Marlene lay in bed having lost the battle to stay her despair as silent tears slipped down her cheeks. She lost that battle often now, mourning her broken heart. The moon hung high in the sky and she knew the hour was quite late, she ought to sleep, but her heart ached at all she had lost and sleep would not come.
James had told her not to lose hope, that he'd do all he could to help her, except grant her the one request that allowed her to be with Sirius. What on Earth could he do? It wasn't as though Sirius could change anything about their situation. James would know that, but James also knew who Sirius really was.
It occurred to Marlene that she hadn't put very much thought into Sirius' identity. She'd been utterly distraught about her initial suitors and then the attack on her life and then finding herself madly in love with the Knight, that she'd almost started believing the tale spun around him. But she knew he was not a cousin to James, she'd known that at the outset. It had taken the distraction of her would be suitors and her still blossoming friendship with the Queen to not laugh out loud at the thought of it.
She sat up in her bed and pulled a pillow into her arms as she bit her bottom lip and tried to piece the puzzle together. Sirius and James squired together, that much she was sure of. They're interactions reminded her very much of her father and uncle. When she thought of it like that, it made sense that James would do all in his power to help Sirius. She had originally assumed that Sirius was a simple low-born knight, and the story around his birth had been created to give him the position he held. But that hadn't really been necessary, it made appearances certainly, but James was the King after all, he didn't really need any other excuse for Sirius to lead his armies than the fact that Sirius was the best swordsman in the country. The question remained, why create a false identity in the first place? There had to be more to this story. There had to be reason for him to masquerade this way. Who was Sirius, really? And why couldn't she know? Why was he keeping her in the dark?
Her mind replayed everything she could think of from the moment she'd met Sirius. Surely there would be a clue in their interactions. She racked her brain and kept coming back to the haunted look in Sirius' eyes when he'd returned to her in Lady McGonagall's office. Lady McGonagall had been about to tell her of a young person who also refused to be Riddle's puppet...
Sirius. He'd stopped Lady McGonagall from explaining. Marlene had been utterly distracted by the love of his adoring stare, but he had been the one to stop the story. And Lady McGonagall had seemed displeased with him for it. Had the dear Lady been trying to give her the clues to piece it together herself? She had said she was confident that Marlene would decipher most of it on her own with time. Sirius had to be the youth Lady McGonagall had been referring to. Marlene was sure of it!
Marlene turned to stare at her door. Riddle had obviously wanted to use Sirius in some way. But how? Sirius had lived here with James since he was fifteen...
And then the math fell into place. Sirius would have come to live with His Majesty soon after Riddle arrived at Semprapuria. Queen Lily said that the heir had refused to bend the knee, but expressed some suspicion about the story that he'd been killed for it. Indeed it seemed that Lady McGonagall referred to this heir in vague terms as well. The Black family had buried their Duke, but they had lost their heir.
Semprapuria had revolted just after James had returned from his time with Lord Dumbledore. The math fell into place. Marlene's eyes widened and she moved from her bed to her door. Slowly she opened it up and looked out to the cot where Sirius lay sleeping, hand hovering above his sword. She was sure of her suspicions. It was the only explanation for James being confident that he could help her without the sacrifice of her standing.
Sirius was the rightful Duke of Semprapuria.
Nothing else could fully explain his circumstances, nor account for how he held himself like the old nobility and not a landless knight. There was no other fitting explanation as to why she'd never once heard of Sirius while growing up with James. This was the reason why all of his stories with James started at their time as squires. It had to be.
But she had to be certain.
Quietly, she slipped up to his cot and knelt beside him, careful to take his sword hand in both of hers.
"Sirius," she whispered and placed a kiss on his cheek.
Sirius stirred and his grip on her hands was momentarily crushing before he opened his eyes and realized it was her.
"Your Grace," he pushed up and kissed her hands, "forgive my years of training."
She smiled, "I much prefer a moment of experiencing your strength to the accident of you pulling your sword."
He chuckled and ran a gentle hand over her face. "What troubles you, Your Grace?"
Marlene took a breath to muster the courage she worried she lacked. "Sirius," she bit her bottom lip. "Sirius, who are you?"
His eyes became haunted again, barely visible in the dim light of the moon that poured into her sitting room.
