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Queen Walburga had long been believed to be the most beautiful woman in all the lands. That was, until she was pregnant with her second child and a prophecy was made:
Her child, which she should birth as sun and moon both stood in the sky after the brightest night had passed, shall be the most beautiful being to have ever graced the earth and will have been the last bearer of such beauty for a hundred years to come. All the fortune in the world shall be theirs, and its beloved will be the most powerful and fortunate after them. The world will stop for a second to stare at the child in awe, and afterwards never be the same.
Everyone expected the bearer of such beauty to be a girl, and to most, it did not matter when it was instead a boy.
They called him Regulus.
He was indeed a beautiful child.
He was so beautiful that many young and old princesses wanted to be his bride and had their parents try to kidnap the young prince. He was so beautiful that many men wanted him for themselves, even when they were too old and he was far too young. He was so beautiful, he was a thing to own, a toy to claim. He was so beautiful, that many were jealous and plotted for his demise, wishing to stab or sell him.
As all fortune was his, he survived his youth without one violent hand reaching him. Then he turned fourteen and childhood beauty bloomed into something different. Many suitors came to ask for his hand in marriage, women and men alike, princes, kings, dukes, and knights.
He was so beautiful, that the servants grew jealous and tried to stab him as they cut his hair, for they had caught their spouses’ eyes wander too often. He was so beautiful curses were placed upon him, but his brother, who was himself skilled in magic, had the castle protected against them.
Finally, he was so beautiful, that his own mother, who had been the most beautiful before him, grew bitter and ugly and tried to smother him when he was but seven. She was hanged for her crimes.
And then, he was so beautiful, that even his father’s eyes began to wander and he was put to death also, as he was caught breaking into Regulus’s bed chamber.
So it came that Regulus could only trust his older brother, who was then king. Sirius himself only trusted one man in the entire kingdom: Sir James. He was a knight with a righteous heart and the purest soul any person had ever possessed. Thus, Sirius made him Regulus’s guard.
And so, life went on. Many suitors came and Sirius sent them away, as Regulus was too young for marriage.
When Regulus came of age, the number of suitors doubled. Regulus did not want any of them. He told his brother, he wished to marry none of them. Sirius was glad, as he had no intention of giving his brother away. He needed to remain here, in their castle, as it was protected by Sirius against outward magic and foreign curses. To him, there was no difference between the men who had sought to wed the seven-year-old child and the men who knocked on their gate now. None of them knew him but only wanted to earn the glory of having the beauty as their spouse and possession.
So it came, that Sirius, who was mischievous in nature, developed a plan: Each suitor shall complete a special task, and the one who could complete his, may marry Regulus. Those who could not do it were beheaded.
The suitors agreed but each task was impossible. One was to win a game of tug-of-war but with a giant. Another was to kill a dragon but with a fork as his only weapon.
The suitors were beheaded for everyone to witness, and finally, the majority of men stayed away.
***
Sirius stood in his throne room as Regulus’s newest suitor knelt before him, shaking so violently, that his heart may give out before Sirius had the chance to take his head.
“It seems you were unsuccessful. Your life is thus forfeit. Before the sun sets, you shall die. Guards, take him to the dungeons.”
The man was dragged away and Sirius looked at the chair where Regulus usually sat. He did not bother to sit there when his suitors returned anymore. He knew the outcome as well as Sirius. His tasks were not made to be accomplished, they were made to scare the men off. It was their fault for taking the task and returning to be put to death. Sirius, was, if nothing else, a man of his word. And his most important promise has been made to his brother, when he vowed to protect him from the dangers of this world.
Yet, he wished his brother would at least pay him company as Sirius carried out these theatrics for him.
At the other side of the castle, in his vast chambers, Regulus lay in bed, naked, his black hair tousled and his cheeks flushed.
“You really are the most beautiful being who has ever walked the earth,” James whispered.
He lay next to him, equally as naked, gazing at him as if he had not seen him like this before. Regulus turned on his side to meet his eyes. James was handsome in his own right, with a strong build, dark, curly hair, and a smirk that would make any bride reconsider if she glimpsed it from the altar.
Regulus could stay in bed with him forever – naked, preferably, though it was not required. There were many ways to pass the time with James which did not include removing their clothes. However, everything was more fun without clothes.
He leaned to his lover and kissed his lips. “How many times do I have to tell you not to say that?” He whispered, but his voice was soft, where three years ago he would have been enraged to the point of striking him.
