I was seated at breakfast with Queen Anne, today was apparently a day full of etiquette and learning to be a princess. I loved learning about these kinds of things like, the way someone is to speak to a high ruler, a priest, even the common people like me. I just think all these things are interesting since I am not used to this life. I am used to a life of doing whatever the hell I wanted.
"Now, have you ever sewn before?" Queen Anne asked me with a smile as we entered the Queen's drawing room.
"No, I haven't," I said twiddling my thumbs as I walked with my hands clasped together.
"Today you are going to learn. As the Queen, I have to find other means of entertainment besides reading and listening to music. So I have taken up cross stitching. It's easy and allows you to talk without thinking of what you have to do. Knitting and crocheting are also common time passers."
I followed her to the chest she had behind one of the sofas. She opened it up and took out a hood with a cloth in it. There was a needle with red string on it stuck into the cloth. She handed me a blank one with a bunch of X's in the cloth. I couldn't really tell what the image was supposed to be.
"I'll get you started," she smiled to me. "You have a lot of green in yours so we'll start with green." I watched as she took out a green colored wad of string, sucked on the end and threaded it through the cloth hood I previously was holding.
"What you do is you make an x with string. All the green ones is where you put the thread," she said with a smile. She took a seat on the sofa in front of the chest and crossed her legs. She nodded to the spot next to her so I could ask for help if I needed it.
"How are you and Harry getting along?" she asked after a few minutes of silence, the only noise is us pulling needles through the cloth.
"Great, actually," I smiled to her. "He's a great boy."
"He is," she smiled. "My daughter has taken a liking to you as well. Gemma doesn't have many friends so it's nice that she seems to adore you."
"She's....unique," I laughed thinking about her excessive book collection and her odd gifts.
"Yes, she is unique. Say, is she happy? With Prince Louis and her getting married?" Queen Anne asked me suddenly. "I can't help but worry because I know she will marry him for the sake of her father, but is she happy?"
"She told me something that reminded me of myself. I want to marry for love, not fortune or anything, I want to be happy and she wants that as well. So I think it's safe to say that she isn't happy with the upcoming wedding between her and Prince Louis. Personally, I don't think it's fair that her younger brother has the chance to look for a wife and marry the one that makes him most happy when she can't marry for happiness," I said not once glancing at Queen Anne. In the corner of my eye, I saw her place her hoop on her lap and rub her hands together. She placed a hand over one of mine.
"Thank you," she said once I had looked up at her. "Gemma would never tell me those things."
"I just want my friend to be happy. She is such a bubbly girl, I don't want her to be tied to something that would make her lose her crazy attitude."
"The tradition of marrying daughters to other princes is becoming more and more difficult as the princes are now mostly related," she explained. "We have essentially married into every kingdom there is and it took us a long time to find Prince Louis."
"May I ask why it's important to marry into kingdoms instead of her finding someone she'll fall in love with?" I asked. "She's a bright girl and he seems nothing like her at all."
"I know," she admitted. "It is our duty as parents of a princess to marry our daughter to make bonds with other kingdoms. Fortunately for us, we have a lot of alliances. The only places we aren't alliances is the Perdu Kingdom and the Northern Gaelic Kingdom. We think it's the Perdu kingdom pushing our borders as they live in a small patch of land off the northern border. They were never happy with the amount of land they were given when they broke off of Ula. Gaelic is on the island opposite us, they are of a peaceful sort of people."
"Has there been Gaelic immigrants?" I asked thinking of Niall from back home.
"Yes," She smiled. "The king's wife is Des' sister so we have to let her people here," she smiled. "There are two portions of Gaelic, Northern and Southern. Southern is the part we get along with and the Northern dislikes us. In fact, the north is where they broke off and formed the Republic of Gaelic."
"So there's two kingdoms?"
"No, one, but the other has a different form of ruling. We don't know what it's about, but Des and I know they are dangerous."
I looked at her in curiosity. I couldn't imagine living in their shoes, I might, but I couldn't imagine it. I couldn't see Harry going over strategies day in and day out. I could only see him being nice and wanting to get to know the people he is ruling over.
"I can't imagine Prince Harry ever having problems with anyone," I admitted. She laughed and nodded, I could see her son acquired her smile. Both were beautiful, but I loved his more.
"Me either, everyone loves him, he is such a charming young boy. Always has been since he was a baby," She laughed, her mind wandering to when her son was an infant. "He was such tall baby, too. His legs ran for miles. He is all legs, even now."
