James Potter
It's nearly afternoon when Regulus finds himself sitting on his bed, playing with his dagger, twirling it between his fingers, his mind completely blank as he observes the dagger twirl again and again and again, waiting for the time to pass so he can just conclude his task and return to his peace.
Or at least he thought so.
A knock on his door makes him look up, and he hears a muffled voice from the other side.
“Let me in, I haven't seen you all day,” Says his brother's voice, a dramatic sadness in his tone.
With a sigh, Regulus clips the dagger to his belt again and gets up from his bed. He unlocks the door and opens it, seeing Sirius' dramatically sad expression turn into a grin.
“Reggie!” Sirius reaches out to ruffle Regulus' hair, making him roll his eyes.
“What do you want?” Regulus asks with an obvious hint of annoyance in his voice, watching his brother inviting himself into his room and sitting on his bed as if it was his own.
“Do I need a reason to see my lovely brother?” Sirius tilts his head, an arched eyebrow teasing Regulus as he closes the door and sits next to Sirius on his bed.
Before Regulus has time to answer, Sirius looks him up and down, noticing he's wearing his mission gear.
Regulus hates wearing armor, it's noisy and limits his movements a little, and even if it's not much, it's enough to make him stressed in the middle of a battle. So he always just wears normal clothes. Right now, he's wearing a shirt with puffy sleeves that he folded just below his elbow, leaving his wrists exposed. The shirt is tucked into high-waisted trousers, decorated with silver buttons, and crossed by a leather belt, which has several straps to secure his equipment; daggers, a sword, a handkerchief and an old coin purse that doesn't hold coins at all.
Sirius has seen this equipment enough to know what it means, so he just asks. “Who is it now?”
Regulus knows he's meant to keep it a secret, but Sirius is safe to tell secrets to, and he always knows everything, so he doesn't hesitate.
“Selis' heir” Regulus answers, already knowing what Sirius is asking, he has the same stiff expression he has when he's trying - and failing - to hide his disgust.
Sirius never liked killing for business, it's something he hates about his family, and stopped doing it the moment he was allowed, which was when their mother died.
But Regulus was already kind of used to it, even if he didn't like it, it was always a part of his life.
Sincerely, he prefers doing that instead of letting their army do it, knowing sometimes they are way worse and cruel than he is.
Sirius rolls his eyes, laying back on Regulus' bed. “I always thought our family would like the boy. He's kind and wouldn't start any kind of war, so why worry?” Sirius says, not hiding his annoyance.
“Dad says Selis is a threat,” Regulus replies, getting up from the bed and leaning on the window ledge, looking at the castle in the distance.
“Not like Elora ever felt threatened by something.” Sirius turns his head to look at Regulus, his expression thoughtful and still slightly disgusted.
Regulus just shrugs. “It's my mission, anyway.” He says before deciding to change the subject. “Dora said you returned late yesterday”
Sirius smiles and Regulus is almost sure he doesn't even know he does. “I was with Remus.” He looks at Regulus just in time to see him rolling his eyes.
“Lovesick prick” He mumbles, wrinkling his nose in disgust.
“Oi!” Sirius sits up, his eyebrows furrowed irritatedly as he throws Regulus' pillow towards him, making Regulus dodge it, watching it hit the floor on the other side of the room.
Regulus raises his eyebrows, grimacing in disgust. “What? It's true. You're a lovesick prick. Did you notice you were smiling thinking about him?”
Sirius' jaw drops indignantly, eyebrows flying up. “Wait your turn, Reg. The day you find a boy to fall for I'll be teasing you and you're not doing anything to stop it.” Sirius says surely, the corners of his lips curling in a smirk at the last words, making Regulus shake his head.
“You try that.” Regulus looks outside, noticing the sun is starting to set, and looks down, checking his equipment to be sure he's ready.
“Going now?” Regulus nods, turning towards the door, but then stops to look at his brother. “Stay here if you want, but don't touch a single thing.” He warns, before turning to the door again, while Sirius lays down on his bed again.
“Yes sir,” He says mockingly. Regulus opens the door, waving a bye that Sirius returns before disappearing down the hallway.
The rustle of dry leaves under Regulus' feet sounds quiet in his ears as he walks through the forest, going towards the castle to kill Selis' heir, James Potter.
It's a simple task. He's good with his daggers, so if he gets into the castle he can do his job from a long distance, he doubts he'll even need to spend time studying Potter. Sneak in, kill, clean and leave. Simple enough, right?
