face.

"We are told that you have information regarding our daughter," King Piedmont thundered through the wide space.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Blaine answered bowing toward the royals. "We found a mirror that allows us to see and talk to your daughter, though none of us, her included, can figure out exactly where she is."

"Can we see her?" Queen Cellma asked, excited to see her daughter once again.

"Of course," Blaine said and pulled out the mirror. He walked up to the royals and set the mirror down on the surface between them so that he could call to Liddel. Blaine showed them how to activate the mirror and informed them that they could not hold it while they were talking to her.

Blaine and the rest of his group stayed quiet while the royals talked. King Piedmont asked after a while, "May we keep the mirror? Our historians and geographers know a great deal about the land surrounding our fair kingdom. They may be able to find her." He eyed Blaine with a look that was almost pleading.

"Of course," Blaine agreed, secretly thanking the gods above that the task was out of his hands. He knew that their own journey would be taxing enough without the added responsibility of finding the princess.

"What can we do to thank you for helping us find our daughter?" Queen Cellma asked, thankful that they could at least talk to her again.

"Well," Blaine began, "we are on a mission to find any others with this mark." He showed the royals his hands. "We were told that our next companion would be around here. Any guidance you could give us would be helpful."

"I will have one of the guards lead you to Magpies. He is a sorcerer that will imbue any weapons you have with magic. All expenses will be paid by us as thanks. Then, the guard will lead you to a yuan-ti named Dozeh. She is who we go to when we need to find a specific person or group of people. She can be a little difficult. Just know, she is all bark with no bite. Since we are on an island, as additional thanks, we will supply each one of you with an apparatus that will allow you to breathe underwater should the situation ever arise," King Piedmont explained to the group.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," they all said in unison, bowed, and stowed the breathers in their packs for now.

One of the guards in the room led the group to Magpies' shop. It was not far off, and they arrived mere minutes later. When they entered, they saw a catlike humanoid with fluffy black fur, golden eyes that squinted every so often, and a round face. He was a few inches taller than Blaine and very lean. At seeing the group with the guard, Magpies stopped what he was doing and addressed them. "How may I help you?" he purred.

"The King and Queen would like you to imbue each of their weapons with their power of choice, and their Majesty's will take care of the cost," the guard reported.

"Very well," Magpies responded. He told the group the types of magical damage he could add to their weapons and let each one choose. Blaine chose thunder, Kurt and Finn chose lightning, and Santana chose acid. They all chatted with the guard and Magpies while he imbued their weapons. Each thanked him profusely and then followed the guard to meet Dozeh. As they got closer to the water, they noticed a lone figure near the shore. She had scaled, golden skin, shoulder-length golden hair, and bright blue eyes. She looked to be of average size with an oval face and flat, snake-like nose.

"Can I help you?" she asked, eyeing them suspiciously as the guard retreated back to the castle having fulfilled his duty.

"We are looking for someone, and the King thought that maybe you would be able to help us," Blaine answered.

"Perhapssssss," Dozeh answered. "Who are you, and who are you looking for?" Her long, forked tongue flicked out of her mouth as she spoke.

"I am Blaine, and this is Kurt, Finn, and Santana," Blaine explained. "We are looking for a drunken someone with a mohawk and unique tattoo."

Just at that moment, Dozeh noticed Finn's tattoo. "You'll never reach him!" she screeched, flying into hysterics. "They know what you're up to and are not going to allow you to collect your little band of loserssssss."

All at the same time Kurt drew his bow, Finn and Santana readied their swords, and Blaine began talking. "We will find our companion," he said sharply, "even if you choose not to help us. If you do help us, however, you'll keep your life." The threat felt funny coming out of his mouth, almost foreign, and he added. "My friends appear to be looking for a fight."

Valuing her own life above anyone else's, she hissed, "The dwarfssss with the merfolk." She watched as the faces of the group lit up. This was her favorite part, building them up before tearing them down. She knew they would die before getting to their companion as the merfolk did not take kindly to trespassers who hadn't signaled prior to arriving in their territory. Little did she know, Blaine knew this information from studying various beings and cultures throughout his childhood and college years. Since he didn't know who he was talking to, he couldn't appropriately send a message ahead of time and knew they would just have to take their chances.

