𝐷𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑡𝑜𝑛. ʙʀɪᴛɪsʜ ʀᴏʏᴀʟ ғᴀᴍɪʟʏ

17 ♔♕ 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀

𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚞𝚖𝚗 𝟸𝟶𝟶𝟹

Bella pulled her blanket closer round her shoulders as a light breeze drifted past her. The weather had been on the turn for the last few weeks, taking the memories of warm summer evenings with it.

It was dark outside. As it should be, it was five in the morning. The sun would be rising soon, hopefully bringing a final warm day with it but it was unlikely.

She hadn't slept very well. Well, actually that was a lie. Bella had been sleeping perfectly until a dream had woken her, the sort of dream that seems almost real it's that vivid. And that had been it, playing over and over in her mind, she hadn't been able to return to the depths of sleep.

So there she was, making her way to her favourite bench at Highgrove, placed directly to the east, perfectly in line of the sunrise. The stars were still glittering their way through the sky but the light was beginning to turn, moving from the deep black of the early hours to the dark indigo that promised that light was on its way.

As Bella turned the last corner, the sight of two shapes sat on the bench made her falter slightly in her step. As her eyes adjusted further, the shapes became clearer and she stepped forwards again.

"What are you two doing?"

"Could ask you the same question." Came the response from her brother as he moved to make space in between him and Harry.

"I asked you first." She countered, plopping down in between the two of them.

"Well, Harry hasn't been to sleep yet."

"-that is true." Harry interjected, slurring slightly as he slumped against Bella.

"And I'm watching him, you know, to make sure he doesn't break any of pa's priceless artefacts, again."

"It was an accident." Her brother grumbled next to her as he rested his head onto her shoulder, pulling Bella's blanket onto him slightly. "What are you doing?"

"Couldn't sleep." Bella replied, staring straight ahead to the hill where streaks of light were starting to appear, breaking through the indigo sky like searchlights. "Well." She sighed, "couldn't get back to sleep."

"Bad dream?" William asked, following in his brother's footsteps of stealing her blanket.

"No, not bad, just..." She tailed off, turning away from William slightly so she could rest on him, "it was about mum."

"Oh." Came William's reply, with both of them nodding in understanding.

"Do you ever, um...do you ever worry you'll forget her?" Bella's voice was barely above a whisper, mixing in with the wind before being dragged away.

She felt Harry stiffen slightly, lifting his head from her shoulder, he pulled his knees into his chest, letting the blanket fall down. "Sometimes," he cleared his throat, "sometimes I think that it will happen when we get older."

"It won't." William replied firmly, "she's our mum, you can't forget her."

"No, I don't mean forget her as in not think about her, I mean, like the memories...will the memories all fade away..."

"Are they?"

Bella nodded, pulling the blanket up closer to her. "Sometimes I think that most of my memories are just what other people have told me, or things I've seen." Harry nodded beside her, "I can still hear her voice though."

There was no response from her brothers, both too preoccupied with their own thoughts. Bella lifted her head back up, watching as the light began to filter its way through, beginning to turn the sky once again.

"Can you see that star, the really bright one, just above us." William said quietly, already staring up at it. Harry and Bella followed in suit, finding the star he was talking about. "That's where I like to think she is, looking down on us."

Bella smiled up to the star, mentally whispering, 'hi mum.'

♔♕

𝗔/𝗡: 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗶 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺. 𝗛𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗼!