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A TALE OF WOE
five hours and forty minutes
"IF I AM to tell you the story of my life, I must warn you," Regulus said as he cleared his throat. "It is not ... pretty."
"I didn't ask for a pretty story," she said softly. "I asked for yours."
"I do believe in what the Dark Lord professes," Regulus declared.
"Which is?" Senara asked.
"That wizards are better than muggles -- non magical people," he said defensively. "And nothing will change that. We have magic and they do not and so we shouldn't have to hide in the shadows when we are clearly the superior being."
"Superior, how so?" Senara asked.
Regulus's guard completely crumbled. Like a stone wall giving way, his bricks fell with the cracking mortar.
"We ... we have magic," Regulus stuttered.
"Does magic make someone good?" she asked. "Does magic provide moral superiority?"
"No," he mumbled. "But it means power."
"Ah, power," she hummed. "How fleeting."
"Power is not fleeting," he defended. "Power is power. You either have it or you don't."
"That is true," she said. "But is power all that you seek?"
"What else is out there?" Regulus asked desperately.
"I wouldn't know," she replied. "But I think you know."
"Why would I ask..." Regulus countered, annoyed.
"Why would you get defensive and not take a stronger stance if you didn't know there was a weakness in your argument?" she asked as she cocked her head to the side.
"You sure know a lot for someone who claims they don't remember anything," he growled.
"You think you are the only one to have found this cave?" she asked.
"But you are still alive," he mumbled.
"I know," she said. "They couldn't do it."
"Who was it?" he asked.
"A man, he had half-moon glasses and a long beard," she said. "He was very powerful. Even I could feel it. He didn't bother to ask for my name, but he talked to me about ... things ... and he wouldn't kill me. He said the time wasn't right."
"Oh," Regulus mumbled, realizing. "I wonder what he has planned."
"So, what was the weakness?" she asked curiously.
Regulus ignored the question.
"I had a mum and a dad -- the two people who helped make me, I guess -- their names are Orion and Walburga. And I have a brother," he explained. "And my childhood was quite nice, except for the nasty bits."
"What was your brother's name?" Senara asked.
Regulus ignored the question.
"My parents loved balls, they would go to them and host them all the time. Balls are where lots of people come and dress up and dance and talk," Regulus explained. "My mum would always fuss over us before them, making sure we looked perfect. She would always smooth back our hair. My brother's was always more unruly than mine, which was fitting, I guess."
Senara still did not understand what he was talking about. She didn't know what dancing was or dressing up. She knew the words and how the functioned in a sentence, but she couldn't visualize anything. But, she didn't dare interrupt him. He still held her life in his hands.
"When my parents used to leave us at home," Regulus recounted with a small smile. "My brother would always go down to the piano -- this big box thing that makes music if you press certain keys -- and play Clair de Lune. It was his first act of rebellion. Clair de Lune is a muggle piece."
"And your parents don't like muggles?" she asked.
"Detest them," he affirmed. "They are inferior in every way."
"You've said that," she said quietly.
He looked at her with a mix of offense and curiosity.
"What does Clair de Lune mean?" she asked.
"It's French for moonlight," he replied. "He was always obsessed with the moon."
"Did you like the moon?" she asked.
"No," he said with a sad smile. "I've always liked the sun."
