[FanFic] Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme (Chapter Six)
Title: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme (Chapter Six)
Status: WIP in collaboration with cacell
Word Count: 2370
Rating: PG-13 (subject to change)
Genre: Romance/Adventure/Drama/Angst
Characters/Pairings: Kurt, Blaine, Brittany, with mentions of Burt, Karofsky, and Blaine's family; Klaine
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!
Also, Sonnets 18 and 51 belong to Shakespeare, and there's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it reference to Ella Enchanted.
With every passing day, Kurt found himself visiting the stables more and more. At first, it had taken Blaine by surprise, and he'd made a constant effort to ensure that Elizabeth was ready for riding. However, he quickly noticed that despite Kurt's more frequent visits, he was riding less, more often bringing a book to study and just settling himself in the corner.
Once, when Blaine settled himself across from the Prince, taking a moment to drink some water and cool himself down before getting back to work, Prince Kurt broke the silence.
"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" Kurt read, and Blaine looked up at him with curiosity. "Thou art more lovely and more temperate; rough winds do shake the darling bugs of May, and summer's lease hath all too short a date." Kurt looked up at Blaine, giving him a small smile.
"That's beautiful," he said.
"It's Shakespeare," Kurt responded. "Have you never read him?"
Blaine's cheeks reddened. "I... I can't..."
"Oh," Kurt said quickly. "I'm sorry, I didn't..." He trailed off. "He's really wonderful."
"He seems like it."
"I could read you more if you like," Kurt offered hesitantly, and Blaine smiled.
"Certainly," he responded.
After that brief moment, the days Kurt spent hiding away in the stables changed.
When Kurt found himself particularly bold one day, he settled himself painfully close to the other boy, their shoulders and knees touching. He smoothed out the page between them, running his finger beneath the text, reading the words out loud as he did so.
Kurt tried to ignore the way his heart would flutter strangely when the stableboy would place his hand over his, his signal to let him try instead, and Blaine would make an awkward attempt to sound out the words before repeating them with confidence. But it was so easy to convince himself that it was merely his pleasure and pride in successfully passing on his own knowledge.
"Since from thee going, he went wilful-slow," Kurt recited one late afternoon. "Towards thee I'll run, and give-"
Blaine grasped Kurt's hand, the prince's breath hitching slightly as he did so. "And give... him... l-leave.. to go."
Kurt smiled at the boy. "You've been practicing more than just with me," he said a little teasingly.
Blaine grinned for a fleeting moment, then frowned slightly. "I hope I'm not overstepping, sire," he said hesitantly, "but I think that it would be best if you told his majesty about what happened with Commander Karofsky."
Kurt froze, his face paling. It was something that they hadn't discussed since the evening it occurred, something that they had merely pretended hadn't really happened. But now, it was being dug up once again and Kurt felt his stomach churning in a much less pleasant and far more apprehensive way. "I... I can't," he said.
"But your highness," Blaine pressed on, only growing more concerned, "suppose that he should try something more."
Kurt shook his head. "Honestly, you don't understand," he said under his breath. "I cannot tell my father."
"But you're not safe," Blaine continued. "Certainly it's only been mild harassment thus far, but-"
"I can't!" Kurt snapped, and suddenly Blaine noticed how quickly the prince was breathing. He let out a slow breath, placing a shaky hand to his forehead. "I'm sorry, Blaine, I-" He bit his lip. "You have to believe me that I cannot tell him."
"But why?" Blaine asked in a small voice.
Kurt looked to the ground, raking his hand through his hair before finally resting it over his mouth. "He... he's fallen ill," he whispered.
Blaine hesitantly reached out to the prince, grasping the boy's hand in his own. He quickly tried to think of something-anything he might be able to say to possibly comfort the prince, but all words were eluding him. Instead, he settled for gently stroking the back of Kurt's hand with his thumb.
"It isn't good," Kurt continued breathlessly. "Honestly, it's quite awful. They've called in so many people to try to take care of him, but..." He swallowed.
