Princess Hope

chapter eighteen

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"You're not even trying!" Andra taunted when Harry finished his turn and got a 4. "Put in some effort, Haz. You're making us look good!"

William and their cousins snickered as Harry glared at his sister. Andra put her fingers up in a peace sign. "Sorry. Alright, Bea! Your turn," she said.

Beatrice positioned herself in front of her target. She raised her bow arm and leveled it with the target. She pulled back the arrow, and then she let the string fly. Beatrice smiled contentedly as the arrow hit the target.

"A seven, Your Royal Highness." The butler announced, looking at the target with his binoculars.

"Well done, Bea!" Eugenie cheered. Beatrice was able to hit a 7 on the target.

"Well done, Beatrice," Peter congratulated. "It's your turn now, Genie."

Eugenie scored a six. Then, it was Andra's turn. They groaned when she positioned herself in front of the target with great confidence.

"It's unfair to compete with Andra. She can pass as an Olympic-level athlete!" Harry groaned.

Andra rolled her eyes at her brother's comment. She aimed at the target. Pulling at the string, she deeply breathed in. Then, as she exhaled, she let the arrow fly.

"Hoorah!" Andra cheered when the arrow hit the bullseye.

"That's what, your second?" William shook his head in amusement.

"Freak of nature," Harry grumbled.

"You hate it when I beat you." Andra sang towards Harry.

"We love you but you're absolutely the worst when you beat us. You have a gloating face! I mean you're humble except when you're playing with us," William said in response.

"I am not," she asserted.

"You are, dear." Beatrice chimed.

"Most of the time—I like you very much so I won't say anything else," Eugenie added.

"Probably as worst as Zara," Peter agreed. "But it's fine with me, and it's fun to watch."

"See, even they agree!" Harry motioned.

Andra narrowed her eyes at them as she said. "You love me, nonetheless."

"And I hate myself every single day because of it," Harry dryly said.

"Jar!" William interjected, pointing at the asshat jar they set up. It was a must in any Windsor family game, or it will get ugly. He quickly added, "30 quid!"

"What? Andra basically said the same thing to me a while ago!"

"She gets a pass. It's her birthday." William shrugged.

"Yeah, stop being a sore git, Harry," Andra said.

"Andra, jar." Beatrice shook her head. "Definitely a 10."

Andra reached for money in her back pocket. She placed it in the jar which was almost full. "I swear every time we play anything, this jar is full." She said, and then she faced the butler. "At least it goes to charity. Right, Richard?"

"It is a good way to raise funds, Ma'am." The butler agreed.

"Are you not supposed to let me win because it's my birthday, Haz?"

"I was! But your gloating makes me want to beat you so bad." Harry grunted.

Andra shook her head in amusement. Then, she laughed. "Your pettiness is astounding, really. Henry Charles Albert David, get ready to weep."

"Andra, stop gloating," Beatrice scolded. She turned to Harry with a glare. "Harry, stop being petty."

"Get a move on, kids. It's my turn!" Peter amusedly said.

The Yorks, Waleses, and Peter continued with the last round of their archery contest. Andra was about to take a shot at it when Prince Charles and Princess Anne rode in using one of the few land rovers on the estate.

"Hiya, Aunt Anne! Dad!" She greeted before she let the arrow fly. Expectedly, she hit another ten on the target.

"Well done. That's just spot on, Andra." Anne praised. Andra always liked her aunt, even though people thought of her as grumpy. Aunt Anne, she remembered, was the one who went with her father to all the school plays she was part of no matter if she was just Pirate No. 4, and the one who was there when she got really sick.

"Final scores?" William asked Richard the butler.

"Your Royal Highness has 22," Richard said, pertaining to William. "Mr. Philips has a total of 20. Princess Beatrice accumulated a total of 24 while Princess Eugenie had 19. Prince Harry has 16. And of course, Princess Alexandra has a perfect score of 30."

"Congratulations, darling!" Charles said.

"Thank you, Dad," Andra replied.

"What brought you here, Dad?" William asked.

"Your grandmother is looking for all of you, and I haven't seen your sister since yesterday," Charles replied. He went to grab his birthday gift for his daughter in the car. He returned with a small light blue box in his hand. "Happy birthday, my dear Hope."

"Aw, you didn't have to, Dad," she said as she took off the lid. Her eyes and mouth widened, and she squealed excitedly, "Oh my goodness! Oh, my goodness!" She showed her brothers the gift. "It's the first edition of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace!"

Harry laughed. "Only you would be happy about being given a book," he commented.

"It's the first edition! It's worth a lot, and can you imagine how many people have read this copy?"

"Must be a few," William teased.

"Alright, children. Time to head back to the house. Mummy's looking for all of you," Anne interrupted before the siblings could go into a fight.

"I'll ride with Dad and Aunt Anne," Andra announced.

"Not if I beat you to it," Harry ran towards the land rover. Andra quickly ran after him. He blocked her entry to the back seat so she sat on the shotgun seat.

William looked at his siblings and amusedly shook his head. Harry and Andra may have liked pushing each other's buttons but they loved each other infinitely, and he was thankful for that. His siblings were his source of strength since their mother's death. They kept him from breaking. Now, he was going to make sure that they get the best because it's what they deserved.

"Wills, are you not coming with us?" shouted Andra and Harry from the car.

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