NB: I know I haven't wrote any fics in a while so I hope this makes up for it! It started off as an attempt at a Disney's Sleeping Beauty AU Klaine thing that was inspired by artwork I saw on Tumblr (Blaine as a Disney prince? Yes please!) but as I wrote, it slowly and surely took on a life of its own. So while I (mostly) stick to the story I've twisted it and thrown in a bit of everything else; there's hints at other Disney movies and Harry Potter, among fantasy novels I've read over the years. It did start off as a one shot but when I got to the 10,000 word mark (welp) I decided to split it into two. I've not quite finished writing the second part yet but it'll be up asap.

No smut (but please read it anyway *puppy-dog eyes*) but there's a little violence and some coarse language (did I say it was inspired by Disney…?). The side pairings are Brittana and Finchel (haters gonna hate). Blaine and Rachel siblings. Oh, and even though I'm British, my laptop thinks it's American and changed all the spellings. I'm also aware the POV jumps around a lot – I found it nearly impossible to write in third person without focusing on a specific character, so I apologize for that. Other than that…I hope y'all like it. Comments and the like are appreciated

I don't own anything; characters are the intellectual property of Ryan Murphy and Fox. The title, although it's not the full name, is from the song title "It's A Kind Of Magic" by Queen. I'm a poor student so please don't sue.

Part 1

Once upon a time, there was a powerful kingdom by the name of Lima. The kingdom was prosperous and its people content, thanks to the reign of a kind King. He and his wife were loved by all throughout the land and there was great anticipation for when the Queen would produce an heir to the throne.

When this time had come and it was announced that the Queen had finally given birth to a son, it was a bittersweet celebration. The birth had come at a price - the Queen had lost her life due to complications with pregnancy. There was a month of mourning.

After this month had passed, the king decreed a belated holiday to celebrate the birth of his son. A great feast was prepared, a beacon of light after the sadness that came with the loss of the gracious and beautiful Queen. Nobles, representatives of the magical race of fae, and royalty from neighboring kingdoms alike were invited to the presentation of the child. Although only few had seen him, he was already said to be the fairest child to have been born in the realm.

Among the guests were the king and queen of the neighboring kingdom of Dalton, who had twin toddlers - a son and a daughter. A court had been held prior to the birth and it was agreed that the child would marry one of these when they came of age, depending on if the child was a boy or a girl, and thus strengthen their alliance. Now this was even more important as the child was King Burt's only heir.

There was a round of respectful applause as the King entered the hall. Though royalty tended to allow a nurse to take care of their children, Burt himself was holding the baby close to his chest. He walked the length of the hall, not once looking up from the baby with a loving expression on his face - like he was scared his son would vanish should he look away. Finally he reached the cradle placed in front of the thrones. As he placed the child down everyone craned in for a first look. He was indeed a fair child; porcelain pale skin, downy brown hair and large blue eyes wide open and surveying the room with interest despite his tender age. He looked just like his late mother.

The first invited to step forward for a closer look was the children of the King of Dalton - Kurt Hummel's future wife, Rachel, and brother-in-law, Blaine. This king allowed a nurse to bring the children forward; both were small with dark hair. Rachel was more of a show-off than her brother, twirling forward while Blaine kept close to his nurse's side.

"There he is, children," the nurse said sweetly.

Rachel glanced once into the cradle before returning to her twirling, too interested in the way the sparkles on her dress caught prettily in the light but Blaine - though he had never been a particularly inquisitive child - leaned up on his tiptoes and craned over the side for a closer look. Kurt looked back.

"Hi," Blaine gave a gaped-tooth smile. His smile widened as the child smiled back and made a delighted gurgling noise.

"Come now, child," the nurse said, ushering his children away. Rachel danced back to her father. Blaine shuffled away, looking back over his shoulder at the cradle.

"Bootful," he said. The nurse smiled fondly,

"Yes, he is beautiful."

When they had returned, it was now the turn of the fae to approach Kurt and present him with gifts. The fae were mysterious creatures who lived in the beautiful meadows of Lima Heights. They were gifted with magic and long lives, and had been friends of the family for generations. The most respected of them were known as the Trinity - the three most beautiful of the fae, who were the ones who had come to represent the race that day. They stepped forward elegantly, feet barely brushing the floor due to delicate golden wings emerging from their shoulder blades. Their names were Santana, Brittany and Quinn. Quinn, being the eldest, stepped forward first. She had golden hair and she was wearing a flowing blue gown.

"Son of Burt, king of Lima," she said, "My gift to you is the gift of music. Your voice will be like a lark's, and will be matched by no other in the kingdom. Anyone who hears you will be entranced."

She waved her wand and a shower of blue sparks rained into the cradle. After the sparks and following applause had dissipated, she curtseyed to the king and returned to her place between Santana and Brittany. Brittany stepped forward next. Like Quinn, she was blonde, though she was taller and her gown was green, coming down to just above her knees and decorated with pale pink flowers. She danced forward,

"I was going to give you a cat but I don't think cats and babies get on," she said, her head cocked to one side, "And you're already pretty enough...so you're going to be special. Like a unicorn. And everyone will love you, because everyone loves unicorns. And you're gonna be an extra nice unicorn so everyone will love you even more."

Santana and Quinn exchanged exasperated looks.

"She's not going to turn my son into a unicorn is she?" King Burt murmured. Quinn shook her head,

"That's just how she talks. She just means he's going to be loved by everyone in the kingdom."

"Oh. Thank you."

Brittany waved her wand and the sparks this time were green. When she danced back, Santana reached out and squeezed her hand before stepping forward. Unlike the other two who could have almost been sisters, her hair was jet black and the red dress provided a stunning contrast to her olive skin. She flipped her hair,

"Being nice and able to sing is all fine and good," she said, "But what you really need is some attitud-"

BOOM!

Someone screamed as the doors of the grand hall were flung open with such force that they hit the walls - a physical impossibility for even the strongest man. The brightly-lit hall was flung into twilight darkness. Kurt started crying.

"I guess my invitation got lost in the mail. Carrier pigeons are so unreliable."

A new figure strode in, bringing with him an eerie yellow-green glow. It was a man this time - tall and handsome. He was dressed in black, holding a tall sceptre that was the source of the glow, and his cape brushed the floor. His name was Sebastian and though he had once been a respected member of the fae, he had gone rogue. His powers had got the better of him and he wished to use them to start an uprising against the kingdoms that made up the land. As a result he had been expelled from the fae and had been resentful for it ever since.

"Excuse me, asshole," Santana snapped, turning on her heels, "I was in the middle of-"

"Shut up," Sebastian flicked his sceptre and Santana crumpled to the floor, clutching her throat. Brittany and Quinn rushed to her side, "And you-" with another flick Burt - who had been halfway towards the cradle - froze mid-stride. Sebastian smirked. Everyone backed away as he passed, in fear of what might happen should they get in his way, "There I was just sitting in my castle when I got wind of some big event here and I must say I was wounded that I didn't merit an invitation."

"Nobody wanted you here," Quinn snarled. However she daren't touch her wand. Sebastian was easily the most powerful there.

