Darkness Rises-Harry Styles

Chapter 16

"Then I'm honored to be the first one that you've seen." he says with a smile and I blush again, but shyly smile back at him. He brings me into a hug and I hug him back, trying to ignore the nice feeling I got from hugging him, shirtless or not.

"I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable, Princess." he whispers in my ear and I giggle, shaking my head. "It's not your fault Harry...it's mine." I mutter and he leans back, looking at me with a crooked grin.

"What about yesterday when I stripped off my shirt? Didn't you look then?" he asks me, almost like he was offended that I didn't look at him yesterday and I roll my eyes, walking away from him with a smile on my face. "No Harry, I wasn't exactly focusing on your stripping problems." I tease and he scoffs at me, crossing his arms.

"I don't have stripping problems." he tells me and I give him a doubtful look. "You've only known me for a little over a week, you can't judge by two experiences." he says with a smirk and I laugh, shaking my head at him.

"Okay, okay, you don't have a problem with stripping. Got it." I say and he nods his head to me, a smile on his face. "Good. But I can easily gain a stripping problem just for you." he says with a wink and I groan, holding a hand to my head as I heard his laughter.

"Don't you DARE!!" I scold him and he holds his hands up in mock surrender, his eyes looking at me playfully. I look away from him with a smile on my face and look back out the window, sighing in content. I could probably have Harry around for the rest of my life, he just makes me feel so at ease and I don't know how he does it.

"Well, I will go get dressed, just for you, my Princess." Harry says, bowing to me teasingly and I giggle, fake curtsying to him. "Why thank you, Prince Charming." I tease and he raises an eyebrow at me.

"So now I'm your prince?" he asks me and my cheeks blush. I look down at the ground, twisting my foot around anxiously. "N-no, I just thought...that I'd give you a nickname. You gave me one, so I was going to give you one too." I mumble and I hear him chuckle before a kiss is planted on my cheek.

"I like it...I'll be your prince." he whispers before leaving the room, leaving me standing here with wide eyes, my mouth slightly open in surprise. My heart was beating faster than normal but I tried to shake the feeling...the feeling only he's given me. I touched my cheek gently, the feeling of his lips still lingering on it.

I didn't know what it was, but I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. I shook my head, clearing my thoughts as I laid out a dress for the day. It was a simple blue dress that ended right above my ankles. I took a quick shower, not wanting to be caught in a towel like I had found Harry...the thought just made me shiver.

After my shower I dried my hair and got dressed quickly, putting on some light makeup before going to my door. My back was still in pain but it wasn't anything compared to what I had felt yesterday, so I wasn't going to be bothered by it. Or at least, I wasn't going to act like it.

If I was lucky enough, I was going to act like what happened yesterday didn't bother me. I'm used to feeling pain, so this should be no problem. Besides, I was pretty good at hiding things, so hopefully hiding James' betrayal would be easier today than it had been yesterday when it first happened.

When I walked out the door, a smile appeared on my face as I saw Harry standing by the stairs, clothed in black pants and a white top, looking quite cleaned up and...well...dressed. I shook my head, clearing the images of his bare chest from my mind and walking up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder to let him know that I was here.

He looked at me with a smile and I returned it. He took my hand, leading me down the stairs carefully and trying to help me not fall. I accidentally missed a step and nearly fell forward, but Harry caught me and pulled me back up into his chest, smiling down at me amused.

"How many times am I going to have to catch you?" he teases and I smile up at him sheepishly. "A lot." I say innocently and he laughs before we finish walking down the stairs.

My mother and father are in there, smiling and happy, oblivious to what happened while they were asleep. And that's the way it's going to be, I guess. I thought as I smiled to them and I squeezed Harry's hand for support.

We had gotten very good at acting like we were really close, but a lot of the times it didn't feel like an act to me. We were just like that on our own, we had been since the first day I met him. I guess it was just the way we were that made us just click so easily, but I never felt like I was faking anything when I was with Harry...I just don't know if he felt the same.

"Good morning, Rose, Harry." My mother greets politely and I smile back at her. "Good morning, Mother." I say, slightly bowing to her as Harry does the same.

"Good morning, Queen Anna." he greets and she claps her hands together, an excited look on her face. "Your father and I have decided that we are going to be having a ball tomorrow night!" my mother says happily and I giggle at her. She was a wonderful hostess and she just enjoyed making people happy and letting them have a good time.

"That's great!" I say and she nods her hand while I feel Harry slightly slump down beside me. "I'm terrible at dancing." he whispers to me before smiling at my mother. "That sounds like a marvelous idea." he says enthusiastically and I giggle, putting a hand over my mouth and looking up at him while his lips twitch up into a smile.

"Rose, Celeste will be here today to get you two ready. Starting at five tonight, you two are not allowed to see each other until the ball. My rules." she says, pointing at us and I laugh. "Yes, mother." I say to her and she gives me a wink.

Harry slightly pouts at this and I just prod him in the side, which makes him look to me in a pout. "That's not fair." he whines to me and both me and my mother laugh at his childishness.

"Don't be like that, Harry. It'll be the best surprise." she scolds him and he chuckles, smiling back at my mother. "Alright, I give in." he says to her and she giggles.

"Good, now Celeste is going to be here...well any minute now, so when she comes she will take you up to your rooms and measure you two so that your attire for the ball will be perfect." my mother says and just on time, the door opens to reveal my absolute favorite seamstress, Celeste.

She was a beautiful brunette with hair that was braided down to her waist, golden threads woven into her hair in a delicate way, while her brown eyes shone with happiness, a smile gracing her face.

"Princess Rose! I haven't seen you in too long!" she greets me, rushing to me and giving me a hug. I hide the wince on my face when she hugs me and I can feel Harry's worried eyes on me, but I ignore the pain and smile at her.

"It has been too long, Celeste. I'm glad you're here. Oh! This is Harry." I introduce her and she smiles, turning to Harry with a bright smile. He nods to her respectfully, giving her a smile and she hugs him. His eyes widen in shock and I try to hide my laughter as he slowly hugs her back, not expecting that warm of a welcome.

"Now, I've heard all about you two. The kingdom is buzzing with happiness. Anyways, off you go, up to your rooms, now." she orders us and I giggle at her antics. She can't really stay on one subject, no matter how hard she tries.

We go back up to our rooms after my mother tells me that food will be delivered there shortly. I go into my room, waiting for her to get done with Harry. I could picture him whining and protesting as Celeste tried to measure him up, the thought alone making me laugh.

I'm broken from my thoughts as my doors open, a smiling Celeste standing in the doorway with a measuring tape in her hands.

"Now, lets get started."

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