King of Nothing
For Lin (Marvelgeek42)
When Prince Regulus finally finished handing out loaves of bread to the citizens of the kingdom, he smiled around at them and climbed back into the carriage, ready to head back to the palace. His mother, the Queen, sat on the other side of the carriage, with the curtain tight across her window, keeping her shrouded in darkness.
"You are far too benevolent and good with these wretches," Queen Walburga sniffed, leaning back so that there was no chance of any peasants catching a glimpse of her. "They will see it as weakness, and use your kindness to exploit you when you become King. It could cause many problems during your rule."
Regulus looked at his fingers, which were laced together on his lap. "Do unto others as you would have them do to you," Regulus murmured. "That's what Uncle Alphard used to say."
"That man is no longer your uncle," snapped the Queen, her piercing gaze making Regulus shudder. "His useless advice died along with his involvement to the House of Black."
Regulus turned away from his mother and looked out of the window, as the shanty houses and shops of the kingdom passed by in a blur. Queen Walburga would never see reason to forgive her brother Alphard for his misgivings.
After the King had died, Regulus's brother Sirius was expected to take succession of the throne. He had been groomed for the privilege all of his life, as the first born heir. However, Sirius had never expected to really take over as King, especially not when he was still young, so he fled the Kingdom to elope with a young man from the stables. The betrayal, along with the recent death of her husband, broke Walburga's heart, and she disowned Sirius immediately, expecting him to lapse into poverty as punishment for running away from his duties.
She found out some time later that Alphard had secretly set Sirius up with a house and finances somewhere on the coast. As the money Alphard used was part of his and his siblings inheritance, Walburga had him punished for stealing from the crown treasury.
He was hanged in the gallows the very next day after Walburga found out, and his limbs were drawn and quartered on spikes for all to see—a threat or a warning, never to betray the Queen.
"We cannot make anymore stops to appease the savages," Walburga continued. "There's important business awaiting us back at the palace." She smiled knowingly, and Regulus didn't miss the strange glint in her charcoal eyes.
"What business?" When Walburga didn't reply straight away, Regulus knew exactly what it was. "Mother, we spoke about this. You promised that you wouldn't expect me to marry until I take the throne."
"Unfortunately, your betrothed may be given to another prince if we do not make haste," Walburga snapped. "So you are going to meet with her, and you are going to marry her."
"Do I know her?" Regulus asked dryly.
Walburga didn't reply.
oOo
"Introducing Prince Cygnus and his daughter, Princess Narcissa, of the Noble House of Black."
"Mother," hissed Regulus from his seat beside Walburga's throne. "Narcissa is my cousin."
"It hardly matters," murmured Walburga. "Your father was my cousin."
Narcissa looked just as shocked about being brought to the palace as Regulus did. She looked much younger than her seventeen years, with her wispy blonde hair raked back into a braided ponytail and her thin frame laced into an elaborate silver gown. Her skin was almost sickly pale, and her blue eyes were wide.
"I must admit I had hoped for Bellatrix," the Queen drawled as Cygnus and Narcissa bowed down before the throne. "But, having attended her wonderful wedding the the Lestrange boy just some years ago, I know she is not available."
"Apologies, my sister," Cygnus replied. "We had expected for Andromeda to marry your son, but of course…"
"We do not speak of traitors in the kingdom," Walburga snapped. "That includes my other son."
Cygnus bowed deeper, by way of an apology.
"Nonetheless," continued Walburga. "Young Narcissa will make an excellent bride. After I have given her some...guidance."
Narcissa looked slightly worried.
"Regulus." Regulus hopped out of his seat when his mother spoke his name, and stood before her throne. She pulled a small, aged wooden box from her skirts, and opened it. It contained two silver rings, one embedded with a single turquoise stone, and one with two turquoise stones and a large diamond in the centre. "These rings were hand-crafted by your ancestor, Licorus Black. He gave them to his wife, Magenta." She withdrew the smaller ring. "You will give Narcissa this ring now, then give her the wedding ring when you marry her, in a few weeks time."
Regulus almost spluttered. Even though he was face to face with proposing to someone, he still didn't expect his wedding to be so soon. He composed himself and took the ring from his mother with shaking hands, then turned to face Narcissa.
