Royalty [A One Direction AU]

{7} The Tomlinsons

I had to skip a bit of the story because of a change I made right before I first posted. Basically, there are only two weeks until the Winter Celebration, and Niall is going to visit the Tomlinsons with Louis for a long weekend.

I look up at the house in shock, not quite believing that the Tomlinsons live here. My childhood house- well, for ten years of my childhood at least- was only one-story, fairly small, with only two bedrooms, one for Greg and I and one for my mum, until Greg went to college and I got the bedroom to myself. But this house is three-stories tall, with balconies and all that, and to me it looks huge by comparison. Louis chuckles when he sees my face, grabbing the hand that isn't holding my suitcase and pulling me toward the front door. "If this is how you react to a slightly larger-than-normal house, I can't wait to see your face when you see where your dad lives." Oh yeah, forgot about that. Louis walks up to the door and rings the bell, smiling to himself. In a few seconds, the door swings open, revealing a woman who bears a striking resemblance to Louis.

"Hello, dear." She says, hugging Louis tightly. "And hello to you as well, Prince Niall." The woman adds, dipping her head. I sigh, looking at Louis, who grins.

"I told you, you'll have to get used to it." He says, and a confused expression crosses over the woman's face for a moment before being replaced by understanding.

"That's right, sorry. Niall, please just call me Johanna. Come on in, boys." She opens the door wider and steps out of the way so Louis and I can walk inside. When we get in, two young girls run up to Louis, hugging him tightly. The first thing I notice is that they look exactly the same. That pokes some part of my brain that remembers that Louis mentioned twin girls, so this must be Daisy and Phoebe. When they finish hugging Louis they turn their attention to me, smiling.

"Hi! I'm Daisy!" One girl says, hugging me quickly.

"And I'm Phoebe!" The other exclaims, copying her sister's actions. They both run over to Johanna and start talking excitedly, about what I'm not sure. Two more girls enter the front room at the same time, one from the kitchen and one from upstairs. The girl from upstairs, the younger of the two, walks over to Louis and hugs him, then she holds out a hand for me to shake.

"I'm Fizzy." She introduces. Interesting name, but I don't comment. Fizzy walks over to her younger sisters, joining their conversation.

"I'm Lottie." The final, oldest girl introduces. "Louis, Doris and Ernest are asleep, so don't make too much noise when you go upstairs." She adds, smiling at me. "It's nice to meet you." I nod, smiling back, and Louis grabs my arm, pulling me toward the staircase until I actually start walking. We go up two flights of stairs and into the first room on the left, which I can quickly tell is Louis' room.

"You really need to get used to people calling you a prince, Niall. What do you think will happen when your dad tells everyone?" Louis asks, sinking into his bed and sighing happily.

"I don't know. It just feels weird, Louis. Only a little over four months ago I thought I was the only person with magic on Earth and my dad was dead. Then I learn that not only is my dad perfectly alive, he's a king and I'm his heir? How would you react?" I question, looking at Louis' ceiling and waiting for his answer.

"I guess I'd be a bit uncomfortable." Louis admits. "At least you have your memories back. Otherwise this would be even stranger, especially for me." I nod, laughing a bit.

"Isn't it still strange for you, though? Knowing that soon I'll look older than you?" I ask curiously, suddenly wondering what it's like for him.

"I guess I just got used to it. One thing I'll never understand is how my hair can grow if the rest of me can't. I'm permanently eighteen yet I still have to get haircuts. And it's only the hair on my head, and not anywhere else. That's never grown. I guess I'm weird like that." Louis replies, frowning. "I can get used to being forever eighteen, but not losing my friends. I've had so many friends that I've watched get older until they leave this world. A couple have come back as ghosts, but even they leave after a while. Even other Immortals die, after a while most just get bored and kill themselves. I knew a couple who went into the armed forces and purposely went into a situation where they'd be killed. It's really sad, but you just get bored of the world after a while." He rambles. I've notices Louis does that alot. He'll be talking about one thing and then he'll just go completely off track and completely change the subject.

"Have you ever gotten bored?" I ask, realizing that it's very possible that Louis wants to die, he just can't.

"Yeah, I have. After my best friend all those years ago died, I got really depressed for a while. It happens to every Immortal when the first person they were close to dies. That's why there aren't very many of us. A lot kill themselves to join their loved ones almost immediately. Some people, like my family, are Immortalized with the ones they love, so they don't have that problem." Louis' eyes grow dark like they do whenever he thinks about something depressing. "I'm worried for Lottie. She's been acting differently lately, and I think I know why. One common thing in Immortal kids is that their minds continue to mature when their brains don't. Some, like Daisy and Phoebe and even Fizzy, choose to act like the age they appear, I tend to do that too. Lottie acts very mature for her apparent age, because she is. But she's still in love with her old boyfriend, and he's dying. I'm afraid that when he dies Lottie will try to join him, and that could set off a reaction of suicides that ends up killing all of them, other than Doris and Ernest." Man, being Immortal must be very difficult.

"Are the babies Immortal?" I ask curiously. Is that a thing?

"No, they'll grow up. When they get old enough my mum will probably give them the decision to become Immortal or not, that's how it usually works. The kids decide if they want to be Immortal, and what age. Lottie, Fizz, and the twins didn't get that option, unfortunately." Another question comes to mind and I frown.

"How did they become Immortal?" I question. Louis shrugs, looking at my wall.

"Probably a Wizard from the Rebellion, honestly. They've only been Immortal for about seventy years now, Lottie's boyfriend is eighty-five, so that sounds about right. The Rebellion loves to Immortalize random people just to screw with them, it's horrible. Only Wizards and Sorcerers can Immortalize someone, and the spell has to be taught. Your father will teach you one day, because the King is supposed to be the only one who knows how to Immortalize people. Obviously the Rebellion found out, though, so they do it to cause trouble." Louis explains. I nod, thoughts of the Rebellion dwelling in my mind long after we leave the room.

While I lie in the guest room of the Tomlinson's house, hours later, I continue to think about the Wizard Rebellion. Louis, my dad, the Royal Court, and I are the only people who know that the Rebellion is far from over. The Wizards were never truly defeated, and they're still after the throne. That's why my dad hid me in the first place, the reason no one knew I existed even when I lived in the castle.

It's funny how I call it a castle when in reality it's just a huge mansion with a medieval interior, at least that's what Louis says. Even with my memories back I still don't know what the mansion looks like, because it's a new house. My dad moved there after he hid me, because the Rebellion found our old house, yet another reason why I was sent away. All of this is much more complicated than I thought.

There's one thing that continually sticks out in my mind. There's a very good chance that the Wiper is part of the Rebellion, he has to be a Wizard, after all, and that means that someone from the Rebellion is looking for me. At least, that's what I think. I also think that I shouldn't tell anyone my suspicions until they're confirmed, lest I end up being wrong. I don't want to raise the alarm for nothing, after all.

At that thought, I'm finally able to drift off to sleep, but the Wizard Rebellion is waging in my dreams.