"I am yours," he evaded the question and moved to sitting, pulling her up from her kneeled position.
She smiled and squeezed his hand as she sat next to him on his cot. "And I am yours, but Sirius, you are not the nephew of our beloved late Queen. I am sure of it."
Sirius stiffened, "Who is filling your head with tales?"
Marlene took a moment's offense to his comment, "No one! I am not some dull-witted wench! I grew up with their Majesties. James was my closest friend as a child. Barely a moon went by where I did not see him until we were nearly eleven, you were never mentioned! Your stories all start with your time as squires together! Can you, on your honor Sir Knight, tell me that you knew James personally before you were ten years of age?"
She knew her voice had become sharp, but she resented his implications that she was one to blindly follow gossip, her mother had raised her better than that. She was the crafter of gossip, not the victim!
"Your Grace..." He looked away.
"Your Grace," she stared him down. She had meant to lead into it, to give him the chance to tell her himself, but she'd lost her temper.
He stiffened, "That title is not mine."
"Tell me why," she pleaded, taking his face in her hands and turning him to look at her.
Gently he brushed her golden locks from her face, his eyes still haunted. "It is a long story, my heart."
"We have time, love," she reached forward and kissed his lips.
Sirius took a moment to simply kiss her, and in that moment it was just the two of them. It was a young couple in love without the concerns of station. But for the first time since he kissed her in this very room, Marlene was the one to pull away.
"Who are you, Sirius?" Her eyes held his and Sirius sighed, holding her cheek in his hand.
"You must understand, I now am exactly who I say. I am an unlanded knight with no title and no standing."
"But you weren't always," Marlene pressed him.
Sirius turned to look out the window. "No, I was not always."
He paused a moment as if trying to decide where to begin. "I was, for the first fifteen years of my life, the eldest son of Their Graces, Orion and Walburga Black, heir to the Duchy of Semprapuria." His voice snarled their names, and for the first time Marlene saw real anger in his eyes. It was terrifying, and without thinking she shrank back.
Sirius must have noticed because his look softened as he gently took her in his arms and kissed the top of her head.
"I returned home after my time with Lord Dumbledore, having made the best of friends with James, only to find my family, while I had never been overly fond of them, nor they of me, had began traitorous plans to rebel against the King. Having just become close friends with the heir, I'm sure you can imagine my feelings on the matter, and so I denounced them. I turned my back on them and fled to the one person I felt was more family than anyone else. I came here, to find James."
Sirius grew quiet a moment and Marlene reached a hand over his arms wrapped around her to grab hold of his hand. She squeezed it reassuringly.
"If your parents were anything like their late Majesties, you were blessed beyond all measure I assure you. Their Majesties took me in as one of their own and helped me create the identity I now hold. I have been James' companion at arms, the illegitimate son of Queen Euphemia's dead brother, a landless knight who was only meant to serve his King and Country, for the last seven winters. I never thought I'd want more than that. I never thought I'd find anyone who could so quickly steal my heart before I had even realized it." He turned and looked down into her face. "I never thought I'd find you."
A single tear escaped down Marlene's cheek as she looked into the face of the man she loved. He had given away everything for King and Country. Sirius had sacrificed it all, to swear fealty to her uncle and cousin, to her sovereign Kings, to his best friend, to the man who thought he could help their tragic tale.
"Did James tell you?" She asked, pulling Sirius from his thoughts. "Did he tell you what I asked of him."
Sirius chuckled and ran a hand through her golden waves, "Shouted might be more accurate."
"It wasn't my intention for the King to chastise you. I beseeched him as his cousin, not his subject." Marlene's face dropped to look down at her hands.
Sirius brought a hand to her chin and guided her eyes back to his. "You are not to blame for my weaknesses, Marlene, though I feel unworthy of the sacrifice you were willing to make." He kissed her cheek briefly before smiling. "And he entreated me as your cousin, not your Monarch. You have a way of wrapping people around your finger, you know?"
Marlene laughed, "Why, Sirius! What a thing to suggest!"
"Come now," he laughed, "you never correct him when he calls you 'little Marly' and I'm not confident you wouldn't stab me if I tried it." Sirius laughed at her and Marlene playfully smacked his arm.