"I'm so sorry," Blaine told him, though he knew the words carried little meaning. He looked sadly at the boy.
"It's just.. he can't do this," Kurt said. "He can't abandon me. After my mother died he promised me that he'd be here to take care of me and protect me and-dear god, how the hell am I supposed to help run the kingdom if he-if-"
"It will be all right," Blaine told him softly, and Kurt desperately nodded in agreement, as though if trying to convince himself the very same thing. "And I'm sure that your father created a plan long ago, just in case something should ever happen to him. And there is no reason to assume you'd suddenly be alone," Blaine continued hesitantly, and Kurt turned to stare at him. "Your stepmother is a wonderful woman, and I've seen her treat you like her own son. Not to mention your brother, and-" Blaine cut off, the colour in his cheeks rising.
"And?" Kurt urged softly.
"Well," Blaine began a little awkwardly, "there are many in the castle who care about you and would do anything for you, your status aside." Kurt smiled softly at him, and he felt his face growing even warmer. "You must know that. There's Mercedes and Brittany and-"
"And you?" Kurt asked in a small voice.
Blaine swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat, feeling his heart race as Kurt squeezed his hand. "And me," he said breathlessly.
There were a few moments of silence, when Blaine desperately played the last few seconds over and over in his head. His stomach was doing somersaults while Kurt stared at their hands, interlacing their fingers. Again Blaine wished for something he could say to the prince.
"You're lucky to have a father who loves you so much," he said gently after several moments.
Kurt nodded, directing his attention back to his knees. "Is your father...?"
Blaine shook his head. "Oh no, he's very much alive," he responded with distinct bitterness. "He's the reason I'm here right now."
Kurt looked curiously at the boy. "I..." he started hesitantly, "I'm afraid I don't understand."
Blaine sighed. "My father and I never really got on well," he said.
"And your mother?" Kurt asked.
The stableboy shrugged. "You know as well as I do that there isn't much she can do without serious repercussions," Blaine said. "But she did what she could for me. I never had any real hope for my father to approve of me, though."
"Why not?"
Blaine smiled wryly at the prince. "To him, it's a sin," he said softly, withdrawing his hand and tucking a curl behind his ear, "to be as I am, to think and feel as I do."
"And what would that be?" Kurt inquired. The question hung in the air for several moments, and Kurt almost regretted asking, regretted pushing the boy to tell him more than he obviously was prepared and willing to say. He opened his mouth to apologize, but instead he heard the stablehand's voice.
"To prefer the company of a man," he said at last, so softly that Kurt almost didn't hear him.
Again the silence was heavy between them, and Blaine feared that he had said too much. "I'm sorry," he said quickly, shaking his head. "It was inappropriate for me to admit, I apologise-"
"No," Kurt cut in, and the dark-haired boy looked back at him sheepishly. "That is-I..." He swallowed. "Well, you and I are very much alike."
"You mean to say-?"
Kurt let out a small laugh. "You seem so surprised," he said with a sheepish smile. "Most just make the assumption. They never say it, but..."
"But they know," Blaine offered, and Kurt nodded. "And your father?"
"I think he's always known," Kurt laughed, shaking his head. "But it still concerns me."
"How do you mean?"
Kurt swallowed. "Just because my father is accepting doesn't mean that everyone is," he said. "Many are far more like your father, and I'm afraid that it makes me unfit to be king."
"That's ridiculous," Blaine said immediately, but Kurt shook his head.
"It's the truth," he whispered roughly, turning away from the boy. Suddenly he was on his feet, and Blaine found himself missing the warmth of his body settled beside his. "I should go," he muttered, and immediately he was gone.
Blaine hid his face in his hands, an aching in his chest. After what felt like several long, aching moments (though it proved to only be a few brief seconds), he felt another body join his own. He lowered his hands, hoping desperately he'd see the prince again, but instead he found himself looking at a slender blond girl.
