Sirius & Bellatrix

"You must be out of your damned mind, Black," Sirius groaned.

"I must be."

"The prince of the bloody kingdom, Bells, the prince.." He threw his hands up in the air in frustration.

"Please. Say it louder for the dead to hear why don't you." Bellatrix sat slump against the wall of the maester's workroom while Sirius stood above her, arms folded across his chest.

"You can't seriously let this on, right? Is this even possible Amos?" Sirius turned to look at Amos busy at the chemical worktable. Amos managed to chuckle.

"If you're asking me about the possibility of the prince falling in love, you're forgetting that much about this being a real world."

"Love." Bellatrix repeated, estranged with the very word.

"Bellatrix Black does not do love." Sirius cackled.

"It seems the prince truly is taken by you," Amos started, "showing any affection toward another woman other than his mother is something the prince is not known to ever have done, and now that he is to meet his future wife, that poses a problem."

"No, no, no, no." Sirius declared, "you can not let this happen, Bells. You've got to get away, do you understand? We have to leave. We have to find that Time Turner!"

"But I…" Bella muttered guiltily, "I can't just leave the queen. I can't just—I can't leave."

"The queen, or do you mean the prince?" Amos quipped. Bellatrix looked at them with eyes of despair.

"You best make your decision. The Dornish court are arriving on the morrow with the prince's bride." Amos turned away as he said this, getting back to his table of chemicals.

"You better hope this bride-to-be is anything like a Veela, otherwise you're not just leaving. You're leaving him with a broken heart."

"On that too," Bellatrix began, "the Queen has asked me, pleaded with me, if you will. She has asked me to see to this princess. She is only worried for the Prince, hoping his betrothed is not some blasted lunatic as I imagine may be common in this day and age." She rolled her eyes afraid of having to expose herself any more.

"I'll do it." Sirius volunteered lifelessly. "I need some sort of distraction in this pursuit back home. I swear by Merlin Bells, this is really all your fault."

Bellatrix said nothing, agreeing silently with him for the first time her whole life.

"I would be careful with that one, Sirius," Amos said from between his work table, "it is heavy gossip that the Dornish princess possesses great beauty."

"Hell, count me in." Sirius declared with a heavy fist on the closest shelf. Bellatrix saw the excitement in his eyes, glad he had something to look forward to since they arrived.

"Great. I'll be sure to drop in with the news once they arrive. The queen will be one of the first to know."

"No need, cousin. I'll manage." Sirius winked.

Sirius woke to the sound of hooves and a growing ruckus of the village crowd. He fell asleep on one of the stone steps outside the castle grounds after sneaking out before dawn. The crowd grew all around him, but two carriages pulled by handsome horses were hard to miss. They were draped in linen and fine tunic with the colors of the morning, just as extravagantly as the carriages were. When they came to a stop at the stone steps of the Red Keep, members of the city watch managed to push the crowd back to give way to the nobles that began to climb down from each carriage.

A handsome man in finer clothing than any Sirius had ever seen, finer than the Prince, stepped out first. Dark, brooding eyes under an even darker, thick head of hair framed his serious face. He did not smile, but it did it not look bad on him. He turned to welcome the next noble stepping out. Sirius swore under his breath and he was certain this was the princess.

Her gaze was glued to the castle, as though no one around her existed, but also because the crowd had grown so silent, struck by the beauty she beheld. Her tanned skin almost glistened under the sun. Her hair was just as dark and full as the first noble that had stepped out, her father no doubt. But it was the softness of her features: doe-like eyes, thin red-painted lips, with a slender build. Sirius was breath-taken.

The nobles made their way up the steps, followed closely by their own guards together with a number of the City Watch disappearing inside the castle gates. It was only when she was out of sight that Sirius was brought back to reality. He stumbled as he hurried back inside to bring his cousin bad news which, incidentally, was good news to him.