A Princess Named Harry

Chapter 10

The sun was shining brightly over the kingdom, it was nice and warm outside, but Harry couldn't enjoy the wonderful outdoors. She was currently heading to her mother's quarters. She knocked on the door before entering.

"Mother," she called.

When Harry got the okay to enter, she found her mother sitting at a small table by the windowsill, drinking some tea in a beautiful tea cup. She was dressed in a gorgeous golden dress with her hair up and fixed. At that moment, Harry didn't know whether her mother was settling into her role as queen or if she was returning to the role she was always meant for. One thing she knew for certain was that she was different from her mother as she still struggled to get used to all the luxury.

"You look lovely, Mother," said Harry with a smile.

Caroline turned to her poised, and with a smile, she replied, "You look pretty lovely yourself, Harry."

Harry wasn't sure if that was really true. She was wearing a pretty dress, but it was rather plain. It was a dull pink compared to her mother's shiny gold and the only noticeable thing about it was the brown buttons on the front of it. