Princess in Training (Prince Harry #3)

Chapter Nine

London thawed out easily, unlike Minnesota. The wedding plans came along smoothly. Princess training was a bit more difficult, but Meredith worked hard to accomplish it. She had more events, usually following around another member of the royal family. It was all fine for her as long as she had something to do. Flowers bloomed in April, and it brought some light into London.

Meredith was thankful for the warmer weather. She had done her little out and abouts, and sometimes Harry came along. Pictures always showed up on the internet or in the tabloids, but when it was just her, paparazzi didn't show up. It was more like people passing her on the street that took one photo and continued on with their day.

Not having been outside today made Meredith antsy. The morning and beginning of afternoon was a review course on how to handle oneself in special events, like galas, which Meredith was doing tonight. It was her first gala, which meant high heels, long dress and expensive jewelry. It was no tiara yet, but Meredith enjoyed these types of baby steps.

All of this information had been gone over multiple times, but now that time loomed in front of her, fear struck Meredith like she might mess up at any moment. Cameras would be all over her tonight, and the last thing Meredith needed was to trip on her dress.

The rest of her afternoon was spent making Meredith presentable. A nice shower and a hair straightener later, Meredith was done with that. Her skin shined as makeup was caked on, even across her arms, like they needed to be toned. Her face was light, happy, which made her eyes squint. It wasn't a worry when somehow they made Meredith's eyes look bigger.

"Beautiful," they said.

Meredith wanted to agree, but she thought she looked fine before.

The next step was the dress, which had been specifically designed for her. She came far from when her dresses were from Primark. No one else in the world would wear this dress. It was simple, like her expensive jewelry was "simple." It was all too much for her, the dress and the jewelry, but it was a simple for the monarchy. Other royals-- higher royals-- were there tonight, too, so she didn't want want to outshine them.

Stepping up into her heels, the dress dragged on the floor a little less. While the dress was specifically designed for her from the waist, height and everything else-- the shoes ended up being the most expensive thing. At least they would be worn more than once, unlike the dress, but due to Meredith's larger than normal feet, all of her shoes had to be specially made. In the US, Meredith didn't have this problem. Here, apparently women with big feet didn't exist as much.

One step after another, Meredith was careful on the steps but made down them easily. She had practiced with the heels and with a long blanket. Harry waited in his black tux.

His blue eyes lit up as Meredith stood at the bottom of the stairs, but she shook her head. "Don't say it," she warned.

Harry smiled. "Beautiful isn't enough."

"Shut up." Meredith wasn't impressed.

He wasn't put off. Coming over, Harry kissed Meredith on the cheek, careful of her heavy makeup. "You don't like it?"

"I look very nice, yes, but... I don't know. I'm supposed to feel like a princess, aren't I?" she asked. "But, I feel pretty and I look gorgeous, and it's all perfect. Yet I feel like I'm going to fuck up."

"You're not," Harry promised, "but even if you do, I'm there, so it's all good." Kissing her on the neck, Harry moved in the kitchen. "Do you want a snack before we leave?"

"No. I'm too nervous to eat." She shook out her arms, already sweating. The dress was made knowing that Meredith got hot easily. The wedding dress for Meredith had to take that into consideration, where hopefully it was chilly that day. Meredith paced around the room.

Coming over, Harry held Meredith's hands. "You got this, Mere. It's not as hard as you think."

Meredith responded, "Let's make tonight my bitch."

Harry laughed.

It was a black and sleek car, like always, which took the engaged couple to the gala. Other royals had shown up already, but Harry and Meredith were thrown in the middle. William and Catherine were to show up later. While Meredith wore a formal dress, it wasn't as formal as one thought because a lot of celebrities, politicians and high white collar workers, like CEO's.

On a dark April night, Meredith stepped out of the car with a shall around her shoulders. The cold didn't bother her, and the snow disappeared from the streets. Harry was beside her, guiding her inside. She kept a smile pasted on her smile. Bright flashes of light from paparazzi's cameras threatened to throw Meredith off balance, but now, she found easy to walk. It was almost easy, especially in the dark night, to walk.

The air was thick inside the gala. Large walls masked with painting and high violin music played. She stayed on Harry's arm for the beginning. People surrounded them, and she took a deep breath. Meredith smiled and spoke in short with them. It was never long conversations with anyone. Harry passed a glass of champagne to Meredith, and she took a sip. Hating the taste, she smiled perfectly.

"You good?" Harry asked.

"We're spliting up now?" she whispered.

Harry nodded and kissed her on the cheek. "You got this."

Making her way around the crowd, Meredith was stopped every few feet, if she got that far in general, as she shook another hand and smiled politely. It was nice to have Harry beside her because at least he knew some of these people. Meredith knew at least fifteen percent of these people. Thankfully, most of them introduced themselves.

"Oh, yes, of course I know who you are," Meredith lied. "How is your work?" Vague questions were most useful. "How is your family?" That was safe. "Thank you." It was another person a few feet later. "Hello, how are you?"

Without a title yet, people were unsure what to call Meredith, but most went for your highness. Meredith didn't correct them.

"Are you excited for your wedding, your highness?"

"Very much so." It had been one of the most popular questions of the whole night. "It will be wonderful."

"You've set a date in October, right?"

"Yes. Hopefully it won't be too rainy."

"Rain brings good luck."

It was also might ruin her dress. "So I've been told, but... it'll be interesting. I never expected such a large wedding, or, well, all of this." Vague answers were the best, but she was meant to be gracious. While sometimes she was told to act like herself, it wasn't one of these times. Meredith wasn't sure if she wanted to act like herself when she spoke with a celebrity, even though she had no idea who this was.

The celebrity continued to speak, and Meredith stayed focused on the her until in a passing moment, clearly stated, "Jack Campbell says hi."