The Prince's Secret (Prince Harry Fanfic)

Part 73 - Tying the Knot

Samantha

As Harry and I slid into the back seat of the waiting car, he handed me a large white box. Opening it, I found a small bouquet of pink and white roses, with a few sprigs of blue forget-me-not and white myrtle, all tied up with a blue velvet ribbon.

"I know this probably isn't how you imagined getting married," Harry said, somewhat apologetically, "but I thought you should have a bouquet. And later on, when we make it official, you can have a big beautiful wedding. Very big."

I didn't want to think about a big beautiful televised wedding at the moment, with millions of people watching me. Right now I just wanted to enjoy what was happening between Harry and I. And it felt right, somehow, to have this very private wedding ceremony in secret to celebrate a relationship we had been keeping secret for so long.

"Thank you," I said, lifting the bouquet out of the box to smell the flowers. "It's very thoughtful of you."

"Colin gets part of the credit," Harry said. "I have the thoughts, but Colin is the one that gets things done."

We held hands as Simon drove us to a private house on a quiet tree-lined street. The front yard was screened with trees and shrubbery, so no one from the street could see us as we got out of the car and headed inside where Colin was waiting.

He introduced us to an older woman named Edith, the marriage commissioner. She asked us our names for the marriage license and checked our IDs, seemingly not surprised or impressed that she was going to be performing a secret wedding ceremony for a prince.

"And where would you like to have the ceremony?" she asked. "Inside or outside?"

The house was furnished but appeared to be unoccupied. Both Harry and I gravitated to the back of the house, where a little garden had a view of the ocean. The sun was sliding down the sky, turning the clouds pink and blue, and when Harry glanced at me I knew we had the same thought.

"Right here," he said, and then, as Edith opened her book, he added, "but can you give us a moment first?"

"Of course," Edith said, and she retreated back into the house with Colin and Simon, who would be our witnesses.

Harry took my hands. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked. "I don't want you to feel like I've rushed you into anything, or pressured you. Being my wife will not be an easy life, though it may look like it's all galas and tiaras on the surface."

The way he said being my wife made me shiver. "I know it's not going to be easy," I said softly, "but I can't imagine a life without you, Harry. I want to be with you. Right now, that's all I can think about."

He smiled at me and brought my hands to his lips for a kiss.

"Maybe I should ask you the same question," I said. "Are you sure this is what you want to do? When the Queen finds out—and you know she will—she may be very angry with you. And me."

"I'm hoping the Queen will not find out, actually," he admitted. "I'm hoping that she will give us her permission to marry soon, and we can repeat our vows in a more public way, officially. But I'm willing to risk it. I can't go on like I have been, wanting to be with you and having to hide it from everyone. I love you, Sam, and I want you to be my wife. It's as simple as that...even if in reality it's not simple at all."

We kissed then, even though I suppose we should have waited until after the ceremony. Looking up at him, I said, "I do have one request."

"Name it."

"Take off your jacket."

Harry glanced down quizzically at the blue suit jacket he was wearing over his jeans.