The proud will die with or without love, but with love they will have a reason to live.

Unknown

Chapter Six: A Smitten Prince

Lily never had much of a problem with Lady Bellatrix. She was kind more often than not, had a fairly even head on her shoulders and treated Lily as though she were a friend. A friend that had to wait on her hand and foot, but a friend nonetheless.

It was days like today however, that made Bellatrix, Lily's least favorite person in the kingdom. It wasn't Bellatrix's fault, per say, that her gown didn't fit her properly. It needed to be re-hemmed and there was a tear in it for some reason, so Lily was spending her evening at home, still working. She hadn't gotten a chance to make dinner, she hadn't fed the chickens or done the laundry, she was just stitching up the damned gown and pricking her fingers almost constantly because she was finding it hard to focus and couldn't find her thimble.

"Lily?" Her father called from the front door, he peeked his head inside and saw her sitting at the table with a basket of thread at her side and her lap covered in colorful silk. "Late night?"

"I don't know if I'm going to get to sleep tonight." Lily sighed, allowing her head to fall against the wall. "She needs the dress fixed by morning. Apparently there's going to be some visitor. I tried taking it to the stitchery, but Madam Malkin has orders coming out her ears and said that she couldn't have it fixed by the morning. So here I am."

"Well, a visitor will be exciting at least." David Evans smiled, walking over to the stove and checking, somewhat discreetly, for his dinner. Lily felt guilty. "Is your sister not home yet?"

"She was a few minutes ago," Lily said, focusing on her stitching now. "But I don't know where she is now." As though summoned by her name, Petunia Evans walked into the small kitchen just then, her hair pulled back into a tight bun, her clothes spotlessly clean, and her face free of any dirt or grime.

"Is supper ready?" She asked by way of greeting, casting a disdainful look in Lily's direction. Lily bit her lip and looked at her father, who looked a bit bewildered himself. He never quite worked out how to raise two daughters on his own. Especially two daughters that didn't get along very well.

"Petunia," David said carefully, trying not to rile her up. "Lily's had a long day in the castle, and she has to have that dress fixed up by tomorrow morning. She didn't have any time to make dinner tonight."

"That's alright, Papa." She smiled, walking over and planting a kiss on his cheek. "I was going to go to Yvette's anyhow." She grabbed her shall from the hook by the door and draped it around her shoulders.

"Now, Petty," David clenched his fists at his sides and took a deep breath. "Don't you think you could make dinner for your sister and myself? We've both been working all day, what have you been up to?"

"I hardly think what Lily does counts as work." Petunia said, rolling her eyes, but still smiling. "Running around with the King's ward, playing up in the castle and attending feasts."

"Petunia," David's voice got softer. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Darling girl, I love you to the moon, you know that, but you have to start pulling your weight around the house. You can't just keep running in and out as you please, visiting with your friends all the time. If you're not going to get a job then you need to be at home, cooking and cleaning."

Petunia's jaw went tight and she blinked rapidly. "Yes, father. Of course. What was I thinking?" She quickly swept the cloak from her shoulders and hung it back on the hook. "What shall we have? Soup? That seems to be the only option because of how little food we have in the house."

"Petunia!" Lily pushed the gown onto the table and got to her feet. "Get out." Lily said, walking over and taking the paring knife from Petunia's hand and slamming it onto the counter. "Get out. Go to Yvette's or Caroline's or wherever else you go, but just get out." She huffed and brushed the sides of her dress. "I'm sorry I didn't have dinner made already, father."

"Lily-"

"It's fine." Lily said, trying not to snap.

"Petty-"

"Don't even bother." Petunia interrupted. "We both know she's your favorite anyway." This time she didn't even pause to grab her cloak before she was out of the house.

Later that night, quite later, once dinner had been ate and the dress had been sewn, Lily decided to go for a walk near the creek that ran along one of the castle walls. Before she could even begin to dwell on her sister, she was startled by none other than Prince James.

"Lily?" James called out, squinting his eyes in the dark in an attempt to make her more visible. "Is that you?"

