The Sword (Prince Harry fanfic #3)

Chapter Twenty-Three

After the day, Lucy stared at her computer, curiosity getting to her once again. Harry sat beside her, willing to say anything. But Lucy had to know if she made a difference that day. She needed to know if someone saw something differently, if someone cared differently. As it booted up, Harry looked scared of what might come up. He said nothing else, knowing Lucy truly wanted to do this. He wouldn't stop her.

Harry hated this, how Lucy went out of her way to see if people liked her. It made him sick. He grew up around this. Harry went through the pain of this. If he could protect her, he would. However, she did this anyway. She put herself through the pain. Harry held her hand and watched. His breath caught in his throat, and he coughed off to the side.

Going to Google, all she needed was to type in her name: L-U-C-I-L-L-E. It came up as the second name searched, Lucille Smith. The moment of truth as she clicked on the news tab. Headlines filled her screen. Harry squeezed her hand. Lucy didn't look.

Five... four... three... two... one....

Her eyes blinked to the screen, and the headlines were laid out. They were listed by most recent, Lucy the Hero Returns? By the title, Who is she? The headlines went down, calling her a hero, the protector of all and such. And then nasty headlines appeared, and they both froze for a second. A more conservative news source called Lucy a traitor to her country, among other things. They claimed Lucy wasn't allowed to have an opinion about guns anymore because she was no longer American. Other sources argued for Lucy shutting up. Even with the positive headlines more exposed and lengthy, the negatives outweighed her mind.

Lucy closed the laptop quickly. "That was fun," she muttered.

"Luce, I'm sorry," Harry began.

"No," she said. "You warned me. I did it anyway." Her breath was shaky and she opened her mouth to breathe. "I learned my lesson."

Squeezing her hand again, Harry got up. "What would you like for dinner?"

Sighing, she laughed. "Do you plan making food for me?"

Harry got up and stood around in the kitchen. "I've been practicing, and I can say, I'm really good at making noodles. It's a talent of mine. I make the best bloody noodles ever."

"We could order Chinese or pizza."

"Let me make dinner for you." He reached over the cold counter and took her hand. They were warm compared to his freezing hands. "Let me show you how much I love you."

"You can show me how much you love me by not killing me?" she offered, tapping his hand. She got up and walked around. Kissing him on the lips, she paused. "Chinese or pizza?"

Harry moaned a little.

"What, you think someone is going to poison you?"

He shook his head.

"Good. Chinese or pizza?"

"You choose."

"Pizza," she decided. Giving a quick kiss on the lips, she backed away and grabbed the home phone. "What kind of toppings?"

Still defeated, Harry answered, "You choose."

"Great!" Lucy walked into the next room and called the pizza place.

Harry watched her go, and then he opened her laptop again. Automatically, the headlines popped up again. The terrible ones shined the brightest and the terrible ones go the most views. Whether or not you agreed with the terrible headlines, your eyes were drawn to them. Your mind was immediately curios. Harry was used to it and he just wanted to exit out, giving some closure to Lucy.

He stopped, headlines about him: Prince Harry a Secret Chubby Chaser? and Fat and Ugly American gets British Bachelor. Hissing, he exited out of webpage and Lucy's background popped up. Closing the laptop again, anger filled him, when he knew it shouldn't. Lucy was taken back for a moment before she moved on. Harry found it easy for himself to move on if it was him. But if it was his family, he hated it. Now, with Lucy, he somehow hated it more.

Knowing he couldn't protect her, it didn't help. The media didn't publish any disturbing pictures and everything was hearsay. Intelligent people knew it was hearsay. It was the weak that these hearsay publishers wrote for. They wanted lies out there, so that the truth was boring. Harry was well aware that no one wanted to hear the truth.

Lucy walked back into the kitchen. "The pizza is on its way." She put the home phone down.

"How long?" Harry asked, arms snaking around her. He kissed her gently on the neck.

"An hour or so."

Harry paused. "Really?"

Lucy laughed. "Yeah, because they have to run a pizza out to us, and we're twenty minutes away." She turned around, and her arms curled around his body. "It's good pizza."

"I hope so."

"Do you want me to try beforehand," she asked, "so it's not poisoned?"

Harry laughed.

"Because, you know, royals have to have their tasters in case someone tries to kill them."

His hands ran up and down her back. "What if someone tries to kill you?"

"They already have." She kissed him on the cheek and pulled away. "What movie do you want to watch tonight?"

"I feel as if I've seen them all."

"Okay, then," she said, her Minnesotan accent coming out thickly. "What do you want to do?"

"Um...." Harry leaned on the counter top. "What do you have?"

"That's helpful." She rolled her eyes. "I have movies, books and board games."

"What if we go out?" he suggested.

"I just ordered pizza. It's not cheap. That's like twenty dollars." Lucy said this, even knowing Prince Harry stood in front of her. "Where would we go?"

"What's around here?"

"Oh, so you want to go an adventure?"

Harry arched an eyebrow.

"We eat dinner in tonight, and then next week, we go on adventure."

"Where?"

"Somewhere cold."

"It's cold everywhere here."

Lucy laughed. "It'll only get colder where we're going."

"Which is where?"

"Well, if you must know--"

The doorbell rang, and she stopped. The pizza shouldn't have been here yet. Harry noticed this also. Moving to the door yet, Harry was two five feet away before Lucy stepped in front of him. She glanced through the curtains, and Sydney waited outside. Apparently she was going back to college until the next day. Lucy opened the door, and Sydney jumped inside.

"Sorry to show up unannounced, I'll make this quick," Sydney said, only looking at Lucy. She learned her lesson last time, she would not look at him. "Lucille, would you mind standing on the platform again?"