*DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, all characters belong to their respective owners.

A huge thanks to my beta reader as well as everyone who waited for this to be posted!

I-oOo-I

Regular POV

The word had spread through the land, few where the people who weren't aware about the attack on Prince Devon. The reactions had varied; most of the other nobles refuged themselves, the queen had been overcome by grief and the king's wrath had the royal knights hunting day and night for the perpetuator of said crime.

Blaine kept the attacker's identity a secret much to Sam's charging, merely because he knew that revealing it would just cause a commotion amongst most of the high-class scene. It wasn't that he didn't want Sebastian to get what he deserved but he knew that keeping things peaceful, or at least as peaceful as possible, amongst the nobles was the better way to go.

Another less crowd-alarming problem had been Sam himself. Ever since the anonymous kiss a couple weeks back, Sam had been rather distant from Blaine. At first he thought it had been merely because Rachel had taken it into her own hands to take care of her fiancé; not even the maids where allowed near him mostly because of Rachel's lack of trust on anyone but herself to take care of Blaine. He had also caught from some of their many small talks that she didn't like Sam much, which was understandable considering their first meeting. But apart from the isolation, most of the time he actually got to be near Sam, neither talked much and most of the awkwardness that used the fill their conversations before, began resurfacing again.

"I'll be leaving for the market shortly, do you want me to bring you anything, sweetie?" Rachel asked her fiancé, as she got ready to part.

"I'm good, maybe some herbs to freshen the room." Blaine replied. "Maybe some ointment for the burns, I think the current one is finishing up."

"Alright, I'll be back in a few hours. Be a good boy and sleep for a bit, it's what the doctors recommended." Rachel said in a sweet tone before kissing Blaine's forehead. Considering they had been together for just merely three weeks at most, Rachel had been good for the most part. She was caring and maternal to Blaine but she had also become a bit controlling over him.

"I will, thanks Rachel."

I-oOo-I

"He's been walking around the castle with a cane for days now, his fiancée went all Lady Macbeth on his ass and yet he still keeps that weasel's identity a secret, I just don't understand him." Sam told Tina, who was currently helping him arrange his clothes.

"Maybe he's waiting for the right time?"

"Come on Tina, his dad already has the knights looking up every know place to man, if he's trying to find a good time to reveal it, he might as well said it by the time he revealed it to his father." Sam said angrily as they continued the arranging.

"Well you can't blame him for being cautious, you know the effects of revealing the attacker's identity, right?"

"I know, I know. But still, why does Sebastian gets to get away with it while Blaine's the one paying the price?" Sam had only revealed Sebastian's identity to Tina a couple days ago, as he couldn't keep it to himself. Especially after Blaine remained silent. "I mean I know he's compassionate but this is ridiculous!"

Before anything else could be said, a knock on the door interrupted the conversation. "Tina! We need your help on the courtyard, the shrubs are drying up and need watering!"

"Coming!" Tina quickly hurried and folded the remaining shirts and stuffed them in the closet. "Try to relax a bit, everything the way it is for a reason you just need to relax a bit."

As Tina left the room, Sam threw himself over his bed. He didn't think that things were supposed to go this way, specially considering it could all be resolved so easily. Part of the reason he hadn't talked with Blaine much, other than Rachel getting in the way, was because he couldn't bear look at him knowing he could bring closure to the whole acid problem. His face had been scared forever and the person responsible for it was running free through the kingdom. It angered him that Blaine didn't reveal Sebastian's identity, not only for what he did to him but also for what he did to Sam. As selfish at it seemed, Sam was still angry over the way Sebastian used him.

Even if he could easily tell the king he knew Sebastian was the one responsible for blinding Blaine, a part of Sam knew that by doing so he would be walking into business that was not complete his. Though he didn't really liked admitting it, everything Tina said was true. Why does it have to be so complicated! If only Blaine would have said it himself…

I-oOo-I

"Calling you an idiot would just be redundant at this point." Hunter said coldly. "I be honest with you, I never saw you as an equal but even this is beneath you."

"What was I supposed to do? Let them prance around in front of me and let the anger eat me up?" Sebastian replied, his voice trembling due to the mixture of anger and nervousness. "I know I said I wasn't into Sam but seeing Blaine around something that used to be mine just got the best of me…"

"And you think that by throwing acid in his face everything was supposed to solve itself magically?" Hunter asked, obviously angered by Sebastian's response. "You singlehandedly undermined the plan we had been working on for the last four or so months!"

"I'm sorry, okay? I wasn't in control, my emotions took over."

"Oh please, is that the best you could come up with?" Hunter asked the nervous boy in front of him. "Only animals let their instincts take the best of them. If you want to be treated like an animal then I could do the same myself and let the bigger ones chew on your bones. You deserve nothing less than that."