"You're pretty tall yourself, must have gotten that from you," I said to her. She nodded with a laugh. "I think he'll change the kingdom to how he sees fit, he knows there are things that are in need of a desperate change and I think he will fix it."
"I do too," she smiled to me. "You see the same good I see in him. I'm glad."
"I want to get to know him, the real him. I like his goofy, cheeky side as well as his soft and sensible side. If I were to get married to him, I want to at least know him," I said to her with a smile. "Wouldn't you?"
"Yes," she smiled. "You're very different than when I was in your position. When Des and I realized that we liked each other, he proposed to me. Has Harry mentioned marriage at all?"
"Yes," I nodded slowly. "He has told me he would like to marry me, but if he were to ask, I'd decline at the moment."
"Why?" she asked. Shock was written over Queen Anne's face.
"I am not in love with him yet," I said simply. "If I know I am irrevocably in love with him and can't spend a day without him, I would then accept. I don't want to accept it if he were to ask now because what if we were simply just good friends? It's not fair on either of us. Yes we would be happy because we're with our friend, but we're not in love."
"I see your point," she smiled to me. "I was worried about that too when I was in your position, but I did fall in love with Des. Oh, he was so handsome when I met him. He is now, but Harry definitely got his good looks from his father."
"He looks just like you!" I laughed. "His hair and lip thing is the only thing I can see he got from his father," I said.
"His father is quite handsome, though," she said. "Gemma is definitely me. Practically identical."
"Almost," I laughed. "You hold your tongue more than she does, though."
"I still think I may get thrown from the palace for rude behavior. I know my children never would, especially Harry as he is the sole heir."
"How important is it to have a son?"
"Very," she said with wide eyes. "Desmond was not happy when Gemma was born. He was upset by the fact he didn't have an heir, he only had a kingdom connection. There is a reason why there is a four year gap between the children. It was so hard for us to conceive Harry."
"He's your miracle, isn't he?"
"He is," she smiled. "He was the little light in my life. Oh, he was such a happy child. Desmond hated when Harry would come wandering to our bedroom when he was younger wanting to sleep in our bed, but I adored it. I instead went and slept in Harry's bed."
"Nightmares?" I asked.
"That and he wet the bed," she laughed. "You would think that since we have maids I would ask them to change the sheets. No, I would change his wet sheets, tuck him in, read him stories and cuddle him. I wanted him to know me as mum, not just the woman who gave birth to him. I was raised to love my children and care for them."
"That is....wonderful," I said pausing to think of what word I wanted to use. "He's lucky to have you."
"If you were to marry my son, I want my grandchildren raised the same way. I think if nannies were to raise my grandchildren, they would be cold and not as bubbly. It would sadden me to see my son's children not as happy growing up."
"If it is me who is that person, I'll make sure that never happens your majesty," I smiled to her placing my hand over hers. "Thank you for sharing this with me."
"It's nice to have someone to listen," she smiled to me. "I only have my daughter, but she hates spending time with me."
"No she doesn't," I said waving it off. "She just loves her books a lot. Maybe more than anything."
"Those rude books," Queen Anne laughed. "I couldn't believe my eyes when I first saw them, my baby isn't as innocent as I thought. If anything happens to her, don't let a priest in her room."
"I won't," I laughed. "Father Sons would probably have to exorcise her."
"Make her take a bath in holy water."
"He would," I laughed. "She is so funny though. Makes me embarrassed, but she is great. Both of your kids are."
Queen Anne then did something that surprised me, she leaned over and gave me a warm motherly hug. I could tell that I reminded her of home. She must have come from somewhere close to where I was from. It warmed my heart that she felt that I was trustworthy enough to hug. I was truly honored to receive this kind of affection from her.
"You are going to make my son very happy, you know," she smiled to me. "He is already absolutely smitten with you, I wouldn't be surprised if he started planning your future bedroom already."
"Bedroom?"
"Yes, every King and Queen share a bedroom together, the crowned prince chooses the room and decides what would be in the bedroom. It is the place where on their wedding night, he and his wife go to their room, as well as some guests, and he makes love to her for the first time. It's a nerve wracking position let me tell you. In front of about twenty people. Your first time shouldn't be like that, but I am not one to complain, ever."
"So there are people in the room watching your husband bed you?" I asked with wide eyes.