"There are a great many things I wouldn't stab you for, Sirius." She slid her hand along his arm as though she hadn't just smacked him.
"You're proving my point, Marly," Sirius brought his lips just inches to hers.
"There, see," Marlene brought her arms around his neck, trying to hide how her childhood nickname on his lips made her breath catch and her head spin, "I didn't stab you."
"Only because your knife is under your pillow," he closed the distance between them and brought his lips to hers.
Marlene returned his kiss without reservation. She saw hope, there was a world in which they could be together, there was a chance at a lifetime of happiness.
His lips moved to her neck and she sighed, pulling him down to his cot with her.
He chuckled against her skin and pushed up on his elbows to look down at her. Marlene's breath caught in her chest with how his eyes bore into hers. "Just because I once was equal to your standing does not mean I am now."
"But you'll have your damned title back," Marlene tugged on his shirt. "You lead armies, you once told me. You're preparing them to crush out this rebellion and to regain your birthright."
"Marly," Sirius sighed and shook his head. It took every ounce of self-control Marlene had not to physically swoon has he looked down at her. But she could hear his resolve crumbling and she had to keep her momentum.
"Sirius, I promise not to stay. I promise to return to my bed. I promise," she smiled slyly up at him, "if you tell me I'm correct in my assumptions. Tell me you're going to reclaim your birthright, tell me you will assume your role as Duke of Semprapuria, tell me we have a future together where Lord Lockhart has to bow to you." She delivered her final line and as Sirius broke into laughter she gave a sharp tug on his shirt and he fell onto her.
Then his lips had returned to hers and her hands were in his hair as his fingers gripped her side and Marlene was sure the room was spinning in the best possible way. After what seemed like an eternity of blissful oblivion, Sirius slowed their pace and Marlene attempted to catch any semblance of breath.
Sirius brought a hand to her hair and gently kissed her brow, "With all my heart, Princess."
Marlene's smile was evident in the way he looked down at her. In an instant she pulled his lips back to hers. Sirius' kisses were slow, and Marlene knew he was trying to maintain the propriety that she was more than willing to sink in the sea. He was waiting for her to keep her promise to return to her own bed, but Marlene was having none of it.
Finally she pulled away in frustration.
"You'll have me then?" her eyes bore into his. "When you come back with your ridiculous title and lands, you'll have me officially?"
"If James consents I'll pledge everything to you, My Princess." Sirius returned to kiss her lips but Marlene sat up.
"Did James give you any indication that he wouldn't?" Marlene grabbed Sirius hand and pulled them both to standing.
"Well, no," Sirius looked like a confused puppy and Marlene couldn't help but laugh.
"Has it occurred to you then, Sir, that you might return to my bed in my company as my husband?" Marlene wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly.
"Marlene," Sirius spoke against her lips.
"I'm certain, Sirius," Marlene began backing them towards her door. "I will not be sending you to war without first knowing you are mine and I yours. We'll tell James in the morning. We can even go to a priest tomorrow if you'd like. When you return victorious we can make it known to the public. But I am yours tonight."
Marlene almost broke out in laughter at the light in Sirius's eyes as the connecting thoughts sorted themselves out. He was still a puppy, but now not quite as confused and doubly excited.
"I Sirius, do take thee Marlene, to my wedded wife and unto thee I pledge my troth." His smile was perhaps the most genuine that Marlene had seen from him in the entirety of her time at court.
She took a deep breath and repeated the pledge that precontracted their marriage, after these words had been uttered they would be legally man and wife. They could be fussed with making it public in a church later. For that moment, as she promised her future to the man in front of her, she could feel only joy. "I Marlene, take thee Sirius, to my wedded husband and unto thee I pledge my troth."
Sirius' smile crashed into hers, sealing their vows as he kissed her with a happiness she'd never felt from him. That moment, and all the feelings captured in their kiss, seemed to transcend everything that she understood about the world. She hadn't expected she'd ever feel real joy after the loss of her family, and perhaps it wasn't the same to go into this new chapter of her life without them. But now she was sure that she was moving forward, the feeling of bliss was real. She was beaming as Sirius pulled back and swept her into his arms, carrying her into their room, the moonlight bathing his face in its soft glow.
"To bed, wife."