"I don't understand," she said. She was staring at Blaine, in confusion.
"What's that, Brittany?" he inquired in response, furrowing his brow.
"You look like you're very fond of him," she said simply. "Like you love him."
"Who?"
"Prince Kurt," she said. "I saw you talking with him. I wasn't eavesdropping, just looking, and, well... it looked like you love him."
Blaine opened his mouth, finding that there was no air in his lungs, making it impossible for him to speak. "I-" he stammered. "That is-I only just met him-"
Brittany nodded knowingly. "That's all right," she said. "You don't have to know someone very long to love them. And I know for a fact that it is very easy to love Prince Kurt."
Blaine swallowed hard. "It's a completely ridiculous idea."
"Why?" she asked, a look of utter bewilderment on her face.
"For many reasons," Blaine said, staring at his hands. "Despite the fact that we have the same preferences, the fact
remains that we're both male-"
"His majesty wants Prince Kurt to be happy, no matter-"
"That's the other problem," Blaine pressed on sadly. "Prince Kurt. He's very handsome, kind, and gentle, which I can see from his love for Elizabeth and you and the others-but me?" He sighed. "Anything romantic is impossible. I will most probably work in the stables until the day that I die, and any prince I've seen won't even get his hands dirty if he can help it. I can certainly tell that his highness is definitely one of those that refuses." He let out another sigh. "Beside all of that, there is still the matter that in no way does he see me as more than a fumbling stablehand, just some sort of project he can teach to read, but nothing more. Maybe in another world, at another time, there would be some sort of chance."
"You sound so certain," she said.
Blaine raised an eyebrow, staring at her. "Should I not be?" he asked.
"Well, if it's love-real love-then it'll work itself out," she said simply. "Love always finds its own way."
***
Brittany placed the tea tray on Kurt's desk, smiling brightly as she sat in the armchair beside it. The boy grinned at her in return, closing the book on his desk and sliding it out of the way.
"I'm so glad I found you," she said cheerily, and Kurt cocked his head slightly as he picked up a napkin, smoothing it across his lap. In turn she picked up the tea pot, first pouring a cup for the prince, then for herself. "The last few nights I came around and you weren't here or in your bedchamber."
"I'm sorry," he said, his smile faltering. She continued to look at him expectantly as she carefully sliced the pastry roll before them, setting a piece in front of each of them while Kurt desperately tried to come up with an explanation without actually explaining. After opening and closing his mouth several times, and Brittany tilted her head.
"Something's wrong," she stated plainly. "I don't understand why nobody will tell me."
He looked at her sadly, grasping her hand in his own. He stared at their hands as she tangled his fingers with his, trying to find an adequate place to begin, mentally sifting through which information he should share.
"My father's taken very ill," he said, still not meeting the girl's eyes. "It's a delicate matter, one that not many have been told, one that is definitely taking its effect."
"I'm so sorry," she said sincerely. Suddenly, her wide blue eyes brightened. "Once, I was told that if you include unicorn hair in your recipe for making soup, it can cure anything."
"Brittany," the boy said hesitantly. "I... I don't think that would be possible."
"You're right," she sighed, her face falling. "It's common knowledge that unicorns prefer the weather of the southern hemisphere."
Kurt opened his mouth to inform her the impossibility was actually due to the creatures' nonexistence, but finding that he wasn't sure how to break the news, settled instead for nodding in agreement. "Needless to say," he said at last, "I've been distracted."
"By Blaine?"
The words were so sudden, so innocent that Kurt nearly dropped his tea, feeling his heart pound slightly. He swallowed, trying to remain composed. "He's definitely contributed to it," he said slowly. "Blaine is... he's very lovely."
"I like him very much," Brittany said brightly, and Kurt smiled in turn, though he refused to make eye contact with the blond.
"As do I," Kurt admitted. Hesitantly, he looked up at the girl in front of him. "Actually, I think-I-I rather fancy him."