"Oh, yes, it's a marriage tradition. The point is that your wedding night is supposed to be when the heir to the throne is made," she said with a sigh. "I think it's a silly tradition. It's so old fashioned."
"I don't like people staring at me," I whispered.
"What Des and I did was draw the side curtains and there was one curtain not drawn. It was still really awkward," she said with a sigh. "The worst part was, they didn't say anything, the people in the room. They just observed. My parents, his parents. It was so strange."
"No one said anything?" I asked and she nodded.
The door opened from behind us, but we didn't bother turning around to see who the intruder was. I felt a large hand slide across my shoulder. I turned and was met with a pair of lips brushing against mine; Harry. I smiled into the kiss and pulled away with red cheeks.
"Hey mum," he said taking a seat between the both of us. "What are my two favorite ladies up to?"
"Cross stitching," she smiled to her son.
"Without Gemma? She'll be so sad," he said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. I stifled a laugh at the thought of Gemma sewing. Never going to happen.
"Don't be sassy with me, Harry," she said with a smile. "May I ask what you want?"
"Came to spend time with you and Em," he smiled. "I've been so busy lately it's hard to squeeze in time for myself."
"I know," she nodded. "Your father seems to like adding more hours to your schedule."
"He took breakfast with Emerald off my schedule," he said with an annoyed tone. "I was not happy."
"I can see that," she laughed patting his cheeks. "He only wants you to be prepared for when you must take over the kingdom. There's no rest for the wicked."
"I'm not wicked," he said and turned to me. "I'm not wicked, right?"
"It's a saying," I laughed. "Queen Anne, you must be from near me."
"Yes, about a twenty minute walk from your town," she smiled.
"What does it mean?" he whispered to me.
"It means that by working hard, you don't get time to yourself. Therefore no rest for the wicked. You don't get rest because you're working hard for your kingdom," I said pointedly. He nodded as he tugged at his bottom lip.
"I don't like working hard," he groaned with a light laugh. "It means I have to do things and I would rather be lazy."
"Then the kingdom would run into shambles," his mother said pointedly. "You two can go, I'm going to finish this. I'll put away your things Emerald."
"Oh, thank you Your Majesty," I smiled to her standing up after Harry. I placed my hoop next to her carefully and smiled at her as Harry took hold of my hand and walked out of the room with me.
"Where are we going?" I asked him as we left the drawing room.
Harry didn't answer, instead, we just continued walking until we got to his bedroom. He opened the door, led me in, shut it behind me and locked it. Harry crossed the room with a smile on his face, his kind eyes watching me with a glint of happiness behind them. He looped his arms through the space between my side and my arms and locked his hands behind me.
"I've missed you," he said with a smile. "All this shit my dad has me doing is driving me absolutely nuts. I am still figuring out who I am, I know military and he doesn't need to tell me things I already know. I had a whole class on military strategy about a year ago."
He brought me close to his chest and nuzzled his face into my neck, the curls on his head tickling my skin. I breathed in his cologne and buried my face into his chest. Harry turned his head to kiss my cheek gently.
"I didn't even ask how your day was."
"It was fine," I said with a shrug of my shoulders. "I mostly spent the day learning etiquette lessons from your mum."
"Sounds joyous," he laughed, his chest vibrating against my cheek. "I wish I had more time to spend with you, Emerald."
"I do too," I admitted. "How are we supposed to get to know each other otherwise?"
"We can for the next two hours before throne room time," he said checking his watch. "Come on, let us relax and have a nice chat. I like this whole learning about each other thing. It makes me want to know more about you."
"I always want to know more about you," I laughed lifting my head off his chest. "Is it bad that I don't want to move?"
"No," Harry laughed. "I don't want you to move either."
Harry scooped me up, I let out a shocked gasp as he took hold of my legs and carried me over to the bed where he crawled in next to me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer to his body. He nuzzled his face into my chest making me roll my eyes at his boyish behavior.
"Is there a need for your face to be in my boobs?"
"They are comfy," he murmured, his voice vibrating against my skin. I felt his lips press against the bare skin on my chest from the v neck dress I was wearing. "You are very beautiful."
"You didn't tell me about the marriage tradition," I said to him. He rolled off of me and looked at me with furrowed eyebrows. "When you get married, people watch—"
"I didn't tell you for a reason," He said placing a finger against my lips. "I'm trying to get my father to change that. I don't want him to watch me or you. Only my eyes should be set on you, not anyone else's. So far he hasn't budged."
