#royalfanficcollection

[ourplaceinthecosmosphff]

Chapter 1. The Case Against Fairytales

'his eyes across a room tangled up in her imagination they had spent a lifetime together by the time he said hello' atticus

My brother died the same way he came into the world: silent, eyes closed, changing my life as I knew it. 

We spent our whole lives trying to convince anyone we could that we were as regular as they were, but here's the first fundamentally different thing when you are royal: the meaning of the word ‘everyone’. 

In our case, we usually mean anyone in the country, most of the international media, and at least a sizeable majority of the world's population. It's not that everyone knew us... it's just that enough people did. Enough for it to be easier to call them 'everyone'. 

When my brother Louis was born, mom had been rushed to the hospital in the middle of a Sunday afternoon. The press was notified, they promptly set up camp at the hospital entrance, and the people started prayer campaigns to the safe arrival of their new prince and heir. Everyone rejoiced at his arrival. I remember, I was there. 

At three years-old, it felt like everyone was every single person in the planet. It was mostly just the people in our country; to everyone else, his birth was a quick, short line of announcement, maybe some notice to the fact that the newborn baby boy was taking his older sister's place as heir, and not much else. 

When he died, everyone was every single person in the planet. The second thing fundamentally different when you are a royal: from a very early age you must learn that tragedy sells more than joy. And in any constitutional monarchy country, a royal family is merely another commodity.

A few people talked about my early graduation from University. A lot more people talked about my boyfriend breaking up with me. There were a few articles about my little sister's victory at the ice-skating junior final. When she fell on her face in front of the cameras while attempting a risky move, she went viral. When my brother came into our lives, a few people took notice. 

When he left us, everyone did.

---- ---- ---- ----

I, too, am a victim of culture appropriation. Since the dawn of time, from the moment humankind developed communication skills, there has been storytelling. And for the past few thousands of years most stories that parents tell their young as they tuck them into their blankets every night, have been about my culture. As far as that goes, it is not the most damaging kind of culture appropriation. But I have a duty today, and I will not shy away from it. I am sorry to say I must, and will, shatter the beautiful image of fairytales that kids have been fed for so many years now. 

I know what you are thinking – oh, boo-hoo, the poor little princess girl; is life too difficult in your beautiful palace with all the money a person could ever need? And yes, I know. I am not a victim. The same colonialism that placed my ancestors, and therefore, me, in the position of privilege and power I am in today has created many more actual victims around the world. But that is also why I must tell this story the way it was always meant to be told: truthfully. With all the weird, awkward, awful, bits and pieces that fairytales tend to skip. 

Fairytales would, for instance, skip straight to the grand, majestic welcome ceremony between the Queen of the United Kingdom and the King of Savoy in a sun floored courtyard with guards on tall, furry black hats strutting around, standing in a red-carpeted dais, with a handsome prince making eyes at me. But in my story, we will start with the train. 

That’s right, in modern fairytales you don’t take a lovely carriage ride to a neighboring kingdom. You take a train there – a commercial train, if you can, because modern times beg for demonstrating to the masses that the Monarch isn’t throwing money around. We were trying to highlight the easy routes of access to our neighbors to the northeast, and so we took the ferry across the Celtic Sea to Hugh Town Island and from there, Eurostar number 2 train that made a quick stop in Penzance, UK, and then went straight to London. 

The train ride isn’t comfortable – even if you have a first class private car. It’s bumpy and crowded and a terrible place to spend three straight hours. On that particular morning, I was in our car with my father, his household secretary Auguste, my private aide, Cadie, and a few other staff members. 

In fairytale world, when a princess does not look the part, there is usually the appearance of a fairy godmother who sings a nice song and magically transforms her into a Proper Princess™. There is no fairy godmothers when you are a real princess- real ones, sure, but they are not magical-, but you do learn from an early age what a Proper Princess™ should look like, act like, and sound like, and god forbid you don't. 

In the train that day, I heard all that was keeping me from being Proper™ from Auguste, who was in many ways the exact opposite of a fairy godmother. He had all the menacing authority of one, with none of the charm. He also didn’t have wings or a sparkly wand; he had greying short hair, and thin, small, reading glasses that he always pushed down to the tip of his nose to look above, which made me wonder what was the point of the glasses at all.

Before our arrival, I had to change my lipstick, which was too dark, my dress, which was too short at the daring height of above my knees, my shoes, which were open toed and therefore wrong, and finally, make sure to brush my hair once more.

My parents never subscribed to the idea that we were forbidden to do anything. They were raised on stern rules and heavily traditional costumes and wanted their kids to live more freely. So, growing up, they revolutionarily told us that we were free to be whoever we wanted to be – in private. In public, we had an obligation to be Proper™. After all, as I heard repeatedly growing up: royals don’t make mistakes, we make history; and history remembers.

So, yes. I, a grown, 25 years-old, law-school graduate, bar-approved acquisitions lawyer, changed out of my dress into a more proper one because my dad asked. Because as a princess, you’re never just yourself; you’re the country. And if your country comes from a Roman Catholic tradition, your hemlines must reflect that, no matter what century it is.

The country in question was just to the south of the United Kingdom, west of France, a large island named Savoie. The English call it Savoy, which is how it was pronounced anyway. It was originally populated by the Irish, but over the years it was conquered by the English, the Spanish, and the Portuguese until finally, in the 13th Century, it was conquered by France. It was bigger than Ireland, but smaller than England, and one of the biggest GDPs in the world, with a population of 49 million. Under the reign of Louis XV, however, France lost most of its possessions after its defeat in the Seven Years' War, and to secure Savoy, the king sent part of the court to live there and to reign in his stead as his emissaries. Louis XV's reign grew weak, including his ill-advised financial, political and military decisions, which discredited the monarchy and arguably led to the French Revolution 15 years after his death. France dealt with its dissatisfaction by revolting, Savoy however, secluded away at sea, decided to declare independence before the Revolution had even taken steam. The political leaders of the Island reached an agreement with the king's emissary, Prince Louis, the highest ranking monarch on the island; in exchange for support for the severance of all connection to France, he was then made King Louis I of Savoy. The Royal House of Savoy grew steady and strong by protecting its people and assuring them a freer, better life than the one they'd known under French reign.

A few years later, I sat on that train in front of the current King of Savoy. My father. 

“You look beautiful, Maggie.”

“Thank you.” 

“The other dress was beautiful as well. Just not for today.”

“Mm-hm.”

A moment of silence went by. I picked up my phone and checked my emails. There was one from Sophie with the subject ‘urgent!’ so I clicked in it feeling my heart race.

It read,

‘Marie, I’m sorry to bother you on your days off, but the depositions got moved up to Monday and we can’t find the notes on the manager deposition, you were the one who did them. Is there any chance you have a copy and if so can you send them to me? Enjoy England! XO Soph’

Sighing, I put down my phone and quickly found my laptop on my suitcase. I turned it on as I replied to Sophie’s email to tell her to expect my deposition notes shortly. 

“You know if we could I’d let you wear whatever you wanted.” Dad added as I logged into my computer.

“I do.”

I moved quickly through my folders realizing the most recent update on my notes hadn’t been uploaded to the cloud. Sighing, I logged on to the train WiFi and checked the storage service online. It didn’t connect.

“Honestly, darling, you look even prettier with this dress.”

I looked up, mentally wondering if the previous versions of the notes would be useful.

“This isn’t about the dress.”

I realized, then, that it wouldn’t matter anyway because I wouldn’t be able to send them to Sophie without internet. I looked out the window, realizing perhaps too late that we were in the tunnel, underwater. Of course there wasn’t internet.

“Well, what is it about?” Dad asked, putting his book marker back inside the page he was on and laying down the book to give me his full attention.

“Work, papa. I have a job.”

“Yes, and it’s your day off. Maybe you should try and turn off from work for the next few days?”

I smiled down to my computer, “maybe this is a conversation for another time.”

Dad adjusted his posture, looking a little taller, and looked around the room to Cadie and Auguste sitting in a booth nearby with our private hair and make-up artist, and dad’s footman, and personal aide.

“Excuse me, everyone, would you be so kind as to give us the room? Or, uh, the car? There is a little lounge outside, isn’t there?”

“Of course, sir.” Auguste said, jumping up immediately with the aide, and Cadie and Cass, the make-up artist, followed.

After they had left and closed the door behind them, I looked at my father. He lurched back in his seat and smiled at me. 

“Go on,” he said. “If you don’t scream I don’t think they’ll hear us.”

“Why would I scream?”

“I don’t know, Maggie. But I don’t know why you would be so passive aggressive, either. Can you tell me?”

“What do you want, dad?” 

In truth, I added the ‘dad’ at the end of the sentence to make it sound less aggressive, but as he stared at me, I felt uncomfortable not explaining myself.

“I’m here, aren’t I?”, I asked, tiredly. “I’m here, wearing a proper, long, not-slutty dress-“

“No one here used that word-“

“My toes will be perfectly hidden away when we arrive, I have hidden my ugly, evil legs under some stockings-“

“Really, Maggie, no one said your legs were-“

“My make-up is light and my hair is simple and non-threatening. I know not to smile too much or too little and to let the adults lead the conversation”, I said, the word ‘adults’ dangling bitterly from me lips. “And not to walk ahead of you, but always behind, taking your lead.”

“You make it sound so stiff and calculated.”

“And I have taken time off of work to be here.” I said. “All other Junior Associates are working overtime and through weekends to cash in as many billable hours as possible to be promoted to Full-time Associates, and instead I took off four days to travel with my dad.”

“Work, for work!”

“So, again, what do you want? How else am I not meeting your expectations?”

I spoke calmly, gently, and as low a volume as I could just to confront his joke not a minute before about how if I didn’t scream the others wouldn’t hear us. I made sure to be as poised and contained as I could. He heaved a sigh.

“I’m sorry you had to take time off work.” 

I waited, as he stared in his usual lovingly, patient way. I smiled, more as a peace offering than genuinely. 

“You know very well they won’t fire you.”

Still, I was quiet, smiling as sincerely as I could. 

“And I know that isn’t fair, but there’s nothing I can do about it. So tell me something I can do and I will.”

“Okay.” I said, nodding. “I want your honesty. Don’t treat me like a child you need to protect, don’t patronize me. All I want is an honest answer.”

He adjusted himself in his seat and cleared his throat. “Alright. Go on.”

“Why am I here, papa?”

He blinked, seemingly confused. I could tell he expected a harder question.

“Your- Because your mother sprained her ankle?” he answered, still unsure. “What- do you mean philosophically? Why are any of us here, really? I don’t understand.”

I tried not to smile. “I mean I have a life. I am not your heir. Louis is your heir, it is his job to help you when mom has emergencies.”

He sighed deeply, finally arriving at the same page where I was.

“Your brother is in school.” He said. “And you are our oldest child. So, I’m sorry if it disrupts your life, Maggie. But you are needed.”

“And after school?” I asked “His graduation is in 6 months. Are you telling me that after he graduates university and moves back home, when he is starting his career, maybe moving to the capital, when you and mom have an emergency, you will call him up instead of me?”

He gave the table a sad smile. “If that is your wish, yes.”

“So that’s all, then?” I confirmed, suspiciously. “He moves back after graduation and you will give me the space I need?”

He smiled. “Is that what you want, then?” it wasn’t a confirmation. It was a tone of accomplishment. Of finally realizing what was it that I wanted, as if this entire conversation that’s what he had been trying to find out.

“I went to school for years. I interned for a year. I studied hard for the bar exams in America and Savoy. Yes, dad, I want to use the degree I worked hard for.”

“Okay, then. We will give you space.” He said. “Space from us, to be who you want to be. To be normal.”

I rolled my eyes, smiling, slightly amused at his dramatics. “That is not what I meant.”

“But it is accurate.”

“Papa...” I sighed.

“I’m just saying, sweetheart, I understand.” He insisted. “It’s why you went to America for University, it’s why you are based on the capital now. As long as you’re too close to us, you can’t live a normal life.”

“I can never live a normal life. We are not normal.”

“But you wish to try.”

I chuckled. “How?! You said it yourself, they will never fire me. My firm, I mean. Wherever I am, I am never just me and my degree and my career. People look at me and see you, as if I am you. I am their King. I am the Royal Family of Savoy. They’ll never take me seriously or afford me the same opportunities as everyone, because I am not everyone.”

He nodded, slowly, then sighed. “Yikes. You’re right. That sounds tough.”

“And I’m the passive aggressive one?”

“Job security and the attention of your bosses. That sounds awful.”

“Papa...”

“You want the space to dedicate yourself to your career without us pulling you away for royal work. Is that it? Okay. You got it. As soon as your brother is back from University, I will make sure you’re only needed for official events, and only if you’re not working.” 

He sounded serious now. Sincere as when he delivered the End of Year address every Christmas, which was meaningful. Getting dad to afford me the same seriousness he afforded his subjects was as much seriousness as I could get from him. Still, there was no mistaking the sadness in his eyes. 

“Even before his affirmation ceremony?” I asked, trying to sniff around for a trick.

The affirmation ceremony was meant to make clear to the country that an heir to throne had the seal of approval of the Monarch, and it usually happened when the heir was 21 years of age, to signify the Monarch believed in the event of a tragedy, the heir was ready to rule.  In modern times, it meant an heir was ready to start working as a full-time royal. Though my brother was 22, the family had decided to wait until he had graduated university to do his ceremony. 

Dad took longer than I wished, but finally, he nodded. “Yes. I promise.”

If you’re paying attention, then you might have noticed the math doesn’t add up. How come my 22 years-old brother is the heir when I said I am 25, the oldest child? Well, as with most fairytales, as well as with most of life, the problem is the patriarchy. For the thing is, though I was older than Louis by three years, because I was born a girl, he became the heir when he was born. So, at three, I went from future-Queen to lower ranking older sister. 

It wasn’t unusual, my father himself had two older sisters who were lower than him and his brothers in the line of succession. As a result we had older cousins who we outranked. I cared about all this at 25 the same as when I was 3: not at all. 

Absolute primogeniture law was passed in Savoy when I was 5, propelled by my birth and the new times. It was, however, not retroactive. This meant the law was changed for future births, not past ones, so all girls born after the law came into effect would be heirs in their own right, no matter how many brothers they got after, and all girls born before would go into history as having missed it by ‘just a bit’.

Louis and I, though, didn’t sit around having long discussions about who would be a better ruler. There has never been an instance in which we were arguing and I yelled something like, “first you stole my throne and now you stole my cookies! I hate you!”. For us this was just a little footnote in the family tree. A little fun fact to tell our future kids one day. And although I couldn’t remember what it felt like, I always knew it was much better not having to be the Crown Princess of Savoy.

---- ---- ---- ----

When we finally reached Penzance, the small town in the tip of the isle of England where sat the second Eurostar station, I was able to finally connect to the internet. My father left our train car to walk about with his security because he wanted to witness the new English policy of installing a check-point at the entry due to the immigrant crisis – a huge part of why we were there. While he did that, I sent Sophie my notes on the deposition, and answered some messages.

There was one from Louis, my aforementioned brother:

‘are you close?’

And one from our baby sister, Lourdes:

‘what do you think??!!!!!!!!’, with an attachment of two videos.

And, lastly, one from my mother, Her Majesty Queen Amelie-Elyse, back home with a sprained ankle.

‘Hope all is well! Let me know when you’re with your brother. Don’t forget to let your hair down before leaving the train!’

She didn’t mean it in a philosophical, have fun kind of way. She literally meant let my hair down, apparently it softened my features. 

I replied to her with a selfie, with my hair properly brushed and down, in preparation for the arrival in London, which was close now. Let Louis know we were almost there. And sent a quick, uncommitted ‘woah!’ to my sister, without opening her attachments. They were always the same: videos of her practicing. There was only so much ice skating I could watch in a lifetime.

My mom answered my text with, “why did you change your dress?!”

I sighed, getting ready to justify this decision as well, already anticipating she would argue that the fascinator wouldn’t go with this one dress, so I told her I already had another fascinator standing by. 

Growing up with fairytales they don’t tell you about the little annoying details. Characters who are annoying usually are the villains, the ones the Princess escapes from, usually saved by the prince. They don’t tell you sometimes, actually a lot of the times, the people you love can be equally as annoying. 

---- ---- ---- ----

When we arrived at the station in London, I was already wearing my disc fascinator in a light shade of blue matching both my lace dress, this time reaching all the way to my ankles, and eyes. We were quickly greeted by the Savoyen Ambassador to England in front of the press, and escorted into government cars towards Whitehall. 

The large parade ground was a traditional courtyard in central London that usually housed ceremonies related to the military and the royal family. When we arrived, the day finally was washed in a feeling of ceremony. 

The place was lined neatly with military guards, security barricades and the Scotland Yard Police kept watchers and paparazzi at bay, the press lined up inside to have the best view of all involved. As we arrived, the traditional 41 gun salute was already sounding on. A military band was playing. People waved and yelled hello as we drove inside. I suddenly knew what to do, as if my body had the gene for it. This was one thing that was definitely genetic.

I stepped out of the car delicately, smoothly, knees together like a proper lady, polite smile on my lips in thanks to the guard who saluted as I left. My father greeted a handler who escorted us to the front of all the lined guards, where three structures had been set up: one large one in the middle, with a red-carpeted stage and a large roof, the British Royal Coat of Arms in the center with the British flag to its right and the Savoy flag to its left. Decorative flowers and elegant plants here and there. Two smaller, simpler structures to both of its sides. Inside all of them, men and women in formal suits and ties and knee-length, appropriate dresses and hats. 

We walked the grovel path to the larger structure as the band played and the press, lined up in front of this platform, took their photographs. My father climbed the steps first, quickly being received by the small, elder, lady in a lavender overcoat and matching hat, impressive set of pearls dangling from her neck. She smiled as he lowered himself down to kiss both her cheeks warmly. 

The queen then looked at me and I approached, just as our handler told Her Majesty:

“And may I present, Her Royal Highness, Princess Marie-Margueritte of Savoy.”

I lowered myself in a curtsy, and as she extended her hands to hold mine, I also kissed her cheeks, trying to avoid knocking her hat with mine. 

“Welcome.” She smiled. “I hope the ride was forgiving.”

“Very comfortable.” My father told her. “Always surprising how fast it is.”

“Yes. You’ll remember, I’m sure, the Prince of Wales.” She said, walking us to the center of the platform where another two men awaited.

My father and the Prince of Wales greeted each other warmly, they were more used to running in the same circles – royal weddings here and there, international summits and meetings, or whatever it is they do. 

“We’re so glad to have you.” He told my father. 

“I don’t know if you’ve met my daughter, Princess Marie-Margueritte.”

Smiling, I curtsied to the Prince of Wales as he held my hand, before kissing my cheeks. 

“You brighten this day, Your Royal Highness.” He told me, before stepping closer to add, in a whisper. “Sorry you have been dragged to this.”

I giggled, “I’m happy to be here, sir.”

Straightening up, he noticed my father was already greeting the man behind him. “Hopefully we won’t bore you too much. I have tried to bring someone else closer to your age. Have you met my son?”

The handler didn’t know it, but there were no introductions necessary. And yet, all I could do was smile politely as we were introduced to:

“His Royal Highness, Prince Harry of Wales.”

I wondered, for a moment, if he would acknowledge that we already knew each other. 

“It’s a pleasure, Your Royal Highness.” Holding my hand in his, he brought my knuckles to his lips. 

The answer was, obviously, no. So I lowered myself again in a curtsy as an excuse to avert my eyes from his.

I couldn’t understand why, but I had been unprepared for him. With all of Auguste’s preparation, all the briefings, with all the preachings about my appearance, no one had prepared me for him. I don’t know if it was that, like me, he was one of the youngest there, or how absurdly, almost ridiculously tall he was, or maybe how the blue in his eyes contrasted with the red of his hair, but he just… stunned me. When he kissed my hand, his eyes traveled down my legs all the way back to pierce mine, igniting a wave of electricity down my spine I was unable to control. 

He leaned back, and there we stood, hand in hand, wordlessly. 

“You can follow the King, ma’am.” Auguste whispered behind me, his voice making me jump slightly, as I quickly pulled my hand from Harry’s, not before realizing he had something scribbled on his palm.

My father and the Queen were deep in conversation, with Charles besides them, as they reached the center of the platform to watch the guards. The Queen in the middle, my father to her right, and the Prince of Wales to her left, I walked forward to stand beside my father, while Prince Harry walked to his. 

We waited just a moment, and then the band started playing the Savoy National Anthem, and the British Anthem after it. A few words said, more ceremony here and there, and the Prince Wales formally invited my father to inspect the Guards, so they left together, accompanied by one of the military leaders to walk among the rolls of guards,  as the three of us stood behind to watch.

“I was sorry to hear about your mother, ma’am.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” I said, looking regretful, walking towards her, closing the gap left behind by the others. “She was sorry she couldn’t be here.”

“I hope it’s nothing serious.” Prince Harry interjected.

“A sprained ankle.” I explained, looking ahead. 

“Harry is also here after a small hiccup with the Duchess of Cornwall, my daughter-in-law.” His grandmother told me. “An illness in her family, nothing serious.”

“Hopefully I’ll have time to meet her before we leave.”

“Oh, I’m sure.” She nodded. “How did you mother hurt herself?”

“Horse fall. She was never very fond of Polo, I’m afraid this will drive her further away from it.”

“Oh, that is regretful.” The Queen said. 

Harry looked at me. “Do you play?” 

“I do, sir.” 

“Harry is very good,” his grandmother told me, “he will be the one playing with you in the charity match in the coming days.”

“I look forward to-“, I started, but Harry had started the exact same sentence. We locked eyes, and chuckled.

“You first.” I said.

“Please, I insist.” He responded, cheeks reddening.

His grandmother looked between us, and then back to the uniformed men in front. She then said, in a low tone, something I would spend a large part of the upcoming months thinking obsessively about:

“Be careful with him... He will charm you, but he is a heartbreaker.”

The words astonished me so much I looked at her, unsure she had actually said them. But she had, clearly, because Harry was also looking at her, quite shocked.

“Granny!” he complained, in such a whiny tone I broke into laughter.

“Do I lie?” She asked him, grinning. It only made him look more shocked. 

“Don’t ruin my reputation in front of foreign royals!” he said, in a low tone, before looking at me. “Specially such pretty ones.”

My giggle froze in my throat under his intense glare, and I could feel my cheeks reddening.

The Queen looked at me. “Oh, you’re blushing. It’s too late, I see.”

It was.

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Margueritte’s outfit

The ask box is open! Let me know your thoughts? And if at all possible, like this page so I know you liked it? Thank you so much!

[A/N: Attention: by continuing to read you are accepting that some sad stuff is coming. You been warned. Thanks for checking this out! Let me know your thoughts?? thanks!!!!]

[A/N2: Hey! Nat here. I wanted to talk a little more about the story we are about to go on together.

In the upcoming chapters you will be introduced to the Royal Family of Savoy, a fictitious European country right below the UK, to left of France. When I first posted a fanfiction, FIUYMI, I made the main character latina, since that’s what I am, and I had previously felt that I couldn’t relate to other characters I had read. In this one, however, I decided I wanted to write about a fictitious monarchy, and I knew I wanted to make it as realistic as possible. 

As much as I wanted at many points in the story to make the character look more like me, the idea felt like cheating: Margueritte is a blood royal, born to a life of specific privileges and hardships, and pretending she could look like the type of people who don’t have white privilege would be trying to ignore a very real issue: all monarchies - past and present - existed, lasted and gathered riches on the back of people of color. Most of their descendants still carry white and wealth privilege because these royal families, however many years ago, supported and perpetuated colonialism and white supremacy that left countless countries and their populations still recovering today.

That is a legacy Margueritte didn’t chose, and which she also doesn’t have to face, but in this story she will chose too. As you’ll see, she finds herself in a much more influential position she thought she would have, and as such she realizes she has two options: she can stick to the message her family - and other royal families - have perpetuated for generations and keep her head high, mouth and ears shut, so their legacy can survive; or she can chose to be a modern Queen who will make the institution relevant again. I want to write about this because this issue is important for the times we live in, particularly after the way the Duchess of Sussex was treated in the United Kingdom.

What that will look like will depend on who Margueritte is as a person and whose advice she takes, and that is a journey I hope you’ll take with us =) ]

[boundtoyouphff]

Chapter 13: Come Dance With Me

A/N: Here is the next chapter like I had promised! I cannot wait to share more of this story with you guys. I hope to hear from you soon. Enjoy xx

*Please make sure you have read Ch 12 that I had posted earlier today BEFORE READING THIS CHAPTER!*

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Dancing.

I love to dance.

You turned me around and I found those hopeful piercing blue eyes asking, “Come dance with me.” I grabbed your hand without hesitation as if an outside force pushed me into your arms. Our bodies were connected and moved as if we were puppets with our invisible strings being maneuvred from a source above the clouds.

I love to dance, but I found out that I love to dance with you more.

Maybe it’s the way you hold me securely in your arms as I put my trust in you to never let me fall.

But, I am falling. Falling in love with you.

They say to dance with your heart and your body will follow. Is that the case with love too? If you love with your heart, will your mind accept that love or is the voice of reason too strong?

Will this dance end before it can even begin?

I love to dance.

Come dance with me.

Come dance with me to a song that never ends.

————————--------

Giving the crowds one last wave, Harry jumped in the back seat of the vehicle and settled down into the comfortable leather while releasing a deep sigh. He finished his somber engagement at Fort Lennox this afternoon, one which held a memorial for all of those who fought and lost their lives at the Battle of Lennox. The majority of the Illyrian Royal family were present, including Emilia, but it was her brother Edward that was to accompany Harry today.

The prince closed his eyes for a brief moment relishing in silence that he had found. He breathed in a slow deep breath and released it through pursed lips as a wave of relief floated out from him. He now had a break in his tour where he would be able to spend some more time with Emilia.

The door flew open making Harry’s eyes spring open as his peaceful surroundings were distrubed by none other than Emilia’s twin brother, Prince Edward. He smirked and took the seat beside Harry before he unbuttoned his military uniform and threw his head back with a sigh. “I find these memorials are too somber for my liking.” Emilia’s brother voiced his unwanted opinion. His head turned to flash a smile at the quiet prince. “At least we are heading to Cavallo this evening. The resort we always book is off the charts mate. It will be good for you to have a fun evening off from this tour, Harry.”

The prince was doing his best to be courteous to Edward, despite his inward feelings for the man and the way he treated his sister. “I am looking forward to spending some time in the sun and on the beach I must admit. Is this a yearly dinner?” Harry engaged in conversation with Edward, hoping to pass the hour and a half drive to the resort.

But, his mind kept drifting off to an image of Emilia at the memorial. She had stood beside Harry and her brother Edward for the majority of the service. Her wavy long dress had Illyrian flowers printed across the fabric that flowed in the breezy wind that tousled her hair. Harry remained the stoic soldier beside her, dressed proudly in his military uniform he had brought along specifically for this occasion. From under the brim of his hat, he saw the princess bow her head and wipe away a stray tear. In that exact moment, you could hear a sea of cameras clicking away and capturing the moment. No doubt to use against Emilia in tomorrow’s papers. His heart sank in his chest for her, the princess was under constant scrutiny. Why were they so vindictive of her when she was the only one who showed true emotion, the one who wasn’t afraid to?

Harry joined the rest of the royal family, greeting the soldiers of the past and present to thank them for their continued sacrifice. Emilia was ahead of Harry to begin with, but he quickly caught up to the princess as she greeted and spoke to every single one of them who eagerly waited for her. She often kneeled down to their eye level and held a short conversation rather than just a greeting. There was one moment where they both delved into a deep conversation with a veteran who told them their story.

“Harry?” Edward had called his name, bringing the prince back into the moment.

“Yes? Sorry, my mind went elsewhere.” Harry locked eyes with the prince and offered a kind smile.

“Better not have been thinking of my sister, she’s off limits!” Edward tossed his head back in laughter, making light of the situation.

Little did Edward know, that was exactly who was on his mind.

—————————

The prince had arrived at the Malvarossa resort in Cavallo after a mentally strenuous ride and immediately felt relaxed with the stunning ocean views that welcomed him. Prince Edward ensured that Harry was all settled in his room at the private villa the royal family had booked for a few days. The villa was a separate entity of the resort and was often the place the family used as a vacation venue.

He walked out towards the balcony and opened the white panelled doors, immediately feeling the sea breeze hit him. Closing his eyes, Harry took in a deep breath and felt the bright Illyrian sun warm him. He grasped the balcony rails and looked down, deciding to go for a walk and check out the villa until he had to get ready for the dinner.

Harry was wandering around aimlessly when he ran into Julianna, The Duchess of Molvania and her husband Prince George who had their children with them, Prince Leonardo and Princess Fiona, Emilia’s cousins. Leonardo enveloped the prince into a hug and welcomed him to the resort, immediately inviting Harry to join him at the bar for a drink to which Harry accepted.

Prince Leo ordered their drinks and sat down beside the prince, running his fingers through his thick dark lock of hair. He held Harry’s gaze as he saw those same icy blue eyes that was a clear genetic marker in the Illyrian royal family. “How’s the tour going, mate?” Leonardo casually asked Harry.

“Well...” Harry laughed nervously and took a healthy sip of his drink. “You know how tours can be exhausting. So this is a well needed break.” He turned to angle his body to look out towards the crystal clear waters, watching as the waves came crashing into the shore.

“I get it, Harry. Been on my fair share and I cannot say I would willingly volunteer again for one.” Leo barked a laugh and clasped his hands together. “Tonight will be fun. You will definitely get to see a different side to my family..... the dramatic side that is.” He continued to laugh.“Us boys always place a bet on how long until things blow up. There is always some sort of family drama that gets unleashed when we all get together.” Leo shook his head at the memories that had come flooding to mind. “At least there won’t be any Emilia and Thomas drama like last year....”

Harry watched Leo’s expression morph into a somber one. It caught him off guard and caused Harry to want to know more of what Leo thought of his cousin, Emilia. It had seemed that most of her family was ready and willing to drag her through the mud, but Leo appeared not to be in that same category. His gut feeling was that Leo was a genuine friendly guy.

“It does appear that drama is always surrounding Emilia...” He left his statement drag off in hopes that Leo would take the bait and share his thoughts with him.

“Not of her doing... don’t be deceived by what you read.” Leonardo did not waste a breath in his reply as he stared at the bottom of an empty glass before ordering a new one. He spinned the bar stool around to face the prince, locking in his gaze.

“Let me tell you something about Emilia, Harry.” Leo nodded his head slowly. “Emilia is like a sister to me and I know her like one. She has more heart and empathy than anyone on this earth and she is not afraid to show how passionate she is. I have worked on numerous projects with her and she literally puts her heart and soul into every little detail. But, at the end of the day she is judged more harshly than anyone in this family thanks to my grandmother and the media.” Leo shook his head and displayed a look of disgust. “She is exactly what this family needs, what this country needs to see from their royal family, but my grandmother is stuck in the past.”

“It breaks my heart to see her light being dimmed because others can’t stand to see how bright she can shine.” Harry could feel the love Leo held for Emilia emanating through his words of admiration for the princess. It was a relief to see that at least someone in this family saw Emilia for what she was worth and could see the potential in her. The prince lifted his head to glance up at Harry. “She’s been through so much this past year. I didn’t blame her at all for running away to London for a while. I think she shouldn’t have come back and given a taste to gran what she is missing.”

Before Harry could speak in return, his eyes captured Emilia walking down to the bar dressed casually in a pair of jeans, a simple white buttoned down blouse and black flats. Leo caught Harry gazing at the princess over his shoulder and glanced back to see who had caught his attention. “Perfect timing.” He giggled lightly.

Emilia tucked her long dark hair behind her ear in an attempt to tame in from the wind blowing off of the ocean. She was carrying a duffel bag of hers and was on the way to check in to her room when she saw her cousin Leonardo and Harry having a drink at the private bar. Emilia waved at them with a beaming smile, silently loving the fact that they appeared to already be getting along with one another.

“Hello boys!” Leonardo hopped off of his bar stool and leaned in to greet his cousin with a peck on the cheek.

“Hello gorgeous cousin. Glad to see you have arrived for the familial festivities.” He patted her on the head to remind her how much shorter she was than him. Emilia rolled her eyes and playfully swatted his arm away before turning her attention towards Harry.

“Hi, Harry.” Emilia took a step towards him and opened up her arms inviting him into an embrace. He wrapped his arms around the beautiful princess and squeezed her tiny frame.

“Hello, Emilia.” Their hug lingered for a few seconds too long as Emilia took in a deep breath and inhaled Harry’s sweet memorable scent. Breaking apart, she lowered her head in embarrassment knowing that Leo would pick up on it. She always struggled to lie and keep things from her close knit cousin.

“I see you two have already started drinking.” Emilia peaked up at Leo and reached across him, grabbing his drink and downing it before he could intervene.

“Ahhh!” Leo gasped in shock. “I really have missed you cousin!” He waved at the bartender to order more drinks, but Emilia had stopped him.

“Nah, none for me Leo. I need to get settled in and ready for dinner.” She sadly informed the dark haired prince and watched him dramatically extend out his bottom lip into a pout.

“I am good mate.” Harry held his hand up in refusal.

“Well, I can’t be here at my lonesome?!” Leo tossed his arms up in the air and shook his head in disbelief.

Emilia angled her head up at him. “Should have invited Ella then.” She held her hand up in the air to act like a visor and block the sun from her eyes.

“Ya, not after the disaster that happened last year when you brought your boyfriend to the dinner.” Leo’s eyes grew wide with horror.

Emilia smacked Leo’s stomach hard. “Leo!” She scolded her cousin before turning her body towards Harry. “Leo is dating my stylist, Ella. No one in the family knows, but me.” Harry nodded in understanding, but it was not that particular bit of information that he was more curious about.

“I am going to take my bag to my room. See you two at dinner.” Emilia bent down and picked up her bag with a small grunt, forgetting how heavy it was.

“Need help with that?” Harry was quick to offer the princess, but was met with a glaring narrowed set of blue eyes.

Leo raised his eyebrow and watched the interaction. “Good luck convincing the tiger.” He mumbled, but both Harry and Emilia had heard his words.

The prince took a step forward towards Emilia, making the close proximity to her very evident in his intentions. She peaked up at him, gazing up at him while his hand brushed up against her own to grasp the bag. Emilia did not put up a fight like she normally would have and dropped the bag into his hand.

“Where’s your room?” The prince motioned for Emilia to show him the way.

“Follow me.” Emilia turned on her heel with crossed arms and waved goodbye to Leo. “Bye Leo, see you later.”

Harry grabbed the bag and carried it behind his shoulder. “Good god, do you have a dead body in here? How much did you pack for two nights?” The prince complained as he trailed behind Emilia towards the direction of her room.

“Oh stop complaining, Wales.... besides.” Emilia turned around and started to walk backwards. “A girl can never have too many clothes!” Harry rolled his eyes and offered a quick wink before following Emilia down the corridor towards her room.

