Chapter 1
The first thing he remembered each morning was how it felt to drown. For the water to fill into his lungs and the sea to take him back for its own. The way the water would rock him back and forth as the struggle to make his way to any slight bit of oxygen. But the sea wouldn’t let him as it dragged Regulus further and further down.
He slowly awoke, the shining light from the lace curtains streaming into his room. He whined and turned over into his warm bed, the cold dusty room of the castle making his mouth feel dry.
“Master Regulus?”
A loud, croaky voice called from outside his room. Kreacher, the castle butler was knocking on his door with great demand. “It is time to get up!”
Regulus groaned and sat up in the plush sheets of his four poster bed. He shakily sat up and looked around his cold, dull room. Merlin, another day, he thought gleefully to himself. The prince sighed as he bare feet hit the cold tiles.
“I’m up Kreacher! And stop calling me that.” He called back.
It was his brothers coronation today. Stupid, perfect Sirius. He would make a fine king. Or that’s what the kingdom had been saying.
Regulus scoffed to himself. He should be king. Not his low life brother who snuck out to see his personal knight every night. Not Sirius who had always whined during his lessons. Regulus had never whined. Not even once.
Sirius had no will to be king. He was lazy, and had no respect. Regulus had tried poisoning him many a time. In his goblet at dinner. But he found himself pouring it out again and again before Sirius could even touch the glass. Stupid sibling love.
Maybe it was because Sirius had saved him in some way. Always taken the blame and the beatings when it had clearly been Regulus’s fault. He had always wondered why he’d insisted on being so protective.
Regulus hated thinking this much. He groans as he puts products through his short black curls that were perfectly tame with one gently falling over his eyebrow. He looked perfect and he knew it.
Regulus stared at his face in the mirror. He may have looked the part, but he’d never felt worse. When was it his turn? His turn to meet a man in the stables and fall in love. His turn to be funny and likeable. His turn to be king? Regulus sighed as he stepped into his giant closet and began to put on his best suit.
It was a small one, tailored perfectly to fit his slim waist. Down the sides it had small streaks of silver and all over the sleek black material was almost a glittery dark green design that to Regulus looked like a rose bush.
As he stood in front of the mirror, he practised how he would smile in front of everyone in the mirror- nothing quite looked right. He sighed and gave up on trying to practice. It was no use anyway.
And again there was rapping on the door.
“Prince Regulus!” Kreatcher was almost screaming at this point.
“Get out of your room! Your brother had requested your presence in his room.”
Regulus groaned loudly and unlocked his door, stepping out.
“Fucking hell Kreacher. I’m up for Merlin’s sake.”
He slams the door to his room shut and stomps down the hallway, shoving past maids. His heeled boots click against the tiled shining floors as he made his way to his brothers chambers.
The entire castle was filled with the buzz of servants and castlefolk alike, murmuring and gossiping loudly to each other.
Did you hear about the prince?
Apparently he doesn’t want to be king
I heard he’s having an affair with a commoner…
I’ve seen a new supervisor around recently-
The prince will make a fine king.
My goodness, he’s so dreamy
Regulus had to roll his eyes at the idiotic comments of the castle folk and continues to strut through the castle. Mid way through his angry pursuit Regulus bumps into someone.
Naturally his first response was,“Watch where you’re going you-“
He would’ve finished his sentence if it had been anyone else. Regulus felt his gaze soften. He had a small soft spot for the man in front of him. His brothers personal knight. Ridiculously tall, with a mop of brown hair and tan skin. None other than Remus Lupin.
The scarred, taller man grins down at him, leaning on the wall with an arm above his head.
“Well hey Reggie. Where is a prince off to in such an angry pursuit this morning?The stormy eyed man scoffed from beneath him.
“Your ‘liege’ has asked for me. Now move.”
He shoves past him but Remus catches his slim wrist. Regulus whips his head around to find the other man is simply staring at him with pitiful eyes. After a long minute of silence, Remus lets him go and laughs softly. Beautifully, a warm and rich sound. But Regulus could tell it was fake.
