History Repeats Itself - A Prince Harry Fanfiction

Chapter One

Emmy could tell that something strange was going on. The moment she had followed her father into the vast entrance hall of Highgrove, she had known that the last few weeks' of his weird behaviour were culminating in this evening. His secret phone calls that had been cut short whenever she had entered the room, his hushed conversations with Chelsea – it hadn't taken Emmy long to become suspicious. And the week before, when her father, Alexander, had invited her to this party, had practically forced her to come without actually forcing, Emmy had grown nervous. She had no idea what her father was planning, but if it had something to do with Highgrove then maybe she didn't want to know.

"Ah, Alexander."

Her father was greeted at the entrance to the banquet hall by the Prince of Wales, an old family friend whom Emmy had only had the luck of meeting once before in her life.

"Charles, how do you do?"

"I'm very well," Charles said, smiling, before he turned to Emmy. "Ah, this must be Emmaline."

Surprise flickered within her; he'd remembered her name. Wow. That was unexpected.

"Yes, this is Emmaline," Alexander answered, raising an eyebrow at her. "Say hello, Emmaline."

Emmy cringed at the use of her full name by her father. She outstretched a hand, a timid 'hello' falling from her mouth, but before she could urge the prince to call her 'Emmy', Alexander was talking once more.

"I shall take Emmaline in, you and Henry can come and join us when you have a moment."

"Of course, of course," Charles said, smiling warmly at them. Emmy frowned curiously, nervously even, as she followed her father into the hall. Henry? She didn't know a Henry. She didn't know whether she wanted to know a Henry either.

"Father," she murmured, running a few steps to catch up with him, for his large strides swept him away from her. "Who's Henry?"

Alexander smirked to himself. "You'll soon see."

Emmy didn't like that answer. She'll soon see? What if she didn't want to see? What if she didn't want to meet a 'Henry'?

The first half an hour was as boring as Emmy had predicted and anticipated. She stood beside her father and listened to dreary, monotonous conversations as he spoke to his friends about Chelsea and the children. Oh yes, he would say, Benedict's wife is expecting a baby. Oh yes, he would say, Lucy is engaged. Oh yes, he would say, Romeo has just started Eton. And Emmy listened, wondering what she had achieved. If she hadn't been there, would her father have had anything to tell his friends about her? Oh yes, he would have said, Emmaline has just gotten a job as a waitress, I know, I'm so proud!
After thirty minutes of listening to how great her siblings were, she was annoyed and feeling rather useless.

"Alexander!"

Alexander turned to the sound of Charles' voice, and Emmy's gaze followed reluctantly. Great, she thought, now Father can tell the heir to the throne how useless I am!

Already resigning herself to listening glumly to another dull conversation, Emmy almost looked away. Almost. She stopped as her eyes fell upon the man accompanying Prince Charles.

"Emmaline, this is Henry."

Henry?! Emmy almost kicked herself, wanting to smack her forehead for being so stupid. Henry. Of course she knew who Henry was. Everyone in the country knew who Henry was. Although most knew him under a different name.

"Pa-" The tall redhead shuffled uncomfortably, a hand rubbing the back of his neck as his head ducked. "Don't call me that."

Charles chuckled, and Alexander followed suit. "He's a menace, aren't you, Harry? Henry is your name, after all."