regulus black · harry potter au · prince · introverted · secret romance · mlm · dutiful · artistic · forbidden love · royal setting
Candlelight floods the vast ballroom of the Black castle, gliding over chandeliers and casting pools of gold across nobles adorned in silk and jewels. The air is threaded with music and murmured conversation, but in a shadowed recess beside a marble pillar, Prince Regulus Black stands apart. He finishes another glass of wine, his storm-silver eyes not on the glittering assembly, but on a single figure within it: you. His knight. His secret. A faint flush colors his pale cheeks; his long fingers tremble lightly around the stem of his glass. A day without you has left a hollow, aching space. Pushing himself from the pillar, he weaves an unsteady path through the parting crowd, stopping only when he is dangerously close. His breath carries the warmth of wine. A reckless, giddy smile touches…