Emilia and Harry fell into step with one another as a comfortable silence fell between them. Emilia glanced up towards the prince and witnessed the elated smile that was still plastered on Harry’s lips. She gently grabbed his hand and interlaced their fingers together, patiently waiting for his gaze to fall upon her. The prince angled his head and looked down towards the princess and caught her staring up at him with an adoring expression.

Harry squeezed her hand while his lips spread into a beaming grin for the princess. “You looked beautiful today.” He showered her with compliments watching that little glint in her eyes appear at his sweet words. Emilia’s cheeks blushed with a faint crimson red, making her gaze falter to the ground in embarrassment, but was flattered at his compliment.

“Thank you, you are too sweet.” Emilia giggled and tucked a piece of her long dark brunette hair behind her ear. When she lifted her head, the prince’s eyes were still staring down at her while he blindly followed Emilia down the hall. “I am really happy that you are here with me. I have such great memories of this place.” The princess released a deep breath.

“Me too, Emilia.” There was a hint of exhaustion laced in the prince’s tone. He had been non-stop since his plane had landed in Illyria.

Emilia had made it to her suite in the villa and unlocked the door while she continued to listen to Harry vent. She kicked off her flats as Harry set down her bag at the front entrance. Emilia heard the deep sigh he released and turned back around with an endearing smile.

“Come relax and sit with me a bit.” Her hand reached out to him as their fingertips brushed up against one another. The prince did not need further convincing to spend some time with the beauty before him. He followed Emilia to the lounge and sat down beside her. Harry instinctively lifted his arm as she snuggled her frame close to his body.

Emilia sighed and placed her head on his shoulder closing her eyes briefly. Relishing in the private company of one another, the two of them sat in near silence being left alone to their thoughts. But, they still felt the comfort that the other offered them through simple touches.

“Are you excited for tonight?” The princess broke through Harry’s deep thoughts and brought him back to reality.

“Yes.” Harry’s lips spread into a smile. “But, I am looking forward to spending more time with you.” The prince happily confessed as he turned his head to smile down at Emilia. He saw her lips spread into a beaming smile while her eyes held his gaze.

Emilia quietly stared up at the prince, looking deep into his eyes as her mind started to wander back to that moment in the back of the car when Harry told her that he needed an answer with where they stood with one another. Part of her was waiting for these few days knowing that she would likely have more time with Harry to figure out where her heart was, but truth was she already knew what her heart had decided. It was whether she could get her mind to follow.

Her eyes drifted down to their entwined fingers and took in a deep sigh. Harry’s eyes followed her gaze down as he felt the light brush of her hand trail down his forearm. He could tell that the young princess was in an internal debate and he did not want to disrupt her thoughts so he quietly sat beside her and enjoyed analyzing every part of Emilia to keep it in his memory for a later time.

------------------------

Emilia emerged from her closet wearing a purple off the shoulder dress that boasted an asymmetrical frill skirt. It elegantly flowed across her body as she stepped forward in her bare feet towards the floor length mirror in her bedroom.

Harry had been casually sitting on the edge of her bed waiting for her to get ready for the family dinner this evening. He was sipping on a drink when he nearly choked on it watching the princess come out in the dress, taking his breath away.

The princess slowly twirled around, carefully analyzing whether it was the right choice of dress for the evening's events. The back of the dress had not been zipped up, exposing a healthy amount of her backside and her black bra beneath. Harry was literally at a loss for words as he continued to sit on the edge of the bed in silence.

Emilia turned around swiftly and caught Harry in the act, checking her out. She shook her head at the naughty prince, giving him an eye roll.

“It is not my fault when you come out looking like that, Em.” Harry tossed his arms up in the air with a light giggle. He watched as Emilia turned her attention back to the mirror, but this time a frowned replaced that bright smile of hers.

“Do you really like it?” Emilia had suddenly become doubtful in her choice as a shy almost embarrassed version of herself emerged while the confident side of herself faded into the background.

Harry pushed himself off of the edge of her bed and slowly stepped behind her. This was what he was witnessing with each passing day. The strong confident princess he met in London was fading as uncertainty came forth clouded by the pressures of her grandmother's expectations.

He stepped in behind Emilia and gently grasped both of her arms, giving them a light re-assuring rub. “You, my princess… are absolutely gorgeous in this dress.” His deep quiet, assuring voice calmed her fears with a few simple words.

Emilia felt his finger delicately lift her chin, making her look into the mirror at herself with the image of Harry standing behind her. She locked eyes with the prince through the mirror and saw his genuine sincerity that killed any doubt that had grown within her being.

His gaze faltered down to her exposed backside and trailed his finger down to the zipper that was at the small of her back. He heard her Emilia’s mouth gasp from his simple touch as her breath became jagged. Harry smirked cheekily loving the effect he was having on Emilia. His fingers grasped the zipper and gave it a light tug. He did her dress up, reluctantly hiding her exposed skin and undergarment.

He looked back into the mirror at their reflection and found Emilia’s eyes locked on him while her body remained frozen. The prince lowered his head while tucking her dark locks out of the way to find her exposed shoulder. Harry placed a soft kiss on her shoulder and whispered in her ear, “Don’t ever doubt that you are beautiful again, Emilia. You are beautiful to me.”

---------------------------------------------------------------

The Illyrian Royal family’s festivities were well under way. The whole family had come together this evening and shared an enjoyable five course meal with local traditional Illyrian entertainers. They had even welcomed Harry as one of their own, as Emilia’s cousins included them in the familial banter and fun.  

The prince had been seated next to Emilia and her cousin Leonardo that apparently Emilia herself had arranged as alluded to by her father. He let it slip that his daughter wanted Harry to feel as welcomed as she did in London. Her parents were seated across from them as they engaged in a light hearted conversation. The Crown Prince couple were more relaxed and at ease than to what Harry had previously been witnessed to and he could see where Emilia got most of her traits from… her father.

“She has always had me wrapped around her finger since the day she was born.” Frederick smiled proudly at Emilia and shared a sweet moment with her. But, the prince could not help but wonder if her father knew how much inner turmoil was going through. She hid it so incredibly well and could pretend that nothing was the matter.

“I remember that day fondly.” Frederick continued as Harry and Emilia had focused their attention to the conversation with her parents while everything else faded into the background. The long wooden table was dimly lit above with hanging fairy lights while the reflection of the flames from the candles that lined the table danced upon their faces. “You were so stubborn, Emilia. So stubborn that you wouldn’t even breathe.” A glimpse of concern washed across his face as the memory of it all came flooding back to her father.

“No wonder Emilia is the way that she is. Lack of oxygen to her brain at birth really explains a lot.” Edward piped in from the seat beside his mother as he finally gave his family some of his attention instead of his girlfriend, Louisa.

“EDWARD!” Liza, Emilia’s mother gasped in horror. “You do not say that in front of our guest! Or period!” She scolded him, but Edward just chuckled and ignored his mother.

“Eddie, stop being an areshole.” Emilia glared at him with her piercing blue eyes.

“Or else what Emilia?” Edward egged his twin sister on.

Emilia parted her lips to speak her retort when a loud voice spoke her name from down the table.

“Emilia!”

Everyone became silent as Queen Eleanora scolded the princess, embarrassing her in front of everyone, including Harry.. “Behave and stop getting into these childish tifts with your older brother.” An awkward silence fell across the whole table as Emilia sat there in a clear state of quiet anger, staring at her grandmother with shock and disbelief.

Harry’s blood was nearly boiling as rage coursed through him. How in the world is Emilia getting in shit and being embarrassed for something that Edward had done. The thing that surprised Harry the most is her father did not even come to her defence, nor anyone in the family. He couldn’t sit by any longer in utter silence.

His lips parted to speak up on Emilia’s behalf, but he felt a hand quickly grasp his thigh and give it a hard squeeze. Emilia did not even look at the prince, but with a subtle shake of her head she begged him not to defend her.

“I am sorry Gran.” Emilia’s voice choked out.

The conversation around them started to become more lively, but everyone around Emilia was carefully watching her silent self. She refused to look at anyone or engage in conversation.

“Emilia…?” Frederick’s brow furrowed with concern as he watched a stray tear trickled down Emilia’s cheek. “I’m sor-” He was about to apologize when Emlia cut him off.

“Don’t.” She angrily spoke, wiped the tear away and turned her attention back to the dancers. Pretending that nothing had happened.

-------

Harry and Emilia were standing around in a circle with Emilia’s cousins Gabriel and Alessandra sipping on their drinks and watching the rest of the family dancing to the upbeat music. “This is not like you, Emilia! Standing on the sidelines while the rest of the family is dancing away. You are normally the instigator of fun!” Alessandra angled her head down at her younger cousin, with a cheeky grin.

Emilia shook her head and took a sip of her drink before replying. “Not tonight.” Her blue eyes drifted towards her parents dancing away with their silly moves. “I am trying to behave…” The tone in Emilia’s voice was evidently somber. There was a part of her pulling her towards the music, desperately wanting to let loose, but all she could see were her grandmother's eyes on her every move. She could not have another problem arise tonight for she was walking on thin ice.

“Behaving is really not in your vocabulary.” Gabriel smirked and fell into a fit of laughter. “Remember Ibiza?!”

“Oh Gabe! Ibiza was all on you, that I had nothing to do with!” Emilia tossed her head back in laughter at the memory of the debaucherous trip.

“You were right there with me, my partner in crime.” Gabe tossed his arms up in the air in innocence. “Stealing that boat.”

Harry’s eyebrows rose with curiosity as Emilia felt his eyes on her. She turned her head as the conversation fell to a silent shock. Emilia shrugged her shoulders, “What? It was a small boat ok, Harry!” She defended herself while confessing to the crime.

Gabriel cleared his throat and shook his head. “Emilia… we stole a fucking yacht!” He barked with laughter at her falsely portrayed innocence.

“A yacht?” Harry’s blue eyes glanced down and locked eyes with Emilia, watching the guilty expression on her face grow until she dissolved into a fit of giggles.

“Ok fine!” She breathed in between breaths. “It was a yacht…” Emilia held Harry’s gaze steadily. “I was young and following Gabe’s lead. He took advantage of my innocence.”

“Yeah, there is nothing innocent in those blue eyes Emilia.” The prince slowly shook his head down at Emilia and stared deep into those adorable blue eyes of the princess.

“Oooooh!” Gabriel and Alessandra could not help but laugh at the prince’s words. They both caught the way that Harry was looking down at their cousin in an endearing way as their gaze continued to linger.

“Looks like Ana has got some competition for Prince Harry’s heart!” Alessandra chuckled lightly to herself as Harry and Emilia both snapped out of their unwavering shared glance as their minds were brought back to reality and realized what they had done. Emilia’s cheeks became flushed at her cousin's remark and looked away to hide her face, silently kicking herself for not being more careful around Harry. It had been difficult enough tonight not being able to hold his hand or touch him in the way she wanted to in fear of her family finding out they were more than acquaintances.

“Who is Ana?” Harry was curious to find out.

Emilia leaned into him and pointed past her cousins to a young blonde teenager sitting at the table by herself watching everyone else dance with a partner. “That is my cousin Ana Lilia. Alessandra and Gabriel’s sister.” He caught the way Emilia smiled proudly towards her direction.

“A little birdie told me she fancies you.” Alessandra giggled with a raised eyebrow. “But, I am afraid that I need to get in on this dancing action. Are you coming Gabriel?” Emilia’s cousins had left them alone to themselves as they joined the family, dancing away.

Emilia’s eyes remained stagnant on her youngest cousin, sitting there by herself. She felt Harry’s hand settle on the small of her back and gently rub it soothingly. “You know you are allowed to have fun with your family. I bet you are a better dancer than me.” Her lips spread into an amusing smile as she lifted her head to glance up at Harry.

“I’d like to see you dance.” Emilia could not help but giggle at the thought. “In fact…” Her eyes drifted for a brief second back to Ana. “Why don’t you ask Ana to dance with you.” Emilia locked in Harry’s intense stare. “I know she would love it if you did.”

“You sure you want me to ask her? You know she might win my heart.” Harry cheekily replied and earned a playful smack on the arm by the princess.

“Yes, I am sure Henry.” Emilia gave him a light push forward. “Go!”

Emilia watched from afar as Harry approached Ana and bent down to her level with his hand extended out in an offer to dance with him. A fond smile started to stretch the corner of her lips as Ana nodded her head and stood up from her seat, eager to dance with him. Harry pulled the smiling blonde teen to the dance floor and twirled her around, innocently dancing with Ana as she smiled with joy.

A few dances later, Emilia was ordering a new drink when a hand gently grasped her wrist and gave it a light tug to turn her around. It was Harry with an adorable beaming smile and rosy red cheeks from dancing.

“Come dance with me.” His deep posh British voice was alluring and difficult to say no to. His piercing blue eyes cut straight through to her soul, rendering her speechless.

“Henry….” Emilia reluctantly shook her head in fear of the repercussions and also scared of the fact that her family would find out about them. It had been a difficult evening not being able to hold his hand or reach out and touch his face or play with those tufts of his ginger hair at the nape of his neck. All because of that lingering fear. But… to dance with Harry? He had to be mad!

“You deserve to have fun like the rest of your family and I promise that I will be careful where I lay my hands on you. A respectable dance between a prince and a princess.” Harry did his best to convince Emilia, knowing full well that she was on the edge about to take that leap with him.

“Henry….” Emilia broke her silence and tightened her grasp on his hand. “Fine. But, just one dance.”

“Deal!” Harry tugged on her hand without hesitation and led Emilia to the dance floor where her family were happily dancing beside them.

Harry twirled Emilia around as they kept up to the beat of the lively music. He was observant of her family's reactions of them, careful not to place his hands on her body suggestively. Emilia’s unbridled laughter echoed in his ear, bringing a beaming grin to his lips as he watched Emilia let go and have fun.

Emilia had promised Harry just one dance with him, but that one dance turned into another and another until they found themselves being the last ones left on the dance floor. Emilia selected a slower classical song that changed the aura of the dance floor into a sensual romantic one. She stepped forward towards Harry with a shy smile.

“Will you dance with me? This is my favorite song to dance too….” She lowered her head, displaying a rare shy side of herself to Harry. (Come Dance With Me started to play by Norah Jones https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbjZPFBD6JU )

“I’d love to.” He reached out and wrapped his arm around her body, bringing Emilia in close proximity, securing her in tightly with his grasp. Harry felt her hand settle on his forearm as she waited for him to take the first step and lead her.

Harry took a step forward as Emilia moved her body in sync with him. He slowly moved them around the dance floor as his hand drifted down to the small of her back. Emilia lifted her head up to look into the prince’s deep blue eyes. Being mesmerized, she fell under his spell and was thankful that his strong body was holding her weak knees up at that moment.

The corner of his lips tugged into an elated smile, relishing in the closeness of Emilia being flushed against his body again. He looked down into her ice crystal blue eyes and could get lost in the depths of them for days if he allowed himself to. Harry’s heart swelled in admiration for this beautiful woman in his arms. He could not help but admire her beauty both inside and out that encapsulated her kind heart.

“Henry…” Emilia’s feet stopped moving as she quietly whispered his name. Their bodies swayed in their cemented place as they looked longingly into each other's eyes.

“Yes, Emilia?” His hand lifted and cupped her cheek tenderly while he gently caressed it with his thumb.

“Will you spend the day with me tomorrow? I…” She lowered her head, averting her gaze to the ground. “I think we need to talk and figure out what all of this is between us.” Emilia took in a shaky nervous breath in fear of the potential outcome, in fear that this man in front of her could break her heart.

“Well, you could steal a yacht for us to hang out on.” Harry teased the nervous princess in an attempt to bring back that adorable smile of hers.

“Harry!” Emilia shouted his name.

“Oh… I know you can scream it louder than that!” The prince was relentless, but it was all in good banter.

“You are so awful…” Emilia shook her head and snaked her arms around the back of his neck loosely while his hands found a home on her hips. “Awfully handsome…” She stood up on her tippy toes and placed a soft kiss to his lips that was all too quick for his liking.

Emilia reluctantly tore his lips off of Harry’s but she could not risk their private moment together any further in fear of exposure. “We need to go inside Harry… We can’t get caught.” She was the voice of reason amidst their cloud of building desire.

The prince took in a deep breath and sighed heavily. “You are right.” His arms fell from her frame, breaking their embrace. “Let me walk you to your room.”

The pair left the dimly lit dance floor and made their way back to the villa. In the midst of the darkness, they searched for the others hands and interlocked their fingers, savouring every moment that they were able to share with one another. Emilia quietly moaned when their hands separated.

“Trust me, I don’t like it more than you do.” Harry walked Emilia down the villa’s hall towards her room which just so happened to be right next to Harry’s.

Emilia leaned up against the door frame and turned around to face the prince. “Good night Henry.” It took all of her not to just invite Harry in for the night, but the truth was she needed time for her own mind to think.

Harry flashed a brief smile and bent his head down to place a soft kiss to her forehead. His lips lingered there as Emilia breathed in his familiar scent. Her hands reached up and grasped his forearms making him stay there for a few passing moments.

His arms slipped through Emilia’s hands, unable to continue being in the same space as Emilia any longer. “I can’t stay here…” The prince admitted and pressed his lips one more time to Emilia’s lips and said his goodnight.

“Sleep well, tiny dancer.”

[telltheworld-phff]

Chapter 49: Atrévete a soñar

Harry hadn’t anticipated that his girlfriend pregnancy would be hard for him as well. He didn’t want to use this card as he knew that a million thoughts were crossing Carol’s mind, and she might or might not have had the time to go over them and come to terms herself of this big life changing moment of their lives due to her completely packed work schedule... and she was the one growing a tiny human from scratch. It was her body handling all the changes that came with it.

He had made a promise that he’d do everything he possibly could to make everything as comfortable as possible for her. She wouldn’t be in need of anything on his watch; he made sure to keep her refrigerator full of healthy food and lots of snacks that she could pack and take to the office with her – sometimes going to the store himself -, he had asked one of his drivers to be alert to any calls or texts from Carol, as he was now on duty to use Harry’s private car to take her to and from work. She was getting nauseous when using the tube and he promptly suggested this new arrangement – which surprisingly, she had accepted without a fight.

He also made sure he was present on her daily life. Calling every day that they were apart and stopping by her place every other day. Sometimes she’d ask him to stay and sometimes she didn’t. Harry didn’t mind all the work to keep the ball rolling on his duty and job and to take care of his girlfriend and baby, nothing was as hard as to deal with Carol nowadays.

She was picking fights on the silliest stuff and that was driving him completely bonkers. He didn’t seem to win no matter what he tried and that besides being frustrating as fuck, also was tiring and annoying. He had to remember that she wasn’t like this all the time nor she would be after the baby was out, but the Prince was seriously considering that this baby would be their one and only child.

For the time being, he had nothing to do but get used to Carol’s mood swings by each passing day. Every day was a surprise where he didn’t know which Carol he’d get. The sweet one, the teary-eyed one, the bitch one or the wicked witch of the west one. He couldn’t deny that sometimes it was difficult as fuck to keep up with her snappy and bitchy attitude for no reason whatsoever.

The cycle seemed to be: she’d bitch him and then start crying because she didn’t really mean it. Or whenever he did something good for her (God forbid he sent flowers to her office just because!), she’d say that he was way too overbearing and fussy.

“Women get pregnant every day and everywhere in the world without your suffocating habits and they end up just fine without your overwhelming concern and need to keep me under your watch all the time.” she had said once.

Just to start crying right after and say that lots of women also yearned for their partner’s support and most didn’t have it at all during the pregnancy. And that he was just by her side, by choice, taking care of them. Loving and cherishing them, regardless of this being an unplanned pregnancy and that she was a heartless and mean bitch while he had all the best intentions on his heart.

Needless to say the couple were arguing more now than ever and most of the time Harry would take the blame or excuse himself out of the room to take a deep breath and to remember that his Carol wasn’t like this.

It also felt very weird to argue with an overly emotional pregnant lady.

He tried to remember that this was just a very hormonal version of the woman he loved. Also a test to see if what he felt for her would come out stronger after this trying time. It’s easy to love someone when everything is fine, but true love is proved when the wind is blowing hard and you have not choice but hold onto each other to make sure you (and her) are safe.

He knew that she was stressed with her Masters degree, still keeping top grades whilst having a full time job and working a scary amount of hours every week (which he had already asked her to take it a little bit slow) and also travelling with her project.

He did want her to take a break and take it easy. If it was up to him, Carol would spend her days resting and sleeping to her heart’s content – as she always complained about how sleepy and tired she felt – but wouldn’t dare to even think about suggesting about quitting her job. She’d throw a massive fit and say that she would keep earning her own money as she didn’t need or want his thank you very much.

Some days, and those were rare, Harry was lucky enough to get glimpses of his girlfriend – and that’s what helped to take a relieved breath: knowing somewhere deep down that ugly surface was his sweet and loving girlfriend.

She usually would ask for very weird combinations of food – which he’d always go fetch for her; and have an insatiable sex drive — that he’d be more than happy oblige; and apologize non-stop for being a bitch on steroids to him.

He would forgive her – of course, as there wasn’t anything to really forgive her for - and they would get to chat and try to plan their future as her bump would only grow from now on and they needed to strengthen their relationship and become a real team to face, first and foremost, their parents and then the Institution Harry belonged to.

“What do you want to do?” Harry asked in one of the few blissful nights where they hadn’t argued over meaningless things. They were relaxing on his bed, after an afternoon full of amazing sex that left both of them exhausted. He was lying on his back and had his hands leisurely caressing her thighs.

“Obviously I want you around and to keep the baby.” she was eating ice cream straight from the box. “The big question is: what can we do?”

“Well… I don’t even know what our options really are. Everything I think I know is just wishful thinking. We would need to face a meeting with the Firm and its minions to know for sure. I know that my father and grandmother will demand a wedding.” he side-looked at her, half expecting to have a flying spoon over his head.

“I really don’t want to get married on these circumstances.” she replied and he waited for her to finish. “I do want to get married someday but not just because you knocked me up. It’s the 21st century after all.”

“Although I am part of and represent an Institution that is stuck ten centuries behind. But never mind.”

They both laughed at that.

“I will ask permission for you to move in with me. Don’t think gran will oppose much to that as Kate and Will did it. Before you start your feminist rant...” he laughingly cut her speech, knowing that she’d come up with something to refute. “I know that you love your flat and that it is comfortable enough for the two of you and that you can pay all the bills with money to spare but...” he pecked her lips, to distract her – lest she started to yell at him after a perfect day - and stole some of her vanilla ice cream, making sure to avoid the weird toppings she added in there. “It’s not safe. For any of us. And if we would try and make it safe, it’d cost way more than renting a moving truck and a storage unit for your things as obviously we don’t need new furniture here, except for baby things.”

He could actually hear her mind running wild with thoughts and ways to refuse his offer.

“At Kensington we already have the privacy, the security system, bullet-proof windows, armored cars and 24/7 people on call whenever he or she starts screaming in the middle of the night and we need a rest.”

She smacked his shoulder playfully.

“But…” he continued. “If Gran says we can’t stay here, then I would gladly buy us a house. And pay for the security system and features.”

“You’re insane.” she stated.

“Why you say that?” he was confused.

“Buying a house just for this...”

“”This” Carolina” - he pointed his finger between them to emphasize his point - “is my family and I very much intend to be close by even though you seem to not stand to look at me for more than a few seconds these days. You would help me choose somewhere suitable for us, that has everything we need, and then we would move in together and not marry right away as it seems to be your desire.”

“Why do I sense there are other options that you’re hiding from me?”

“Well… The options of what we will be advised to do are endless. If we start playing “what ifs” and imagining scenarios that might be presented to us, we’d be here all night. There are, though, some options that stand out from these possibilities… For example: I might have to renounce my title.”

She had a shocked expression on her face.

“Says that Pa and Gran demand a wedding and we say that we don’t want to marry under pressure. We might be denied the request of you moving in. So then I’d need to move out and with that – no wedding, kicked out – the press will have a field day, change the public’s view on me and as I’d just be the prince who tarnished the name of the family, again mind you…” he laughed and continued. “Thank heavens Will and Kate have already two children to claim the throne and out goes Harry.” he joked.

“I’m sorry.” she said, already drying the tears after what he said.

He talked about it as if it was a joke but being part of royalty were what made Harry who he was. Give up on it because of her wishes was a very hard thing to do. She considered in that moment if she shouldn’t let go of her stubbornness and just get married so he’d get to keep everything that was rightfully his.

“In that scenario our child wouldn’t have a place in the succession line. We would have more freedom. This part is what I like the most of this option.”

“What do you want to do?” she asked him sincerely.

“Honestly I’d like to marry you. Pressure or not, if you were up to it we would go to the town hall tomorrow.” he waited until the shocked expression on her face faded. “We could live somewhere else than Kensington – don’t care much for that part. I don’t want our children to have titles. it’s a fucking burden to bear, but he or she will be upgraded to prince or princess whenever father is King anyway.”

“Do you think our marriage would work? I personally don’t think I’d be able to face a divorce. I want all of ‘until death us do part’.” she finished the ice cream and left the empty box on Harry’s bedside table and turned to look at him.

“Of course it would…” she looked at him pointedly and asked him to think with his mind and not heart. “Ok… thank you for the reality check. I think that we are very good to and for each other. Relationship is something you build and take care of each day. As long as we’re both committed to our success, I do believe we could go forever. We’re both children from divorced parents and I think we agree that we wouldn’t want that for our children. But also we wouldn’t want an unhealthy environment for them to grow up at, just like we did. So if it came to a point where our relationship became toxic, we would need to separate our ways.”

“That’s a more sensible response Mr. Wales.” she pecked his lips again.

“I don’t think it’s healthy for us to keep guessing what might happen. It’s way too many options. It’ll drive us crazy... I would rather think and chose something that is actually given to us to think about.”

“Do you think you can have an appointment with The Queen after my 12th week milestone?” she was biting her lips as a nervous trait.

“I shall see to it.” he answered.

“Then we will be presented with options and decide what’s best for our family.”

“Ok...” he helped her to lie down. She was wearing one of his pajamas shirts and her ten-week bump showing. He caressed it and then placed a soft kiss on it.

“I do want to tell my mom first. Can we?”

“We can do whatever you want, darling.”

“So after we pass that milestone, I will call her and then we will sit with The Queen to discuss.”

“In the meantime I will do my best to keep you hidden.” he said.

“Which won’t work as we have Tommy’s Christening to attend.” she laughed.

“And are you OK with that?” he was still caressing her bump. “I know that you want to go, but don’t you think it’d be better if you stayed home? Or maybe just attended the reception afterwards? There’s a great chance of being spotted. Are you ready for it? Your life as you know it will be forever changed… and for that I am deeply sorry.”

“Well… I don’t want to miss it and sooner or later I will be spotted. We won’t arrive together or sit together during the service. But I do think the press will put 1+1 together and link me to all other photos… As I will be the only unknown person there. And I know what I’ve signed up for upon agreeing to be your girlfriend and carrying your child. No one will ever be ready for that. And I will need to rely on you a lot.” she sighed.

(…)

Carol had asked Hailey to design something for as she had no idea what to wear on a Christening. She had been flattered when Lara had sent an invitation that said “Honorary godmother” for her, she truly wasn’t expecting an invitation to such an intimate and formal event. 

She was at her sister’s studio – which was a spare room at her house – surrounded by lots of fabrics, sketches, pictures and at least three sewing machines. This was the last fitting of the pink dress Hailey had said would work for a morning event.

“You really should stop eating junk food Carolina.” Hailey said when noticed that the dress wasn’t closing as smoothly as it was three weeks before. “You’re getting chubby.”

Concentrating on not laughing or spilling the beans, she simply nodded.

“Thank goodness the Christening is in two days or I’d have to loosen up this dress, again.” Hailey said clearly irritated. “Never show up on time on fitting days and when you do show up, you’ve gained weight. Good Lord.” she mumbled to herself and when finished, she let Carol look at herself in the mirror.

She was in awe. Even barefoot, without her hair done and make up-free she was feeling pretty. Which was a first ever since she learned she was carrying her bundle of joy. The dress had 7/8 sleeves, the front had a draped finish and the skirt that ended just above her knees was made of feathers in the same colour.

“It’s amazing, Hailey. Thank you” Carol said turning around to see. “I think I want you designing my whole wardrobe.”

“Let’s not get carried away, shall we?” Hailey joked. “Now you just need shoes and accessories. Please don’t ruin my creation.” 

“I might stop by at Harrod’s later and see if I can find anything.”

“Maybe go with a big hat to cover your face?” her sister offered knowing that Carol would have her life turned upside down any moment now.

“That’s exactly what I am going for.”

(…)

Carol had asked for a day off on Friday before the christening and packed everything she was going to need for the weekend affair. All godparents (Harry, Skippy’s sister Victoria, Lara’s brother Henry, Eugenie and Jake Warren) were to check in at the luxurious Luton Hoo Hotel for a welcome luncheon and to rehearse (Carol didn’t understand why a Christening would need a rehearsal but didn’t comment on it). Then the other guests would arrive on Saturday at noon for the Service and then attend a brunch afterwards. The godparents were expected to stay at the hotel and enjoy it’s spa, checking out only on Sunday evening after a thank you dinner.

Carol had to pack way too many outfits and right now she was fitting well into only half of her clothes because of her bump. She was accompanying Harry for the three day stay as per Lara’s request. The brunette had bought a small golden bracelet with Tommy’s name engraved as a gift and hoped his parents would like it.

Harry asked Bill to carry Carol’s luggage to the waiting car while he kissed his girlfriend and – when he checked they were truly alone - her bump.

“You both ready to go?” he asked.

“Yes! I need to see that little red headed cherub!” she said happily.

They went to the car, both sitting on the back seats, buckling up and talking animatedly about the party and Harry explaining what was expected of her. This was Carol’s first formal encounter with people he had known his whole life. Most of them were daughters and sons of his parents’ friends and they all have been a tight knit group ever since they were born. 

Skippy and Lara had opted for a small gathering of closest family members and a few selected friends – Carol was so relieved about it, she didn’t think she’d be able to face a big gathering right now. Thankfully she knew some of the guests that would likely attend as she didn’t want to be left alone while Harry was on godfather duty.

“So Eugenie is coming?” she asked.

“Yes… She’s also a godmother, remember?” he replied.

“Oh thank God. I think I only know her and Jack and Jake and Zoe. Are you sure Arthur and Alessandra are not attending?”

“Yes. Alessandra had to do something in California and Arthur went with her.” he traced the worry lines on her forehead. “Don’t stress too much, Carol. I will be by your side most of the time.”

“I know… it’s just…” she started and he waited. “Nevermind.”

“What is it darling?” Harry said holding her hand.

“I can’t help but feel inadequate to attend such an event.”

“It’s the Christening of your friends’ kid. How on earth can you be inadequate?” he was confused.

“Said friends are aristocrats, barons and baronesses... Close enough to the monarchy… and I’m… I’m just… me.” she said, not looking at him.

“Carol, trust me. Your accomplishments are way greater than what any of us will ever have. You fought your way through life to get to where you are now. We all just had it all handed to us on silver spoons, quite literally. If not actually handed, doors were opened because of connections and surnames.” he kissed her temple. “Also, if anyone think any less of you, it’s their loss. You did point out a few days ago that we’re on the 21st century after all.”

“Hopefully I won’t embarrass you. I don’t know a single thing about etiquette.” she said, biting her lower lip.

“I’ve done my share of embarrassment enough. Nothing you do will ever beat my Vegas trip. Don’t worry. If anyone treats you badly, let me know. Or just go find a familiar face to chat, Ok?”

“Ok. Thank you.”

“You’ve got it. Just keep your charming self and you’ll be fine.” he added kissing her knuckles.

She admired the change in the scenery as they left busy central London to the countryside on their way to Luton. Carol was still feeling uneasy, but decided to have some water to try and calm her stomach. Being driven on the “wrong” side of the road still scared her and she was trying to believe in what Harry had said and not what her mind was shouting at her.

The hotel was a newly renewed manor and it’s perfect tended lawn and lakes were quite imposing. Harry offered his hand to help her out of the car and they went to the lobby to check-in. He usually asked Bill to do it, but wanted to give some sense of normalcy to his girlfriend, so decided to do it himself. He obviously understood that Carol knew who he was and knew that he had some privileges and hadn’t to bother with some tasks as everything he could possible need would’ve been taken care of in a matter of seconds.

He also didn’t want to scare her away – or let her think that he was incapable of doing things for himself. He wanted to tone it down a bit, and let her see that they could mix her humble upbringing with his luxurious and privileged one. He was set to make an effort and be more hands-on on tasks that the rest of the world did on a daily basis.

“The rest of the world don’t go to a 5 start hotel for the weekend.” he thought to himself, shaking his head, while signing the paper the receptionist gave to him.

She couldn’t help but notice the clear shift on the staff behaviour when they spotted Harry. They all bowed or curtsied to him, all of them curious – but obviously not asking – as to who she was. Harry intertwined their fingers while he spoke to the attendant at the lobby, to reassure her. Bill and the other bodyguards appearing just seconds later with their luggage and attentively looking around the seemingly empty lobby.

Apparently they had a paparazzi free travel and he was thankful for that. Harry had booked the mansion state suite for them, which was bigger than her whole apartment. Their California king bed was so inviting and she wanted to take a nap so badly but knew that she couldn’t. As she was travelling comfortable – another reason to have been looked upon by the staff -, she knew that she’d have to change for the luncheon.

Soon, some of the hotel staff was unpacking their luggage and organizing everything in the walk in closet in full speed. She didn’t even have the time to ask them to leave it – as fast as they came, they were gone.

Harry was on his phone and she didn’t want to listen to his conversation, opting to go to the bathroom for a quick shower to help her to stay awake. It might have been the car movement that had her so sleepy. The bath robe available was so soft and slightly warmed that it almost made the somewhat “wake up” cold shower ineffective. She styled her hair in a sleek ponytail and opted to wear one of the dresses that concealed her growing belly. She applied make up – making it simple – and went to the bedroom to fetch both Tommy’s gift and her heels.

“You look amazing darling.” Harry said when he spotted her yawning. “Tired, huh?”

“So much...” she whispered.

“I will try to find an excuse for you, and then you both can rest a bit.” He said, kissing her neck while resting his hands on her belly.

“Good luck with that.” she laughed.

He helped her with her shoes and changed clothes as fast as he could to go to one of the banquet halls where the invitation said the luncheon would be held. He had one hand on Carol’s lower back, protectively and also to guide her through the doors. He could hear the footsteps of his bodyguards behind them and made a mental note to ask Bill to increase the distance between them a little bit. This was going to be a stressful event for Carol and he didn’t want her feeling suffocated.

Their heard Tommy crying before they arrived at the hall. Exchanging a concerned look, they hushed to the Victorian styled room. Lara was holding her cherub, pacing the room, making soothing noises while Skippy was searching for something inside the diaper bag until he retrieved a pacifier. Carol went directly to Lara.

“Carol! I’m glad you came.” Lara said, side hugging her friend while rocking the little boy and looking for her husband. “I’m sorry. He’s fussy today.”

“Is he okay?” Harry asked concerned.

“Don’t mention it! Hi Tommy.” Carol said in a sing-song voice, caressing his red locks. “Auntie Carol is here.”

