The Prince (Harry Styles)

Chapter 24

I had finished getting dressed and fixed my hair. I stood in the bathroom on the boat finishing getting ready. A knock sounded on the bathroom door before it was pulled open. Harry was stood on the other side, he leaned against the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest, his leg crossed over the other.

"I'm almost ready," I promised looking towards him. He nodded with a smile. 

"I'm in no rush, my parents aren't on their boat yet," he said simply. "You still look beautiful."

"I'm wearing the same clothes I was earlier," I said rolling my eyes. "I'm simple."

Harry just gave me a dimpled grin and kicked his foot around on the floor. I turned to him and gave him a look. I wasn't completely sure what was on his mind, he seemed lost in thought about something. I hoped it wasn't too bad.

"H," I said and his head snapped up. "You alright? You look like you're thinking about something."

"I'm always thinking about something," he smiled. "It's usually about you."

"What about me?"

"Nothing important, love," he smiled. "We should head up. The lantern ceremony is starting soon."

"Why aren't your parents joining us on this boat?" I asked as I walked past him out of the bathroom. Harry gave me a smile.

"It's weird, but it's kind of like a parade but with boats. We do this every night. So basically, we stay on the boat for about an hour or two as we release lanterns into the sky at night. It's like a birthday cake, when you blow out your candles, you make a wish. That's what you do."

"So it's like a candle, but not really?" I asked and Harry nodded with a grin.

"It's not that difficult, we just kind of hang out on the boats doing nothing. However, we can't go underneath after the lanterns go up. After we're back at the docks, we go back to the palace. I assume that is when I get the best talk of my life," he said clapping his hands together with a sarcastic smile on his face.

I smiled at him and took a hold of one of his hands. He smiled and lead us to the door upstairs. He climbed up first, his hand still wrapped tightly around mine. When we got upstairs, the sky was dimly lit with pink and orange colors. There was the captain untying the boat from the dock, but leaving the anchor down on the ground.

"Your highness, Miss Price," he nodded to the both of us. "Ready for the lanterns?"

"Yes, Captain Swan," Harry nodded. "Did someone bring the lanterns yet?"

"Yes, your highness, under the seat there," he said pointing to a bench. "There's enough for all five days, so there's ten in the bench."

"Is my sister not on the boat this year?" Harry asked.

"No, Prince Louis is visiting for the festival and they are on a boat together. They just returned from taking the wee lass back to the hospital," the captain said. "Captain Jones, Captain Smee! Ready to set sail?"

"Ay!" they both called back. 

"We're second in succession," Captain Swan said as he pointed to one of his crew members to hoist the anchor from the ocean. 

"When do we raise the lanterns up?" I asked Harry.

"When it's completely dark out," he smiled. "Shouldn't be long now. It's takes a little while to get going as my parents are in front of us."

"Next year you might be first," I said and he nodded swinging his head to the side getting the hair out of his face. "That must be a scary thought."