"Go ahead, Regulus," Walburga said from behind him in a falsetto sweet tone. He walked closer to Narcissa slowly, and knelt down in front of her, holding the ring out.
"Princess Narcissa, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"
Narcissa's reply was as stoic and emotionless as her reaction to the proposal. "Yes." She held out her hand, allowing Regulus to slide the ring onto her finger. As he stood up straight, he caught the gaze of a knight by the doorway; his downcast brown eyes showing just how he felt about the event.
oOo
Early the next morning, Regulus awoke from his slumber in a bed he wasn't supposed to be sleeping in. He climbed out from the sheets and wrapped a robe around his bare body, before standing by the window to look out at the sunrise.
"Come back to bed," murmured a sleepy voice. Regulus turned to look at the half-asleep figure in the bed, one leg wrapped outside of the sheets and an arm over his head, his hand tangled in his scruffy, light brown hair.
Regulus perched on the edge of the bed, looking at the man he had spent the night with—amongst many other secretive nights. "Barty," he spoke softly. "Don't you understand the severity of this situation?"
"Of course I do." Barty sat up in bed, and reached over to place his hand over Regulus's. "I'm a knight of the Queen's guard—of your guard. I've heard the whispers of them bringing in a wife for you. I just didn't expect them to fetch your cousin, but I suppose we shouldn't be surprised."
"Doesn't it bother you? We might not be able to be together...like this...anymore." Regulus clutched at Barty's hand. "Maybe we never should have let it get this far. We knew the risks. The inevitable heartbreak."
"It doesn't bother me, because I have a plan." Barty pulled Regulus back down onto the bed, and rolled on top of him. "When they least expect it," he pressed a chaste kiss to the curve of Regulus's neck. "We'll get out of here. We'll run away from this kingdom. Set up a life together somewhere far away from here."
Regulus turned his head before Barty could kiss his mouth. "It's a pipe dream, my love. My mother would never allow me to leave. If I ran away she would hunt me down. After Sirius left…"
"Sirius already got away with it. What's to stop you from doing the same?" Barty murmured, cupping Regulus's cheek and capturing his lips in a kiss."
"Everything," Regulus breathed into Barty's mouth. "Mother rarely lets me out of her sight."
"She will be busy with the new queen. I promise," Barty said determinedly. "I'll get us out of here."
oOo
"You may think that your job is to be the demure wife to the King, but my dear, you will be much more important than that." Queen Walburga paced around Narcissa, who sat in the centre of the throne room in Walburga's usual seat. "Men are fickle beings, and they need more than just support in their rule. You must rule from behind the throne. Be the whisper in his ear. Do you think anything the late King Orion decided was his own decision to make?"
"Your highness," Narcissa replied. "If I cannot please the King, will he kill me?"
The laugh that came from Walburga's throat was shrill. "Not likely, child," she said between snickering. "Regulus couldn't harm a fly—and that's why he will fail to be a powerful King if he doesn't have a powerful woman to lead him."
Narcissa looked down at her hands.
"As I said previously, I had hoped for a woman like your elder sister." Walburga resumed her pacing. "Bellatrix is truly cut from my cloth, with the ability to rule a Kingdom and its King. My brother must be very proud to have her as a daughter. However, I have a lot of faith in you, Narcissa."
oOo
The royal wedding came around a lot quicker than Regulus anticipated. Before he knew it, he found himself standing at the end of the throne room, dressed in golden and black finery, watching as Prince Cygnus led his daughter down the aisle.
Narcissa looked a lot different than she had done a few weeks ago when Regulus had proposed to her. Her face was powdered white, she had black make-up smeared around her eyes and a purple pigment on her lips, and her wedding gown was enormous, feathered and golden. She held up her head high and proud as she strolled down the aisle, her blue eyes focused on Regulus. She almost looked...hungry.
Walburga's excitement seemed to radiate from her. She sat on her throne as she always did, holding a jewelled crown in her lap, preparing to place it upon her son's head once he was married. Narcissa's eyes slid past Regulus, landing on the crown.
As the priest lapsed into his speech about love and life and commitment, Regulus watched the doorway. Barty suddenly slipped into the room, looking a little breathless, as if he had just run all the way through the palace. He stared pointedly at Regulus, as though he was trying to tell him something through glare alone.