"Are you even listening to yourself? "You deserve nothing less", you would have done the same had it been you!" Sebastian snapped back, trying to contain his anger as much as possible. He knew he had to be cautious with his words, as Hunter was both bigger and easier to anger than him.

"There's a huge difference between you and I!" Hunter yelled as he pushed Sebastian who, luckily, fell on top of one of the couches on Hunter's room. "First off, I have actual noble blood running through my veins unlike you, if it wasn't for your daddy's commercial success you would be no better than the scum begging for food outside the castle!" Sebastian, now a lot more nervous, looked at him with frightened eyes. "Second, I'm not into your sick preferences and let guys do whatever they want with me. Lastly, you lack something I don't." Hunter then grabbed a small carving knife that rested on a counter. "I, unlike you, will do what it takes to get a job done." Hunter quickly stabbed the cushion that rested dangerously close to Sebastian's hand. The sudden movement made the other boy let out a small scream.

"Are you insane? You could have gotten my hand you psycho!" Sebastian said as he tried to regain composure. Hunter simply gave a mocking chuckle. "What's so funny about this?"

"Oh, nothing really. Just that if I where you I'd be a lot more careful with what comes out of my insolent mouth."

Sebastian wanted to roll his eyes but just nodded instead. "So what are we going to do now?"

"We?" Hunter asked, surprisingly maliciously. "I'm sorry mate but you got yourself into this mess, you're not dragging me into your problem."

"B-but I thought we where friends?"

"Well, we are but friends don't risk each other's throats just for the sake of it, specially when it was the other ones fault the whole problem began." Hunter replied. "Look, I like you well enough, I've even let you stay in my place after knowing you're the most looked after criminal in the whole kingdom but that's as far as you'll get from my friendship."

"Are you seriously going to let me get killed?" Sebastian asked, almost hurt. "Is that all that our partnership and favors have meant to you?"

Hunter sighed as he ran his palm through his face. "What do you want from me? I've given you everything that I can possible give you."

"I want safety, not just momentary safety but political safety. You said it yourself, you're a noble; pull some strings and keep the king as far away from my ass as possible."

"Do you honestly think it's that easy?" Hunter asked while Sebastian simply shrugged. "The king does as the king pleases and if he want you to be beheaded in a public execution it will happen no matter how much I beg against it."

"Well what else can you do?"

Hunter gave it a thought, there weren't many options and as much as he tried to make him think otherwise, Sebastian wasn't expendable. "Well there's something…"

"Tell me! I'll do it, just promise me it will keep me safe for as long as possible!" Sebastian begged. "Nothing is too much considering my life's the price."

"How much do you like your face?" Hunter asked, the oddly grim tone in his voice began making Sebastian have second thoughts.

"Well, um… I like it well enough. Why?"

"I have an idea but it will be pretty nasty. I hope you don't mind getting your hands dirty." Hunter then got the craving knife out of the cushion and began toying with it.

"I don't like where this is going, would you just say it already?"

"You maimed the prince, best way to prove your innocence was to maim you as well. We'll just claim that there's someone attacking people at our school and that way we lead you out of the suspect list."

Sebastian looked at Hunter with disbelief. "Are you mad? I'm not going to disfigure my face just to prove a point! There's got to be something else…"

"Sebastian, you're in no position to complain. As of now the identity of the attacker hasn't been revealed so you still have the benefit of the doubt in the king's eyes. No one would think you where capable of doing that to yourself so anything the prince says against you will immediately be ruled out."

Hunter had a point; Blaine still hadn't revealed his identity so he was still in safe ground. Sebastian took a look at himself in a mirror hanging from a wall in Hunter's room; his delicate features were arranged in perfect symmetry, wasting such beauty would be a shame. "H-how much would we damage?" He asked as he caressed his rosy soft skin.

"Well that depends on how much you want them to believe you." Hunter replied, a wicked smile drawn in his face as he approached Sebastian from his backside. "And considering you blinded the prince, I think it will be quite a bit we'll have to damage."

"I don't think I can do this…" His voice breaking as he talked. "What if it doesn't work?"

"If it doesn't work you'll get slain anyways so you have two choices, either you take the risk and die trying or simply die a coward. Its your call." Hunter said, still behind Sebastian who's eyes began getting watery as his cheeks got a lot rosier.

"P-promise me t-that you'll leave my eyes a-alone." Sebastian begged as the tears began running down his cheeks. Even while crying his face had that exotic beauty just a few others at the kingdom had. He kept his eyes in the mirror as much as possible, maybe if he looked hard enough the image of his perfect facial structure would remain impregnated in his memory for the rest of his life before he lost it forever.