“But I mean it,” James whispered back. “I do not wish to possess you for it, have not heard of it once and repeated it like a mindless fool. I see you and I know you would be the most beautiful man even if you had three eyes and a warty nose.”
Regulus rolled his eyes and let himself be kissed again.
“I love you,” James whispered against his lips.
“I love you, too. And yet, I’d prefer not to hear about my beauty from you.”
“But how could I live if did not tell the one I love how lovely he is? How your hair shines in the sun light, and your eyes glisten when you look at me like this? How this strand curls behind your ear and how my heart beats faster when you smile? Shall I then talk about how the sound of your voice bewitches me and your intellect enamours me? How delighted I am to watch your passionate fights or your precise strikes with the sword and dagger? I cannot say that I love you and not tell you why.”
And Regulus would lie if he said that his heart did not swell at these words.
“Then I wish that words of praise did not scare me or enrage me anymore. If those men would stop coming in hordes to steal me away, maybe I could enjoy the sound of it.”
James ran his knuckles along his face. Regulus closed his eyes and leaned into his touch.
“Then marry me,” James said. He said it so quietly, that Regulus might have missed it if a bird had taken flight on the other side of the country at the same time.
Regulus opened his eyes to him again.
“I have begged you before, my Love. Marry me. Let me be yours in a way that everyone will see and no other man can court you anymore. It is the hundredth time I am asking, and I will ask a hundred times more. I was raised in the belief that if two people loved one another as much as we do, they should marry.”
Regulus sighed and averted his eyes. “Is it really the hundredth time?”
“Yes. …Will you ever say yes to me instead of ‘not yet’?”
He hesitated. His heart knew the answer but his brain was interfering.
“You know how my brother gets.”
“But with me? He sends away your suitors because he is afraid they will hurt you, and he knows you do not want them. But us? I think he knows already.”
“What makes you say so?”
“A blind man could see the love I have for you, and Sirius knows me better than most. Does he not send away your suitors without consulting you because he knows of our love? I have suspected it for some time now.”
Regulus sat up, slowly, looking out the window in thought, as the preparations for the next executions began.
“And are you certain?”
“As certain as I can be.”
“Then, if Sirius does not burden you with a task, and I am in no danger of losing you…” He looked back at his lover, whose eyes were wide in anticipation and disbelief. “Then, yes, I shall marry you. I want to marry you, James. In fact, there is nothing I’d rather do.”
James jumped up and pulled him into his arms. He covered his face in kisses until his betrothed laughed and called him an idiot for it.
***
So it came, that James knelt before Sirius and Regulus in the throne room. Regulus was clad in his finest clothes, silver like his eyes.
“Your Majesty, Your Highness,” James greeted them.
“James, what is the meaning of this?” Sirius asked. “Why request a formal audience?”
“The occasion demands it, Your Majesty, as I want to assure you that my intentions are nothing short of respectful and honourable.”
“Well, then, speak.”
“Your Majesty, I have been the loyal servant and guard of Prince Regulus for close to five years. And these were the best of my life. Now, I confess that I have fallen in love with him. Never have I felt this way before. My heart is full of him, and my soul longs for his company. So, I humbly request your blessing for our union and that you may give me his hand in marriage.”
Silence followed.
James was looking at the ground in front of him, still kneeling. It was like the room held its breath, none of the guards dared to make a sound and James thought his heart beat so loudly, they all must hear it.
As Sirius did not utter a word, James slowly lifted his head.
Sirius was staring back at him with naked rage twisting his features. Regulus sat next to his brother, eyes wide in panic as he saw his expression.
“You request,” Sirius repeated. Then he jumped up from his throne, and the hall shook as he screamed: “You request?! You to whom I have entrusted my brother! You, who was to protect him from these courtships! You now demand to possess him? Have you gone utterly mad?!”
“Sirius,” Regulus stood as well. “It is not like that. He does not wish to possess me. He loves me.”
“It is true, Si- Your Majesty. I love him. I am devoted to him with everything I have. I want to be his far more than I want him to be mine.” James stood up, looking at his old friend with pleading eyes. “I thought you knew this.”
“Knew? What should I have known?”
“That we are in love. Is that not the reason you are sending away every suitor without consulting your brother? Did you not do it so we could be happy?”
Realisation dawned on Sirius. James watched as abject horror overtook his face and he turned to his brother.
“What should I have known, exactly, my dear. Tell me, how deep did his love go already?”
Regulus licked his lips, averting his eyes. “We- We have loved each other for three years. Three years, Sirius, and they were my happiest. You simply must let me marry him. My happiness depends on it.”