The group eventually lowered their weapons and moved toward the shoreline. Blaine cast a spell on each of them that would allow them all to breathe underwater for 24 hours [Water Breathing] and forged their telepathic bond while Kurt prepared to turn into an animal that could get them to their destination.

Blaine informed the group through the bond that they would likely be held captive for a time until they could speak with the mer-king due to not being able to signal ahead of time. If needed, they could fight their way out, but he told them that he didn't feel that Fate would put them in a situation to fail this soon in their journey. While it wasn't a given, the group had a feeling that Blaine was right and even if they were held captive, they would leave the ocean with their next companion and mostly, if not all of the way, unscathed.

Blaine knew they could have used the breathing apparatuses that they were gifted; he just felt that this was safer for the time being. Since Santana had spent a great deal of time at sea, she knew approximately where the mermaid colony was located and drew out a map in the sand for Kurt who had been learning that he could do some pretty amazing magic with Blaine's recent tutelage.

When everything was ready to go, Kurt swam out into the ocean and Blaine used his magic [Polymorph] to transform him into a giant octopus. He told the group that they could come out and grab onto him. They all thanked Blaine for giving them the ability to breathe underwater as they held on tightly to Kurt, and he began swimming in the direction Santana had shown him.

Kurt could see them coming, but before he could say anything more than, ["Guys, I think…"] the group was surrounded by merpeople. Blaine knew from reading about them what they looked like, but nothing could have prepared him for meeting them in real life. They had blue-green skin, sapphire eyes, and blue-green scales that merged into a large fin on their lower bodies. Blaine communicated to them to the best of his ability that they were looking for somebody and that they meant the merfolk no harm. None of the merpeople responded, and Blaine wasn't sure if they couldn't or if they were refusing. From what he knew, they should have been able to understand him, so he was greatly confused. Kurt followed the lead of one merman, and the others flanked him on all sides.

When the group finally stopped, they were in a small, sheltered cavern. The water flowed outside the walls, but inside, the cavern was dry and cozy. Kurt reluctantly transformed back into an elf at Blaine's insistence.

One of the mermen leaned through the opening they had come through and told Blaine and his companions to wait where they were. Blaine tried to talk to the merman, but the others with him raised their tridents toward him in warning. The group decided that instead of fighting, it might be better to see how this played out. They could hear a couple of their escorts talking about how thankful they were that Dozeh sent a message to the King, letting him know that the ones who killed Marius were on their way to turn themselves in.

"That witch!" Santana bit out at hearing the news. "She better hope she's not around when we get back to the surface or else I'm gonna pull the razors out of my hair and give her some new artwork on her body."

"Santana," Blaine said, "violence isn't the answer in this case. Dozeh will get what's coming to her; the universe always takes care of wrong-doers one way or another." He directed his attention back to the group. "Anyone know someone called Marius?" None of them answered. "We need to meet with the King to sort this all out. The guards won't be able to do anything here."

Blaine could see that there was a guard nearby, and he went to talk to him. "Excuse me. Will there be a chance for us to talk to his Majesty?"

"The king typically takes a day to deliberate when prisoners are brought in before they are allowed to have an audience with him and plead their case," the guard grunted. He spoke with such a gruff tone that Blaine was afraid to ask any more questions.

Coming back toward his companions, Blaine looked around the cavern they were in and noticed several fascinating things. There was a bridge from one piece of land to the next, as well as an old ship in the water that was sort of leaning onto another piece of land connected by a narrow bridge. Wondering if there was anything lurking in the depths, Blaine tossed a rock out to see if anything happened. Several sharks emerged from the darkness, gnashing their teeth.

"Good to know," Finn said, staring wide-eyed at the water.

The group walked across the bridge to the larger piece of land. Blaine noted that there was plenty of room to set up two huts that evening and found some wood to make a small fire. Kurt got out some of the meat he had preserved and put some on a stick for each of the companions to cook over the open flame. Finn took out some vegetables he had brought with him, and Santana provided some fruits. While the group ate, they talked more about the weapons they had imbued and the reasons why they chose the particular damage they did. Everyone tried to ignore their current situation. There was nothing they could do to change it until they met with the King the next day.

