It was about two in the morning. Harry had his arms wrapped around my waist tightly as his head was buried against my back. I could hear Phoenix whining in her cage. I let out a sigh and pushed Harry's arm off of me. I rubbed my eyes, reaching for my silk robe, pulling it onto my shoulders.
"What is going on with you?" I asked the big puppy quietly as I opened her cage. I reached my hand in, gently rubbing her floppy ears. I leaned in and kissed her nose as she continued to whine.
"Em?" Harry groggily asked me. "What are you doing?"
"Phoenix woke me up," I said as I rubbed the dog's head. "She was whining."
I heard Harry get out of bed, and his feet pat against the floor. He sat down on the floor next to me, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. I leaned my head against his shoulder as I looked at Phoenix who was still whining. Harry stood back up and told Phoenix to come on out of the cage. She got up and followed him. He picked up her leash, clipping it to her collar and leading her out of our room. I followed Harry as we walked throughout the dark castle.
"I think she needs the toilet," Harry said. "It's probably why she was whining."
I nodded staring at Harry. He pushed the large doors open and released Phoenix who took off sniffing the ground. Harry sat down placing his elbows on his knees. I sat next to him, slipping my arm through one of his and cuddling against his side. Harry's eyes were on Phoenix as she roamed free.
The summer breeze felt good against my hot skin. I wish the palace was a lot cooler than it actually was. Harry was also a warm bodied person who generated tons of body heat. I loved him, but I often found myself waking up wit sweat on my forehead.
"You okay?" Harry asked, looking down at me momentarily.
"Yeah, the cool air feels nice," I said looking up at him. Harry leaned over and kissed my cheek.
"I'm sorry about being hot," he said. I raised my eyebrow at him. "I totally meant warmth, not attractiveness."
"Yeah, sure," I nodded with an eye roll. "I know you too well to let your bullshit be left alone."
"See? This is why we're married," he said pulling me close to him. "You know so much about me, and I don't know what I would do without you."
"You would be bored," I giggled. "You'd be your sister."
"Don't even say that," he said. He looked over to Phoenix. "Oi! Come here," he called her as she began trotting farther away. She looked up and came bounding to us.
She walked up to Harry and began licking his face excitedly. He locked her back on the collar and stood up. He held out his hand to me. I took it and allowed him to pull me up from the ground. I closed my silk robe as we walked through the castle once again.
"I've been meaning to tell you," Harry began, interrupting the silence between us. "I got the leaders of the Gaelic nations to meet with us at the end of September."
"That's great!" I smiled. "Is it just you who is going?"
"You are as well," he smiled. "Two months from now, the invasion problem may be nonexistent. That would be a dream come true."
"That it would be," I smiled.
"I'm not even tired right now," Harry said as we reached our bedroom. "I'm awake."
"No, you're sleep walking."
"Sarcasm. Nice," he said releasing the beast from her leash. He grabbed a towel and wiped her paws off before allowing her to roam the room and find a comfortable place to relax. She chose the middle of our bed.
I opened the patio doors and gestured for him to come sit outside with me. He smiled at my willingness to stay awake with him.
"Tea?" he asked.
"If you make it," I laughed.
"Only for you, my love," he said walking into the kitchen and starting the kettle up. I listened to him rustling with the mugs and preparing our tea. A few minutes later, he emerged as he carefully brought our mugs of hot caffeine to the patio.
"They need to steep just a little bit longer," he said as he gestured to the extra plate he brought out. I put the milk in already.
"Okay," I nodded, stirring the mixture. "It's so quiet out here."
"It is," Harry agreed. "It's hard to believe that a whole year ago, we barely even kissed."
"I can't imagine that life," I laughed taking the bag out of the tea and resting it on the plate.
"I can't either," he grinned. "God, the girl before you was so weird and so fussy. She took advantage of her maids."
"Wow," I said.
"When you came in, you were all 'oh no, I can do it myself,'" he said imitating my voice. "'I don't need help.'"
"Must you mock me?" I asked him, a laugh coming out halfway through my question.
"Yes," he nodded, a smile on his face. "You know I do it because I love you," he said, putting his arm around around my shoulders and pulling me into his side. I rested my head on his shoulder.
"I know," I smiled. I saw Felix walking towards me in the corner of my eye. I pulled away from Harry's grasp and turned to look at the small cat. I reached down and scooped him up into my arms placing him on my lap.
"I never thought being a king would be so difficult," Harry said. "I'm stressed all the time, and I feel as if I am always doing my job wrong."
"You're still learning, H," I said with a smile. "You'll learn how to be a good king through trial and error."
"But it shouldn't be through trial and error. I've prepared for this moment since I was born," he explained. "I don't understand why I feel this way."
"You didn't have your dad there to help, that's why," I said. Harry just nodded, didn't give me any other words to express this. "You've been doing this just over half a year, things like this take more time than you think. After a full year of doing this, I think you'll kill it."
"Kill it?"
"I couldn't think of another word for kicking ass," I laughed. "You're a good king already, and people have a lot of faith in you. Put faith in yourself, you need it more than anyone."
"How can I have faith in myself if I doubt myself?"
"Don't doubt yourself, you do what you think is right for everyone. Confer with the council, with me. You have all these people who want to help you in any way possible for you to succeed. We all have the same goals, H. Don't just crawl in the corner."
"I know you're right," he said looking down at Felix. "But I miss the freedom, the carefree nature of our relationship before we got married."
"It hasn't been like that since your dad died," I noted.
"I know," He sighed. "That's why it sucks. I think it's because it was such a sudden thing. One moment he's ruling the country, next second it's me. Just like that," he said snapping his fingers. "I thought I was fine with it, but no one knew how to prepare me for this. He was the only one."
"I know," I said.
"I mean, the man virtually destroyed me the weeks leading up to his death, but he was a good leader of his country. He told me I was too compassionate, had too many feelings. I never listened to him."
"Having a good heart is what makes you connect with your people. Use that to hear your people out," I said poking his chest. "You care more than anyone else ever has. You are so incredibly strong, just don't give up on your home."
"You haven't given up have you?"
"Never," I assured him. "I won't give up as long as you don't."
Harry leaned over and kissed my lips gently. I felt his lips curve into a smile as we ended our kiss. He pulled away from the kiss, his lips stretching over his teeth, and the dimples indenting into his cheeks.
"Don't ever change who you are," I said. "Become a better man day to day. Learn from your mistakes, it just makes you a better person."
"I don't plan on changing," he said. "Especially not for you."