Written for:
The OTP AU Challenge: Arranged Marriage
The Ultimate Battle Challenge: Arranged Marriage
Lush Challenge: Prompts - Kingdom, Silver, Sunshine, Sparkle, Shimmering
The Restricted Collection: 37. No less than 500 words
Gringotts Prompt Bank: Word set - Castle, Dream, Crown, Gown
Sorry about the double notification. I posted this story and managed to attach the wrong document (I labelled them quite similar things). I deleted the other version and am reposting now. Hopefully I'll get it right this time.
His Freedom
Sirius sat stiffly in the carriage, his eyes on the moving landscape as he stared out of the window, completely bored at the length of the trip. Although he didn't see them, Sirius knew that there were guards surrounding the carriage as it moved at a steady pace. Though they were all too scared of his parents to consider sitting in his carriage and chatting with him.
There was fear that there would be attacks from citizens that didn't want to see peace between the two Kingdoms. They feared it would be Sirius who was attacked, on his way to finalise the treaty, so the guards took their job very seriously.
The carriage finally came to a halt at the border between the two Kingdoms, and the head of the Slytherin guards moved forward to talk to a guard on the other side. After what seemed like an age, the carriage began to move again with a second deployment of guards - Ravenclaw guards - joining the Slytherin guards, aiding with the Prince's safe passage to the castle.
It was a couple of hours of travelling until the castle came into view in the distance. Sirius stared at it in amazement - not that he had never seen a castle before - as he realised that this was the first glimpse of his new home.
It seemed brighter than the dreary castle he had lived in all his life; it seemed more alive somehow. Sirius didn't know if that had something to do with the sunshine that reflected off the windows, or if the castle was just... lighter somehow.
His eyes moved over to the shimmering lake next to the castle and he grinned, imagining taking a swim in the lake. That was if the Royals weren't as strict as his own family. He hadn't even been allowed to leave the castle back home, not even to walk the grounds.
Sirius' eyes didn't drift away from the castle and the grounds until the carriage had slowly moved up the path leading to the castle.
As the carriage came to a stand-still, the door was quickly opened, but Sirius wasn't able to move. Once he had stepped out of the carriage, he would belong to the Ravenclaws. He was in their home; he was marrying their Prince.
The only thing that kept him Slytherin was the carriage that was painted with the Slytherin colours.
Sirius took a few deep breaths, reminding himself just why he had come to Ravenclaw and why he had wanted to escape Slytherin. Slowly he rose and climbed out of the carriage, his eyes moving around the grounds as people stopped to watch. He quickly rearranged the nerves that he knew were showing on his face, making sure he looked calm and composed.
His gaze moved from the castle staff to the guards, as he tried to determine how trustworthy they were. With a flick of his hand, his two most trusted guards moved to his side.
He watched the castle doors open and a man emerge from them. Sirius stood patiently next to the carriage, confident enough to keep his wand in his robes. The guards and the staff wouldn't hurt him, as they believed that Ravenclaw needed this allegiance with Slytherin. It was his own guards he was wary of, as not all Slytherin believed this was for the best.
The two next to him were trustworthy, and he could feel - although he couldn't see his guard's wands - the magic surrounding him, holding a shield on his body.
The man walked over to him, bowing once he was in front of Sirius. After a long moment, the man stood up. "Prince Regulus," he began.
Sirius held up a hand. "I am Prince Sirius, heir to the throne in the Kingdom of Slytherin. I wish to have audience with your King and Queen."
The man froze for a moment, looking at Sirius uncertainly. "I am Lord Potter," he replied. "I am also the Captain of the Guard. If you aren't here as per the contact, I am unable to let you enter."
Sirius didn't reach for his wand but strode over to where James was standing. "I am here to discuss a change in the contract. The change is me. I have come in my brother's place. I wanted to approach the King and Queen and request that they accept this change."
"Why?" James Potter asked.
"Why have I come here? That is none of your concern," Sirius replied, coolly. "I am not here to cause any harm of upset. I am only taking my brother's place in this contract. I am presenting myself as the intended for Prince Remus of Ravenclaw."
James slowly nodded. "Follow me," he said. As they walked in, two Ravenclaw guards fell into step behind them.
They were led through the castle to the throne room. "Your Majesty," James began, stopping and bowing in front of the man on the throne who was looking at the group. "Presenting Prince Sirius Black."
Sirius stepped forward, bowing towards the Ravenclaw royal family. He straightened up, his eyes on the King.
"We were not expecting you," the King said, his voice not giving way to any emotions.
"I am here to request a change in the contract," Sirius began. "The marriage contract was between my brother, Regulus Black, and Prince Remus. I would like to change that, with my name replacing my brothers. If that is unsuitable, I will return to Slytherin right now, and my brother shall come instead."
There was a long pause, and Sirius looked from the King to the beautiful woman sitting by his side in a deep blue gown. Finally his gaze moved to the third throne, and he was unable to divert his gaze.
Prince Remus. He had heard that not many people had seen him, and that the Prince was often in poor health... but no-one had told Sirius that the Prince was beautiful.
"Why have you chosen to come here in his place?" came a soft voice. Merlin, Sirius thought to himself. He even has a beautiful voice.
Though he was a private person, Sirius could see in those amber eyes that the truth would be the only thing that would allow him to remain in the Kingdom.
"Freedom," Sirius replied.
"I... I don't understand," the Queen replied, her voice as soft as her son's. "Would you not consider giving up your life and the crown of Slytherin and tying yourself to a Prince you've never met in a Kingdom you've never seen more of a sentence than freedom?"
Sirius shook his head. With a flick of his hand, the doors shut and a hum filled the air, making them all aware that a silencing charm surrounded them.
"It has been a dream of mine for a long time to leave my life in Slytherin," Sirius began. "It would be freedom from a horrible and twisted Kingdom that I have no desire to rule or reside in and freedom from a cruel and twisted mother. My brother was reluctant to leave for Ravenclaw as he's favoured amongst my family, so I convinced him to demand to stay. His wish was my mother's command, and I was sent in his place."
He looked from the Queen back to the Prince. "It may be a marriage to a man I've never met and in a Kingdom I'm never seen before, but I have never heard a bad word about any of you. To me, this is freedom."
The King and Queen looked towards their son, allowing him the decision.
"This is... acceptable," came the reply and Sirius smiled at the Prince. "We should amend the contract now."
The contract was produced, and Sirius looked through it. Marriage, heirs, everything was very straightforward. Sirius took a small knife from his pocket, letting the tip move across his palm. He used the blood to sign his name, making the new contract magically binding.
He offered the silver knife to Prince Remus, who eyed it warily before producing a gold knife of his own. His name was written across the parchment as Sirius put the small and harmless knife back into his robes. Of course Remus would refuse - the mixture of blood in that manner was such an intimate act, it was foolish for Sirius to make that offer when they knew nothing of each other.
"Seven days," Remus murmured, smiling warmly at him. "I hope what you were missing in the Kingdom of Slytherin, you will find here." His eyes lowered shyly for a moment. "I hope you can be happy here, with us?"
Sirius could only nod, transfixed by the amber eyes that seemed to sparkle with warmth. After meeting his brother's - now his own - betrothed, Sirius knew for certain he would be happy here. He could just tell that there was something special about Prince Remus, and he was looking forward to getting to know the shy Prince better.
For now, I'm leaving this as a one-shot, though I really want to add more.
I have less challenges to write for next month, so I will finally be getting more of my MC's updated!
Thanks to Firefly for betaing this. :)