Status: WIP in collaboration with cacell
Word Count: 2370
Rating: PG-13 (subject to change)
Genre: Romance/Adventure/Drama/Angst
Characters/Pairings: Kurt, Blaine, Brittany, with mentions of Burt, Karofsky, and Blaine's family; Klaine
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!
Also, Sonnets 18 and 51 belong to Shakespeare, and there's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it reference to Ella Enchanted.
With every passing day, Kurt found himself visiting the stables more and more. At first, it had taken Blaine by surprise, and he'd made a constant effort to ensure that Elizabeth was ready for riding. However, he quickly noticed that despite Kurt's more frequent visits, he was riding less, more often bringing a book to study and just settling himself in the corner.
Once, when Blaine settled himself across from the Prince, taking a moment to drink some water and cool himself down before getting back to work, Prince Kurt broke the silence.
"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" Kurt read, and Blaine looked up at him with curiosity. "Thou art more lovely and more temperate; rough winds do shake the darling bugs of May, and summer's lease hath all too short a date." Kurt looked up at Blaine, giving him a small smile.
"That's beautiful," he said.
"It's Shakespeare," Kurt responded. "Have you never read him?"
Blaine's cheeks reddened. "I... I can't..."
"Oh," Kurt said quickly. "I'm sorry, I didn't..." He trailed off. "He's really wonderful."
"He seems like it."
"I could read you more if you like," Kurt offered hesitantly, and Blaine smiled.
"Certainly," he responded.
After that brief moment, the days Kurt spent hiding away in the stables changed.
When Kurt found himself particularly bold one day, he settled himself painfully close to the other boy, their shoulders and knees touching. He smoothed out the page between them, running his finger beneath the text, reading the words out loud as he did so.
Kurt tried to ignore the way his heart would flutter strangely when the stableboy would place his hand over his, his signal to let him try instead, and Blaine would make an awkward attempt to sound out the words before repeating them with confidence. But it was so easy to convince himself that it was merely his pleasure and pride in successfully passing on his own knowledge.
"Since from thee going, he went wilful-slow," Kurt recited one late afternoon. "Towards thee I'll run, and give-"
Blaine grasped Kurt's hand, the prince's breath hitching slightly as he did so. "And give... him... l-leave.. to go."
Kurt smiled at the boy. "You've been practicing more than just with me," he said a little teasingly.
Blaine grinned for a fleeting moment, then frowned slightly. "I hope I'm not overstepping, sire," he said hesitantly, "but I think that it would be best if you told his majesty about what happened with Commander Karofsky."
Kurt froze, his face paling. It was something that they hadn't discussed since the evening it occurred, something that they had merely pretended hadn't really happened. But now, it was being dug up once again and Kurt felt his stomach churning in a much less pleasant and far more apprehensive way. "I... I can't," he said.
"But your highness," Blaine pressed on, only growing more concerned, "suppose that he should try something more."
Kurt shook his head. "Honestly, you don't understand," he said under his breath. "I cannot tell my father."
"But you're not safe," Blaine continued. "Certainly it's only been mild harassment thus far, but-"
"I can't!" Kurt snapped, and suddenly Blaine noticed how quickly the prince was breathing. He let out a slow breath, placing a shaky hand to his forehead. "I'm sorry, Blaine, I-" He bit his lip. "You have to believe me that I cannot tell him."
"But why?" Blaine asked in a small voice.
Kurt looked to the ground, raking his hand through his hair before finally resting it over his mouth. "He... he's fallen ill," he whispered.
Blaine hesitantly reached out to the prince, grasping the boy's hand in his own. He quickly tried to think of something-anything he might be able to say to possibly comfort the prince, but all words were eluding him. Instead, he settled for gently stroking the back of Kurt's hand with his thumb.
"It isn't good," Kurt continued breathlessly. "Honestly, it's quite awful. They've called in so many people to try to take care of him, but..." He swallowed.