"Your highness," She dropped into a low curtsy and willed the blood that rushed to her cheeks to dissipate. Not that James would have been able to tell anyway; the sun had set hours ago and the moon was hardly full.

James laughed at her greeting. "Why so formal?"

Lily looked behind her, noting that they were the only two around. "I still find it strange that you wish to be addressed differently."

"Does Bella make you talk to her like that?"

"She doesn't make me," Lily said with a shrug, "But it's what's expected. It's respectful and polite." She almost wished that she had just gone to bed. It wasn't that she didn't like the prince, he was alright, especially now that Remus had got through to him, but she didn't really want to be around anyone at the moment. She needed some space to clear her head, it had been a long day between Lord Yaxley, the sewing and Petunia.

"Well," He took a step closer to her and she could see the grin on his face. "Pretend I'm Remus. You certainly wouldn't talk to that fool so formally."

"Remus is a lot of things; kind, caring, generous, but he is not a fool." Having been so used to defending Remus to the other servants in the castle, her response was a quick one, and came out a bit harsh. James' grin was replaced with a frown. Lily couldn't find it in her to care though, she was exhausted and she still felt as though Remus was a far better friend than she deserved.

"No, of course not." He said quietly. "He's quite bright actually. Seems to have found a way to win your favor."

"Remus and I are friends." Lily said, again thankful that it was dark. She didn't know why the thought of her and Remus being anything more than friends was eliciting this kind of reaction from the Prince. Or herself for that matter.

"It's none of my business." And then she felt slightly thick, because she had known before that the prince was slightly interested in her, how could she not with all the times she had caught him staring at her, or been on the receiving end of high praise for doing nothing in particular. She took a deep breath and crossed her fingers behind her back, hoping that the following conversation wouldn't be too awkward.

"Well, I know that it's none of your business, but I don't want you to have the wrong impression." She saw the corner of James' mouth twitch upward and he looked up at her through his lashes.

"And why not?" Her stomach dropped. She couldn't tell him the truth, that she was only reassuring him because he seemed like he wanted her too. She didn't want to embarrass him, or overstep her boundaries, no matter how many times he claimed that he wanted her to be informal with him.

"Well," She could let him think that she fancied him. All the girls in the kingdom did, what would it really matter. Or, she could make a joke out of it. The latter of which would preserve her pride. "I'm still holding out on my dream to be Queen of Camelot one day. Wouldn't want you telling your father that I'm seeing someone on the side now, would I?"

James laughed and Lily let out a sigh of relief. "You're planning to marry my father then?"

"He doesn't know yet." Lily said, pushing her hair away from her face and keeping her grin firmly in place. "So, if we could keep this between the two of us." James took a step towards her and leant over so his mouth was near her ear.

"It's our little secret."

"Thank you." James pulled away and looked down at the creek. "You and Remus are awfully close though." She raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips. He sure was hung up on Remus.

"Yes." Lily gave a sharp nod. "I've sort of taken him in, I suppose. He was new, didn't know anyone and I didn't really have any friends myself. I needed someone to talk to and someone had to show him the ropes around here." James raised his brow at her and Lily laughed. "Not that I want to take credit for how he behaves as your servant. He's worked out how to do that job all on his own I'm afraid."

"Yes, well, maybe you could give him a few pointers." James grinned.

"You don't actually want me to do that." Lily said.

"Oh? And why not?"

"Because you like having Remus as a friend."

"Do I?"

"Yes. Of course you do. Everyone does. And if I went and taught him how to behave properly around you, then you two wouldn't be friends anymore. You would be his prince, and he your servant. You would both hate that."

"Remus would quit." James agreed.

Lily laughed. "You would fire him."

"You have a pretty laugh." James said suddenly. Lily blinked rapidly and looked at him.

"Thank you, sir."

"James."

"Sorry. Thank you…" Lily swallowed, "James."

"You're welcome, Lily."