A look of fake hurt crossed Sebastian's face, "Nobody wanted me here?" he said, "Well, that's just mean."

He stopped at the cradle then reached in and lifted the crying baby out with his free hand. There was a gasp of horror.

"So this is who the fuss is about," he said and bounced the baby on his hip until the sobs subsided.

"If you hurt him-" Quinn began.

"You always think so badly of me, Farbray. As it happens, I actually have my own gift to give to the child."

Nobody was comforted by these words. No gift that Sebastian could give would be good. He placed the child back down.

"Kurt Hummel," he said and though he spoke softly, his words carried to every ear, "You're indeed going to grow up to be handsome and everyone is going to love you but because of this insult, it'll all be in vain-" he stepped back and raised the sceptre, "Before the sun sets on your eighteenth birthday, you'll prick your finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die!"

A fork of black lightning struck the cradle.

"NO!" Burt cried.

The guards rushed forward. Sebastian just laughed and hit the bottom of the sceptre off the grand marble floor. There was a burst of blinding green light. When it faded Sebastian was gone and everything was as it had been before he arrived. Santana coughed and Quinn and Brittany pulled her unsteadily to her feet. Burt hugged his child close.

"My son," he whispered helplessly, "My only son..."

Quinn gave Santana a meaningful look, who stepped forward,

"It's not all bad," she said, "I haven't given my gift yet."

"You can reverse the spell?" Burt said.

"Well...no. Sebastian..." she pulled a face, "I hate to say it but he's more powerful than all of us, so I'd never be able to completely reverse the spell. But I'd be happy to help," she massaged her throat bitterly then raised her wand, "I can't stop the curse from coming true but rather than die, instead he'll fall into a deep sleep. When the time comes he will be woken up by true love's kiss-" At the mention of "true love", she briefly glanced over at Brittany who smiled back, "-and the spell will be broken."

She waved her wand above her head in a circular motion and then pointed the wand at the child. A burst of red sparks shot out the end with a power that made her stagger backwards. It was the most powerful piece of magic that she had ever attempted. It wasn't much, but it was the best she could do.

"Thank you," Burt said. Kurt had fallen asleep, blissfully unaware of the cruel hand fate had dealt him.

Thus the feast, which had started so joyfully, ended in despair. That very day Burt decreed that all spinning wheels in the kingdom and outlying villages were to be destroyed and anyone who was seen to be breaking this law faced a lifetime prison sentence.

"Today started so well," Quinn said sadly as she peered down into the court yard from the tallest tower. A huge bonfire was burning in the square and all the spinning wheels in the land were piled on top of it. A noxious black smoke billowed into the night sky.

"Sebastian wouldn't be so tough if you took away that sceptre of his," Santana snarled, pacing the room back and forth, "Then I would love to go all Lima Heights on his-"

"Santana!" Quinn cut-in, "That's not helping."

"What's the point in this?" Santana motioned out of the window to indicate the bonfire, "Burt can burn every spinning wheel in the realm and Sebastian's curse would still come true. He can't keep an eye on the kid every single second of his life."

"It's easy to get lost in this palace," Brittany added, "I get lost all the time."

"Britt's right," Santana said, "All it would take is for Kurt to wander off on his own once and you saw how easily Sebastian broke in today."

Quinn stepped away from the window, "I just wish there was something more we could do."

They fell into an uneasy silence. They weren't used to feeling so useless.

"We could turn him into a flower," Brittany suggested. She had her wand pointing at a nearby vase and a small plant grew out of it, "A flower can't prick its finger."

"That's an idea..." Quinn said softly as the plant blossomed into a large daisy right before their eyes.

"How are we going to keep a flower alive for eighteen years?" Santana replied, "All Sebastian has to do is send frost and bam-!" she sent a burst of magic at the daisy, which completely froze over. Brittany touched one of the petals and it snapped off. The message got through loud and clear and once more they lapsed into a thoughtful silence.

"We need to be able to keep an eye on him," Quinn eventually stated. Santana pulled a face,

"But Burt can't have him followed everywhere he goes for the next eighteen years. Then he'll just try and run away. I know he will because that's what I would do," suddenly she clicked her fingers, "I've got it!"

She motioned at the other two so that they leaned in close to her. She looked around as if to check that there was nobody who could be listening and then lowered her voice to an almost-whisper,

"Why don't we take the kid away from here? You know, there's that old hunter's cottage in the forest. We could bring him up there. Sebastian would never think of looking for him there."

"I've always wanted to have a baby," Brittany squealed gleefully. Quinn frowned,

"What? Us?"

"How hard could it be?"

Quinn thought about it, "Okay, it's a good idea but could we ever get the king to agree to it?"

"He'd probably do anything to protect his son."

There was another long silence. Kurt had to be kept safe, somewhere where Sebastian wouldn't think to look for him. Who better to look after him than three fae? Quinn glanced grimly from Brittany to Santana,

"He couldn't know anything about being a prince and be kept away from anyone who might recognize him for who he is," she paused and looked slightly pained to add, "And if we raise him, he can't know anything about us. We wouldn't be able to use magic."

Santana blanched. She had never considered the prospect of giving up magic for eighteen years.

"I can't dress without using magic," Brittany said.

"It's a sacrifice we'd have to make," Quinn replied. She pushed up the sleeves of her dress and took her wand out of where it had been stuck into a ribbon tied around her waist. Brittany and Santana both backed away like she was brandishing a dangerous weapon.

"Q" Santana said, "I spoke too soon. We can't look after a kid without magic-" Quinn waved her wand and Santana's wings vanished, "I really don't think-" the blonde waved her wand again and her dress was replaced by peasant robes, "Oh come on!"

"Hand it over," Quinn said, putting her hand out. Santana sighed reluctantly, removed her wand from where it was tucked down her cleavage and handed it over, "You next Britt."

"I don't want to," she said. She leapt over her chair as she tried to avoid Quinn's magic. Quinn waved her wand causing Brittany to trip and fall headlong onto the rug as her wings vanished. Another flick and her dress had also been replaced.

"Mean," Brittany winced. She sat up. When she had tripped up her wand had gone flying across the room. Quinn picked it up,

"It's only eighteen years. That's nothing," she said. She pointed the wand at herself and cast the same spell. Her wings and dress vanished for more humble clothes. She put the three wands into the wicker basket that had appeared in the crook of her elbow. There was a shawl over her shoulders and she pulled it over her hair, "You said it yourself, Santana; how hard could it be?"

They went to King Burt with their plan to keep the child concealed. He understood he had to keep his child safe and so, with a heavy heart, he handed over his only child to the three fae in their peasant disguises. They waited until the dead of night before escaping the castle. Burt watched them leave from the balcony but he hadn't asked where they had going. Instead he just watched as his only son disappeared from his life for eighteen years, only hearing of him from occasional visits from Quinn as the years went by.

18 Years Later...

Time passed and before anyone knew it, Kurt Hummel was no longer a baby. He had grown into a handsome young man who looked just like his mother and, as Brittany had promised, he was loved by all who knew him.

"LADY HUMMEL, GET YOUR LAZY ASS UP THIS MINUTE!"