After they were finished eating, Santana and Finn decided to go and explore the ship while Kurt and Blaine stayed near the fire. Blaine worked with Kurt to practice more of his magic in hopes that it would begin to come more naturally to him. When Santana and Finn returned, they reported that most of the ship had already been ransacked, though they were able to find some gold and one emerald. The four decided that their meeting with the King would likely take place the following day. They spoke briefly about the mission, all trying to decipher precisely what the prophecy could mean. "The day the wolves howl together will be the beginning of the age of acceptance, ushered in by the binder and his companions with the silver-scaled mark."

"Obviously, you're the binder, Hobbit," Santana stated. "You're the one with both marks."

"I agree," Kurt said. "How is it going to work, though? And how will we know when we have all of the people we're supposed to find? Are we supposed to go and try to find the wolves? How many wolves are we supposed to find? One for each of us? It seems like there are at least two by what the prophecy says."

"Slow down, Porcelain," Santana said.

"Yeah, dude," Finn replied. "That's too many questions for me to follow all at once."

"Okay. First things first," Blaine said as he scooted closer to Kurt, sensing his nerves about the whole thing. "I am going to guess that there is more than one wolf, and somehow, we will know that they are the wolves we are looking for. How this will happen, I have absolutely no clue. As for how many of us there are supposed to be, I guess we will find that out when we don't get a message after rescuing a companion. I am guessing that the Fates will lead us where we are supposed to go and put things in our path that we are meant to fight."

"I hate leaving things up to Fate," Santana complained. "But I think you're right. I've heard of how other prophecies have played out, and they always have one common factor. They just work out, no matter what. If the group was put into a situation, they just went with it, knowing, in the end, there would be something to learn from it and then move on to whatever happened next. That doesn't mean that one of us can't totally fuck up and botch the whole thing. It just means that as long as we're on the right path, making choices that further our mission, we'll be good to go."

"Well, then I guess that means that we need to meet with the King tomorrow and see where that goes," Blaine concluded. "I'm going to get started on the huts. I'm tired."

"You don't need to make one for me, dude," Finn explained. "It's not too bad here, and I kinda like the smell of the ocean."

"Me either," Santana said. "I'm used to sleeping surrounded by the smell of the sea, and I'm not sure where we're going next or when I will get to smell it again."

"Kurt," Blaine began, "do you want the hut?"

"I do," Kurt replied without missing a beat. "Finn's snoring keeps me awake all night without it." He sincerely hoped that the others forgot that sounds could come in the huts, just not out, so if Finn was close, he'd still be able to hear the snores.

Blaine grinned and started to conjure the hut for himself and Kurt. He was thinking about everything that could happen that night.

Blaine finished up the hut then sent his mother a message: [You would not believe this journey the Fates have me on. I'm with the merfolk. Don't worry. I'm fine and love you both! Talk soon.]

Almost instantly, he got a message back from her: [My darling, I miss you so much! I'm glad you're safe and are getting to see new lands. Keep yourself safe! Papa loves you too!] With unshed tears in his eyes, he told Kurt that the hut was ready, and he went inside.

When Kurt entered, he saw Blaine standing with his back to the door, his head down. Kurt went up behind him and put his arms around Blaine's waist, hooking his chin over Blaine's shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it, or shall I just hold you?"

"I just heard from my mom, and I guess I didn't realize until I heard her voice how much I really miss her," Blaine said softly, trying not to let Kurt know how close he was to crying.

"Maybe, if you're able to, you could send her messages more often?" Kurt suggested. "I'm sure she and your dad would love to hear from you as often as they can."

"I'll try," Blaine said. "I would hate to get them used to hearing from me and then one night not be able to talk with them, though. I know they worry about me too much already; I don't want to add to that."

"I get that," Kurt said. "If you ever want to talk about them, I'm here, and I will listen."

"Thank you," Blaine said. "I will keep that in mind. For now, I'd like to talk about us if that's alright with you."

"I'd like that very much," Kurt replied. He had been doing a lot of thinking about their relationship and how he wanted it to proceed. Since Kurt had been in a relationship before and Blaine hadn't, he knew that he would likely have to take the reins in the more physical aspect of them moving forward. He had been trying to think about the best way to do that. Would Blaine prefer Kurt to tell him or show him what to do next?

