The Start of a New Story
"I felt suddenly that the center of this man's attention,
was a very bad place to be."
Regulus could not recall how long he had been here. Despite how often he was in crowds, he felt awkward. It felt like he did not belong, though that wasn’t the first time he felt that way. Parties and balls were not the boy's strong suit. It was one of his weaker points after all. Regulus had never been a social person. That was Barty's thing. The boy was the person who did the talking while Regulus just listened. It’s how they always had been. Now being separated from Barty in the party, Regulus felt awkward.
He had joined in a few conversations, though he didn’t stay near them for too long. He was getting to know as many people as he could. He was analyzing those around him, as a predator did its prey. He was trying to see who he could lure into a false sense of security. He needed to get on people's good sides. He need to make sure nobody would suspect him of his kill. As the heir to the Black throne, he already had a bad weight pushing on his shoulders. He knew people could tell the kingdom he belonged to. It was obvious. With the way he stood, the way he talked, to his appearance. He was the prime example of a Black heir. Besides a few factors, of course.
Luring people into a false sense of security was something Regulus was quite good at. He had to do it during most of his jobs. Every job meant luring someone into a false sense of security. Whether that be with a calm and relaxing voice, followed by a play on words, or by just showing yourself doing something good. He found it something he could do quite easily - had it not been for his last name. His family did not have the best reputation, even if it was not Regulus that was a suspect in the killings. It was his parents, not him. That was the only good thing he held on his shoulders. He was just his parent's prodigy.
He moved through the large ballroom, his shoes tapping against the ground as he walked. Despite the multiple conversations he held, he did have a job to do. A job that involved talking with the Prince of Lleuad - to which he had kept track of the whole night so far. Regulus knew he should not be carefree that night. He was in another person's kingdom, a person who already seemed wary of him. Despite the night being one of ‘truces,’ he knew he would not be trusted right away. He would be stupid to think otherwise. Regulus scanned the room slowly, doing a once-over followed by a twice-over.
He spotted Barty nearby. He was thankful that the boy was still sticking close to him, yet, he was also glad to know his friend was enjoying himself. Even if he did not show it most of the time, Barty was one of the few people that Regulus cared about. He just didn’t like to admit anything like that - especially when it came to Barty. He turned his attention away from his friend - who was talking to a girl with braids - and instead turned his attention back to his own thoughts and a certain dark-haired prince.
The prince’s russet-brown skin seemed to glow from the lights hanging above them. It made it fairly easy for Regulus to spot him. It made it ten times easier to keep his eyes on the target. He couldn’t lose sight of him that night. He knew that. He would be in trouble if he did. He moved past a few royals who were dancing, slowly making his way to the prince without it being straightforward. He wanted to make it seem like he had run into the boy. Going straight up to him to talk to him was a large no.
He moved slowly still, listening in on other conversations happening around him still. He also listened to the music playing. If he wasn’t in the middle of a job, the boy would be paying more attention to the music. He loved music and loved the way the instruments blended together to make a beautiful piece. He knew how to play a few instruments himself - often doing so in the free time that he had back in his own kingdom. Music was one of his passions. If he wasn’t a prince, if he wasn’t a trained assassin, then he definitely would have pursued something in music. He didn’t know what, but he knew he would have.
A small idea floated into the boy's head, and so he changed his direction. Instead, Regulus found himself moving in the direction of some of the tables and seating that stood in one of the corners of the ballroom. The idea in his mind bounced around, and he knew it was the best idea he could get. The area around the prince was crowded after all, which meant this was going to be a lot easier than he thought. Regulus moved towards the tables, ignoring the few looks that he got from the other royals he was passing by.
His eyes scanned over the drinks that sat neatly on the table. He debated what he wanted, not knowing what some of the liquids were. He wasn’t going to try anything new though. Trying new foods and drinks in a place that wasn’t the comfort of his own home where a big no. He didn’t like trying new things in general. His eyes landed on some sort of punch and he quietly went to grab one of the glasses. Taking a moment to fill it as much as he could, he raised it to his lips so that way he could take a small sip of it. He needed it to be seen that he was actually just getting a drink and not something he would use to his advantage.
He brought the drink down after taking a sip, letting his eyes trail back to the prince. Once again, he began to slowly walk in his direction. He kept trying to make ensure he wasn’t to obvious. His feet barely pressed against the ground with the steps he took. Regulus pushed himself deeper into the sea of people, letting out quiet ‘excuse me's and ‘pardon me’s.’ He eventually was only a few steps away from the other prince. The one he had come to this ridiculous ball for.
