[FanFic] Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme (Chapter Four)
Title: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme (Chapter Four)
Status: WIP in collaboration with cacell
Word Count: 1721
Rating: PG-13 (subject to change)
Genre: Romance/Adventure/Drama/Angst
Characters/Pairings: Finn, Karofsky, Blaine, Brittany, Nick, Jeff, Santana, Mercedes, Kurt (in this chapter); Klaine in future chapters
Summary: Prince Kurt has found himself falling for Blaine, a mere stablehand. Even without their distinct differences in class, love would be difficult enough--yet it is proving itself nearly impossible.
Warnings: AU taking place during the renaissance era.
Notes: Fic is based on period-crossover drawings by cacell. The accompanying illustration for this chapter is here!
Finn drew the back of his hand slowly across his forehead, wiping the sweat off his brow. He leaned heavily against the hilt of his sword. He was breathing heavily, feeling exhausted from the day of training and watching as two of the other knights practiced combat, their swords clanging together loudly.
"Too exhausting for you?" came a sneering voice, and Finn frowned.
"I've been out here twice as long as you, Karofsky," he said coolly. "You still have work to do before you can even consider taking a break."
"I'm heading this section of his majesty's army now," Karofsky said. "I decide who can take a rest and who can't."
Finn squeezed his eyes shut, clenching his jaw. "Just get away, wouldn't you?"
"Did I offend you?" Karofsky jeered. "You're almost as sensitive as the little princess sitting up in the study all day."
Finn looked at him in utter confusion. "Princess..?" he repeated, not understanding.
Karofsky's lips turned into a cruel smile. "He seemed pretty upset last night when I mentioned that's how the other knights refer to him," he said matter-of-factly.
Suddenly the pieces seemed to fit together in Finn's head. Kurt.
This was what had upset Kurt so much last night-and honestly, he could see why. He hated Karofsky for even mentioning the idea to the boy. He didn't have the right to, and it was obvious that, as he constantly trained as well, responsibility to stop it had been placed on him.
But despite knowing that it had to be put to a stop, he didn't have the faintest idea of how to actually go about doing so. He knew these men, and he knew it wasn't an easy thing to do...
He straightened up. "If you have any sense at all," he spat at the commander, "you'll stop talking right now."
The commander merely continued to smile as he walked away from the prince, as though pleased with the problems he was causing. Finn buried his face in his arms, still crossed over his sword. He knew it wasn't the solution to everything, but he just hoped it would be an adequate start.
***
Blaine looked up at the entrance of the stable, seeing a hesitant figure entering. He smiled, recognising the blond from the kitchens, and he straightened himself, brushing off his knees.
"Hello," he smiled at her, and almost immediately Jeff and Nick popped out of their respective stalls.
"I have some spinach tarts and biscuits," she said warmly. "I didn't see any of you when I brought out dinner for the other workers, and I thought I should offer something before it's gone."
"Thank you," said Blaine.
The reactions of Nick and Jeff were immediate, both quickly grasping the treats from the girl, eating as though they hadn't in days-though, of course, Blaine knew this to be untrue, as they had each had a rather large breakfast that morning. The moment they retreated, settling themselves on a bale of hay, Blaine stepped forward and took one of the tarts.
"My name is Brittany," she told him. "Yours is Blaine, right?" He nodded. "Do you like it here, Blaine?"
The stablehand laughed. "I'm lucky to have found anywhere that will take me," he said to her. "But I can't pretend it hasn't been a hard first couple of days."
She nodded understandingly. "I have a lot of hard days," she said. "I love to bake, but I make a lot of mistakes and messes. But Prince Kurt is very kind to me, and he always makes sure that I'm still here at the end of the day."
Blaine looked at her thoughtfully. "The Prince is fond of you, then?" he asked, remembering what he had mentioned the night before.
"Oh, yes!" she said, beaming, breaking apart one of the cakes for herself. "And I'm fond of him, as well."
Blaine shook his head. "I think he rather dislikes me," he confided, and he felt a strange sensation in his stomach at the very thought.
"Oh, I don't think that's true," she said immediately. "Prince Kurt doesn't like only one person."
Blaine raised his eyebrows. "May I ask who that is?"
"The new commander," she told him. "David Karofsky. But he doesn't really ever say why, even to myself or his chambermaid, Mercedes. And they're very close."
"You don't have any inkling?" Blaine asked, frowning.
Brittany shook her head. "He doesn't treat any of us very well, but..."
"But it seems like more?"