Wrong.
His thoughts are interrupted by the rustle of leaves nearby. It's a forest, this should be normal, but not when it sounds like someone walking. Regulus looks around, searching for somewhere to hide, but he stills when he hears a voice.
“Rare to see someone from Elora around here.” A velvety voice declares in an amused tone.
Great. Just great.
Regulus turns around, only to be met by the sight of his target. The man walks towards him, wearing a musketeer shirt with the laces undone, drawing Regulus' eyes briefly to his shoulder blades. His curls are messily framing his face, as well as his glasses, combat boots stepping on the floor and making the noise of rustling leaves Regulus heard before. He has a holstered sword attached to his belt and an attentive gaze, probably careful about the forest.
Regulus places his hand on his dagger automatically, but he has to swallow any threats away when he sees the man, he can't kill him right now, not when he's right in the middle of the forest, equipped and looking like that.
He's sure he's been staring at the Potter boy for too long now, but his concern vanishes when he notices the other was doing the same. He tilts his head and arches an eyebrow, and that seems to bring Potter back to reality, because he also tilts his head and arches an eyebrow, mirroring him. Oh. That stare. “Regulus, isn't it?”
He agrees, holding his head high, eyes narrowing at the informal tone he's addressed with. “Yes, Prince Regulus Black” He corrects.
James raises his hand, offering a handshake. “James.”
Regulus looks down at his extended hand then back to his eyes, ignoring the handshake. Mission. Focus on the mission. Gather information. James doesn't seem offended, and just keeps talking.
“Out for a walk?”
“I like the peace in the forest.”
James hums. “I’ve never seen you around here.” He says with a tilt of his head.
“I'm usually closer to the castle, it's the first time I cross the boundaries to Selis.” He watches James open a smile.
“So you're not familiar with the surroundings?”
Yes, I have every single tree here noted in my map, which I'm using to basically hunt you down. Funny, isn't it?
Regulus shakes his head negatively in answer.
“I'll show you around then, your highness.” James says with a bright smile, raising his eyebrows in an obvious playful tone when he addresses Regulus with the title.
Did Regulus want to spend time with that boy? No. Could he kill him right now if he wanted to? Yes. But something makes Regulus nod, and before he even notices, he's walking in the middle of the forest and hearing James chatting excitedly.
“That's my favorite part of the forest, my dad built a treehouse for me when I was younger.” He stops walking, making Regulus stop too and look up.
There's a wooden treehouse up the tree they stopped in front of, a rope leading up to its door. It's not very high, probably because it was built for a kid, but it's high enough to make Regulus have to tilt his head up to look. It's obviously not made by a professional, but it looks well built enough to tell it's not Fleamont’s first work.
“Your dad built this?”
He nods. “When I was seven. I was begging him for a treehouse since I was four, but mom didn't want dad to build it before cause she was sure I'd fall off” James chuckles.
“Wanna go up there?” The question makes Regulus head snap back down to look at James. He doesn't, but he can't deny. Mission. Mission. Mission. “It's safe, I promise, I spend most of my afternoons there.”
With some hesitation, he finally agrees. James climbs up first, before sitting on the edge of the door to extend his hand to help Regulus up, which Regulus gratefully takes. It's warm around his, a firm grip to make sure Regulus doesn't fall. He helps Regulus up, and he sits by the edge of the door beside James, legs dangling in the air.
It's not that high and Regulus isn't afraid of heights, of course… but he could break a bone if he fell off…
“I'll bring you with me if I fall off” He murmurs dryly, earning a chuckle.
“You won't. But I can catch you if you do,”
Regulus arches a brow, almost feeling the smile James looked at him with.
“I don't think I will.” He answers with a narrow of his eyes, his dagger weighing on his belt. Kill and leave. Kill and leave. With his lips pursed together, he forces himself to change the topic. Get information. “Future king, huh?”
James sighs. “Dad's really sick. We've got doctors looking for the problem, but we don't know what it is yet… he says I should find a wife so they can crown me, but I won't give up on him yet.”
This guy is too innocent to be a threat, Regulus is sure of that.
“They’re offering you a crown and you're having ‘hope’?” Regulus cocks an eyebrow, watching James laugh.
“Can't blame me for hoping my dad will heal, can you?”
That makes Regulus shut up. When his mother was sick, he'd hoped his mother would heal. Was she bad? Yes. Would he miss her? No. But she was his mother, so a part of him couldn't hate her for some reason.
