Hey everyone, I have another chapter for you, I hope you're enjoying the story so far!
Continuous love and praise goes to my lovely beta, GleekMom.
When Blaine finally composed himself he decided to make himself familiar with his new prison cell. Taking in the canopy bed, the large wardrobe covered in animal paintings and a small table with a porcelain washbasin, clearly filled with fresh water, it seemed as though Lord Hummel's servants had been alerted he would be staying and had prepared the room. The bed was turned down with clean sheets, a night shirt laid out at the foot. The curtains were drawn, but if Blaine cared to part them, it would show a lovely view of the expansive back garden, in disrepair as it was. Not bad for a prison cell, and Blaine would much prefer this to a bale of hay in some dark and dank dungeon somewhere. But a prison cell was still a prison cell, and he vowed to never love it. He lay down his satchel upon the chest at the end of the bed, figuring he would explore in the morning.
He quickly discarded his clothing, folding them and laying them next to his things. He slipped on the old fashioned night shirt, lamenting his lack of choice in sleep wear, but appreciative he was not forced to slumber in his own clothing. The torches on the wall burned low so Blaine lit a single candle and brought it to the nightstand, intending to escape his reality by finishing the story of Aaron and Carson before he even attempted to sleep. It had just gotten to a good part, Aaron and Carson reuniting after a fight had driven them apart, both realizing they could not function without the other. Blaine wished to see what was to happen and if these two would ever find their happy ending.
Blaine was just getting to Aaron finally declaring his love for Carson, when there was a knock on his door. Annoyed at being torn from fantasy and escapism, but not wishing to appear rude, he called out "Who is it?"
"My name is Mercedes hun, I was wondering if you wanted a cup of tea before I retired for the night?" the voice replied.
"Oh! Yes of course!" Blaine replied, eager to meet at least one person who worked here. Perhaps while trapped here he could find a friend or sympathizer. He quickly hid his book under the pillow and went to the door to open it. Blaine was not sure what he was expecting to walk through the door, but it was certainly not a shiny purple teapot with bronze accents. It, she, Blaine supposed, hopped over to where he had slumped on the floor, and it was then that Blaine noticed she had the facial features of a pretty woman, and she gave him a smile as a teacup followed her over. She poured out a cup of tea, a spout serving in place of a nose.
"Now my dear, do you want any sugar or milk in that?" she asked as the dishes holding each peaked out behind his door.
"...no thank you," Blaine whispered, taking hold of the cup, which thankfully did not possess a face, and took a small sip. A warm burst of camomile hit his tongue, and it immediately relaxed him. He muttered to himself, "Of course, when the master of the house is a beast, the servants are bound to be enchanted furniture...of course."
Mercedes had obviously heard him as she shot him a look. "Do you have a problem with us being cursed? Or with Kurt? Because that boy has suffered enough without you judging or hurting him. I won't have that attitude towards my boo, it's not his fault he was cursed or that the Mages solution was to enchant all of us to keep him company."
"Are you sure his attitude didn't have anything to do with it?" Blaine asked with a quirked brow. "Because he's been nothing but terrible to me, I might have cursed him too if I'd had the chance. Though if the Mages got involved, I am not surprised he's surly, those idiots always bungle everything." Blaine took a seat on the trunk with a sigh. "I'm sorry,I don't mean to be rude to you, it's just, when I got out of bed this morning, I didn't expect to be spending my next two months as a prisoner to an enchanted lord in a house with magical objects who once used to serve him."
Mercedes took some pity on the boy who hadn't asked for this any more than the rest of them. But they needed Blaine and they needed him quickly. "Well we've been dealing with it for ten years, so you best get used to it and quick. You could help Kurt improve his attitude if you tried, even get him thinking about fixing up this kingdom, taking his throne. And just a piece of advice? Don't call Kurt a beast. It tends to set him off." Mercedes flounced, as much as a teapot could, out the door, the cup which Blaine had only half drank following along before the door closed again. Blaine just sat bewildered. What in the world had he gotten himself into? Glancing back up at how much the candle had already burned down, Blaine scowled, hoping it would last longer. He decided he would finish his story another night and climbed into the admittedly comfortable bed, falling into a fitful sleep.