While Kurt thought through all of this, Blaine made a small fire inside the hut. They didn't need it for warmth, but he believed the ambiance would be nice. He also laid out his bedding for them to sit on and leaned up against the inside of the hut. Kurt came to sit beside him and grabbed Blaine's hand, feeling like he would need the connection to him at the moment. He wasn't nervous about what they were going to discuss, but he was worried about how to discuss it. Kurt didn't want to scare Blaine off by saying too much.

"Kurt?" Blaine asked, noticing his quietness and how he seemed to be struggling internally with something. "What's going through that beautiful head of yours?"

"I don't want to mess this up," Kurt confessed without hesitation, never looking at Blaine but staring at their intertwined hands instead. "If I'm completely honest, and I always want to be honest with you, I'm afraid of saying too much and scaring you away. I have an idea of where this conversation could go. You know that I've been in relationships before, and I guess I want to know what you're comfortable with before I accidentally suggest taking anything too far." After getting all of this out, he took a deep breath, feeling like he had just run away from a demon and was finally to safety.

Blaine put two fingers under Kurt's chin and raised it gently until their eyes met. "I always want you to be honest with me, and, in return, I will be honest with you. I want everything with you, Kurt. Just as the Fates have put us on this journey where I can feel in my soul that we are on the right path; I also feel in my soul that you are who I'm meant to find to complete me. Your soul feels like it was made to fit perfectly with mine. So, there is nothing you could say or do that will scare me. I may not be nearly as experienced as you are in the practical sense, but I do know a little from a book I read. I know what's coming. So, please, don't be scared to talk to me. I want you to show me everything!" At seeing the unshed tears in Kurt's eyes, he leaned in and captured his lips in a passionate kiss.

Kurt had never had anybody talk to him and treat him the way Blaine did. Sebastian had always just taken what he wanted. He had never wanted to talk about anything. Kurt knew he shouldn't compare Blaine to Sebastian; it was hard to do sometimes. He was used to having things done one way, and then Blaine came along and turned everything he knew upside-down in the best ways.

After they had kissed for a few moments, Kurt broke away, partially to breathe but more so to get their discussion back on track. He knew he would feel better if they had some kind of a plan as to how things would proceed and what they were both comfortable with. "So, I was thinking this could happen a few different ways," Kurt stated hesitantly.

Blaine gave him one more peck on the lips and then said, "Okay. What ways are those?"

"Well," Kurt started, "I could talk you through things, I could show you some things, or we could just see where things lead us and go from there."

So many thoughts were running through Blaine's mind at the idea of Kurt talking him through the next phase of their relationship that his breath was hitching at the images he was getting when he thought of Kurt actually showing him. "Show me, please," Blaine panted. "Show me anything and everything you want."

"Will either of them be able to get in here?" Kurt asked, gesturing toward the door, glad that he had enough self-control left to ask. He most certainly did not want Finn barging in on them to tell them about a cool rock he found or ask a question about if Blaine could turn into a dung beetle and sneak around once they got started with whatever this was leading toward.

"I will make sure they can't," Blaine said. "Give me a moment." He walked to the entrance, poked his head out, and caught sight of Santana. He said, [Kurt and I would like to not be disturbed. I know you know. Please, will you help ensure we aren't bothered unless it's an emergency?]

Santana had a smirk on her face and replied, [Wanky! Owe me one, and I will make sure you and the fair elf aren't disturbed.]

Blaine quickly answered back, [Deal!] and ducked back into the hut, making it so nobody else but the two of them and Santana could enter.

"The only reason anyone will come in is if it's an absolute emergency," Blaine explained to Kurt as he laid down next to him on the bedding. He thought it best to not tell him that Santana was the one he had had to make a deal with to ensure this. "Tomorrow…I will tell him tomorrow."

With a smile, Kurt turned toward him. "Kar va len haran neheless, thiramen?" Kurt asked in his native elven language.

A/N: Translations

Elvish to Common

Kar va len haran neheless, thiramen? = Do you ever touch yourself, love/soulmate?