"I have something to confess to you." Lily said quietly, quite suddenly remembering the fight that she had started with Lord Yaxley in the stables earlier that day and the threats that she had made. He was being so nice to her, maybe a bit too nice, and she had used her connection with him to gain the upper hand in a petty argument with a horrible man. Also, she was hoping to change the subject to something couldn't be at all flirty. James' eyes snapped to hers and he took a step closer a slight smile forming on his lips. "It's just, I think you should know something."

"And what would that be." He reached out and pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear. She froze for a moment and stared at him with wide eyes. She had still thought she had been being foolish before, but… Prince James, he wasn't just interested, he fancied her.

His face was dangerously close to Lily's, his hand snaked around to the base of her neck and she didn't know what to do. He was the prince. She couldn't say 'no' to him, could she? What would he do to her if she did? Would he have Bellatrix fire her? Would he banish her? He was quite prideful after all. She didn't know what he would do.

James must have noticed the panicked look in her eyes because he froze just before their noses would have brushed against one another, looking quite dazed. "What is it?" He said quietly, his hand now resting on her shoulder. Lily however, couldn't quite work out how to breathe. He couldn't fancy her. She was a servant and he was the bloody prince. Weren't suitors supposed to start showing up soon?

She put her hand on top of his and tried to smile. "I think your feelings are slightly misguided, sir." She put slightly more emphasis on the 'sir' and took a small step back.

"Misguided?" He said, searching her face. "I think I'm the only one that gets to decide something like that."

"I think your father would have another opinion." She said, pulling his hand down from her shoulder and stepping further away. "I'm flattered, but… You're to be king one day and I- Well, I'm a servant. If anything were to happen and someone found out, it wouldn't be good for either of us."

"I have no interest is secret affairs, and I wouldn't let anything happen to you."

"I'm afraid," Lily took a deep breath and shrugged slightly. "That it would be out of your control. There are laws-"

"Laws can be change."

"You've given this quite a bit of thought, haven't you?" Lily said, growing more and more anxious by the minute. He nodded fervently and took her hands in his, tracing his thumb along the back.

"I've tried to keep my distance, I've tried to remind myself that there would never be a situation where my father would be okay with this, I've reminded myself that I'm to be married to some princess from some other kingdom, but I don't care, Lily. All I can think about is you. And I came out here to clear my head and you just happen to show up? That can't be a coincidence." She could feel her heart in her throat and her stomach clench up. She was very close to getting sick all over the prince. "I think I'm falling in love with you."

She froze all over again, mouth agape and eyes wide, quite like a fish. James' face fell slightly and his grip on her hands loosened.

"Was that not what you were going to say earlier?" He asked quietly.

"Well," Lily squeezed his hands, still thinking in terms of preserving his feelings. "You have to understand, you're my prince. I would never have the nerve to say anything along those lines to you while in my current position. Not first at any rate." He started to grin and she cursed herself to hell. She needed to stop making him smile. She needed to let him down easy and rush back home, where she could bury herself in her bed and never come out again. Petunia would have to get a job and she could pretend her back was broken or something. She would never have to see James again. "Sir-"

"Then what were you going to say?"

"I don't think it's all that important at the moment. I can tell you about it later." He nodded and she figured she should try something to get out of answering his previous question before he asked it again. "It's getting late." She said. "If I don't head home now, my dad will have half the town out looking for me."

"Right! Of course." James ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Let me walk you."

"Oh." Lily bit her lip. "That's not necessary."

"I insist."

"Really-"

"I'm not letting you walk through town alone. Especially not at this time of night."

"It's not far."

"Lily," He cocked his head to the side and offered her his arm. She sighed and laced her arm through his. He grabbed her hand and rubbed his thumb along the back.

The walk back was quiet and Lily spent it counting the steps until they reached the house. When they finally arrived, Lily noticed that there was still a light on inside. "This is me." She said, much louder than she needed to while withdrawing her arm from James'. He kept hold of her hand, causing her to spin back around so she was facing him. He put his other hand under her chin and tilted her head up towards his.

"We can work this out, Lily." He said quietly. "We can work everything out, I know we can." Lily's smile was tight, but James didn't seem to notice. He was smiling much more genuinely than she was and leaning closer. He was going to kiss her.