"I suppose if it was anything serious, he wouldn't hide it, though," she said thoughtfully. "He is very smart and-oh!" Brittany clapped her hands to her mouth, looking just in front of the boy.
Blaine looked at his feet, where a small dog had appeared, his mouth open, tongue hanging out. He cocked his head at Blaine, and the stableboy laughed.
"Is he yours?" Brittany asked.
"No," Blaine said, offering one of the remaining biscuits to the pup. "Come on, take it, boy," he urged, holding it right in front of his nose, though he continued to sniff it distrustingly.
"One biscuit left," he heard Nick mumble.
"It's mine," Jeff responded immediately.
"Are you kidding?" came Nick's voice again. "You didn't do the slightest bit as much as I did today-"
"And who covered for you before Blaine got here, when you were too damn lazy to get out of bed?"
"I was sick-"
"Sick my left-"
"Fine!" said Nick, exasperated. "We wrestle for it?"
Almost immediately Jeff pushed Nick to the stable floor, Nick trying his best to push the other boy back off of him and get the upper hand. Blaine quickly whisked the dog into his arms, keeping him out of the way of the chaos.
Again Blaine held out the biscuit to the dog, and he quickly began tearing it apart. He struggled against Blaine's arms, snatching up the other biscuit and eating it as well before licking Blaine's hands. The stableboy laughed, ruffling the dog's fur.
"Are you going to keep him?" Brittany asked. "He seems to really like you. Just be careful."
"Careful?" Blaine asked, looking at the girl.
"Well, I'm not sure if they can read like cats can," she deadpanned, and Blaine's eyebrows shot up, "but Kurt left one of his books out once, and-"
There was a shout of "yes!" and their heads snapped up.
Jeff bent over panting, his hands resting on his knees, Nick just as breathless, flat on his back. The blonde looked triumphant, but his face fell when he noticed the empty basket resting between Blaine and Brittany.
He let out a noise of disappointment, sounding rather like a small child. "Where'd the last biscuit go?"
***
Santana tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she peered at herself in the mirror. She gently tugged at the ponytail on the back of her head, keeping the dark locks out of her face.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Santana didn't even bother turning around, continuing to adjust her hair in the reflection before her. "What does it look like I'm doing?" she asked in response.
Mercedes marched into the room, placing herself right beside Santana. "What I mean to say is," she said smoothly, her arms folded across her chest, "why aren't you doing your work right now?"
Santana straightened up, mirroring Mercedes. "It's getting done."
"By Thad," Mercedes responded with a look of disbelief. "He's not even a servant-he's training to be an advisor to the king."
"I know," Santana replied.
Mercedes shook her head. "Do I even want to ask how you managed that?"
Santana smirked. "I have my ways," she said silkily.
Again Mercedes shook her head, pointing a warning finger at the girl. "Go," she said. "Go downstairs and tell Thad to get back to his work, and you get back to your own."
"And if I don't?" Santana asked heatedly, her pleased expression long gone.
"I tell his majesty," Mercedes said simply, shrugging one shoulder.
"Fine," the girl huffed. "But you wait until I find something just as unpleasant about you." She turned on her heel and stalked out of the room.
She passed Kurt in the doorway, the prince's eyebrows raised.
"She seems like a lovely person," he said dryly, earning an exasperated smile from the other maid.
"She's certainly something," she sighed. "Good looks will only get you so far."
"Well, you can revel in the fact that she won't be able win me over with her powers of seduction," Kurt offered with a wry smile, and the girl laughed.
Finn hesitantly knocked on the open door, and the two looked up at him.
"I wanted to apologise," Finn said, but Kurt didn't respond. Mercedes glanced between them before excusing herself, and Kurt nonchalantly picked up a book from the shelf, flipping through its pages.
Finn took a deep breath. "I figured it out."
"Congratulations," Kurt said. "I'm sure everyone will be very proud of you."
Finn sighed. "I need you to believe me," he said slowly and deliberately, "that I didn't know. I didn't know that they were saying these things about you. Whenever I heard something, I never thought it was about-I mean, I thought because you're the prince-well, it gives them no right-"
Kurt snapped the book shut. "Stop," he said, closing his eyes and taking a deep, steadying breath. He then looked softly at Finn. "I understand. Really, it's... it's fine."
"It isn't fine."
Kurt allowed himself a small smile. "No," he said, "it isn't."
"I won't let it happen again," Finn said quickly, a little awkward and hesitant. "I mean, I'll do anything that I can-"
"Finn?" Kurt's smile suddenly became very warm and genuine. "Thank you. It means the world to me."
Status: WIP in collaboration with cacell
Word Count: 1721
Rating: PG-13 (subject to change)
Genre: Romance/Adventure/Drama/Angst
Characters/Pairings: Finn, Karofsky, Blaine, Brittany, Nick, Jeff, Santana, Mercedes, Kurt (in this chapter); Klaine in future chapters
Summary: Prince Kurt has found himself falling for Blaine, a mere stablehand. Even without their distinct differences in class, love would be difficult enough--yet it is proving itself nearly impossible.
Warnings: AU taking place during the renaissance era.
Notes: Fic is based on period-crossover drawings by cacell. The accompanying illustration for this chapter is here!
Finn drew the back of his hand slowly across his forehead, wiping the sweat off his brow. He leaned heavily against the hilt of his sword. He was breathing heavily, feeling exhausted from the day of training and watching as two of the other knights practiced combat, their swords clanging together loudly.
"Too exhausting for you?" came a sneering voice, and Finn frowned.
"I've been out here twice as long as you, Karofsky," he said coolly. "You still have work to do before you can even consider taking a break."
"I'm heading this section of his majesty's army now," Karofsky said. "I decide who can take a rest and who can't."
Finn squeezed his eyes shut, clenching his jaw. "Just get away, wouldn't you?"
"Did I offend you?" Karofsky jeered. "You're almost as sensitive as the little princess sitting up in the study all day."
Finn looked at him in utter confusion. "Princess..?" he repeated, not understanding.
Karofsky's lips turned into a cruel smile. "He seemed pretty upset last night when I mentioned that's how the other knights refer to him," he said matter-of-factly.
Suddenly the pieces seemed to fit together in Finn's head. Kurt.
This was what had upset Kurt so much last night-and honestly, he could see why. He hated Karofsky for even mentioning the idea to the boy. He didn't have the right to, and it was obvious that, as he constantly trained as well, responsibility to stop it had been placed on him.
But despite knowing that it had to be put to a stop, he didn't have the faintest idea of how to actually go about doing so. He knew these men, and he knew it wasn't an easy thing to do...
He straightened up. "If you have any sense at all," he spat at the commander, "you'll stop talking right now."
The commander merely continued to smile as he walked away from the prince, as though pleased with the problems he was causing. Finn buried his face in his arms, still crossed over his sword. He knew it wasn't the solution to everything, but he just hoped it would be an adequate start.
***
Blaine looked up at the entrance of the stable, seeing a hesitant figure entering. He smiled, recognising the blond from the kitchens, and he straightened himself, brushing off his knees.
"Hello," he smiled at her, and almost immediately Jeff and Nick popped out of their respective stalls.
"I have some spinach tarts and biscuits," she said warmly. "I didn't see any of you when I brought out dinner for the other workers, and I thought I should offer something before it's gone."
"Thank you," said Blaine.
The reactions of Nick and Jeff were immediate, both quickly grasping the treats from the girl, eating as though they hadn't in days-though, of course, Blaine knew this to be untrue, as they had each had a rather large breakfast that morning. The moment they retreated, settling themselves on a bale of hay, Blaine stepped forward and took one of the tarts.
"My name is Brittany," she told him. "Yours is Blaine, right?" He nodded. "Do you like it here, Blaine?"
The stablehand laughed. "I'm lucky to have found anywhere that will take me," he said to her. "But I can't pretend it hasn't been a hard first couple of days."
She nodded understandingly. "I have a lot of hard days," she said. "I love to bake, but I make a lot of mistakes and messes. But Prince Kurt is very kind to me, and he always makes sure that I'm still here at the end of the day."
Blaine looked at her thoughtfully. "The Prince is fond of you, then?" he asked, remembering what he had mentioned the night before.
"Oh, yes!" she said, beaming, breaking apart one of the cakes for herself. "And I'm fond of him, as well."
Blaine shook his head. "I think he rather dislikes me," he confided, and he felt a strange sensation in his stomach at the very thought.
"Oh, I don't think that's true," she said immediately. "Prince Kurt doesn't like only one person."
Blaine raised his eyebrows. "May I ask who that is?"
"The new commander," she told him. "David Karofsky. But he doesn't really ever say why, even to myself or his chambermaid, Mercedes. And they're very close."
"You don't have any inkling?" Blaine asked, frowning.
Brittany shook her head. "He doesn't treat any of us very well, but..."
"But it seems like more?"
