Darkness Rises-Harry Styles

Chapter 20

"The past cannot be changed, forgotten, edited, or erased. It can only be accepted."

Rose's POV:

It's been two days since Harry and I have kissed, and since then I guess you could tell that we were a lot more comfortable with each other. We had grown closer, definitely, but it was more than that. We would tell each other things about each other that we didn't know and about our pasts, just a little bit.

I know we didn't quite 'love' each other, but we definitely liked each other. I was fine with that, taking it slow, because I needed to be sure of the fact that Harry was 100% trustworthy, and he is really proving that he is.

Coming out of my room dressed for the day, I see Harry waiting for me like usual by the stairs, a smile gracing his face as he sees me. "Good morning, Princess." he says to me, taking my hand as we walk down the stairs. "Good morning, Harry." I giggle, walking with him down the stairs.

When we get to the bottom, I see my mother talking to a guard in a hushed tone, but I can see the tears that were in her eyes. "Momma, what's wrong?" I ask her, making her head snap over to me as sadness overwhelmed her features.

"Oh, Rose, it's awful. James was found dead in that forest." she cries, wiping a few stray tears from her eyes. At the mention of his name, both Harry and I stiffen uncomfortably. You wouldn't be crying if you knew who he really was, Mother. I think bitterly but go to her, giving her a hug.

"I know he was your favorite guard, I'm so sorry Rose." she says and I give her a smile. "It'll be alright, mother." I try encouraging her and she nods her head, turning to the guard before us.

"This is Drew. He was a close friend of James and he will take over guard duties for you." she says with a smile and fear overwhelms me as I remember James saying he had a partner, but wouldn't give up his name to Harry or I.

I force a smile on my face and look at Drew, who's blonde hair was sticking up messily. He flashed me a smile, his brown eyes warm and inviting. Don't trust him...he may be the one who's trying to take over the Kingdom.

Harry comes over, placing a hand on the small of my back as he faces Drew with an outstretched hand. "Harry." he introduces himself and Drew shakes his hand. "I'm Drew, it's nice to finally meet you two. The whole kingdom has been buzzing about you ever since the ball the other night." he says with a smile and Harry smirks at him.

"Well, it's nice to meet a friend of James. Sorry to hear about your friends' death." Harry says as sympathetically as he can and Drew lets out a sigh. "Yeah, it's pretty tragic. Who knew that the forest was so dark, right?" he says and I exchange a look with Harry.

"Yeah, it's tragic all right." Harry mutter, looking down at the ground before I step into the conversation. "Well, Drew, thank you for stepping in for James. I'm sure we'll get along great." I say with a big smile and he returns it.

"I can't wait to get started, Princess. It's my pleasure to be able to guard you, really." he says and I give him a soft smile. He seemed pretty nice, but I couldn't let it fool me. Not again.

Drew walked off with my mother, discussing business about guarding me and Harry pulled me to the side, worry clear on his face as he looked at me. "I don't trust him." he says and I shake my head.

"I don't either, but we can't just act like we hate the guy just because he knew James. A lot of people were friends with James, but that doesn't make all of them our enemies." I say to Harry and he chuckles.

"You always see the bright side of everything, Rose." he tells me and I smile at him, ignoring the mocking laughter at the back of my head. I didn't always see things like this, Harry...one day I'll tell you.