SET FIRE TO THE RAIN ━━ regulus black

and as it fell

CHAPTER III

ARABELLA HEAVED INTO the nearest toilet, and wiped her mouth. She began to sob. She stood in front of the large mirror, bent over the sink, washing her mouth. She wiped her tears but they were irrepressible.

“Arabella?”

She gasped and spun around, wiping her face, but the pink tip of her nose revealed she had been crying.

“What is the matter?”

“Constantine!” Arabella ran into her friend’s arms.

Constantine Rosier was Arabella’s best friend, her only friend, growing up. Constantine was from another royal family.

“I have missed you so much!” said Arabella into her friend’s shoulder.

“I’ve missed you too,” said Constantine. “Are you alright? What is wrong?”

Arabella started to cry again, and pulled away. “I am married,” she cried.

“Your whole life you wanted to get married.”

“Yes, to Sirius . . . not Regulus!” Arabella sat on a bench, burying her face in her hands.

“I am sorry,” she said. “It is going to be okay.”

“No, it will not. My life is ruined. I will never see Sirius again, and I will have to spend the rest of my miserable life with that fucking bastard.”

When Arabella ceased to cry, she got up and Constantine used a napkin to wipe the smeared makeup on Arabella’s cheeks.

“The crowning ceremony is about to start,” she told Arabella. “Come on.”

Holding hands, Constantine led Arabella to the coronation. The Pope stood at the end of the room where the light seeping through the stained glass illuminated him. Regulus saw that her makeup had been ruined a little, and her nose and eyes were still red.

He went up to the Pope, and everyone else was gathered around. Regulus kneeled, keeping his head down. Walburga was watching from the other side of the room, expressionless. The Pope used his wand and tapped it gently onto Regulus’s shoulders, casting a charm onto Regulus, and glowed around him. Someone next to the Pope was holding a crimson cushion with a large crown on it. The Pope took it up and placed it slowly onto Regulus’s head.

“King Regulus Arcturus Black,” the Pope announced, and the crowd stayed silent.

Regulus stood up slowly, and Arabella walked up to his side. She took off her tiara and veil, and the Pope placed a crown on her head. Both crowns were large, heavy, and made of gold, though hers was a bit smaller than Regulus’s.

At the dining table where all the royal families sat, Arabella took a seat next to Regulus, and the two were presented with their wedding gifts from each royal family. Arabella kept her head resting in her hand, and let Regulus do all the talking and open all the gifts.

When the dinner was served, she barely ate anything, while Regulus spent most of his time chatting away with the other kings and princes at the table.

“So, now that you are king,” said one of the ancient looking kings, “what will you do with the war that your grandfather started, and that your father never got to finish?”

The room was dead silent. Everyone turned their attention to Regulus.

Regulus opened his mouth but did not know what to say. The question hung in the air.

“Well, he is going to end it,” Arabella spoke for the first time. She turned to Regulus. “Right?”

Those around the table stirred a little.

“Yes,” said Regulus slowly. “I will end this war.”

“That is easier said than done, Black,” said the old king with a smirk.

The dinner was now being served and the unpleasant silence was broken.

The truth was both Arabella and Regulus had forgotten about the war that had been going on for the last few decades. The war that Regulus’s grandfather, King Arcturus Black, had started. Now it was their duty to finish it.

The dinner took an eternity to end, there were so many things kings and queens could talk about. The guests finally left when it was the middle of the night.

And now there were just the two.

Arabella found the master bedroom. It was her first time in that room, and most of her belongings were already set there by a servant.

She looked around the dark room. It was much larger than any would have expected. The walls were decorated with tapestries, and the floor was covered in warm, red rugs. There was a large shelf of books, a coffee table, and a few seats. On one side, there were large stained glass windows. On the other side, the wall was painted with the Black family tree. “Toujours purs” was written in the middle.

The bed was extravagant. It was large, and beautiful. There were posts at each corner with curtains. Then she realized she would have to sleep in the same bed as him. Her eyes widened and she saw he was the doorframe.

“You guessed it,” he said with a smirk. “You are sleeping on the floor.”

“What? You’re joking!”

“Does it look like I am joking?” He walked towards her.

“That is completely unfair!”

“You think I care?”

“No, but you have this enormous palace with so many rooms, can’t you just get another room or bed?”

“Why would I let you have the master bedroom if this is my palace?” Regulus removed his jacket.

“Well, it’s kind of our palace.” Arabella crossed her arms.

“But I’m the king.”

“And I’m the queen.”

“Exactly. The king is in a higher power than the queen.”

There was a moment of silence.

“I will just Conjure another bed, then,” said Arabella.

“And where are you going to put it?”

Arabella walked to the complete opposite side of the room. “Right here.”

“Fine.”

“Fine!”

“Fine!”

She rolled her eyes and used her wand to conjure a bed. It was not nearly as big or as comfortable as the other, but it was better than sleeping in the same sheets as Regulus, and breathing the same air as him.