“Three years,” Sirius repeated. His voice was almost calm, but James heard the tremor of rage in it. “And you have touched each other?”
“Yes. We have kissed and embraced and…”
“OUT!” Sirius screamed. He pointed around the throne room, at his guards and any other witness. “All of you, out!”
James stepped back, but Sirius growled, “Not you.”
As it was only the three of them, Sirius came to him and struck him. The back of his hand collided with James’s face with such force, that his head snapped to the side. He pushed at his shoulder until he knelt before him, his head lifted in anticipation of another strike.
“Sirius!” Regulus exclaimed.
“You touched him? You laid with him? It was your task to protect him and you betray me like this? He was yours to keep safe and you use the privilege I gave you to take advantage of him? I shall have your head! Better, I shall let you rot in the dungeons until the rats have eaten you whole for what you have done!”
He went to strike him again, but a hand wrapped around his wrist and held him back.
“Sirius, please. Stop. It is not true what you say. You know James. You know him to be good and virtuous. He has never done a thing against my will. I am in love with him and I wish to marry him. You have to let me!”
“I have to? I am the king! I do not have to do anything!”
“But for me! Won’t you let me be happy? Do you not wish me to be happy?”
Sirius’s face softened. He turned to his brother. “I do. You know, I do. But you know what your face does to these men. You know how men get obsessed with owning you. You said, you do not want to be owned. And men break their beautiful toys. He will own you and he will break you, like any other tried to do.”
“No. No, not him. He loves me, and I love him. And I wish for us to be married.”
Sirius’s face hardened again. He pulled his wrist from his brother. “Fine. If he loves you so much, and wishes for your hand, I shall treat him like any other suitor. I am a man of my word after all, and I declared that only the one who can solve my task may wed you. And for your daring and defiling, James, for your betrayal for three years, I shall give you three tasks instead of one.”
“Sirius, you cannot do this,” Regulus pleaded.
“It is his choice. Either he consents to the trials or he leaves and never returns. For your sake, I will be generous. James, you may leave for three days to make up your mind and for me to think of your tasks. After those three days, you will either have left us forever, or you return and take on the first trial.”
James had not been breathing for a long time. He felt the motion in his chest, but the relief of a taken breath did not reach him. Had he tried to stand, his legs would have given out.
With shaky voice, he asked, “And should I fail at your trials?”
“Then your life is forfeit and Regulus may wear his wedding clothes at your execution.” And those were his last words, as he grabbed his brother and pulled him from the room, leaving James on his knees, with tears in his eyes and silence as his only companion.
***
So, James left the castle.
As he stood outside the gates, he looked up to the windows of Regulus’s chambers but found them closed.
He began to wander. For the first thousand steps, he was certain that he would return and attempt the trials. He loved Regulus and he would rather die trying to have him than leave him behind. It would be his death either way, as he could not imagine living without him. But for the next thousand steps, he thought of his dear parents, who lived and worked in the castle. He thought of his life, and how he had devoted it to the King’s service. Was it really time to give it up? He has not lived yet, and maybe he should try to find his luck somewhere else, far, far away from Sirius and his rage.
And after this brief period of wavering, he sat by a stream and dreamed of Regulus. He thought of the beginning when Regulus hated him and tried to escape his watchful eyes. He thought of hours spent together, training with wooden swords, and reading in the library. He thought of stolen glances and hidden smiles, and how the mask of the untouchable, unnatural beauty began to break and revealed a human being, far prettier than any witch could have foretold.
And as he opened his eyes, his heart was set again. He would return and survive the trials so he may marry the one he loved.
As he wandered on, it came that he saw something from afar, like a great heap of hay lying on the ground. As he drew nearer, he could see that it was the stomach of a man who lay down to watch the clouds, but his stomach looked like a small mountain. As the fat man saw James, he stood and said, “Good day, good Sir. My name is Peter, and I can see that you are a nobleman. Should you be in need of a servant, so take me with you.”
James looked Peter up and down and asked, “What use shall I have of you?”
“Oh,” said Peter, “it is not much, but when I stretch myself out I am three thousand times as big.”
James did not believe it was so, but thought, maybe he could help him in his trials and took him as companion.
In the evening of the same day, when they were looking for a place to sleep, they found a pair of large feet, attached to a pair of legs, but they could not see the ending of the men. When they had walked some more, they arrived at the head at last. It was a good head, with sandy hair, and scars slashed through the face, but otherwise handsome.
