Any time that Lucy left Kensington Palace, the media followed her. Any time that Lucy left the Kensington Palace quietly, the media somehow followed her. Any time that Lucy left Kensington Palace for the a charity event, the media frenzied. When Lucy stood in front of the cameras at an event, she went immediately blind.
The charity event was like every other, with the bright flashes of light at the beginning and then moving inside toward the end of the line. The loud yells were there, calling Lucy's name. Harry stayed close beside her, like he always did. After the flashing lights, the couple followed the line and went inside the event.
The art centre bloomed with masterpiece works of color and beauty. Sculptures lined the entrance way and weaved throughout the crowd. Lucy always did her best to stay away from them, and with her belly now, she was especially careful. Lovely artworks were placed on the walls.
Harry led Lucy through the crowds that gathered in the front to the back. It didn't take long for people to come up and talk to them. Usually, people were hesitant in the beginning, not wanting to bother the royals. However, the royals job was to be there and talk to people. Soon, lines formed around them to talk with them. Harry liked to keep people rolling through while Lucy mostly smiled and gave small comments. The thing about Lucy at events, she was quiet normally. Ever since her first events with Harry, she preferred to stand behind him and watch, with small comments here and there. At events where she alone, she came out of her shell more. Yet, Lucy never showed her normal personality.
Lucy's normal personality was to drop into the situation, but that didn't work here. Wherever they went, Lucy was the outcast. She wasn't born into royalty, thus she didn't have much training. Catherine had more training, but even then Lucy was different than the Duchess of Cambridge. It was because Lucy was American that there were cultural differences between her and everyone else. Sometimes it was more noticeable than others, but it was there. Sometimes it was the smaller things than the bigger problems, but it still existed.
Leaning over, she whispered in Harry's ear, "I'm off to the toilet." Lucy excused herself.
The toilets were located in the far back of the art centre. At least it was quiet away from the crowds. Before exiting the restrooms, Lucy made sure she was perfect in the mirrors. Her dress glided over her curves, around her belly, and she let the dress flutter out. She fixed her hair in the mirror briefly and then checked her jewelry. The fear of losing jewelry was always in the back of her mind.
Exiting the restrooms, the hallway back to the main room was long but narrowed with tiny nooks and indents. That was how she didn't even see a paparazzo jump out of the nook. Shadows casted from the dim lights. He automatically flashed his camera at her and after a second of shock, Lucy smiled nicely at him. A small amount of pride managed to flood through her because she hadn't immediately defended herself upon someone jumping out of the shadows.
The paparazzo lowered his camera for a second, but his phone recorded everything, she noticed. It hung from a necklace and looked at Lucy. The paparazzo had lied and waited for her.
"Excuse me," she said nicely, side-stepping the paparazzo.
"A moment," he said, reaching toward her.
Lucy automatically stepped back; he blocked her path now. No one was allowed to touch her, not unless she reached for them first. It was for safety. But that rule was for crowds. This was different. Lucy knew this was wrong but curiosity flooded through her, even though her defenses were up.
"Can I help you?" she asked.
"I'm just going get more photos of you."
"You have enough," Lucy snapped, and then gave another smile. He recorded everything. "If you'll excuse me, I must rejoin the party. They'll notice I'm gone for too long." She stepped around him, and he blocked her path.
"I'm not done with you."
Anger pushed through her.
"We pay for your family, the monarchy, so let me get some photos of you. Let me see the baby bump."
Her eyes narrowed on him. Lucy's back straightened and her body stilled. Then she walked past him. Lucy didn't get two feet before the paparazzo grabbed her arm and pulled her back. His fingers dug into her arm. Like that, Lucy pulled back roughly, throwing the paparazzo off balance. He lost his footing and fell to the ground. Annoyance blared on his face; he scrambled to his feet. His camera out, flashing straight into Lucy's eyes. His body blocked her paths of escape, whether back to the restroom or to the main room.
"Enough," Lucy growled. Her fingers had curled into her hand, and she bit back the urge to fight her way out. Tears prickled in her eyes from the bright flashes. His camera was straight in her face. If this was any other moment, Lucy would've ended this. She wouldn't have hesitated. Now, with the ground of people no more than fifty feet away, she kept some grace about her.
The camera pushed closer to Lucy's face, where he wouldn't even get good pictures. His body hovered less than three inches away from her stomach. In a second, Lucy knocked the camera out of his hand; it clattered against the ground. The paparazzo let out a string of swear words, all aimed at Lucy. If he meant to scare her, it didn't work; if he meant to anger her, it did work. Lucy bit back her own swear words, ready to use some rather British curses.
The paparazzo stepped forward, now in her face fully, but he wasn't there long. Lucy blinked and he was on the ground. Tony, her bodyguard, hovered between them. The paparazzo tried to get back up but Tony pushed him down. The bodyguard grabbed the paparazzo's camera, taking out the memory chip. With the memory chip, the paparazzo had no pictures of Lucy on the camera.
"Hey," the man said.
"The mobile," Lucy warned.
Tony ripped the mobile phone from the paparazzo's neck. The man tried to get up and Tony pushed him down again. Immediately, Tony stopped the recording and deleted the video of her, and then he went through the man's pictures. "Perhaps I should just destroy the mobile."
"Hey, man, you can't do that."
"You can't be in here," the bodyguard responded. "And you can't be taking pictures of her that close. And you can't harass her. Now, imagine if I tell stories around you, you would be blacklisted, never to work again. And then think of all the charges that could be brought against you. Then think of how you could be sued, everything you're worth taken." Tony stood above the man. "Now, you can runaway, to never speak of this, or I'll destroy you personally."
The bodyguard stepped back. The paparazzo didn't even get to his feet before trying to run away. Once he found his feet, he took off down the hallway, toward the main room.
Tony looked back to his charge. "Are you okay, ma'am?" he asked. "Do you need something? Do you want me to get the Prince?"
Lucy shook her head, breathing deeply. "I use to," Lucy coughed, "I used to beat those little shits up. I used to be so good at...." She couldn't find her words.
Fear pumped through Lucy, and she didn't understand why. It wasn't like the paparazzo had a weapon; he had no intention of hurting her physically, assuming. He harassed her, yet panic pumped through her. It only took a second for her to realize, she feared for her son, her baby. She wanted to protect her child, even if there appeared to be no real threat.
"Ma'am, it's okay. Breathe."
Lucy tried, taking deep breaths. She knew she needed to go back into the event before someone noticed. Harry already noticed probably, and he probably feared for her. Lucy counted down in her head: five... four... three... two--
"Ow," she hissed, pressing a hand to her stomach.
Tony became even straighter. His hand touched gently to her arm. His eyes were alert. The bodyguard's protection over Lucy wasn't just through payment but through admiration. "Ma'am?"
Lucy let out a shaky breath, hand still on her stomach.
"Lucy?" Tony tried again. "What is it? Is it baby? Are you okay?"
Hushing him, Lucy focused forward and on her breathing. Fear slowly started to decrease in her. Happiness slowly started to flood through her again. She knew what this was; Harry had been waiting for this moment. He missed it, which wasn't his fault.
Lucy rested her hand on her stomach gently, and her son gave another heavy kick to her outside skin. She felt him squirm around inside of her. The first kick he gave was to a vital organ of hers. The kicking hurt less if it was outward. But, damn, was he strong.
"Hi, baby," she whispered. Her hand ran up and down her bump, as if to calm him.
Tony smiled, having a few children of his own. "He must have wanted to protect you."
She rolled her eyes but smiled. Her child kicked harder.