A/N: For Masquerade Doll's 'My Other Half Challenge'. My pairing was Regulus/Alice L. and my prompt was 'The Winds Of Change'.
No Longer A Sweet Fairytale
For her he has to do it. If he wants to be good enough for her, he has to do this. The problem is, it means he'll have to say goodbye.
Maybe there has ever only been one possible way to end this. In tragedy.
At least the boy will get a father it can be proud of. Alice will not have to be ashamed (because no matter what she tells him, he knows that this is what she will become if the truth ever should come to the surface) and her friends will not have to feel betrayed. She will not have to part with her husband, the pain of leaving him (because he knows it'll pain her) she won't have to feel.
At least he will die as someone his brother could be proud of, even though he will never know. Sirius, that is.
Maybe he should leave some sort of note to Sirius, telling him the truth. The problem is that he knows Sirius well enough to know that he won't believe it.
It's probably better this way anyway.
Now all he has to do is to say goodbye to Alice. Without revealing himself, because he knows she'll try to stop him, if she gets to know the truth. He'll explain it in a letter. It won't be good enough, won't be the perfect goodbye, but at least it'll be goodbye.
The end is nearing; the winds of change have come his way. They'll no longer allow him his sweet fairytale; have come to show him a whole other way.
But it's all alright. Until his last breath, he'll have the memories of her. After that…
He doesn't know. But he is not afraid.
My Dear Alice
I'll always love you, remember that. But before today, I haven't been your equal, haven't earned the right to be yours. If you knew, you would have stopped me, I know. But this is something I have to do, even if it means saying goodbye to you. I've discovered that Voldemort (yes, I've learned to say his name) has split his soul. He can't die before the object the other part of his soul is hidden in, has been destroyed. I know where he is hiding it, and have now gone out to destroy it. I know it'll cost my life. I'm sorry I have to leave you. Watch my son for me, and give him the love I can't. Let him have a father he won't be ashamed of. Dear Alice, live your life as have I never existed, and let me only live on in your memory. That is what is best for everyone, in the current situation. If things change, if you think it'll do more good than it'll do damage, to tell the truth, then you have my blessing. But I don't think it ever will. Don't feel that you have done anything wrong, my love, because you have made me a happy man. Without you I would never have been truly happy. I am not afraid of death, and hope that one day, we'll see each other again. My love for you and our future son is stronger than death. My last thoughts will go to you.
Yours Always, R.A.B.