“Are you half giant or how come you are so long?” James asked.
“Oh,” the long one said and shrank back to be a normal size, though he was still two heads taller than James, “that is nothing. When I stretch myself really well, I am three thousand times as long and taller than the highest mountain on earth.”
“And what is your name?”
“Remus, and should you be in need of a servant, so take me with you.”
And James thought, a tall man, who might quickly walk from place to place may be of good help, as he knew Sirius’s trials to involve impossible journeys at times.
They slept and woke and as they walked on in the morning, it did not take long before they met three women in a field.
One, who was of dark skin with curly hair, had her ear pressed to the ground.
“You, who are you and what are you doing there?” James asked.
“I’m Mary, and I’m listening,” the woman answered.
“And what are you listening to?”
“I’m listening to what is happening in the forest, for nothing escapes my ears. I can hear things three thousand miles away. I even hear the grass grow.”
James’s heart beat faster as he heard this and asked, “Say, do you hear the Prince Regulus in his castle? Please, tell me how he is. I miss him so.”
The woman stood and listened. “I hear him cry and hit his fists against his door.”
And this hurt James deeply, and he turned to the next woman.
She was blond and stretched her neck toward a set of hills.
“Who are you and what are you looking at?” James asked.
“I’m Marlene, and I have such keen eyes, I can see over forests and fields, valleys and mountains. I can see three thousand miles far, but now I am watching how the ants are celebrating a wedding on that hill over there.”
James was delighted over such talents and asked them to join him and his companions.
“But Lily must come with us,” Marlene pointed at the third woman, who sat upon a stone, with a long stick in her hands. She had red hair and a pretty face but she was blindfolded.
“Do you have bad eyes that you cannot see the light?” James asked.
“No. I may not take off the blindfold, for my gaze is so strong that everything I look upon may fall apart.”
“Then you may be useful, too. Please come with me.”
“But what for?” She asked.
“I will have to complete three trials so I may wed the one I love.”
“Ah,” Mary exclaimed, “You are one of the suitors of the prince. I have heard many of you speak of his beauty.”
“And I have seen many of you lose their heads,” Marlene said.
“But I am different. You see, I was his guard and we fell in love. He loves me and wishes to marry me, when all the other suitors he rejected. But his brother has lost his mind and does not wish us to marry until I have completed three trials.”
“And you wish for our help?” Lily asked.
“Yes. Please follow me and help me regain by beloved.”
“I have never seen the prince,” Marlene confessed. “Is he truly as beautiful as they say?”
“Even more so! Imagine the night sky, for his hair is as black and his eyes are like stars. Imagine the finest piece of marble and that shall be his skin. Then imagine the finest rose petals, and you may have an idea of his lips and cheeks. He is the most intelligent man in the lands, and has bested me at the sword before. He has more character in his hand than others in their whole body. He loves with all his heart, and speaks with all his head. And of all people he has chosen to love me. We cannot be apart. It would not be right.”
The women looked at each other and then agreed to follow him for his trials.
On the third day, when they returned to the castle, they met a man, who had sought the shade of a couple of rocks in a forest. He was shivering and rubbing his arms, which he had covered in heavy cloaks and gloves.
“How can you be cold?” James asked, “The sun is shining bright and warm.”
“Oh,” said the man, “my nature is so different from yours. The hotter it is, the colder I am. When I sit in the snow, I am sweating from the heat, but surrounded by fire, I shall freeze to death.”
“What a curious man you are,” James said. “What is your name?”
“I am Frank, and should you be in need of a servant, so take me with you.”
And so James did and led his six servants back to the castle.
Into the throne room, James went alone, as he did not want to give Sirius an advantage.
Regulus sat beside his brother. His eyes widened in equal horror and relief.
“James,” he said, but then looked to his brother and back to him and whispered, “No.”
James let his eyes feast upon him for as long as he could before he had to bow to Sirius.
“I shall carry out whatever task you have thought of, Your Majesty.”
Sirius regarded him for a moment and in the silence James almost believed his friend’s heart to have softened.
“Then hear my first trial: In the field before our castle, 300 oxen are browsing. You shall eat them with fur, skin, bone and horn. And should one hair remain as the sun rises tomorrow, your life is forfeit. In my cellar there are 300 barrels of wine. You shall drink them all, and should one drop remain as the sun rises tomorrow, your life is forfeit. Do you accept the trial?”
Three hundred oxen with their bones and horns. James swallowed heavily. The thought made him so sick, he felt he could not even eat one.