"Lils, is that you?" Her dad opened the door and Lily let out a sigh of relief. She stayed frozen where she was while James took a few steps away.

"Evening, Sir." He nodded at Mr. Evans.

"Your highness." He dropped into a bow.

"I just wanted to make sure your daughter made it home safely."

"Thank you very much, Sir."

"It was no trouble at all." Lily still had not moved. "I'll see you tomorrow, Lily." He said, nodding in her direction. Lily forced herself to give him something that hopefully resembled a smile, and then he winked at her and left.

Her dad walked out to her and put an arm around her shoulders. "You alright, flower?"

"I have no idea what just happened." She said softly. "Dad, the prince fancies me."

oOoOo

Sirius had taken quite a liking to Camelot. For one thing, there didn't seem to be an end to the men who were willing to gamble their money away. He had been here for almost an entire month and still had a steady stream of challengers, many of whom were knights. Arden and Remus seemed to be the only friends he could find though.

"You don't drink much, do you?" He asked Remus, who was wincing spectacularly as he tried to drink the liquid that Sirius had just bought for him.

"There wasn't much of a tavern back home and I don't have a chance to get out much here. James always has something for me to do."

"What do you mean there wasn't a tavern back home? Where did you live? Hell?"

Remus laughed and shook his head. "Ealdor. Farm country. The closest tavern was about a two hour walk south."

"You sorry sod."

"To be honest, I never really minded." Sirius snorted into his mug as he took a drink.

"You're up at the castle all the time, no?" He asked, putting his drink down on the counter. "Have you seen Lance at all?"

"Yeah, he trains with the rest of the knights. Why?"

"He never comes in here with Arden and the lads."

"He sticks pretty close to Mary and Dorcas."

"Yeah." He nodded and took another drink.

"What is it?"

"Well, don't you think it's kind of strange that he spends all his time with two women? I mean, you're the only man I know who doesn't enjoy drinking away his worries after a long week."

"You drink every day."

"I have more worries than your average man," He said with a wave of his hand. "Anyway, I just figured that he would start hanging round the knights a bit more I suppose. Has he… you know."

"Taken off his helmet?" Remus asked. Sirius nodded, looking across the room. "Not in front of anyone. He even turned down a servant. He really likes his privacy."

"Nah, that's not it." Sirius said, turning back to look at Remus. "There has to be a reason he doesn't want anyone to see his face. I don't know what it is, but there's got to be one."

"I'm sure there is." Remus shrugged. "But it's none of our business, no? Everyone's got secrets."

"You as well?" Sirius asked. "Or is your fear of horses supposed to be a secret." Remus rolled his eyes, not even surprised that Sirius had chosen to bring that up. He brought it up as often as he could.

"You know, I'm not scared of horses. I've even made friends with the stable boy." He said, taking another sip of his beer.

"Oh really? And what's this stable boy's name?"

"Peter Pettigrew." Remus said, quite glad that he actually had made friends with the boy, even if it was only so he didn't have to go into the stables. "He's a real useful friend to have. Knows absolutely everyone in the kingdom."

Sirius looked thoughtful for a moment and then stood up and threw some money on the counter. "Let's go find him then."

"What? I'm not afraid of-"

"This has nothing to do with whether you are or not, but you most certainly are, afraid of horses. I want to ask him what he knows about Lancelot."

"I just finished telling you that people are entitled to their secrets and you want to go snooping around?"

"Yes."

"Would you like it if I started asking people about you?"

"No. But I'm not trying to be friends with Lancelot. And I'm not getting chummy with one of your lady friends either."

"Is that what this is about?" Remus laughed. "You fancy Dorcas?"

"What? No. I grew up with her, I'm curious as to what she's up to, but I don't fancy her. She's not really my type."

"And by that you mean she'd require too much time and effort." Remus grinned. Sirius smirked at him and nodded.

"Exactly."

With a bit more prompting, Remus was soon leading the way through town towards the stables. The sun had long since gone down and that made maneuvering through the usually crowded streets very simple. The only people still out were either on their way home or knights, making their rounds.

