King of Swords [ Regulus Black ]

Chapter 32

Maslin and I bury Haro Fawley in the courtyard beneath a thicket of rose bushes. Their petals weep as we tear through root and earth. They ache for the sun, for vitality, these nutrients are all we can offer them at the moment.

We dig in silence. I move soil with my hands as he uses his wand to form craters. It is more teamwork than we have ever partnered on and I must admit it feels good to have him fully on my side.

I am surprised by Maslin's hardened demeanor, he does not weep as we cover his fathers remains. I don't hear a single sigh or feel a tremor from his hands once it is done. Haro Fawley's funeral is quick and unceremonious. I whisper a prayer over the jilted earth, but it is mostly for myself.

"Are you ok?" I ask him, dropping a handful of dirt over Haro's closed eyes.

"Far better than I anticipated," he replies.

Once we are done, I tell Maslin everything. Every scandal, every lie, the secrets pour out of me like gasoline onto a lit hearth. Most of it, Maslin already suspected in some form or another. That is until I reach the part of the story that intertwines with Regulus. There I am met with a bemused grin that makes my face feel hot. I am more conscious of my words than ever, even more so than when I explained the deaths of Jarrel and Minchum.

"It seems we both put our romantic stock in unworthy people," Maslin says, leaning back against his fathers rosebush grave.

"How do you get over something like that?" I ask, "I don't even want to kill him anymore, but I want him to hurt."

"They do hurt," Maslin replies, "that is why they did it. There is no sanity in betraying the person you love, they are simply trying to rationalize their own behavior. They convince themselves that they are evil and act upon it to divert their attention from the truth; they could have been saved."

I nod my head at this. I have never heard Maslin speak with such emotional fluency. Much thought has been put into his relationship with Mina. It makes me angry, I want to hurt her for hurting him which is how I know he is absolutely correct.

"Do you think they can still be saved?" I ask.

"Mina? No. Well, maybe, but I don't care enough to try anymore," he replies, "Regulus, however, is a lot like you, ya know? I shouldn't be surprised that you ended up entangled."

"In what way?"
The accusation makes me balk. Of course we have our flaws in common. Hot headed, vengeful and inherently selfish. I expect Maslin to start rattling those traits off.

"You live in your own worlds," Maslin says slowly, "only coming up to the surface to grace us with your presence on sparse occasions. Nobody really knows what is going on in your head. That makes for a difficult read. I often wanted to pretend you were an evil creature to make myself feel better for my own outward softness. It's hard to trust people when they don't seem to care about anything, but now I know the truth, you care too much. It consumes you."

"I was never trying to come off as uncaring," I tell him, taking his soil-stained hand.

"I know," Maslin says, "it's probably the same for him. He just wears his armor a bit thicker."

"The trust is gone," I sigh, "there is nothing left after that."

Maslin squeezes my hand, taking to stand. "I would support you in anything, but I can't give you further advice. Some battles are worth waging, others will land you a sword in the spine."

"When did you grow so intelligent?" I ask as we make our way back toward the manor. The sky above is even dimmer in the twilight hour. I don't know why I expected that to change with the death of Haro. That man never controlled the sun, I was orbiting around a black hole this entire time.