“Well forgive me, my prince. I shall see you at the coronation.”
And with that he turns around and walks off, leaving Regulus confused.
So with a much less aggressive walk, the black haired man made his way to his brothers room. He knocked on Sirius’s door, sighing.
A head of pale skin and sleek black curly hair popped out of the door with a grin.“Hey Reggie. Come in.”
Sirius opened the door for him, ushering the other black brother in.
With a jump, he sat on his bed. Regulus stood next to the door with an unamused expression on his face.
“Yes?”
There was a beat of silence- of hesitation. Regulus knew something was wrong.
“I’m running away Regulus.”
“What?”
Regulus yelled, his face white with panic. No- no he had wanted Sirius gone but not like this!
Sirius simply smiled but less like before. A sadder, more sympathetic and solemn smile. He spoke softly, like he was admitting a crime far more punishable than explaining to his younger brother he was leaving.
“I don’t want to be a monarch. You know that. You always have. Come with me Reg! Please- I have enough gold and there’s a neighbouring kingdom that Remus is going to take me to-“
Regulus’s expression hardens.
“What? So you’re leaving me for knight? Toujours Pur Sirius! Get a fucking hold on your life. You’ve been born into a royal family and it is an honour-“
“You sound just like Mama.”
Another beat of silence.
“Im not leaving with you.” Regulus glares, clenching his fists as he felt the adrenaline running through his veins.
“You expect me to just give up my duty so we can go play fantasy? I can’t- you know I can’t.”
He felt like pleading. Like crying and begging his brother to stay. But it was no use. Because if there one one thing Regulus knew, it was that if Sirius had made his mind up about something, then that what was going to happen.
“When.”
The younger asks, a lot quieter than before.
“Just before they make me say those god awful lines. I’m going to run- as fast I can and Remus will have a horse for me.”
Regulus could feel his mouth go dry. His parents wouldn’t suspect a thing and he knew it.
“Come with me Reg. Please-“
Sirius pleaded, desperately waving his hands around like a madman. “Remus knows I won’t go if you don’t- and he wants you to come as well!”
“Remus?” Regulus almost laughed, incredulous.
“You mean the man who I never talk to, who I’m rude to and who I’m sure should hate me but for some idiotic reason, doesn’t?”
Sirius quietens and stares at him from the bed, a single tear rolling down his pale skin.
“I can’t just leave you here-“ He starts weakly.
“Then don’t.”
And with that, Regulus curtly turns around and runs out the door. He doesn’t show a single emotion until he is back in his room.
And then, he bursts into tears.
To be fair he could’ve tried. Warned someone- started a rumour- but it had been too satisfying seeing the aghast looks on his parents face when Sirius had ran out the hall.
About an hour prior, Regulus was sitting on his throne in the stuffy ballroom. He was waiting for people to pile in as his brother sat beside him, silent and solemn. Regulus couldn’t help but smile as he saw his favourite gardiner from the palaces rose garden, Pandora. She gave him a little wave and airily stared around at the building.
He couldn’t spot any more of his friends- and it wasn’t like he had time before his mother was in front of his throne, her lips pressed tightly together.
“Regulus.”
Her cold voice was like a knife slicing through the air. Many had faced the wrath of the queen- none had made it out alive.
“Yes, mama?”
He subconsciously fixed his almost perfect posture.
“Do make me proud, won’t you?”
She smiled down at him with unpleasantly. Regulus felt a small shiver run down his spine. His mother had given him many a punishment before and he had no intention of it happening again.
“We wouldn’t want any mishaps today, now would we?”
“No.”
Regulus murmured, trying to keep eye contact as he had always been told.
He sighed as his mother went back to her seat, feeling his throat constrict and his stomach drop slightly.
The archbishop of the kingdom, a thin and wrinkled man named Oliver, suddenly stood. The entire audience of thousands of people went silent.
Regulus tried not to cry. His brother was leaving in 30 minutes. And his last words had been some of the bitterest that had to fall from his tongue.
Then he spotted the new advisor to the king- some new guy named Tom Riddle. Apparently his father had known his father for decades.