“He’s fine mate. Have just woken up.” Skippy replied when arriving with the pacifier, giving it to his son who stopped crying immediately. He greeted his best friend and Carol, asking them to make themselves comfortable while they waited for some people to arrive to start serving the food.

“Carol” Lara asked after a few pleasantries were exchanged. “Do you mind coming with me?”

“Sure.” Carol handed her clutch to Harry to hold, grabbed Tommy’s diaper bag and followed Lara to the nearest bathroom that smelled like lavender which immediately made her head hurt and her stomach to turn, even before pregnancy she hated the scent to lavender. 

Thankfully she hadn’t eaten much until now. The room was large – like everything in this hotel it seemed -, with marble sinks and stalls, gold details, everything screaming “tastefully luxurious”, it also had two deep burgundy upholstered chairs

“It’s my turn to change this little man’s nappy and I think he’s getting hungry.” Lara said happily undoing his onesie buttons, while Carol handed her the wipes and a clean nappy. “I’m glad you came. We won’t have much time to catch up this weekend, though. But we should go out sometime. Maybe lunch?”

“We’ve been busy, haven’t we?” Tommy smiled melting both women’s hearts. “I wish I was busy with this little man… Office work is so boring.”

Carol disposed of the used diaper and arranged everything back into the bag while Lara sat on one of upholstered chairs and got ready to feed her baby, Carol sat across from her friend. She watched at how lovingly she talked to and looked at her son and how happy the infant latched on.

She noticed in that moment that she wanted that so badly. Her love for her child was already one of the strongest feeling she ever felt. She knew that her baby was her reason to believe in a better tomorrow and to fight for it. She knew she’d move heavens and earth to make this child protected. Her mama bear instinct kicked right in at full force.

Her hand unconsciously went to her bump caressing it. She wanted to be a mum and in that moment she finally figured out that she was going to be a mother in a few months’ time. She wanted to feel the first kicks, she wanted to hold her baby close to her and get to know everything about her little bundle of joy: his or her preferences, mannerisms, personality, dreams...

“Why are you crying?” Lara asked after she looked up at her friend and saw the brunette with tears on her eyes.

“It’s nothing...” Carol said drying her tears.

“Carol… Is anything the matter?” Lara was preoccupied.

Carol got up to fetch a tissue and dry her tears. She took a deep breath and smiled at Lara.

“I’m pregnant.” Carol blurted.

“Beg your pardon?” Lara looked at her with a shocked expression on her face.

“I’m pregnant.” Carol repeated slowly this time.

“What is it with us and bathrooms when it comes announcing pregnancies?” Lara laughed. “How far along? You weren’t planning to tell me, were you?”

“I’m ten weeks along, we found out a couple of weeks ago. And no, no one was supposed to know before the twelve week mark… but seeing you with him, I just realized that I want this so badly and these damn hormones made my mouth talk faster than my brain could think.”

“Don’t worry, your secret is well kept. I’d hug you but master here is hungry.” they smiled and Carol sat down again. “How are you feeling?”

“I didn’t have many symptoms before I found out, but then, I became tired, breasts sore, sleepy and snappy.” they laughed and Lara commented it was very normal.

“And how’s Harry?”

“Over the moon. I think he wants to spread the word like wildfire… He’s wanted this for so long.” Carol smiled caressing her bump. “But he’s into an overprotective mode that is annoying.”

“Expected. He will be like this for the rest of your lives… Stop fighting it and get used to it, Carol. After everything that has happened to his family, it’s quite obvious that he won’t let anything of the sort happen again.” Lara said. “I’m glad for you. They will be close in age!”

“Thank you for not pointing out the out of wedlock implicit in this news.” Carol said when Tommy unlatched and smiled at his mum.

“Well… you’re welcome? What are you guys going to do about it?” she gave the baby to Carol, together with a burp cloth while she clasped her nursing bra and adjusted the dress again. Carol was gently burping the baby.

“We will know for sure in two weeks. I’m trying not to think about it just yet.” she sighed.

“Do try to enjoy the peace while it lasts. We are definitely scheduling a lunch date after you have “The talk” and I will be all ears for you.” she kissed her friend’s temple.

After the baby was properly burped, the ladies made their way back to the hall where Harry had a glass of scotch on one hand, talking to Jake, Skippy and Jack, probably about football. Carol and Lara took their turns to greet the new comers, with Zoe and Eugenie cooing over the baby on Carol’s arms. Harry’s eye twinkled admiring his girlfriend thinking that soon, it’d be their baby on her arms.

Carol stood beside Harry, playing with Tommy only half listening to what people were saying around her.

“I see that Tommy’s stolen my girl.” Harry joked, caressing Carol’s lower back.

“I think it’s the ginger hair.” Eugenie joked.

“Of course it’s the ginger hair – and the cute face. It’s nice to look at one for a change.” Carol joked.

“Ok, gotta keep you too separated. You girls teaming up will be the death of me.” Harry joked.

Reluctantly Carol gave Tommy to his father while Harry introduced her to the people he knew. Basically everyone in the room was a Lord/Lady or Baron and she felt a little intimidated but didn’t let it show. Carol first met Skippy’s parents and his stepmother, she knew his father was one of Prince Charles’ best friend – and he was studying her. Clearly his friend would know that his younger son had a new girlfriend by this evening. She was polite but let Harry do the small talk. Then it was Lara’s side of the family, she was introduced to her father and brother. Skippy’s sister  was the easiest to get along with… she shared the same sense of humor as her brother’s.

Carol was relieved when she found her assigned place at one of the round tables spread against the hall. It had a round floral vase in the centre, cutlery (lots of it) were made of silver and the glasses were crystal. Harry was sitting at her left and Jack at her right, followed by Eugenie, Jake and Zoe. Knowing everyone made things easier for her and Eugenie kindly asked her boyfriend to exchange places so she could sit by Carol’s side. Both of them engaged on a conversation during the first course. Eugenie was discreetly pointing to the right cutlery without anyone noticing and Carol gave her a polite smile as a thank you.

“Don’t need to be nervous, Carol.” Eugenie said at some point. “You’ll get used to it. And thankfully the only members of the Royal family here will be Harry and I. You’ll do just fine.”

(…)

Carol excused herself from the rehearsal. She wouldn’t play an important part during the ceremony anyway and she wanted a nap. Lara, now being even more empathetic with her friend, didn’t fuss about it and Carol went to their luxurious suite and straight to the bed, not even bothering in changing clothes or removing her make up.

She woke up later with feather-like kisses on her face and slowly opened her eyes to a very handsome Harry.

“Hi.” he said smiling to her.

“Hi” she answered back.

“I’ve missed you” he said nuzzling his nose on her neck, giving her the now familiar goosebumps.

“It’s been only a couple of hours.” she caressed his beard.

“It looks like an eternity for me.” he was laying on the bed beside her. “Did you get the rest that you need?”

“I did, yes.” she yawned and stretched. “Fully charged now.”

They shared a laugh and Carol positioned her head on his chest and one of her legs between his. He instantly held her, playing with her hair.

“I’ve asked Lara for you to enter through the back door tomorrow. I think I’m not ready to share you with the world just yet.”

“Thank you.” she whispered.

“My heart almost skipped a beat when I saw you with Tommy today.” he said and she could hear the smile on his voice. “My girl with a ginger baby on her arms… If you weren’t pregnant already you’d be getting tonight.”

They both laughed hard at that.

“Don’t be so cocky.”

“It’s just… you know that you’re giving me something I’ve wanted for a long time. Don’t you?” he said after a while. “A family of my own to protect, to take care of and provide for. A child to teach lots of things – someone to be a better version of myself. Thank you, Carol. I know this is hard for you. But I promise to be there every step of the way.”

She was crying after he finished his speech and he knew it. He didn’t mention or made fun of her because of that, but he only held her tighter and kissed her temple.

(…)

Carol woke up early on Saturday morning. It took her a while to untangle herself from Harry’s arms but she managed it. Putting on the robe to cover her now naked body, she went to the living room space of their suite and asked for breakfast to be delivered for them. She took a quick shower and started setting up her make up and hairdresser station on the bathroom vanity when Harry woke up and went to her, hugging her from behind.

“Morning.” he said trying to open her robe and receiving a playful slap afterwards.

“Morning!” she replied.

“Do you have time for a quickie before you start making yourself even more beautiful?” he asked seductively.

“Now now Mr. Wales… we did have four very “longies” last night. You can’t possibly be still horny.” she said looking at him through the mirror.

“Well… your bigger breasts make me hard. I can’t help it.” he said circling her nipples with his thumb.

“If we start, we are going to be late. So, your Royal Horniness, keep yourself together and we shall deal with it afterwards.” she fastened the robe belt again while he pouted and sat on the counter.

“Why do you need all of this?” he asked pointing to all of the make up she brought, changing the subject and concentrating hard on other things so he’d get rid of the boner he was sporting at the moment.

“It’s not even enough and I want to look nice today.”

“You look nice every day.” he said while watching her washing her face and applying some lotions.

“Thank you.” she said looking at him and pecking his lips.

She started to apply her make up and he didn’t even wanted to ask what all of those things would do, deciding to take a shower before breakfast. She finished faster than he thought, given the amount of things she applied and they enjoyed the perfectly cooked breakfast before changing clothes. 

Harry wanted a picture of Carol wearing that pink dress and noticed that if she placed her hand on her belly, they could see her small bump that seemed to grow by the second. He smiled when mentioned it to her and she said that she would likely have a very big bump.

“You will be a very sexy momma.” he commented while holding her clutch and the present that they had forgotten to give on the day before and went to their friend’s suite.

Skippy opened the door to their suite and informed Carol that Lara was in the bedroom nursing. He and Harry stayed on the living room while Carol went on the search of the baby.

“Morning sunshine.” Lara said when Carol opened the door.

“Good morning!”

Tommy looked around and smiled at Carol before turning and latching once again.

“As soon as he finishes, can you dress him for me, please?” Lara asked and Carol agreed.

“We forgot to give you his present yesterday” Carol gave the small package to her friend. “I hope you like it.”

Lara opened it and thanked her friend for the bracelet. It was very delicate and simple, one that she’d buy herself for her son if she had thought of that and clearly a very well thought present for him.

“I loved it, Carol. Thank you so much.”

After the baby was well fed and burped, Carol dressed him carefully and combed his hair to the side. She then fastened the bracelet on his arms and left Lara alone so she could finish getting ready for them to leave. Upon entering the living room again, with Tommy smiling and happy, Harry’s heart filled with emotion.

“You’re going to kill me.” he whispered to her.

“Why?”

“You with him on your arms, you being so lovely to him and carrying our baby… I can’t wait until it’s our turn.”

(…)

Harry and Carol rode together with Eugenie and Jack to the St. Albans Cathedral. The car stopped first at the back entrance where Carol jumped off and quickly entered the church, finding her assigned place. And then stopped at the front of the church and sure enough, lots of photographers were waiting for them there. Harry and Eugenie waved and entered the church, waiting for Skippy and Lara to arrive. Harry was shifting his weight and looking where Carol was sitting still alone.

“Calm down, Harry. She’s just fine.” Eugenie mentioned.

“I don’t think having her here is a good idea.” He replied.

“Why not?”

“I don’t think she’s ready for what’s to come from the media once they realize who she is.” he sighed.

“It’s not going to be easy, we know that. But you love her and she loves you… and I think she’s a very strong woman. With our support she’ll do just fine.” Eugenie side hugged her cousin.

“Thank you for “our support” part. It means a lot.”

“I really like her…”

“So do I…. Jack, would you mind?” Harry asked.

“Right on it...” he pecked Eugenie’s lips and went to sit beside Carol. It was pretty obvious how she had relaxed after seeing a friendly face and they both started chatting right away.

(…)

The Service was very right to the point but beautiful and moving.

Lara had asked someone to decorate the church with lots of flower arrangements in a mixture of white Casablanca lilies, tulips and Lily of the valley. Tommy was as happy as he could be, trying the eat the program on his mum’s hand and smiling, up until the water touched his head but his daddy soon made him stop crying and cheery again.

Carol was paying attention and making sure she held the best posture as possible, as she knew that some of these people had Prince Charles on speed dial and she wanted to make a good impression.

Even though when you meet him you’re going to announce you’re pregnant… Not the greatest first impression will come out of that.

She shook her head to clear off these thoughts and smiled at her friends when Skippy waved at her from the altar. She was really fighting the urge of placing her hands on her bump and making a mental note of asking Harry how christenings were done in his family. She knew what they shared with the press, but didn’t know how the ceremony was held.

Lara requested everyone present to take a group picture, together with the priest before they left the church. Although Harry had tried to have her beside him, Carol ended up beside Jack on the far right of where he was. After the pictures were taken, Bill appeared signalling it was time to go and Carol left through the back entrance going straight to the waiting car.

At moment, as they had rehearsed, Harry and Eugenie left the church through the front door together with the other attendants and stopped to take a few pictures with his godson as Lara wanted.

Everyone else started to get into their cars to head to the reception whilst Harry, Eugenie and Jack  conveniently stayed behind to stop and wave to the press – just to make sure that Carol’s car would be long gone without anyone following.

Jack was the one driving this car and he could see that the Prince was nervous and he could relate to that… He was the one arriving at the family and even then it was very difficult. As soon as they entered the Hotel’s grounds – out of sight of the paps that began following them - Harry got out of the car before it even fully stopped moving and bolted straight through the corridors until he found the reception room. Carol was there, sipping on some water and he immediately hugged her.

“Are you alright, darling?” he was carefully checking her to make sure she wasn’t going to hide anything.

“Yes, just fine… I think I’m still undercover.” she said. “Bill is a great security man, Harry. Don’t worry.”

“I don’t like the idea of you getting discovered while pregnant...” he confessed.

“I know. I don’t either.” she chastely pecked his lips. “Let’s just not think about it, ok? Everything went fine and the other guests are arriving and you have more pictures to pose for.”

Harry went on godfather mode, still making sure Carol was within his eyesight.

The photographer Lara hired was good, getting all the “must have’ shots as quickly as possible and Harry wanted to have one of him, Carol and Tommy. When he saw the picture on the camera’s display, he knew that it was going straight to the mantle of his fireplace.

________________________________________________

A/N: I hope all of you are keeping safe and sane on this quarantine mode.

Thank you for your continued support! I love to read all of the messages you send me and hopefully you’ll enjoy this quit long chapter.

Xoxo

[pofcroyalfanfiction]

Chapter Four - Poison Ivy

Ivy House, Marlborough

Early evening, September 1st  

By the time the clock on her laptop had struck five, the last of the parents were driving out of the parking area behind Ivy and leaving their daughters behind. Some had just come back from cosy family farewell feasts in town, whilst some had to stay behind a little longer to console a few of the younger girls who were already feeling homesick.

Ellie sat on her bed with her window open, listening from her third-floor bedroom to the sounds of those coming and going down below. It was a welcome distraction from the chaotic mess of plans that she was trying to get her head around, which was proving immensely difficult despite the vast array of lists and charts that she had spent the last few hours preparing.

Weekly timetables packed with sports and club meetings in every free period, with even more sports and clubs squeezed in between them. Lists of the girls that she knew in Ivy, colour coded to signify what cliques they were in or what clubs they were a part of.

Purple for Field Hockey, blue for Football, orange for the Swim team...

These were all distractions too. Hours ago, Ellie had intended to head downstairs and join the rest of the house in the common room, a time to mingle and reunite with friends for a few hours before the evening where, as was tradition, there would be a 'Welcome Back Ivy' party. Normally she would skip it, or quietly head off back to her room after half an hour when nobody was looking. As with everything to do with her school life this year, this night would be different.

Once her parents had left, she stripped off her school uniform and flung open each of her suitcases to piece together a dozen different outfits to try on. Each one she laid out on her bed, beside the large mirror that sat on her pillows and leaned against the wall, allowing her to get ready for the evening from the comfort of her fuzzy purple bedspread.

Yet it was somewhere between brushing her hair and doing her eyeliner that her eagerness started to drop and her bravery started to fade, when that little sting of self-doubt crept in and slowed everything down. With her parents there, with everyone's parents there, the girls of Ivy House were friendly and welcoming. Parents had a way of dampening that typical school atmosphere of popularity contests, bullies, peer pressure and hormones.

With the first day excitement blanketing over everyone it was easy to forget incidents like the one with Ruby Brower the year before, who got locked out of her room when she came back from the showers and earned the nickname 'Ruby Cheeks' for the rest of the year. Then there was Florence Hutton, a sixth form girl who passed out in the common room during Ellie's 2nd year, smelling of vodka with her panties around her ankles and her eyebrows shaved off. She was expelled from the school for indecent behaviour, but everyone knew she wasn't the sort of girl to get blackout drunk.

The girls of Ivy could be brutal, vindictive and petty. Everything Ellie needed to have a horrible evening of socialising.

The makeup on her bed vanished under dozens of different coloured pens and highlighters, the dresses and jeans that she had picked out were crushed beneath piles of drawing pads and notebooks.

Her frustration grew as the hours passed, each club that she found conflicting with another, each giggle or snippet of chatter that she heard from the corridor as girls headed downstairs to the party. Each minute that passed without her leaving her room, with every one being a reminder of how easy it had been to talk to people just hours before. Every moment she would curse herself for being stupid enough to think Marlborough could schedule every activity it had available without any of them clashing.

How could they? There are hundreds!

Every time she shuffled her notepads more club leaflets would fall out onto her bed, each reminding her of something she'd already signed up for that she'd have to work into her schedule.

If I can ask to get out of Maths five minutes early, I can just about get to Tennis tryouts on time and hopefully those finish before Shakespeare Society starts at four o'clock, but then I can't do Drama club on Sunday afternoons, at least until the Hockey season is over. Maybe if I ask Mrs Moon to move the meet to Fridays instead, but then that would mean...

Thump, thump, thump!

Ellie shoved a heap of notepads, bras and makeup out of her sight, sending them all clattering onto the floor just as a dozen loud knocks drummed against her door. The noise caused her to jump, sending more of her things across the room and making her clutch her chest to stop her heart from bursting out.

Three of four girls lingered outside her door, laughing and chatting between themselves as they delivered the same drumming to the other bedroom doors along the corridor and clearly having all the fun in the world.

"Screw it." Ellie tossed the rest of her notebooks aside and picked up her eyeliner again. "I'll figure it out tomorrow."

She spoke aloud to herself, willing herself forward. Ivy may be a jungle, full of hidden enemies and lethal predators, but she definitely wasn't going to be their fearful prey. She wanted to push herself this year and she wasn't going to fail on the very first night by keeping out of sight with her nose buried in inconceivable timetables.

The corridors were eerily quiet when Ellie stepped outside of her bedroom, except for the distant chatter of the common room downstairs and the quiet mumbling of girls in their rooms who were deciding to stay put. She immediately felt the nerves freezing her in place, making her feet feel like lead weights that lazily dragged along the carpet.

The risqué black mesh top that she'd decided to wear was already beginning to feel like a mistake, along with the more pronounced cats eye that she'd drawn on her eyes and the slightly darker shade of lipstick that coated her lips.

Keep going. It'll feel even worse if you turn back now.

Ellie tip toed her way forward, wanting to make as little noise as possible as she made her way past the doors of her neighbour's rooms. She listened to hear if anyone was in the rooms around her, curious to see who was inside, what they might be like and wondering if they were just as nervous as she was about socialising.

The room across the hall seemed strangely quiet and empty, but her next door neighbour was definitely there, rustling around inside her room and apparently unpacking something heavy. Ellie couldn't help but stand outside the door, looking at the moving shadows at the bottom of the doorframe and smirking as the girl inside clearly hummed a tune from the latest Wither Sisters album.

"That's a good sign." Ellie whispered quietly, pondering what other bands they might have in common.

The humming stopped abruptly, the girl's shadows freezing in place beneath the door and making Ellie's heart drop to the pit of her stomach. She could feel the girls stare burning its way through the wooden door, then the shadows started moving again, growing larger and larger, then the door handle started to turn.

Ellie sprinted away, desperate not to be caught in the act of spying on her first night back, especially on her next door neighbour. She ran around the corner and out into the main hallway where more girls were leaving their rooms and heading downstairs, then she hid behind the open door of the girls' bathroom. She heaved a sigh of relief when a door opened and closed back down the corridor without anyone coming around and looking for her, and when the coast was clear she quietly and gracefully made her way towards the stairs, desperately pretending she wasn't so flustered.

Awkward encounter number one is now out of the way.

The common room was absolutely packed when she arrived, since it was the first time that day that everyone was in the same place and doing the same thing without parents or unpacking to worry about. At least sixty girls squashed together, piling on to the dozen or so sofas and benches that were scattered around the room or huddled in groups around ten circular tables that were each painted a different colour. Some were still wearing their uniforms while most had clearly had the time to get changed into their best outfits. On top of the hundreds of different conversations and reunions going on, party music was booming out of large speakers around the room and forcing everyone to yell loud enough to be heard over both the music and each other.

One of the Ivy prefects, the pristine looking fifth year girl called Dana Cook was shepherding a bunch of first year students through the crowd and trying to be heard over the music. "First years, follow me, we have to finish orientation!"

Ellie ducked out of the way just as some of the smaller girls spotted her and decided to separate from the orientation group and head towards her, but Dana roared at them to come back and they meekly complied. Ellie always did her best to avoid the first year newcomers at Marlborough, those who weren't yet prepared to think of her as a normal student. She wasn't going to be rude and not say hello, but school was hard enough without people ogling her and following her around.

Alex waved at her from a table at the back of the room where she was happily talking with two of her friends from the third year, a pudgy brunette called Laura Houghton and Bella Stokesworth, a girl even smaller than Alex who tied her black hair into two thick braids that ran down her back. Together they were sharing a table with about six second year girls, who all watched Ellie closely as she sat down and immediately started whispering amongst themselves when they thought she wasn't looking.

"Didn't think you'd come." Alex said to her as she entwined their arms.

"You know I've been wanting to change that." Ellie said irritably as she looked around the table. Laura and Ashley had continued their conversation about trying out for the Fencing team, whilst the group of second years were whispering so loudly to hear each other that they didn't realise Ellie could hear them.

"Does she ever come to these things? I never saw her last year!"

"She came to the meetings but never the parties!"

"What?"

"She came to the meetings!"

"What?"

Alex turned in her seat so that she blocked the second years view of her. "Don't worry about them. Relax a little, sis."

It was easy for her to say. Alex had adapted to boarding school like she was any other normal girl, especially not one who had spent the years before being home-schooled and hardly having a social life. She had jumped at the opportunity whilst Ellie had sat and stewed, only occasionally getting her feet wet and testing her comfort zone when it came to making friends.

I don't want to wait anymore, I'm ready.

Alex was right though, it really wasn't so bad. Sitting at the table and talking with her sisters friends was a pleasant experience, she always knew it would be, but the struggle came with getting used to it. Her interactions with other students felt so few and far between, even with all the classes where she sat side by side and worked with girls and boys her own age, she had never opened up to someone enough to make a friend.

That's my goal.

"All right girls, settle down, settle down." Mrs Moon spoke over a microphone and then waited for the music to be turned down before she continued. "We need some more even groups here. Jane, why don't you go over there with Sadie. Hannah, why don't you guys join Trish's group down here."

Girls started shuffling around, frowning as their conversations were broken up and they were forced to find new friends for the evening. "Ah, Ellie, nice of you to join us."

Oh lord.

All the girls in the room rapidly twisted and turned around in an effort to find her. Like spotlights searching for a target, at least sixty pairs of eyes settled on her. Ellie raised her hand, smiling shyly and hoping for the attention to move elsewhere before she exploded. Alex reassuringly bumped her shoulder, letting her know she was nearby.

It's okay. You're used to people staring, aren't you?

"I'd say there's too many of you over there. Ellie, come and join Ashley and the girls at the front here." Mrs Moon beckoned her over, with each wave of her hands acting like a crane which slowly lifted Ellie out of her seat. She was just as comforting and friendly as she always was but this time, at least to Ellie, it felt a little evil.

Ellie's eyes darted around as she made her way to the front of the crowd, weaving between tables and avoiding looking at the girls around her who followed her every movement. She heard Alex's voice behind her, loudly pointing out that Sasha White quit the Fencing team last year and left a spot open, which thankfully restarted her friends conversation along with every other conversation that seemed to have stopped when Ellie's name was called. Using the noise as cover, Ellie hurried the last few steps around a few tables and sat down in the empty seat that Mrs Moon pointed her too.

Happy to be out of the limelight, she hadn't taken the time to look at who she was actually sitting next to. At first the girl didn't look at her, only briefly glancing at her arm with an offended look on her face, as if Ellie had no right to sit next to her, but when her large, doe-like hazel eyes looked up at Ellie her expression quickly changed to an eagerness.

Oh, that Ashley.

Ashley Mills had a big reputation among the fourth years of Marlborough College. Her family was one of the wealthiest around and seemed to be top of the pile when it came to the rich kids of the school, everyone looked up to them, some even feared them. In a school where almost everyone came from money and powerful families, reputation meant everything and was the difference between popularity and social exclusion. Ashley's older sister Sarah was also the Head Girl, and the expectation was that Ashley would be following in the same footsteps.

The Mills family held onto power with an iron grip and held almost as much influence over Marlborough College as Ellie's family did, if not more. Ellie knew that if she was going to make any progress at school this year, she would have to deal with Ashley Mills.

Ellie decided to speak first, knowing that most girls were afraid of even sitting next to a member of the Mills family and that perhaps that was something she could relate to. Ashley wasn't known to be a bully or mean, just someone that held a lot of power among the students, particularly in Ivy House.

Maybe Ashley herself wasn't so bad, maybe it was her family that was the villain that everyone was afraid of. A powerful family could cast a very large shadow over someone's life, something Ellie was very familiar with.

"Hey." Ellie said, acting confident and making herself comfortable in her seat. She wanted to show Ashley she wasn't afraid of her and it seemed to be working.

Ashley's eyes were twinkling, her mouth slightly open as she watched her. Ellie could tell she was thinking, analysing her closely and pondering what to do with her. Ashley's speech was friendly, her words like honey and nowhere near matching the family reputation. "Hey, don't see you at these things often."

"Yeah." Ellie answered nervously, distracted by the openness that came with sitting at the front of the room. "I normally skip out after forty minutes or so, but I'm planning to try a bit harder this time."

She watched Ashley, hoping that she'd said the right thing and not ruined her chances of friendship already. On the contrary, Ashley seemed almost impressed with her answer. Lucy Morello and Lauren Beattie, Ashley's closest confidantes, both moved their chairs closer so that Ellie was squeezed in amongst them and the rest of the room was shut out.

"Well, you aren't missing much so I don't blame you. It's not really much of a party with all the kids around." Ashley turned her head and looked at all the first year girls that were gathered together nearby, all them quickly averting their gaze and pretending they weren't just looking at her.

"So why do you stay?" Ellie asked.

"Mrs Moon expects it of me, at least to stay for the quiz. Something about my influence and being a role model." Ashley explained nonchalantly. She leaned in closer to Ellie and hid her lips from the view of everyone but their table. "The girls and I were going to hang out in my room after, if you wanna join us?"

"Don't you want to relax with the rest of the house?" Ellie said, matching the whisper. She could feel girls around her leaning in and trying to hear her.

"You don't want to make friends with them." Lucy piped in, surprising her. Up until then it had seemed like only Ashley was allowed to talk.

"You were wise to avoid everyone." Lauren added.

"Yeah, Ellie." Ashley looked suspiciously around the room once again. "You're maybe not aware yet, but you should know most of these girls are Scheming. Little. Bitches."

Her words were vicious and harsh, directed at everyone around her and clearly coming from a girl who had been on the wrong end of several of these schemes. The whole of Ivy suddenly felt much more hostile and made Ellie appreciate the safety of sharing a table with Ashley Mills, a girl who was quickly revealing how difficult it was going to be to make real friends.

The quiz ended up being incredibly easy, the questions were aimed at the first years as a way to help them socialise and make friends whilst the older girls were allowed to sit back and only pretend they were taking part. Ashley, Lucy and Lauren made a conscious effort to involve Ellie in their conversation, even if it jumped from various girls, boys, classes and sports that she was yet to meet or take part in. Ellie could ease herself in, just as she had hoped to do. Her confidence was growing, as well as the sense that she was becoming part of something.

The girls even huddled around her protectively and gave the group stink eye to Rhiannon Wakefield, a Sixth Form girl who accidentally bumped into Ellie's chair.

It was startling to her how much being part of a group and having friends around her could change her perspective, allowing her to sit and be herself, to enjoy what she was doing without being worried about everyone else. She could look around the room and stare into the eyes of girls she had never spoken to before, girls who she would normally shy away from when she'd first come downstairs.

This included an older woman, tall, intimidating and well-toned, standing in a dark corner of the room and looking directly at her with her arms crossed. She looked too mature to be a student but too young and uncomfortable in the crowd of girls to be a new teacher, her body language was stern, stand-offish and almost as suspicious as Ashley was. She kept her eyes on Ellie as she left early with her new friends, her gaze so unsettling that Ellie had to rush the others to leave the common room even quicker.

She tried to put it out of her mind, focusing instead on the heavily decorated door of Ashley's bedroom.

"So what about you guys?" she asked vaguely as Ashley unlocked the door and led them inside.

"What about us?" Lucy asked back, casually slumping down on Ashley's bed.

"You said everyone down there is a scheming bitch, so what about... you?" Ellie was tentative and avoided looking at their reactions, instead focusing on the walls of the room which were already covered in photos of Ashley with her friends. Popular kids from all across the school were easily recognisable, making Ashley's status as Queen of the school even more obvious, as well as the fact that she was unfairly efficient when it came to unpacking.

"We're trying to save this place." Ashley commanded her attention again and pulled her onto the large queen size bed to join them. "Ivy used to be the best house in school, we had the best sports teams and we always won the House tournament. Now it's just filled with bullies and cliques while the rest just want to transfer to New Court or Elmhurst."

"Me and Sarah are doing our best, trying to make sure Ivy gets back on top, but the bad sort are still getting in and dragging us down. You know all about that though, right?"

The atmosphere inside the bedroom very quickly shifted as the three girls watched Ellie closely and silently, waiting for her to respond. Was she implying Ellie was the bad sort?

"What do you mean by that?" asked Ellie, feeling insulted.

"Just that you must be used to your fair share of fame hunters and leeches, Princess." Ashley gave her a knowing smile.

"Yeah, you're from the biggest family around. You have more power than anyone in England, let alone Marlborough. You're friends with movie stars and celebrities, just last week I saw you in OK! Magazine hanging out with Taylor Swift." Lucy added in an adoring tone that Ellie was very familiar with, yet her knowledge of the private lives of royals was worrying.

"Okay, chill fan girl." Ashley scolded her friend with a judging stare and looked warmly back at Ellie.

"There aren't as many as you might think, but yeah." Ellie said, moving on. "It's gotten a lot worse after Granny died, people coming out of nowhere and claiming we share a family connection."

It took them a moment to realise who Granny was, but that wasn't unusual when she was talking to people outside of the family. Ellie waited for the inevitable chorus of "Ohhh!" and smirked when the girls provided it.

"We should really stick together Ellie, your influence would really help get us back on top of the tables at school. Can you imagine what we could do with you on our side?" Ashley and the girls looked between her and each other, excitedly thinking about the prospect.

"Well I've been signing up for more clubs than I can count, and I've got more team tryouts this week than I've had in my entire life. What do you need me to do?" Ellie spoke honestly, she couldn't think of much more she could be doing to help make Ivy great again, and in truth she wasn't that bothered about it.

But if helping them means I can make some friends... why not?

"Oh, don't worry about tryouts. Ashley can get you on most of the squads easily." Lauren casually brushed aside her worries.

Ellie looked disbelievingly at Ashley, who was taking out her phone and nodding at her smugly, as if it was completely obvious that she had that level of power. "Do I have you on Facebook?"

Ah, great. I figured this would come up.

"No, no. I don't have a public Facebook account." Ellie knew if anyone gained access to her private account, there would be hell to pay when her parents found out. Private pictures were one thing, but when those pictures could then easily be stolen and sold, that was a risk nobody in her family could take.

"Well girly, that's gonna have to be our first order of business!"

They ended up making an entirely new profile for her in order to keep her family and photos private, despite repeated questions from Lauren and Lucy asking why her family's privacy was so important. Ashley was more respectful, and Ellie guessed she often had similar interactions with people wanting to befriend her. It was nice to have someone who could understand her, as well as reign in the girls when they got too curious.

"You just don't want us to see all your celebrity friends." Lauren sighed at her, pretending to be hurt.

"I don't have that many, actually." Ellies account was tiny compared to Ashley's, who had hers loaded up on her laptop to be an example for Ellie. She was more embarrassed by the fact that she had no friends her own age, while Ashley boasted over two thousand.

"Don't worry about that. You can easily make everyone in this school worship you." Ashley was looking at her like she was some sort of science project or ancient artefact, urging her to unleash her power.

"Ashley, I mean real friends. Like this." Ellie jealously gestured to Ashley's friends list.

"Like that." She pointed with her eyes to the walls, covered in vast amounts of photos of dozens and dozens of friendships. "What I don't want is people worshipping me, people pretending they're on my side. I want to make friends from shared experiences, from going out, from partying, from being together!"

The words were well rehearsed, spoken dozens and dozens of times in her head over the summer. Her voice had grown louder as she spoke, angrier even. Her cheeks were warm and flushed, and the girls looked at her, half in shock and half in awe as she sat and stewed in her frustration.

"There's only one place to start." Ashley squeezed in beside her, pressed their cheeks together and stuck her phone out in front of them. "Smile!"

Hours passed by late into the night as they took more and more photos together and started populating Ellie's new profile with her likes and dislikes, her favourite bands, her favourite hobbies and all these new profile pictures. The friend requests started pouring in when Ashley added her as a friend, making her phone buzz so often that it turned into one constant vibration. Lauren and Lucy delighted in re-doing her hair and makeup and gushed over how proud they were to be the stylists of a Princess. Ashley meticulously picked out outfits for her to wear and oversaw every style choice the other girls made with Ellie, clearly enjoying being able to thoroughly turn her into one of them.

Ellie was starting to feel like she belonged, but even more so, she was starting to feel like she had been claimed.

With all the photos she was uploading with her arm around Ellie, looking fiercely at the camera and daring anyone to try her, it was clear that Ashley wanted Ellie to be well and truly one of her girls.

"It's honestly so hard to stay friends without social media." Lauren told her when she was starting to hesitate over accepting the friend requests on her phone. Lucy accepted five more for her and then dragged her into another photo of them dancing on the bed to a Disney song.

Ellie decided she would take her time. She would only add people in her year, people she knew she would be seeing in class regularly. It was easy at first, adding a new friend between trying on different outfits from Ashley's wardrobe and posing with each other, but things were different by the end of the night, when she was heading back to her room at three in the morning wearing another girl's jeans and feeling better than ever than she'd ever felt at Marlborough.

