Harry: Morning.
Harry said as Amy joined him and Meghan at the table for breakfast.
Amy: Morning.
Harry: Amy, I've been thinking... I don't want you to be stuck at home. Your school said you don't have to go this year anymore. Bea and Genie called.
Amy: Is Bea back from New York?
Harry: Yes, she just got back. Would you like to go for a ride with them at Windsor?
Amy: I'd love that. Am I finally going to be able to ride at Windsor?
Harry: Yeah, we'll announce you soon and Granny said there's no problem if paparazzi take pics. But, still, be careful.
Amy: I'll finally stop hiding. I was getting tired of having to live as if I were a criminal.
Harry: I'll ask them to come pick you in an hour or so.
Amy: Gonna get ready now. Bye.
Amy quickly bit a piece of her toast and turned her back to go to her room.
Meghan: You're not going to eat anything?
Amy: The girls can make me some sandwiches. By the way, can I go see Aunt Kate first?
Meghan: Can she ride while pregnant?
Amy and Harry just laughed and Harry nodded to Amy, which meant she could see Kate before going to Windsor.
Meghan: What is so fun about what I said?
She asked after Amy was gone.
Harry: Kate is kinda allergic to horses.
Meghan: What? How?
Meghan seemed completely shocked.
Meghan: Amy told me she would always go riding with Kate since she was young.
Harry: I guess she was just having a good laugh on you. Cath always took Amy to horse riding lessons, but they never really rode together. But now George and Charlotte are becoming interested in horses and Amy encouraged her to start something called immunotherapy, so that she can sort of overcome her allergy and be able to ride with them. It's been some months since she started.
Meghan: Your daughter is really a real piece of work. Some friends told me they read somewhere that Kate was allergic to horses, but as Amy told me that, I thought it was just fake gossip. By the way, Harry, I'm trying really hard here. But Amy isn't helping at all. I thought things were better when we came back from the US, but it's not. And this is your fault. She sees me as an invader.
Harry: She's a stubborn just like her mum and aunties. You don't have to worry. Eventually, she will give in.
Meghan: I hope so. I wouldn't want her to freak out when we announce our engagement.
Harry: This will be very soon. By the way, is your ring still on the vault of my bedroom?
Meghan: Yes. It's been there since you proposed to me in September.
Harry: It's going to be so much better when it's on your finger. Can't wait for the world to know I've found the love of my life.
Meghan: I can't wait, too.
Rumors about Harry dating an American actress have been circulating in the media for a couple months. But it was only in October, while Meghan and Amy were in Los Angeles, that Harry allowed his communication team to confirm the rumors. He even released a statement about people intruding her privacy since the rumors started and complained about some racial undertones on articles, which were just exception. Many articles were in favor of Meghan, and the ones that didn't have good things to talk weren't racist, but just pointing to the fact that she's an American actress and may not fit in well in the family. Harry actually proposed to her days before her trip with Amy, and they agreed to keep it a secret for some weeks. For hers and Amy's security, Harry rented a mansion in a private area of Los Angeles, so that they would be safer and away from paparazzi. Meghan and her friends lied many times to Amy and created that story about Demi and the other girls having the keys and the boys not having it. Meghan actually had a small rented house there and Harry didn't want to worry Amy about that.
Meghan: Hey, you never actually told me why did you decide to keep Amy as a secret or how you manage to do that.
Harry: That's a long story.
Harry looked down the corridor to make sure Amy wasn't going to listen.
Harry: As soon as we found out Ava was pregnant, we started receiving notes with horrendous threats. It were letters that came to us. They were threatening to kill our son or daughter at the time. Ava and I were terrified, so we made a plan to keep her safe. More security and keeping her in the anonymity. Whoever this person or more were, they never leaked to the press. There are very few of our employees who know who Amy is, the others at Kensington Palace think she's a distant cousin of Ava. They all must be discreet and not leak things to the press, but sometimes it happens. There have been a few articles about a cousin of Ava spending too much time here, but it was never leaked that it was our daughter. Sometimes she calls us Ava and Harry to fool everyone around. And if someone ever tried anything against her, we'd send Amy to another country for a while.
Meghan: And how does Ava manage to keep that information you told me from the public?
Harry: She and Sam changed their surname after their parents died. Actually, they just cut their father's surname and kept their mother's. They wanted to have a private life. They are or at least were working on things to get the surname back. When the world found out I was going to marry Ava, she and Sam were given as orphans, so their parents' names were never made public.
