*Fourth Book in the Royals Series*
It's been nearly 2 years since Jackie Baker served as maid of honor in her best friend, Kate Middleton's, wedding to Prince William. Since then, Jackie has started her own fairytale, marrying Prince Harry and livin...
"This is my wife, Jacqueline," Harry introduced, placing a hand on Jackie's lower back.
"Thank you for having me" Jackie said, shaking hands with the director of the Rugby Football Union.
"We're thrilled you've decided to come along today," said the director with an excited grin. Jackie and Harry had arrived at Twickenham Stadium where the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor was supporting a children's rugby clinic. All school-aged children in the community were invited to participate in team exercises, aimed at boosting self-confidence and communication skills.
A mass of children and their parents had gathered in the huge stadium, watching the every move of Jackie and Harry with awe. The director made a quick speech about the importance of teamwork and having fun, which Harry followed up with his own speech, filled with jokes that excited the children even more. A whistle was blown, signaling the start of the event.
Jackie and Harry were told to move amongst the various rugby activities going on around the field, watching and interacting with the children. It was an unseasonably warm February day and the royal couple had been able to dress in athletic wear so that they were able to participate in some of the games. It was different for Jackie to appear at a public engagement in anything less than custom-tailored dress, but it was somehow freeing.
"Do you know how to play rugby?" a little boy, who looked to be around 7, asked Jackie.
"I know how, but I'm not very good at it," Jackie admitted with a laugh. "I'm here to learn just like you."
The children seemed thrilled to have Jackie learning to throw the ball and participating in plays with them. She and Harry stood opposite each other amongst the children in two parallel lines, tossing the ball back and forth.
"After you catch it you're supposed to tuck it under your arm, like you would hold our baby," Harry explained with a smirk, tossing the ball to Jackie with a practiced flick of his wrist -- he had played the sport while in school at Eton.
Jackie caught the ball, cradling it in her arms, rocking it a bit. The children giggled, and of course, the press covering the event snapped away with their cameras. "It's so cute." She threw the ball back, much more sloppy than Harry's throw. "You need more practice holding babies than I do."
Jackie and Harry were then designated as captains of two opposing teams, splitting off to different sides of the field. "Huddle up," Jackie said, wanting to laugh at her total lack of rugby knowledge as she grouped her team together, bending down to give them a quick pep talk. Jackie's "inspiration" consisted of reminding each of the children how well they had done in the clinic activities that day, and told them to focus on having fun and working together as a team. She was almost positive that Harry's pep talk was telling his team to crush her's.
A whistle was blown, and Jackie and Harry's teams faced off in a battle of touch rugby. Jackie cheered on her team, clapping and high-fiving. She made a point of letting them do everything, always tossing the ball to a child if it was passed to her.
At one point Harry chased Jackie down the field, dropping to his knees in a fake attempt to tackle her, inciting cheers from the children, their parents, and the photographers, who greedily snapped away, capturing the moment to sell to the tabloids.
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After a fun and somewhat exhausting day, Jackie and Harry were gifted with personalized Rugby Football Union jackets, with Windsor in block letters across the back. Jackie was touched when a child carried over a third tiny jacket, meant for their new son or daughter. The Windsors posed for a photo, each holding a sleeve of the little jacket.
They waved goodbye to the children and their parents, shook the hands of important guests, and climbed into the royal Range Rover, headed back to Nottingham Cottage with another successful engagement under their belts.
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I'm so sorry for the long delay, I've been so busy with school and had a bad case of writer's block! I decided cut this chapter short so I could move on to a different idea. Please please please comment with plot suggestions! A few lovely ladies suggested some drama within the royal family. Thank you all again :)
Thanks Atlantismyhome for adding Jackie's ring to my edit!