"I'm so sorry," Blaine told him, though he knew the words carried little meaning. He looked sadly at the boy.
"It's just.. he can't do this," Kurt said. "He can't abandon me. After my mother died he promised me that he'd be here to take care of me and protect me and-dear god, how the hell am I supposed to help run the kingdom if he-if-"
"It will be all right," Blaine told him softly, and Kurt desperately nodded in agreement, as though if trying to convince himself the very same thing. "And I'm sure that your father created a plan long ago, just in case something should ever happen to him. And there is no reason to assume you'd suddenly be alone," Blaine continued hesitantly, and Kurt turned to stare at him. "Your stepmother is a wonderful woman, and I've seen her treat you like her own son. Not to mention your brother, and-" Blaine cut off, the colour in his cheeks rising.
"And?" Kurt urged softly.
"Well," Blaine began a little awkwardly, "there are many in the castle who care about you and would do anything for you, your status aside." Kurt smiled softly at him, and he felt his face growing even warmer. "You must know that. There's Mercedes and Brittany and-"
"And you?" Kurt asked in a small voice.
Blaine swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat, feeling his heart race as Kurt squeezed his hand. "And me," he said breathlessly.
There were a few moments of silence, when Blaine desperately played the last few seconds over and over in his head. His stomach was doing somersaults while Kurt stared at their hands, interlacing their fingers. Again Blaine wished for something he could say to the prince.
"You're lucky to have a father who loves you so much," he said gently after several moments.
Kurt nodded, directing his attention back to his knees. "Is your father...?"
Blaine shook his head. "Oh no, he's very much alive," he responded with distinct bitterness. "He's the reason I'm here right now."
Kurt looked curiously at the boy. "I..." he started hesitantly, "I'm afraid I don't understand."
Blaine sighed. "My father and I never really got on well," he said.
"And your mother?" Kurt asked.
The stableboy shrugged. "You know as well as I do that there isn't much she can do without serious repercussions," Blaine said. "But she did what she could for me. I never had any real hope for my father to approve of me, though."
"Why not?"
Blaine smiled wryly at the prince. "To him, it's a sin," he said softly, withdrawing his hand and tucking a curl behind his ear, "to be as I am, to think and feel as I do."
"And what would that be?" Kurt inquired. The question hung in the air for several moments, and Kurt almost regretted asking, regretted pushing the boy to tell him more than he obviously was prepared and willing to say. He opened his mouth to apologize, but instead he heard the stablehand's voice.
"To prefer the company of a man," he said at last, so softly that Kurt almost didn't hear him.
Again the silence was heavy between them, and Blaine feared that he had said too much. "I'm sorry," he said quickly, shaking his head. "It was inappropriate for me to admit, I apologise-"
"No," Kurt cut in, and the dark-haired boy looked back at him sheepishly. "That is-I..." He swallowed. "Well, you and I are very much alike."
"You mean to say-?"
Kurt let out a small laugh. "You seem so surprised," he said with a sheepish smile. "Most just make the assumption. They never say it, but..."
"But they know," Blaine offered, and Kurt nodded. "And your father?"
"I think he's always known," Kurt laughed, shaking his head. "But it still concerns me."
"How do you mean?"
Kurt swallowed. "Just because my father is accepting doesn't mean that everyone is," he said. "Many are far more like your father, and I'm afraid that it makes me unfit to be king."
"That's ridiculous," Blaine said immediately, but Kurt shook his head.
"It's the truth," he whispered roughly, turning away from the boy. Suddenly he was on his feet, and Blaine found himself missing the warmth of his body settled beside his. "I should go," he muttered, and immediately he was gone.
Blaine hid his face in his hands, an aching in his chest. After what felt like several long, aching moments (though it proved to only be a few brief seconds), he felt another body join his own. He lowered his hands, hoping desperately he'd see the prince again, but instead he found himself looking at a slender blond girl.
