these bound hearts

"Maybe we should rebel against the crown? That would make our day less boring."

Remus glanced over at Prince Sirius and tried to keep his expression neutral. It was all well and good for the prince to encourage rebellion, but if he, a lowly knight, ever voiced such an idea, he would swiftly be executed for treason.

"Your days are hardly boring, Your Highness," he replied, opting not to think too much into the royal's use of the word "our." There was no "them," no matter how much Remus wished there could be. Knights didn't court princes, and they certainly didn't marry them, either. "You've got balls and christenings and feasts..."

The prince snorted. "Yes, and it's all so terribly boring. I don't care for any of it."

"I'm sorry. Being royalty must be quite the hardship for you." Remus didn't mean to sound so sarcastic, but to his surprise, Prince Sirius didn't chastise him for insubordination. Instead, he began to laugh.

"You're always saying the most amusing things, Remus."

Remus felt a thrill run down his spine when the prince said his name. That had been happening more and more lately, ever since their nightly talks began. In the past few months, Remus had been put on night watch more often than not, and every time he began his patrol, Prince Sirius would find him and announce that he couldn't sleep. Remus was shy with him at first, but gradually began to open up to him. The two were now close, and sometimes stayed up talking until the sun rose.

An unfortunate side effect of growing close to the prince, however, was the all-consuming crush that came along with it. Remus tried not to notice the way Prince Sirius' hair gleamed in the moonlight, or the way his grey eyes seemed to pierce right through him. He tried not to think about the way the prince's voice softened when he spoke to him. And in the morning, he tried not to think about the next time they might see each other.

Remus Lupin, knight in the court of King Orion and Queen Walburga, was hopelessly smitten with Prince Sirius, and there was no possible way that things would end well.

...

Sirius smiled at Remus, whose reddened cheeks were visible even in the moonlight. The knight had a rather dry sense of humor, as exemplified by his jab at Sirius' life, but Sirius liked it. It wasn't the bawdy, over-the-top comedy displayed by the court jesters—it was quiet and clever, just like Remus himself.

The prince was rather proud of himself for coming up with an excuse to spend more time with the knight. One evening, he had told Remus that he was unable to sleep, and he had been allowed to accompany Remus on his rounds ever since. There was an unspoken agreement between them now that both delighted and terrified Sirius.

On the one hand, it felt like they were secret lovers, stealing away precious time in the night. On the other hand, Sirius knew that his feelings were unbecoming of a prince. He was expected to marry a princess, not a knight.

"I suppose I ought to check the east battlements," Remus said at last. His amber eyes barely met Sirius' before he turned away. "You ought to go to bed, Your Highness.*

"And miss out on a possible adventure? Never!" Sirius declared, hurrying to Remus' side. "You might stumble upon an intruder and require assistance dispatching them."

Remus chuckled and looked down at his sword, the blade glinting where the pale light hit it. Sirius knew that the hilt was engraved with the letters L.L., for Remus had told him so. It had been passed down by Remus' father, who had also been a knight.

"I think I can handle myself," he said.

"You shouldn't have to—" Sirius stopped himself before he confessed too much. "I think I'll go with you all the same. I still have yet to tire."

Remus raised an eyebrow, but didn't argue. Perhaps he knew it was foolish to argue with Sirius, or perhaps—Sirius could hope!—he liked having Sirius around.

...

The castle was quiet as Remus and Prince Sirius walked towards the east battlements. The only sounds came from their footsteps and the clanking of Remus' armor. The knight tried to think of something to say, but his mind drew a blank. As for the prince, he was being uncharacteristically quiet for reasons that Remus could only guess at.

"Do you hear something, Your Highness?" he asked. He held his hand up to indicate that Prince Sirius should stop walking.

The prince looked around, frowning. "No."

"Wait!" Remus heard the sound again. It was an odd sort of jingling noise, almost like someone was walking around with a great deal of coins in their pocket. "There!"

Remus' fingers curled around the hilt of his sword and he crept forward, gesturing at the prince to stay back. Prince Sirius ignored him, however, and moved towards the sound as well.

"Stay back!" Remus hissed.

"No!" Sirius hissed back.

They stared at each other, chests heaving, neither wanting to be the first to back down. Remus worried that the prince's stubbornness would win out, keeping him from discovering the source of the noise. But all of a sudden, there was a bright flash of light and they both fell back, shielding their eyes with their hands.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

Remus dropped his hands to see who Prince Sirius was talking to, and gaped. A small blonde faerie had appeared, shimmering and making that odd clinking sound as she hovered in the air above them. She wore a wispy blue dress with no shoes, and in her hand, she carried a tiny wand.

Remus' breath caught in his throat. He had heard tales of the faeries that supposedly inhabited the nearby woods, but he had never seen one himself.

"I am Luna," the faerie said. Her voice had a musical quality to it, but it was not without authority. "I have been summoned."

Remus looked at the prince, then back at Luna. "Summoned? By one of us?"

"Yes," was her airy reply.

"I'm afraid you must be mistaken." Prince Sirius tilted his head. "I didn't summon you, and I didn't see Remus" —here, Remus shivered again— "summon you either."

Luna giggled, and Remus was somehow reminded of a bubbling brook. "Well, I should think not. I am not summoned by some ritual, or even by name. I am summoned when two hearts are bound by magic."

Remus' gaze slid over to the prince, expecting to see an identical expression of skepticism on his face. But to his surprise, Prince Sirius seemed enthralled.

"Bound by magic?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Luna nodded. "Yes. You and he" —she pointed her wand at Remus— "are meant to be together."

WC: 1,151