Kurt paced around his room, too wired to sleep. What had he done? Imprisoned a stranger in his home, reminding him of his loneliness for human companionship. Longing for a chance at finding his true love but feeling it was a hopeless venture, especially since Blaine seemed to hate him. No wonder though, with the way he was acting. He would never be free of this curse would he? He didn't know if he had until it officially became his name day or until it ended, but time was dwindling down, and Blaine had looked to be a glimmer of light which would only likely disappoint; for there was no guarantee that Blaine was even interested in men and even if he were, no man could love him, jailer or not. It was pointless. Utterly pointless.
Suddenly, he heard a tapping on his door and gave a gruff command to go away.
"Yeah, like that has worked any time you've tried it before," a voice said, and though Kurt groaned on the inside, he smiled at Elliot for knowing him so well. His former valet, now trapped as a rather fancy barrister clock, was usually the one servant he went to with his woes, who knew him better than any, who was truly one of his best friends. And who also liked to stick his nose into Kurt's business. "Get real, Kurt. When you say 'go away' you mean 'please come talk to me Elliot, I'm in a spiral and I need your sage advice to talk me out of it'. Been that way since I started as your valet, has stayed that way when I became an ornamental timepiece and will remain that way when you woo that cutie and turn me back into my fabulous self. Which I pray to every being I know you are planning on doing, though you may want to change the attitude to succeed."
"Of course I've considered it, but look at him and then look at me. Even if he were interested in men...there's no way he would be interested in a monster like me." Kurt hung his head low, looking out the windows over the front of the manor, Artie was returning from the forest and he smiled at his friend's safe return.
"Oh bullshit," Elliot snapped. "That boy screams gay. Plus you are normally a nice guy, you might be able to charm him. And for the millionth time...you are not a monster! You know I hate it when you call yourself that. You've acted a bit monstrous these last few hours, which confuses me. Usually you simply present the world...well us with a form that is a bit different. But you could still make it work, and if you gave him a chance," Elliot said, walking closer to his friend, "he could still love you Kurt. You just need to apologize and try again. Start fresh. You know that you can't have him living here in misery, you have too kind a heart."Elliot frowned, wishing he could erase all of his troubles.
Kurt scoffed "A warm heart is what got us all into this mess in the first place. If I had never let that woman into the manor...
"She would have forced her way in and potentially murdered us all in our sleep, and you know it," Elliot concluded, his stance on the issue firm. "You cannot blame yourself, Kurt. You were not even eleven. You had no idea who she was, and have since grown to have a better sense of character. No one in this house is to blame, that lies solely on the shoulders of Sue and Terri, and the Council if you want to be really vindictive. You never asked for this, you never deserved it. So stop moping and start wooing that man tomorrow! I'm going to get everyone to start fixing this place up for you both. Hopefully getting this place a bit more ship shape will help set the mood." Elliot wagged his eyebrows and gave a little twirl before walking out of Kurt's room, closing the door gently behind him.
Kurt smiled, loving that his servants still had faith in him, that they still believed. He took up his enchanted mirror, wishing to have one last look at the man who held all their hopes. "Show me Blaine," he said, and the mirror gave a shimmer as it offered a hazy vision of the room down the hall. He could see Blaine, wearing a ridiculously oversized night shirt that he knew had to be Rachel's doing. He was currently sitting on the floor, chatting with Mercedes it seemed.
Kurt could only ever understand a few choice words through the mirror and when he listened and all he heard was, "Master of the house is a beast...trapped...prisoner..." Those words though were quite enough and he put the mirror down, severing his view of Blaine. Just as he suspected...hopeless.
"He'll never see me as anything more...than a monster," Kurt whispered sadly, and for the first time in many years, began to cry. He stripped out of his clothes as the tears fell from his face, curled up in his bed, and sobbed until he drifted into a tormented sleep.
When Sam had first come to the Hummel manor, he was hired on as a footman, and it was honestly where he was happiest. The Hummels had been good to him, given him a home when his family had lost theirs, and he was able to send them enough money until they got back on their feet. It also meant they were able to leave the kingdom, start anew closer to relatives who could support them, which made it very hard to see them, but well, his current form put all stops to any thoughts of visiting. He sent them letters when he could, but never informed them of the curse he been living under the past decade. He would simply say that his work kept him busy, that he would try to visit after Kurt assumed his position, but he could not vow to anything right now. He hated lying to his family, but Kurt had put aside money for all of his staff every year from what little Lord Hunter sent for their payment and what was left of his inheritance, so that if the curse was broken they would not be penniless. And if it was not, then at least their families would be provided for.