“Your Majesty, as you are generous, and have your brother’s interest at heart, may I invite one guest to help me complete your trial?”
Sirius pondered this. Regulus leaned to him and whispered his pleas.
“Fine,” the king said. “One guest may eat and drink with you.”
James then returned to his servants and spoke to the fat one. “Tonight, you shall eat with me.”
He led him to the oxen, and Peter stretched himself until there was enough space to devour each of the animals, fur, skin, bones and horns. Then, James led him to the cellar and as morning came and Sirius inspected the wine barrels, he found them all empty, and Peter sucking the last drop from a nail.
So the first trial was completed.
***
When James returned to the throne room, Regulus’s eyes were full of hope.
“Isn’t it enough?” He said to his brother. “The other suitors only had to complete one task and they all failed. Has he not proven himself enough?”
But Sirius was unmoved. “I am a man of my word, and my word was three. So, here is your second trial: When we vacationed at the red sea, I dropped one of my precious rings in the water. You shall go and return it to me.”
“The red sea?” James asked. “How much time will you give me for this task?”
“Three days. Should you be gone for longer, your life will be forfeit and you shall be taken in chains if you ever dared to enter the kingdom again. Do you accept the trial?”
James snuck a glance at his beloved. “I accept.”
James returned to his servants and looked at the six. “Oi, long one, if you stretch yourself out, can you carry us to the red sea and back within three days?”
Remus pondered this. “If you tell me the direction, I shall try.”
“I can tell you the way,” Marlene said.
“Then you shall come with us,” James decided, “And you, Peter, for we may need you. Mary, as you, Lily, and Frank remain, please have an ear on my beloved and the king. Leaving him behind fills my heart with dread.”
The keen-eared woman promised it, and James, Peter and Marlene held onto Remus, who stretched and stretched himself until he was three thousand times as tall.
Remus walked for hours until they arrived at the Red Sea, where he shrank down to his normal size.
The sea was vast and deep. “Even with your keen eyes, Marlene, how should we find a ring here?”
“Just let me handle it,” Peter said and kneeled down at the water. He began to drink and after a few minutes, the bottom of the sea was as dry as a meadow.
“I see the ring!” Marlene exclaimed. “Long one, it is half a mile in that direction, stuck on a pointy rock.”
And Remus stretched himself again until he could go and pick it up. As he returned, Peter spat the sea back out, and they returned to the castle.
As James entered the throne room, Regulus was startled and Sirius laughed.
“It has not been three days yet. Are you giving up, old friend? You should have stayed away.”
“I would never give up on Regulus,” James said and presented the ring. “Is this the one you were searching for, Your Majesty?”
Sirius came and took the ring. He stared at it in disbelief, held it toward the light and spoke a spell upon it, to prove it was fake. Alas, it was the one he had asked for.
“Have I completed the second trial to your satisfaction?”
Sirius narrowed his eyes at him and held the ring so tightly it bent between his fingers.
“Yes. Yes, you have. “ He sat back down on his throne.
Regulus grinned at his brother with gleeful satisfaction.
“Well, Your Majesty, name your third task. And after I accomplished it, everything between us shall be forgiven and you shall celebrate our wedding with us.”
Sirius’s face twitched.
“Fine then,” he spat. “You wish to marry him. The man worthy of my brother must be the bravest of all, the strongest and smartest, and have an iron will and unwavering devotion. Do you think that is you?”
“I think that is him. But I may be the first in all of it when it comes to loving him.”
“Then you shall prove it during your third trial. You shall go to his room and hold him in your arms until midnight. When I come to see you as the clock strikes twelve, and you are asleep or your arms are not around each other, your life is forfeit.”
When James told his servants about the final task, they were concerned.
“It must be a trap,” Lily said. “If he is against your union, why should he want you to touch the prince and give you such an easy task?”
“Maybe his heart was finally moved and he wants to give us his blessing,” James suggested, but all six of his servants disagreed.
James insisted they shall come to the chamber with him and guard him and Regulus.
When James was allowed to enter the chamber, Regulus fell into his arms at once.
“How I missed you,” he whispered. “I was so scared for you.”
“I missed you, too, my Love. If the choice is mine, I will never leave you for another night.”
Regulus smiled and they sat on the little sofa by the windows, as the servants spread themselves out around the room.
“My brother is insane,” Regulus whispered. “Either he knows not how he hurts me or he does not care. I have always thought he was the only one untouched by my looks and the curse it put on everybody else. But now, I fear it has taken a hold of him, too. He does not wish to wed or touch me, but to possess me all the same.”