And then, he took his action in to plan.
Regulus pretended not to look where he was going. His eyes darted about the ballroom as if he was looking for someone. Though in reality, he wasn’t looking for anybody. The raven-haired boy bumped his shoulder against one of the women near him, pretending to stumble a bit even though he had been the one to knock into her. A yelp fell from him as he did stumble forward, the drink in his cup sloshing around as he tilted his cup downwards on ‘instinct.’
The drink in his cup splashed out, and he forced his eyes to widen as if he knew that wasn’t going to happen. Though, it seemed to go according to his plan. As the liquid splashed out, some of it splashed onto the floor while some of it spilled onto the prince in front of him. His mouth dropped open. It was very convincing that it wasn’t on purpose. Regulus was great at lying, the best at it some would say. The drink had landed on some of the prince's bottom shirt, staining the button-up he wore.
“I am so sorry,” Regulus spit out, pretending to be shocked at his own actions. He wasn’t actually sorry though. He was far from it. There was no reason for him to be sorry. “I didn’t mean to spill it on you- I was looking for someone and wasn’t paying attention.” He let himself ramble, his accent pushing heavily onto some of his words. It seemed like his skills paid off though because the people around him seemed to believe him - especially the prince.
Remus Lupin looked at him, emotions Regulus couldn’t tell flashing across his face. He couldn’t tell if the other royal was upset with him, or annoyed, or something else. Though, for some reason, a part of him didn’t want to find out. The raven-haired boy sent the other royal a small, apologetic smile to show that he hadn’t meant to do what he had done. He just needed to start a conversation with Remus. He needed to talk to him if he wanted to complete his job that night.
“It’s fine,” Remus spoke up kindly, and Regulus watched as he looked down at his button-up. The raven-haired boy bowed his head as if he was trying to say sorry once again. He was playing into the act of it being an accident, he had to. “Here, I can get you another punch. That’s what it is right? Just let me go change first.” There was a tone in the boy's voice. A tone that Regulus couldn’t exactly figure out. The boy found himself nodding though in response to those words. He knew his plan had gone exactly the way he wanted it to. Now he’d just have to be able to hold a conversation.
Holding conversations where definitely a bit tricky for the raven-haired boy. He wasn’t the most social person. He was much more of a listener than he was a talker. Well, at least in social events. He could talk for hours about things he loved. It often times happened when he was with Pandora or Barty. The boy could be heard rambling about things like the stars, or sea life.
“Are you sure?” Regulus did not want to seem desperate for Remus to talk with him. So he would pretend to do the exact opposite. “I can go and grab myself a drink…it’s fine-” He let himself ramble for a second, eyebrows furrowing a small bit in thought. Remus seemed to give him a once over, and that made Regulus straighten up.
“Don’t worry. I can meet you over there if that’s something you would prefer. I really do just need to go change my top first.” The other prince spoke up once more. Regulus swirled the liquid that was still left in his glass, debating his answer to the question. That sounded a whole lot better than it should have. It meant fewer interactions, but he would still be able to talk to the other boy. It sat well with Regulus. Remus was being nice to him. Niceness was something he hadn’t had in a while - not even from Barty.
“Alright,” Regulus spoke up, “I’d like that if you don’t mind.” Regulus knew how to be nice. He knew how to play nice when he needed to. This was one of those times when he needed to place nice. It seemed like being nice would get him onto Remus’ good side, which is exactly what he was looking for. He didn’t want the darker-skinned boy to be suspicious of him. He knew Remus knew where he came from as well. There was some sort of look in his eyes that confirmed Regulus’ own suspicions on that. He knew that Remus would still be wary of him, even if he was the nicest person around. Regulus had to give it a chance at least.
Remus nodded as if to respond, though a few seconds later actual words fell from his mouth. “I don’t mind,” He spoke kindly, a welch accent visible in his words. “I’ll meet you there then.” Regulus could see a small smile forming on the other face, and that image stayed in his mind. It was a pretty smile. Woah. Yeah no, that thought was thrown out as soon as it had pushed past the other thoughts in his mind. He did not need to be thinking like that whatsoever. His mother and father would kill him if they found out he was thinking those things.
