Sirius woke up all at once, to the loud voice of the very annoying sovereign he served, and the sudden bright light let into the windows of the entry chamber where he'd been asleep upon an upholstered bench.

"Oi! When I assigned you to guard the Princess's person, I didn't think you'd interpret the order quite like this."

Sirius groaned in response before finding the proper insult to follow up with "Don't you have an heir to go conceive or something?"

King James seemed unperturbed and continued being as loud and horrible as possible.

"I believe the Princess will want to rejoin the court today, all things considered. What good are you to her if you look like that?" James's pointed inflection made Sirius consider himself for a moment, but not for long.

"A pity. But I suppose being the best swordsman and the most handsome gentleman at court was just too much responsibility. My sword will have to make up for my current dishevelment. Her Grace will understand, surely." Sirius yawned and ran his hands over his face.

"I'll understand what?" Princess Marlene's voice chimed in. Sirius hadn't heard the inner door opening amongst the ruckus King James had caused.

Sirius stood up reflexively. He hadn't bothered with any of these proprieties when it came to his oldest and dearest friend who happened to be the anointed King, but with Princess Marlene it was different. He couldn't quite place what was different, even after three days of refusing to leave her side after carrying her to safety immediately following the attack on her person. He was a loyal guard dog to her just as he was to James, but he was starting to understand that at the core of it, something was not quite the same.

"You'll understand that Sir Sirius's ego takes up so much space that you must have felt quite crowded in these rooms the past three days." James was quicker to respond with a quip, as Sirius was quite preoccupied, both with finding his footing after being so rudely awoken and with the sight in front of his tired eyes. The Princess indeed looked prepared to rejoin the court. Lady Emmeline must have braided the front sections of Marlene's golden hair away from her face, which Sirius thought put the beauty and brightness of her eyes prominently on display. Adding to this effect was the color of her gown; the vibrant blue of the summer sky. Princess Marlene was a vision. He averted his gaze after a moment and reminded himself that he was only supposed to look besotted with the girl when they were in public.

Some exchange of words must have happened between the pair of royal cousins while Sirius was distracted. He found himself being lead through the outer doorway by King James, as Princess Marlene took his arm.

"So I'll be breaking fast with the Queen in her chambers, but I'll see the pair of you shortly, at council with Lady McGonagall. I trust you feel safe with Sir Sirius, Cousin?"

"Indeed, Your Majesty." The Princess nodded, giving James leave.

Once the King was on his way Marlene seemed to speak more freely, which was somewhat odd, but upon Sirius's consideration, everything about this particular Princess was odd. He'd best just get accustomed to that fact.

"Am I to understand that Lord Crouch's body has been relieved of his head?" Her voice was hushed.

"I'm not sure how much of a relief it would have been to the man himself but yes, I gather the sentence has been carried through."

"Well, it's a relief to me, in any case." Marlene gave a hollow laugh.

"I quite agree." Sirius reigned in his emotions on the matter. He had known something was off, but he'd let his personal history cloud his ability to do his duty to the Royal family, and the Princess could have died because he hadn't been in the frame of mind to push his concerns. He took a deep breath and tried to lighten his own mood with humor. "Some people just need a great deal of space between their shoulders and their heads. Better for everyone."

Marlene's laugh seemed to still the boiling in his mind and bring the smile back to his face.

It felt like all eyes were on the pair of them as they made their way into the great hall. Sirius could have sworn that a hush fell over the crowd upon their entrance. Rumors had surely been flying left and right. Some of them might have even been true. It was hard to ignore but Sirius did his best as he led Marlene through the crowd towards the high table.

"A certain someone with a great deal of empty space between his ears approaches. Couldn't avoid that for long, could I?" Marlene gestured with her eyes to her left. Indeed, Gilderoy Lockhart had found them before they'd even managed to find a seat.

"Would you like me to say something to him, your Grace?" Sirius wanted to exchange words with Lockhart as much as the next person, which is to say, not at all. But he would go to the trouble of dealing with the idiot if it was any comfort to the Princess for him to do so. He had to admit that he'd get a measure of joy from beholding the look on the Lord's face if he implied that the rumors were true.

A hint of a smile crossed Marlene's face. She stood on her toes and whispered into his ear. "I think I have a better idea. Follow my lead," without waiting for a response, she took his hand and guided him around a corner, then leaned against a wall, pulling him with her into the little corridor where spare goblets and plates were kept.

"What on earth are you doing, your Grace?" He watched her face with mild trepidation as she kept a close eye on the arched entryway to the corridor.

"Ruining my reputation. Ridding myself of a suitor. Thanking you for what you did for me the other day?" The last of her words were breathed just inches from his face before he took one last glance behind him.

Her blue eyes met his directly and she nodded as if to give a command. Her delicate hand made its way up to his still somewhat disheveled hair and round the back of his neck, pulling him gently down towards her. When his lips met hers, his heart couldn't be fussed with the fact all this was for the benefit of getting rid of Gilderoy Lockhart, who he gathered was looking on in horror. Sirius was incapable of thinking of anything but the perfect softness of Marlene's mouth as her lips parted slightly for his tongue. His hands found her slender waist and pulled her in closer. There was no faking this. Not for him, anyway. He was not sure he would get this opportunity again, so something in him must have driven him forward, to make the most of it.

He wasn't sure how long it went on. Seconds? Hours? He felt dizzy when Marlene broke away.

"I think Lord Lockhart will be thoroughly dissuaded now, and we know he's quite the gossip. So… thank you." She glided gracefully out from between him and the wall and headed back into the great hall to find a seat for breakfast.

Sir Sirius watched her for a moment. He was at a complete loss as to how to handle the twisting and turning within his chest. This princess was the most confusing person he'd ever encountered. Yet he followed after her, with a smile on his face.