"Alright, as you wish. Here, lets take the first strike at it." Hunter then slashed Sebastian's left cheek; the sharp knife cutting through his soft skin while leaving a trail of blood behind it. Hunter heard the weak moan Sebastian emitted. "See it wasn't that bad, was it?" He asked as he wiped the blood out of the wound; Sebastian's tears continued to fall down his face. "It will just get easier from here."

I-oOo-I

"Is he taking visitors?" Nick asked, while Jeff and Santana waited behind him. "We all tried coming the last couple of weeks but the guards never let us enter the castle until now and we've really been wanting to see how he's doing."

Sam wasn't really sure what Blaine's current condition but he was pretty sure a couple of friends coming to visit wouldn't cause any harm. "I'm sure he'll be glad to have you, follow me."

"More importantly, do you know who did this to him?" Santana asked, obviously angered over the events. "If it was me in charge, the attacker would be beheaded already. People like this deserve no mercy."

"A little harsh don't think, Santana?" Nick said, as the dark eyed girl simply ignored him.

"An quite unladylike if you ask me." Jeff added while Santana just rolled her eyes as pushed both of them aside.

"Well I'm sorry my methods are too much for you two princesses to handle but that's the way it works in real life incase you where wondering." She added as she now was on par with Sam's pace.

Sam hadn't really met Santana before, he remembered Blaine mentioned her once or twice before but simply by her way of thinking Sam already liked her. "No one's sure, Blaine hasn't said a thing but believe me, I'm with you. Criminals deserve nothing less."

"Hear that you pansies? That's how a real man talks." Yup, Sam was liking her alright. "And a little tip for you Jeffrey, beefcake here doesn't seem to use lemon juice on his hair. I would take note if I where you."

Jeff's face grew red as Nick giggled. "She's both dominant and funny, what's not to love?" Jeff simply glared at Nick's comment.

As all four of them approached Blaine's room, Sam noticed Rachel had returned and apparently she was almost ready to enter Blaine's chamber once again. He knew she didn't really like him getting visits but they where four against one so she didn't really had an option.

"Well hello, how may I help you?" She asked with a faux sweet tone on her voice.

"Hey, so this people here with me are some of Blaine's friends, they've been wanting to check on him for a while now so if you'll excuse us…" Sam said as he extended his hand towards the doorknob.

Rachel quickly slapped Sam's hand. "I'm sure he's fine, thanks for coming but I was about to serve him supper. I'll let you know you came by, though." She said as nicely as possible.

"Come on Rachel, cut the crap. They've been wanting to see Blaine for weeks now, the least you could do is humor them for a few minutes." Sam said, now obviously annoyed by the girl's actions.

"Well I wish I could but my fiancé is in no position to receive visits, now please go away before I call the guards on you."

Santana couldn't contain herself as she left out a small giggle. "Fiancé? So that's Dalton's future queen?" Santana asked as she analyzed Rachel head-to-toes. " Silly me, I was about to ask if the maid's had gotten a new uniform. Thank god I didn't, that would have been awkward."

Rachel's offended look wasn't that funny on it's own but for some reason Sam couldn't contain himself from letting out a few chuckles. Rachel on the other hand was obviously trying to think of a witty comeback. "Um… pardon my ignorance but, who do you think you are?" Rachel asked in a catty tone.

"I pardon your ignorance. As for your question, I'm what's going to kick your prissy ass down to the ground unless you move out of our way." Santana threatened as Rachel tried to remain as composed as possible.

"First off all, you can't talk to me like that. Second, I'm not going anywhere, unlike all of you."

Sam quickly intervened. "Come on Rachel, just get out of the way. We won't take long."

"Listen whipping boy you're not giving me orders, understand? Now, I advise you to leave unless you want the king to know about this!" Rachel threatened Sam, who really wanted to punch the future queen through the door but contained himself.

"Don't worry Blondie, I've got your back." Santana said before shoving Rachel down to the ground with one arm while the boys watched in amusement. "You stay down there unless you want my heels planted on your face, understand?" Rachel simply nodded. "Good, now shall we?"

Santana opened the door to Blaine's room as the four of them walked inside. The small group approached Blaine's bed; the young prince had a sleep mask covering his eyes. "Rachel? Is that you?"

Sam was relieved that Blaine wasn't able to listen to any of the conflict outside, he knew how much he hated having his friends fight. "Nope, someone better though."

"Sam?" Blaine's disbelief was evident.

"And he's not alone." Nick said as he approached Blaine's bed. "Hey man, how've you been?"

"Nick? Is that seriously you?" Blaine's mouth now drew a huge smile, hearing a different voice was truly shocking but also quite welcome.

"The one and only, Santana and Jeff are here as well." He said, trying to sound as cheery as possible.

"Ugh, way to ruin the surprise Nicholas." Santana said as she rushed towards Blaine and wrapped him in a thigh hug. "You had me worried to death, please don't do this to me again."