Kurt awoke with an unpleasant start. The sun streamed onto his bedroom through his open window and he groaned, throwing his arm over his eyes. He could hear Santana bustling about his room. She was deliberately singing at the top of her voice to stop him from drifting back off. He made an annoyed noise. She had woken him from such a wonderful dream; he had been dancing with his true love and it was every part as cheesy and romantic as anyone could hope for. He tried to remember what his suitor had looked like in his dream but it was trickling away faster than he could keep a hold of it...all he could remember were large, gorgeous brown eyes.

"I don't have all day," Santana grabbed the end of his duvet and yanked it off him. He yelped and rolled up into a ball.

"You're not allowed to be mean to me on my birthday," he mumbled, "I'm royalty, you know."

While they had been raising him, the three fae had managed relatively well to keep Kurt's heritage a secret. However the truth had accidentally came out on Kurt's sixteenth birthday. Growing up, he had developed a passion for designing and making his own clothes and on this day, he had been modeling the first full outfit he had created from scratch. Quinn had gushed that he looked just like a prince, to which Brittany had blurted out, "He is a prince, remember?" and the other two hadn't acted natural enough for it to pass off as a joke. They didn't tell him everything, particularly not about their magic (though he had his suspicions considering the three hadn't aged a day over the years); just that he was a prince who was living with them to be kept safe. They refused to elaborate further. Finding out he was in fact the only son of Burt Hummel, king of Lima, hadn't went to his head. He was just a normal eighteen year old boy. Well, as normal as anyone could be when they had been brought up in such a dysfunctional family. More than anything the prince thing was a joke.

"And if you were living in a palace you would be up earlier than this for royal duties," came the reply. Kurt eventually sat up. His room was small and square, every inch covered in different fabrics and sketches. He had a wonderful view out of his window - mostly forest but in the distance he could just make out the shape of the castle. It looked just like an illustration out of a picture book. Santana grinned at him, "See? That wasn't so difficult, was it?"

"Easy for you to say," Kurt responded sleepily.

"I'll let you get dressed. Don't even think about going back to sleep."

"Don't give me ideas."

Santana left him to his own devices. Kurt dragged himself out of bed. Eighteen years old...how the years had flew by.

It was about twenty minutes later that he emerged fully dressed from his room. The cottage was relatively small; it had three tiny bedrooms and an area in the middle that was the kitchen, living and dining area all at once. Most of this space was taken by a large mahogany table at which his three guardians were seated around.

"I'm not sure he'd like that," Quinn was saying. They had their heads down and they seemed to be studying something.

"It should have dinosaurs," Brittany piped in.

"That's your answer to everything. I still think the one before-"

"Good morning, ladies," Kurt said brightly. They all started as if they had received electric shocks and looked around, not quite able to hide the conspiratorial expressions that had been on their faces. Quinn nudged something under the tablecloth.

"Ah, the dead has awoken," Santana said.

"Now can I ask why you had to wake me so early in the morning?" he said, not as annoyed as he was pretending to be.

"We need you to go out and get um..." Quinn's eyes searched the room before settling on an empty basket sitting on the counter next to the stove, "Berries! We need berries!"

Kurt raised an eyebrow in amusement, "No-one in this house eats berries."

"Well, times have changed and we've decided to give berries another try," She stood up and grabbed the basket, shoving into Kurt's hand while simultaneously pushing him towards the door.

"And don't even think about coming back until that basket is full," Santana chimed in.

"Yeah, ye-" his second "yeah" was cut off by the door of the cottage slamming shut on him. He shook his head and smiled fondly. The women had never been able to pull off acting natural and he could tell that they were hiding something. Something that required him to be out of the house for at least an hour. Well, he had just the place to go.

Quinn watched Kurt disappear from the window before she let the curtain fall back into place, "He's gone," she declared.

She returned to the table and pulled out the book of regal outfit patterns that she, Brittany and Santana had been going through before Kurt had appeared. It was opened at a truly hideous floral frock that Santana had joked would match Kurt's flamboyant personality perfectly, "Which one are we going to do?"

"We need an outfit that says 'not only are you a prince, we've actually been lying to you all these years, we're faeries and by the way, we're taking you to the palace tonight to meet your father and you're fiancée. Have we not mentioned you've been engaged since you were a baby? Well, we're mentioning it now.'" Santana's tone was dripping with sarcasm, "'Mazel tov!'"

"Bless you," Brittany replied absent-mindedly.

Quinn brushed off the comment with her usual good grace,

"It sounds bad when you put it like that."

"There's no nice way to put it."

Quinn scowled, "What's the matter with you?"

Santana shook her head to say that nothing was the matter, only to burst out almost right after, "It's not fair. One minute he was a baby and the next..." she trailed off.

Brittany pouted, "I don't want him to go either."

Quinn sighed. She knew this moment had to come from the second that they had agreed to take Kurt in. Even though they knew that Brittany had promised that he would be loved by all, none of them had expected the profound effect he would have on their lives. She had been dreading this moment ever since Kurt had turned sixteen and found out part of the truth.

"We knew it had to happen," she said, "He doesn't belong here. He's a prince."

She wished she could convince herself of that too. Still, she was the oldest. She couldn't show weakness. She cleared her throat,

"Besides, we can't sit around here and mope all day. We've got work to do. I'll make the outfit."

"I'll make the cake!" Brittany leapt up.

"Um...Britt, I think it'll be better if we let Santana handle the cake-" Brittany gave her a wounded look and she added hurriedly, "Not that I don't think you'd be an excellent cook, but I need a model and I reckon you're the closest we have to Kurt's figure."

"Minus the tits," Santana added, "I'll go get the wa-"

"No, no, no!" Quinn clapped her hands together, "We're doing this completely by scratch."

"You're kidding me."

"Oh come on," she was already tying her hair back, "We raised a baby without magic. How hard could it be?"

"That's your war-cry," Santana said under her breath as she made her way to the kitchen.

For the years of his exile, Sebastian lived in the ruins of a grand palace in a valley that was surrounded by treacherous mountains. The palace had once been the grandest in the land but war had reduced it to almost nothing. The stone was blackened and many of the towers looked one bad storm away from collapse.

"Son of a bitch!" Sebastian screeched, swinging his sceptre against a stone gargoyle in the throne chamber. The sceptre was undamaged but the bust was sent flying across the room where it hit the opposite wall with a crash and shattered into a thousand tiny pieces. His minions - a race of doxies - scattered, "How can he have just vanished for eighteen years?!"

Doxies were small creatures, barely more than ten inches high and though their form was mostly human, they had an extra set of arms and limbs, and the entirety of their flesh was covered in coarse black hair. Like the fae, they had wings but theirs' resembled the wings of a beetle, and they had two rows of sharp, venomous teeth. This race was the sworn enemies of the fae and, being lovers of power, had declared themselves as Sebastian's ally.

"We looked everywhere," one of them hissed.

"So you keep saying," Sebastian sank onto the high, black throne and massaged the bridge of his nose in frustration, "And yet I doubt it. If you had searched everywhere you would have already found him."

"Well, we searched every palace in the realm, every home, every cradle, every-"

Sebastian looked up, his eyes narrowing, "Wait, say that again."