Over six hundred requests were waiting for her, from new kids in school to sixth formers who were in their final year. Ellie's restrictions had gone from her year only, to people on the teams she was hoping to join, to the years below and above her, to then finally all of the school. She was adamant that it wouldn't go any further than that.

As she made her way up the stairs to her floor and practically skipped through the corridors leading to her room, she reassured herself that the people on her page could only see what she wanted them to see. Ashley and the girls had been eager to upload every photo they had with her with captions like 'Look who I met' alongside others like "My new best girlfriend", but they had at least asked her each time whether she was happy with them.

It'll all be fine. They're all nice photos and it's all secure within the Marlborough network, it's good. You're good. The Palace won't find out.

She swung around the corner into the small off-shoot corridor where her bedroom door was waiting, but a tall, intimidating and well-toned blonde woman stood blocking her way. She was wearing all black skinny jeans and a long sleeve top despite the time and had clearly been waiting for her to show up.

Ellie almost fell over in her eagerness to stop. The woman crossed her arms and looked irritable, like a mother who had been forced to stay up late until her daughter got home.

"Your Highness, are you all right?" she asked in a Pennsylvania accent. Aunt Emma's influence in the decision making was now clear. Ellie's spirits immediately dropped.

"Oh, you..." Ellie mumbled, failing to hide her disappointment. She had easily forgotten after the night with Ashley and the girls.

The woman blinked, obviously a little hurt by the less than friendly greeting. "My name is Jennifer Jareau. I'm here as your in-house protection officer, Ma'am."

Ellie winced. Being called Ma'am was like a spear through the chest after the night she had just enjoyed. "The one sent by my grandparents, yeah." She couldn't help but sound snide.

"They had a hand in my appointment, yes, but I'm here fully at your service and that means knowing where you are at all times." She was clearly growing more annoyed.

"Isn't it your job to find out?" Ellie took on an aggressive stance, her arms crossed to match Jennifer. "I've been here three years and I haven't needed to tell anyone where I am or where I'm going."

"With respect Ma'am, things will be different this year." Jennifer gritted her teeth, her words curt and sharp.

"Oh, will they?" Ellie pushed past her, wanting to get away from Jennifer before all of her good vibes were crushed. "And don't call me Ma'am, not here."

She turned to her door and ignored the woman, but only when she tried turning the handle did she realise that in her nervous rush downstairs hours before, she had forgotten to bring her keys. Ellie pulled on the handle several times and each time the door stood firm, leaving her lingering with her back turned to someone who was quickly becoming, at least to her, the worst person at Marlborough.

"Here." Jennifer sighed, going into the bedroom opposite Ellie's and grabbing a spare key. She inserted it into Ellie's lock and opened her door.

Ellie mumbled an abrupt 'thanks' and slid back into her room, quickly closing the door in Jennifer's irritated face.

[phfanfic-diekoenigin]

prequel: 008

SEPTEMBER 2010 (OSKAR)

Schloss Ludwigslust, Ludwigslust, Mecklenburg

Wednesday, 15 September 2010

His great-grandfather, King Heinrich Ludwig I of Mecklenburg, had shamelessly copied his Dutch cousin (and aunt by her marriage to his half-uncle) and created a national holiday celebrating the birthday of the monarch. The first Königstag, King’s Day, took place on 18 November 1919, only months after the Treaty of Versailles turned the Grand Duchies of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz into the Kingdom of Mecklenburg. Heinrich Ludwig would appear on the balcony of Schweriner Schloss, wave to the gathered crowds of wellwishers and gawkers, and go back inside where it was nice and warm, leaving his subjects to show their love for their King by throwing street parties and getting drunk in the middle of the day.

King Heinrich Ludwig I died in 1954 and his son carried on the tradition. His great-uncle, Paul Friedrich II of Mecklenburg’s birthday was 10 September and, now, so was Königstag. Thanks to the fairer weather, Paul Friedrich took a more hands on role and began visiting Mecklenburg’s three exclaves in West Germany. Horst, Mannhagen, and Walksfelde were visited each in turn by Paul Friedrich, Queen Thyra, and their children during Paul Friedrich’s long reign.

King Paul Friedrich II died in 1982 and his son carried on the tradition. His father’s first cousin, Wilhelm Franz I of Mecklenburg’s birthday was 17 July, and, now, so was Königstag. Some argued for the date to stay in September as the front half of the calendar year was now overloaded with national holidays, but Wilhelm Franz refused, saying “my birthday’s in July” and that was the end of that. By now, the tradition of visiting the exclaves was well entrenched and much looked forward to by the tiny villages. After Wilhelm Franz married, Eleonora of Leiningen (his mother’s first cousin) joined him, and then their daughter a few years later. When the Soviet Union fell and Mecklenburg regained access to the two exclaves in what was formerly East Germany in 1990, Rossow and Schönberg were added to the rotation. Tragically, Wilhelm Franz would never spend Königstag at Rossow or Schönberg.

King Wilhelm Franz I died in 1992, leaving a three year old queen to carry on the tradition. His second cousin twice over, Karolina Augusta I of Mecklenburg’s birthday was 15 September, and, now, so was Königinnentag. Queen’s Day. Without a husband or any children of her own, Karolina Augusta was joined by her mother and brother during her visits to Mecklenburg’s five exclaves. Karolina Augusta celebrated her first Königinnentag in Mannhagen, and today, celebrated it in Schönberg. Over the decades, the festivities put on by the villages had evolved from small, locally sourced street parties to large, internationally sourced agricultural shows. It was not Lina’s thing. Like, at all. But as with everything else, she threw herself into it each year by letting her hair down (figuratively) and going for a more casual, approachable wardrobe (flat shoes) in order to join in the festivities while still looking wildly out of place standing near livestock and giant vegetables.

Officially, Königinnentag ended when the traditional work day did. Karolina Augusta didn’t hold to traditional work hours, and neither did Oskar.

Oskar Harald Christian Heinrich Philipp af Danmark was born on 19 September 1983 at Euphemiasburg in Bad Doberan, Mecklenburg (because hospitals are for the common folk), the second child but first son of Harald and Helene af Danmark. Although born in Mecklenburg with the intention of being raised in Mecklenburg, Oskar was baptised into the Church of Denmark six months later to appease his grandfather.

As male-line descendants of King Christian IX of Denmark through a succession of approved marriages, Oskar, his older sister Louisa, younger brother Axel, their parents and their aunt were considered members of the Danish Royal Family, and entitled to the rank of Prince or Princess of Denmark and the style of Highness. As male-line descendants of Frederik VIII through his third son, but not his first son, they were, however, excluded from the line of succession. Known to the rest of his paternal family as the Bernstorff branch (named for the palace his grandparents lived in until his grandfather’s death in 1991), they were the appendix of the Danish Royal Family, nice to have around but not essential.

This, rather dry and not entirely interesting, information was relied upon more than Oskar cared to admit. When travelling the country, the continent, or the world, there was nearly always someone who’d crunch up their face and ask why a Danish prince was a representative of the Mecklenburgish queen. He’d like to answer “nepotism?” but instead answered with a variation of “I’m a Mecklenburgish citizen, not a Danish citizen” and avoided getting into explaining Mecklenburg’s standard practice of recognising any foreign rank and style of its citizens so long as the style is not Royal Highness or higher as that’s reserved for very specific people within the Kingdom. If their historical style is Royal Highness or higher they are downgraded, which must ruffle some feathers, but hasn’t stopped Mecklenburg from becoming a kind of refuge for the royally and nobily overthrown.

His business card identified him as Prinz Oskar af Danmark, External European Policy Advisor to The Queen of Mecklenburg. Basically, it was his job to advise his cousin on all things Europe, but not Mecklenburg. Less basically, he got paid to read international news, travel the world, argue with his team about what they should and shouldn’t report back to their boss, and attend so many meetings with people he wanted to strangle half the time. He’d had the job since 2006 after Lina created the role especially for him. Oskar’s detractors argued he was too young, but Lina argued back that there still were plenty of old white men in the Königliches Ministerium für Auswärtige Angelegenheiten und Handel (Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and abbreviated - as all the ministries were - as KMAAH), and how a fresh perspective was desperately needed.

Despite accepting the job, from the beginning Oskar felt his position was largely unnecessary. A fresh perspective? That was just a nice way of saying “inexperienced”. There were plenty of policy advisors in the KMAAH office. It’s the whole point of the ministry. For months, Oskar dug deep, settled into his fancy office in Schweriner Schloss, poached some employees from the KMAAH office, worked hard to prove his cousin’s faith in him wasn’t misplaced, absorbed as much as he could, soaked up the knowledge of his coworkers, asked question after question after question - except for the question that really mattered, the one keeping him up at night.

“Does my job even matter?”

It took months for Oskar to realise the answer was yes, a resounding, heartfelt yes.

Advising Karolina Augusta on political matters, on Mecklenburg’s role in Europe, the internal politics of her neighbours and how they might affect their homeland was difficult and challenging, but ultimately rewarding. Lina always made sure to show her gratitude. He felt valued, his opinion respected. But working so closely with family, in a world where public and private blurred, required a clear line to be drawn in the sand. Oskar was not her Private Secretary or Deputy Private Secretary. There were areas of her life Lina would not appreciate him putting his two cents in. It was sometimes difficult determining what those areas were. Oskar detested the line in the sand while also understanding the reason behind it. They were cousins, born a handful of years apart with similar outlooks and goals. To jeopardise that relationship because he couldn’t keep his opinions to himself would have been a terrible waste. As strange as it might sound as her family and employee, Oskar was proud to call Lina his friend.

And friends help each other out, even on a national holiday.

Die Papiere were delivered to the monarch of Mecklenburg every day of the year, twice if necessary. The blue leather bound box, secured by a not especially secure lock, would be filled with the previous day’s, or that morning’s, ministerial papers and other matters for the monarch to attend to. On the evening the fifteenth of September, the day’s second batch of die Papiere delivered to Schloss Ludwigslust had a strong foreign flavour to them thanks to the Annual Informal Meeting of German-Speaking Heads of State held the week before in Austria.

During dinner in the Schloss’s Jagdsalon, Hunting Hall, with over twenty of his relatives seated around the vast table between the large room’s deer head and antler decorated pillars, Lina had asked if Oskar could join her in going over the documents should she have any questions. Karolina Augusta I of Mecklenburg always had questions so Oskar said he’d be happy to.

And he was. Let no one doubt his commitment to his job, and queen and country.

After climbing several flights of stairs to the Russische Appartement (the smallest guest apartment consisting of only a bedroom and ensuite) on the second floor to freshen up, Oskar descended the Große Osttreppe to the first floor just after eight.

Two of Lina’s protection officers were on duty on the first floor landing, guarding the doors to Lina’s Appartement, and keeping track of those who used the Große Osttreppe, Wache Halle, and the Goldener Saal (where another pair of Lina’s protection officers guarded another entrance to Lina’s Appartement). The officers nodded their heads at him - he was expected - with one opening the double doors to Lina’s Vorzimmer to alert the Aide-de-Camp on duty that evening.

Oskar waited with the guards while the Aide-de-Camp went to tell Lina of his arrival. His dismal attempt at smalltalk was cut short when Major Lehmann returned with Lina’s permission to wait for her in the Empfangszimmer.

The Major stepped aside to allow Oskar to enter the Vorzimmer ahead of her. Lehmann was Oskar’s favourite of Lina’s three Aides-de-camp. Nowak was very serious, but Stenberg had no sense of humour at all. The Vorzimmer des Monarchen, the Antechamber of the Monarch, was rectangular and primarily yellow in colour due to the wallpaper and upholstery. Originally sparsely decorated to allow the room to hold small groups of people waiting for their turn to see the Dukes and Grand Dukes of yesteryear, the Vorzimmer was now decorated as a drawing room. Sofas and armchairs were arranged in a horseshoe around the fireplace, a couple of end tables, a few buffet tables and cabinets were carefully placed around the room to allow space for paintings (including an enormous painting of a cat-dog faced lion) and an unobstructed view out of the room’s two windows overlooking the grounds behind the Schloss. Atop nearly every flat surface was a vase, overflowing with flowers freshly cut from not only Schloss Ludwigslust’s garden, but from all of Lina’s residences across the country. Amongst the vases were dozens of family photos spanning decades, some stretching back before he or Lina were even born. He was sure he’d find himself in a few photos if he was interested in looking. He wasn’t. He’d seen them all before and didn’t linger as he headed to the open set of double doors to Lina’s Empfangszimmer.

Major Lehmann closed the doors behind him. The Empfangszimmer, Receiving Room, was once the Audienzzimmer, Audience Chamber, as the stately red colour of the wallpaper reminded any visitors aware of the Schloss’s history. Once upon a time, when the court was permanently based in Schloss Ludwigslust, this room was used to receive official guests and hear petitions. The Ducal and Grand Ducal Thrones used by his ancestors were now in Euphemiasburg’s Museum Wing. The Empfangszimmer was now decorated in a similar fashion to the Vorzimmer, though more formally, with fewer flowers and any photographs being of current and former heads of state instead of family members. None of the Vorzimmer’s four sets of double doors were ‘false’, they all leaded somewhere. The same could not be said for the Empfangszimmer’s four sets of double doors. Two were ‘false’ and leaded nowhere revealing only sections of the Schloss’s central heating system. All sets of doors were identically designed to keep the room symmetrical.

The Empfangszimmer had one final door, a ‘hidden’ one. Much smaller in height and disguised to blend into the red wallpaper and white and gold trimmed wooden panelling of the room, this door lead to Lina’s Schlafzimmer, her bedroom. Schloss Ludwigslust had several of these hidden doors, some for staff use, others for the Schloss’s residents and guests, and none of them truly ‘hidden’ if you knew what to look for, or happened to notice the doorknob.

Oskar took a spot in front of the large mirror on the wall between the room’s two windows (most rooms in the Schloss had only one or two windows). The doors connecting the Empfangszimmer and Lina’s Studie was open and Oskar could hear Lina talking to someone. With the only other sound in the room being the soft ticking clock on the mantelpiece, it became impossible not to overhear his cousin in the next room. He tried to distract himself by focusing on the gold framed mirror. Mirror technology was not the best when the Schloss had been built so the two metre tall mirror was actually made up of several pieces. Why hasn’t Lina replaced the small panes with one single piece? Yeah, yeah, they were original to the room -

Yeah, it wasn’t working. He could still hear everything in the next room.

She was on the phone.

“-until November.” Pause. “Maybe. I hope so.” Pause. “Next year. Spring, after Easter, I’d imagine.” Pause. “Well, your summers are terrible so-” Pause. “They are not! We get a lot of sun here.” Pause. “We do not escape to Scotland. No one goes to Scotland for the weather.” Another pause, some laughter. “Okay, maybe some people would go to Scotland for the weather.” Pause. “Would you be able to talk again later? Oskar and I need to go over some things.” Pause. “About an hour?” A long pause. “Okay, ich werde bald mit dir reden. Tschüss!” Pause, some laughter. “Okay. Tschüss, tschüss.”

A few seconds later, Lina walked into the Empfangszimmer holding her early birthday present to herself snuggled against her chest. The female black and white Stabyhoun puppy, named Pavlovna, squirmed a little in Lina’s arms, eager to greet the newcomer.

“Hallo, Oskar,” Lina said, a sing-song edge to her voice, as she snuggled her cheek against Pavna’s fluffy fur. No one was immune to the charms of tiny, cute animals. No one included Oskar.

“Hallo, Lina,” Oskar said, closing the distance between them. “And hallo, Pavlovna.” He reached behind the puppy’s right ear and scratched, the little puppy leaned into his ministrations until Oskar moved his hand to rub the top of Pavna’s head, and then a final pat before taking a step back.

He didn’t bow and Lina didn’t expect him to. He’d already bowed to her that morning, and again when she returned from Schönberg (no one seemed to have a concrete answer for how many times one should bow to their monarch, but Oskar didn’t want to give any uptight courtiers any ammo on him). He would bow to her at least once more before the day was done.

“How’s Pavna doing tonight?” He asked.

Oskar had read the Dutch Ambassador’s birthday message to Karolina Augusta so he now knew Stabyhouns were amongst the rarest breeds of dog in the world. The Ambassador was happy Lina had purchased a Dutch national treasure and hoped it would help boost the breed’s profile outside of the Netherlands. If the Ambassador was hoping that Lina would breed Pavlovna and create some kind of Mecklenburgish-Dutch Stabyhoun Alliance, he was sorely mistaken. Lina didn’t breed her animals, not even the horses. She said it was because she didn’t have the time to breed animals. Which wasn’t false. She was busy. But The Queen was busy and she manages to breed Corgis like they’re going out of fashion. Klaus reckoned, and Oskar agreed, that the reason Lina didn’t breed her animals is because she knew she’d never have the heart to sell the puppies or foals, and soon Schweriner Schloss and Schloss Ludwigslust would be overrun.

“She’s doing well.” Lina pressed a kiss against the puppy’s head. “She had a big day today. Hopefully, she’ll sleep through the night.”

Oskar chuckled, “sounds like having a newborn baby.”

“Well,” Lina said, grinning and canting her head a little, “she is a puppy.”

“And you want to go through all of it again?”

“Eventually,” Lina kissed Pavna’s head again. “Come on. We’ve got a fair bit to get through.”

“Wonderful. Can’t wait. After you,” Oskar said, gesturing towards the doors behind them. Lina spun around on the spot, her dress flaring out around her, and Oskar followed her into the next room.

Lina’s Studie, Study, was the third of four public rooms used by Lina on the frequent occasions she would conduct meetings or audiences, or host lunches or dinners while residing at Schloss Ludwigslust. The fourth public room, through the other set of double doors, was the Bildergalerie and Esszimmer, Picture Gallery and Dining Room, with its painting covered walls, small selections of family heirlooms encased in glass cabinets, and a long table and twenty-two chairs. When his great-great-whatever-grandfather built the Schloss, the Bildergalerie had been about thirty percent larger than it was today. As part of the Schloss-wide modernisation carried out by his grand-uncle in the seventies, Paul Friedrich turned the Galerie into two rooms, a smaller Bildergalerie and Esszimmer, and a private Bibliothek. It was during this modernisation ensuite bathrooms were provided for each Appartement. Thank fuck he’d been born after that had happened.

The lack of carpeted floors in Lina’s residences have been an unexpected blessing in the years since her coronation. From two, to three, and now four dogs in the space of just four years was remarkable for someone who’d never owned so much as a goldfish growing up. Axel had asked her how many dogs she planned on getting and got back “I shouldn’t suspect too many more” in reply. Axel’s expression meant he clearly found that a troubling response. Oskar agreed. Lina liked collecting and cluttering up her space more than people would assume from her polished, public persona. Four dogs were enough for one person living alone, surely?

(He then remembered the seemingly endless number of corgis, cocker spaniels and dorgis The Queen had and prayed Lina didn’t follow in her mentor’s footsteps in relation to dog ownership.)

While (often highly patterned and colourful) wooden floors were standard in royal residences throughout Mecklenburg, rugs and hall runners were also common. At least they were easily transportable and not too difficult to wash, Oskar thought as Lina crouched down and placed Pavna on the carpet next to the other dogs, her dress billowing out around her. Whether or not Pavna took the hint to join Nikki, Asta and Willa in their nap on the rug while Lina and Oskar worked remained to be seen. Lina had told them all about how stubborn Stabyhouns could be even after training.

Lina rubbed Pavna behind the ear, gave the older dogs a quick pat, stood up and gestured for Oskar to take a seat on the room’s only sofa. The sofa was hundreds of years old, and only comfortable enough sit on for short periods of time in hopes of keeping people from overstaying their welcome. Oskar took his spot on the side of the sofa closest to Lina’s preferred armchair, around the corner of the coffee table. Continuing the theme from the Vorzimmer, a vase of flowers and a couple of framed family photos sat atop the coffee table, in addition to two neatly arranged piles of paper and folders, a handful of pens and two glasses of water.

“Let me know if you would like something to eat, or something else to drink,” Lina said as she sat in the armchair on his right, a blur of red in the periphery of his vision.

Lina was still wearing her Königinnentag outfit. There hadn’t been time to change between arriving back at Schloss Ludwigslust from Schönberg (or Schönberg-Dosse to be precise and differentiate it from Schönberg-Nordwest) and dinner. It was a rare occasion indeed for Lina to attend an evening meal without a wardrobe change. And her cousins had teased her mercilessly about it. Now, Oskar supposed, there was little point in changing into anything but her pajamas and so Lina remained in her red dress and red flat shoes. The red jacket she had worn to Schönberg was draped haphazardly over the back of the two seater sofa. Oskar hadn’t felt underdressed during dinner, but he did now, having left his dinner jacket in his room. Ah well, it wasn’t worth the long walk back to his room to retrieve it. His black trousers, white button up shirt, grey tie, black cap toe Oxfords, and a three day growth would have to do.

“Will do,” Oskar said, leaning forward to pluck a folder from the top of the pile meant for him, labelled ‘Mecklenburgisch-Deutsche Sicherheits Allianz’ and stamped ‘STRENG GEHEIM’. “Let me know if you’d like any of my staff to get you something.”

“Not necessary, thank you” Lina said kindly and with a hint of smirk, “besides, I’m sure Axel is busy.”

Oskar laughed, “I’m going to tell him you said that.”

“And I’m going to tell him you called him your staff.”

“I never mentioned him by name,” Oskar said, leaning against the backrest of the sofa (which was even less comfortable than the sofa cushion), removing his favourite pen from his shirt pocket and flipping open the folder.

“You were thinking it,” Lina said pointedly. Oskar shrugged nonchalantly. She was right, of course, he sure as fuck wasn’t referring to Louisa.

“My brother could use the employment,” Oskar said, peering over the top of the folder. Lina pursed her lips but kept quiet. She kept a firm hand on the wheel of the bus of working royals, driving them where she thought they should go or be the most useful. She was supportive of all her cousins’ careers, but she really didn’t care what the non-working royal part of the family did so long as they were happy and not embarrassing her or the country.

“Possibly,” she said, picking up a pen and a folder of her own to read through. This one was labelled ‘Vorgeschlagene Streitkräfte-Beförderungen’ and stamped ‘GEHEIM’. “If only he would stop being so stubborn and apply for a position out east...”

“It’s a good thing we don’t have a teacher shortage in this country then, huh?” Oskar said. Lina scoffed, offended at the mere suggestion she would allow something as horrific as a shortage of teachers happen in Mecklenburg. “He wants to work in Wismar.”

“But why? Wismar is nothing special.”

“Ouch.”

“Wismar is beautiful. But it is as equally beautiful to half a dozen towns in V-R, V-G and M-S,” she frowned, deep in thought as she fiddled with the pen in her left hand. “He’s not hoping to live on the Karola is he?”

“There would be a long line of cousins trying to murder him in his sleep if he tried that.”

“Is there a girl I don’t know about?”

“No girl,” Oskar said. He didn’t think there was a girl currently anywhere, let alone Wismar. Axel was enjoying doing nothing for now, having no ties keeping him in one place for too long. Oskar didn’t really blame his little brother for wanting to take it easy after five years of study. Oskar’s own degree took only three years to achieve and he was incredibly burned out by the end. “It’s only been a year since he finished at Rostock. If he’s not working this time next year, you can issue a royal decree suspending his rank, style and title until he gets a job.”

“Because that wouldn’t be an overreaction. Or an abuse of my powers.”

“Not at all.”

“Or even worth doing at all since by law we recognise international ranks, styles and titles and you’re Princes and Princesses of Denmark in Denmark as well, so...”

“That’s a good point,” Oskar said. “We’ll just have to think of something else to get Axel off his arse and become a contributing member of society.”

Lina sighed, shaking her head, but Oskar knew she wasn’t too irritated by his shenanigans. He could be very charming if he wanted to be, and Lina was, you know, smiling and not frowning. But they were wasting time and that was something Lina could - and would - frown about.

Sensing his cousin was about thirty seconds from telling him to get to work, Oskar dove into the words in front of him. While he read and made notes in the margins (he should have brought a highlighter) about the latest reports regarding Mecklenburg and Germany’s mutual security alliance, Lina read through the proposed promotions in the five branches of the Mecklenburgish Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force, Medical Service, and Reserves, approving, disapproving or delaying a decision upon further review, one after the other.

Oskar didn’t weigh in on domestic or internal military matters, it was literally not in his job description, but his top secret security clearance meant he could see, hear or read everything not classified ‘EXEKUTIVE NUR’. Promotions would never be stamped as such and Oskar knew nothing on the coffee table would be either. Lina would have gone through Die Papiere and set aside anything he wasn’t supposed to see. Anything with an ‘EXEKUTIVE NUR’ stamp was probably still in the blue ministerial box sitting on Lina’s desk. From his experience with being privy to Top Secret information, Oskar had no idea what kind of stuff would need to be classified for Lina’s eyes only. A plan for Mecklenburgish worldwide domination? The recipe for Lina and Fætter Philip’s secret sauce?

They worked in silence for several minutes. Notes were made, water was sipped, legs were crossed and uncrossed, and on the carpet in front of Lina’s desk, Willa started snoring softly.

Once Oskar reached the end of his folder, he closed it and placed it on the coffee table next to the other pile of documents. Another sip of water. He waited a couple of minutes, eyes wandering around the small room, until Lina was done going over the proposed promotions. She closed her folder shut and held out for Oskar to take and place on top of the ‘done’ pile.

“Okay, let’s get into this,” Oskar said, reaching for the rest of his pile. He glanced over at the pile closest to Lina, and saw that the Armed Forces promotions had been an anomaly, something for Lina to do while he read through the folder on Mecklenburg and Germany’s security alliance. Both piles of paper and folders were in Oskar’s wheelhouse. Lina had not been exaggerating when she’d said they had a fair bit to get through.

These were the days Oskar wished he got paid overtime.

Beneath the Mecklenburgisch-Deutsche Sicherheits Allianz folder was the primary reason Lina had asked Oskar for his assistance. The handful of folders contained several inches of papers and were labelled ‘Informelles Jahrestreffen der deutschsprachigen Staatsoberhäupter’, numbered ‘Eins’ through ‘Vier’, and stamped ‘STRENG GEHEIM’.

Almost a decade previously, Germany, Mecklenburg, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein decided they wanted to get together once a year and talk about how German-Speaking they were (or ‘German-Speaking’ as Oskar saw it. He didn’t understand a bloody word of Alemannic German). One week from her sixteenth birthday, Lina (with Eleonora and a few dozen diplomats and their staff) attended the first Informal Annual Meeting of German-Speaking Heads of State in 2004, hosted by Switzerland. Each year, every September, the meeting is hosted by one of the five countries on a rotation.

As Mecklenburg would be hosting the next Informal Annual Meeting of German-Speaking Heads of State in late September 2011, a number of potential talking points had been proposed by KMAAH based on this year’s meeting in Austria. Oskar had taken some notes of his own during the meetings but as he didn’t have them on him, he recounted to Lina what he could remember and promised to bring her his notes the next day.

Lina detested the word, finding it cold and cynical, but she lived for networking. She understood, cultivated and wielded soft power like no one he had ever seen, preferring it over the considerable hard power she did wield as an executive monarch. Events like the Informal Annual Meeting of German-Speaking Heads of State were vastly important in Lina’s eyes and very much looked forward to each year.

Next year would be Mecklenburg’s second time hosting the meeting between representatives from Mecklenburg, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Liechtenstein. Lina had first hosted the meeting in 2006, less than a week after her coronation. The other leaders probably thought it was a nice, welcoming gesture to the young queen. Oskar thought asking an eighteen year old to host an international event had been a big ask. Lina had handled it beautifully, of course, having attending the two previous meetings in Switzerland and Austria and knowing exactly what to expect, and what was expected from her.

So, it was sometimes nice to do the unexpected. Lina, along with himself and several of his friends in KMAAH, were going to use 2011’s meeting as an opportunity to angle for the eventual inclusion of Belgium and Luxembourg. If trilingual Switzerland was allowed in, then equally trilingual Belgium and Luxembourg should be allowed in too.

It amused Oskar greatly that if Belgium and Luxembourg were invited - and accepted - then the monarchies would outnumber the republics during the annual get togethers. More networking for Lina. Not that Europe’s monarchies needed much more networking with Mecklenburg. Lina had made it her life’s mission to cultivate strong - and in some cases, familial-like - links between her and her fellow monarchs and their families.

Aside from the proposal to include Belgium and Luxembourg, Oskar and Lina worked on a rough outline of key points from this year’s meeting they would like to carry over to next year’s: vocational training, cultural and social integration, etc. Major events - within and outside Europe - in between meetings would also be discussed in detail, with each nation sharing how they dealt with or plan to deal with that event. Some topics, such as how to preserve and promote German’s many dialects have featured at every meeting and always would, while Germany and Mecklenburg not-so-secretly wished everyone would just learn Standard German.

Included in the minutes from this year’s meeting in Austria were a number of proposals from KMAAH on where to host the 2011 meeting. Schwerin and Rostock made sense from an accomodation and travel point of view, but Lina was a fan of having the meeting in Neubrandenburg. Mecklenburg’s third largest city - and smallest city as Mecklenburg only had three - had fared poorly during the Nazi Occupation and even worse during the Soviet Occupation. Since Mecklenburgish Reunification in 1990, money and resources had been poured into the city to bring it on a level with Rostock. They were still a couple of decades off from achieving that goal, but despite the lack of suitable accommodation for the five countries and their delegations, Oskar understood Lina’s desire to show how far Neubrandenburg has come in the decades since the Soviet Union crumbled. However, the issue of where to put everyone may possibly supersede Lina’s hope for hosting the event in Neubrandenburg. Rostock - and Euphemiasburg - was more suited to this type of large scale event.

“We should have rebuilt Palais Neubrandenburg when we had the chance,” Lina said, despondent.

“We’ve still got a year.”

Lina chuckled, “my builders are good, but they’re not that good. Neustrelitz is only half an hour from Neubrandenburg.”

“True. But-”

“Yes, it’s still too far.” Lina didn’t suggest hosting the meeting entirely at Neustrelitz as it would be pretty difficult to show everyone how well Neubrandenburg was doing if they were in Neustrelitz. Lina reached for the square Post-It Notes and scribbled Palais Neubrandenburg and Neuer Standort?? then stuck the piece of paper to the coffee table. Oskar didn’t bother trying to suppress his grin. Baroness Amalia von Kettenburg, Historical Architect to The Queen of Mecklenburg, was soon going to find herself in charge of rebuilding the Palais.

Did Lina even have a Modern Architect?

“Well, we’ve been working for just over an hour,” Oskar said, glancing at the carriage clock atop the mantlepiece. If it weren’t for the electric lighting and the laptop on Lina’s desk, you wouldn’t know you were in the twenty-first century. Schloss Ludwigslust was a building stuck between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Lina looked at him, puzzled. There were still some papers in the pile to work through and therefore they were not finished for the night. “I heard you say you’d call someone back in about an hour.”

“Oh,” she smiled softly, “it was just Harry. He’ll understand if I call back a little late. And I am not leaving Die Papiere unfinished.”

“Why not?” Oskar asked and Lina did not like that question. She frowned and furrowed her brow, a tinge of revulsion on her face. “It’s your birthday. We can finish this up in the morning.” Or on Friday, or Saturday, or Sunday, or even Monday morning before the Royal Court returned to Schwerin and with it Lina to the Schloss and Oskar to his apartment in the city. “And it’s not even urgent. We’ve got about a year until the next Informal Annual Meeting of German-Speaking Heads of State.”

“We should also suggest a better name at the next meeting.”

“Okay, I’ll work on a shortlist and don’t change the subject.”

Lina sighed, “I have always worked through Die Papiere in one go. I don’t care what day it is,” she said cutting off his attempt to butt in. “If you want to stop, I’ll finish them on my own.”

“I said I’d help.”

She raised her eyebrows, saying ‘and?’ with a pointed look. So, he said ‘and’. Or, more accurately, ‘but’.

“But it’s your birthday. It’s his birthday, too, right?” Oskar remembered singing Happy Birthday to Harry last September during Lina’s twenty-first birthday celebrations. She’d finished all Die Papiere that day too. She did it every day. Birthday, Christmas, Easter, New Year’s. It didn’t matter. The country never took a day off so neither did she. Lina called the week between Christmas and New Year her ‘week off’. Which was a load of shit because during that week she still accepted Die Papiere each morning, took daily briefings, organised upcoming events, gave her annual New Year’s Speech, and hosted New Year’s Eve celebrations for her staff and their families at Schweriner Schloss. Oskar knew - everybody knew - he’d never be able to get her to take a real, actual, no-work-done day off, but maybe, if he played his cards right, he could get her to take half an evening off and leave some work for the next day. “Parliament’s not back for a couple of weeks. Die Papiere will be pretty small tomorrow. I promised I’ll help you with the stuff from the Informal Annual Meeting of-”

“You don’t need to say the whole thing again.”

Oskar closed his mouth and leaned back, pen in his right hand. He was close to getting her to agree but pushing too hard and too fast would force her to push back. Out of principle, out of her bone deep sense of duty - which was normally endearing and something to encourage - but fuck it, she was twenty-two and deserved the night off. He twirled the pen between his fingers, once, twice, three times.

“Do you have any public engagements tomorrow?”

“A few in Waren after lunch.”

Oskar doubted it was only ‘a few’. It was probably closer to six or seven engagements and a few walkabouts. But it gave him an idea. One that would appeal to Lina’s suppressed sense of spontaneity. Like, real suppressed.

“How about a wager, then?”

“You might have a gambling problem.”

“I bet,” he continued, ignoring her comment because the little red book in his room filled with past and open bets on the personal and professional lives of him and his extended family meant he more than might have a gambling problem. He didn’t have a losing money problem, though, since all bets were capped at a hundred Kronen. “I bet,” he repeated having lost his train of thought. “If we don’t finish today’s and tomorrow’s Die Papiere after breakfast tomorrow, I join you in Waren.”

“As punishment?”

“I don’t think Waren would like to be called that. You’re being pretty mean today,” Oskar said, Lina chuckled. It was also absurd. Waren was too pretty and charming to be considered a punishment. “But yeah, sort of. I was planning on doing absolutely nothing tomorrow. Having to put on a suit and play Prince Charming for a few hours would be a massive inconvenience.”

Lina frowned, not because she was pondering the wager but because she didn’t like him using the phrase ‘play Prince Charming’. Unlike Lina, Oskar didn’t see himself as being royal twenty-four-seven. It was role he slipped in and out of with ease. His job as External European Policy Advisor to The Queen of Mecklenburg meant he had a public role to some degree, but he didn’t see himself as a public figure, and he wasn’t a working royal like his parents.

“It’s a good bet.” It wasn’t. Lina’s slight eye roll meant she agreed it was a bad bet. There was no way in hell Lina was going to leave Die Papiere unfinished tomorrow morning. But if a shitty bet got Lina to take some time off, Oskar was going to take it. And hope Lina was going to take it too.

She did.

“Fine. I accept the conditions of the wager.” She stuck out her hand and they shook on it. Oskar made a mental note to add the bet to the red book. For posterity.

“Okay, I’ll leave you to it.” Oskar got to his feet, leaned down to kiss his mildly bemused cousin on the cheek, bowed his head and told Lina to say hi and Happy Birthday to Harry from him. “And everyone else, too.”