"I don't understand," she said. She was staring at Blaine, in confusion.
"What's that, Brittany?" he inquired in response, furrowing his brow.
"You look like you're very fond of him," she said simply. "Like you love him."
"Who?"
"Prince Kurt," she said. "I saw you talking with him. I wasn't eavesdropping, just looking, and, well... it looked like you love him."
Blaine opened his mouth, finding that there was no air in his lungs, making it impossible for him to speak. "I-" he stammered. "That is-I only just met him-"
Brittany nodded knowingly. "That's all right," she said. "You don't have to know someone very long to love them. And I know for a fact that it is very easy to love Prince Kurt."
Blaine swallowed hard. "It's a completely ridiculous idea."
"Why?" she asked, a look of utter bewilderment on her face.
"For many reasons," Blaine said, staring at his hands. "Despite the fact that we have the same preferences, the fact
remains that we're both male-"
"His majesty wants Prince Kurt to be happy, no matter-"
"That's the other problem," Blaine pressed on sadly. "Prince Kurt. He's very handsome, kind, and gentle, which I can see from his love for Elizabeth and you and the others-but me?" He sighed. "Anything romantic is impossible. I will most probably work in the stables until the day that I die, and any prince I've seen won't even get his hands dirty if he can help it. I can certainly tell that his highness is definitely one of those that refuses." He let out another sigh. "Beside all of that, there is still the matter that in no way does he see me as more than a fumbling stablehand, just some sort of project he can teach to read, but nothing more. Maybe in another world, at another time, there would be some sort of chance."
"You sound so certain," she said.
Blaine raised an eyebrow, staring at her. "Should I not be?" he asked.
"Well, if it's love-real love-then it'll work itself out," she said simply. "Love always finds its own way."
***
Brittany placed the tea tray on Kurt's desk, smiling brightly as she sat in the armchair beside it. The boy grinned at her in return, closing the book on his desk and sliding it out of the way.
"I'm so glad I found you," she said cheerily, and Kurt cocked his head slightly as he picked up a napkin, smoothing it across his lap. In turn she picked up the tea pot, first pouring a cup for the prince, then for herself. "The last few nights I came around and you weren't here or in your bedchamber."
"I'm sorry," he said, his smile faltering. She continued to look at him expectantly as she carefully sliced the pastry roll before them, setting a piece in front of each of them while Kurt desperately tried to come up with an explanation without actually explaining. After opening and closing his mouth several times, and Brittany tilted her head.
"Something's wrong," she stated plainly. "I don't understand why nobody will tell me."
He looked at her sadly, grasping her hand in his own. He stared at their hands as she tangled his fingers with his, trying to find an adequate place to begin, mentally sifting through which information he should share.
"My father's taken very ill," he said, still not meeting the girl's eyes. "It's a delicate matter, one that not many have been told, one that is definitely taking its effect."
"I'm so sorry," she said sincerely. Suddenly, her wide blue eyes brightened. "Once, I was told that if you include unicorn hair in your recipe for making soup, it can cure anything."
"Brittany," the boy said hesitantly. "I... I don't think that would be possible."
"You're right," she sighed, her face falling. "It's common knowledge that unicorns prefer the weather of the southern hemisphere."
Kurt opened his mouth to inform her the impossibility was actually due to the creatures' nonexistence, but finding that he wasn't sure how to break the news, settled instead for nodding in agreement. "Needless to say," he said at last, "I've been distracted."
"By Blaine?"
The words were so sudden, so innocent that Kurt nearly dropped his tea, feeling his heart pound slightly. He swallowed, trying to remain composed. "He's definitely contributed to it," he said slowly. "Blaine is... he's very lovely."
"I like him very much," Brittany said brightly, and Kurt smiled in turn, though he refused to make eye contact with the blond.
"As do I," Kurt admitted. Hesitantly, he looked up at the girl in front of him. "Actually, I think-I-I rather fancy him."