The Heart Of The Lion
Regulus' Ship
3:00am
27/04
Regulus couldn't sleep, he hasn't been able to sleep well since they got word that the king was stepping down and Crown Prince James was to be crowned King Of England in just short of a week. This wouldn't be as big if it wasn't Regulus' brother who was the Prince's best friend and the new Prince of England or something along the lines of that, Regulus never really paid attention to detail in the letters Sirius sent, until James’ name became more frequent in them - and no Regulus never wrote back, unable and unwilling to think of the past. Regulus wanted to miss his big brother, but when he felt the pain when Sirius left to live with James in the castle and left Regulus alone, he swore to himself that Sirius was completely and utterly dead to him, not that it stopped Sirius from trying to reach out to him through hundreds of letters of which Regulus kept all of them neatly in a chest under his bed.
Regulus’ gaze wandered down from the stars that sprinkled the night sky like fine glitter to the warm yellow lights of the kingdom ahead of him. After scanning the horizon his eyes rested on one particular building that stood out from the rest, the Palace. Where his brother and his brothers best friend stayed, protected from all the world had to throw at them by the castle gates, whilst Regulus stood right in the middle of a battle field with nothing to defend himself other than his crew, who swore an oath to stick together as the all came from difficult pasts.
Cold and bothered by his thoughts, Regulus headed down to his quarters. He blew out the candle by his bead and chucked the sheets over his head, soon falling into the arms of dreamless sleep.
Soon Regulus woke up being shaken awake. When he opened his eyes he saw Barty Crouch Jr. one of his crew members and friends. “What?” Regulus questioned impatiently rubbing his temple.
“Evan got a random guy from that bar by the coast of the Kingdom! He looks suspiciously like the Prince and I-”
“Where is he?” Regulus cut Barty off.
“In the prison cell.” And with that Regulus was out the door and down the hall in the direction of the cells.
When Regulus reached the cells he eyed the prisoner who was obviously the Prince of fucking England if Regulus payed any mind to the photos (He spent hours studying his brothers face, observing how much he grew up since Regulus last saw him in person). Evan was bloody dead. “Your Majesty nice to make your acquaintance.” Regulus tried to act formal but the Prince shook him off. “Eww no just James please, love.” James smirked as Regulus fumbled with the keys.
“Right. Anyway I’m sorry you got locked up, someone dosen’t know what ‘don’t take the prince means’.” Regulus said trying to pass time while he struggled to unlock the metal bar door. “Want some help there?”. Regulus rolled his eyes.
“I am capable of unlocking a door I can assure you James.” He said teasing James with his name.
Once James was out of the cell, Regulus gave him a tour of the ship. “Now, since this whole thing is…. Unhelpful.” Regulus said looking pointedly at Evan.
“It’s not my fault!” Evan defended.
“It’s actually the definition of your fault, because if I remember correctly I specifically said ‘if you must bring someone do not make it a royal or anyone of high importance in politics.’ And you brought us the fucking Prince of England so yes I would say it’s your fault.” Regulus said with a hint of annoyance in his voice. James snorted. Evan shrunk back behind Barty, who was trying desperately to suppress his laugh. "Anyway, we can't take you back to the palace, sorry." Regulus proclaimed.
James was shaken, "What! Why not?!" He spoke with a tinge of confusion.
"Because they will kill us." Regulus retorted, not a hint of emotion landing on his sharp features. Everyone went silent, especially James.
"But I-I could get them to pardon you all, and then you’ll never have to worry about it again right?” James tried desperately.
“Look I wish I was in the position to take you back, I really do, but we’d be executed on the spot…. This isn’t the first ‘unspeakable’ crime we’ve committed.” Regulus stated. “What do you mean ‘unspeakable crime’?” James queried, nervously fidgeting with his fingers. Those gorgeous fingers, that I would let caress my cheeks for all of eternity-. Regulus nearly gasped at his thoughts.-no NO that is the prince of England not a fucking commnor anyone BUT him please. James looked at Regulus wanting an answer, he felt his face heat up. Fuck. Regulus is a goner.
11:00pm
Regulus' Ship
28/04
Regulus’ tour of the ship ended with some butter and bread for supper. James was given an actual room instead of the cell he was originally in. James studies the room, his heavy glance dusting every surface. James felt odd, usually he'd be freaking out trying to find a way to get home but he was so.. so calm, he even felt warm when Regulus came to his cell, although he instantly pushed that thought out of his head. Regulus had explained the situation to James. Most of the crew came from rich families. “Rich but never happy” Regulus had told James. Eventually he got bored, lying down on his mattress and closing his eyes trying to fall asleep, Boredom eventually overtook, so he got up and left his cabin, planning to explore the Ship a little more.
When James got up to the top deck, he noticed a figure standing by the rails. Slowly James approached the un-named figure and stood beside it, at this point James had realized that it was the Captain, Regulus. James looked over at him, Regulus stood still unbothered but obviously aware of James' presence. "So um.. what will happen to me?" James asked, wanting to break the tension in the air.
"Your Maj- James, this situation is not the best to be in I must admit. The only way we would be able to return you is if you wait for my broth- Sirius to inherit the throne, and for people to assume you are dead. For now we can offer you a temporary spot on the crew or leave you on a deserted island to fend for yourself." Regulus replied, eyes still fixed on the horizon. "Right well, I'll take the spot on the crew." James spoke quickly without hesitation, trying to pinpoint exactly what Regulus was still staring at.
"It's your decision, but I must warn you, you will have t do your fair share of work to earn you place here, ranks mean nothing other than Captain." Regulus pointed at himself. "And crew." He said pointing at James. "Most people here are here because they chose to be here, none of them were forced except you.. And truly if you were any other person we would just ask if you would like to join the crew, and if you refused you'd have been back on land by now." Regulus spoke clearly, but not aggressively.
"No- yes I completely understand and I will do my best." James replied hurriedly. Regulus' gaze shifted up towards the sky, and James did his best to make out what he was looking at. "You have a friend right? Sirius Black?" Regulus asked softly, he looks around the sky before settling on the brightest star in the sky.
"Yes, he's back at the castle you mentioned him before, you nearly said something else what was it?" James asked carefully.
"Oh nothing something got caught in my throat that's all." Regulus replies still staring at the bright star.
C'mon James say something. Make him laugh, you're good at that. You have to do something. What's he interested in? STARS! THAT'S IT TALK ABOUT STARS. "So um.. what are you looking at?" James tries to ask as nonchalantly as possible even though his heart was racing at a million miles an hour.
"Just the stars." Regulus said, dazed by the glittery lights above them.
"Do you know a lot about the sky? My parents tried to get me to learn astronomy but I couldn't focus enough to remember anything." James recounted as memories flashed behind his eyes of long days spent in the library researching all about the burning balls of fire that filled the empty space around them. "Yes, I was named after a star actually. My whole bloodline actually is named off of the stars, they have been for years." Regulus replied shifting his gaze again.
"Really? That's so cool! What star are you?" James asked, delighted that he started a conversation instead of standing there in silence.
Regulus lifted his hand up to a cluster of stars and pointed out the vague shape of a constellation, one of the only ones James could ever commit to memory.
"It's in that constellation, the brightest star, Regulus-"
James cuts him off. "The heart of the lion." James says, dazed by the sight of Regulus and his star.