"I suppose if it was anything serious, he wouldn't hide it, though," she said thoughtfully. "He is very smart and-oh!" Brittany clapped her hands to her mouth, looking just in front of the boy.
Blaine looked at his feet, where a small dog had appeared, his mouth open, tongue hanging out. He cocked his head at Blaine, and the stableboy laughed.
"Is he yours?" Brittany asked.
"No," Blaine said, offering one of the remaining biscuits to the pup. "Come on, take it, boy," he urged, holding it right in front of his nose, though he continued to sniff it distrustingly.
"One biscuit left," he heard Nick mumble.
"It's mine," Jeff responded immediately.
"Are you kidding?" came Nick's voice again. "You didn't do the slightest bit as much as I did today-"
"And who covered for you before Blaine got here, when you were too damn lazy to get out of bed?"
"I was sick-"
"Sick my left-"
"Fine!" said Nick, exasperated. "We wrestle for it?"
Almost immediately Jeff pushed Nick to the stable floor, Nick trying his best to push the other boy back off of him and get the upper hand. Blaine quickly whisked the dog into his arms, keeping him out of the way of the chaos.
Again Blaine held out the biscuit to the dog, and he quickly began tearing it apart. He struggled against Blaine's arms, snatching up the other biscuit and eating it as well before licking Blaine's hands. The stableboy laughed, ruffling the dog's fur.
"Are you going to keep him?" Brittany asked. "He seems to really like you. Just be careful."
"Careful?" Blaine asked, looking at the girl.
"Well, I'm not sure if they can read like cats can," she deadpanned, and Blaine's eyebrows shot up, "but Kurt left one of his books out once, and-"
There was a shout of "yes!" and their heads snapped up.
Jeff bent over panting, his hands resting on his knees, Nick just as breathless, flat on his back. The blonde looked triumphant, but his face fell when he noticed the empty basket resting between Blaine and Brittany.
He let out a noise of disappointment, sounding rather like a small child. "Where'd the last biscuit go?"
***
Santana tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she peered at herself in the mirror. She gently tugged at the ponytail on the back of her head, keeping the dark locks out of her face.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Santana didn't even bother turning around, continuing to adjust her hair in the reflection before her. "What does it look like I'm doing?" she asked in response.
Mercedes marched into the room, placing herself right beside Santana. "What I mean to say is," she said smoothly, her arms folded across her chest, "why aren't you doing your work right now?"
Santana straightened up, mirroring Mercedes. "It's getting done."
"By Thad," Mercedes responded with a look of disbelief. "He's not even a servant-he's training to be an advisor to the king."
"I know," Santana replied.
Mercedes shook her head. "Do I even want to ask how you managed that?"
Santana smirked. "I have my ways," she said silkily.
Again Mercedes shook her head, pointing a warning finger at the girl. "Go," she said. "Go downstairs and tell Thad to get back to his work, and you get back to your own."
"And if I don't?" Santana asked heatedly, her pleased expression long gone.
"I tell his majesty," Mercedes said simply, shrugging one shoulder.
"Fine," the girl huffed. "But you wait until I find something just as unpleasant about you." She turned on her heel and stalked out of the room.
She passed Kurt in the doorway, the prince's eyebrows raised.
"She seems like a lovely person," he said dryly, earning an exasperated smile from the other maid.
"She's certainly something," she sighed. "Good looks will only get you so far."
"Well, you can revel in the fact that she won't be able win me over with her powers of seduction," Kurt offered with a wry smile, and the girl laughed.
Finn hesitantly knocked on the open door, and the two looked up at him.
"I wanted to apologise," Finn said, but Kurt didn't respond. Mercedes glanced between them before excusing herself, and Kurt nonchalantly picked up a book from the shelf, flipping through its pages.
Finn took a deep breath. "I figured it out."
"Congratulations," Kurt said. "I'm sure everyone will be very proud of you."
Finn sighed. "I need you to believe me," he said slowly and deliberately, "that I didn't know. I didn't know that they were saying these things about you. Whenever I heard something, I never thought it was about-I mean, I thought because you're the prince-well, it gives them no right-"
Kurt snapped the book shut. "Stop," he said, closing his eyes and taking a deep, steadying breath. He then looked softly at Finn. "I understand. Really, it's... it's fine."
"It isn't fine."
Kurt allowed himself a small smile. "No," he said, "it isn't."
"I won't let it happen again," Finn said quickly, a little awkward and hesitant. "I mean, I'll do anything that I can-"
"Finn?" Kurt's smile suddenly became very warm and genuine. "Thank you. It means the world to me."