“Okay,” she said, her tone moving from bemused to amused, “I will.”

Oskar went to the dogs and patted them good night. Little Pavna had snuggled up so close to Asta she was half-covered by Asta’s long grey fur. The four dogs barely acknowledged him. As Lina had said, they’d had a big, busy, exhausting day. The Schloss was currently hosting dozens of people happy to play, throw, swim or run with them while Lina was carrying out her official duties.

As he neared the door leading to Lina’s drawing room, Oskar paused and turned back to see Lina had gotten up from the sofa, going to her desk to retrieve her phone. She was grinning at the screen, typing rapidly with both hands.

“Gute Nacht, Lina,” Oskar said, smiling, the soft feeling of love and affection for his cousin coming to the surface. Startled he was still in the room, Lina looked up from her phone, and distractedly pushed back her perfectly secured hair. The grin she’d been wearing before grew into a wide smile.

“Gute Nacht, Oskar.”

The next day, after another raucous breakfast with his extended family, Oskar brought his notes to Lina’s suite.

They finished Die Papiere. Oskar still went to Waren. And it was six engagements. Two walkabouts. And a very confused media presence.

Translations:

Russische Appartement = Russian Appartment

Große Osttreppe = Great East Staircase

Wache Halle = Guard Hall

Goldener Saal = Golden Hall

Mecklenburgisch-Deutsche Sicherheits Allianz = Mecklenburgish-German Security Alliance

STRENG GEHEIM = TOP SECRET

Vorgeschlagene Streitkräfte-Beförderungen = Proposed Armed Forces Promotions

V-R = Vorpommern-Rügen, a region of Mecklenburg

V-G = Vorpommern-Greifswald, a region of Mecklenburg

M-S = Mecklenburgische Seenplatte, a region of Mecklenburg

EXEKUTIVE NUR = EXECUTIVE ONLY

Die Papiere = The Papers

Informelles Jahrestreffen der deutschsprachigen Staatsoberhäupter = Informal Annual Meeting of German-Speaking Heads of State

Eins = One

Vier = Four

Palais = Palace

Neuer Standort = New location

[hrhduchessoflancaster]

Chapter Eighty-One: Clearer Skies

A/N: Thank you for keeping up with the story! xx Bea

__________________________________________________________

She saw as he sprang in front of her, the gunshot ringing in her ears as she lowered her head, watching it hit the man in front of her. She heard the shot flying above her head, passing through Colin, embedding itself in the wall, as she ducked her head. He fell to the floor, blood oozing out of his chest and around his back, forming a puddle at her feet. She briefly looked down as Dmitri talked, her ears still ringing, seeing the look of horror in Colin’s eyes as he grew paler and paler until he stopped moving. She froze on her spot for a second, looking at the lifeless body of the man she once loved. Then she looked up, seeing the older man pointing the same gun at her, ready to take her life.

“ NO!”, she screamed in panic. Blinking and fighting back tear, Elle tried to calm herself down as she took in her surroundings. She looked around and saw the hospital room and someone rushing to her side. Harry.

“ Baby, I’m here. I’m here, love. It’s alright, you’re safe.”, he told her as he held her in his arms. Rubbing her back, Harry felt her start to relax, but she still clinging tightly to him.

“ I’m okay…”, she whispered. Harry wasn’t sure if she was talking to him or to herself, but he nodded his head and let her make the first move. So long as she was holding onto him, he wouldn’t let her go. After a few minutes, Elle backed off, leaning back on the bed. Harry looked at her and waited for her to feel comfortable enough to talk.

“ It felt so real…”, she whispered, not meeting his eyes. “ I… he died, Harry. I saw him die.”, she said to him.

“ There was so much blood… and the other man, Dmitri, he was ready to kill me.”, she said, now meeting his eyes. Her emerald green meets his aqua green ones. Hers were full of sorrow, guilt, relief and fear. His, were concerned and scared, but also full of love.

“ Oh my goodness! Alfred! He was shot too! What happened to him?”, said Elle, getting worked up.

“ Love, he’s alive! He’s fine! The bullet hit him in the ribs but he’s okay. He’s in recovery.”, said Harry and Elle nodded her head, calming down once again. Harry knew that what she had seen would be imprinted on her forever. He also knew what was like to face death in the eye, just like his wife just had, a few hours ago. And being in the military didn't make it easier to deal with it.

“ I know how hard it is. You know I do. But you have to focus on the fact that it’s over now, Elle. And you’re safe. We are here with you. You have me, Nugget, your entire family and friends. We are all here with and for you, my love.”, said Harry, running circles in her hands.

“ I know… I know… and I’ve been through traumas before but… I… he’s dead…”, she said, tears springing from her eyes once again. As much as he hated Colin for his role in what has been going on, Harry knew he meant something to Elle once upon a time, and watching him die was probably a big shock to her. Patiently and with care, he calmed her, helping Elle with her breathing exercises once again. This much stress was not only bad for her, but also for their child.

************

All of her family came to see her on the same day she was admitted in, but the person she was mostly worried about was Kate. She had been with Elle when it all happened and she was worried she had been hurt. When the Cambridges finally visited on the third day of her hospital confinement, she was beyond relieved to see Kate well.

“ I was so worried that something had happened to you as well.”, said Elle as they hugged each other.

“ Just the shock and a bruised head. Nothing more.”, said Kate, giving Elle a smiled but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. She saw as Kate and William looked nervously at each other when they asked about Elle’s health and the baby. She noticed that Kate flinched when Elle touched her arm and William moved swiftly at his wife’s side. Kate concealed it well but Elle knew something was wrong. The older couple kept on glancing at each other, as if they were trying to say something, every so often exchanging secretive glances. Once they had left, Elle turned to her husband.

“ Harry?”, she asked him. “ Yes, love?”, he said.

“ Did you think that Will and Kate were acting a little weird?”, asked Elle. Harry paused for a moment before nodding his head.

“ As a matter of fact, I did. Which is odd…”, said Harry.

“ Maybe there’s something going on and they’re keeping from us?”, suggested Elle.

“ No… if something was happening, Will wouldn’t keep it from me. I’m his brother. We tell each other everything.”, said Harry. Elle decided not to insist on the matter, even if she was still a little suspicious.

It took her almost a week to leave King Edward’s VII hospital, mostly due to the head trauma she had suffered and to monitor the baby’s health. By the time she left, the world media knew all about what had happened to the Duchess of Sussex and the Freedom Movement. While she had been hospitalized, Colin’s body had been sent back to what was left of his family, so they could give him a proper burial. The joint front formed by MI5, MI6, Scotland Yard and Armed Forces were able to track down the remaining members of the Freedom Movement in Britain and incarcerated them for life. Colin’s body had been sent back to what was left of his family, so they could give him a proper burial.

That, gave her as much as a sense relief as of dread. She knew that an organization this big and threatening must have hundreds of followers and people in chains of command. Elle knew she’d always have to be on her guard, as would everybody else in her family. But they’d be more prepared for them if and when they attacked again. She sincerely hoped that time would never come, but was better to be safe then sorry.

On the following days after her return to Kensington Palace, the nightmares, panic attacks and fear in general still were very much pricking under her skin. And so, she thought it was high time to get in touch with Dr. MacKellan once again. As she phoned him, he didn't seem surprise to hear from her and soon, they scheduled new appointments for her, to be had at her apartment, starting on the following morning. They started off tackling the immediate fears and traumas she had recently, going over all matter at hand: her safety, pregnancy, marriage and public life. By the sixth session, Elle began feeling like herself again. “ You know, you’ve been through quite a lot in the spam of two years, young lady.”, said Dr. MacKellan. “ I’m surprised you haven’t freaked out.”, lighting up the mood, Elle chuckled along with the elderly man.

“ Trust me, there’s a lot of self control involved. And a great support system.”, she said.

“ And that’s the most important thing. I know it’s hard to confide in people, specially when you have traumatic experiences like the ones you’ve had. But so has your husband. Opening up to each other will help you both, more than I can. I found that by sharing similar experiences, people tend to heal and move on faster. Think about, ok?”, said Dr. MacKellan at the end of their session.

“ I will.”, said Elle. And she really did. She spent the remainder of that afternoon thinking of ways to approach the subject with Harry and she figured out there was no beating about the bush. That evening, as they sat together in the sofa, Elle turned off the telly and faced Harry.

“ What did you do that for?”, he asked, eyeing her quizzically.

“ I think we should start opening up to each other about our traumas.”, said Elle. Harry tipped his head to the side.

“ I’m not following, love.”, he said.

“ I was talking to Dr. MacKellan today and he told me something that got me thinking. He said something that, thinking about it now, seems quite obvious but I haven’s considered it before. He told me that opening up about our traumatic events with people who had similar experiences, can be a good healing process. So, even though we have shared a few things, I want us to be able to tell each other those traumas. I want us both to get better and not handle this as some shame or guilt that we have to carry.”, she said to him. Harry paused for a second and sighed, nodding his head.

“ You know, I don’t remember if I’ve told you this but it took me years to finally talk about how my mother’s death shook my life and how it affected and changed me. And for the longest time I didn’t realize that my mental health was as important as my physical one.”, said Harry.

“ You’re right. We have to talk about it. If we want to get better and be able to move forward with our lives, we need to let the trauma go. And in order to do that, we need to speak up. Not only amongst ourselves, but other people too.”, he continued.

“ Precisely, darling. So can we do that?”, she asked him, taking his hands into hers.

“ We can. And we will. I want us both to put all of this sorrow behind us.”, said Harry smiling. As tired as she was being this far along in her pregnancy, Elle fought to stay awake and talk to him about all that she was feeling. And he did the same. They talked about their fears, not only from the Freedom Movement but of not being good enough parents, of the child they lost and how Nugget would never replace that baby, who was as much their child as the one who would be born in a few months and they loved both regardless.

Harry talked about his time in Afghanistan and what he seen. Elle shared what was like to be held hostage twice and how she coped with it. Little by little, they were letting their walls down and the more they shared, the more they were able to understand and trust each other. By the time all their tears had dried, it was almost four in the morning. As they snuggled against in the sofa, Harry and Elle realized that by talking about all of those things, they had found strength not only in  in each other, but also and more importantly, in themselves. Strength to fight on, to live on, to believe they could be and would be better.

************

She had spent the remainder of February recovering from her attack. A few media outlets had been rather unforgiving on her but most of the reporters and the public were understanding of the situation. As March graced them with sunnier, bluer skies and flowers in blossom, Elle made her first public appearance, next to her husband at the Queen’s Young Leaders Programme, on behalf of Her Majesty. Being such a big event, held at Buckingham Palace no less, there was a large number of dignitaries, members from foreign countries and of course, the media was flooding the gates, waiting for a glimpse of the Duchess.

Side by side, Elle and Harry received the young leaders and ambassadors for the Commonwealth Youth at the ballroom of Buckingham Palace. The people, who were around sixty, stood in a line and waited for the royal couple to meet and greet them; from celebrities ambassadors like David Beckham and Hayley Atwell, to bright young teens and adults who had brilliant ideas for the Commonwealth future and a few politicians. Once it came time for the speech, Harry made his way to the small stage, as Elle stood next to him.

“ Good evening to you all. My wife and I are honoured to be here today to recognise and celebrate this year's Queen's Young Leaders. This programme was launched four years ago in honour of Her Majesty's service to the Commonwealth and Her belief in young people as a force for positive change. A change that can ignite the spark to make out world a better and safer place.”, said Harry, looking at Elle, who smiled at him.

“ I was honoured to have been named The Queen's Commonwealth Youth Ambassador earlier this year, and I am committed to supporting the legacy of The Queen's Young Leaders and the Commonwealth youth. I guess you can say you're stuck with me.”, he continued and laughs were heard in the room.

“ I… together with my wife Eleanor, look forward to convening young people from around The Commonwealth to hear your ideas, work with you to build platforms for you to collaborate and form partnerships, and continue to meet with many of you as we travel around in our work on behalf of The Royal Family. Thank you.”, finished Harry. Elle applauded her husband vigorously, feeling the baby kick in her belly. Smiling, she kissed his cheek as they walked hand in hand out of the stage area.

“ You were wonderful. As always.”, said Elle smiling.

“ Thank you, my love. For being here and for your constant support.”, said Harry.

“ Where else would I be?”, she joked. As they mingled among the people, a few of them congratulated them on their child while some other showed their concern for what had happened to Elle. For her, it felt a little overwhelming to have so many people expressing their sympathies for something that wasn’t directly related to them. Feeling a panic attack coming, Elle excused herself to a more secluded area, finding an empty room. Sitting down, she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, until she felt herself calming down again.

“ Love? Elle, are you in there?”, asked Harry, coming into the room where she sat. Kneeling in front of her, he took her hands into his and caressed them.

“ Hey… is everything alright?”, he asked her as she opened her eyes.

“ It is now.”, she replied, giving him a small smile. Harry looked into her eyes, searching for any signs of pain. Finding none, he sighed and hugged her.

“ Let’s get back to the ballroom, shall we?”, he suggested. Nodding her head, she stood up with his help, only she did it a little too fast. A wave of dizziness hit her and she down back again.

“ I’m fine… I’m fine… just stood up too quickly.”, she said before Harry fussed over her.

“ I think, after today, it’s best if you don’t attend anymore public events. You’re nearing the end of your pregnancy and you’ve had a great trauma. I don’t want you to endanger yourself or the baby.”, said Harry. Elle opened her mouth to argue but was cut by her husband.

“ Please, Elle. Do this for me.”, he pleaded. “ I already feel powerless not being able to help you. I can’t bare to see you hurt in any way again.”

“ Fine. I have just one more that I cannot back down from, then will stay at home. But I’ll still work from the office.”, she said and he nodded his head, acceptingly.

************

William and Catherine had a lot on their minds after what had happened to Elle. When she was kidnapped, Kate, along with the other people in the room fell on the ground due to gas that Colin released. What no one noticed was that the bullet that hit Alfred through the ribs and grazed Kate’s arm, creating a flesh wound. Once they were awake no one seemed to notice since their main priority was to get her out of the museum. It was only on their way back to Kensington Palace that the wound was seen and Kate was assessed by a doctor at the palace.

William saw red when he was notified of it. He had rushed back to Kensington Palace from the engagement he was attending and couldn’t believe what had happened. Not only to his wife but to Eleanor as well. “ We need to get her to a hospital!”, exclaimed William as a dizzy Kate was being looked after.

“ We… can’t… it… will… be worse.”, said Kate, looking at her husband.

“ We strongly advise against it, sir. Her Royal Highness suffered a minor injury and can be looked after here. If we were to take her to the hospital, the situation would become ever more chaotic than it already is.”, said one of his RPO’s. He pondered over what the man had said and nodded his head. He was right. If this became public, things would get worse.

“ We keep this between us. No one needs to know about that now. Specially in a time of crisis.”, said William as Kate received a few stitches for her wound.

And so, up until the situation was controlled and Elle was taken to the hospital, no one knew what had happened, except for those in that room. Charles and Camilla went to visit the Cambridges that day after Harry had gone to the hospital after Elle. Once there, they were shocked to see Kate lying in a bed, with a gauze on her arm, a few specks of blood seeping through it.

“ What happened?”, exclaimed Charles.

“ Pa, we need to talk…”, said William in a serious tone.

************

What remained of the month of March passed as a blur to her. Elle had attended her last public engagement with Harry and the Cambridges for the Royal Foundation. They visited a sports’ centre for children and teenagers funded by the foundation. Together, they took part in a few games, chatted with the young ones, their parents, and the staff. From then on, Elle focused her time on her book. She went to the office everyday, getting reports from Lisa on her patronages, already planning what she could do after the baby was born.

Spending her days in her office had been easier than she predicted. It reminded her of her time at the Tower. As much as she loved being able to help people through her charitable work and her visits to the causes she supported, academic work was what she was used to, it was where she truly fitted and belonged. In the spam of a week, she was able to right far more than she had in the last three months. As she wrote, she reconnected with her old self, and also with Melissa and Trevor. Ever present, the trio talked for hours via Skype about their projects but also, about their lives.

In between her work, she visited Georgiana and continued her exercises with Helen’s help. All to make sure she and her baby would be healthy and ready when they needed to be. At thirty-seven weeks pregnant, Elle was told the baby by Georgiana that the baby could be expected from that point on but that Nugget would most likely arrive on their due that. At her weekly check-ups, she and Harry discovered that their child was weighting over three kilograms and was as big as 50 centimetres.

“ You have a big, strong baby in there…”, said Georgiana, making the couple smile.

“ Trust me… I can feel it.”, joked Elle, making Harry and Georgiana chuckle. “ Now, as the due date approaches, you’ll experience false alarms, the so called Braxton Hicks contractions. It’s normal, but they’ll get longer and more painful with time. So if they persist, it’s better to rush to the hospital, alright?”, she advised the couple.

“ As for the birth itself, have you chose the place where you want to deliver the baby?”, asked Georgiana.

“ Harry and I have decided on St. Mary’s Hospital. It was where he was born and Kate had only great things to say about it.”, said Elle smiling.

“ Of course. It is indeed a wonderful hospital with a even better equipped maternity facility. I imagine your midwife will also be accompanying you?”, she asked and Elle nodded her head.

“ Also, Dr. Alan Farthing, the Royal Surgeon will be attending the birth, per my grandmother’s request.”, said Harry. Yes, Elizabeth had asked that Dr. Farthing be present at Nugget’s birth just in case something went wrong. He would be there more as a consultant than an active part of the process. Elle had only met him twice during her entire pregnancy and he seemed nice enough.

“ Very well. I’ll make all the necessary preparations with the hospital and your staff to make you and the baby as safe and relaxed as possible during and after the delivery.”, assured Georgiana. Just two weeks, Nugget. Just two more and mummy will meet you., thought Elle caressing her belly lovingly.

************

[elegant-phff]

Prologue

Summer of 2012

Alexandra Larsson

"Your Dad is invited to the Buckingham Palace this weekend along with the family for the state dinner,so make sure that you take some time out to attend it.Remember darling,it's important.We are meeting the Queen,"Alexandra's mom,Shailene Larsson spoke from the other side of the telephone.Sighing,Alexandra replied,"Sure mum,I won't forget I know how important it is for dad."

This year was the last service year of her father,Air Commodore Samuel Larsson.As a tradition the Queen hosts a State Dinner for the senior retiring Officers of the military every year.

Alexandra was beyond proud of her father and knew how much hard work her father went through all these years.The thing she despised the most about her father's profession is the parties.All the wife's of the officers were just stuck up witches.Gossiping about other's lives and spitting venom out of their mouths.Fake smile,heavy make up,pearly white teeth and their 'branded' clothings are all that mattered to them.

Another reason why she despised the parties were the,"When are you getting married?"Ladies trying to set her up with their egoistic sons was not a part of her weekend plans.As much as hardworking all the officers were,their wives were even more stuck up.The children...let's not start with them.Flaunting their parents money as if it grew from the trees and not caring a bit about it.

Alexandra was pretty anti social when it came to making friends in these parties.Although she grew up around most of these people,she couldn't connect with them.They were not the type of people she'd be friends with.Her older sister,Summer having a little more experience in this field is a bit more okay with this whole ordeal.

"I have been dreading this day since the beginning of the month UGH"Alexa said,throwing her phone on her bed."Calm down,it's gonna be fine and I'll be there as well so don't worry,"Her sister,Summer said trying to calm her down."You are chill because no one is gonna ask you why you are an actress because you aren't,"Alexa exclaimed dropping herself on the love bag.

Rolling her eyes,Summer plopped herself beside her sister."Trust me,it's going to be okay and you are famous now so instead they'll be praising you there."

"Huh,I wish."

__________________________

The Day of The State Dinner

5:38 pm

Alexandra made sure that she locked the door before walking through the hallway of her apartment complex.She wore a off shoulder Oscar De La Renta dress hoping it would be enough for the ladies to stay shush.She wasn't nervous about meeting the Queen,she has met her before.Not to brag obviously.It wasn't like the Queen knows her name.She had attended these Dinners before.All she has to do is curtsy to Her Majesty and shake her hands.Its the same everytime.

She flashes a smile to the guy at the reception and enters the garage.After she entered her car she texted her mom saying she is leaving her apartment and will be at their house within 15minutes.

Turning on the car radio she murmurs to herself here goes nothing.She smiles when her friend,Taylor Swift's song is on the radio.

Fifteen minutes later she is honking her car in front of her parents' house.When she sees her sister Summer come out,she parks her car and gets out.

"When did you get here?"asked Alexandra."Half an hour ago,I finished early from work today so I thought that I would just change at their house,"Summer replied standing beside her younger sister."Hmm,how's dad's mood today?"Alexandra asked again,worried that her father would be a little upset today,seeing it's his last State Dinner as a serving officer of the RAF.

"A bit emotional but better than I expected,"Summer said."Mum's worse for some reason,"she added."I guess she realised they are getting old,"Alexa said trying to lighten up the mood."Shush,if mum hears you she will have a fit."Summer playfully smacked her sister's chest.

"Sorry girls we are late,"Their father exclaimed while their mother was locking the door.Their father was proudly wearing this RAF uniform while her mother wore a gorgeous off white dress.The couple walked to the front porch hand in hand,waiting for their service car.The service car bearing a small flag of the United Kingdom and a star in the centre of the trunk arrived and all four of them settled in.

Buckingham Palace

They passed through the gates of the magnificent palace and both the sisters admired the centuries old palace.No matter how many times they came here,it never gets old.When the car came to a stop,they were greeting by a few footmen and Major Abraham Smith,who worked in the royal household.The women offered him a kind smile while her father shook his hands.They were led into the ballroom of the palace.

When they entered the ballroom,Alexa met with the faces of all the fake bitches that she could not stand."Be nice,"Shailene warned before walking off to say hi to some people.Her father went off to greet his fellow colleagues,leaving Alexa and Summer."It's going to be fine,"Summer said squeezing her hand in a reassuring way.Alexa offered a kind smile.Just when she mentally told her anxiety to shut up,she was greeted with the face of Mrs.Stevenson,her ultimate hater.That woman could not stand Alexa.Everytime they met,her question would be,"Dear,did you get a proper job this time?'That lady could not understand how acting could be a career and was "extremely worried" about her future.

"Hello Mrs.Stevenson it's so good to see you,"Alexa exclaimed flashing her a fake smile.Although the older lady did not notice the fake smile,thanks to Alexandra's bachelors degree in acting.

"Oh Alexandra! dear how are you?"

You could sense the fakeness in her voice from miles away."I am doing amazing,you look wonderful tonight."Alexa lied.She could clearly see her cakey make up and a badly done hairdo."You are too kind,I love your dress,is it from Zara?" Mrs.Stevenson exclaimed.Bitch I spent £8,700 on this dress shut the fuck up.

"Oh no, it's Oscar De La Renta"Alexa offered her a smirk.Seeing the smile disappear from Mrs.Stevenson's face,Alexa mentally high fived herself."Excuse me please."Alexa left the woman and dashed for the wine table."Red wine please."Sensing it's gonna be a long night she needed alcohol's company.Quietly she thanked the waiter and sipped her wine.She eyed the room,her eyes fixing on her sister socialising.She rolled her eyes and continued scanning the room.They settled on the main door being opened by a a footman and everyone quiet down."Her Majesty,The Queen,Their Royal Highnessses Duke of Edinburgh,Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall."

Everyone stepped aside,the men bowed their heads while the women curtsied.After a few moments Alexa quietly stood beside her father.The action quickly being followed by her mum and sister.The Queen greeted everyone one by one followed by the other royals.When the Queen walked towards the Larsson family,the women again curtsied and Air Cdre Samuel Larsson bowed his head.This gesture being repeated for the other royals."Air Cdre Larsson such a pleasure having you here today."Prince Philip exclaimed shaking her father's hand.The Prince and his son admired her father very much.They were seen hanging out outside of their duties sometimes,although not quiet often."Mrs.Larsson,your daughters have grown up so much since the last time we met!"We smiled."Ahh yes,I seems like it was yesterday that they graduated college and now they are doing amazing in their respective careers"Her mum exclaimed politely.Her Majesty smiled."Your Majesty how are you now,I heard you weren't feeling well awhile back."Alexa said in concern."Feeling better now,it was just the weather change."

"We are glad."Summer said.The Queen smiled,"I will see you around."After  the Queen left they chatted among ourselves.Alexa dragged Summer to a nearby table.A glass of wine on both of their hands."Oh gosh is it Alexandra?!"A voice exclaimed from behind.Alexandra smiled noticing that it was one of the only few people she liked,her friend Ashley.She wasn't sure if Ashley would be there that they but alas someone thankfully saved her day."Ashley!come on sit with us,"Alexa said patting the chair beside her."How have you been?its been a while,"Summer asked.Ashley was Alexandra's classmate in school and although she was a bit younger than Summer they were good friends."Fine,life has been pretty boring honestly."They hummed in response."Anyways how have you guys been?"Ashley asked."I start filming Sherlock Season 3 in two months."Alexa shrugged.Ashley's mouth shaped into an 'o' and she turned to Summer."The same old Computer Scientist stuff."

"Seems like only Alexa's life has been interesting."

"So any boyfriends?"Ashley asked."Meh,"Alexa replied uninterested but kept her eyes on her sister.She saw how Summer became quiet all of a sudden and blush begun to creep up her neck to her face.Alexa smiled,happy for her sister.Ashley also noticed Summer's change in demeanour."OMG WHO IS IT?!"Ashley almost screamed but calmed herself.

"It's Nick."Summer whispered.It was almost inaudible but loud enough for Ashley to hear."Nick as in Nick Jonas?!"Ashley asked.Summer only nodded slowly."You're welcome"Alexa teased.Nick and Alexa were co-stars in a movie and she had introduced them.She quickly noticed the spark between them and set them up.Luckily it seemed to be going well."Shut up you!"Summer smacked Alexa's arm.She only smiled in response."Anyways did you guys hear?the duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry are also gonna be here today."Ashley said changing the subject.She had the attention spam of a goldfish."Really?That's cool."The sisters said not really interested but Alexa was a bit excited to meet the Duchess.

A few moments later,the footman opened the door again."Your Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry of Wales."Everyone once again bowed and curtsied then quickly emerging into conversations.Summer asked the girls if they could meet up anytime soon and while the girls were making plans,they heard a voice behind them."Red wine please."Alexa turned around to see who it was and realised that it's Prince Harry.She subtly turned around again,not wanting to attract the prince."I am gonna go get a drink,"Ashley exclaimed realising her glass was empty."I'm gonna go to the restroom,"Summer said.With both the ladies leaving Alexa was alone.A voice cleared their throat,resulting in her seeing who it was.It was the young prince.

"What's a pretty girl doing here alone?" Alexa restrained herself from rolling her eyes."I am not alone,"She sassed.Crossing her legs she took a sip of her wine.Harry took a seat beside her."So then who are you here with?"Harry inquired,a little too eager."My family."Alexa replied.

"You know,all the girls,they are always very eager to talk to me.They'd be throwing themselves at me by now.But you here are not even looking at me."Harry noted looking at her.Alexandra smiled."You see,your Royal Highness,"she mocked."I am not others,I am not interested in you.I am merely here due to my father's sake."she added.Harry seemed shocked by her confession."You intrigue me,"Harry said."It's my honour,"Alexa winked playfully."I would love to get to know you more my dear but I have to go,"and just like that,the prince left confused as to how the girl remained unfazed from his charm.She simply chuckled.Just then Ashley returned to their table.

"Dude,you have no idea who just hit on me!"Ashley exclaimed."Prince Harry?"Alexa replied,not unknown to the royal's flirty nature."I wish,but it was Richard."Richard was Ashley's longtime crush."Oh my gosh!really?"Alexa exclaimed,happy for her friend."Yes!He was asking if we could hang out next weekend."Ashley grinned."I am so happy for you!Give me all the details after your date."Ashley blushed at the word 'date'.

Summer finally returned to their table."Sorry,Nick called and I lost track of time."Summer blushed."Anyways its time to have dinner."All of them made their way to the dinner room.Throughout the dinner Alexa would notice Harry looking at her but she decided to ignore it.

When it was time for the Larssons to leave,they bid their goodbyes separately.Just when Alexa was about to leave she heard someone go,"Wait,can I...maybe have your number?"Harry hesitated.Alexa's eyes widened at his boldness but she quickly recovered."I don't know can you?"Harry have a pleading look."Okay here is the deal,if we ever see each other again,I will give you my number."Alexa winked."What's the guarantee that I will see you again?"Harry asked."Oh trust me,if you are gonna need that number,we'll see each other."Alexa said flirtously.And just like that she left.Leaving the party prince hazed.

Little did they know.Their next meeting was three years later.

_______________________

Hope you guys liked prologue its their first meeting and the first chapter will be a time jump and their story will continue.I made social media posts for this story...you will be able to find them at the end of the chapters.Also Alexandra's outfit :

Social media accounts:

Alexa's post of the chapter:

[madeleineandwilliam-ff]

Chapter Nine

The rest of the month of November flew by once Madeleine returned home to London, where final exams and essays awaited her in the final weeks of her first semester of college. William kept himself equally as busy, but the pair managed to make time for phone calls, texts and AIMs during their class breaks and study sessions. 

They welcomed December with harsh, bitter winds and lots and lots of snow. The month of December would also be the month of Madeleine’s first official engagement in London. Once she returned to London back in November, the Swedish Royal Court bombarded her with calls. 

Over the last couple of months, the Swedish press had dubbed her “the absentee princess” as she hadn’t been on an official engagement since her move to London in August. Her parents had asked her to complete a joint engagement with her father’s older sisters, Princess Margaretha and Princess Birgitta. The engagement planned for the following week was a concert at the Royal Albert Hall for Swedish Pianist, Robert Hall. Louise was also set to accompany Madeleine and her aunts to the event, as a sort of comfort to Madeleine’s nerves. 

“So what does one wear to see a pianist at the Royal Albert Hall anyways?” Louise asked Madeleine from her spot in Madeleine’s doorway of her bedroom.

Madeleine was curled up in her window seat with a fresh cup of coffee, engrossed in the second book from the Harry Potter series, The Chamber of Secrets as she briefly turned her attention to her best friend. “Your Sunday best?”

“My Sunday best, what are you eighty?” Louise replied, laughing. “That’s not nearly enough detail, Leni. Do I dress professional? Casual? Slutty?”

Madeleine was attempting to finish her current chapter in her book, but she sighed and rolled her eyes at Louise as she closed her book with a loud smack. Louise knew the word “slutty” would truly get Madeleine’s full attention. “Professional would be best, Lussan.”

“How about professional with a hint of slutty?” Louise asked with a devilish grin.

Madeleine chuckled. “Oh Birgitta and Margaretha would looove that.”

Louise rolled her eyes. “Are they prudes? Have I met them before? Your father’s sisters have a tendency to blur together after so many encounters, no offense.”

“Yes, you’ve met them a few times at birthday parties and at my graduation party. And they’re okay, the more proper of my dad’s four sisters as they’re the two eldest. Birgitta is more carefree, whereas Margaretha is more serious. They’ll like you, Margaretha is excited for the visit. She called briefly this morning.”

“Are they staying with us or has the Court arranged otherwise?” Louise asked, plopping herself down on Madeleine’s bed. 

“They’re staying at a hotel about five minutes away. They’ll be over for tea on the eighth and then the concert is the evening of the ninth, then they’ll go home early on the morning of the tenth for the Nobel festivities.” Madeleine replied. 

She was excited for her aunts to visit, but of course she was nervous. She didn’t grow up around them like she did her aunt and godmother, her father’s other sister,  Princess Christina. She normally only saw Birgitta and Margaretha for special occasions like holidays, weddings, graduations and other big family events. They always got on well, but Madeleine was only ever comfortable with them when her parents were in the vicinity. 

“Sounds good.” Louise replied as she began to flip through a gossip magazine on Madeleine’s bedside table.

“Hey Lussan?” Madeleine said, biting her lip. 

“Yeah, Len?”

“Thank you again for coming with me. I know it's not your ideal way to spend a Friday night during finals week with me, and my aunts you hardly know. I normally wouldn’t ask but, I’m so freaked out about this event. The Court is worried the press may keep on me with the “absent princess” stuff if I don’t do well with this.” 

“Ah, Leni. Of course, that is what best-friends are for. I know I could count on you if I was in the same situation. You’re going to kick that engagement square in the ass, if you ask me. Your aunts have done this before, they’ll be a good help for you. I’m just moral support.” Louise replied with a reassuring smile. 

“Yeah, let’s hope so.”

The next day, Madeleine found herself sitting alone at a table at The Roasted Bean, a small, quaint coffee shop that was conveniently located down the road from her apartment. Over the last few months, Madeleine had grown to love the small hole in the wall coffee shop. It was very peaceful, as most people still preferred the Starbucks around the corner. But it worked out to Madeleine’s advantage as the shop was mostly a ghost town during her afternoon study sessions. 

She was studying away for not one, but three of her finals that she was due to take the next day. However, her dyslexia had decided to kick in in the most convenient of moments, hindering her ability to concentrate on reading and note taking.

She had ordered her usual White Chocolate Mocha and chocolate croissant and instead of studying found herself people watching. The City of London was hustling and bustling around her with only weeks to go until Christmas. Many Londoners carried shopping bags that were filled with trinkets for their loved ones as they came and went. Snow was falling and the sun had long gone down with only the lights from Christmas decorations and street lights illuminating the sidewalks. 

Since her move to London, Madeleine had found herself appreciating the art of people watching. It was more the art of normalcy she supposed she appreciated the most. Madeleine envied the random pedestrians as they passed her, they were the definition of normal - shopping as they pleased, going places without protection officers.

In Stockholm, she’d never had the pleasure of sitting in peace, just watching the world pass her by. But in London she had the glory of not being recognized around every street corner. That is, unless, she was being chased by the paparazzi, due to her own position and now the added plus of who her high profile boyfriend was. 

Outside the window of the coffee shop, Madeleine spotted her protection officers, Olle and Ludvig, waiting for her in the parked Range Rover. This was another plus with London, she didn’t need them with her every second of every day - she only needed them on standby. It was nice to not feel watched by not only them, but by people she’d never met in her life. It was somewhat peaceful, especially since the press had otherwise become focused on things other than her relationship with William. 

“Madde?”

Madeleine sprang to attention at the mention of her name. No. Someone had found her, or recognized her. This was her safe place, apparently not anymore. She turned to the voice, sighing as she looked up from her seat. 

But this was no stranger to her, nor to her circle of friends back home in Sweden either. It was the boy who her friend, Emma Pernald, had wanted to set her up with just before she moved to London. Jonas Bergstrom. 

Madeleine expected to see him in Stockholm, however not in London. She had no idea why he would be here as he was studying law back home in Sweden. Madeleine sighed as she turned to the tall, brunette with dazzling blue eyes. He was handsome, she would admit to that. But incredibly obnoxious, if you asked Madeleine. 

“Jonas! Hi!” Madeleine exclaimed, trying to hide her surprise at seeing him in her city.

