what is the duty of a prince?
well, to serve, essentially. a life dedicated to his kingdom, to his men. his duty is to step down the hall, which will soon become his grave, his usual nonchalance and freedom now turned into grief for the once boy, because he shall be king, one day. his duty is to be brave, to hold his head up high, to give up the days of his youth and, when the time comes, to take his father's place, the crown heavy, a burden on his head, and to proclaim his loyalty to his people.
his duty is to protect the family, the people. he shall go to battle and, is he to die, he will die for the kingdom the same way oh, so many martyrs, had died for the wrongdoings of sinners. his duty is to kneel in front of his kingdom and promise his love, and that he shall do what is needed. he shall be kind, considerate, and worthy of his title. he shall die, in the end, but his death will not be in vain, because his kingdom will live on, mourning the loss of him.
but the prince had died long before he would become king. his death was written in a newspaper, something so mundane, lacking the beauty that the prince, the little king, once had, the elegance which he once had carried himself with.
the black heir, regulus black, dead at eighteen.
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"I needed you."
Sirius didn't turn to look at the boy staring right at them from across the astronomy tower, instead focusing on the distant stars. Stars that far away couldn't hurt them, couldn't need them, couldn't touch them and ask for just a little attention, advice, a hand to hold. Sirius knew any hand that clutched their own would fall and they'd be left in tears, all alone again.
"I still need you."
Sirius gritted their teeth, and gripped the bottle beside them. Regulus was an idiot, for that. He should know Sirius was unreliable, flimsy, incapable of helping. No matter how hard they'd try, their hand could never hold anyone. Not even themselves.
"Tell me to run away."
Sirius had to force themselves not to turn at that. Regulus running away? Leaving Grimmauld place? The idea... Sirius wanted to say yes. To tell their brother he could stay at the Potter's with them, or they could get their own flat, maybe even Andy would take him in. But what did that mean for Regulus? Would he become just like them? A worthless, friendless, alcoholic, lonely, disowned, family-less, spending every day and night regretting every decision he ever made? Would he kill himself? Sirius had wanted to, almost tried to but they had Regulus to stop them in the end. But with their positions switched? Sirius couldn't save anyone, he only destroyed them. And Regulus running away would destroy him, no matter how hard they tried to help, they'd be killing their brother.
"Don't. Don't run away", they heard the words coming out their sore throat.
Regulus swallowed dryly, "I'll die there, Sirius", his voice cracked.
Sirius restrained themselves from turning, "It'll kill you to leave."
Regulus collapsed right next to Sirius, pulling their face towards his and inspecting them.
Searching their eyes, Regulus frowned, "You look dead."
The corner of Sirius' lip tilted upwards, "exactly."
Regulus turned to the sky, "you're the brightest in the sky."
Sirius seemed to shrink inwards, "not anymore. Not after everything."
"You still are to some people... to the Potters, Pettigrew, Lupin."
Sirius snorted, bringing the bottle to their lips, "Definitely not Remus anymore. Think he hates me more than Snivellus now."
Regulus huffed, standing back up, "You don't think I should run away like you did?"
Sirius gave him a mocking smile, tilting their head and gesturing to themselves, "you like what you see? Think it did me any good, running away?"
"Do you regret it, then?"
"Every so often."
Regulus backed into the wall, closing his eyes in frustration, "What if I turn out worse if I stay there? What if I become just like our parents?"
Sirius threw the empty bottle down the tower and got out a fag and lighter, "You're too good for that, Reggie. You're the heart of the lion, the king of the stars and the jungle and fucking everything. All you gotta do is outlive our dear old parents and bam! You're rich and can do whatever the fuck you want!"
Regulus winced at the yelling, "Why didn't you do that then?"
Sirius sighed, looking back at the stars again, "Cause I'm a screw up, Reggie", he turned back to their brother, "But you're not. You're the best of us. Always will be."
"...I wanted to be just like you when we were younger. You seemed so free, brave, and recklessly happy; fighting like a soldier for something I could never work out."
Sirius snorted, "A pointless fight."
"I think you're still fighting it", Regulus hummed.
Sirius stubbed the cigarette, "I'm glad our parents didn't completely ruin you."
Regulus sat back down, "I guess that means maybe I can survive them, stay there to inherit everything and change the Black name."
"There ya go, Reggie", Sirius ruffled his hair, "Our great king saving us all."
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