How she became The Queen of Scotland

Chapter 19

"Keep them closed, oh careful. There comes the door."
"Henry even if I would open them I couldn't see a thing. Your hands are blocking the view only a little."
Henry guided her into his living room.
"Okay, ready? Three, two, one. Aaaand open."
He lifted his hands from her eyes stepping up beside her to see her face.
The living room floor was covered with pillows and blankets while fairy lights covered the room in a soft warm light. Just enough to not bump into anything. A few candlelights added a calming scent of apple and cinnamon.
"Wow, Henry that is..." Maddie tugged a strand of hair behind her ear leaving her left hand on her chin while inspecting the room further. But she didn't move. She stood right where there had stopped taking all of it in.
"This is amazing. Thank you." She grabbed his face to kiss him.
Henry held onto her hips tightly savouring every second of it. Even though they were past their first kiss now the feeling of excitement and fireworks hit them just as hard as it did then.
Still holding onto him with her arms around his neck Maddie took another look around.
"Do you like it?"
"Like it? I love it." She gave him a tight hug before she noticed the big white something covering the windows.
"What is that?"
"That is our movie screen for tonight. I can not take you out to the movies and I don't have a home cinema so I had to improvise. I hope my mum won't notice the missing sheet."
"Mothers can turn into devils over these things you know."
"True. But seeing you so happy would be worth the little scolding." He gave a kiss on her forehead before letting go.
"So there is plenty of pizza, popcorn, ice cream and wine. And I have prepared a couple of possible films."
"Anything you are in?"
"Oh no. I couldn't bare to watch you watching me onscreen at this point. I am very proud of my work and I love it but when I meet someone new I am... I am always shy about it. I don't know why. Maybe the fear of some one just liking me for my job got the better of me over the years."
"That is okay, you will show them to me, whenever you are ready." Maddie turned towards him for another kiss. "And some of the things I have watched already anyway. Even before I knew you." She stuck out his tongue to him which he just answered with a gentle wrestle bringing her down to the floor on and between the pillows.
"Charles liked "The Tudors" by the way."
"Charles?"
"Ah right. The Prince of Wales."
"Holy sh... He did?"
"Jap, on my visit yesterday they were asking me about you."
"They were? Why?"
"They have taken me in right after I had been officially introduced to them and kind of adopted me I guess..." Maddie turned her head away from Henry. She wanted to tell him but she wasn't sure if this was the right time. Was their ever a right time to tell your boyfriend about your ex? Especially when your past relationship was partly on the world stage in every one of it's steps. The failure of it being the grand finale.
"Would you like to tell me more about it?" He just looked at her without changing his position. His hand rested on her stomach.
Maddie didn't turn but grabbed it intertwining their fingers.
"I kind of want to. I... I feel like..." She let out a sigh. "I feel like I should try to explain this experience to you. Not because I want to talk about my ex but because of how the years by his side and within the royal family have shaped me. I want you to understand..."
Henry lifted her hand gently placing a soft kiss on the back of it.
"I will listen to whatever you want to tell me. And I will try to understand."
Maddie took another deep breath before telling him about her life during the last few years.
Surprising herself as to how open she could talk to him about it all she realised how safe she felt with him. In his presence. Tightly wrapped in his arms.
"I knew that what I would take with me from this relationship would be the hurt and the trust issues. Making it hard for the next guy in my life to climb over my walls. Making it harder for me to let them down."
Henry had listened intently, holding Maddie tightly in his arms, never interrupting the pauses she took.
"In the end I am quite the emotional wreck I feel."
"No. No you are not." Now he gently lifted her chin up so she had to look right at him.
"No you are not. You have been hurt and you have, you still feel betrayed. Those feelings are perfectly valid after what you have been through. But just the fact that you don't name him as the bad guy shows how great your heart is. How compassionate you are. You are not a wreck. If anything you are one of the strongest people I have ever met." He kissed her forehead gently.
"The moment I saw you, I knew you were special. I didn't know how important you would become to me in such a short amount of time but you have. I have never felt like that. And I know that technically we are only on our third date here so it is maybe way to early to say that but I just can not not say it any longer. You, Madeleine, are an incredible person. Kind, caring, funny, smart, beautiful. I could go on with this list forever and I have only known you for a few weeks. So I can not wait to see where this journey, this relationships takes us in the future and can only hope you want to join me in discovering it."
A single tear rolled down Maddie's face.
Henry gently wiped it away with his thumb.
"Hand me those maps and a compass." Maddie smiled lifting her hands to cup his face.
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For being you." She pulled his face down a little. "I... "
"I know" he whispered before fully leaning into their kiss.