And of course, seeing as he was Kurt Hummel, nothing could go how he hoped for more than two minutes, because just as he was walking into the bathroom, in all his sweaty glory, Blaine came barreling down the same hallway, waving at him. Kurt groaned

"Hey!" Blaine said, ignoring the sweat "how did you do?"

"Good, actually…Puck said I did really well." Blaine smiled widely

"That's awesome…well…I'll leave you to your bath." He said awkwardly, blushing, continuing down the hallway. Bath? Kurt thought, he opened the door and saw a large bathroom with beautifully tiled floors, towel racks and of course, a big, porcelain tub in the middle of it all. Did everything have to be old fashioned here?

"Lovely." Kurt sighed "soaking in a broth of my own filth." He rolled his eyes and turned the water on, at least the tub had a shower curtain around it. Once it was filled, he looked to the many bottles of bath salts and picked a lavender scented one and sprinkled some in the water. He undressed, lowered himself into the tub and let all of his muscles relax. Now don't be fooled, Kurt Hummel may look like just a skinny boy, but he had muscles. His arms were well toned (he had made sure of that) and his flat stomach was sporting the beginning ridges of abs. He breathed in the scent of Lavender and completely lost himself in the peacefulness of it all.

oOo

Kurt quickly got dressed and just sat on his bed, not really knowing what to do next. He sighed as Blaine entered the room, finally.

"Hey." He said and came to sit next to Kurt on the bed. "How are you?"

"Kind of sore…but I feel good." He smiled "I haven't worked out like that in forever." Blaine smiled

"Puck'll whip you into shape in no time." He laughed "I remember when he trained me, it was hell, that is, until I went into battle."

"Woah, what?" Kurt asked, Blaine looked at him, confused, when had Blaine fought?

"There's been many battles, Kurt." Blaine said solemnly "soldiers were getting killed…so they had to recruit whoever they could." He smiled "I know I'm short, but that doesn't mean I'm weak." Kurt blushed, he never thought that Blaine was weak. It was true, that the boy was shorter than he was, but Blaine was broader and thicker and obviously more muscular.

"I never thought you were weak…" Kurt mumbled, Blaine just laughed and threw an arm around his shoulders.

"Don't worry about it." He smiled. Then stopped, being in such a close proximity to Kurt now, he breathed in "Y-you smell really good." He said, unintentionally leaning into him more

"Well…I used that lavender bath stuff." Kurt said, appraising the dreamy look on Blaine's face

"I love lavender."

oOo

The next few days were filled with more intense training. Kurt was forced to run miles and do countless pushups, pull-ups and crunches, and he was feeling the sting a lot less. Even after just a few days Kurt felt stronger. He was smiling widely after a particularly tough workout and a relaxing lavender bath, he was dressed and looking for Blaine. That is, until Mercedes came running down the hall, nearly pile-driving him to the floor.

"Kurt!" she squeaked

"What's wrong, oh my god, are we being attacked?" Kurt asked,

"No, but…they took Blaine." Kurt felt as though his chest had been coated in ice.

"What?"

"The Red Queen's men took Blaine! They heard you were back, they took him for 'questioning'" Mercedes bit back a sob "they're hurting him, I know they're hurting him." She shook her head.

"I have to go save him."

"No! Kurt, they'll kill you!" Kurt stopped.

"No, the Red Queen is nowhere in my memory, I've never met her." He said calmly "They won't recognize me, I'll pretend to be someone else." He said, and, not waiting for Mercedes to speak, and definitely not telling anyone where he was going, Kurt ran out of the castle. He didn't stop running until he reached the stables, he took the only black horse that was in the stable (considering white horses were the White Queen's trademark, and would be too suspicious) and rode off. He didn't exactly know where he was going, so he did the only thing he could think of.

"Take me to the Red Queen's castle." He said to the Horse, hoping it would understand him. Apparently, it did, because it instantly started galloping in the opposite direction of the White Queen's castle.

oOo

There was no question in Kurt's mind that the castle they rode up to was the Red Queen's. It was made up of tall, pointy towers, there was a heart shaped arch that was falling apart, leaving it looking broken, the entire thing was painted black. Kurt shivered as he came up to the gates. He knew he was dressed inappropriately, white and baby blue, but he hoped it wouldn't be a problem.

He hopped off of his horse once he was inside, and tied it up to the trough. Just then, a woman walked by, followed by a group of burly looking men. She was wearing a black dress, low cut on the top into a sweet heart neckline, with puffy sleeves and the rest was skin tight, there was a small red heard stitched over her left breast. She turned to Kurt with a scowl on her face. Kurt noticed her blood red crown and instantly knew it was the queen

"Did Quinn send you?" she barked, Kurt shook his head

"No, ma'am." Kurt said "I simply figured, if this is a war, why not be on the winning side?" this got the Queen's attention

"What?" she asked, raising a black brow

"I simply mean that of course, you're going to win this war, and I would like to aid you in that." He smiled "you are far more beautiful, anyway." The Red Queen smiled

"I like you. What's your name?" Kurt began to panic

"Alex." He said instantly, the Queen nodded

"I am Santana, but you will refer to me as My Queen, or Your Highness." Kurt nodded and bowed slightly

"Of course, My Queen." Santana smiled wickedly

"Now. Someone go get him changed into something…darker, those colors are making me sick." She ordered, and began walking away "and bring him to the throne room when you're done."

oOo

Once Kurt was decked out in black and blood red, he was brought to the throne room and

seated next to the Queen.

"Kurt is back." she said, scowling

"I know, it's terrible." Kurt said, nodding

"I've taken his accomplice, the Hatter." She said offhandedly "he won't speak a word, though. Stubborn bastard." Kurt flinched "BRING THE PRISONER IN." Santana bellowed, and Guards instantly bustled out of the room. They returned moments later, practically dragging Blaine behind them. He stumbled over his feet and fell to his knees before the Queen.

"Are you ready to speak?"

"Never." Blaine growled, his voice was hoarse. Kurt appraised Blaine, trying to keep the tears from his eyes. The scene before him looked like the nightmare version of one of his fantasies (minus the shackles) Blaine's hands were bound together by a dark iron circle that was too tight, the skin around his wrists were chafing and dried blood was covering the metal. He was shirtless, with only his red suspenders on, holding up his dirty gray slacks. One of the straps was falling down his shoulder, Blaine had kept his gaze to the ground, Kurt couldn't see his face, but he could tell that the boy was slick with sweat, his hat was gone and his curls were wet and coming free from the gel, and hanging in his eyes.

"You will tell me where he is. And once you do, I may decide not to behead you." Santana said icily, Blaine tensed up, Kurt could see the muscles in his arms and stomach contracting. This time, Blaine did look up.

"I will never tell you where he is!" he bellowed "torture me for a thousand more days, I will not give in." Kurt wanted to scream, to just say that he was here and for them to take him and just stop hurting Blaine…but he knew he couldn't do that. Blaine's eyes flickered to Kurt, finally noticing him, a pained expression came across his face and he choked. Santana smiled

"That's right. Even some of your own are coming to join me." She said, completely unaware of the real cause of Blaine's pain.

(AUTHORS NOTE: Lavender may be my favorite scent like..ever. Sorry for the semi-cliffhanger, BUT IT HAD TO BE DONE! I'd love some RIVIEWS!)