The doxy tittered nervously, "Every home?"

"After that."

"Every cradle," it made a rocking gesture with its arms as if to indicate a cradle. Sebastian gave an incredulous laugh,

"Every cradle," he repeated, "Eighteen long years and you've spent all of them looking for a baby."

He started to laugh, a loud cruel sound that echoed throughout the stone chamber. Before long the doxies joined in, relieved that their master wasn't angry,

"Idiots!" suddenly he was on his feet, sending a flash of light at the doxy who had spoken, which exploded in a burst of black hair and blood. The others cowered under his rage, "You absolute fools! He wouldn't be a baby anymore. He'd be eighteen!"

"We'll go find him right away!" one of the other creatures squeaked.

Sebastian held up his hand and shook his head, "No. You've had your chance and you've failed. You're lucky I'm not skewering you all-" his minions cowered as he said this but he just made a noise of disgust, "Get out of my sight."

There was the rushing noise of a hundred pairs of wings as the doxies fled the room. Sebastian turned to a hideous bird perched on the arm of his throne. It was a thin bird that resembled a vulture, though its feathers were a greenish black and it had cruel yellow eyes. The bird was called an augrey and was seen as a bad omen throughout the land. The bird was Sebastian's most trusted companion. Sebastian reached out and stroked the feathers above its sharp beak.

"It's up to you, my pet," he cooed, "Find him for me. He'll be beautiful with snow white skin, brown hair and blue eyes; you'll know him as soon as you see him. Chances are he'll have a bunch of animals or children following him like a fan club."

The augrey gave a mournful cry in assent before spreading its wings and taking flight through a paneless window high in the chamber.

Kurt Hummel had no intention of picking any berries. There was a dirt trail leading from the cottage through the woods, which eventually thinned until the path emerged at the bottom of a steep cliff. There were a number of blackberry bushes growing here but he completely ignored them and instead treaded carefully through until he was standing right in front of the cliff-face. He put the basket down and brushed aside a curtain of vines to reveal a crevice carved out of the rock. He had first discovered this when he was around twelve years old and in his childish curiosity, his first instinct was to squeeze through it and see what was on the other side - if there even had been another side to emerge from. This endeavor had not gone unrewarded as he had found himself on the outskirts of a village. Kurt had been sneaking to this village with every opportunity since though, as he had grown, the shortcut had become more and more unpleasant. By now he was only just slim enough to fit. He suspected that his three guardians didn't know about this, otherwise - if their mission was to protect him - they wouldn't have chosen a cottage so close to civilization.

Part of him felt bad that he was directly disobeying their orders not to talk to strangers, or go anywhere he could be recognized but he had always been curious and the thought of a village close to his home with all that life and excitement had proven too hard for him to resist. As he edged through the rock, he immediately regretted the decision to wear white. His shirt was filthy by the time he emerged at the other side.

Beyond the village was the neighboring palace of Dalton and without the shortcut through the mountain, he figured it to be several hours' journey on foot. The palace was huge and pastel-peach colored. It never failed to awe Kurt whenever he looked upon it. He didn't know much about the royal family, but the king and queen were said to be second in their kindness only to Burt Hummel of Lima.

When Kurt arrived in the village it seemed as if the majority of folk were leaving. There was an excitement in the air and everyone was chattering happily about a birthday...or was it an engagement? It was hard to tell. He asked the vendor at a nearby fruit stall.

"Why, didn't you know?" the portly man said happily, "There's a celebration at King Burt of Lima's palace tonight! I'm closing early myself!"

"Those three didn't tell me about that," Kurt said under his breath.

"What was that, son?"

"Oh," he just smiled, "Nothing important."

"KURT!" Kurt barely had time to register where the high-pitched voice had come from when something small but surprisingly solid collided with his mid-drift. He looked down. One of the local children were hugging him tightly around the waist and before long they had been joined by others, all chattering around him happily.

"Hey kids," he smiled, "How are we all?"

Though they were all talking at the same time, he gathered that they were all excited about the marriage of the princess. He wondered if it was to the step-brother that Quinn had once mentioned him having. The atmosphere was festive - a unification of two such great kingdoms was rare.

"Are you going to sing for us?" one of them eventually squeaked. This was a routine he had grown used to, ever since a group of the kids had overheard him singing to himself as he wandered through the village one day. His visits were a treat for them and when they looked so cute and hopeful, who was he to say no? Still, he pretended to think about it,

"Well..."

"Please!"

He smiled, "Okay."

In the castle of Dalton, Blaine Berry-Anderson was preparing to make his escape from the castle.

Well, perhaps "escape" was a little on the dramatic side. The young prince was, however, planning to sneak out of the palace and into the village disguised as a commoner. This wasn't an entirely rare occurrence for the young man, he snuck out as often as he thought he could get away with it and in five years, he had never been caught. He loved it there; the smells, the sights, the people. It was the only place where he could really be anonymous. Yes, he loved being a prince and he loved his family but deep down he was a humble man and sometimes he just desired the freedom to be like everybody else. He hated the drawbacks that came with wandering the palace; all the conformity and rules. He hated that everyone bowed at him every single time he walked past, even when he had repeatedly told them they didn't have to.

He often wondered what it was like for his sister Rachel, living with the knowledge that she was to be Queen. She had been engaged to the prince of the neighboring kingdom of Lima since long before she even knew what the word meant. It was a huge responsibility. She would never get away with sneaking out of the palace like this. All Blaine had to say was that he was going on a hunting trip and he was given a free rein.

Before leaving his chamber, he took a quick look at himself in the mirror. His curly black hair, which was usually slicked back, was free and loose around his head, and he was dressed in a set of clothes he had managed to bribe off one of the servants. He smiled, satisfied with what he saw. He looked nothing like the prince he was. Nobody would give him a second glance. When he had sneaked out of the palace, he scaled the high wall that surrounded the stables which took him straight into the village.

In a peasant disguise, he could wander around for hours.

"Good morning," one of the merchant sellers called out to him as he passed. He waved in response. Before long he had reached the village square. It was very often the busiest part of town, though it was quiet today because many of the citizens were travelling to Lima for the celebration of King Burt's son's eighteenth birthday, and the prince's engagement to Rachel. Blaine could only spare half an hour of wandering before he had to return to the palace in preparation to visit the neighboring royal family. He had only seen the young prince once before, and he had been very young himself. He wondered if the rumors (he found it incredible that there were still rumors even though nobody had seen hide or hair of Prince Kurt since he was a baby) were true that the young man had grown into the very essence of beauty-

A high, sweet voice interrupted his musings. It floated to his ears from the other side of the village square, where a group of children had gathered. Despite the noise of the village around him, the voice was crystal clear and entrancing. As though hypnotized, Blaine's feet carried him across the square.

And oh...there he was.

The boy was sitting cross-legged in the middle of a group of children. He hadn't seen Blaine approach, his eyes closed as he sang. If Blaine thought there was no chance that the face be as beautiful as the voice he was sorely mistaken. He had pale skin that practically radiated its own glow, brown hair that was styled away from his face - though some strands had come loose and fallen over his forehead. He had a cute, slightly upturned nose and his jaw could have been cut from marble.