Meghan: And how was Sam able to study and work without having paparazzi around her? I believe Prince Harry's sister-in-law is a subject of much interest to the public.
Harry: We just never told the public about her. She was only seen a few times by the media, so they never found out she's Ava's sister. At her uni days in Harvard she used one of her multiples surnames and was able to have a lot of privacy. Sam's such a little genius. She could've gotten in university when she was 8, but Ava and her tutors asked her to wait. So when she was 12, we all couldn't keep her here anymore. She went on to triple major in economy, chemical engineering and biology.
Meghan: A triple major? Oh, my...
Harry: And then she went to med school at Stanford. She finished neurosurgery residence a little bit earlier and also works with lots of researches. She's been leaving her medical career aside to take care of the family business.
Meghan: Wow, she's truly...
Harry: Amazing, isn't she? Guess Amy takes it from her.
Meghan: And Amy doesn't know anything about it?
Harry: Not yet. She never really searched her aunt's name on Google. Sam never made a big fuss out of it. Amy knows she works with the family business.
Meghan: Well, I know Ava graduated from London School of Economics and Political Science.
Harry: Yeah, I told you. She also started university earlier than usual, but nothing compared to Sam. She's got a degree of Politics and Economics. We were both 20 when we got married and I was almost 21 when Amy was born.
Meghan: Was it a choice to do it so early?
Harry: I guess so. I never went to university. She didn't have to worry about things other young people had to and we were in love. Granny supported us a lot. I always tried to be very present for Amy, but I used to be away for months when I was at the military.
Meghan: I'm sure you did your best. Kate told me Amy was always crazy about you. And, Harry, thank you for sharing this with me. I know sometimes it's hard to talk about Ava.
Harry: Thank you for listening.
Meghan: Harry, please don't tell this to Amy. But, you know what she told me when we found out Ava was sick? She said she once overheard a conversation between you and her. A fight, actually. Apparently, Ava was saying she didn't ever want to have kids and that, if she could go back in time, she wouldn't have had Amy. Is it true?
Harry: What? Is that what she thinks?! Of course, not. She must have been so young when she heard this that her mind changed the facts. Yeah, Ava didn't want to have kids. She was always traumatized about her parents' death. She and Sam were so young when it happened. She feared she couldn't be a good mother. She had postpartum depression. It was horrible. I remember hating her for it, and I still hate that she's so distant from Amy in the last years. We were always fighting about having to hide our baby girl. She hated to see her daughter so isolated from the rest of the world. But I hated the thought of having to tell the world about Amy. I'm just doing it now because she's become too old to be this isolated. One of the main reasons for our divorce was this. And also because Ava was an workaholic. She would work day and night. She was one of the members of the family that had the most engagements in a year. She worked until she was 5 months pregnant, and only stopped because no one could find out about her pregnancy. We told the public that she was having some healthy issues and needed some months off. She was back to work after 2 weeks of giving birth. 2 weeks. I was furious. And she kept on going like this until our divorce. Just to get an idea, I suspect that Amy isn't able to say "I love you" to people because of her. It's like Amy generated this trauma often caused by parents. In this case, Ava.
Meghan: I didn't know she was this closed emotionally.
Harry: She is. She's terrible at showing her feelings to people. She hates birthdays because she gets embarrassed about congratulating people or saying she loves them. She hates Father's Day and Mother's Day. Kate said she doesn't sleep well in the eve of those special dates. Just the thought of hugging me or Ava on those days makes her flutter. She's a little better with her cousins and Kate, of course. They've always been very close. Can you believe she never said "I love you" to me?
Meghan: Oh, Harry, you must feel horrible about this. I can't even imagine how does it feel like.
Harry: Yeah.
Meghan: And what about the people threatening you all?
Harry: They sent letters until Amy was 2. Then it stopped, but I was still taking care not to risk Amy's life.
[...]
Harry: Good morning, girls.
Beatrice: Morning, Harry. Is she ready?
Harry: Amy, Beatrice and Eugenie are here!
Amy arrived at the door in less than 20 seconds.
Amy: Hi.
Eugenie: Look at you, Amelia, you've grown like a whole foot since the last time I saw you.
Amy: Tell me another one, Eugenie. I've seen you on Papa's birthday in September.
Beatrice: Seems like a whole decade. You spent months in America and didn't even come to visit me in New York!