The escape. It seemed to hit Regulus all of a sudden. Barty had been working hard over the past few weeks, though he kept Regulus in the dark about his plan, determined not to get him into any unnecessary trouble. In fact, as the wedding loomed, Regulus had begun to suspect that the plan wasn't going to go through.
Of course, it would only come through when Regulus was standing in front of dozens of people, including his mother, preparing to marry his cousin.
"Regulus, please place the wedding ring on Narcissa's finger."
Regulus turned back to Narcissa hurriedly, taking the ring from the small cushion that the priest held. He slid it onto Narcissa's finger, before glancing back at Barty.
"Narcissa, please place the wedding ring on Regulus's finger."
When Narcissa took Regulus's left hand in hers, he snatched it away automatically. Walburga's smiling face turned suddenly sinister.
"Regulus?" she said questioningly. "Is there a problem?"
"I can't do this," he whispered. "I can't do it. I can't marry her. I can't become King. I can't be what you want."
"Regulus," hissed Walburga. "Stop this nonsense right no—"
"No!" Regulus stepped back from Narcissa, away from the throne, starting to walk backwards down the aisle.
"You should be ashamed of yourself!" Walburga stood up, throwing the crown down to the floor, where it landed with a metallic crash. "How could you do this to your mother? To your kingdom?" she paused, and seemed to notice the way Regulus glanced back at Barty. "No. Do not tell me you are following in that traitor's footsteps."
"I'm sorry." Regulus croaked, stepping back until his back bumped into Barty's chest. "I won't do this."
"I would call you a disappointment, but your actions have already done enough." Walburga snapped her fingers. "Guards, get them both!"
"We need to go," Barty muttered, and grabbed Regulus's arm. They fled down the corridor outside of the throne room, just as the guards started to sprint after them.
"Where are we going?" Regulus panted.
"I have a horse stationed just outside the palace," Barty replied. "We'll ride to the coast."
"The coast?"
Barty turned back to smile briefly at Regulus. "Don't you want to see your brother?"
When they reached the great palace doors, Regulus was breathless. It took all of his strength to rush out into the courtyard, where the only knights present were ones who were unaware of the Queen's recent orders. A black horse was tethered to the gates, and Barty jumped expertly onto his back. He held out his hand to pull Regulus on to sit behind him.
Just as Barty was untying the rope from the horse's neck, the palace doors burst open once again, where the guards stood with their weapons drawn. They rushed out in a group to get to Barty and Regulus, but Barty had already shook the reins and the horse had set off in a brisk sprint.
Regulus clutched onto Barty's waist as the horse sped up, rushing through the small town below the palace and onto the fields and farmland beyond. The guards stopped chasing them once they passed the Kingdom's threshold, having not been permitted to do so.
"Do you think we'll be safe?"
"Love," Barty allowed the horse to slow down into a trot once that they were a safe distance from the Kingdom. "I will always keep you safe."
End
A.N: Consider following, there may or may not be a sequel and possibly a prequel in the works :)
Written For:
Hogwarts Assignment #8 - Muggle History/Task #3: Write about forbidden love
2018 Resolutions: Write about someone who died during the first war (write about the character, not the death)
365 Prompts: Royalty!AU
Insane House Challenge (Gryffindor): (phrase/saying) "Do unto others as you would have them do to you"
April Holiday Event/Bingo: (word) Problem
April Holiday Event/Guess the Name: Barty
Writing Club/Creature Feature: Unicorn - (dialogue) "You should be ashamed of yourself.", Harpy - (word) shrill
Writing Club/Showtime: Light Romance/Madman - write about a secret relationship
Writing Club/Lyric Alley: One Love by Marianas Trench - You say, "Just come back to bed"
Writing Club/Sophie's Shelf: Hardboiled Detective - Write about someone doing something they really don't want to do.
Jelly Bean Day: Mojito - (character) Regulus Black, Cappuccino - (time) early morning
TV Addicts Challenge: The Tudors - (dialogue) "If I cannot please the King, will he kill me?", (word) Succession, Trait) Determination
Gobstones: Bronze Stone - Betrayal, (dialogue) "I would call you a disappointment, but your actions have already done enough.", (object) Wedding ring, (color) Turquoise
Word Count: 2,282