There was a sick part of him that almost got happy when she died, his life definitely got better when she did, but he would never admit that to himself.
They fall quiet, and for a while they're just looking down at the ground, at the grass, the dandelions. Well, Regulus is, he can feel James gaze mostly on him. He wonders why he's been staring so much, but decides to not mention it.
Regulus shifts uncomfortably, and when he opens his mouth to say something, he's brutally interrupted by a yelp, then James slipping down, falling off the edge and quickly reaching out to try to hold onto the edge of the wood. Regulus acts quickly, immediately gripping his hand and holding him so he won't fall. Now, James is hanging in the air, held only by Regulus's shaking hands, and Regulus freezes.
He feels like a dumbass. He should have let James fall. Maybe the boy would hit his head and die, and Regulus wouldn't have to get his hands dirty. Maybe he would have broken a bone or gotten a cut or something that could help Regulus kill him and disguise it. He knows he shouldn't even have talked to James. He found the boy in the middle of the forest, alone, away from anyone that could immediately notice. It was the perfect opportunity. Why didn't Regulus take it? He doesn't know.
But now, he has that opportunity in his hands, quite literally. If he lets go, James could be somehow harmed and that would help Regulus, or he could hit his head, if Regulus was really lucky.
So why won't he just let go? He doesn't know.
James looks up at him with wide eyes.
“You fucking idiot.” Regulus mumbles with annoyance as he pulls James up. “Now I get why your mom wouldn't let you have the treehouse before.”
And guess what James does? He laughs. Is he dumb? He could have died or gotten severely injured and he's laughing?
“Why are you laughing?” Regulus asks, indignant.
“Guess you had to catch me instead of me catching you,” He says with a grin, and Regulus wants to kill him.
“You could have fallen off and you're thinking about that?” Regulus raises his eyebrows, his irritation rising.
James chuckles. “It's not like I'd die from it,” He says with no concern. He could have. He would, if Regulus hadn't caught him. If not by the fall, by Regulus' hands.
Regulus rolls his eyes. “I should've let you fall.”
“Too late for that,” James says with amusement, not offended in the slightest, in fact, he looks too happy about it.
Regulus huffs, and looks down at the ground. “Let's go down.” He says as he lowers himself to grab the rope and slide down to the floor.
“Aww, you're worried about me?” He hears when his feet hit the ground, the amused tone making him even more irritated.
“You're too convinced for your own good.” Regulus answers when James hits the ground as well.
“Keep telling yourself that,” He grins, earning a glare. “C'mon, I'll walk you back to where I found you,” He holds his arm out hopefully, only to be ignored. He doesn't seem phased by it, and starts walking with Regulus again.
They walk side by side, in silence in Regulus’ side, but not in James'.
“Did you know red chrysanthemums mean love?” James asks as he spots a chrysanthemum in the forest.
Regulus furrows his eyebrows. “Didn't it mean loyalty?”
“That's the white chrysanthemum,” He explains, making Regulus hum in acknowledgement.
“What's your favorite flower?” He feels James' gaze on him, but keeps his gaze on the ground, watching his feet step on dry leaves.
“Lily”
James smiles, he seems to like flowers. “Purity and peace.” He states. “They're gifted to loved ones,”
Regulus arches an eyebrow. “Aren’t all flowers?”
“I wouldn't want to receive a cyclamen. Or a black rose, or an orange lily,”
“Why?” Regulus finally looks up, and finds James looking ahead. He has to resist a very strong urge to push James’ glasses back.
“Bad meanings. Cyclamen means separation, black roses means hate, orange lilies means the person who sent you those doesn't like you, in short.” He explains, and Regulus looks ahead, nodding.
“You sound to know flowers,”
James smiles. It's melancholic, sweet, Regulus looks at it with pursed lips, wondering. “Dad taught me. He's always been obsessed with flowers. Guess I took it after him,”
“That and the stubbornness.” Regulus murmurs. He wonders what it's like. Do something you and your dad like, together. Father and son.
James smiles, then stops walking. Regulus almost continues without him, too distracted to notice, but quickly stops. “We're where I found you.”
Regulus almost feels bad. He could kill him right now. He places his hand on his dagger. Why won't he pull it out?
“Be careful. There's been some thieves around Selis, they could be around Elora too.”
Regulus nods, and walks without any other words.
The bedroom door closes behind him. His bed is messy, because of course Sirius wouldn't hear him and touch his things. He can't bring himself to care right now.
He lays down and stares at the ceiling.
He could've killed James. Why didn't he?