Jonas smiled at her, his blue eyes shining as he looked down at her. “So it is you! Emma mentioned that you were studying in London, but when I booked a trip here I never thought I’d actually see you!”

Madeleine shrugged her shoulders. “I supposed it really is a small world.”

“Indeed it is.” Jonas replied as he gestured to the empty seat at Madeleine’s table. “Can I sit?”

“Uhm, sure. Why not?” Madeleine replied, a polite smile on her face. She knew that Jonas had a thing for her, and he was a flirt anytime he saw her. He didn’t like not getting what his heart desired, however Madeleine clearly didn’t reciprocate these feelings.

Jonas took his seat, setting his coffee down. “I still can’t believe this. Princess Madeleine of Sweden! In London!”

“Uhh....yes. But if you wouldn’t mind saying that quite so loud, please?” Madeleine asked in a hushed tone. The last thing she wanted was for the baristas to know who she was, that would ruin this place for her altogether. 

“Oh right, sorry.” Jonas replied, a slight flush coming to his cheeks. 

“No don’t worry about it.” Madeleine replied, feeling a shift in the air. She’d made it awkward, of course. “So, what brings you to London anyways?”

Jonas perked up. “The opportunity has come up for me to study abroad here next summer. I’m just checking some places out and the college, of course.”

“Oh, what a great opportunity. Are you liking what you’ve seen so far?” Madeleine asked as she took a bite of chocolate croissant. 

Jonas flashed her a smile and if Madeleine wasn’t mistaken he winked at her. Yes, winked at her. “Very much so. There are some great views in London.”

Madeleine had to refrain from rolling her eyes at him. Here he went with his flirting. The boy was so clueless it was painful. And apparently didn’t know, or care about the fact that she was publically dating William. However, Madeleine kept her cool. “There are some great places to visit as well.”

Jonas nodded in agreement. “Any place you’d suggest I visit?”

“Well, Big Ben is a must. Kensington and Buckingham Palaces are never a let down. And the London Eye is amazing.”

“Sounds like you’ve visited all the sights.” Jonas paused as he took a sip of his coffee. “Any chance you’d be available to show me around town? You might be able to sell me on London, more so than I already am.”

Madeleine tried not to display her displeasure on her face. He was a mutual friend, however he clearly wanted to be more than that in her life. There was just something she couldn’t quite pinpoint about him that she just didn’t like. Or maybe his blatantly obvious flirting was what it was. Whatever it was she did not want to show him around London.

“Normally, I could. But it's finals week for me and I’m slammed until I go home to Stockholm for Christmas.” Madeleine replied, gesturing to the several textbooks sitting in front of her. And she wasn’t lying, she didn’t have much free time. But what little free time she did have would be spent with William or on the phone with him, that was for certain. 

“Ah, I see. You’re probably pretty busy with William too.” Jonas replied with a smirk. 

Again, Madeleine had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. She could not figure out why her friend, Emma, liked this boy so much so that she wanted to set him up with her. He was the most annoying, conniving thing she’d ever met. There was clearly an ulterior motive to this conversation.

“Not really, we’re long distance.” Madeleine replied with narrowed eyes. 

“Oh so, you’re not that serious I take it?” Jonas asked, taking another sip of his coffee.

Madeleine shifted uncomfortably in her chair. This conversation was going down hill. Quick.

“You know, we’re taking it one day at a time.” Madeleine replied with pursed lips. 

“Gotcha. That William, though. He seems like a bit of a playboy, from what I’ve heard.” Jonas replied, casually. 

He clearly only approached her to piss her off. That was painfully obvious. He was jealous of her relationship with William. And was still holding a torch for Madeleine ever since the failed setup that her friends had tried to organize.

“You know what Jonas, thank you.” Madeleine said, curtly. She was over this. 

“Thank you? For what?” Jonas asked smiling. 

“Thank you for proving to me of what a fantastic decision it was to...” Madeleine began, but forced herself to stop as Olle approached her. 

He’d left his position from the Range Rover and came and whispered in her ear. “Isn’t it time you head to the library, Madeleine?”

Madeleine let out a sigh of relief after the save from Olle. She clearly would’ve said something she would later come to regret. Her hotheadedness once again got the best of her as she gathered her books and said a quick goodbye to Jonas. 

On her way out to the car, beside Olle she turned to him. “Thanks for the save in there, Olle.”

“No problem, Madeleine. We remembered your dislike for him the last time, and he clearly wasn’t getting the message.” He replied, opening the back door of the Range Rover for her. 

As she slid in the backseat, she smiled. “Jonas Bergstrom is clearly not a face you should forget. Please save me anytime you see him. He’s an asshole.”

Olle and Ludvig burst into laughter. “Whatever you say, Princess.”

A few hours later, Madeleine returned home to her flat. After her encounter with Jonas at The Roasted Bean, she studied at the university’s library for a bit and later went grocery shopping at Waitrose. 

As she walked into the front doorway, she dropped her bookbag at the door and carried the groceries into the kitchen. 

“Lussan! You here?” Madeleine yelled as she began to put the milk in the fridge. 

“Ohhh, Leni! Yay!” Louise exclaimed as she popped in the doorway of the kitchen, a smile on her face. 

“What’s got you so excited?” Madeleine asked, her brow furrowed as she continued to put their groceries away. 

“Well, you’ll never believe who called me this afternoon...” Louise trailed off as the ringing of their doorbell trilled through the flat and she disappeared down the hall. 

“Louise! Who is here? I didn’t invite anyone tonight...” Madeleine questioned as she followed Louise down the hall. 

Madeleine stopped in her tracks as she rounded the corner in the hallway and saw who their guest was. Now this was no coincidence. 

Here he was again. 

Uninvited and unwanted. In her flat. Jonas Bergstrom. 

As Madeleine turned to Louise to ask her to come to the other room for a quick chat, she couldn’t help but notice that this guest was very wanted and invited by her best friend. Wonderful. 

Louise was all giggly and full of excitement as she smiled up at Jonas. “Jonas, I’m so glad you called. It’s been too long, honestly.”

“It has, sweet Lussan.” Jonas replied, wrapping Louise into a hug as his blue eyes met Madeleine’s. 

“Jonas! My, my aren’t we full of surprises? For the second time today!” Madeleine exclaimed with her eyes narrowed as she observed him. 

Jonas had since changed his outfit from jeans and a sweatshirt from earlier in the day, to a nice blue button down shirt that complimented his eyes and dark wash jeans. His hair was more styled and there was the hint of overbearing cologne coming from his direction. God, he was full of it. 

Louise furrowed her brow and looked to Madeleine. “Wait you knew Jonas was in town, Leni? Why didn’t you tell me?!” 

“I was just about to when I walked in but here he is!” Madeleine paused, turning to Jonas. “What brings you here tonight, Jonas?”

“Ah well, since you couldn’t show me around London, I rang Lussan and she gladly accepted the invitation to accompany me. I’m just here to pick her up.” Jonas replied with a sly smile. 

Madeleine tried to stop herself from scowling in his direction. “I see. Where exactly are you two going?”

Louise replied this time. “Well I figured I’d take him to some of the places William took you to, Leni. I was thinking London Eye, London Dungeon, maybe Buckingham Palace if there’s time.”

Madeleine nodded. “Well, you two should go then. Before it's too late, don’t let me keep you.”

Louise waved her hand in the air. “Nonsense, I was actually going to invite you! Can’t you come?”

Jonas didn’t give Madeleine a chance to answer before he interjected and answered for her. “Didn’t you say you were studying tonight, Madeleine? Unless your plans have changed.”

Madeleine couldn’t believe she’d been put in this position with him for the second time today. Where were Olle and Ludvig to save the day this time? While Madeleine had gotten most of her studying out of the way, she still had zero interest in spending an evening with Jonas. 

“You’re right, Jonas. I have a big paper due in English Lit tomorrow, so I better not. You two have fun though.” Madeleine replied, trying to urge him out of their flat as quickly as possible. 

“Such a shame.” Jonas paused. “Maybe next time?”

“We’ll see.” Madeleine replied, shifting awkwardly. 

Louise grabbed her coat from the hall closet. “Let’s head out and leave Madeleine to her studying. Come on Jonas.”

“Right. Have a good night, Madeleine.” Jonas replied, smiling with a glimmer in his eye. 

“You as well.” Madeleine mumbled as she watched Louise close the door behind them.

But now, Madeleine would have anything but a “nice” night. She was in complete disbelief at Jonas. Louise was clearly under the impression that he had different intentions with his visit that night, but Madeleine saw right through him. This was Jonas’ way to her, and she wasn’t going to let him hurt her best friend in the process. 

Author’s Note: Hey readers! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! And there was a new character introduction! What will Jonas Bergstrom’s (Madeleine’s ex-fiance in real life) role be in this story? ;) 

[theunexpectedhappened]

Updates.

So first of all, I apologise for not updating any sooner. It’s been pretty busy, but I’ve decided to just put all my chapters I have on this story out there all at once. Instead of posting each chapter separately and having an endless string of chapters on your dashboard, I’ll put the links under here. I’d love to know what you think on it though so please I’d appreciate it if you left behind a small comment on my blog. 

Chapter 97: http://theunexpectedhappened.tumblr.com/Chapter97 

Chapter 98: http://theunexpectedhappened.tumblr.com/Chapter98 

Chapter 99: http://theunexpectedhappened.tumblr.com/chapter99 

Chapter 100: http://theunexpectedhappened.tumblr.com/chapter100

Chapter 101: http://theunexpectedhappened.tumblr.com/Chapter101

Chapter 102: http://theunexpectedhappened.tumblr.com/Chapter102

Chapter 103: http://theunexpectedhappened.tumblr.com/Chapter103

Chapter 104: http://theunexpectedhappened.tumblr.com/Chapter104

Chapter 105: http://theunexpectedhappened.tumblr.com/Chapter105

Chapter 106: http://theunexpectedhappened.tumblr.com/Chapter106

Chapter 107: http://theunexpectedhappened.tumblr.com/Chapter107

Chapter 108: http://theunexpectedhappened.tumblr.com/Chapter108

Chapter 109: http://theunexpectedhappened.tumblr.com/Page109

Chapter 110: http://theunexpectedhappened.tumblr.com/Chapter110

Chapter 111: http://theunexpectedhappened.tumblr.com/Chapter111

Chapter 112: http://theunexpectedhappened.tumblr.com/Chapter112

Chapter 113: http://theunexpectedhappened.tumblr.com/chapter113

Chapter 114: http://theunexpectedhappened.tumblr.com/chapter114

Chapter 115: http://theunexpectedhappened.tumblr.com/Chapter115

Chapter 116: http://theunexpectedhappened.tumblr.com/Chapter116

Chapter 117: http://theunexpectedhappened.tumblr.com/Chapter117

Chapter 118: http://theunexpectedhappened.tumblr.com/Chapter118

So that’s all the chapters I have for now. These have been on my computer since 2016 but then I started to rewrite and wanted to finish that first. but I thought it was a shame to leave them there until I got them. I hope you’ll enjoy them and please do let me know what you think about them. I’d love to hear your thoughts ths on everything

[phff-forevermeanttobe-blog]

chapter thirty four

Rebecca and Harry had released their official engagement portraits yesterday, and they looked beautiful. People had went crazy over them. Today they would be doing their first event as an engaged couple. They were visiting the Nottingham children’s hospital, and there would be a walk about.

Rebecca stepped out of the car and she immediately went to the waiting crowd; shaking hands and taking pictures. She talked to a few of the people and they were all so impressed with how nice she was.

She was reluctant to go when asked to hurry on through so she could make it inside with Harry for the tour of the hospital wing.

After the formalities were over and harry had given his short speech, she walked around to the different rooms to meet some of the children.

Rebecca stood in the doorway of a cold hospital room that had been brightened up by a few drawings that were taped to the wall, “Hello, do you mind if I come in and talk for a bit?” She asked the young girl who was sitting on the hospital bed underneath the covers.

“I uh, I guess.” The girl said shyly looking at Rebecca who was standing in the door way.

“Guys maybe you could leave us for a few minutes.” Rebecca said to the photographers who had been following her around. They all understood and stepped back letting Rebecca go in by herself. “So what’s your name?” She asked as she went in and stood next to her bed.

“Gabby.” The girl said quietly not making eye contact with Rebecca.

“Well Gabby, do you mind if I sit with you?” Rebecca said the young girl nodded and Rebecca set down on the end of the hospital bed. The quiet of the room was occupied by the sound of machines.

“So how old are you?” She asked looking at the girl.

“I’m six years old.” The girl said. She was very cute despite all the cords that were hooked up to her.

“Wow.” Rebecca said trying to fight back the sadness she felt when she learned how young the girl was, “and where are your parents at right now?” Rebecca asked looking around the room not seeing any adults.

“My father is at work and my mummy is getting food.” She said; she talked very mature for her age.

“Of course.” Rebecca said with a sweet smile. She set in the room and talked to the girl until her mother came back. She then talked to the mother for a little bit before excusing herself due to the fact that she would be leaving soon.

The press quickly got information on Rebecca’s visit. She was praised by the press and public for how she behaved. How she talked with the crowds. How she had introduced herself as just Becca. She was said to have a very inviting personality.

Rebecca and Harry were being informed about all of this over the phone while they were in the car on there way back home.

But soon Harry hung up the phone and it was just the two of them in the back of the Range Rover sitting in silence.

Rebecca was looking out the window in deep thought when a tear rolled down her face.

“What’s wrong?” Harry asked her knowing something was wrong but not knowing she was crying.

She turned to him with tears rolling down her face, “I hate this.” She said before crying even harder and trying to wipe away her tears.

“What do you mean?” Harry said sincerely but none the less confused as to what she was crying about.

“I met a girl today who only has a month to live. She was only six years old Harry.” She said the tears kept coming. Her crying soon turned to sobs.

Harry moved closer to her. He wrapped his arms around her and she put her face down into his chest, “Shh. It’s okay.” He said running his hand through her hair.

Rebecca had always done charity work. She had even volunteered at hospitals. But she had never talked with such a young dying child. She had never felt so helpless in a situation. There was nothing she could do to help the young girl, and she hated that feeling.

“When we get back to the house. I want you to set down and write a letter to the young girl and her family. We will send it to the hospital along with a vase of flowers.” Harry said. He remembered it was the same thing he did the first time he had visited a child in the hospital.

Rebecca continued too be upset for the rest of the night. The next morning she decided to do what Harry told her to and she set down and wrote a letter to Gabby. Then after sealing it she instructed a staffer to send it to the hospital along with some pink roses.

She then decided to walk into town for a coffee. Most people were at work or school and the majority of tourists were still in bed so she wasn’t recognized but her security detail was still on edge the whole time.

When she walked into the small café, and no one took the time to look up at her. She quickly made her way up to the counter.

“May I have a coffee please. With two creams and a sugar. Make that to go.” Rebecca said to the waitress who was standing at the cash register.

The lady took the order and prepared Rebecca’s coffee putting a lid on it when she finished. Rebecca thanked the woman and gave a generous tip before walking out of the shop and down the sidewalk.

It was a beautiful day. A little bit chilly, but the sun was shining. Rebecca hadn’t been able to do this in a while and she missed it. She loved walking down the street or through a park. She crossed the street and started walking down the tree lined path back Kensington. She started thinking about how her life was changing. She was so happy to be marrying Harry.

When she walked into Nottingham cottage harry was sitting on the couch, “good morning.” she said watching him eating cereal and watching television.

“Hey, where did you go to this early?” He asked looking away from the TV to see her laying her purse down.

“I had went out and got a cup of coffee and I had just decided to walk.” She said as she set down on the couch.

“You don’t need to be doing that.” Harry said his tone serious.

“I’ll do whatever I please, Harry.” She said not wanting to have a conversation about safety.

“Anyways we have a few meetings this week. Then I thought we could go to Paris for the weekend, since your grandmother has been wanting to see us.” Harry said to Rebecca as he continued to watch television.

“Okay. I’m sure she would love that.” Rebecca said giving him a smile.

“And next week I have to go to Africa. I know it’s bad timing. I hate to leave you here alone with all the wedding stuff, so it’s up to you if you want to come with me I don’t care at all.” Harry said turning to look at her.

“Well I want to go, but the wedding has to be planned. I have multiple appointments, and we’ve yet to set a date and location.” Rebecca said only slightly regretfully.

“I wish I could cancel the trip. I hate to leave you here alone, but it’s been scheduled for a year now. I’m sorry.” Harry said sincerely as he looked over at her.

“I understand. Besides, my mom has been wanting to come in. I’ll see if she can come next week.” Rebecca said looking over at him.

Harry nodded his head before turning back to the television. They didn’t do much that day besides lay around, but they enjoyed every second of it.

Rebecca’s Outfit for the hospital visit

Rebecca’s Outfit for the Café 

[littlebitofeverythingphff]

Chapter 36

A/N: I am just spoiling you guys with chapters this week but because you have been such great amazing readers and have provided me with sooooo much feedback and lovely messages! Here is the next chapter, it is a long one so grab your popcorn and enjoy!

“She will be a few minutes Harry.” Carlson closed the door behind Harry before leading him into the front room. Harry heard scampering paws scrape along the hardwood flooring as Chance rounded the corner running full tilt to greet Harry.

“Hey boy!” Kneeling down to his level Chance showered him with attacks of wet nosed kisses. “Look how big you are now!”

Carlson tossed his head back in laughter seeing the dog attack the prince. “He has been ruling the house ever since he arrived. Even Willow has loved having a new playmate.” The Mackenzie’s family dog Willow sauntered into the room, an old shaggy looking golden retriever that hung her tongue out to see who came to the door.

“Willow was Adalyn’s pup growing up. They went everywhere together, but sadly when she moved out Willow had to stay with us.” Remembering the fond memories, her father became quiet staring at the two dogs begging for Harry’s attention.

Joining her father in the front room, Harry settled down in a chair occasionally glancing up at the staircase waiting for Adalyn to come down. Willow placed her paw on Harry’s knee patting it gently while staring up at him with big golden brown eyes.

“Hello sweet girl. Do you like having Addy home?” Willow wagged her tail and barked her reply. Tossing his head back in laughter Harry could not contain his laughter at her response.

“Adalyn is thinking about going back to Ainsley’s.” Carlson released a small smile locking eyes with the prince. “She has been insistent on it the past few days.”

“Really?” Harry cleared his throat trying not to act surprised having heard nothing of the sort from Addy. His brow furrowed slightly wondering if it had anything to do with Jake. Harry had to agree with Carlson that she was still safer in her father’s home. There was a part of him that knew Addy had only told himself about Jake’s recent stalking activities and would of course keep it from her family as to have them not worry.

“Well she is quite stubborn.” Harry’s features relaxed seeing a smile spread across her father’s face.

“You have no idea Harry. She’s my little pistol.” Carlson shook his head with a sigh.

“Pistol huh? Nickname?” The prince glanced to the top of the stairs desperately waiting to see Adalyn. It had been a few days since their last day together, a day that he would remember for the rest of his life. The day they confessed their love for each other.

“Alexander gave it to her as a little girl and it had just stuck with all of us. Addy of course hates it, but I think she secretly adores it.” Addy’s father grew into a whisper.

Carlson paused to lean back into the sofa. “Oh! Rosalyn wanted me to invite you to her birthday party the week after next. The whole family will be invited and her son will be coming from the States!”

A smile spread onto the prince’s lips at the invitation. “Thank you Carlson, but unfortunately I will be out of the country on a tour that week. Please thank Rosalyn for the invite.”

“Of course Harry. I for sure will.”

“What are you two talking about now?” Addy’s voice carried from the top of the stairs into the front room.

Harry’s head turned glancing at the top of the stairs seeing his girlfriend in a maroon plaid dress that fit her in all the right places. Her brunette hair was delicately pulled back, her face carefully decorated with the just the right amount of make up. Harry still could not believe that Addy was his, this brunette beauty that did not understand how gorgeous she really was, was all his.

Standing up from the chair Harry could not keep his eyes off of her as they connected with Addy’s smiling green eyes. Carlson watched their silent interaction seeing the way Harry admired his daughter warmed his heart. Something between them had changed since he last witnessed them together, but he could not place it.

It tugged at his heartstrings seeing how Adalyn’s eyes instantly lit up at the sight of Harry. Carlson could tell that this relationship was far more serious than most thought. It brought a sense of joy that warmed his heart knowing that his daughter was able to find someone who treated her with the respect and love that she deserved.

He had been quite worried about his youngest after seeing the way she had broken from the heartbreak Jake needlessly caused. Even though Carlson still had reservations of his daughter dating a well-known prince, he hoped that Harry would never break his daughter’s heart like it had been. He could not just allow his heart to trust Harry like he had done with Jake; he owed that to his daughter to remain cautious of the prince.

“Just learned that Harry will be out of the country for Rosalyn’s birthday party!” Carlson patted Harry’s shoulder giving it a small squeeze as Adalyn took the last few steps down the stairs.

A natural smile graced her lips as she took a few steps towards the two men. “I know. He will be in Australia that was why I didn’t invite him myself father.” Her green eyes darted towards Carlson with a raised eyebrow knowing what her father was up too. He wanted Harry to meet the rest of her family, but she wanted to wait a bit longer.

“Hello babe.” Addy stood up on her tippy toes to place a quick kiss on Harry’s lips while her hand blindly searched for his. Interlocking their fingers, Adalyn peaked down at their conjoined hands before turning her attention back to Harry and her father’s conversation.

Tuning them out Adalyn was caught deep in her mind. Thoughts had plagued her mind all day long causing quite the distraction for her at work. Today was the day she was meeting Harry’s brother William and sister in law Kate, who just so happened to be the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. To say that she was stressed was an understatement.

Addy was stressing over all the little intricacies that Harry had briefly taught her about the right etiquette to greet his brother. Though he insisted it be an informal dinner and none of that was necessary, Addy still wanted to pay her respects and make a good impression on them.

“Right Addy?” Harry’s voice pulled her from those thoughts seeing her caught in her own mind.

“Umm yes.” Addy sheepishly agreed, not knowing exactly what she had agreed to.

Harry’s blue eyes stared at her with a softened gaze. He had immediately felt how nervous she was the minute his hand wrapped around hers. Addy was fidgety, unable to remain still while her hand silently quivered in his.

“I think it’s best if we head out.” Glancing down at his watch Harry figured if they stayed any longer they would be late for dinner. Turning his head to her father, Harry thanked him again for the invite. Helping Addy with her coat, Harry pulled it over her shoulders before placing a hand on her lower back about to step out of the door when her father spoke.

“Midnight curfew Harry.” Carlson warned the prince, still being the over protective father that earned an eye roll from his youngest daughter.

Harry released a small laugh, “Yes sir. I will have her home and back in one piece.”

“Thank you Luther.” Addy took Harry’s hand helping her out of the back seat. Shutting the door behind them, Luther followed the couple into Kensington Palace.

“I got a better idea pumpkin.” Harry groaned at her nickname for him. She rarely used it, but knew it bugged him to his core; it made her giggle and hearing her laugh was better than anything so he swallowed his pride.

“And what is that?” Harry lifted his arm placing it over her shoulder as her hand interlocked their fingers. His blue eyes drifted to see a smirk delicately tugging at the corner of her lips.

Leaning into the prince she whispered. “We could go home and just have sex and miss the whole thing?” Addy winked at him hoping he would take her up on the offer.

“As tempting as that is Addy…” He squeezed her hand lightly. “We will have plenty of time after the oldies go to bed. I will still have time to fuck your brains out and return you back home before midnight.”

Addy inhaled a loud gasp appalled at the words that had left Harry’s mouth. “Do I need to remind you that my father has a shot gun in his home?” Falling into a fit of giggles watching the prince’s reaction nearly made her stumble in her heels.

“Careful Addy.” Harry caught her and was able to steady her.

Walking down the numerous sets of hallways and rooms Addy became increasingly quiet; a fact to which Harry was aware of. “Hey babe?”

“Yeah?” Addy plastered a fake smile on her lips to reassure him.

Harry’s footsteps halted bringing his girlfriend into a tight embrace he brushed a stray piece of hair behind her ear. Looking into her green eyes he had never felt happier to bring someone like Addy to meet his brother. Even Kate had pestered him in the last couple day’s non-stop about her; stating how excited she was to have someone to have more girl talk with.

“Please don’t curtsey or say your highness. My brother is just like me and hates all those formalities.” Addy’s mouth parted to protest his request but Harry silenced her with a finger placed gently over her lips. “Just be my Addy… that’s all I want.”

Angling her head she smiled with a nod. “What if that is not enough?” Adalyn confessed to Harry with a sigh. “I want them to like me.” Her truthful whispers were barely heard as Harry caught the worry in her tone.

He pressed a quick kiss to her forehead. “They already do because they have seen how happy I am with you Adalyn Mackenzie.” Before Adalyn could back out Harry grasped her hand and led her to the apartments door and knocked.

“Henry!” Addy scolded him with narrowed eyes that quickly softened seeing his deep blue eyes smiling back at her.

“You are meeting my brother and sister in law right now and not a minute later.” Pushing open the door Harry hesitated opening for a second longer. “Just remember that I love you.” The smile in his eyes calmed her nerves more than anything. Hearing those words leave his lips freely without any second thought caused her heart to skip a beat. Her cheeks filled with warmth as he hollered his brother’s name.

“Will! Kate! We are here!” Holding on tight to Harry’s hand, Addy followed him through the entrance. Peaking around his broad shoulders she saw two figures walking briskly towards them in a near run.

Will and Kate.

Duke and Duchess.

Royalty.

Harry’s brother and sister in law.

Taking one last deep breath Adalyn held tightly onto the prince’s hand.

“Harry! Adalyn!” Her name was yelled out in ecstatically along side Harry’s.

Will wrapped his brother up in a warm hug greeting him with a bright smile. Kate stepped around Will with her hands clasped together smiling at Addy happy to see her.

“You must be Addy.” Kate stretched her arms out for a hug, enveloping Addy’s frame. “I thought that we would never meet you!” A series of laughter rang out with a low side comment from Harry. Kate grabbed Adalyn’s hands taking a step back to take another look at the woman Harry had brought to dinner. “Wow! I love that dress! It’s adorable, where did you get it?”

“It’s from Zara’s!” Adalyn smiled wide, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks at the Duchess’s compliment.

“Oooh I love that shop! We must go on a shopping trip soon! I hear there is a sale coming up.” Kate was giddy, finally finding a woman she could talk with. “I am so happy that you are here, I am always stuck with these two boys.”

“Men. Kate. We are both men.” William corrected her earning a suggestively raised eyebrow from his wife.

“When you two start acting like men I certainly will call you men dear.” Kate smiled a toothy grin. Harry had found his place back by Addy’s side as the couple watched them silently bicker at each other.

“Will can I introduce you to my girlfriend now?” Harry eyed his brother with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes, my apologies.” William took a step forward placing two greeting kisses on either side of Addy’s cheeks before hugging her warmly. “Hello Adalyn. I am glad we finally get a chance to meet the woman my brother has been hiding from us!”

“It’s great to meet both you and thank you for having me in your lovely home.” Addy glanced around before being taken away from Harry’s side for a tour of the Cambridge’s apartment. Looking back over her shoulder she made one last eye contact with the prince smiling at her. Harry watched her figure disappear into a room being led away by Kate before he saw Will’s eyes on him.

Will and Harry

“What Will?”

“You are so done for. That woman has you wrapped around her finger and you don’t even know it.” Will pointed his finger at his younger brother with a happy smile.

“Oh shut it Will! She does not!” Harry made sure he protested though internally he knew that Will was right, but he dared not admit that to his brother.

“So tell me…” Will led the prince into the kitchen checking the chicken that was nearly done cooking in the stove. “Why have you waited so long for us to meet her?”

Harry took in a deep breath. “You know what it is like Will.” Pausing he made eye contact with his brother. “I wanted a solid relationship with her before the madness interfered with it and it always does. Everything came out sooner than I wanted anyway and I wanted to give her time to adjust.”

“How is she handling the press?” Will leaned in on the counter with a sincere concerned look knowing that it was a part of their life that they struggled with in all aspects no matter whether it was their private or public life.

“She’s doing the best she can. Addy won’t tell me, but I know they are there everyday at her work just waiting to harass her and there is nothing I can do about it.” Will knew all too well exactly what Harry was referring to, he had felt the same about Kate’s torments with the press even to this day. “I honestly thought she was going to end it with me that first night.”

“Will I need your advice…” Harry grew quiet looking up at his older brother.

Kate and Addy

It been well past half and hour that Addy was alone with Kate searching through her closet pulling out clothes and have general girl chat. Addy was holding her belly laughing hard listening to Kate tell stories of her and William. Sighing in a breath Addy looked around Kate’s never ending closet of designer clothes and accessories. It was nice to look at, but she wanted to know more than that about life as a royal, but from someone who had been in her shoes, someone from the outside looking in.

“Kate?” Addy glanced down at the ground not wanting to look her in the eye while asking this. “Is it all worth it?”

Kate slowly sauntered over sitting down on a cushioned seat. Addy’s piercing green eyes peaked up at Kate as if she was afraid to know the answer, but knew Kate was the only one that could truly answer it without bias. It had been her wish that Adalyn and her would became close and even spending the short amount of time with Harry’s new girlfriend, Kate felt that they were well on their way to becoming friends.

“Is all of this worth it?” Kate gestured with her hands. “Is giving up your entire life, your career and your privacy worth it all?”

Adalyn nodded worriedly as Kate spoke. Only she understood what it was like for Adalyn, as easy it was to have Ainsley to vent to, Kate understood on a deeper level. Kate would be the one to know what it was truly like, even though Harry had been trying his best to warn and guide her through, only she knew.

“It is for me Adalyn.” Softening her gaze at the brunette she understood exactly what was circulating in her mind. “The love that Will and I share makes me believe that it is worth giving all that up for. Don’t get me wrong, it is harder some days than others to live such a public life, but that just makes moments behind closed doors so precious and so valuable.”

Kate sighed pausing as she searched for the right words. “I can sit here all night and tell you the reasons why it is worth it Adalyn, but you have to decide that for yourself.” Inching closer to Adalyn, Kate placed her hand on Addy’s knee giving it a gentle squeeze. “This life as a royal is such a privilege to give your name out for worthy causes, but it’s tagged along with endless scrutiny and is not for the faint of heart.”

“You have handled things so well lately. I remember what it was like to find your face plastered on every newspaper and magazine. They get easier to deal with, more so you get used to them invading your life and you don’t let them ruin your day or stop you from living your life.” Kate tried to comfort Adalyn knowing that it was more daunting than anything. “Trust Harry, confide in him when things are too hard for you. The Wales boys have been dealing with them their whole life and it’s more of a give and take with a very fine line that they do not let the press cross ever since Diana…”

“Thank you Kate.” Addy smiled warmly up at the duchess. “It has been hard lately, but Harry is always there and is a wonderful support, sometimes a little too protective.” She released a small giggle at the thought.

“He is very protective Adalyn. He always has been and always will be.” Kate smiled warmly wanting to help Adalyn as much as she could for she had walked in that same unpaved path. “I am always here for advice if you need. I will give you my personal number and please…” Kate stressed further, “do not hesitate to ask for help or you will surely drown in this life.”

Kate glanced up at an old clock hanging from the wall.  “Dinner must be ready by now, shall we go see what the boys are up to?”

Harry and Will

“Adalyn’s ex is stalking her?!” Will’s voice rose louder in shock.

“Shhhhh dam it William!” Harry quietly scolded his brother. Carefully he glanced over his shoulder to see if Adalyn was near. He needed to tell someone, someone who would give him advice on how to go down this new road. If it were up to Harry he would just go find the scum bag and make sure he never returned to London.

“Does father know yet?” His brother continued to subject Harry with a series of questions.

“No and he won’t know until it has been dealt with.” Harry narrowed his eyes at William making sure he was not going to tell a soul. “Father cannot know; he won’t let me protect her the way I want too.”

“Well what are you going to do?” Will looked at his brother with sympathy. He had no idea that this was happening with Adalyn above everything else she was dealing with. Harry informed his brother that he had only found out from Addy a few days prior to and that the stalking behaviour had already lasted a few months.

Harry relived that moment seeing Addy’s terrified green eyes silently begging him to keep her safe from her ex as he told William how frightened she was. This was new territory for the prince’s, having never dealt with a stalker ex before hand.

“You need to tell Luther…” Will’s eye lifted from his brother’s hearing laughter enter the room.

Harry glanced back over his shoulder as the image of his girlfriend with Kate came into view. Their eyes connected and Adalyn could tell the way Harry held himself that something was not right. Her mouth parted slightly seeing the worry circle in the prince’s eyes as each step took her closer to Harry.

He told Will.

Adalyn knew the instant her gaze averted to William’s seeing the pity he tried to conceal. She was not even mad at the fact that Harry told him; he wouldn’t do that unless he felt the need to. Harry was closest with his brother and she did not want to hinder or scold that close knit relationship hoping that one day Harry would confide in his brother more, especially about his PTSD.

“Are you all hungry yet? I am famished!” Kate broke the awkward silence that had fallen amongst them.

“So she would always make us wear matching sets of clothes and we hated it with a passion. I got to the point where I could refuse but Harry was still at her mercy and dressed him in the most ridiculous clothes!” Will had the room erupting in laughter hearing embarrassing stories of the two boys when they were younger.

Harry couldn’t help but join in at the memory of his mother that he fondly remembered. A hand wrapped around his instinctively squeezing it for a touch of comfort. His blue eyes darted down to his girlfriend cuddled up beside him that was laughing whole-heartedly at his expense.

The laughter subsided as Addy snuggled in closer to the prince causing him to lift his arm and pull her body in closer. “You alright?” Addy discretely whispered in his ear knowing how hard it was to talk about his mother.

A simple squeeze of the hand followed by a crooked smile gave her his answer. They had rarely talked about his mother Diana other than the one night Harry had taken her to ‘their spot’ that meant everything to her. In a way she desperately wanted to hear Harry’s memories of his mother like William freely shared, but knew they were precious to him and tucked away deep in heart; a place where only him could know of them.

“Tell Adalyn about the time where Harry wanted to play with the older cousins and –”

“I think that is enough reminiscing for tonight Will!” Harry interjected before another embarrassing story was shared with his girlfriend earning an exaggerated pouty lip from the woman beside him.

“Oh come on! One more story please William!” Addy chuckled while Harry turned his head giving her a non-pleasing expression. “I love to watch Harry squirm!”

Her lips pressed firmly against Harry’s holding them in place for a couple seconds hoping that it would help distract Harry from her request. The prince groaned with agony as he agreed to one last story making Addy grin from ear to ear. Her lips tugged into a stagnant smile hearing more child hood memories of Harry.

Kate could not take her eyes off of the couple. She saw how comfortable Adalyn was around Harry, eager to be by his side and always wearing a small smile in his presence. It was not hard to see that her brother in law was in love with this woman as the revelation hit her she could not keep it inside.

“You love each other!” Kate interrupted her husband earning all eyes turning to her. Clearing her throat she began to speak again. “I am sorry, but it is so easy to tell…”

Harry could not hide the smile that spread across his lips as Addy buried her face into the crook of his neck. Her cheeks had become flushed in embarrassment as Kate went on to explain how she knew. Was it really that obvious?