Sam supposed that being a magical object wasn't so bad. He still aged, but never looked any different. His candles never burned down, and he still got to spend time with his favourite maid, Brittany, who was now a feather duster. He could be like Rachel, being forced into a wardrobe, unable to really move. He just had to be careful not to light anything on fire, which he had finally succeeded on doing after only a year of practice. Okay, a year and a half. Magical fire was hard okay?
Sam was currently in the kitchen, overseeing the clean up of all the rotting food that had been left over from last week. He had no idea why it had taken so long for it to be cleaned. He suspected it was because Kurt rarely used the kitchen and none of his servants now needed to eat or drink or even sleep, so things like food were forgotten easily. Sam instructed the various animated brooms and mops to start scrubbing. Tomorrow would begin the very long task of cleaning the manor from top to bottom. He sighed. Cleaning was his least favourite thing to do. But if it got Kurt to thinking about finally breaking this curse...well he was all for it. When he was human again...well the first thing would probably be a bath, but then, he and Brittany were going to run away together. Get married, start having a few children, live somewhere near his family maybe. They had promised themselves to each other eons ago, and were both plenty ready to fulfill that promise.
Elliot huffed as he entered the kitchen."We need to start railing at Kurt again, he's on his monster tangent again. I swear, I love that boy, but I have no idea how to get through to him some days. Also make sure he keeps his temper in check, he was downright mean today, something he hasn't been since he was first cursed." Elliott stopped and surveyed the room. "Oh, look at this place. We'll be lucky if we're able to get the kitchen clean, let alone the whole manor before Kurt comes of age."
Sam smiled. He liked Elliot, even if he was a little over the top. He was technically Kurt's valet, but he served as the butler and head of household as well. The Hummels had never wanted a big household staff and had always given everyone lots of time off had they need of it so they would not feel overworked. Lord Burt had had his own man serving as these roles before he was killed, a man by the name of Schuester, who had been grooming Elliot for his job when Kurt came of age. Yet he had left the home after Lord Burt and Lady Elizabeth had been killed, stating he could not stay in a home that led to the forbidding of magic. Many suspected after that that he had talents many were unaware of, and feared persecution from a grieving Kurt or a dismissal from the Mages Council. Now with him gone, Elliot did his best, though his job had diminished to primarily just calming down all the fights between servants and being a confidante to Kurt.
Mercedes entered the kitchen and Sam struggled to keep his smile. He had tried to woo her when he had started working for the Hummels, and they had courted for awhile. Then a nasty fight had ended everything, and he had started seeing Brittany by the time Mercedes dared to speak to him again. There was no longer bad blood, but to this day their relationship was strained by what could have been and the way it had ended. It did not help that Mercedes was not only responsible for the kitchens but all the maids as well, and had never taken to Brittany. Sam wished the two could be civil, but he'd resolved long ago to stay out of any spats between the two.
"I don't know about this Blaine guy. He's just lost everything, even for a short while, I doubt he'll warm to even Kurt's usual charm," Mercedes commented, then began to direct the various dishes to hop into the sink as it was long past due time for every one of them to be washed. If they could have groaned, they would have. Though the staff members had been enchanted, Sam was glad they got to keep some of their humanity. The dishes and such that were now enchanted to move could only do that, and even if he wasn't the smartest candlestick alive, Sam was glad he could still think and see and talk.
"Well at least he seems to be interested in men," Sam quipped.
"What makes you think that?" Elliot queried. He had a similar suspicion, but he wanted to know if Sam knew something more.
"Look, it's not my fault that Kurt left me out when they were talking, but I overhead him ranting to his brother about some chick named Tina being all over him. I just get that vibe from him," Sam replied with a shrug, and went to see what was left in the larder for breakfast. He needed to make a list of what they would need if Blaine was to be dining with them for the foreseeable future.
"I sure hope you're right. Kurt could use a break. He deserves love. And not to sound selfish, but we deserve to be human again," Elliott remarked, then called to a few of the brooms that they were needed in the great hall to start sweeping up a decades worth of dust.
If you are getting this chapter a second time, it is because apparently my beta notes got left in, meaning the unedited version got uploaded. Ugh, I feel really embarrassed about that, sorry all!