Hey all! I am so pleased people like the story so far, so here's the next chapter, just for you!
As always, all the love to GleekMom who is not only a wonderful beta but just a genuinely nice person who gave me a real confidence boost when helping me with this chapter.
Ten years later...
The kingdom of Lima awoke to a glorious sunrise. A farm on the outskirts of town was the first to greet the new day, the hired hands dealing with the animals as their orchestra of noise greeted the dawn while others tended the fields. Inside the small farmhouse, there lived two brothers by the name of Anderson; Cooper and Blaine. They had been left the farm by their parents who had wanted to travel the world in their older age, and had set off many months prior, with a few letters here and there to let the boys know of their location. Cooper was a handsome, but arrogant young man nearing his thirtieth year, and had yet to find himself a wife. He fancied himself becoming a bard or even a fool in the court of the lord magistrate when Kurt Hummel came of age in the next few months and claimed his position. Cooper cared for his younger brother, but was much more enamoured with himself on his worst days.
Blaine, however, did not hold such lofty goals. Yes, he did love to sing and make music, but he felt he was better suited to teach the young children about the arts than practice them himself. Blaine had no interest in finding a wife, as he often found himself attracted to men in the town. However, Lord Clarington had declared such proclivities untoward, so Blaine kept his desires hidden, even if not many in the town agreed with the statement from his lordship. This unfortunately meant that many of the women in town were hinting at wanting his hand in marriage, and soon. He was nearly ending his twentieth year, and knew he would either have to leave Lima when he came of age in a few months or settle down to an unhappy life with a wife. The law requiring heirs to marry before they came of age was new, and unwelcome. Cooper had asked his parents to name Blaine the heir to the farm, so he could be free to live his own life. Both of the elder Andersons had given up trying to convince him otherwise, and Blaine had no option but to accept that he was now responsible for the farm upon his next name day.
This morning, however, those troubles seemed far away. He had a book of songs he wished to return to the local library, and then his day was his own. The soft winds were blowing, and he decided that today might be a perfect one to practice his piano in the sun-room later. Blaine appraised himself in the mirror, nowhere near as vain as his brother, but he saw no harm in looking his best. His dark, ebony curls shone in the faint morning sun, falling in his golden eyes as they were prone to do, but he could not bear the thought of cutting them or slicking them back with pomade as the other boys did. He adjusted his plain white shirt and blue bow-tie and slipped on a matching vest to complete the look before smoothing out his tight black trousers and slipping on his boots. He grabbed the book he needed to return and walked down the path into town.
As Blaine made his way, he could hear the little village that made up the bulk of the kingdom waking up. Women flung the dust off their rugs, sweeps were beginning to pop out of chimneys, the town crier was yelling out the announcements for the day, to which Blaine never had to pay much attention since Cooper would always regale him of the day's news at their evening meal. Plus it was well known that Jacob Ben was not the most reliable of sources when it came to the daily news. The market was beginning to open, as the baker set out rolls to cool on the sill and an impatient woman demanded eggs from the only owner of quality hens in town. Blaine sighed. As much as he loved this town, he found it to be the same every day, and did not wish to spend his days stuck here being forced to tend his father's farm. He knew some of the villagers found him odd. He frequently overheard them discuss the fact that while his looks were appealing, they did not understand his fascination with books and music. They would never understand how he longed for more than this life.
At the library, Blaine could finally relax. The books here did not judge him, they held stories of far off places, magical spells, and princes in disguise. They held the tales of men like him who longed for other men, a one true love like Blaine really longed for. He approached the desk, where Trent, the man who ran the library sat, pouring over a scroll of some importance with a tired look in his eyes. However, when he looked up and saw Blaine, his smile lit up the room. Trent was like himself, daring to love one of the same sex, though he was not in hiding. He and his partner, Thad were wed many moons before the edict forbidding such things was passed down, and Lord Clarington could do nothing to change that. They kept their affections out of the public eye though, just to remain safe. As a result, Trent was one of the few in the village to whom Blaine felt he could confide.
"Blaine! I know you are my favourite patron, but I did not think I would see you so soon! I only lent your that song book yesterday!" Trent exclaimed.
"Oh, you know me, Trent. I couldn't put it down. I guess I would be remiss in asking if you have gotten anything new since yesterday?" Blaine asked with a smile.
Usually Trent would laugh at this, but he glanced around the empty library, before motioning Blaine around the counter with his hand. A finger to his lips, he guided Blaine to his back room. Once inside the dimly lit space, Trent handed him a book from the shelf, covered in muslin but when unwrapped revealed a soft red patent leather cover with two interlocking male symbols on the front. "This was ordered secretly. Lord Clarington would have it burned if he saw it, so keep it hidden. It is yours my friend. Stories of love, stories of lust, stories of adventure and friendship too. Just all between men. Take it, enjoy it. Keep it safe," Trent whispered as he re-wrapped the book and shoved it into Blaine's hands.