"Remus!" Someone called from behind them. They both turned around and saw Lily running towards them. "Remus, wait up! I need to talk to you." She was breathing heavy and looked very distressed. Remus put a hand on her shoulder and bent down so he was eye level with her.

"What's the problem?" He asked, thinking that this was an urgent matter.

"Who's he?" She asked, still trying to catch her breath and giving Sirius the side eye. "He the reason you forgot that you were supposed to help me in the laundry room tonight?" Remus stared at her without moving for a moment and then closed his eyes and lent his head back.

"I am so sorry." He lamented. "It completely slipped my mind. James had me working in the armory until dark and then… I forgot."

Lily rolled her eyes. "I don't really care that you didn't help me wash the king's draws. I just really need to talk to you and I haven't gotten to all day and I don't know what to do and I don't think I slept at all last night and I need to tell you something."

"It sounds like she's about to tell you that she loves you, mate." Sirius said, nudging Remus's arm with his elbow.

"Who are you?" Lily asked, this time facing him.

"Sirius Black." He held out a hand and Lily shook it.

"Lily Evans." She turned back to Remus now. "He's not the only one who thinks I have feelings for you." Remus raised his brow and Lily shook her head. "That's entirely beside the point right now though. Prince James," She put her hand on her hips. "Told me that he was- He actually said that- I can't even say it."

"Was he an arse to you?" Remus asked, crossing his arms. "Because if he was-"

"No. He was a clueless prat, but he wasn't being an arse. Remus, James fancies me."

After a moment of silence Sirius started laughing. Honestly laughing. Remus on the other hand just looked at Lily like she had lost her mind.

"That's what all this is about?" He asked, once Sirius had calmed down.

"Yes." Lily nodded. "He told me that he was going to talk to his father and what not. He had this all planned out. He never even asked me how I feel about it."

"You want to be a maid the rest of your life?" Sirius asked. "Or do you want to be Queen?"

"Shut it." Remus snapped. "Lily, James has fancied you since before I moved here. And you know him, he doesn't think before acting. I'll talk to him, alright?"

"That would be wonderful." She threw her arms around him. Remus staggered back a bit before catching his balance. She pulled back, but not before kissing his cheek. "I should be getting home now. Thank you so much." She patted his cheek and then turned around and headed off home.

Remus watched her go and a feeling of dread washed over him. A feeling that Sirius seemed to pick up on.

"You're in trouble there, mate." Sirius let out a low whistle and ran a hand through his hair. "How do you think James will take this?"

"She doesn't fancy me." Remus said, touching his hand to his cheek. "We're just mates."

"She kissed you."

"On the cheek."

"Oh Remus," His voice changed to a falsetto, "Thank you so much." He put a hand on Remus's shoulder and batted his eyelashes at him. "You're completely right. She doesn't fancy you at all."

"Who fancies Remus?" Remus and Sirius both jumped slightly, spinning around to find James walking towards them.

"No one." Remus said quickly.

"Aw, mate. I'm sure someone out there fancies you." He clapped a hand on his back and Sirius started laughing, though for an entirely different reason then James thought.

"Thanks." Remus muttered. "Speaking of fancying people…" He cocked his head in James' direction.

"Did she say anything to you?" He asked, not noticing that Remus was trying to give him a disapproving look. "What did she say, I haven't seen her all day."

"James, leave her alone." Remus sighed. "You have a tendency to come on a bit strong mate, you're scaring her."

"I am not." He scoffed. "She said the feelings were mutual."

"Did you even remember to ask her what she was feeling?" Remus asked, "Or did you make up her answer in your head and then rush on about how you were going to whisk her away and make her Queen?" James opened his mouth to mock Remus, but then froze.

"She never answered me." He looked down at the ground, calculating, remembering. "I asked her, but she didn't answer me."

"You're frightening her." Remus said. "Back off a bit yeah? You're the prince, otherwise she would have told you to sod off herself."

"Remus does know her really well," Sirius agreed, winking at Remus, who was about ready to kick Sirius, but didn't know how to manage that without James seeing. "I'd listen to him if I were you."