“Of course I love her Kate. You do not have to explain how you know, it’s true that I do.” Harry proudly confirmed Kate’s suspicions. “But, it is far later than we expected to stay and I have to get Addy home before her father gets out his shotgun!”

“Thank you for such a lovely dinner, it was so nice to meet you.” Addy beamed as she leaned into the prince’s arm gently rubbing it up and down.

“You are welcome anytime Adalyn. Thank you for making my brother as happy as he is.” William couldn’t help but not hug the woman who made his brother smile ear to ear.  “Though I do not know how you can stand that ginger hair of his!” Of course his brother would take any opportunity to throw banter his way.

“At least he has hair Will!” Addy wittily snapped back in laughter defending her boyfriend. Reaching up she ran her fingers through his thick ginger hair. Harry was not laughing due to the state of shock that he was in not thinking that Adalyn would respond that way, but loved her even more for it.

“Oooooh!!!” Kate held her belly in laughter. “She got you Will!”

“Damn Harry she is a keeper!” Will pushed out between breaths of laughter.

“She is quite amazing isn’t she?” Harry turned his gaze down at his girlfriend seeing her eyes smiling back up at him.

“Just amazing Harry?” Addy raised her eyebrow suggestively.

“Well…. smart, talented, beautiful and…” Harry paused pretending to ponder.” Well ya that’s it!” Harry braced himself knowing a playful smack was coming towards him.

“Ok we really need to go!” Harry urged not wanting to witness the wrath of Adalyn’s father. Grabbing Addy’s hand he led her through the door waving and exchange one last set of goodbyes.

“Shopping date soon Adalyn remember!” Kate hollered at them from down the hall.

Running up to the steps of her father’s home Harry released her hand allowing Addy to dig out her keys. The lights inside of the house were turned off indicating that everyone had gone to bed and Addy needed to sneak in quietly, careful not to wake anyone up.

Fumbling with the keys Addy quietly opened the door, pulling Harry inside to say goodbye. His arms immediately surrounded her pulling her body flush against him about to press his lips onto her full luscious lips when a lamp light quickly turned on in the front room nearly startling the couple. Her father’s face was half lit as he had been waiting patiently for her to make it home.

“Dad?!” Addy gasped in shock as her hand flew to her chest. “What the hell! I am twenty six years old!”

“12:01 Harry.” Her father sat up closing in the distance between the couple. Harry’s hand dropped to his side making more space between him and Carlson’s daughter.

“Time to say goodnight Adalyn.”

Addy peaked up at Harry with a guilty smile that half loved how protective and cute her father was acting. “Better say goodnight Harry…” She whispered into his ear.

Harry nodded acknowledging her father, secretly wondering where the shotgun was located at that exact moment. The prince pulled his girlfriend into a quick embrace careful of where he placed his hands. Addy pecked his cheek with a swift kiss saying her goodnight, desperately wishing that she could sneak her boyfriend upstairs like a rebellious teenager.

“Goodnight Sir.” Harry dropped Adalyn’s hand giving it one last squeeze before he turned towards the door and left her home.

Addy ran to the front window watching her prince climb into the backseat giving her one last wave before he disappeared into the back. Her hand lifted giving him a small wave wanting him not to leave her. Staying at the window she stood there until his black SUV made it out of her range of sight.

Pulling the covers over her body she snuggled into their warmth that they provided. Chance and Willow had both climbed up onto her bed making themselves comfy on either side of her. Her phone vibrated on the bedside table just before she was about to turn off the light.

A text from Harry read….

They loved you babe. I love you xx sleep well.

Addy immediately replied.

“How did it go Harry?” Luther asked from the front seat curiously.

Harry opened his mouth about to speak before feeling his phone buzz in his hands. An instant smile appeared on his lips seeing her reply.

I love you Henry. Wish you were here with me tonight xx I am here when you wake up tonight, please call me xo

“Great Luther, they loved Addy!” You could hear the smile on the prince’s lips.

“Luther?” The prince’s tone became more serious.

“Yes Harry?” He looked back at the prince seeing the concerned expression grace his face.

“I need your help with something…”

[ourplaceinthecosmosphff]

Chapter 2. The British Inquisition

‘They slipped briskly into an intimacy from which they never recovered.’ F. Scortt Fitzgerald

It’s not that I didn’t like Harry. It was just his.... overconfidence, his relentlessness, his constant smug grin, his general aspect of brazenness - well, maybe I just didn’t like him. I didn’t like saying I didn’t like anyone, I had an honest belief that most people tried to do what they assumed was the best. Most often than not, their personality merely didn’t match ours. Like two puzzle pieces not fitting together. Not every single person should get along perfectly, and that is absolutely fine. I sure wasn’t intending on allowing it to put a damper on the work we had to.

Did I expect him to be there? No, I was surprised. I hadn’t seen him in years. It’s a small circle, being royal. You see people, can’t be helped, but Harry and I didn’t usually frequent the same places in our down time. He was a party-boy with a track record for hell raising, I was… well, a lawyer; an adult; let’s just say, someone who didn’t spend a lot of time in Vegas.

The way he tried to relate to me didn’t help. Not the casual flirting on the wake of his grandmother’s comment about his heartbreaker ways, which was simply confusing. Was he trying to prove her right or wrong? And which option was more freaky? No, it’s the thing he said after, about my cousin, when we were sitting in a procession carriage with his father on our way to Buckingham Palace

“I think I know your cousin!”

I smiled in response, politely. “Klaus of Luxembourg?” 

“No. I mean, I think I know him, too… But I mean the other one.”

“Brown hair? Thin nose?” he seemed more confused, “Always smells of cigarettes?”

“Yes, that’s him.” He nodded. “We met at the Grand Prix in Monaco, I think.”

“That’s Adrien.”

“Great guy.” He said. “Always knew how to party.”

It made sense he would know Adrien, they were both party boys with no thought to future consequences. With one caveat.

“He has quieted down recently.”

Harry chuckled. “Yes, getting engaged will do that do a man.”

The thing about my cousin Adrien was that he had a great heart. Unfortunately, it used to beat a little too much to the sound of parties all over Nordic Europe. And Northern Europe. And Southeast Asia. Everywhere, really. It became problematic for my family to have to track him around the globe to make sure he wasn’t about to do something scandalous in nature. There is no room for individuality or self-exploration in royalty; one mistake, even by a cousin who is not really going to be king, is connected to us all. All that is to say, we were all very happy Adrien had finally, officially gotten engaged to his long term girlfriend, which made him more predictable and reliable. So hearing from one of his old party buddies that said life change was somehow negative didn’t really warm His Royal Highness in my regard. Still, I was prepared to be professional.

“And, of course, I know your brother as well.”

“Edinburgh University is a fine institution.” His father added. “He’s acquiring a master’s degree, I understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And what is his intention with it?”

At this moment a chuckle came from his son.

“To stay away from Savoy, I’m sure.”

“Are you, sir? What gives you that impression?” I asked, a lot harsher than I had meant, feeling my heartbeat in my throat at the sound of an implication. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Harry.” His father warned, still politely. “Will you please be quiet for once?”

“I was only kidding.” He shrugged, quickly.

Still, though the moment scared me, I was still prepared for a successful trip. 

And then the questions started.

It started with:

“I’m sure it’s not your first time in the U.K., is it?”, and when I told him that of course not, I visited my brother often enough and came with friends in the past, he wanted to know “Where did you grow up?”, to which I replied, not without some sass, “I thought it was obvious, sir, I’m from Savoy.” Not one to be deterred, he explained he meant if I was raised in the countryside or capital, or if I had gone to boarding school (mostly countryside until my father became king, then boarding school in Belgium). 

I wanted to merely avoid him, of course. But being the spare of the King I sat next to him - the spare of the heir - at luncheon, and so it was unavoidable.

It feels redundant to explain, but growing up in this world means a saturation of things that aren’t common knowledge to the regular civilian, so explain I must: A ‘spare’ is the term designated for secondary children, the ones who aren’t direct heirs. So when it comes to heirs to the throne, or monarchs, for centuries it was advised that they had one heir to inherit the throne, and at least one ‘spare’, one extra child, who would be available in case something happened to the first one. Which, in those days, was often. After the gift of penicillin and vaccines, spares became more of a commodity than a necessity. A trading card to negotiate with other kingdoms for political power. An arranged marriage here and there, a good dowry to a second child, turning an otherwise useless daughter into a queen consort for another country’s throne. 

In the twenty-first century, us spares were… well, even more useless. Monarchies as a whole lost much of their power, and so the spare’s job is no longer to secure the throne stays in the family in the case of a fatality, but only to support the monarch and future monarchs as much as they - as much as we - can. 

So it was natural we were sat together. Though his father was still the heir, he would be king soon enough. So his spare - Harry - was expected to chat-up my father’s spare - me. I don’t think, however, that it had been anyone’s intentions for him to chat me up that much.

I had spent some time admiring the room, it wasn’t a full on banquet room, but a smaller, dining room, with pink arabescos prints on the wall and kings and queens painted inside gold frames hanging from the ceilings, when I realized I hadn’t actually talked to Harry in a  while. Thinking he may have been timid after his father’s warning in the carriage, I decided to take the first step. I was nothing if not professional.

I should have known it would be enough.

“And where did you go to school, sir?”

He looked at me, seemingly surprised and a bit caught off guard. 

“Oh, ah, Eton. Eton College. Berkshire, not far from Windsor.”

I nodded, as though I knew where Berkshire or Windsor were exactly. 

“And, uhm,” he went on, the red cheeks transforming into a small smile, “you don’t have to call me sir. You can call me Harry if I can call you Mary.”

I grinned, resisting an urge to roll my eyes.

“It’s Marie.”

“Marie”, he repeated, forcibly, with a French accent this time. “Please, call me Harry, Marie.”

I shrugged, trying to hold in a sigh at the forced ‘rr’ sound when he said my name, “force of habit.”

“What did you do after school, Marie?”

I looked at him. “After?”

“Yes, did you play any sports?”

“Oh. I played some polo. Volleyball.”

A couple of seconds went by as his smile grew more knowing than polite.

“And what did you actually like?”

And, see, it was that kind of presumption that made him just a little… infuriating. The smile that accompanied the presumption - almost unbearably charming - didn’t help his case, either. 

”What makes you think I didn’t like those sports?”

He took a sip of his water, still smiling in a way I could, inexplicably, almost feel.

“Did you?”

“I hear the Crown Prince will be finishing his studies soon.” His grandmother put, to my father, before I could figure a way to answer him.

“Yes, he, uhm,” Father pondered, “He is very diligent with his academic career. We’re so proud.”

I suppressed a roll of my eyes by staring at my plate. 

The Duke of Edinburgh nodded. “I’m sure it’ll be a relief to have him back in the country.”

“Margueritte has been a great help. But it’ll be nice to have him home again.”

I smiled graciously at them before downing my water, hoping the conversation would have moved on before I had to join it.

After the meal we were guided to the gallery, where Her Majesty proudly showed us some Savoyen relics that the British Royal family had accumulated over the years, as well as their entire collection. 

There, the British Spare wanted to know if I liked art (of course), if I had taken any course about it on Uni (a couple more and I could have minored in it), and told me all about his own feelings on the matter.

“Like what you see, Marie?” He asked, on a whispered low baritone, when I stood in front of a painting of himself and his brother, leaning against a doorframe. He was pronouncing my name wrong again, as ‘Mary’, just placing the stress in the last syllable.

Instead of staring at him in disbelief, however, I took a deep breath and kept my eyes on his painted face. 

"Masterful work. Wonderful physiognomy, even if your right hand looks a little crooked... and small."

"My-?" He asked, confused, removing his arms from where they had been, connected behind his back, and staring at his own hand. "My hands are not small."

Pleased with the unsettled displeasure in his tone, much more amusing the previous flirty intonation, I followed his eyes, seeing again whatever it was he scribbled into them in black ink. His hands were indeed large and, resisting an urge to touch them, or take some time to imagine what they would feel like on my skin, I focused on the painting again. 

"The color in your hair was well captured, though it is depicted understandably bushier than reality."

"Okay." He rolled his eyes, now, as I watched satisfied the corners of his lips slowly curl up in a grin. “That’s an old- it was a long time ago.”

“Don’t worry yourself, sir, it happens to a lot of men. I’m told it’s very natural.”

“Okay!” He let out a silent laugh; interestingly, this time the grin it left behind did not unsettle me, though it did make me feel victorious somehow.

“Do you remember when we had to actually sit through these?” The Prince of Wales asked my father. “Are you old enough to remember that?”

My father laughed, delighted, “I am, yes. I once had to sit in a hot summer day in full military costume, a replica, of course, I was a child. And the mosquitoes just had a feast that day, because I was not allowed to move!”

They laughed, “Nowadays the children sit for a photograph and that is it!”

I looked over at Harry, hoping to see my own exasperation at the exchange looking back at me, and I did. It was accompanied however, by a softness in his eyes and smile that made me feel weirdly seen. As if he knew a secret I was hiding. It felt unsettling. So, leaning over, I said,

“I hope the painter signed a good NDA.” To which he laughed, now more loudly than before, looking back at the painting. 

There, I thought; this feels better.

We were ushered into another room, brightly lit and artfully decorated where we were served tea. I had been telling the Duke of Edinburgh about my focus on senior citizens’ aide when he approached again. And that’s when it got kinda weird.

“Did you have a good relationship with your grandparents?”

“Something you want to get off your chest, Harry?”, his grandfather asked. “I can step away if it’ll make you more comfortable.”

The Duke laughed at his own joke, and I tried to suppress a smile. 

“No, grandad, I’m just- just making conversation, it’s all.”

He then looked at me, expectantly, and seeing as his grandfather did the same I saw no way out other than to answer, “My great-grandmother is still alive, I have some wonderful memories of her from my childhood. And my grandparents, on both sides, are of some age, but still very present in our lives.”

“King Philippe” His grandfather nodded. “Well, Prince Philippe now, I presume, after he abdicated in favor of your father? Wonderful fellow. Still owes me some money from a poker game from a Tour of Savoy I did with the Queen in 1991.”

“Really?”

“How much money, grandad?”

“Oh, that’s between the both of us.” He looked at me, then. “Do tell him I’m expecting it.”

“Will do, sir.”

“Don’t involve Mary in your weird, borderline undiplomatic shenanigans.”

“Marie!” The Duke corrected for me, rolling his eyes. “And look who’s speaking... You didn’t see me preaching when your shenanigans ended up in the cover of The Mirror.”

“Grandad.” The prince exasperated. But, hearing me laugh, he smiled a little more comfortable. “First of all, yes, he did so.”

“I did?!” The Duke exclaimed, aghast, but Harry was now whispery, looking around suspiciously that we weren’t overheard.

“You lecture everyone!”

“Oh, nonsense.” He then turned around, aiming for his son across the room, sharing a couch with the Queen. “Your father will clarify this.”

Harry was shaking his head, eyes shut, but an amused grin rested on his lips. It was… not a bad sight; a thought which may be why I felt myself blush so furiously when he opened his eyes to look directly at me, and I felt like I was doing something wrong again.

“Oh.” The Duke of Edinburgh had returned, apparently with one last thought, and now leaned in to ask me on a stage whisper, “What are your favorite flowers, Ma’am?”

“My-?” I took a second to think on it. “I suppose daisies, sir, after my name. But I don’t really have a favorite. I like… all flowers. The more colorful the better.”

He seemed momentarily intrigued by the answer, then nodded, thoughtfully, before looking at his grandson as if for confirmation.

“May I ask why?”

He smiled at me, dismissively, already walking away again. “Oh, just trying to simplify my grandson’s life. He ought to know what flowers he should get when he inevitably sends your some.”

“Grandfather!”

But the Duke merely waved at Harry, back turned, and continued to walk away from the awkwardness he left behind.

“Good God… I’m sorry.” Harry looked around, searching. For what, I couldn’t be sure.

I just nodded, affording him a chuckle so he knew there was no harm done. Then, simply because I couldn’t exist in the silence anymore, I walked over to the tea table and found a coconut biscuit.

“He is… retired.”

I bit a piece of the cookie as fast as i could, making it impossible to have to join Harry back into the awkward moment he was so clearly still inside. 

“I haven’t… things haven’t-” He sighed. “I suppose he thinks I need… help.”

“Tennis.” 

“Pardon me?”

I turned to him. “At lunch, you asked which sport I actually liked. I really like tennis.”

He stared for a prolonged time, but the redness that had taken over his cheeks and neck began to diminish. Still, I felt mine bright and angry. I suppose I just didn’t want him to tell me what kind of help his grandfather seemed to think he needed. 

“Individual sport.” He nodded. “Shy, Mary?”

“I see we’ve gone back to Mary.”

“You’re free to call me Harry. I like having a nickname for you.”

“It’s… not quite a nickname. Just my name, but wrong.”

He smiled. “You didn’t answer my question.”

I shrugged, non-committal. “I guess I just dislike the pressure in team sports.”

“Hm.” He seemed intrigued. 

“What, you don’t believe me?”

“I didn’t say that. I think I do. I just wonder if that’s all there is to it.”

I had another question ready, but refrained from it, looking away; his smile grew bigger.

“Go on, ma’am. What have you got to say?”

I let out an incredulous chucke. “Why do I have the impression you are playing a game with yourself to see how fast you can make me lose my composure?”

He shrugged. “I am, a little bit. Seems easy enough, since you don’t seem to like me, for some reason. But I’ve begun to see that is a losing battle.”

“Good.”

“Is it?”

“To me? Yes.”

“I’m not so sure it is.”

I downed the rest of the coconut biscuit to stop myself from arguing further, but he kept staring at me the entire time, which was unnerving. 

“Am I right?”

I took my eyes from the others to look at him, again. “About what?”

“You don’t seem to like me very much.”

I gave him a polite smile. “I don’t see why you would think so.”

He grinned. “That’s not a no.”

“You seem nice.”

“Oh.” He put a hand to his heart and closed his eyes. “Please, Mary, calm down, or I might burst with such loud endorsement!”

I laughed, contradicted. Harry remained silently watching me, so finally I sighed and looked out the windows overlooking the mall.

“You don’t seem to remember, but we have actually met before.” I confessed, to his confusion.

“We… have. I thought you wouldn’t remember it.”

Now, however, I was the one confused.

I had met him exactly three times in the past. I was confident he couldn’t remember the first, the second was a birthday party of a friend in common where I’m sure we didn’t speak, and the third was-

“Royal Ascot.” He nodded. “A few years ago, actually.”

I nodded, slowly. “Right. That… one time we met.”

“Yes,” he smiled, seeming genuinely happy I remembered it, “I think it was the second day. I know my grandmother wasn’t there, because she would have known you were and would have asked someone to bring you over to us to say hello, but no one did. It was mostly me and some of my cousins. I think maybe my brother was there, too. He’s the one who pointed out your group to me.”

It was, if I’m not mistaken, a good three years before. He didn’t have a beard, then. I attended Royal Ascot because Louis, my brother, had recently moved to Scotland to attend University and had gone a couple times prior. Despite Harry’s impression from earlier, I do like polo and horses, and was interested. But when we got there, and Louis told us we should go say hello to the British, I had a horrible flashback of the previous time I had met Prince Harry. 

“I did meet your brother a year before, I think? Maybe two. He was new to Britain, when he’d just started Uni, and so in Ascot I went over to say hello to him, but just as I got there, you… sort of, took off.”

I nodded, now feeling slightly… childish.

“Yes, I… I remember.” I risked a look over at him, who was biting his bottom lip. 

“I thought maybe you’d looked at me before I arrived, and ran off because you didn’t want to meet me.”

He laughed, and I joined, somewhat awkwardly, knowing that was… precisely the case.

I shrugged. “I needed a drink, I think? I do remember coming back around and Louis telling me we had just missed you.”

“Yes, it’s okay, of course.” He added, quickly. “He said you had gone off with your boyfriend.”

He added the line so dismissively, and yet pronouncing the word ‘boyfriend’ so specifically at the exact volume so that I could hear it clearly, but still know he meant it to be a dismissive sentiment, that I knew, somewhere inside, that I was meant to address it. It was hard not to be amused. Instead, I just nodded, trying to bite my inner lip to contain a grin.

“Yes, Christopher.” 

There was a pause. An almost comically long pause. He kept looking over at me, but I decided to just poured myself some more tea. 

“And, uh… Is Christopher from Savoy as well?”

I took a moment to think on it before replying. “He’s French, actually. His family is, mostly. But he was raised in Savoy.”

He nodded, slowly. I continued to pour my tea, also very slowly.

“And uhm, what… what does he do?”

I suppressed a smile. “He’s a hedge fund manager.”

He let out a loud sigh, which could have been a sarcastic laugh, and as I finished pouring my tea, I looked over at him as I brought it to my lips, enjoying his reaction maybe a little too greatly.

I wondered, as I walked over to Cadie, if he would leave me alone now. Clearly, the flirtationship would lose its appeal now he thought I was taken. Guys usually only respected other guys, so perhaps he would keep his distance now that I wasn’t as interesting as before.

Cadie was standing by the door, in a corner with the rest of our traveling staff as well as some Buckingham staff. She smiled as I approached and spoke before I even asked,

“His security just sent an update. There was a… logistic delay, but they’re about half an hour from London now. He should be here in time for the Mayor’s ball this evening.”

I smiled at her, knowingly. “Logistic delay? They mean he forgot to pack until the last minute, don’t they?”

She smiled, but no reply came; she knew I didn’t need one, and I wouldn’t force her to incriminate her future king. Instead, she said on a low whisper, looking behind me,

“He seems to like you.”

I rolled my eyes at the wall, so no one but her would see it. 

“He is one of the most annoying people I have ever met.”

“Is that why you blush every time he asks you something?”

I felt my own head snap at her direction against my will, “I do not!”, but I could already feel my cheeks redden.

Cadie smiled. “You’re allowed to move on, you know?”

I rolled my eyes at her, and was abou to reply when Auguste approached us.

“Ma’am,” he said, lowly and very menacingly, “I think your time might be more productive today if spent, perhaps, socializing?”

I sighed, and walked back to the tea table before I could give him the answer I actually wanted.

“Anything wrong?”, Harry asked, approaching again. “You look… annoyed.”

I wanted to say that was a common effect of his presence, but still, I merely smiled.

“Just checking if my brother is on his way; he is.” 

He nodded, and looked over at our staff, who averted their eyes from our direction, though unfortunately, not quickly enough.

“Is that your handler?”, he asked, looking discreetly at Auguste.

I responded by giving him a quizzical look.

“Secretary? Assistant? Aide?”

“Oh, no. My father’s junior aide. He’s… he’s being trained to work with my brother after his… heirdom starts.”

“Heirdom?” He asked, amused.

“You know, when he graduates and starts being a proper heir.”

He nodded. “And why don’t we like him?”

“I like him.” I shrugged, looking resolutely ahead, still feeling him look at me, disbelieving. “He-”

I sighed, turning back around, to the window, hoping no one could see me.

“He seems to think I’m still a fourteen year-old child who doesn’t understand that daddy has a big responsibility I’m getting in the way of.”

Harry was quiet for a long time. A long enough time for me to regret telling him this, and to wonder if there was a casual enough way I could pretend I was joking.

“Does he not know you’re a lawyer?!”

I looked over at him, who looked the most confused I’d seen him all day.

“He does… how do you know?”

He shrugged. “Your brother, and Adrien… I don’t know, I heard it somewhere. Adrien once said you’re the smartest person in your family.”

I turned to him, now, fully confused myself. “He… did?”

“What, does he not seem like the type?”

“The type to puke all over the Christmas tree when he’s drunk on eggnog? Yes. To  compliment people when they’re not around to give him credit for it? Not really.”

He laughed. “Oh, wow. Yeah… I’ll definitely be asking him about that… “

We let a moment pass in silence, and I noticed, somewhat joyfully, he hadn’t allowed the knowledge of Christopher stop him from talking to me. 

“Hey, how did you know?” I asked, and one of his brows corked up. “That I didn’t like polo or volleyball as much as other sports.”

“Oh. Well… I suppose, because it’s a tour.” He shrugged. “And you being...” His eyes traveled down my whole body and back up to meet mine. “Perfect… ly-perfectly poised, and… and polite and professional, you just… you seem like the kind of person who would make sure to give exactly all the answers you’re suppose to at such an -- important job.”

I let my face contort at the sarcasm in the words ‘important’ and ‘job’.

“You don’t think our job is important?”

His smile didn’t reach his eyes, which looked over at his shoes as he thought of how to answer me.

“So what was your favorite subject in school?” He asked, very deliberately chipper now.

I stared him down, unrelenting, matching his smile, until he sighed.

“I don’t think we’re ready for this conversation.” He said.

“When will we be?”

“When we’re friends.” He returned, quickly. 

It was an answer he had ready and, although I felt I was expected to say that we were already friends, I respected his self-awareness that we weren’t. So I just nodded.

“I liked classics.” I told him. “In school.”

He nodded, looking me up and down. “I see that.”

I rolled my eyes. “Do I have a face for Shakespeare?”

“Well, your name already sounds like you should be in Hamlet.”

“You mean Mary?”

He laughed. “Yes. Yes, that’s what I mean.”

“And what did you prefer in school?”

He shrugged. “Sports.”

“Hm.” I let out, looking away so he wouldn’t see my second eye-roll. But he still laughed.

“What?”

“Nothing. I also see that for you.”

“Do I have a face for sports?”

I shrugged. “You have the body.”

He raised his brows at that, and I looked away, suddenly realizing my own words.

“I mean-”

“No, no, Mary, no need to explain. I understand.” 

His tone was so insufferable and his smile so knowing, and yet, somehow… I couldn’t help but smile.

“I think it’s your turn, now.”

I looked back at him. “My turn?”

“To ask me a question.”

There something benevolent about his tone, as if he was doing my favor by giving me a chance to change the subject. 

I took it.

“Truth or dare?”, I asked, to his surprise.

“Really?”

“You told me to ask a question. That’s a question.”

He took a step closer. “What happens if I pick dare?”

I faced him, keeping my face as still and intense as I could. “Pick and find out.”

I suppose the half an hour Cadie mentioned Louis would take to arrive might have fit inside the long look he gave me; but in truth, I wouldn’t know how long I stood there as he looked at me. 

Eventually, however, the loud laughter from both our families startled us out of the little trance we seemed to be in, and he cleared his throat, awkwardly.

This was when my father approached.

“Margueritte, your brother is arriving in Clarence House as we speak. It’s time to go.” He shook hands with Harry. “Thank you for having us today. We have to go receive my son who’s meeting us here for the rest of the tour.”

Harry smiled at him. “Of course. And will Christopher be joining you as well?”

I bit my lip to hide a grin, but my father seemed puzzled. “Christopher? You mean, our Christopher?”

“Our Christopher?” I asked my father, who sighed.

“You know what I mean… Christopher Ratté. How do you know Christopher, Harry?”

“We have common interests, apparently.”

“Oh, well, that’s... nice. I don’t think he’s in the country, however.” He looked at me. “Margueritte?”

“I wouldn’t know what Christopher is up to these days.”

“Yes, well, we’ll tell him you said hello if we do see him.” 

As my father left to say his goodbyes, Harry looked at me.

“You don’t know what he’s up to these days?”

“I wouldn’t know.” I shrugged. “Seeing as he’s not my boyfriend anymore.”

I might as well have told him Santa Claus was real and he was getting coal for Christmas.

He nodded, slowly, a few times as his mouth opened and shut, before he finally seemed to settle on, “Oh.”

Before I could turn away to say goodbye to his grandparents, however, he held on to my elbow, delicately. 

“Damn, Mary, you could have said something.” He whispered, breathlessly.

I tried not to laugh, which was not an easy feat.

“You could have asked… you didn’t seem to have a problem asking anything today.”

“I didn’t want to… appear… invasive.”

This was too much, so I did laugh.

“Wow.”

“I’m glad you can laugh about it… does this mean I have permission to keep asking things?”

I sighed. “You didn’t seem to need permission before.”

He laughed, biting his lip.

“Sorry. I… It’s just- I don’t usually meet people who may… understand... What it’s like.”

I gulped. “What it’s like?”

He looked around the room. “What it’s like having to shape your entire life after… all of this, and yet… not to really have a role to play in it.”

I nodded, wondering if that’s all he wanted; someone to understand. Wondering if he did need help; or if Cadie was right.

“...Especially ones with a face like yours.”

“Aw.” I said, emotionless, deadpan, “you ruined it.”

I was going to turn away to go say my goodbyes to his family, but before I did, for reasons still unknown to myself, I turned to him again.

“By the way, Christopher wasn’t the only thing you were wrong about today…”

He was still grinning. “And what was I wrong about, ma’am?”

“Royal Ascot. That wasn’t the first time we met.”

--- --- --- --- --- ---

[A/N: Thank you so much for reading, please let me know if you like it by liking this page or leaving a comment? It’d mean so much to me!]

[boundtoyouphff]

Chapter 12: It’s Not All Glitz and Glamour

A/N: Sorry for not posting as regularly, but I am making up for it with TWO chapters being posted today. The first one now and in a few hours I will post the second one so make sure you READ THIS ONE FIRST! Enjoy xx --------------------------------------

I am sure you have heard of the saying… “It’s not all glitz and glamour.” Well, I wholeheartedly believe that. I believe that we often like to hide behind our material things as it masks our truer self. It makes people on the outside believe that just because we have all the glitzy material things in our life that it is glamorous, that we are purely happy in our lives. It is true to a point that it brings us a certain level of joy… but that joy in our lives is replaceable.

Material things are replaceable, but the people in our life are not and those are the things in life that brings us that irreplaceable joy.

As I sit here in this gorgeous ball gown and feel the strand of a diamond necklace being placed upon the delicate skin of my neck, these thoughts come to the forefront of my mind. I feel it trapping me in the false sense of belief that all of this matters. This State Banquet to show our kingdom's prowess matters.

But, it doesn’t.

I never cared about the material things that someone could give me like this sparkling diamond necklace my father gifted me. What I care about is the time I spend with my loved ones, the smiles on their faces and the joy sparkling in their eyes, not the sparkles sitting on my chest.

What matters in life is not about the glitz and glamour.

It’s about our hearts and who they beat for.

It’s about the way he makes my heart beat.

-------------

Harry tightened the strands of his bow tie, pulling it securely into place. Straightening his tuxedo suit coat, his hands smoothed over the soft fabric that lined his anxious body. Edward was behind him going over last minute details of the State Banquet that would be held for the royal visit on behalf of the British Monarchy. His words faded into the background as Harry replayed a conversation he had earlier with Emilia in his mind.

Flashback*

Emilia climbed out of the back seat with haste, afraid to look the prince in the eyes. Slamming the door shut she stepped forward with purpose towards Lexington Palace.

“Emilia!” Harry’s deep voice called from behind her to which she ignored and continued on her path. Hearing footsteps quicken to a run behind her, Emilia took in a deep breath knowing she would have to face him, but she surged forward.

She barely made it through the entrance before she felt his light grasp brush against her fingertips followed by the quiet whisper of her name. “Em....” His simple touch on her skin made her heart skip a beat. The way his deep voice quietly spoke her name almost made her give in to Harry in that moment, but a familiar voice cut through her thoughts.

“Ah! Harry, there you are!” Ed, Harry’s private press secretary had come around the corner to greet him and was quite in a hurry to take the prince away to prepare for the state banquet that evening. Urging him that he did not have time to waste.

“Not now, Ed.” Harry stepped around Edward to get to Emilia who had carried on with haste through the palace leaving Harry behind in her wake.

He watched her head turn slightly to the side and speak something to Tristan who turned immediately onto his heel and stepped in front of the prince, blocking him. Harry’s jaw clenched tightly, pursing his lips into a hard line. “Emilia is not ignoring you. Go to your suite, talk to Eddie or whatever his name is. Then come speak with her.” Tristan’s voice was calm yet commanding.

Fury coursed through the prince after hearing those words from Tristan. Who does she think she is telling him what to do? “Fuck that. Step out of my way.” Harry moved Tristan out of the way as the RPO he clenched his jaw disobeying Emilia’s orders to not let him by, but knowing that it was what was best for her at the moment. To have someone who cared about her after what she bore witness to today.

Emilia shut the door behind her and closed her eyes. Revelling in the silence that welcomed her home. She kicked off her heels and stepped barefoot on the cool marble flooring that soothed her aching feet. But, the silence did not last long as the door flew open and slammed powerfully shut. Emilia had wished he hadn’t come and listened to Tristan, but in all honesty she knew he would.

“Seriously Emilia? Shutting me out again?!” His voice rose in an angry tone. Her back remained turned to him while she glanced out the window in silence, not answering him. Emilia was afraid to speak, fearing that only her sobs would come out of her mouth while she attempted to hold herself together.

The deafening sound of silence fell between them.

Harry had taken a few deep breaths and calmed himself down knowing that anger and an argument was not what Emilia wanted nor could handle in that moment. He stepped towards the quiet princess carefully and broke the wall of silence down between them.

Both began their surrender to one another as Emilia was unable to evade the prince any longer. She turned slowly with a lowered head and arms crossed defensively, waiting for Harry to come the rest of the way to her. With each erratic breath, the prince closed in the space between them.

“Emilia, will you please look at me.” Harry was now nearly an arms length away. His tall figure towering over her, but not in an intimidating way. All she wanted to do was to run into him and feel security in the confines of his arms like she had earlier.  Swallowing the lump in her throat, she slowly lifted her head to find a concerned set of deep blue eyes glancing down at her with a furrowed brow.

But, what scared her the most was how Harry saw through her in that moment. The mask she still had on her face was there, but he saw through it and knew without a spoken word what Emilia wanted from him.

He stepped forward and wrapped his arms slowly around her, until the walls she had built around her willingly crumbled to her feet. Their gaze did not waver from each other until Emilia stepped into his chest and buried her head into the prince. His grasp of her frame tightened as he felt her body succumb to the feelings inside of her and to start to tremble as they outwardly escaped.

Tears streamed down her cheeks, soaking through his shirt. His hand cradled the back of her head gently holding it into him tighter attempting to stop her endless sobs that floated out of her being. Harry had heard the words that broke the princess in that moment. The reporter that questioned who her actual father was...it wasn’t the question itself, it was Emilia’s thoughts of the answer to it that broke her.

“I’m here.” Were the only two words that Emilia needed to hear as she allowed her body to feel the pain behind closed doors, in private with Harry. The princess clutched his shoulders tighter and held on to him.

Within a few minutes, her tears subsided as the release of emotion freed the princess. Emilia lifted her head off of Harry’s damp chest and gazed up at him with tear stained cheeks. He brought his hand to her cheek, cupping it tenderly and dried her cheeks with the smooth caress of his thumb.

“I am sorry that I hurt you...” He confessed with a furrowed brow while his thumb comfortingly stroked her cheek. Emilia closed her eyes and angled her head into his cupped hand, relishing his touch. “I was only trying to —“

“Protect me.” Emilia interrupted Harry and finally spoke to him. She breathed out deeply and sighed, offering him a smile. Her hand reached up and snaked around his neck, putting slight pressure on the back of it to bend it down and rest his forehead upon hers. “Thank you for protecting me. It’s more than most people have done... and thank you for being there with me today.”

