The Prince (Harry Styles)

Chapter 34

"I'm stalling as much as I can," she said. "Until Harry takes his father's place, I can't do much besides stall. I tell Des that she keeps changing her mind when she wants the wedding, changes the colors every week. Whatever I can to push it off. I can see he likes one of our maids though," she smiled. "Miss Eleanor."

"Yeah," I nodded. "They're sweet."

"His eyes reflect Harry's when he's with you," she said. "But of course my husband doesn't see that. He just sees a boy who is so infatuated with someone who isn't that into him. He doesn't see what everyone else can clearly see. It saddens me actually."

I folded my hands in my lap releasing a sigh that I didn't know I was holding in. I looked at the book that she had placed in my lap. I let my hand slide over the glossy page wondering if I would look as radiant as her. So many beautiful photos of Queen Anne were taken and placed in this beautiful book of memories. 

It was then that I began thinking of my own wedding if I were to become betrothed to Harry. A beautiful white gown, beautiful flowers, a radiant smile. A smile began to dance on my lips at the thought of walking down the aisle of the church to greet Harry at the alter to become man and wife. I bit my bottom lip at the thought to contain my wandering mind. It wasn't something I found myself thinking about often, but when I did, it was a magical feeling. The possibility of becoming his forever and I his made me feel giddy. I would grow old with him. It's something I looked forward to.

"You're thinking about it aren't you?" Queen Anne smiled. "The possibility?"

"Yeah," I breathed. "The idea of it... it makes me excited? Is that the right word?"

"Any word could be the right one," she smiled. "It must be a wonderful thing to radiate that kind of smile."

I blushed looking up at her. Nothing went past Queen Anne, she noticed everything and I liked it that way. I looked up at the ceiling and let out a breath.

"It's hard to believe that this could be me, you know?" I asked her. "Standing in white and reciting my vows. I don't know if I deserve this life."

"You earned my son's heart," she said taking hold of my hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. "That in itself has you earning this beautiful wedding. It's a gift from Desmond and myself to you. You earned it."

"I don't know," I laughed. "I feel like I'm not working for anything."

"Your work will be taking my title and caring for our people alongside Harry," she grinned. "And making me some grandchildren."

"Yeah," I laughed. "How do I know if I can have children?" I asked her. 

"We can talk to a doctor, but that can wait until after the wedding," she stated. "I would do it not long after so we can work on getting it sorted."

"Sorted?"

"Our prayers," she smiled. "The statue."

"Right, yes," I nodded recalling the statue in the garden. The God of fertility was Queen Anne's savior. A smile played on her lips. I watched as she picked up the cup of warm tea and sipped at it.

"You'll be a wonderful queen, Emerald," she confided. "I have faith in you. My son loves you and the people seem to as well," she smiled as she stood up from her seat. I closed the beautiful book and handed it to her. She took long strides across the room and put the book away.

"Thank you for showing me that," I smiled. 

"I love looking at it every once in a while," Queen Anne leered. "Happy times are the ones to remember. So are the hard ones, but the feelings you get are so vastly different. The happy ones are the ones that make you remember why everything was worth it."