"Trent if he found out you gave me this...I can't accept so fine a gift, especially if it will get you in trouble," Blaine stressed, trying to push the package back into his friend's hands.
"I won't hear another word about it Blaine. There are questions I'm sure you still have about being with a man that this book will answer, and it will inspire you to find your prince." Blaine blushed at this, remembering clearly the books explaining sexual relations between men that Trent had given him many years ago. "Do not try to return this to me, I will disavow all knowledge of it. Now, go enjoy the beautiful day," Trent said, and gave Blaine a shove out the door slipping the book into his satchel and waving goodbye.
Blaine smiled at Trent's kindness, and wandered about the square, sitting at the fountain as a shepherd walked by with his flock. He glanced up at the sky and saw the last star fading as the sun overtook the clouds and made a silent wish to find his true love soon, to find a way to be happy and escape this place if he could not. Unfortunately, fate decided to be cruel and he felt a presence to his left, carrying with it the overwhelming scent of elderberries, to which Blaine internally groaned. He took a glance, and of course, it was Tina and her sidekick Dottie. Tina fancied herself in love with Blaine, and while many other girls had tried to catch his eye, Tina was relentless in her pursuit. Blaine tried to be polite usually, but today, he did not wish his mood spoiled by having to deal with her nonsense.
"Blainey Days!" she exclaimed, to which he shuddered. He had repeatedly told her he hated being referred to as such. "How are you my sweet? Up to anything fun in the market today?" Tina gave him an exaggerated flutter of eyelashes, her perfume wafting up and frankly, making Blaine's eyes water.
"Good morning Tina, Dottie. How are you ladies today?" Polite to a fault, even though his parents were farmers, his mother was from a higher born family and had instilled manners into both him and his brother from the age they could understand her.
Unfortunately, asking Tina how she was more often than not opened the floodgates of conversation, and as she blathered on about her every moment since she had awoken, Blaine drifted off into his mind, wanting very much to escape and read his new book in privacy. Then he saw trouble headed his way, in the form of Santana and Kitty, two girls who played friendly but were quick to turn. Tina had recently risen their ire by insulting Santana at a local dance competition and Kitty by speaking ill of her beau, Jake who was not known to be the most faithful of men. If they were headed this way, Blaine wanted no part of their quarrel, and quickly looked for a way to excuse himself.
"I am so sorry to interrupt Tina, but I really must be going. I promised Cooper I would assist him with his latest song. Maybe we can chat some other time," Blaine said, standing, just as Santana and Kitty drew near.
"Please," Santana snarled, reaching their side. "All your brother is good for is making the girls swoon and never committing to the one. If he really thinks he will become bard to Lord Hummel on his next name day, then he is truly more suited to being his fool!" Santana had some years earlier fallen for Cooper's lies of adoration only to discover them as falsehoods, and she held a grudge to this day.
At this, Dottie burst out laughing, and Blaine could hear her choking out the word 'fool' in between her chortles. He held in a scowl at her, knowing his brother was not the most faithful of men when it came to love, but they were still brothers. Kitty merely looked unimpressed, and ready to move onto her real target; Tina, as she had no dispute with either of the Andersons.
"Don't talk about Blainey's brother that way!" Tina shouted, getting right up in Santana's face. "Just because you weren't good enough for him doesn't mean a thing!"
Blaine would have loved to defend his brother, but he was well aware Cooper would claim he could fight his own battles and remind him to never get involved in a fight between women. So instead he took the advantage to slip away just as he heard Santana make some vicious comment about Tina's overuse of scent, for which Blaine had to admit he was slightly grateful.
By the time Santana had given up on her tirade against Tina, and Kitty had gotten bored of mocking her tears, Tina noticed Blaine was long gone. "Drat! I thought I was close this time for sure!" She then shrieked for Dottie, who had huddled behind the fountain, trying to avoid getting caught up in the flinging of insults.
"Yes, oh wonderful Tina?" Dottie trembled. Not many knew her family was beholden to the Cohen-Changs, so she was working as an assistant, but posing as a best friend to Tina until her parents could pay off their sizable debt. She watched as Tina paced in front of her, dreading what she may be ordered to do next.
"I have got to get Blaine to be mine! I mean, my parents have threatened to cut my dowry if I am not married by my next name day, and he is the only many in town worthy of me. I mean, what do I have to do to get noticed around here?" she shouted, so exasperated she did not notice she was making a scene of herself. Nor did she notice the shy boy delivering packages to the local healer's hut giving her a warm glance, his black hair shining in the sunlight, his gait graceful as if he was dancing, and his eyes lingering on her with what could only be described as painful longing.