A smile crept up on his lips as he stared fondly down into the depths of her icy blue eyes. “You can’t listen to them Em. You know in your heart that you are your father's daughter. They are only attacking what they know will hurt you, cut you deep because you have taken everything else in stride. They cannot break you, and that fucking irritates them to no end.”

Emilia could not look away from Harry as she hung onto every word his deep comforting voice spoke. He lifted his forehead off of hers briefly to lay a sweet soft kiss to her forehead. The princess grasped both of his forearms tightly and held them in place.

The two of them stood in an embrace for a while longer, relishing in the company of each other and knowing that no matter what happened between them, they would always be there for one another.

End Flashback*

A smile crept upon his lips at the memory of Emilia. But, it grew wider with anticipation of seeing her again tonight at the State Banquet.

———

Harry had arrived early to the reception room where he was to speak with the members of the Illyrian Royal Family prior to the start of the State Banquet. He was greeted by the Crown Princess, Elizabeth, Emilia’s mother and she thanked the prince for keeping her daughter safe after the outburst from the press after their engagement. It was clearly evident that she displayed a sense of concern for her daughter over what had transpired earlier in the day.

“Thank you for making sure Emilia got home safely.” Elizabeth’s soft eyes thanked him. “I know she must be feeling a bit mortified at what happened this afternoon.” The Crown Princess angled her head as a soft motherly expression morphed onto her face.

“There is no need to thank me, your highness.” The prince put on his charming smile. “I know the feeling of being hounded by the press as well, I can relate.” Harry nodded in understanding before seeing another woman from behind them approach.

The Duchess of Molvania greeted her sister in law with a swift kiss on the cheek. “Good evening, Elizabeth. I adore your gown, is it bespoke?” The Duchess marvelled over the gorgeous gown, taking a step back to admire its elegance.

“Hello there, Julianna.” Elizabeth smiled warmly to greet her. “Yes, it is!” The Crown Princess turned her attention back to the prince. “Harry, this is Julianna Duchess of Molvania.”

“Oh! I am so sorry your highness. I was enamoured by Liza’s dress and I apologize for my rudeness.” Julianna stepped forward and kissed the prince on the cheek twice. “I’m Julianna, George is my husband.” The Duchess glanced around to locate her husband, but simply could not find him. “He probably nipped out for a quick drink.” She chuckled nervously, but continued to glance around to locate his whereabouts.

“How are you finding Illyria?” The Crown Princess changed the subject, wanting to make Harry feel welcome here in her country.

The prince flashed a charming smile. “Illyria is a beautiful country from what I have seen. I cannot wait to experience more of what it has to offer. The people here are so friendly and welcoming.” Harry ensured Elizabeth that his trip was going well and was looking forward with great anticipation towards the next few days.

“I do hope that my daughter has not been causing too much problems for you here.” Elizabeth took a small dig at her own daughter, laughing at her expense.

Harry’s brow furrowed as he took offence to her comment. He was truly getting tired of hearing how difficult people thought Emilia was and it was time to set the record straight. “Not at all, your highness. Emilia has been an enthusiastic ambassador for your family and even the country itself. I even witnessed this when she attended the Invictus Games in London. Everyone seems to really love how well she connects with people. I saw it today, with the kids and families at the hospital. She has been not a problem at all, more of a breath of fresh air.” The prince felt like he had to defend Emilia.

Elizabeth nodded in agreement, feeling touched by the prince's words. “That is what I want everyone to feel about my daughter. But, sadly that is not the case.” The Crown Princess’s smile faded for a brief second before her eyes lit up.

“Harry, Frederick and I want to extend an invitation to you tomorrow night to attend our family getaway and dinner in the evening!” Emilia’s mother, Elizabeth and her aunt Julianna, Duchess of Molvania warmly invited the prince to join them on a planned traditional Illyrian evening out at one of their favourite resorts by the sea. Harry’s only engagement tomorrow was a memorial at Fort Lennox where the Illyrian Freedom Forces held off a German Invasion in WWII at the sacrifice of many lost. The memorial was held yearly and the majority of the Illyrian royal family would be in attendance. After tomorrow, the prince had a day break in his schedule.

“It is a private family event and we always have the best of fun! It would be an honour for you to join us!” The Duchess of Molvania further added wanting to ensure the prince would attend. “Plus we typically take a boat out on the water the next day and have some fun at the beach. Emilia always seems to start a beach bonfire!”

The prince hesitated for a brief second, but nodded his reply with a smile. “Yes, of course I would love to join your family.” Harry hoped that Emilia would be ok with it, but he really did not have much of a choice in refusing the invitation.

“It’s settled then! I will ensure that my son Edward will bring you to the resort tomorrow from Fort Lennox. It’s about an hours journey.” It was arranged that Emilia’s twin brother, Edward would be accompanying Harry on the next day of his engagements in Illyria before coming back to the capital.

Elizabeth searched the room for a clock, questioning what time it was and wondering where the rest of her family was. “Surely, we must be starting soon. I wonder where Frederick is...?” Her eyes glanced up at the grand staircase to find her husband dressed in his state banquet attire walking down the steps. “Ah, there he is. Always fashionably late.”

“It is quite the chore to get these military uniforms on.” Harry teased with Elizabeth.

“Evening dear.” Crown Prince Frederick placed a brief kiss on his wife’s cheek before shaking Harry’s hand. “Welcome to the festivities, Harry.” Emilia’s father joked lightly, easing the intensity of the situation.

“Thank you, Frederick.” The prince parted his lips about to make conversation with the Crown Prince when he caught a glimpse of Emilia at the top of the grand staircase. The room fell silent as the rest of the family turned to watch the third in line to the throne embark down the staircase in such a graceful manner. Harry felt the breath being completely knocked out of him at the mere sight of Princess Emilia.

Her head was lowered to the ground with one hand grasping the staircase rails for balance while the other held a handful of fabric from her gown. She was completely unaware that all eyes in the room had fallen on her. Emilia was the epitome of a true princess, dressed in a timeless ice blue floor length gown that draped her body beautifully. The light in the room captured the sparkle of the diamonds that eloquently decorated the bodice of the gown that flowed out from her hips with delicate tule. She chose a royal blue sash that hung her Royal Family Order.

“Oh my!” Emilia’s mother gasped and clasped her hands together in complete admiration of her daughter, emanating the love she held for Emilia through her smile.

The young princess glanced up from the ground feeling confident now that she would not miss a step, but she found everyone’s eyes had landed on her. Her lips spread into an embarrassed smile, feeling her cheeks become flushed. She searched for a certain prince and found him standing next to her parents with a mesmerized expression on his face. The beaming smile that greeted her caused Emilia to reflect the same smile in own her lips.

Harry simply could not take his eyes off of Emilia. The princess had such a presence about her that could literally make a whole room stop and want to admire her. His heart skipped a beat seeing her stepping closer and closer to him.

Emilia waved to a few members of her family as their conversations started to continue again. The first person she greeted was her father who enveloped her into a loose hug, careful not to displace her gown. Elizabeth was still gushing over how gorgeous her daughter was and the effort she had asked her to display in tonight’s banquet. “Emilia... you are so stunning in that gown honey and you chose your own tiara from granny?!”

Emilia nodded with her blue eyes shining bright. Her hand went up and delicately touched her Arendelle Bandeau Tiara. It was specifically made for Princess Emilia from the Queen on the occasion of her birth and felt it was a homage to Queen Eleanora for tonight. The diamond necklace that covered her near plunging neckline was a gift from her father when she had turned eighteen. It hung beautifully off of her neck and added that royal touch to the dress that put her whole ensemble together in a well thought out manner.

The princess took in a deep breath knowing that it was Harry she had to greet next. Turning her  attention to the silent prince she took a step in his direction and smiled once they made eye contact. It was then that Harry was able to get a good look at Emilia and was honestly quite taken back at her beauty, rendering him nearly speechless. He could tell she truly had no idea how beautiful she was.

Emilia out stretched her hand, offering it to the prince. Feeling her parents eyes steady on her, she felt it best to greet the prince in a formal manner. “Your highness.” Harry lightly held her hand and watched Emilia dip down into a perfect curtsy that was not particularly necessary for her to do, but it showed a level of respect towards the British Prince.

“Princess Emilia.” Harry addressed her formally and offered a slight bow of his head to return the level of respect back onto the princess. He reluctantly released her hand, but gained her icy blue eyed gaze in return. “How are you this evening?”

The princess’s lips stretched into a warm smile. “I am well, Harry. I do hope my family has been entertaining enough for you while we wait.” Emilia cheekily side eyed her parents who giggled at her comment then walked off towards Fredericks brother George and his wife Julianna.

“Hey you...” Harry gained Emilia’s attention again and smiled fondly down at the beautiful princess. “You look absolutely gorgeous Emilia.” The prince complimented he dark haired beauty.

Emilia tilted her head with her lips tugging into a smile. Her hand reached out and grasped his forearm giving it a light squeeze. “Thank you Henry. You look quite handsome as well.” She took in a shaky anxious breath and was able to let down her wall for a minute. Emilia’s head drifted towards the ground as Harry kept his eyes on her. “I am so nervous... everyone will be watching and I am really trying not to mess up tonight. I cannot embarrass my family even more today.” The princess confided in Harry, opening up to him.

“Hey...” He watched her blue eyes lift and lock in his gaze. “That was a perfect curtsy and you did not have to do that for me. You know this stuff like the back of your hand, there is no need for you to worry about it.” Harry tried his best to reassure Emilia and help her regain that confidence she always had that had apparently been misplaced.

Emilia nodded quietly as a look of doubt floated in her blue orbs. “My grandmother came and spoke to me after you left.” Her voice whispered, careful not to let other members of her family hear. “She’s so angry with me...” Emilia breathed out and almost started to sob right there. She bit down on her bottom lip that held the tears in her eyes at bay. “God, I am so emotional today.” The princess laughed it off.

The princess's confidence had been shaken and she was at an all time low in that moment. She was feeling defeated and everyone was coming at her from all sides of her life. Emilia did not know where to turn to, but to Harry. The one person who seemed to understand her life and not judge her.

“For you firing your press secretary?” Harry’s eyebrow raised in suspicion, but he could not deny the budding anger he felt towards Emilia’s family. The princess staring back at him was not the same one he had walked away from her last day in London. A thought that started to scare the prince.

Emilia was slowly breaking.

“That was a part of it.” Emilia confessed. “That I put your life at risk today...” Her voice grew into a somber tone. “All granny said was that there were going to be some major changes... she said it in a threatening way. I cannot mess up.” Her head angled up at him with fear in her eyes.

“Seriously?!” Harry’s jaw clenched tightly. “None of that and I mean none of it was your fault. You had absolutely no control over it.” He tried his best to assure the princess that it was all beyond her control.

“Henry…” Emilia’s features softened as she calmly spoke his name. “Don’t be angry this is my battle. Let’s just get through tonight.”

Prince Harry hesitated in his response to Emilia, but her blue pleading eyes begged him not to make things worse for her. “Ok.” He took in a deep sigh and flipped his internal switch to ‘prince mode.’

Emilia nearly leaned in to place a kiss onto his cheek, but stopped herself and took a step back from Harry. The prince could not help but chuckle at her. “You just can’t resist me…..” Harry leaned into whisper in her ear. “Can you, Emilia?”

He was intentionally trying to tease Emilia with his close proximity to her, causing the princess to become annoyed with him and find a source of her sassy feisty self. “Not in that ridiculous uniform Captain Wales.” The princess barked back and started to step away from him to create more distance between them.

“What can I say? It’s not all glitz and glamour.” The prince angled his head down at Emilia, fondly staring into her eyes.

“Now that is something that we can both agree on.” The two of them stood there silently across from each other as their gaze did not waver despite the room around them filling up with people ready for the evening's events.

Emilia’s lips parted to speak when the doors opened at the top of the staircase to reveal Queen Eleanora’s and the King Consort Francis’s arrival to the reception area. She turned her attention and expertly hid her emotions from the rest of her family and planted on that perfect smile she had learned to give. The royal family and esteemed guests had first arrived in the reception area first to sort their order of arrival to the state banquet that was to be filmed on national TV not only in Illyria, but in the UK as well.

————————————

The procession into the marvellous state room had begun with Prince Harry accompanying Queen Eleanora, escorting her to the monarch’s seats while the Illyrian national anthem played by Queen’s Illyrian Guard orchestra. Princess Emilia escorted the Illyrian Forces General Major and took her seat down the row from the prince. She lifted her head and caught a glimpse of Harry stealing a quick subtle glance her way. Remaining standing she peaked down at her dress and ensured everything was in proper placement.

Queen Eleanora leaned in and spoke a few words with the prince, waiting for the rest of the members to make it to their seats. “I trust that you are enjoying your time here in Illyria, Prince Harry.”

“It’s been a delightful visit so far, Your Majesty. I am eager to complete the rest of my engagements with members of your family and see what else your country has to offer.” Harry had flipped a switch, turning on his princely charm and manners in order to represent the Queen well.

Everyone had taken their respective seats as the Queen stood back up to address the room and conduct her speech to open the state banquet.

“Your Royal Highness, King Consort Francis and I are delighted to welcome you to Lexington Palace this evening. Through this state visit we celebrate the enduring friendship which has enabled our two nations to prosper and grow side by side. Over the many numbers of years of our shared history, there are few nations who are able to claim a closer bond. Through your highness’s visit and your acts of friendship, you have formed your own personal collection of the Illyrian people that were recently showcased in the Invictus Games you founded that embodied the true spirit of the unconquerable soul that directly embodied the spirit of the Illyrian people.

To this day, our close relationship greatly contributes to the economic and cultural life of Illyria. The United Kingdom is one of Illyria’s largest investors as we have a thriving British community that is developing across the nation, furthering our economical ties. Internationally, we have a strong shared commitment to the people we serve and who serve our country. Through our shared history of revolutions, our families have shared the battle field and to this day have fought side by side to ensure a better future for the next generations to live in peace and freedom.

I can recall the State visit of your grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, an admirable friend of mine that we are saddened to hear of her untimely illness preventing her from this visit. Her fondly remembered visit, accompanied by your grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh in 1993, I spoke of our nation's close understanding and relationship that would become increasingly important as a new configuration of Europe was emerging.  As we look towards a new partnership, it is our shared values and commitment to each other that are our greatest asset and demonstrate that even through change, our enduring alliance remains strong. As innovators, traders and internationalists we look with confidence to the future. As we continue to work together to ensure peace, prosperity and security, I am confident that this friendship between Illyria and the United Kingdom, which we greatly treasure, will continue to deepen and to prosper.

We hope that your visit to Illyria will broadcast the values we as a nation share with the British people and strengthen our ties to your country. Thank you all for attending this truly special evening as we welcome His Royal Highness, Prince Henry of Wales, to Illyria.” Queen Eleanora angled her body down towards Harry and offered a slight bow of the head in acknowledging him with an admirable smile. Taking her seat, Harry waited for a few seconds to stand to deliver his, as per protocol.

Emilia watched Harry stand and straighten his tuxedo along with his sash. She could not help but admire the military medals that decorated him as a British soldier. He stood up confidently and grabbed his speech by the palace aide behind him. The Illyrian General that was sat next to Emilia leaned in and whispered. “It’s a nice change to see a prince who has truly served his country the way Prince Harry has and continued to do so.” The General spoke fondly of the prince to which Emilia offered a slight nod in agreement as Harry’s speech began.

“Your Majesty, members of the Illyrian Monarchy and esteemed guests. Please allow me to begin by expressing my gratitude for the extraordinary honour of attending this state visit to Illyria on behalf of my grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen wished me to express her best wishes to you all and wished she could have attended herself as she holds an admirable love for the people of Illyria.” Harry delivered his speech with such confidence and touched on important aspects that his country valued. Being a military man, he spoke about fighting on the frontlines with the determined Illyrian forces and their military commitment to providing both peace abroad and in their home country.

The princess sat there completely enthralled listening to Harry speak even sometimes from the heart, adding in last minute remarks that were off script but added so much to his speech. His eyes locked with Emilia and saw her proud expression as she sat there in silence watching him. It gave him a boost of confidence to finish his speech strong and make his family proud of him.

“You have shown the people of this world what it means to be Illyrian and with the unwavering affection of the British people towards Illyria; we surely can say that we are your loyal friends and allies that affirm the common values that will unite this friendship long into the future. On behalf of all Britains, I offer a toast to the eternal friendship of our people, the vitality of our nations and to the long cherished and remarkable reign of Her Majesty, Queen Eleanora.”

Harry turned to the Queen and offered his assistance in aiding her stand to complete the toast. Everyone in the room stood in unison and grabbed their glasses, holding it up into the air.

“To Illyria... Long live the Queen!” Harry’s voice resonated throughout the banquet hall.

“Long live the Queen!” The guests repeated in unison

*Stay tuned for the next chapter soon!*

[telltheworld-phff]

Chapter 43: Valentine’s day

Carol, as Harry imagined, has closed down a little since the day she met The Queen. She would answer his messages with short texts, never extend the calls he made at night and never invite him to come to her apartment. Harry felt frustrated several times and in many of them he had to control himself to not to start a fight. He constantly remembered that Carol was afraid of relationships and that his title did not necessarily help him to woo her. The fact that she lived in London made the weight of his position more present and noticeable in their lives. With the return of normal activities, Harry could no longer go out alone without his protection officer, he had royal engagements that were publicized in all media outlets, he had meetings, visits and protocols to follow. And when they met, the only time since the day at St. James's Palace, it was sneaking up to have a quick coffee in the afternoon and praying that no paparazzi would spot them together. He did however try to keep her hidden from the media. Everyone was going crazy trying to find out who the girl was and he knew it’d be only a matter of time before people discovered her identity. And if she still lived in Brazil, things would be easier. But here, he dreaded the day where she’d wake up to a dozen paparazzi outside her house. So he did what he could to take those photos down.

He made sure to be at her place on her first day of work. He woke up early, got ready, and asked Bernard to cook her favorite breakfast dish. He wore the bunny tie on purpose and arrived at her house with time to spare so they could have breakfast together. Bill was with him, and to follow the protocol, he had to do a quick survey of the apartment before waiting outside. Carol wasn’t expecting him so early, but she smiled in surprise and relieved to see a familiar face on this important day. She was ready and waiting for the time to leave the house for her first day of work.

"Good Morning." she said, feigning animation as her facial expression said otherwise.

"Good morning. I see that British punctuality is one of your strengths." he said putting the bags made by Bernard on the dining table and going to her. As always, he kissed her temple and her cheeks.

"I barely slept tonight. I woke up early, got ready, and stayed here waiting for the right time to leave.”

"I'm glad to see you have not eaten yet. I asked Bernard to make your favorite breakfast."

"Harry! You shouldn’t! I don’t want to make him do things for me. I’d be fine with some crackers on the way." she said as she watched him set the table and wondered how he got so used to her apartment in such a short time that she lived there.

"Don’t be mental. One does not eat crackers on their first day of work.” he pulled the chair for her and she sat down while he placed the food containers on the table.

"Thank you." she said after taking a sip of the orange juice.

"There's no reason to thank me." he said starting to eat and she laughed. Harry was always hungry in the mornings.

"I'm so nervous." she said stirring the food with her fork.

"I'd be surprised if you weren’t." he got her hand in his and rubbed circles with his thumb to calm her down. "You're going to do very well, don’t worry."

“What If I don’t?” she asked him with fear filled eyes.

“My darling, please, don’t start with your ‘what if’s’ it’s not a healthy thing to do. You’re going to do just fine. Your boss wouldn’t have sent you here if he didn’t believe in you or if you didn’t have what it takes to be in this position. Everything will be just fine. Believe me.” he said and kissed her knuckles.

“You’re way too good for me, Henry.” she said looking at him.

“Nah… I’m alright enough. Now eat your breakfast because you have a long day.” he said and watched while she ate.

He offered to take her to the building where she would work but she refused. She wanted the full experience. Bus, subway and walk through London until you reach the address. She hugged him for a bit longer in the doorway of her apartment and thanked him again for being there for her. One of the things Carol most liked about him was that Harry didn’t force her to do the things he wanted her to do. He respected, and perhaps even understood, her crazy way of thinking and acting and her insecurities that often got the best of her.

"Glad to see you brought the bunny tie today." she said wiggling his tie and smirking.

"I needed to give you an incentive and something to remember if you get bored during the day." he smiled smugly.

"What I need to remember is that this tie needs to pay me another visit.” she blinked at him and grabbed her purse to leave the apartment leaving Harry surprised by the insinuation. Would that be a tip? Was it a hope?

He had been way too close to her to start himself with his own what ifs.

(...)

She lost her breath as she stopped in front of the imposing building. She had her credentials and could come and go as she pleased, but she stood for a few minutes in front of the building admiring it’s beauty. She walked unsteadily to the lobby and was greeted by the people who worked there. She asked for directions, and one of the guards accompanied her to the HR room. The first few weeks would be for adaptation. She would know the company's dependencies, colleagues, her office, bosses and her new duties. But at the moment she just wanted to be able to walk that place without getting lost in it. It was a thousand times bigger than the headquarters of São Paulo.

Once she signed all the contracts and terms of confidentiality, one of the women who worked in RH began the detailed tour with her by all sectors of the company. From the cafeteria to the writing room. She knew, but surely would not remember, all the entrances and exits of the building and some newsroom as well. She had been hired to perform the same function as she did in São Paulo, she would work with the internal communication of the company. Her new room was on the eighth floor of the building, and it was the most beautiful newsroom Carol had ever seen. She was introduced to her colleagues and her new team and was more relieved to see that she wasn’t the only 'imported' employee there. She met her new bosses and was surprised to see that she had received a “Welcome to our Team” party, a tradition to every new member of their team.

The day was full and exhausting, she had a meeting after lunch her new bosses and they asked her for a presentation to them, as soon as the training ended. It was intriguing her idea of a staff magazine made by the staff themselves as a climate improvement plan within the company. She’d have to find a way to include every single person that worked for BBC with their different cultures, backgrounds and interests. A challenging task that would take time, but that she wanted to perform no matter what. She made a point of being considerate and polite to everyone, she participated in the conversations in which she was included, and before she knew it, it was already time to go home.

And when she noticed, she had spent her first week at BBC London.

Time was flying fast.

(…)

Harry had surprised her when he appeared at her house on Valentine’s day. He had gone all cliché and had brought a teddy bear, chocolates, flowers and balloons and an invitation for dinner. Carol spent a few minutes laughing at him before letting him enter her house. She was already dressed in pajamas and she was about to cook something for her to have dinner when he arrived. It took her a few minutes to get ready, because she called Hailey and asked her sister what she should wear to this dinner outing that was seeming like a date.

Bill would be their escort this evening and Carol tried to not freak out by it. It wasn’t the first time Bill would be with them, she didn’t understand why she was bothered by it now. So she made sure to pay attention to Harry and how handsome he was looking this night. He had really dressed up for her and she appreciated it. Harry had made reservations at Cafe Monico, it was a belle époque-styled restaurant. And while they were driven to the place, the prince interlaced his fingers with hers.

"If I'd known I'd have a date so hot for Valentine's I'd have dressed up better." he teased and she just rolled her eyes.

"Are you sure it's safe?" she asked, watching the streets of London at night.

"Yes, I asked for a special place for us.  Relax, Carol, and let me give you the full experience of a Valentine's day." he said trying to calm her down but hiding there was a 50/50 chance of them being spotted.

"Why the bear, flowers and chocolates weren’t enough?" she joked and Bill stiffed the laugh as he drove.

They were very well received by the people in the restaurant, the food was delicious and Harry seemed genuinely interested in hearing the stories she had to tell regarding her new job. He was struggling to remember the names of all the people, the technical terms she used and trying not to get lost in the conversation. He had never thought that so much was behind a communication company and she was introducing him to a whole new world. But from the way she described her tasks and deadlines and meetings he was already really tired for her. When the dessert arrived, Carol asked his opinion because she wanted a master degree in mass communication and transnational media. It would be one more thing to get her attention from him, now that even living in the same city they had so little time to see each other, but if it was her dream, he just said that he would support her 100%.

He paid the bill and she left the restaurant first and entered the parked car. He came out a few minutes later and she looked at him admiringly. She caressed his face and her heart filled when he closed his eyes and leaned in her hands. She traced the lines on his face, she tried to count the freckles over his nose and when she noticed what she was doing, her lips were already over his. She pecked it lightly and lingered in there. They both still had the chocolate and cherry flavor in their mouths. He opened his eyes and cupped her face in his hands and pecked her lips a couple more times before kissing her. He missed it. He missed her mouth and her warmth. He missed how hungry their kiss was and how delightful it was to have her taste. They kissed passionately like it was their first time and Harry kissed her the way she liked the most. Slowly and thoroughly.

“Henry” she whispered almost out of breath with her mouth still close to his.

“Yeah?” he answered lightly biting her lower lip.

“Do you think you could spend the night with me?” she said looking at him.

“Do you really want it?” he asked to make sure he wasn’t pushing her.

“Yes. I do.” she said kissing his neck slowly.

“Then I’ll stay.” he whispered back. “I’ll stay and I fully intend on using that bed of yours.”

“I’m counting on that.” she said and noticed Bill had already parked the car in front of her building. She got out first and walked the path to her apartment and soon she heard Harry’s footsteps as he jogged to meet up with her. They climbed the stairs laughing and she opened the door quickly to let them in. She was out of her coat and shoes faster than she thought and his mouth was already over hers hungrily claiming what was his.

A/N:

CAROL’S OUTFIT FOR HER 1ST DAY OF WORK

CAROL’S OUTFIT FOR VALENTINE’S DAY 

[pofcroyalfanfiction]

Chapter Two - A New Palace

September 1st 2028

Marlborough, England

The drive back into Marlborough was always difficult on the 1st of September. Traffic would grind to a halt in the sleepy little village as students started returning to school, their parents desperate to find an empty parking space so that moving their children's things was that much easier. The Cambridge family were no different, stuck in traffic in the middle of the high street as they waited for the roads to clear. It took them thirty minutes to travel a mile, and then another thirty sitting in a side road outside Ivy House as they waited for a parking spot to free up. Kate could still vaguely remember her own mother driving her back to school, in a time where Marlborough was less famous and the student body was still something that the small town could handle.

What days those were.

She passed the time by browsing photos on her phone, trying to pick from the hundred that she'd taken of her kids together on their first day of school. It was a good distraction from the growing restlessness inside the car, trying to find one photo where Charlotte was looking at the camera or one where Alex wasn't making her little brother laugh by pulling silly faces.

"Oh! How 'bout this one?" Kate asked hopefully, holding up her phone so that Ellie and Alex could see from the back seats of the family Range Rover.

"No! Only one of my eyes is open there!" Ellie shot her down quickly and impatiently, like she'd done for the entirety of their journey.

"You've rejected every one so far Ellie." Kate pouted at her in the rear view mirror. Getting her eldest daughter to take nice photos was always difficult, but Ellie's pickiness meant Kate could take as many photos as time would allow and then get to coo endlessly as she scrolled through every single one. Will had noticed her getting teary eyed more than a few times during the trip to Marlborough.

"Just pick one already. It's obvious she's not gonna help out." Alex threw her head back against the seat and groaned at her older sister. She would have been perfectly happy with any one of the last hundred that Kate had showed them.

"Can we get in yet?" Ellie asked, noticing a car leaving the parking lot.

"Nope, still full." Will said, glancing around the cars ahead. "I'm sure if we let them know we're here, they'd make a space for us."

"No!" Ellie denied him quickly. "It's fine. We can wait."

"Speak for yourself why don't you?" Alex rolled her eyes at her sister.

It was hard not to find Ellie a little irritating. She had been restless and overeager to be back at school ever since they'd left London. Kate had tried to get her to unwind over the journey but her daughter was having none of it, she was a bundle of energy that was itching to explode.

Kate had never seen her eldest acting this way, definitely not when it came to her education, something which for the last three years Ellie seemed only half interested in at best. This year there was a spark inside of her that had never been there before, a drive to do well and achieve great things. Kate was loving her daughter's new spirit, but she couldn't help but be a little worried.

She's planning to do everything. Every class, every club, every team, every sport. Even ones she knows she won't like. She wants to make a million friends and pass every exam with top marks. She wants to craft the perfect school life for herself, but she thinks it'll happen straight away.

Kate wanted her daughter to do well, as any mother would, but she didn't want to pressure her. The performance reports she had been getting from Ellie's teachers implied that her daughter was an average student, that she wasn't trying, and most worrying of all that she wasn't making any friends.

Kate couldn't figure out what to do. She knew Ellie was being naïve thinking she'd be able to do everything and not have it affect her classes, but she didn't want to crush her daughter's new found adventurous attitude. This wasn't the Princess Eleanor she'd been raising previously, this was her Ellie, her bundle of curious and excitable energy before she'd been told what her future role would be.

Kate wanted to keep that going, but she didn't want Ellie doing all this because she felt she had to, she wanted her doing well in school because she wanted to. Kate could only hope that the school would look after her daughter, help her achieve everything she was aiming for this year and not pressure her to do anymore.

Ellie is putting enough pressure on herself as it is. And besides, Marlborough makes no secret of being proud to teach two Royals. They want them to be shining examples of excellence.

Ivy House itself was a collection of buildings that had been squeezed into a narrow plot of land, stretching back at least half a football pitches length away from the high street. The oldest part of the house was all anyone could see from the main street and was built in the sixteenth century, but the rest of Ivy was built via multiple extensions over the years to accommodate more and more girls. The whole complex was so squashed into the middle of the town, a hundred meters from the school grounds and requiring a ten minute detour to get to the parking spaces at the back.

Kate regretted Ellie and Alex's placement into Ivy House every year, with the struggle for parking spaces and the squashed atmosphere, but she knew that the girls would be comfortable once everyone had moved in. Ivy was one of the smaller houses at the school even after Marlborough started accepting more students, and on any other day it would be relaxed and peaceful, the perfect place for her girls to live while studying.

When they were finally able to get a parking spot outside, Ellie couldn't wait to get out of the car. They were all restless after sitting on traffic for hours, but Ellie was on another level. She was outside, closing her car door and breathing in the Marlborough atmosphere before anyone else had a chance to undo their seatbelts.

"Did you bring the toddler reins?" Will asked her, wiping pretend sweat from his brow.

"We'll have to buy some in town." Kate told him, gathering her things and sliding out the car gracefully.

Immediately she could feel the eyes following them, excitable young kids carrying suitcases were stopping in their tracks to watch their every move. Kate waved at some of them before their parents smiled apologetically at her and shepherded their children away, allowing the chaos of moving in to return.

New students.

Kate looked around for her own children. Alex had already rushed off and was hugging another girl, a short and awkward looking girl who beamed at Alex and proudly introduced her to her parents. Kate couldn't remember the girls name, Susie was her best guess, or Lola. Alex had never spoken at length about her friends at school, only that there were lots of them.

Ellie was a different story. Kate found her hovering by the old noticeboard that stood by the back entrance, reading all the different postings for clubs and sports teams. Kate watched her for a moment, seeing how she acted around the other girls who were nearby. Some girls said hello to her, but nobody greeted her like a friend they hadn't seen in months. Kate could sense her daughter's nerves as she tried to hold conversations with other girls, obviously fighting herself to be more talkative.  She knew how awkward her daughter must be feeling, but a smile was forming on her lips.

Kate watched proudly, clasping her hands together and full of joy. Ellie was immersing herself in school and putting herself out there. She wasn't standing out either, wearing the same uniform as all the other girls meant there was no hint of a Princess there, which seemed like the only thing that was holding her daughter back.

Will tapped her on the shoulder. "Kate, the new housemistress wants to say hello."  

He had Alex with him, having wrangled her from her friends, and was gesturing to a strict looking older woman in her forties, with wavy red hair, a large nose and wearing a black pantsuit. She was waiting patiently, briefly and politely greeting other parents. Kate found her gaze unsettling as it repeatedly focused back on her and William, clearly showing which royal couple she wanted to speak with.

"Ellie. Grab your things." Kate called back over her shoulder to the group of girls at the noticeboard, hating to ruin her eldest's fun. When no response came she turned and tried to pick Ellie out from the crowd, but the oddest feeling stopped her. She couldn't recognise her daughter, all the girls seemed to blend together. Normally Ellie's awkwardness made her stand out, but now all she could see were a bunch of giggling school girls in the middle of a reunion.

"Ellie." Kate shouted again. Her daughters face snapped to her direction and immediately Kate could see the disappointment in her eyes. She said her goodbyes and trudged away from the group, leaving the rest to keep talking.

"You can go back to them in a bit." Kate said, putting her hand on Ellie's back and looking at the girls, wondering if all this time her daughter really did have friends here. "I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, Mum." Ellie said to her casually, not sensing the significance as she repeatedly looked back over her shoulder.

The housemistress stood at attention as Kate approached. Another woman was beside her, looking slightly younger and more welcoming. Her summery dress and sandals came across as less professional, but there was an obvious friendliness about her that Kate could appreciate.

The older woman shot Ellie a glance and then subtly looked at Kate.

"Mum, this is our new Housemistress Rachel Hunt." Ellie looked quite put out as she hastily introduced them, her voice professional and slightly bored. Kate watched and smiled as the older woman's chest swelled with pride at the sound of her new title.

"Your Royal Highnesses" Miss Hunt sunk into a deep curtsey as she shook both her and Will's hand. "A pleasure to meet you both, ever since I was made Housemistress of Ivy I've been looking forward to this moment."

"Please, just Will and Kate is fine." Will heartily shook her hand with a disarming smile.

"We're just excited and proud parents today." Kate told her as she shook Ms Hunts' hand gently.

"And our House Dame, Jenny Moon." Ellie introduced the younger woman in a clearly more excited voice which Kate and Will quickly picked up on. Mrs Moon offered a lighter curtsey, focusing more on a relaxed, welcoming handshake. "Nice to meet you both."

"So you'll be making sure the girls don't get into trouble?" Will asked jokily, wrangling Alex with his forearm like she was a wild lioness as she rolled her eyes and snickered quietly.

"Of course, though Ellie won't be any trouble. We can count on that." Miss Hunt said proudly whilst Ellie looked away and grumbled.

"And we'll make sure Alex cuts out the late night T.V" Mrs Moon said, crossing her arms and already laying down the law, yet her familiarity with the girls made her seem more like a big sister who wanted to watch the T.V in peace.

"Don't worry." Alex laughed mischievously. "There's nothing good on this year."

[phff-authentic]

NOTICE

it has been a very long time!

I suppose i just felt really weird writing it now that Harry’s engaged you know and I didn’t really want to but....I may pick this up again. I have chapters that were written a while ago that I just never posted because something felt weird.

I guess I also lost confidence in my work as well which was probably the main factor why I stopped posting because I love this story and the characters but yeah.

I’m going to sort things out on the blog and then decide what to do with it all.

thanks for the love and support and mostly the patience,

All My Love, Mac x