Severus took a deep, filling breath as he stepped into the gardens. The atmosphere in the castle was stifling, and he craved a moment to himself. All through the morning, he tried to concentrate on his work, but his mind was preoccupied with the conversation involving Lily and the prats. Who did they think they were, those upstarts, trying to steal her away from him? He knew it would happen one day-after all, Lily was the Princess-but he always imagined Lily would be pulled into one of those loveless marriages rife in the nobility and Severus would remain her close companion. Her interactions with that prince though worried him, and reminded him too much of how he wanted Lily to look at him.
No matter though. Severus would dispose of that prince problem easily enough and then Lily would be solely his once more.
With those thoughts to comfort him, he wandered further into the Royal gardens. He made his way towards the maze, his regular hideout when he needed to escape all those pretentious fops that littered the castle.
Unfortunately, the maze today wasn't as quiet as it typically was. He could hear faint voices a few paces along. Great, just what I need. He had left the castle with the sole purpose of leaving those tittering voices and now they came and invaded his haven. Severus made to turn around when he heard a sharp laugh that stopped his step. It was peculiarly similar to a certain prince's, although it could have been his paranoid imagination at this point. He was too intrigued not to investigate. Anything he could possibly learn about this prince was welcome-he didn't believe this Godric nonsense a single jot.
"James, how long do you think this is going to last?"
"I don't want to talk about this."
"You can't just ignore the obvious problem here."
"Remus, I said I don't want to talk about it."
"Mate, the three of us are only looking out for you.
"I appreciate the concern Sirius, but there's nothing to worry about. I've got everything under control."
"Then let's just say, hypothetically, that everyone finds out we live in Hogsmeade square. What are you going to do then?"
There was silence for a few moments, then, "I guess I'll figure it out if we ever get there."
Severus's heart began racing. He knew it, he had called it from the second he had laid eyes on the so called prince. He would go to the king at once-no. No, he would go to Lily at once. This was perfect. He could tell Lily about how Prince James wasn't who he was claiming to be, and she would be his again. Just like that, everything would be as it should be. There was no way in hell Severus would let this commoner get in the way of his grand scheme. Severus discreetly exited from the maze with a smug smile on his face. His trip to the gardens couldn't have been more relaxing.
Lily found herself humming for the second time that day as she walked through the castle halls. It was a tune that was vaguely familiar, and she blushed as she realized what exactly she was humming-the song she and Prince James had danced to last night. Her blush deepened as she remembered the way he had smiled at her this morning, and the way he had caught her in his arms at the ball. She didn't quite understand her feelings for the prince yet, but she knew one thing for certain; she would not mind getting to know him better.
"Lily!"
She turned around with a hopeful expression on her face at the sound of her name, and her smile dropped a little when she realized it was only Severus. She mentally berated herself at her disappointment. It had been some time since she had had a proper conversation with her best friend.
"Severus! How are you?" Lily replied, trying her best not to let her voice hint at any disappointment.
"May I have a word with you?" Severus asked, in a seemingly desperate tone.
"Of course, is everything okay?" Lily's face grew worried, as nothing good could come out of this situation.
"It concerns Prince James of Godric," Snape began, "it seems he is not who he is claiming to be."
"What ever do you mean, Severus?"
"I have it on good account that Prince James actually resides in Hogsmeade Square, not in the Kingdom of Godric as he claims," Severus revealed with a tone of smugness to his voice.
Lily fell silent for a few moments. She could not understand how such a statement could hold any truth to it. He both spoke and acted like a prince, and there was no doubt in Lily's mind that he truly was one. The tone of Severus' voice also made Lily quite suspicious. She could tell from the moment Severus met Prince James that he did not like him one bit.
"You're bluffing." Lily replied confidently.
"What?" Snape was taken aback by such an accusation.
"You're just jealous!" It all made sense to Lily now. Why else would Severus make up such blatant lies? It was true that Lily hadn't spent as much time with Severus as she used to and he must've laid blame upon Prince James.
"Me? Jealous! That is absolutely absurd! You're the whore who's falling for that stupid Prince. When have you even heard of a place called Godric?" Severus spat out, angered.
Lily paled and felt Severus's barb like a real physical blow to the stomach. "How dare you?" She whispered, with barely concealed fury and disgust in her eyes.
Severus opened his mouth to respond but could not form any words. He gaped at Lily as though only just realizing what he had said.
Several moments of quiet passed before, with her jaw determinately set, Lily spat out, "I'm done here," and spun on her heel to leave. Her body jerked in its movement when a hand wrapped firmly around her wrist.
"Lily don't overreact! I didn't mean it!"
Lily whipped around so quickly her hair barely missed Severus's face. "Don't overreact?" She said with an incredulous laugh. "Dear god, Severus you should listen to yourself! You tell me not to overreact for calling me a whore, and you haven't even apologized yet!"
"No, no I am sorry!" Severus cried in desperation. "But this isn't what I wanted to talk about-"
"You're right," Lily cut him off. "I don't want to talk about this either." She began peeling his fingers off of her wrist.
"Lily-" Severus tried to begin again.
"Don't 'Lily' me," she snapped. "You've lost that privilege. This whore's name is Princess Lily and you'll do well to remember that. Goodbye Snape."
"But-,"
Lily did not deign to acknowledge Severus's last, half-hearted plea as she finally pulled herself out of his now limp grip. She continued down the hall with her head held high, and did not look back at the man standing, mouth still agape, in the hallway. For some reason, Severus did not think this was like any other fight he had had with Lily before. Never had she walked away without fully hearing him out, and never had she reminded him of her superiority in rank. In fact, he realized, with a sinking feeling in his stomach, that this conversation could not have gone any worse. Severus was shaken out of his stupor when a harried servant bustled past him. He shook his head as if he was waking up from a bad dream. He was Severus Snape. There was a reason why he was the king's most trusted advisor. He would do whatever was needed to win his Lily back. And right now, the best way to do that was by getting rid of that ridiculous James of Godric, who, Severus concluded, was most definitely the root of all his problems.
His words echoed in Lily's head. Part of her still couldn't fathom Severus' insults. Growing up, he had always been there for her and now it was he who had been causing her anguish. She had trusted him, but now all she could feel towards him was betrayal.
The pair had gotten into fights before, but this was different. The way Severus had spurted out those dreadful words-there was no doubt in Lily's mind that he had meant them. Before long Lily began to feel tears trickling down her face. In order to avoid detection, she ducked into the closest room.
She sat down on the bed and began to take deep breaths. I will not cry, Lily repeatedly told herself. He is not worth it, she desperately tried reasoning with herself. But then her mind flashed back again to only ten minutes ago-the hatred in Severus's eyes and the malicious conviction with which he spoke-and Lily could not stem her tears any longer. Her body shook with sobs as she released all her anger and frustration with Severus. She did not expect to ever be able to forgive him, but she still felt the loss of a good friend acutely.
Lily sank down and buried her head in the pillows, succumbing to her feelings. She was so overwhelmed by her emotions that she was completely oblivious to the door quietly opening, as someone entered into the dark room.
She did, however hear the distinct grumble of "fucking wankers" and hurried to wipe away any evidence of her tears.
"Excuse me?" She asked the intruder.
"Bloody hell, what are you doing in my bed?" the man exclaimed, with much surprise laced into his voice.
"I-," she began, but was quickly cut off by the man, who had stepped into the scant light filtering through the curtains.
"Princess?"
"Prince James? Wh-what are you doing in here?" Lily asked, trying to keep her voice even.
"This is my bedroom," he said slowly. "Are you alright, Princess?" he asked, noticing her red-rimmed eyes.
"Oh it's nothing," Lily answered, refusing to look at James in the face.
He looked at her as though he knew she was lying, but remained silent. Lily quickly added his sensitivity to his list of admirable traits.
"Well I suppose it was something," Lily began, surprised that she was finding it so easy to open up to this man who she had known for barely two days.
"It's fine Princess, you don't have to repeat something that upset you. In fact, I've got an idea. How about I show you a special place, to help you get your mind off of whatever is upsetting you."
Lily looked at him sceptically. "Is this place in the castle? I've never left the castle walls before."
"It's a surprise. Do you trust me Princess?" James asked, holding out his hand to her. Lily took it, transfixed, as he lead her out of the room.
