The Blackouts
Prince Regulus Arcturus Black of Slytherin was to be betrothed to Princess Dorcas Meadows. Not that he wanted to. Dorcas was lovely, sure, but what his parents didn't know, or frankly didn't care about, was that Regulus was so very gay. Ever since his older brother, Sirius, had run away, Regulus had been bombarded with all the pressure of being the heir and creating an heir for the noble house of Black. All he had left of Sirius was a single earring, on his right ear. He cursed it everyday, but could never find it in him to take it out. The green jem dangled loosely on his ear as he walked down the shore of the beach.
Fancy dinner parties were exhausting, Regulus had come to learn this. Over the past week, there have been 5 of them. First, a gala to find him a wife. Then, an engagement party to the Princess Dorcas Meadows. After that, he had to meet his in-laws so there was yet another. Then, Dorcas had to meet his parents, and he had to attend that one to make sure his mother didn't bite his wife-to-be. Finally, the last dinner before they actually got married had ended and they went up to their room. The silence was choking so Regulus went to take a breather. He was walking by the ocean, planning on drowning himself, when suddenly, an arm grabbed him and yanked him behind a rock. Before Regulus could get a scream out, a hand clamped down on his mouth and he turned to find warm green eyes. He relaxed instantly and peeled the arm of his face.
“What was that for, Lupin?” Regulus groaned, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart.
“Hello to you too, lover boy. Forgot about me?” Prince Remus John Lupin replied. Prince Remus has been Regulus’ friend ever since he could remember. As much as Regulus hates to admit it, Remus was probably his only friend, ever since his brother had left.
“You didn't answer my question, Remus. What are you doing creeping around behind rocks and scaring people?” Regulus demanded once again.
“I saw you walking and was going to go talk to you. Then I saw a light coming from the right. I think it's a ship. Isn't that a bit weird, especially in the dead of night in the summer?”
He had a point. Ships never came in the summer months, as it was too hot for merchants to be on deck at all times, and night was far too dangerous with the waves and pirates. Regulus nodded, admitting the strange activity. He opened his mouth to reply when suddenly, a hand clamped down on his mouth again. Eyes large and attentive, Regulus whipped his head around and met the eyes of his captor. Deep brown eyes bright with amusement met him before he blacked out. Stupid kidnapper and their stupid drugs Regulus cursed in his mind as he lost consciousness, thinking of those eyes.
~
Dorcas saw her chance and took it. The second her fiance left the room, she started packing her bag again and prepared herself to run. She couldn't get married! She was only 18, and not to mention a raging lesbian. She had come out to her parents, hoping for the best, expecting the worst and the worst had happened. Her parents had quickly made her drop her studies, and began to get her ready for marriage. The second the invitation for the gala for Prince Regulus’ engagement came out, they fled to get their daughter married. Her father definitely had to pull some strings, but it worked. She was to marry the heir of the house Black tomorrow evening, but she physically couldn't.
The second Dorcas was ready, she cracked the window open and jumped. She landed in a roll, and ran with all her might. Thankfully, she was a fast runner so she ran off the grounds. She found a rock pathway and slowed her pace. Tears streaked her face, and her legs ached, but she was free! Suddenly, a flash behind her made her yelp. A guard nearby had caught sight of her, and lept into action. Dorcas groaned and begged her legs to move, but before she could, hands gripped her waist and she was pulled into the tree foliage. A scream ripped itself from her throat before a warm hand covered it. Sweet hazel eyes warned her to be quiet, a finger to the plump lips positioned perfectly on the gorgeous stranger in front of Dorcas. The guard ran past them, screaming to show themselves and her captor just huffed a laugh and moved back, farther into the woods.
When they were a safer distance away from the main walkway, the hand was finally lifted from her mouth, but the palm gripping her waist stayed firm where it was, thankfully. The girl was taller than Dorcas. She had platinum white hair that caught the light of the moon in a way that made Dorcas’ knees buckle. The hand at her waist pulled her up and she met the hazel eyes once again. This time, the eyes seemed confused, a crease in between the perfectly shaped eyebrows formed and Dorcas had wanted to push a hand up and smooth it out, but she didn't. She stayed perfectly still and just stared at the woman in front of her and drank her in like she was water, and Dorcas was stuck in a drought.
The stranger finally chuckled and pushed a hand up into her hair. “Oh James is going to kill me.” she groaned. Dorcas wondered who James was, but more than that, she needed to know who this girl was.
“Could I ask what your name is?” Dorcas asked, voice quivering and barely a whisper, but Blondie seemed to hear her.
“Marlene Mackinnon. And you?”
“Princess Dorcas Meadows.” Dorcas responded, hating how posh her voice sounded next to the cool husky voice of Marlene. Marlene's eyes blew wide in the light of the moon, and she shook her head.
“Dorcas, how would you like to go on a walk with me?” Marlene inquired.
“Oh uhm, that would be great,” Dorcas responded, forgetting all the rules of stranger danger and confident royal speech. Her mother would be horrified if she could see her now. But she wasn't here, Dorcas reminded herself and let herself be pulled away by the stranger.
Marlene gripped Dorcas’ hand and led her to a tree a few paces away from where they were before. Dorcas watched Marlene the whole time, watching how the moon illuminated her pale skin. She found that her expression was blank. Marlene was hiding something from Dorcas, something big. Suddenly, Dorcas tripped on her skirt, and her vision filled with spots. She cursed the diets her mother had forced her into, they left her incredibly weak and caused her to black out often. She just had to lose consciousness now, perfect. Dorcas cursed the world and her vision went dark, her final thought of that white hair and hazel eyes.