Author's Note: My favorite Disney movie is Tangled, so excuse me while I fangirl over getting to use this prompt.
Written for…
Every Wolf Deserves a Star, Wolfstar Competition. Prompts: Rapunzel!AU, butterfly, yank.
Ludo Game Challenge. Prompts: disastrous first date, sushi
The World is Waiting
Sirius had long ago given in to his curious nature, regardless of how much trouble it got him in. So what if there were warrants out for his arrest and a hundred men looking for him, at least now he knew the rumors had been true about the Prince's tattoos.
"You can't hide forever, Black!"
One hand tightly gripping the reins of his newly-stolen horse, Sirius waved back at the greasy-haired guard chasing who had been chasing him, now trapped behind a wagon of barrels.
By nightfall Sirius was far outside of Corona and deep into the surrounding woods, searching for a place to rest for the night.
The tower was easy to spot in the fading light. It looked like something from a storybook, smack dab in the middle of a green field with butterflies floating around it. It was taller than the house Sirius had once begrudgingly called home and built of white stone. He circled it twice, looking for a way in and finding none.
He settled against a tree a bit away from the tower, glaring at it in the darkness. It was probably nice and warm inside, and he might even get lucky and find some food. He was just drifting off to sleep when a strange glowing caught his eye.
There was a window at the very top of the tower that he hadn't noticed before. Now it was open, the outline illuminated by candlelight inside. Candlelight could only mean one thing – someone was inside.
Suddenly more awake, Sirius got back on his feet and marched over to the tower, standing under the window.
"Hey!" he called up, hoping his voice carried far enough for the person inside to hear. "Let me in."
It was quiet for a long time before he heard a tentative "H-Hello?" The voice was soft but definitely male. Sirius stepped back a bit to get a better look at the figure leaning out of the window, but it was too dark to see his face.
"Yeah, hi. Can I come in? It's a bit nippy out here."
More silence. "I don't think that's a good idea."
"Come on, I don't bite or anything."
The man's silhouette disappeared from the window and Sirius sighed, resigning himself to another night spent outside, but the man returned and threw something out of the window.
There was a loud whoosh and then something hit the back of Sirius' head, knocking him down. He reached a hand up, waving it around until it hit the coarse rope that had fallen on him. He yanked on it a couple of times to test its strength and then he latched onto it, pulling himself up by it.
"Climb up," said the stranger.
Sirius hesitated for a moment, suddenly wary of climbing into towers filled with strange men. At night. In the middle of a dark forest. Alone.
A cold gust of wind rushed passed him, ruffling his hair and sending shivers up his spine. When the wind settled again, he began climbing furiously, growing still every time the wind picked up again and sent the rope swaying.
"Couldn't have a door like a normal person," he muttered as he got closer to the lit window.
The mysterious man had disappeared once more, leaving Sirius to clamber in through the window on his own with frozen limbs.
It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the brightness of the room, but when they did he found himself being closely watched by the most handsome man he'd ever seen outside of a mirror. The tower itself was a lot less grand than he had expected. There were candles scattered across tabletops and high shelves, brightening the dark stone walls. The furniture was sparse and sturdy. It didn't appear that anyone else lived there.
"I'm Remus," the man said shyly, keeping his distance.
Sirius grinned up at him, scrambling up from the floor and straightening his shirt. "Sirius Black. Pleasure to meet you, Remus." He bowed, hoping he was making a halfway decent impression despite his ungraceful entrance. "Lovely place you have here."
"It's not … I'm sure it's not what you're used to."
"Well, I admit, most dwellings do possess doors."
"There is a door," Remus quickly corrected him. "I just don't know where it is."
"How does that work exactly? You get in and out through the window?"
Remus turned away quickly, heading to one of the cupboards in the corner. "Are you hungry? I don't have much food. Some bread and a few carrots, I think."
"I'm good, actually." It was a lie. Sirius was always hungry – a symptom of having lived in an orphanage for half his life. He'd never had enough food and learned to take what he could get. Still, it seemed like Remus needed the food more than he did. And anyway, he'd tried his hand at making some sushi that morning – a technique he'd learned during a recent excursion to a faraway kingdom – and he was sure he'd gotten the recipe wrong as his stomach was still churning.
There wasn't much to the room aside from a few tables and chairs and a fireplace, but Sirius wandered around anyway, inspecting every inch of the space. There was a staircase leading to a second floor. When Remus turned his back, Sirius dashed up the steps to what he decided was a cross between an observatory and a prison cell.
The walls and ceiling of the chamber held numerous windows, giving him a spectacular view of the starry sky. It would have been marvelous sight were it not for the shackles bolted to the stone floor.
"You shouldn't but up here," Remus said. He stood by the stairs, anxiously wringing his hands.
"What do you keep up here, wild animals?" Sirius commented, tracing claw marks on the walls.
"Just one, actually."
Sirius looked at the mystery man curiously, noticing for the first time the scars that littered his hands and forearms, and the sickly look of him. He suddenly remembered the rumors from the city, of noises heard during the full moon. Shrieking in the forest.
"You're a werewolf," he deduced. Remus nodded solemnly, seemingly judging Sirius' reaction.
"And you lock yourself in the tower during the full moon?"
"Not quite. My parents built this place when I was a boy, just after I was bitten. I've only been outside a handful of times since then."
"That's horrible."
Remus shrugged. He seemed to relax a little as he opened up, uncrossing his arms and strolling around the observatory.
"It's not, really. The visit every few days, and they bring food and books. It's better, this. Better than hurting someone."
Sirius scowled. "Look, I'm not up to date on my medical journals, but I don't think your parents are either."
"What do you mean?"
"There was a discovery a few years back. An elixir to help werewolves control themselves during the full moon." His grin returned as he leaned against one of the many windowsills. "I can show you, if you like. You'll need someone to show you around the outside world, and I'm the perfect person for the job."
"You would do that for me?"
"Well it would be a pretty lousy first date if I left you here alone in this dark old tower."
Remus chuckled. "This is a date?"
Sirius shrugged. "That depends on you, I guess. Now pack your bags, the world is waiting for you!"
