Princess in Training (Prince Harry #3)

Chapter Thirty-Nine

After the funeral, people started to gather outside. Inside Meredith had felt suffocated. So many people had packed into the church that made her nauseous. She had spoken to too many people, and it her made her voice coarse. Harry was at her side, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. While it was meant to be helpful, she needed to breathe.

Without a burial service planned for her cremated body, people began to disband outside, which laid out the paparazzi and media easy for all eyes. Some had come, not as many Jessica had planned for, but it was still some. Privacy wasn't guaranteed.

Leaving made Meredith ready to vomit as suddenly everyone was around her. Paparazzi pushed against each other, all in hopes for a picture. Harry was close to her with a thick whiff of cologne. Bodyguards Bill and Bella were around, pushing them forward. Jessica called them forward, but Meredith heard nothing.

Loaded into the car, they were off. The paparazzi didn't dare to follow.

"Stop," Meredith murmured.

Harry looked at his fiancee.

"Stop the car," she said.

"Mere?"

"Stop the fucking car."

"Ma'am," Jessica said, "paparazzi are currently in pursuit."

"Take a left at the next stop light, go a few miles, take another left, and just keep trying to lose them," she ordered. "Do it quick. I want out."

Bodyguard Bill, who drove, did it quickly enough, but safety was another matter. Police were supposed to keep an eye on the young royal couple, but with her change in plans, it all went downhill. He took a quick left and went a few miles, and after taking the second left, suddenly there were in a large and confusing area. Losing the paparazzi suddenly became easier.

"Take a right and that'll get us out of town," Meredith demanded.

Bill did what he was told, and easily they were on the highway, speeding down with no one the wiser. After a few more directions, the car was pulled off onto a dirt road and hidden in the many high trees around. Their summer leaves provided easy cover.

Jumping out of the car, Meredith walked into the trees, and Harry followed behind silently. She kept walking along no path and on private property without any idea of where she was going or if she could be here. Harry said nothing, neither did Meredith.

When she finally stood still, a look of annoyance shone on her face. Her torso was just hunched over, and her breath was quickened. Her eyes darted into the woods, as the roar of the highway rocketed through. "I just need a moment."

Harry nodded, not arguing with that.

Her hands ran over her face and through her hair. Meredith wasn't much a nature person, unless it came to Scotland, and this was out of the normal. But out here, she didn't expect people anyone in her face about something. Pacing she went back and forth between two old pine trees. She took her moment, and then she stopped.

Meredith said, "Let's go back to the car."

When she tried to walk past, Harry caught her arm. "Mere, let's talk about it."

"You mean the mourning, or the fact that there are so many people? How about the fact that I am constantly followed for no actual reason? There is quite a bit to talk about it, and even more to figure out-- but how are we going to deal with that?" Meredith asked.

"Mere, what about your mum?"

"What about her, Harry?"

Once again, he projected his own pain onto her, and it was a dangerous situation. He wouldn't get the response he wanted from Meredith about her mother. She had always been closer to her father than her mother, and Harry knew this. She had spoken about what might happen if he died, and it wasn't a pretty picture. Yet her impenetrable strength might come to cause easiness.

"Harry," Meredith asked, "is there something you'd like to speak about?"

"No," Harry settled back, "but you know you can always speak to me, right?"

"Of course." Meredith placed a hand on his cheek. "You can speak to me too; you know that, right?"

"Yes." Harry smirked. "I do know that well."

"Good." Meredith kissed him deeply on the lips. "Come on, let's get going. The paparazzi will be bored out of their minds without us."

"I'm happy you're concerned about them." His voice was sarcastic.

Once back in the car, it was back to the highway, only to be stuck in a traffic jam. Bodyguard Bill looked ahead, wanting to get off the road as quickly as possible. Jessica was on her mobile, like something major was happening. Bodyguard Bella was strict in her seat.

"We should get off at the next exit," Jessica said.

"Is it a car accident?" Harry asked.

"No. It's... protesters." The last word was said wrong, like she didn't believe it. Jessica said it like she didn't want to believe. "Now we know why we had lack of police of here today. They had other things to be doing."

"Who's protesting?" Harry asked.

Meredith bit her bottom lip. "I don't think they're protesters. Jessica, who are they?"

"Alt-Right." Jessica flashed their phone back.

Meredith scoffed. "They knew we'd be here and so would the media, so they came and wanted to protest. We're the north, and we certainly deal with this shit." Leaning back in her seat, she wore the same expression of Jessica: disgust. "It's God-knows what year, and they're still doing this shit. Even in the nineteen-forties, we hated Nazis, and suddenly, they're cool? What the fuck."

She wasn't done yet; Harry saw it on her face.

As the next exit came and the backup continued, the dark SUV rolled up the ramp, where the march continued, just trying to take over anything. Waving their large confederate and swastika covered flags, it was more than disgusting to see.

While the US wasn't the only country that deal with very right-wing people, it was certainly one that shouldn't deal with it. This country was built on the equality and acceptance of all, and to have these horrible humans wave these flags and spew hate speech-- it was the end of civilized times. Their confidence to think they were able to speak this way came from the people in charge, who refused to condemn them. These were the same people who condemned terrorism when it came from someone of a color or who didn't practice Christianity, but as soon as they were white and Christian, it was just the freedom of speech.

As counter-protesters walked across the bridge, using their own freedom of speech, it suddenly became a yelling match on all sides. The counter-protesters outnumbered the hate speakers, neo-Nazis, KKK and the rest of the Alt-Righters, but that just made the hate speech so much louder.

"We need to get out of here before this turns bloody," Bill said, jumping the curb and driving away.

Meredith turned back and watched as the crowds surged with no end in sight.