“He wants to ensure your safety,” James whispers. “Think, he had to bury your mother as a child, and execute your father as a youth, had to watch as you were almost taken or violated a dozen times. Do not be harsh with him for protecting you. He will see the error in his ways and recognise how in love we are.”
“I wish I had your optimism, but when I see my future, all I can think is that this will never end. The witch did not make a prophecy. She cursed me. She cursed me for my entire life and with me, every man and woman who looks at me.”
James looked to his servants. The women were whispering among each other, and James suspected they were lovers, but the fat and the long one had wandering eyes like many before.
James wrapped his arms tighter around Regulus. “Then I and Sirius will protect you for your entire life.”
And Regulus did not look at him when he asked, “But what kind life is that?”
***
Sirius was pacing in his chamber.
This could not be. This could not be. This could not be.
James had brought those six, odd friends and with them had overcome every challenge Sirius had set for him.
Now, he was about to lose Regulus to him.
All his life had been about protecting his brother. Others were bewitched by the child, needed to own him like a toy. Then their spouses needed to harm him for it. And others needed to kill him for he was more beautiful and lovable than them.
Sirius watched his own mother sway in the gallows and pulled his own father from the child’s bed. Among them all, he only trusted James with his brother’s safekeeping, for he was just and pure.
Now this man has betrayed him. He was not immune to the spell of Regulus’s beauty. He wanted him, too. He wanted to take him from Sirius. He wanted to steal him from Sirius. He has already turned him against him!
Regulus has never fought with him beyond childish disagreements. When it came to his suitors he has never tried to change his mind or pulled him back.
It was all James’s doing.
But the villain would not succeed. He could not have Regulus to violate him and play with him until he was broken. He could not take him.
The last trial sounded simple, but Sirius had a plan.
He had a talent for magic and used it to protect the castle so no ill magic may touch his brother, as the jealous began to curse him and the needy sought to bewitch him, so he may come to them willingly.
Now, he was to use that magic to rid Regulus of the last unwanted suitor.
He walked out on his balcony and raised his hand toward the moon.
“Eight shall sleep, eight shall dream,
Bound in silence, locked unseen.
Not by whisper, not by call,
Shall they wake 'til darkness falls.”
***
James startled awake.
He could not remember to have fallen asleep. He looked about himself and saw the six servants sleep as well, the women in each other’s arms, Peter guarding the door, Frank on the floor away from the fire, and Remus by the bookcase.
Regulus was gone.
James remembered holding him in his arms, running his fingers through his silken hair and feeling him breathe against him.
Now he was gone.
How could this have happened?
Sirius.
It must have been him and his magic. Of course, the trial had been too easy! Lily was right. It might be close to midnight now and his life was forfeit.
James’s mind did not go there first, no, it was on Regulus. Where was he? Was he safe? Sirius would never bring him somewhere outside of the castle’s protection, would he?
“Quick! Wake up! Wake up!” He yelled and shook his servants away. “He is gone! Sirius put us to sleep and stole him! Quick, Mary, can you hear him? He must be near.”
Mary listened. “Yes, I hear him cry and call for you. He is… yes, he must three hours away in a cave, surrounded by water.”
Remus then went to the balcony and stretched himself until he could carry away the other six.
They arrived at a great lake, bordering a mountain range.
“There! I hear him!” Mary said and pointed at the stone, but they found no opening.
“If there is no opening to be found, we shall make one,” Lily said and took off her blindfold. She looked at the stone before her and it cracked and exploded in a dozen pieces, revealing a cave behind it.
James ran inside. “Regulus! Regulus, are you here?”
“James! Here I am!”
At the heart of the cave, he found his love sitting on a stone. He was surrounded by a great ring of fire.
“Don’t come closer! The flames are real and they will burn you.”
The servants followed James and he then had an idea.
“Frank, can you walk through the fire and get him out?”
Frank then quickly jumped into the flames, and they did not burn him. He took Regulus and pressed him to his body, protected him with his cloak and led him through the fire so that he was not burned.
James pulled him into his arms.
“Oh, my darling. Are you hurt?”
“No. But we must hurry. It is almost midnight and we must be in my room when Sirius comes.”
So they quickly ran to the long one, who carried them back. He set the couple onto the balcony but he and the servants remained outside. James pulled Regulus into his arms, and so they stood when the door pushed open and Sirius walked in.
Sirius stared at the scene before him. The eight were awake and Regulus and James were embracing each other as he had demanded it.