The children, who must have noticed Blaine approach, all moved along a little so there was room for Blaine to kneel down and watch the performance. The song was one of love and hope and though he had heard it before, he had never heard it sung so beautifully. After a few seconds Blaine couldn't resist. He opened his mouth and started to sing along. The boy's eyes snapped open in surprise and it took all Blaine had not to stop singing at that very moment. They were so blue. Blue, yet somehow green and grey all at the same time.

Kurt had had a dream that he was dancing with his true love. He couldn't remember anything specific about his partner apart from a pair of beautiful hazel eyes. Eyes he suddenly found himself staring straight into the second the voice started to sing with him. Large hazel eyes flecked with amber and gold...the eyes were attached to the handsome face of the man kneeling across from him. The newcomer smiled at Kurt while still singing - there was something oddly familiar about that smile. Kurt grinned back and joined in again. Their voices seemed to blend perfectly together. Like ying to yang. The boy's voice was velvety and warm.

It was too soon that the song drew to a close. The kids sat in amazed silence for a few moments before cheering. It wasn't just them either, it seemed that Blaine and Kurt had gathered quite an audience during their impromptu duet. They had been too lost in each other to even notice.

"That was wonderful," someone said. Kurt blushed,

"Thank you," he said. Blaine murmured his thanks too.

"Are you two going to get married?" a little girl piped up.

"Oh!" Kurt's blush deepened. He glanced at Blaine, "We've never met before."

"Well, you should," she replied matter-of-factly.

"You kids should head on home if you want to be at the palace on time!" someone said and Kurt was thankful for the distraction. He said his goodbyes to the group and soon they had all scattered, leaving the two boys alone. Kurt wanted to say something but he couldn't quite find the words.

Blaine's usually eloquent and charming demeanor was failing him too. There was already so much he wanted to say. Instead, he just scratched the back of his neck sheepishly and said,

"Would you..." his voice was about an octave higher than it should have been. He cleared his throat and tried again, "Would you like to go for a walk with me?"

He extended his hand. Kurt looked at for a moment, hardly daring to believe that this was really happening. He nodded. His hand seemed to fit Blaine's perfectly,

"I would love to," he said.

Nobody noticed the greenish black bird circling overhead.

"Now can we use our wands?" Santana spat out a large mouthful of flour. Baking the cake wasn't going very well. She was pretty sure that the majority of the ingredients were covering her rather than in the bowl - the contents of which were an unpleasant grey color with bits of egg shell sticking out. She didn't have a domestic bone in her body; Kurt usually handled all the baking. How he even managed to learn living with those three was completely beyond her.

Quinn wasn't faring much better. The "outfit" Brittany was modeling looked more like an oversized curtain wrapped around her like a toga, with ruffles in all the wrong places. Quinn stood by the stool with her hands on her hips and a critical expression on her face,

"Maybe it'll look better from a distance..." she said to herself. She took a few steps back. Then a few steps further. Then a few steps further until she had reached the opposite side of the room, "...Maybe not."

"I can't move my legs," Brittany said. Sure enough, the binding was so tight around her ankles it was obvious that if she even attempted to walk she would fall off the stool.

"Give it up, Q, we're not the domestic goddess types," Santana threw the wooden spoon back into the bowl in annoyance, "And it's going to take a miracle to get this done by the time Kurt gets back."

There was a long silence in which Quinn seemed to go through every possible alternative but eventually said, "I think...maybe wands are our best option if we want to get this done on time-just this once!" she shouted after Santana who had whooped happily and was already rushing to the Quinn's room, where the wands where hidden in a loose floorboard underneath the dressing table. Quinn helped Brittany out of the toga-sheet hybrid. Santana returned and gave them their wands.

"I'll take care of decorating," Brittany declared.

Kurt had never truly appreciated just how beautiful the village was until he had enjoyed it with this handsome stranger. They talked about everything and nothing, petty small talk about how beautiful the palace looked or how delicious the bakery smelled. He had never felt more at ease with another human being and, judging by the way his heart was beating out of his chest, he was certain he had fallen in love.

The two boys were sitting on the steps outside the village hall, their hands intertwined between them. Sadly, the spell was broken by the chiming of the huge clock on the front of the palace. It had already been an hour. Blaine leapt up like he had sat on a pin,

"Is that the time?" he cried. He ran his hand through his hair, "Oh god, my dad is going to kill me!"

Kurt stood up and tried not to show disappointment on his face. Realistically, he should have probably been getting back home himself but he had been having so much fun he would have quite happily stayed there all day. Blaine started power walking away but stopped himself after a few paces. He muttered "what are you doing?" under his breath, then turned and came back. He was smiling shyly again.

"Can I...uhh...see you again?"

"Of course," Kurt replied.

"Tonight?" Blaine would just have to think of some kind of excuse to ditch the royal engagement. He was sure his father wouldn't miss him too much. Even if he did...well, this would be worth it.

Kurt bit his lip. He was pretty sure his guardians would be pissed however; he didn't want to pass up this opportunity. He nodded, "Meet me at sunset. Do you know where the old hunter's cottage at the south of Lima forest?"

"Yeah."

"That's where I live," he smiled that gorgeous smile of his. Blaine couldn't help himself; he leaned in and stole Kurt's lips in a sweet, chaste kiss. It only lasted a moment but if Kurt could say that his life ever had any perfect moment, this would be it. When they broke apart Blaine nodded,

"Then that's where I'll meet you," he said, "Goodbye!"

"Bye."

As Blaine walked away, he kept turning back to look. When he had finally vanished around a corner, Kurt placed his hand on his chest. His heart was beating faster than he thought it was possible. He spun around happily, feeling like he was about to burst into song. This birthday had gone much better than he could have possibly wished for. Maybe dreams did come true.

It wasn't until Kurt was halfway back towards the cottage that he realized that he hadn't even asked the boy his name.

After the last minute inclusion of magic, the disaster zone that had been there before had been replaced. Santana placed the last of the candles on a large three-tier cake and Brittany added some streamers and banners to the beams that made up the ceiling.

"Isn't it gorgeous?" Quinn said placing her creation tenderly on a chair where Kurt couldn't miss. The result of her magic was a beautiful tunic, blue decorated with delicate gold swirls. The shoulders were ruffled slightly and the buttons at the collar were shaped like warblers. Santana put her hand on her hip,

"It's okay," she said, "But it would look better in red."

She pointed her wand at it and the blue material turned a deep red.

"I think I know better what color suits Kurt, Santana," Quinn changed it back, "His eyes are blue."

"Which is why it needs a little contrast." Red.

"Red makes it look crass." Blue.

"If you didn't want crass then you shouldn't have put in ruffles." Red.

"Oh, so now you have a problem with ruffles?" Blue.

Their fight got increasingly violent until red and blue sparks were flying everywhere, changing the colors of everything in room. Some of the sparks rebounded and flew up the chimney, where the augrey had landed, drawn by the noise. Somewhere in its long memory it remembered when its master had said that the three fae had vanished at the same time baby Kurt did. It made the connection with the singing boy in the square and this tiny cottage deep in the woods. It had much to tell its master.

