Princess in Training (Prince Harry #3)

Chapter Sixty-Six

Meredith didn't sleep much that night.

When they finally went back to bed, Meredith put her head on his chest, where she heard his heart beat calmly and evenly. He fell asleep, arms wrapped around Meredith, but Meredith didn't fall asleep. She stared out to the ocean, how waves lapped against the shore. She listened. It was all too loud and bright. The moonlight reflected off the water.

Even as she yawned, she didn't close her eyes. When she blinked, there was a clicking sound, like a suction cup coming down over her eyes and then lifting back up. She did her best just to stare out and not blink.

The sun started to rise, and Meredith slid off of Harry. Tired as he was, he didn't even notice.

Her feet dragged against the white tile floor. It was long trek down to the ocean, and she didn't know she was going there until she waited on the shore. The waves tickled her toes. It was cold this morning, just as the sun started to rise. Coming over the horizon, Meredith didn't want to remember the dream as clearly as she did. She remembered drowning, but even then, she wasn't ready to leave the water.

Meredith took a deep breath, calming herself. Her mind had cleared from last night.

Growing up, Meredith knew this girl named Sydney who was obsessed with dreams, saying that they all meant something. Sydney and Meredith had been friends from kindergarten through high school, but when it came to going off to college, they never spoke again. From what Meredith knew, Sydney was off to get her masters in business. However, Sydney was obsessed with dreams. With a clear mind, Meredith was able to think them through.

As much as Meredith loved water, it was dangerous, especially the ocean. As well as the ocean was an easy one to interpret. The water reflected a nice and natural sleep, like the floating in water, where it was unconsciousness itself. Meredith did drift for a while, but more than often in her nightmare last night, she was drowning. Meredith was overwhelmed and in over her head.

Even the pressures of London were getting to her all the way out here. While in London, she was meant to act a certain way and be a certain way. She was constantly surrounded by cameras. In Kensington Palace, she wasn't safe either. She was safe with Harry, but there always people coming in and out.

As for the airplane crash, it wasn't one that Meredith was familiar with. Upon going back inside, Meredith did some sleuthing on the internet. She hadn't always been a fan of airplane rides, so that was the obvious choice to airplanes falling from the sky, but there were two other choices. 

In one choice, it gave evidence that the water did as well: lack of self-confidence, self-attitude and self-doubt. Meredith remembered very clearly what the paparazzi said to her in her dream and then, of course, what they said throughout her whole time of dating Prince Harry.

The paparazzi always wanted to get her down, and they did it best when Meredith repeated it back to herself. Some of it did get into the cracks of her. Most times, it rolled off. After having been bullied for most of her life, Meredith was good at having things roll off. In her line of work now, she needed the thick skin.

Then there was the second choice: if goals were set too high, it was easy for them to fall. Since her engagement with Harry, the question had been asked: what are you going to do? Everyone wanted to know what charities and organizations she wanted to help. There were the usual organizations and groups that were given to her, but there were other ones that she was able to choose. Meredith liked reading and anti-bullying charities, but more were needed yet.

Jessica had been pushing on the idea of more health orientated charities, like HIV/AIDS and others. These were the types of charities that Princess Diana dealt with, and Meredith was pushed to be like her. Since she began to date Prince Harry, everyone compared her to Princess Diana; Catherine had it worse, of course. Nonetheless, there was a push to be like Princess Diana, and Meredith certainly didn't know to do that. She didn't want to do that either.

Standing in the white villa, Meredith was happy to leave this place today. Whatever journey Harry had planned for them, she was ready to go. She packed as much as she could without waking Harry up, and he remained asleep. Now in the kitchen, she made breakfast, hoping the smell might call him downstairs. She turned music up a little bit, dancing as she went. Her bones ached from last night, and she felt like she ad a cold. Yet, Meredith danced around.

Harry came downstairs groggily with his head tilted to the side. The hot shone brightly, lighting up the whole villa, and he blinked it away. He watched as his wife danced around as she made pancakes, accidentally spilling as she went. She didn't even notice him.

"Um, Mere? Mere."

She didn't hear.

Harry watched as she went, but he wasn't able to ignore it any longer. "Mere!" He rushed into the kitchen as the smoke alarms started to blare. She let out a screech as he pushed toward the grill. Smoke started to rise as the pancakes started to burn. He pulled the plug from the wall and started to flag a towel  in front of the smoke alarm.

"Are you telling me that you don't like your hotcakes burnt, Harry?" Meredith laughed.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Harry chuckled too.

"We still have enough batter to make more of them?"

"I think I'll do that." He took the bowl from her hands.

She rolled her eyes and continued to dance to the music. "I did try."

"I know."

Meredith moved into the open area and danced around more, twisting as she went. However the music took her, Meredith followed along. "Come dance with me, Harry." Setting down the bowl, he joined his wife and danced along. "Come on, Harry. You call that moving your hips." He tried harder, which only made Meredith laugh. She put her hands on his hips and swayed them herself.

"Will this work in the bedroom?" he asked his wife, and Meredith did not respond.

All packed up to leave and they did, Harry drove as they went down highway. The ocean was left. Meredith let her hand dangle outside the car. Her hand went up and down like waves in the air. They drove on.