Princess in Training (Prince Harry #3)

Chapter Twenty-Four

"Hey, hey." Meredith poked Harry, her voice at a minimum. "Want to do something fun?"

Harry continued to sleep, letting out a little groan.

Meredith whispered again, "You want to do something fun?" Her pokes became more excessive.

Growling, Harry lifted his head from off the bed. The sun had gone down almost five hours ago, yet she hadn't gone to sleep. They weren't as far north as Scotland, but it was early sunrise tomorrow with the summer equinox. He was tired, but looking into the eyes of Meredith, a spark came to life in him.

At the beginning of the relationship, it was Harry who made snap judgments like this. Meredith had been conflicted on what she wanted, and she certainly didn't like being picked out of a crowd. As their relationship continued and they spent time apart, when they came together, any snap decision that could be made, they did together. However, since Meredith moved to London, it was more and more spontaneous decisions on her part. It was going out, knowing paparazzi were there, and it was these midnight decisions.

Harry looked at the clock. It was way past midnight, and Meredith didn't look to have slept one second. He had felt her rolling over and over, but when he fell asleep, he into an abyss. After having done so much that day, sleep was easily. Not for Meredith, and she loved being here, but she was starting to grow restless. In Scotland, she had the ability to hike anywhere, but here, it was all private property that threatened with "Keep Out" and "Trespassers will be prosecuted."

Meredith changed into her swimsuit, and Harry had no choice but to drag his feet as he put on his swim trunks.

"Mere," he begged as she pulled on his hand and to the dock, "let's go back to bed."

Laughing, she dropped her bikini top to the wooden dock that was covered in algae.

"Mere," Harry warned.

Slipping off her swim trunks, they fell onto to the dock too. Meredith smiled at him, but Harry put his blue eyes to the water. Placing her hands on her hips, Meredith dared her future husband to look at her, but no, he continued to look away.

One final time, Harry said, "Mere, let's go back to bed."

"Nope." Meredith slipped into the two and half feet deep water. Mossy rocks made it slippery, and the moon was the only light given. Thankfully it was a cloudless night. The wind had calmed now. "Come on."

"Mere!" Harry looked right and left, but no lights flickered on.

She was twenty feet out now. "I'm going with or without you."

Treading water, a mysterious glint came to her eyes, and for a moment, Harry thought he was dreaming. Following her, he placed a foot into the water. The coldness shook up his body, making him shiver. From the moment he met her, Harry knew there was something, and here it was, how she made him feel alive. Harry didn't stop as he slipped another foot into the water. Mud curled in between his toes. Another shiver ran up his spine.

With a smile on his face, Harry swam out, and Meredith waited for him.

Her chin barely came out of the lake, and her lips puckered. Her hand wrapped around his body, drawing him near. Her feet kicked softly under the water. It was easy to float with the lack of waves. Calmness spread over him. Meredith kissed him and her fingers slipped around his waist. Harry didn't fight her, but even helped, as she slipped off his swim trunks. They floated upward and away.

"I hope you brought another pair," Meredith murmured.

"I didn't." Harry kissed her back. His fingers twisted into her wet hair.

Slipping away from him, she led him deeper into Bad Axe Lake. The water was cold but refreshing. Harry kept up with her. Just to appease him, Meredith kept her head above water. Harry was at least happy for this.

Swimming around a bit, Meredith floated, facing the sky and the millions of billions of stars above them. The world gave a curve away, only cut away by dark trees. The high trees pushed the purple and black sky away. Harry floated beside her, mostly watching her. These were the same stars he saw in Scotland and Afghanistan. Meredith watched the stars like she hadn't seen them before.

When the first light came, just barely illuminating the sky, fifteen minutes before five in the morning, and the two pulled themselves to shore and up onto the dock. Thankfully, Harry's swim trunks had floated to shore, and he picked them off the rocks.

"Bedtime?" Harry asked, tiredness seeping into him. He almost suggested that Meredith had to carry him up the stairs, but no, it wasn't necessary. He had the ability to sleep on the wooden and splintery dock.

"Or we skip breakfast and sleep then?" Meredith suggested.

Now back in her bikini, her arms curled around him and she swayed in the rising sunlight. Harry kissed her neck, holding her close. He missed her when she was only a few feet away, and any moment of touching her was like his body coming alive. His nerves were alive. His breath became even. The tiredness that pulled at his body disappeared, replaced by the love he felt toward Meredith.

The sun was warm as it peeked through the trees. White little mountains arose on Meredith's skin, with each pluming small blonde hair. Harry glanced at her fingertips to see the skin underneath the nail had turned purple. She shuddered but continued to dance with him. Warm blankets were necessary, and Harry tried to get her to go upstairs with him.

"No," Meredith protested. "A few more minutes until we have to go back to reality."

Harry put his head against hers. "Is reality all that bad?"

"No," she admitted, "it isn't. But I like here and now, and the longer it can go, the better."

Here and now, there was no fear or anger, no sadness or hate, and it was just them against the big wide world. But here and now, there was no one to fight; there was no one even to fight for. Reality slipped back in with every passing minute as the sun rose and the sky turned away from purple to pink, a brilliant different hues in between, and blue began to settle over them.

Meredith yawned, the first to escape her lips. Her eyelids were too heavy, and it wasn't even dancing anymore. Not even a sway moved their bodies, but it was them with their arms wrapped around each other, holding each other for comfort, warmth and love. Meredith turned on her heel with Harry's hand and hers, and she took him back to bed.