When the fight had resorted to Quinn and Santana changing each other's clothes different colors that weren't just blue and red - Quinn's dress was now a gaudy orange with an assortment of multicolored polka dots, and Santana's bright green with yellow stripes - Brittany stepped forward,

"I like purple," she said. The other two lowered their wands. She had turned the tunic a rich purple color that complimented the gold perfectly and they had to admit, would look stunning on Kurt, "It's a improvise."

"Compromise, Brittany," Quinn corrected, "It looks gorgeous."

"Sssh, listen," Santana hissed. They fell silent and all heard it in the distance - the sound of Kurt singing.

"Quick!" Quinn waved her wand once and returned the room to its original state. Santana levitated the cake over from the kitchen counter over to the dining table. She stuffed her wand down the front of her dress. They only had time to hide behind the couch before Kurt literally pirouetted through the front door. He was still singing as he did,

"I walked with you once upon a-oh," he stopped singing as his eyes fell on the gifts then to the decorations.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" his three guardians' yelled coming out of their hiding places. They all hugged him.

"Oh my god..." he gasped, "Thank you so much!"

He took awe-struck steps over to the chair and gently fingered the soft material of the tunic, "Did you do all this from scratch?"

Brittany opened her mouth but Quinn, afraid she would give the game away, cut in, "Of course."

"Wow Quinn, I didn't know you're such a talented seamstress," he beamed at her, "You kept that a secret. And that cake!"

"That was me," Santana said, looking pleased with herself.

"And you've let me bake all these years! I could never make anything like that," he circled the table, "This could feed us for the next year. Oh, my hips aren't going to like that."

He looked around at the decorations. Dinosaurs and unicorns everywhere.

"And let me guess," he said fondly, "This was Brittany's work. Oh, you girls-" he wiped his eyes with his sleeve and laughed a little, "You're going to make me cry! How did I get so lucky?"

When Kurt had walked in a circle and hugged each of them again, he picked up the garment and held it against himself.

"We thought you might want to wear it to go back to the palace tonight-" Quinn began.

"I can't go back to the palace tonight," he said quickly.

"What do you mean?"

"Well..." he shrugged guiltily, "I met someone in the village and-"

"What village?" Quinn's voice was even but Santana's eyes had narrowed dangerously.

"The village on the outskirts of Dalton, at the other side of the mountain. There's a crevice you can cut through but that's against the point. I met someone there and he's visiting at sunset tonight-"

"Let me get this straight, Princess," Santana snapped, "Not only have you been sneaking into the village, you've told some random stranger where we live?"

"He's more than just a random stranger-"

She scoffed disbelievingly, "I can't believe you."

"Kurt," Quinn added, "You know it's dangerous to go into the village."

"But why?!" Kurt said, "I get it, you're trying to protect me but I can look after myself. I'm not an idiot."

"You're a prince and this boy you met is a commoner. It's best for both of you that you don't meet again," Kurt noticed how Quinn didn't answer his question. They always avoided it when he tried to get more information out of them and, although it didn't used to bother him, he was starting to get frustrated. He was an adult and he was perfectly capable of making his own decisions. He didn't ask to be a prince.

"He's nice, you'd love him!"

"That doesn't matter because it's not like you'll ever see him again!" Santana yelled.

Kurt's head jerked sharply like he had just been slapped in the face. Santana realized as soon as she had opened her mouth that she had gone too far, even if what she had said had been the truth. She fell silent and Quinn sighed,

"Look Kurt, we know it might sound harsh but you're a prince and your royal duties come first. We're going back to the palace tonight and you're going to meet your father and..." she barely whispered the next two words, "Your fiancée."

"Fiancée..." he groaned. All that talk in the village about a royal wedding. They were talking about him.

"And Santana's right...whoever this boy is...you can never see him again."

"Right," Kurt's voice kept breaking, like every word was getting stuck in his throat, "You've kept me stuck here for eighteen years without telling me why and then suddenly I'm supposed to just accept this fate without question, even if it means giving up a chance for love," he stood up, "Fine."

"Kurt, we're sorry-"

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to my room. Thanks for the gifts," he spat out the last sentence rather bitterly and half-ran to his room before anyone else had the chance to stop him. Even the loud slamming of the door didn't stop the sound of sobs from carrying to their ears.

"That went well," Santana said. Her attempt at good humor fell flat.

"If this is what's best then why do I feel so crappy?" Brittany asked sadly.

The augrey rose from the window sill where it had been listening to every word that had been said, and took flight.

Blaine's plan to only wander the village for half an hour had went completely array thanks to the presence of the stranger and by the time he returned to the palace he was running extremely late. The grand carriage the royal family would be travelling in was already waiting out in the courtyard and he could hear his father grumbling about the time. Thankfully, when he reached his bed chamber a fresh outfit in fine red and blues had already been set out on his bed and a bath had been drawn. He made a mental note to suggest his father give his servant a raise. He had cleaned himself off and dressed in record time, singing all the way. His heart felt light as a feather and he couldn't wait to see...he paused midway through lacing his boots and couldn't help but laugh.

"I don't even know his name," he chuckled.

"You don't even know who's name?"

Blaine looked up and saw his sister Rachel standing in the door way. She looked every part the queen she was destined to become in a regal gown of gold, and her hair fell in loose curls down her back. However, she hadn't quite been able to disguise the redness around her eyes - she had been crying.

"No-one important," he lied, "What are you doing here?"

"Father sent me to get you. The carriage is about to leave."

"Tell him you guys can just leave, I'm going to make my own way there."

"Why?" her brown eyes narrowed suspiciously. Blaine suddenly felt very self-conscious that she knew exactly what he had been up to, and wished that he had giving the servant clothes a better hiding place than an untidy pile in the middle of the floor. He and Rachel got on, sure, but he wasn't sure if her loyalty to him extended to not telling their father he had snuck out of the palace on such an important day. Not to mention that he hadn't even thought of an excuse to make his leave so he could make his rendezvous.

"B-because...I have to meet-no...because I'm not a child anymore and I don't appreciate being treated like one by being escorted everywhere."

It was very obviously a lie but Rachel didn't call him out on it. As she wandered into the room he stood up and stationed himself in front of the pile of rags on the floor.

"Anyway, Rach, are you ok?" he asked in an attempt to steer the conversation out of such dangerous waters. She waved a dismissive hand.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well...you look like you've been crying."

She momentarily looked like she was about to argue the point but instead she sank down onto the bed.

"Can you keep a secret?" she said. She fixed Blaine with such a serious look that he abandoned his attempts to hide the clothes and sat down beside her. She very rarely dropped her act of being the perfect little princess.

"Yes, of course."

"You have to promise me you won't breathe a word of this to anyone," she replied.

"Rach, you have my word."

She nodded, took a deep breath and blurted out, "I'm in love with Finn Hudson."

"Finn Hudson? As in King Burt's stepson?"