"So as of right now if we were to get married—"
"We would be seen having intercourse, yes," he said with a sigh. "I'm sorry."
"It's not even relevant right now," I said sitting up. "We're not engaged or anything, so why be upset about it? I was just wondering why I heard about it from your mum and not you."
"I just didn't want to push you away, my sister told me you are shy about that stuff," he said with a shrug. "I didn't want you to leave before I got the chance to spend any time with you at all. You understand, right?"
"Of course," I smiled hugging him. "I am glad we get right now to spend time together."
"Me too, there isn't enough hours in the day to spend time together," he sighed. "I want to take a day off and run away with you, never to be seen again. Just me and you and the road."
"That sounds like a dream."
"It could be possible," he smiled to me.
"I just want to spend time with you, not run away with you," I laughed. "If we were to get married, you would get me the rest of your life."
"I look forward to that then," he smiled. "I could cuddle in your breasts for the rest of my life, even when they begin to sag."
"Harry!" I gasped slapping his arm. He let out a laugh, holding his chest as he laughed. "You are rude!"
"Just being honest, beautiful," he winked to me. "No, but I look forward to being with you."
"What makes you think I am going to marry you?"
"Why wouldn't you?" he asked propping himself up on his elbows. "Is there a specific reason why you would reject my offer of marriage?"
"I just don't want to rush into anything, I've told you this for what feels like a thousand times. I want to know you," I smiled pressing a hand to his cheek. "You are very special to me and I don't want to lose that connection we have. You deserve the best shot at love, let whatever it is take its course. If it doesn't work out, then it doesn't. If it does, you'll see me in white walking down the aisle to you."
Harry stared at me with a smile on his face. He always gets this look, I've noticed. Whenever I mention our future together at all, he gets this awestruck face that looks as if he can't believe what I am saying. I like him too much to comprehend what exactly I feel for him and yes, I can see a future with him.
He leaned forward and gave me a gentle kiss on the lips. I loved the feeling of his lips pressed against mine, there was something so sweet about it that I couldn't begin to comprehend. He made me feel alive and I desperately began seeking that sense of being alive from the moment he pressed his lips against mine at the ball.
One thing that seems to be lingering on my mind is whether or not I allowed him to get here too fast. My thoughts? I don't think it's too fast. It's not like I'm letting him do dirty things to me yet. Yes, we both saw each other naked, but we didn't do more than look and prod at each other. It was as if we were both fascinated by the thought of seeing each other in our most vulnerable states. It was a nerve wracking experience that I will never forget, but I wouldn't take it back for the world. I got to know him that night, I saw the vulnerable lust side of Harry. When lust takes over him, he becomes quiet and sensitive. He becomes curious, not aggressive. I loved that about him. Yes, he had urges, but he pushed those aside for me. He knew we can't do that, but yet he pushed us to that line.
"You're a remarkable woman," He whispered to me. "So strong and so beautiful."
I smiled to him and kissed his cheek. His fingers laced through minuend he just held my hand as his eyes looked over my face. He seemed to be memorizing every little detail about it, every freckle, every spot, every line. I only knew this because I did the same to him. I memorized where his eyes crinkled when he had a full blown smile. Where the shadows fell on his face, or where his hair curled around his face.
"You are pretty remarkable yourself, Prince Harry," I smiled to him. He frowned. "What?"
"I don't like being called Prince Harry," he said with a sigh. "It makes everything feel so....formal. Like this, it makes it feel formal if you do that."
"I didn't do it to be polite," I said with a smile. "I just—I don't really know why I did it in the first place. All I know, is that you're very insecure about it, why?"
"I'm not insecure, I just hate the title," He said crinkling his nose in distaste. "Titles are important in our kingdom, yes, but it doesn't define me, you know? I feel as if it began defining me when I became the 'crowned prince of Ula' and I didn't like that. I wanted to be known as Harry, the boy who happens to be the future King."
"A lot of people see that, H," I said brushing my fingers through his curls. "I see that."
"I know, but the people of of Ula don't. They and everyone else with titles only see me for my title. I hate it," he sighed. "Even though I grew up with that title, I still hate it. I want to strip it away and just become Harry Styles, citizen of Ula."
"You know that will never happen," I said looking at him. "Your destiny was to be king and king you shall be."