“Yeah, of course…” Regulus trailed off. For once, he didn’t know what to say. He was not the best person at being kind. He had his exceptions for some people - such as a blonde-haired stable girl in his own kingdom - and he stuck to those exceptions. Remus was being kind though. Something Regulus wasn’t entirely used to. The only people who were kind to him was Pandora, and Barty - at times he had his shots of being kind. Those were the only two people. He didn’t know how to be kind, even if he was just acting. Most of his jobs dealt with being harsh, and cruel. That's what he was good with. Not kindness. Never kindness.
Remus pushed his locs back, out of the way of his eyes as he nodded once more. He didn’t say anything else, but he did decide to walk away. Regulus assumed he was going to change, so he also took that as a queue to leave. He glanced back to the slight spill on the ground, but from the corner of his eye, he could already see a butler coming to clean it up. Another royal must have let someone know that there was a spill. The group that had previously been standing about had backed away already. Regulus bit the inside of his cheek a bit at that. That meant he had been getting stared at by others during his conversation with Remus. He’d have to be careful with his movements now.
Regulus took this all as his queue to leave. With his glass still in hand, the heir to the House of Black began walking towards the tables where he had previously been. He was hoping that Remus hadn’t been lying. He was hoping that the boy would actually meet him at the tables after getting changed. Surely he wouldn’t be cruel enough to ditch him despite his words.
『-』
As soon as he felt the liquid hitting him, Remus’ eyes snapped up. Someone had spilled their drink on him in front of everyone around them. That was embarrassing, yet a part of him knew that was bound to happen at least to one person that night. It just so happened to be him. His parents had invited many kingdoms, the royals crowding the room. Bumps and spills were bound to be caused, so he thought nothing of it.
He heard the sound of a boy rushing out his words and Remus let his gaze focus on the raven-haired boy from earlier. One of the princes he had greeted at the entry way alongside with his guard. Deciding to cut the boy off, Remus cleared his throat. “It’s fine,” Remus spoke up kindly. Looking down at his button-up, he knew that the liquid would stain. He looked back up noticing as the other royal bowed his head. “Here, I can get you another punch. That’s what it is right? Just let me go change first.” He decided to be kind. He knew who the boy was - heir to the Kingdom of Black. A kingdom everyone was wary about. But Regulus seemed like he was not in the loop. He already didn’t seem like his family. He was kind - that’s what it looked like. Especially as he heard the raven-haired boy continuing to ramble.
“Are you sure?” Remus heard the other prince speaking up again, “I can go and grab myself a drink…it’s fine-” Remus’ eyes flickered over Regulus, taking a glance over him. He was pretty. He didn’t look like someone he should be suspicious of, but he had heard many things about the Kingdom of Black.
“Don’t worry. I can meet you over there if that’s something you would prefer. I really do just need to go change my top first.” Remus watched as Regulus swirled the last remaining liquid in his glass. He assumed it was because of nerves. He decided in that moment that he would be nice to the other prince. Even if he did come from a not-so-nice family. It wasn’t his fault.
“Alright,” Regulus spoke up, “I’d like that if you don’t mind.” Remus nodded a small bit at those words. He sucked in a small breath. He couldn’t help but feel wary about the boy, but he knew Regulus could not control where he had been raised. Maybe he was the exact opposite of his parents - that was something they did not know yet.
“I don’t mind,” He spoke kindly, his accent thick at the end of his sentence. “I’ll meet you there then.” Remus sent the other boy a very faint smile, just something that was big enough to be seen. He nodded his head in some sort of bow, backing away.
“Yeah, of course…” He heard Regulus get out. Remus didn’t say much more though. He turned around, tapping his cane against the floor on instinct. He moved forwards and away from the other boy, heading in the direction of his room. He needed to change his shirt if he was going to be out in the ballroom the rest of the night. He could not be parading around with a stain on his shirt. His parents may not be strict, but they would have his head if they saw him doing so.
Yet, for some reason, Remus could not get Regulus out of his mind. He knew it was going to be something he would regret in the long run. It made his stomach churn, and he couldn’t tell whether that was because of his nerves or for another reason entirely. He could only hope that it was just due to nerves. Though he was somewhat happy he got to talk to the boy. It made it easier to keep his eyes on the raven - especially since he was so wary of him. Remus did not know the chokehold he was putting himself into by even associating himself with the raven-haired boy. He knew there would be whispers, but a part of him could care less.
Regulus was pretty - which was a bonus to the conversation he would have to hold. He would be able to keep his attention on the boy and his pretty grey eyes.