Burt Hummel had spent ten years as a widower after the loss of his wife but after this he had fallen in love with a widowed noble-woman named Carole, whose husband had died fighting in a war. After courting her for about a year, the two were wed. Carole had a young son named Finn, who was a few months younger than Kurt and thus had no direct claim to the throne. Rachel nodded,

"We met last year and I swear when I looked at him I just knew he was the one," Rachel's words were breathy, "Have you ever looked at someone and suddenly you couldn't breathe, and yet at the same time everything suddenly seems to make sense?" she placed a hand to her chest, "Your heart starts to beat extra fast and you feel like you're falling but you never want it to stop."

As Rachel spoke, Blaine's mind wandered to a pair of ocean blue eyes. If she had told him this yesterday, he wouldn't have a clue what she was talking about. But now...? He nodded and a small smile tugged at his mouth,

"Yes."

"He asked me to dance and when we did, it was like we were the only people left on the planet. He told me that very night he loved me. You know I've never rushed into things like that but I was so sure love was what it was that I said it right back," she rested her chin in her hands, "We've been courting ever since, every time there's a ball."

"Oh, Rachel..." he didn't know what else to say. He placed his hand on her shoulder. He knew this couldn't be easy for her but he didn't realize what she was sacrificing. And if she was living in the palace then everyday she would have to see Finn and be constantly reminded that she could never be with him. Rachel shook him off and rose elegantly to her feet. Her eyes were gleaming with tears again but she blinked them away.

"What's the point in arguing?" she said, "I have to put my duties first." she swallowed thickly, "For the good of the kingdom."

"I'm so sorry," Blaine responded and pulled his sister into a tight hug, "This isn't fair."

"We've always known it was going to be like this," she said.

There was the sound of a trumpet coming from down in the courtyard where the horses were waiting. A summon from the king - they were already running late enough as it was.

"I'll tell father what you said," Rachel said.

"Rachel, you're going to make one heck of a queen."

"Thanks," she replied, "Whatever...or," she paused and gave him a knowing smile, "Whoever you're going to miss my engagement ceremony for better be worth it."

"Oh," Blaine was too caught off guard to deny anything. Instead he just returned the smile and said, "He is."

She left the room.

"Why do the best days always end up so bad?" Quinn asked quietly as she, Santana and Brittany made their way back to the palace through the woods. Kurt walked a few paces behind. He was wearing a long cloak and had the hood covering his head so on a first glance he would just look like any other peasant. His shoulders were slumped and he had barely spoken two words since he had first stormed off.

"We should tell Burt that we're going to delay his return until tomorrow. One more day wouldn't hurt," Santana responded. She was still feeling guilty about her outburst earlier. Quinn secretly agreed but she couldn't say that out loud. Instead she shook her head,

"Isn't eighteen years long enough? Besides, Kurt can't marry a commoner. He's a prince."

"But if he marries a princess he's going to be miserable. Or am I the only one who picked up on the fact he's gay? I swear, this marriage is going to end with him being caught with his pants around his ankles with the prince of Dalton or something-"

"Santana!"

"Hey, just keeping it real," she raised her hands in surrender.

The rest of the journey passed in a tense silence. On the outskirts of the town they were met by Finn, Kurt's step-brother, to guide them safely back to the palace. He was extremely tall and solidly built with short brown hair. At his side he was holding a deadly-looking sword. He looked almost as happy as Kurt did.

"Hey, Finn," Quinn said.

"You all here then?" he said grumpily, "Let's go."

He turned and walked away in long strides without further ado. They all had to half-jog to keep up with him.

"I thought you said Frankenteen was a happy guy," Santana hissed. Quinn had made trips to the palace a few times to report on Kurt's well-being over the years so she was the only one who had met Carole and her son. From what she had said, Finn was the happiest person she had met, if not slightly dim-witted at times. She shrugged helplessly,

"He is. Maybe he's just having a bad day."

"Yeah, well, he's not the only one."

The presence of his step-brother seemed to have piqued Kurt's curiosity. He sped up so that he fell into stride next to the other man. For some reason, Finn seemed determined not to acknowledge him. His grip on the sword tightened.

"So you're Finn," Kurt attempted.

"Who wants to know?" Finn grumbled. If Kurt was caught off guard by the hostility, he didn't show it.

"I'm Kurt," he replied.

"Yeah, I know who you are."

Kurt wanted to tell Finn if the reason for his hostility was because he wanted to be king, he could have the throne. All Kurt wanted was to be back in his cottage. Sure, he had had daydreams about being a prince living in the palace but he had never seriously considered that one day he would have to go back. Especially not under these circumstances. He couldn't help but wonder how the boy from the village would react when he got to the cottage to find Kurt gone. Kurt didn't know what made him so sure that this boy he met was his true love, he just knew with every fiber of his being that he was.

"Can you tell me what it's like in the palace?" he asked.

Finn shrugged, "It's ok," he grunted.

"And...do you happen to know anything about the princess of Dalton?"

Rachel Berry-Anderson. If he was going to marry her, he might as well try and learn as much about her as he could, and he was still too hurt to go ask his guardians. What Kurt didn't expect was for Finn's face to light up at the mention of her.

"Oh!" he said brightly. He was actually rather handsome when he smiled, "Rachel's awesome. She's pretty-no, beautiful and funny and talented and okay, maybe she talks too much but that's just because she's opinionised-" opinionated, Kurt silently corrected, "-and she has the cutest laugh and..." he cut himself off and his face fell again, "...you'll love her."

Just like you do Kurt thought. He suddenly understood why Finn was so angry. Here was Kurt, brought up outside the kingdom for eighteen years just marching back in and marrying the woman he loved. It was obvious Finn loved her from the way his face had lit up and the expressive way he had spoken of her. It wasn't just going to be Kurt's heart that would be broken thanks to this mess. How could he explain all this to Finn? To his step-brother, Kurt was just a stranger who was going to steal Rachel away from him.

"She sounds lovely," he replied meekly and fell back.

Finn guided them unseen round to the back of the palace. From the distant rabble, they could tell that the whole kingdom had gathered for the birthday/engagement celebration. None of them were affected by the festive atmosphere. Kurt - who had gazed at the palace so often from his bedroom window - couldn't even bring himself to look at it. The despair he was already feeling was matched with guilt and shame.

Finally, they reached the base of one of the highest towers. There was a heavy wooden door there which Finn had to unlock with the iron key hanging from a chain around his neck. Beyond the door they found themselves at the bottom of a spiral staircase that seemed to rise into infinity. It made Kurt dizzy just to look at it. He heard Brittany murmur something about missing her wings.

"At the top of the staircase there's a chamber you can wait in," Finn said, smiling a little meanly at the expression on Kurt's face, "A couple of guards will be stationed here in a couple of minutes so nobody can get in. Someone will come summon you at sunset. I have to go back into the palace."

"Thank you, Finn," Quinn said. She started climbing the stairs, followed by the other two. Kurt hung back for a moment.

"Hey, Finn?" he said softly.

"What?"

"For what it's worth, I'm so sorry about all this. Believe me when I say it's not what I want."

Finn looked momentarily surprised at this but eventually just made a non-committal noise. Kurt bowed his head,

"Thank you," he said and started up the stairs. The door slammed closed behind him, plunging them into almost complete darkness. The only light came from weak beams of sunlight coming in from slats in the stone. Sunset was fast approaching. Kurt noticed how his three guardians kept nervously glancing out then checking over their shoulders to see if he was still behind them.

