Running Around Royal (Prince Harry #4)

Chapter Sixty-One

In March of 2016, it was Prince Harry's first trip in Nepal. For four days, he traveled around Nepal, meeting with the president and with citizens affected by the 2015 earthquakes. Harry also spent time with Gurkha soldiers, some of whom Harry served with in Afghanistan. He also partook in a trek through one of Nepal's national parks.

In the morning, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, already decked out in their royal outfits, landed in the capital of Nepal, Kathmandu. The duke wore his military best with his black uniform, which had been ironed to perfection. The duchess wore a blue dress with red and white trimmings; those were the same colors as the Nepalese flag. The duchess even wore a small headpiece, which was the quite the step forward for her since she preferred anything but.

With cameras on them the whole time, the duke and duchess walked down the steps from their airplane. A red carpet had been rolled out for them as they were greeted by the president. It was the first and only time the duchess was to meet him. Nepal was a quick stop. No overnight stay at all.

As soon as they met the president, they were off. The reason for the duke's military best came from him seeing his old comrades in the Gurkha soldiers. Closely associated with the khukuri, which was for a forward-curving Nepalese knife, the Gurkha soldiers had a reputation for their fearless military prowess. As the duchess met them, she immediately saw why.

At this brunch-in, the duchess met with many of the duke's old Gurkha colleagues, and they had many stories to share. When the duchess heard a story she was not familiar with, she cocked her eyebrow and glanced toward her husband. Somehow her husband always felt it. The duke glanced over with a big grin. "Don't tell her anything too bad," the duke replied jokingly.

"She's already married to you, ginger. Shouldn't she already know," one soldier responded with a grin from ear to ear.

"Then don't scare her off." The duke went back to joking with new and old soldiers.

The duke was a natural at this, whereas the duchess was still training. It wasn't to say that she was bad at it, but the duchess wasn't as comfortable with it. She didn't have the history with soldiers, but she also didn't have the background. The most the duchess knew about military came from the duke, and it wasn't him sharing the ranks and how military worked-- he shared more of the fun stories of his military days. Those stories were never ending.

After the even, the duke and duchess went back to the airplane to change and have lunch. Meredith was happy to be out of her heels, and she rubbed her feet as she shed her dress, it falling to the ground. On the other hand, Harry stood in the mirror, taking off his uniform one piece at a time, placing it in the correct area. Meredith watched from the bed.

"Do you like the view?" he asked her in the mirror.

"Do you like this view?" she responded with a smirk.

Harry did in deed. A smile broke out across his face as he continued to undress. Once everything was packed away to his standards, he joined Meredith in the bed. Her fingers ran through his hair as his face hovered above her.

"Did you like the uniform?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Do you prefer me in it?"

"Is that a trick question?" Meredith's hands over Harry's exposed chest, working their way down his back and even lower. 

Harry laughed. "I think you're missing lunch time for this."

"I can eat in the car."

"That's not very princess-like."

"It's a good thing I'm a duchess."

After they were changed, the duke and duchess exited the airplane again. This afternoon-- into the evening-- was designated for a hike. The Duchess of Windsor tried to be excited but faltered. Hiking wasn't one of her strong suits, but she was promised that it wasn't a horrible hike. That was, of course, what they always said.

Dressed in matching outfits again, the duke and duchess started their journey up the hill with bodyguards Bill and Bella as well as some men from the military and a tour guide. The royal photographer followed along as well, but it was easy to tell that he was also unhappy about this trek. Thankfully, pictures were taken when the duchess looked most like she was enjoying herself. That wasn't often.

The hike to the top was longer, and pictures were taken along the way. The duchess didn't prefer the stopping of the momentum, and she pushed through as they started up again. It was daunting when looking up the mountain in Nepal. She believed that the tour guide called this more of a hill, but the duchess claimed it was a mountain, even with a bunch of  higher mountains around.

The duchess also had convince herself not to look down into the valley below. She got Scotland flashbacks, and while Nepal was nice, she wished to be there. As she looked out, hoping she wasn't going to fall down, the world spread out, and the duchess felt so small and unimportant. For a second, which felt like a lifetime, she enjoyed this feeling. No photographers were taken of her, and no one glanced her direction. Sometimes the duchess missed being normal, and this was one of those times. However, she loved being a duchess, and she loved being Harry's wife more.

The duke walked up beside, snaking his arm around her. "We're almost there."

"How can this view get any better?" she asked in disbelief.

"Just you wait."

The duke and duchess, along with the collective bunch, started their way up the mountain again as the sun slowly began to set behind them. The tour guide claimed it was a faster walked down, and the duchess just hoped she wasn't tricked into camping. She had to be mentally prepared for that.

When they reached the top, it didn't look too different from when they were a little below. Mountains reached above them with pink soft clouds gracing the top. The sun was on the horizon, threatening to dip below. Blue streams cut through green rolling hills. Small houses were on the land, and people enjoyed the view too. The duke had found peace in Nepal in the madness, and a year later, he found his future wife.

On the top of the mountain, the duke took the duchess in his arms again as they watched the sun dip behind another mountains. The sky turned into glorious, colorful hues. The rays became golden streaks. A slight breeze came across them, billowing the duchess' blonde hair back. The duke kissed the duchess on the top of the head.

"I love you, Harry."

"I love you, Mere."

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Hiya. I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to start posting more on Thursdays than Mondays. I hope you guys enjoyed the faster chapter.