Regulus pulled his gaze away and just rolled his eyes as the bishop continued to talk on and on about honour and everything that the new king would do for their great kingdom. Inspirational, really. He scoffed as he checked his manicured nails, getting a glare from Walburga. He softly cleared his throat and sat up straight again.
Finally, it was time for the coronation. For the goodbye. Regulus swallowed as he saw Sirius stand and make his way to the front of the stage.
“And here, we have the future king-!”
“Monarch.”
Sirius corrected. His mother made a face. She had always hated the fact that Sirius insisted that they didn’t have a set gender. She had always deemed it silly and childish.
Regulus couldn’t force himself to agree.
As Sirius corrected the priest time and time again, his cousin Evan and his (boy?)friend Barty Crouch Jr began to snicker in the audience.
Barty was the son of some rich merchant in the city and Evan was somehow Regulus’s cousin. The rest of the kingdom was deadpanned with few whispering amongst themself this is our new king?
Despite himself, Regulus felt the corners of his mouth start to lift as Sirius kept correcting the struggling priest with an exasperated tone.
“Look, it’s monarch-“
Sirius tried again for what felt like the 50th time that evening, before he was interrupted.
“Silence!”
Shouted their mother from the back. Regulus could see her clearly from her seat- and she was furious.
Sirius just rolls his eyes as he steps forward. The Bishop began to loudly proclaim the oaths and declarations about his duty as king and how he would perform for the people.
Before Sirius could say the sealing words ‘I do’, he suddenly shoved past the poor old man. The crowd let out gasps and all stood up, following the sight of the man sprinting down the hall with a gleeful grin on his face.
The crowd began to pour out into the courtyard as well as Walburga and Orion.
But they were only there in time to see Sirius getting on a horse alongside none other than the stable boy Remus. Everyone’s jaw was dropped and Regulus had to force himself not to giggle in the sheer absurdity of it.
“Sirius Orion Black, you get back here this instant!”
The queen shrieked from the crowd. Sirius simply got on his horse and blew her a kiss.
“Goodbye mother dearest! J'espère que tu brûles”
And with that, the horses set off at a gallop as the two quickly rode past the gates. Sirius’s dark hair streamed behind him as his hair-tie fell out. Funnily enough, the knights happened to all be in the audience as well. Surely not by the command of the head knight himself, Peter.
Walburga then began to have a slight breakdown, kicking and screaming for guards to grab Sirius. This was the most exciting thing that had happened in the kingdom since the disappearance of the local bartender so the entire kingdom was simply watching in awe as their respected queen had a meltdown.
Regulus had never felt better.
His brother had got away. Actually gotten away. Escaped. And soon enough it would be his turn too. He could feel it in his aching bones.
Later that night, when the townsfolk were sleeping after hours of gossiping and predicting, Regulus found himself on the balcony. The cool air that blew from the sea next to their kingdom pushed past his curls as he stared out into the ocean. He wondered where Sirius was now.
His stupid sibling. Merlin, he missed him already. How pathetic was that, he thought to himself.
He looked down at the gorgeous rose garden. The yellow and white ones had always been Sirius’s favourites. He’d always ask for them in the flowers in their study room alongside Regulus’s favourite, the red ones. He was boring- and aware of it.
Standing on Sirius’s balcony felt wrong. Odd. His mother and father were still having an argument and he could hear it even in the rooms far below.
He glanced behind him through the open glass door, staring into his brothers room. Posters of indecent people with heavy makeup as well as rock posters were scattered all along the walls. The poster from their favourite band, Queen, sat above their bed. It was a lot more decorated and had a lot more feeling to it than Regulus’s cold and desolated room did.
He looks back to the garden, smiling bitterly at the fond memories that they’d had in there.
“I don’t know what to do without you.”
Regulus whispered against the marble balcony.
“I miss him too.”
A soft voice said behind him, one Regulus recognised all too well. His eyes brimmed with tears as he turned around to the face the Lily, his favourite maid. At that moment, Regulus didn’t care about how she had gotten up the stairs. He simply cried into her arms.