"We should have waited," he heard Santana hiss.

"The sun will be down within the hour," was Quinn's response. They continued like this until they reached the chamber at the top of the tower. It was a large, circular room. In the middle there was a comfortable looking plush emerald couch and a table where refreshments had been laid out. Across the room there was a gold dressing table and a fireplace engraved with the Lima coat of arms. Brittany helped Kurt take off the cloak and led him to the stool in front of the dressing table. He followed her without argument. When he was seated, she opened one of the drawers and took out a box. Lying on red velvet within the box was a simple but lovely crown of gold which she placed on his head. He lowered his eyes.

"There. Now you look just like a prince," she said.

"We'll be over there," Santana said and the three walked away, leaving him sitting alone.

Kurt looked into the mirror. The crown on his head, the elegant clothing...it just didn't seem right. He might have looked like a prince but he didn't feel like one. It wasn't worth never seeing him again. He buried his head in his hands and allowed himself to succumb to tears. Across the room, his guardians were watching him.

"I don't like it when Kurt's sad," Brittany said, resting her head on Santana's shoulder, "It makes everyone else sad."

"He'll get over it," Santana replied in an attempt at her usual sass but like her earlier joke, it fell flat. Her heart just wasn't in it. Quinn glanced out the window,

"A couple of minutes now. God, I'm such a wreck. I can only imagine how Burt must be feeling."

"I swear," Santana spat, "As soon as this is over, I'm marching straight over to Sebastian's castle on Mount Creepy Bastard and-"

She didn't finish her sentence as the room was suddenly plunged into an absolute silence. Kurt raised his head from his arms. It was like he had suddenly gone deaf; he couldn't even hear the excitable sounds of the gathered crowd outside anymore. In the reflection of the mirror he could see that his guardians had stopped moving.

"Brittany?" he said uneasily as he rose to his feet, "Quinn? Santana?"

Santana's hand was still raised mid-gesture and her mouth was open but no sound came out. It was as if they had just been frozen solid but when he touched Santana's hand, it felt as warm and lifelike as ever. He jumped at a grinding noise coming from behind him and quickly turned. There was a sphere of green light floating in the fireplace, the back of which was sliding away to reveal a passage. At least that would explain the noise. The light started to make its way through the passage but stopped before it disappeared out of sight and bobbed up and down on the spot, as if indicating for him to follow. He could just see a staircase beyond it. He bit his lip. It didn't seem like a particularly good idea. However, his legs had other ideas and led him forward seemingly of their own accord. As he followed the bobbing light, he heard the noise of the entrance to the secret passage shutting itself over.

As soon as the back of the fireplace slid firmly back into place, time unfroze. The fae felt the coldness in the room. Even with the sinking sun still shining through the window, it still seemed oddly dark. Dark, except for the remains of a strange green glow. Kurt was gone.

"Sebastian!" Santana cried.

"Kurt!" Brittany added.

They leapt to their feet.

"Where could he have gone?" the raven-haired young woman looked desperately around the room. Her eyes fell to the fireplace, "It's a castle, it must be filled with secret passages."

"And if there's not, you can bet Sebastian made one," Quinn said. She pointed her wand at the brick and sure enough, it slid back noisily to reveal a staircase. However, as soon as they had placed one foot on the bottom step, it melted together to give way to a slide. Since Kurt didn't instantly come sliding down it, it was clear that this was the work of dark magic.

"Wings?" Brittany suggested.

"Wings," Quinn agreed. With another burst of magic, their wings had returned and they were on their way, yelling warnings for Kurt not to touch anything that he might encounter when he reached the top.

The stairs led to a drafty chamber at the very top of the tower. When Kurt looked up he could see the ceiling rising to a point. A sinister looking green-black bird leered down at him from the rafters. The room was empty except for an unusual object against one wall. It consisted of a large wheel with a sharp looking point at one side. Kurt had never seen such a thing before. Standing next to it was a handsome man with cold green eyes and a rather cruel smile. He was holding a sceptre. The sceptre was the source of the light that had lured Kurt up here.

"Good evening," the man said pleasantly enough. There was a note of something like amusement in his voice.

"What is it?" Kurt asked, unable to take his eyes off the object.

"It's a spinning wheel," came the reply.

"A spinning wheel?" he had heard Brittany mention it once but Santana had shushed her like it was something vulgar. He couldn't tell what was so bad about it. The man turned the wheel and Kurt noticed a spool of thread trailing from the wheel onto the ground.

"You know, touching the spindle is good luck."

Kurt took a step forward, surveying the point. It looked sharp. He frowned, "I don't think pricking your finger is good luck."

"What's a moment's pain when it follows with good?" he smirked, "You look like you could use some luck."

There was something about the man that seemed off to Kurt. What was he doing here? Why had Santana, Quinn and Brittany froze like that? Why did the man want him to touch the spindle? Suddenly he felt foolish for following the light. Something about the spinning wheel filled him with a sense of foreboding - especially the gleaming point. He didn't want to be alone here with this man anymore. He gave the stranger a weak smile,

"Thanks but...I think I'll take my chances elsewhere."

"Are you sure?" he held up a sceptre, the orb at the top burning bright. As Kurt looked into the glowing light, he felt his muscles relax. He felt strangely at ease as if all his troubles were melting away. His mind went blank. When the man spoke again his voice sounded oddly distant, like he was speaking from the end of a long tunnel, "Go on. What's the worst that could happen?"

Kurt raised his hand. What could be the harm, after all? He heard more voices.

"Kurt, no!" "Don't listen to him!" "Don't touch anything!"

For a moment his mind cleared. He knew those voices. He trusted them. And if they said not to then perhaps...

"They lied to you," the first voice, "For all these years-" a pang of pain. A memory of a handsome face. A cold voice telling him he could never see his love again. Lies. Eighteen years of lies. His heart wrenched below his ribcage, "-touch the spindle and all your pain will go away."

The words sounded like a promise. The other voices melted away. All he could focus on was the spindle of the spinning wheel. He reached out...closer...closer...

"KURT!" they reached the top of the staircase just in time to see Kurt swoon and fall to the floor at Sebastian's feet, a single drop of blood sliding from the small puncture on his index finger. The augrey was flying in circles around the room cawing gleefully and Sebastian howled with laughter,

"Nice try," he said, nudging the unconscious boy with his foot "But did you really think you could outsmart me?"

Santana leapt forward but Quinn and Brittany grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back. Sebastian grinned,

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have an important meeting I'm running late for."

The augrey sunk down and perched itself on Sebastian's shoulder, who hit his sceptre against the ground. The fae shielded their eyes against the blinding light. When the light faded the room was empty. Sebastian had vanished and, worse still, so had Kurt.

Outside the sun sunk below the horizon. There was the sound of fanfare and great celebration. Above the noise the town crier called out,

"The sun has set. Prepare to meet your prince."

NB 2: The augrey and doxy are animals mentioned in Harry Potter (property of JK Rowling). If you own a copy of "Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them" you'll find the descriptions.