It was kind of weird seeing Santana's soft side, especially after seeing her in action a couple of minutes ago but Sam was able to tell she genuinely cared for Blaine. "It's good to see you too Santana. Well, not "see you" like actually seeing you but-"

"You talk to much Blaine." Santana said, slightly giggly. "At least you haven't changed."

As she got up, Jeff greeted Blaine. Sam was pretty happy for him, as he was able to be with his friends once again. At least they made him happy; he hadn't really seen Blaine this happy for a while now and he kind of imagined why, the last time they had talked to each other, at least in good terms, Sam had turned Blaine down. He didn't really regretted it until now, seeing how happy he could be when surrounded by the right people just made him feel like he was doing more harm to him than good, he deserved to be around the likes of Nick, Jeff and Santana, not him.

"Can we look at it?" Santana asked, referring to the burns that Blaine was concealing with the mask. "If you don't want to show them it's okay."

"Don't worry, you can take a look." Blaine replied as he took the mask off his eyes. The burns where a lot less delicate now, at least considering the last time Sam had actually saw them up close, but his formerly caramel colored eyes where still pale and dead looking.

All three of his friends gasped. The sight was pretty shocking, especially to those who hadn't witnessed it before. "Oh my, Blaine who did this to you?" Santana asked.

"I'd rather not talk about it…"

"But we need to get whoever did this to you! You're the prince for Dalton's sake!"

"Really, I don't remember and I'd rather not talk about this right now Santana."

"But Blaine-"

"You heard him!" Rachel's voice said from behind them. "He want's to be left alone, now do so!"

Santana turned to her direction with as much composure as possible. "Look who's off the floor."

"Please leave, not for me but per the prince's request." Rachel said, slightly more humble now, obviously due to Santana intimidating her.

"Alright, as the prince wishes." She said as she began walking away. Both Jeff and Nick closely following. "Oh and between you and me…" She began as she approached Rachel's ear, Sam could have sworn he saw the future queen tremble a bit. "Try not to poke one of his eyes with your nose, I've seen birds with smaller beaks." She whispered quietly. Rachel simply bit her bottom lip in an effort to stop herself from crying in front of the tan skinned girl.

As the three visitors left the room Sam wasn't really sure what to do, he knew that talking to Rachel would only lead to another fight but he also knew that Blaine was in no mood for talking. It was one of those situations his father would refer to as being between a rock and a hard place. "Um… should I leave you two alone?"

Rachel began breathing heavily while wiping some tears off her eyes. "I don't care, just do whatever you want! Haven't you humiliated me enough already?" This time there was no control over her voice.

"Rachel? Are you okay?" Blaine asked naively. "Did something happen?"

"All I wanted to do was to be a good wife and this is what I get… your friends hate me and they're really just so… mean!" Sam was beginning to feel guilty again, as much as he disliked her he never meant to make her cry.

"Hey, it wasn't our intention to make you feel bad. It just that you can get a bit difficult to deal with." Sam said as sincerely as he could. "You're really not that bad of a persona, it's just that you have a pretty… strong personality."

"You're just saying that because Blaine's here!" Rachel wailed back. "Besides that other girl's right, I'm not even pretty enough to be a queen. I thought that by acting like a good wife I could make-up for it but I obviously can't!"

"That's sheer nonsense, you're one of the most beautiful, nicest and precious girls I've ever had the pleasure to meet." Blaine said, gaining both Sam's and Rachel's attention. "Santana can be a bit ruthless at times and say whatever comes into her mind but don't believe a single word she said, you're beautiful and you deserve a good husband…" Blaine made a brief pause, Rachel's sobs had stopped and Sam was quite entranced by Blaine's way with words. "You deserve something worthy of your beauty and qualities and…"

"W-what is it honey?" Rachel asked. "Is something wrong?"

"Rachel I love you and respect you just too much to continue playing this charade with you." Sam's eyes opened, his stomach began feeling weird, almost as if he had been punched. "You deserve better, and you the truth."

Rachel wiped her eyes one more time. "The truth about what?"

"Rachel… I'm gay and, even if he doesn't feel the same way, I… like Sam."

Sam noticed Rachel's eyes opening as wide as her mouth. He then felt his skin grow cold as well as a knot forming inside his throat. The sudden turn of events was turning out a bit too much for him to handle but, oddly, a small part of him enjoyed what he heard and was dying to answer back the same thing.

I-oOo-I

A/N: Haven't been active due to other side projects and life in general, still I'd like to thank all of you who have patiently waited for an update, hope it was worth the wait. On a side note, if you're interested in the supernatural genre go give my friend NotSoPoshGuy's fic "Almost Human" a read, I helped co-write the first couple of chapters and he's doing a fine job on his own as well.

Hope you're enjoying the ride