Amy: Not my fault. I was stuck in Los Angeles studying.
Eugenie: I love your new haircut. You're pretty, little cousin.
Amy: Are you two done? Can we go now?
Beatrice: Yeah, sure. I was thinking we could get your ears pierced on our way back from Windsor.
She joked.
Harry: Over my dead body. I'm sure Ava would like to be with her at this moment.
Beatrice: I was just kidding, Harry.
Harry: Take care, you three! Eugenie, Beatrice, I don't want my daughter with any scratches! And do not even think of getting her to any other place that not Kensington or Windsor. I want you back before 2pm.
Eugenie: Don't worry! We'll dye her hair pink, take her to get a tattoo and then return her when it's Christmas. Goodbye, Harry!
Eugenie exclaimed while getting into the car.
Beatrice: As promised, we'll take you to see Kate before going to Windsor.
Amy: Thanks.
Eugenie: We've heard about Ava. I almost passed out when I found out. William told us she's still sleeping.
Amy: Aunt Sam says she'll probably wake up in the next few days.
Beatrice: It'll be so good to have her back at Kensington. I bet you're excited.
Amy: Kinda, specially because I'll see myself free from having to stay 24/7 with Meghan an Pa.
Eugenie: She's not that bad, Amy. I promise you she will do no harm to you.
Amy: I don't care. Papa has gone crazy. Can't wait to be able to live at Aunt Kate and Uncle William's. Papa has been driving me insane. And I can't endure him and Meghan anymore.
Beatrice: As Eugenie said, she's not that bad. But we know you just love us too much to like Meghan.
Amy: A girl can always dream, BeaBea.
...
Amy: Hello, Aunty.
Kate: Hello, Pearl. Bea, Eugenie.
Amy climbed up on the bed and received a big hug from Kate. Then Beatrice and Eugenie got closer and kissed her cheeks.
Kate: Did you enjoy your little adventure eating sushi without letting Harry know yesterday?
Amy: Quite very much. Thank you for that, by the way. I'm sure you gave that idea to Uncle William. Is Lottie on her room?
Kate: Yeah, Maria is getting her dressed for the day.
Amy: I'll pick her up. Excuse me.
Beatrice: How is she adapting to nursery yet?
Kate: She quite enjoys it. We only sent her 5 times yet, as a test. She will officially start in January.
Eugenie: And how are you feeling?
Kate: Quite better. The morning sickness is almost over. But it still sucks to have to be in bed all day. There are so many things I needed to do, specially when it comes to Amy and this whole mess of Harry and Ava.
Beatrice: Yeah, we know. But let's hope Ava will be home soon and that Harry will eventually open his eyes to Amy's real needs.
Eugenie: Fingers crossed.
Amy: Someone wants to say hi.
Amy entered the room carrying a smiling Charlotte on her arms. The little girl smiled even more when she saw Beatrice and Eugenie.
Charlotte: Bea! Genie!
Amy put her on the floor and Charlotte ran off to her father's cousins.
Beatrice: Hello, Lottie! We missed you!
Eugenie: Would you like a bear hug from these two old ladies right here?
Charlotte laughed as the two of them crushed her on a hug.
Amy: I think we should be going, no?
Beatrice: Yeah, of course. We'll come back later, Lottie. We can't wait to see your Aunt Sam.
Amy: Where is she?
Kate: At the hospital with your mum.
Amy: Okay. Bye, Aunt.
Kate: Bye. Take care.
...
As they arrived at Windsor, Eugenie and Beatrice gave Amy some sandwiches and orange juice before going straight to the horses. The three of them had a lovely time riding, telling jokes and gossiping. Amy was always so grateful to these two crazy cousins, with whom she had grown up as if they were her big sisters. And that's what she loved most about her family. The burden of being royals always united them, so they were closer than the majority of families. Beatrice and Eugenie were only the cousins of her father, but loved Amy as their sister/little cousin and would trade their lives for her.
They ordered some food for lunch and then it was finally time for Amy to go home. They left her at Harry's and then went to Apartment 1a to have tea with William, Kate, Sam and the kids.
Harry: Did you like your outing?
Amy: I did. Is Meghan home?
Harry: She's not. She's with an old friend.
Amy: Good. I'll practice some piano, then.
Harry: Have fun, I guess.
...
Notes from the author:
Hi, everyone! Are you enjoying the story? Please let me know in the comments ❤️