"But it's not what I want," he said looking over at me. "I didn't ask for this life, it was handed to me and I don't think I deserve it. Yes, I am more than happy to serve alongside my country in war, but I don't think I am the most qualified person to run the kingdom."
"You're a very strong person, I think you can do it," I smiled to him. "You can't exactly bail on the position because you don't think you deserve it. The crown has been in your family for a long time, it's yours."
"I just think it should be my sister's," he sighed. "She is the oldest."
"But you're the first male," I said to him. "That is who takes the crown."
"I wish it wasn't me," he murmured pulling me close to his body. "Then maybe I could have found you earlier in my life and have ran away with you."
I giggled at the thought of Harry, not the crowned prince, finding me in the horrid town center. It was so odd to think of him in a different situation because that isn't how he is at all. He was handed a variety of things all his life, I don't know how he would handle farming. It's odd to think about.
"Well, if you had found me earlier, our fathers would no doubt have talked about a dowry to pay my father for me as they do. Then after we married, there would probably be at least three children in the following three years," I said with a laugh.
"One every year?" he asked surprised.
"Hey, contraception isn't cheap!" I laughed. "A lot of my friends have three or four kids already. My parents had a load."
"Yeah," he nodded looking at me. "I wonder who I would be if I wasn't the prince."
"I think you would be a great guy," I smiled to him. "You're too nice to not find happiness no matter where you end up."
"I was thinking what caste," he said leaning towards me. "I am obviously a one, but what would I be?"
"Well, what was your mother?"
"A seven," he said. "Just above yours."
"Your father, what was his mother's?"
"A seven."
"You would most likely be a seven then," I laughed. "It would be ideal for me to marry into your family then because they are above us therefore your family would have more money than us. Women are never allowed to marry below them because they barely get a pound for being married. So going up a class would make a whole difference."
"What are sevens exactly?"
"They make a lot of crafts," I laughed. "Your mum kind of shows that with her sewing as did your grandmother as I was told. It all depends on your passion really. It's not easy to climb the system, but if you work hard enough, it's possible. I've seen it happen."
"I like dabbling in music," he shrugged. "I always have, ever since I was little."
"Then you would climb your way up until you were a four or five."
"Why one or the other?"
"Depends on which side of music you want," I smiled. "Symphonic is five, vocal is four."
"So a four then?" he asked.
"If that is what you aspired to then yes," I laughed. "Why the curiosity?"
"I just am curious about who I am I guess. Without the Prince stuff. I like all the things I have, but sometimes I wonder if me being here is doing myself good. When I was younger and my mum told me stories of growing up as a seven, I fantasized about living that life. I know it wasn't all fun and games because you had to make things for a living, but it sounded like a dream. Even then, I hated having everything handed to me."
"You do work for what you get."
"I never knew poverty nor did I know hunger. Sometimes I wish I could know what it was like, you know? But now that I am crowned, I will never get that chance."
"There's a period during the year that people fast, try that or do it anytime," I said to him. "I'll do it with you, I'll go hungry with you for a week."
"I couldn't ask you to do that with me, you came here to get healthier," he said to me. "You don't need to starve yourself for my sake of being dumb."
"I want to," I smiled. "Is there any way we could get away for a week to like my hometown? It would make it all the more realistic for you to know what it is like."
Harry sat up and looked at me. A smile appearing on his face as soon as he knew what I was implying. He leaned over and pressed his lips to mine with a smile on his face.
"I can have them clear our week starting tomorrow, we can leave tonight," he smiled. "I can't wait."
"Neither can I," I smiled. "My father would appreciate the help, but I couldn't show you what to do. I would have to cook and clean."
"Why wouldn't you help?"
"A woman's job is in the house," I stated repeating my father's words. "It's a wife's job to serve her husband until she is physically unable."
"That is horrible," he gasped covering his mouth. "Is—"
"Yeah, my mum is pretty hurt as she has arthritis," I said. "I hope she's getting along well."
"At least you get to see your family again."
"Yeah, oh and H," I said smiling at him.
"Yeah?" he asked.
"Make sure you get eight clothes, you don't want to look like a knob."
_________________________________________
So they are going back to Emerald's family.... this should be interesting as the whole lot of you despise her father. Haha.... don't worry, I do too :D Anyways, thank you so much again for reading this! It's amazing to read your feedback!
~Amanda.xx
P.S. Harry's accidental favorite was the best thing ever....oi vei #Harrydontlickanything