James looked up and seemed surprised to see Sirius. "You're still here?"

"Course I am. You're knights keep giving me their money." James rolled his eyes.

"I wish I could just make you a knight." James said. "You're more than good enough."

"Well, you were ready to make Lily queen yesterday," Remus said with a grin, "Making him a knight really shouldn't be a problem." James shoved Remus, causing him to step in a puddle of what Remus hoped was water.

"Where are we headed anyway?" James asked. "The taverns the other way, no?"

"The stables." Sirius answered. "Need to see a man about a knight."

"Well, I'm the man to see about knights." James said, looking slightly confused. "What do you need to know?"

"Why Lance won't show his face."

"Peter knows everything about everyone." Remus explained. "We figured it's worth a shot."

"He's still not even a knight," James brought his hand up to the base of his neck. "I don't want you two doing anything that's going to have him running out of town before my father agrees that he should be a member of the guard."

"He's never going to know that we're sneaking around." Sirius said. "That's the point of the sneaking."

"Why'd you get disinherited?" James asked suddenly, grabbing hold of Sirius's sleeve and forcing him to come to a stop.

"I killed a man." Sirius said with a straight face, then he cracked a grin and kept walking.

"Honestly, what did you do?"

"I made my parents really angry." He said. "What else?"

"Yeah, but how did you manage it?"

"Drop it."

"No."

Sirius spun around, causing him and James to be almost toe-to-toe. "Are you asking me as my friend, or as my Prince?" Remus bit his tongue and looked down.

"I didn't know we were friends." James said, keeping his eyes locked on Sirius's. When Sirius didn't show any signs of backing down, James let out a sigh. "Fine. You don't have to tell me. Let's go find this Peter bloke."

"What do you want to find him for?" Remus asked, figuring he should break the tension sooner rather than later. "You just told us that we should respect his privacy until he's on the payroll."

"Yes." James nodded. "But then I was reassured that we weren't going to get caught."

"By myself and Sirius. One of us is a drunk and you continuously remind the other that he is a stupid prig with horrible-"

"Remus!" James clamped a hand over his mouth. "I said those things to you in confidence." His eyes widened and he cast a look over at Sirius, who rolled his eyes and shoved James's shoulder. Remus once again found himself wondering why the knights ever felt the need to walk on their toes around James.

They reached the stables and when Peter saw the three of them he tripped over his feet and fell into a bow. "Your majesty." He squeaked. James chuckled and grinned. Alright, maybe he only expected to be treated like everyone else by a few people. Remus sighed.

"James, Sirius, this is Peter. Peter, James and Sirius." Remus introduced everyone while helping Peter to his feet. Sirius stuck out his hand and shook Peter's.

"You're a mousy fellow, aren't you?" He asked, giving him a friendly smile.

"I get that a lot, sir." Peter nodded.

"Names Sirius, if you don't mind."

"Right, yes, of course." Sirius casted an unimpressed look in Remus's direction but Remus ignored it.

"Remus here tells us that you know just about everything about everyone." James said, running a hand through his hair and leaning up against one of the closed stalls.

"Well, I wouldn't say-"

"Tell us about Lancelot." James interrupted. Remus was about ready to whack him over the head with the nearest blunt object. Couldn't he tell that Peter was nervous?

"L-lancelot?" Peter stuttered, only getting more nervous now that the subject of choice had been brought up. "I don't know anything about h-him."

"Relax, mate." Sirius said, putting a hand on Peter's shoulder. "We're not here to hurt you." Peter tried to smile at him, but it looked more like a grimace. Remus looked around the stables for something, anything he could manipulate to make Peter feel more at ease. It was a stable though. The only thing in the stable, was horses. If Remus made anything happen to make Peter feel more at ease, he would only be making a fool of himself in the process.

He looked over at Peter again and then over at a latch on the other side of the stable. Peter was good with horses. He wouldn't let the beast trample Remus. He would know what to do if the horse got out of its stall. Being in control of something would make him feel better. Remus tried to convince himself that everything was going to be alright.