“What… How can this be?” He walked further into the room.
“I have completed your last trial,” James said, breathing heavily. “Now, you must give us your blessing.”
“Must? Are you giving orders to the king now? I know for a fact that you have not held him through the entire night, so your life-“
“Shut up!” Regulus interrupted him.
He pulled himself away from James and stepped toward his brother.
“Shut up, Sirius! How dare you do this to me?” He screamed at him as years worth of anger and resentment against the world were released all at once. “You threaten the man I love, put him through impossible trials and lock me into a cave, surrounded by fire – and for what?! Why? Because I dared to fall in love? Because I dared to live instead of being your pretty bird in his pretty cage?”
Sirius stepped back, unprepared for his brother’s fury. “I was just trying to protect-“
“Protect?!” He grabbed a vase from a side table and threw it at his brother. It smashed against the wall behind him. “Protect form him? After I told you I loved him? You did not want to protect me, you wanted me for yourself!”
Sirius shook his head, pleading with him. “No. Regulus, how can you say that? I am not like father, or mother. I just wanted to keep you save from people like them.”
“Bullshit!”
Sirius flinched violently and drew back as Regulus came closer.
“This hasn’t been about me for years! You are as corrupted by me as all the others! You wanted to keep me by your side, lock me in, and make it so that no one could ever reach me as if I were a pretty little doll. Had you been truly concerned with my happiness, you would have been glad for me and James. Instead you tried to murder him in front of me!”
Sirius bit his tongue, averting his eyes.
“Look at me, you coward!” Regulus screamed at the top of his lungs. “You almost killed me! The fire you put around me could have caught me any time. You locked me into the castle because it was protected, then you brought me away when it suited you better! You have lost your mind just like the men you beheaded!”
James stepped forward to calm him, but Regulus did not listen.
The siblings were now standing in front of the fireplace. Sirius had his head turned in shame.
“Do you have any idea what it did to me? Did you ever care how I felt? I could never trust a single person in my life because they either wanted me too much or wanted to kill me! My mother tried to murder me, my father tried to rape me, and for years, men have been dying for me! And now when I found the first sliver of happiness, you want to take it from me! This beauty is a curse. It is poison, and it has poisoned you, too. I would rather be ugly than to keep living like this, do you understand?!”
“Don’t say such a thing. Please, I see it now. I am sorry. I only wanted what is best for you but I was blinded by paranoia. I see it! I’m sorry. You have my blessing to marry James, of course.”
“It isn’t enough!” Regulus yelled and grabbed a picture frame from the fireplace to smash it on the ground between them. “This will never stop! You will be corrupted again! The suitors will keep coming and dying! And I fear that in the end, my James will fall to it, too. Your insistence and obsession have made him participate in your game for my hand as if I still were some prize to be won, a toy to be bought! I want no more of it! Never again!”
James had turned his head in shame, too, so neither he nor Sirius saw what was happening until the smell of burning flesh filled the room, and Regulus screamed in agony.
James’s heart broke at the sound. He looked up and when he saw the scene before him, his heart ripped apart entirely.
In his desperation, Regulus had thrown himself into the fireplace, pressing his face into the burning embers.
***
Regulus woke in his bed, with something pressing upon the right half of his face, keeping his eye closed.
“Regulus,” a breathless voice said beside him. It was his brother. “Are you awake? Can you hear me?”
Regulus lifted his hand and reached for his face.
Sirius shushed him and took his hand between his palms. “Don’t touch. You were hurt. Do you remember what happened? Can you speak?”
Regulus’s head hurt. No, his face. Both. But differently.
“I…” he whispered.
“You hurt yourself.”
Yes. He knew. The fireplace. In his agony, it had seemed like the only solution.
“I am so sorry,” Sirius whispered, and Regulus thought he could hear how close to tears he was. “I did not know what I put you through. I was blind. I know now how wrong I was. Especially when it came to James. I was so obsessed with protecting you, I forgot that you are a person, not a thing to be kept. It is like a veil was lifted from my eyes.”
Regulus forced open the eye which was not held shut. The room was dark safe for a candle next to Sirius, who sat by his bed. His face was red and tear-stained.
“How long…”
“A few days.”
Every word was hard and his throat was dry as sand, but he had to ask. “James?”
“He is here. Do not worry about him. I sent him to sleep as he almost passed out a couple of times. He is over there on the sofa. Shall I wake him for you?”
Sirius was half out of the chair when he noticed how violently Regulus shook his head.
“Sirius,” he whispered and his brother leaned closer so he might hear him. “Am I ugly now?”
His brother's eyes turned sad for a moment. He put on a smile and smoothed down Regulus’s hair.
“You could not be ugly if you tried. …But your beauty is different now. Your impression on me and the physician and the guards is different. I saw it in their eyes, in the way they looked at you. I can fix it, if you like. My healing magic is working on your recovery, but after I’m done, if you prefer it, I will rid you of the scars entirely and give you back your face. I can do it.”
Regulus hesitated for a moment. He turned his head so he might glimpse James. He loved him. Him. Not just his looks.
Was it not so?
Surely, a pretty face made any character easier to love.
But he thought about what his brother said. It felt like a veil was lifted from his eyes. Maybe his curse was finally broken.
Would it be worth to lose James with it?
He turned back to his brother.
“No. Let me heal, but let me be as scarred as the fire pleased. …But do me a favour, if you please.”
“Anything.”
“Do not let him see me until I wish. Not bandaged or in any other way, until I say so.”
Sirius hesitated.
“Promise.”
“I promise.”
Regulus exhaled deeply. His eye felt heavy.
“That is right. Go back to sleep. Everything will be fine.”
***
It was weeks later that Regulus allowed James entry into his room. Sirius said, his healing magic had been successful and Regulus had recovered.
James had not been allowed to see him since the day he woke up. He had been heavily bandaged then, and the last time James had seen his face it was red and black and blistered. It was a horrifying sight – he still woke up in the night and saw the burned face of his beloved, and then he smelled his charred flesh.
His servants, who had been giving chambers in the castle, had assured him that it had not been his fault, but James did not believe it.
Regulus was right. He participated in Sirius’s games and in those moments he only thought about gaining Regulus’s hand in marriage. He was a prize, and he had been hungry for it like any other.
Since the fireplace, not one suitor had shown up. To James’s knowledge, the injuries of the prince had not even been rumoured about, the tales had not left the castle. And yet, not one youth came to the castle to ask for the hand of the most beautiful being to have ever graced the earth.
James was pacing in front of Regulus’s door. His soul longed to be reunited with him. Every minute more without him would be torture.
The doors opened and James froze. Sirius stepped out. Things have been tense between them, as Sirius was sick with guilt over what had happened, and James never knew what to say to him.
“He wants to see you now,” Sirius said and stepped aside, so James may enter.
Regulus was sitting by the little sofa by the window, looking out, so James could only see the unmarred half of his face. He sat there, all his limbs elegantly arranged, a picture of perfection as he always had been.
“Regulus,” James gasped and rushed to him. He dropped to his knees at his feet. “My Love, my darling. I have missed you, so.”
“Have you?” His voice was small, quiet. He did not look at him.
“More than anything. Tell me, why did you not allow me in? Do you not love me anymore? Have I gambled your heart away. I am full of regret, my Love.”
He closed his eyes. “You do not need to be full of regret. You loved me so much, you agreed to gamble with your life just to have me.”
“So you’d have me. I never wished to possess you, only love you. You know this.”
There, Regulus turned his face to him.
The side which had previously been hidden was deeply scarred. A pattern of deformed octagons and circles was seared onto his cheek, redder than the rest of his skin. His silver eye was dull and blind.
“And do you love me now?”
James reached for his hand. “My heart is full of you, my Darling. It cannot be swayed.” Then he reached up, with tentative fingers, placed the lightest touch on the scars. He felt the unfamiliar texture, the sensitive new skin. “You are, without a doubt, the most beautiful creature to have ever graced the earth, and if you will still have me, I wish to marry you as soon as possible.”
Regulus exhaled a shaky breath and tears swelled in his eye.
“I will keep the scars,” he said. “Sirius offered to restore my face, but I won’t let him.”
“And I shall kiss your scars for the rest of our lives. I love you. Just you, never your beauty. You are what has makes your face beautiful, not the other way around. You are the dearest thing in my life and I shall never lose you again. So, will you marry me?”
A familiar smile found its way onto Regulus’s face and James’s heart beat faster as he saw it.
“Yes. Yes, I want to marry you. I love you, too.”
James smiled, cupped his face and kissed him.
And so it came that James married the most beautiful man to have ever graced the earth. They did not listen as their guests whispered about the scars. They forgave Sirius, who would only stop punishing himself when his new consultant, the long one, posed a sufficient distraction.
James kissed his husband’s scars and nobody knew which one was happier.