"I-it's just that- I don't really- Lancelot doesn't-" James laughed and that's when Remus decided that he didn't really have any more options. He turned his head towards the stall and concentrated on pulling the pin out of the latch. There was a quiet plink as the metal pin hit the stone floor, but the three other boys didn't seem to notice and, what was more important, neither did the horse.

Remus cursed under his breath.

He looked around the stall and saw that there was a lead rope hanging up on a nail, and Remus got a second idea. Using a bit more magic, he made the rope fall to the ground and start moving about as if it were now a snake. The horse took quick notice to that and bucked up, kicking open its stable door and whinnying. James and Sirius rushed back and pushed themselves flat against the wall, Remus had already been doing that to keep himself as far from that horse as he could when he entered the stable. He also didn't have any problem pretending to be horribly frightened about what was happening, because he was horribly frightened of what he had just done. As soon as all the 'what ifs' started popping into his head, Peter rushed up to the horse, grabbing it's reigns and attempting to calm it down.

"Whoa!" He said, reaching his other hand up to stroke the giant animal's face. "Calm down, boy. You're alright." He spoke soothing words over and over until the horse stopped jumping about. Peter turned to Sirius, "Can you take his reins for a moment?" Sirius looked from Peter to the horse and back again, but then threw back his shoulders and nodded. He carefully walked up to the horse and took hold of the reins, making sure to keep as far away as he could, leaving his arm straight out. Peter smirked a bit and then walked into the stable, looking around on the floor, moving the hay around with his boots.

"Looks like it was a rope that scared him." He said, picking up the lead rope that Remus had dropped.

"Why would a rope scare the horse?" Remus asked.

"If he thought it was a snake…" Peter shrugged. "I don't know what else could have set him off like that. Anyway, you three wanted to know about Lancelot?" He asked, taking the horse back from Sirius and leading him back to the stall.

"Yeah," Sirius shook his head and crossed his arms, attempting to regain composure. "Why's he always wearing that helmet of his?" Peter walked out of the stall and shrugged.

"I've heard about as many stories about the bloke as you have, but I've only met him once and it wasn't here. I was walking home and happened upon him. Didn't know it was him either until my mum told me."

"Do you know anything about him?" James asked. "I hardly ever see him in the castle and-"

"He doesn't stay in the castle." Peter interrupted. Remus was glad to see that his plan to give Peter more confidence had worked, James however, seemed to be a bit miffed that the stable boy was interrupting him. Peter didn't notice. "I heard Sprout, um, she owns an herb garden, I heard her say that Lancelot asked her if he could sleep in her barn until he was able to find permanent living quarters for himself and his… Dorcas and Mary."

"Yeah, we don't get that either." Sirius said.

"That's all I know."

"Why doesn't he want to stay in the castle? We would give Dorcas and Mary rooms of their own if he asked. It's sort of imperative that he remain working for us."

"As opposed to him making fools of you and your knights." Remus said with a smirk. James pressed his lips together and pushed him towards the horses. Remus tensed up, but tried not to show too much emotional distress. He really did need to get over this fear.

"Now if you want to know about the girls," Peter said with a smirk. "They come in here all the time. There's a third with them sometimes."

"Do they say anything about Lance?" James asked.

"Dorcas seems pretty miffed that he's not a knight yet. Mary's not too happy about it but the third girl, what do they call her…"

"Hestia?" Sirius offered, remembering their third friend from the woods.

"Could be. Didn't catch a name. Anyway, she seem'd really understanding about everything. Goes on about traditions and the like."

"Nothing about why they're not staying in the castle?"

"Dorcas doesn't seem to like most of the other knights." Peter said with a shrug. "I suppose that could have something to do with it."

"Pettigrew?" Someone called from just outside the stable. Peter excused himself to go and greet whoever it was, but they decided to meet him inside instead. It was Arden Weasley. "Prince James!" He called out. "We've been looking for you everywhere. It's your father. There's something wrong."

AN: The last month has been completely horrible. I've been too busy to even edit this stupid chapter. (I actually like this chapter, but whatever.)

Thoughts? Concerns? Theories? I like hearing it all. :)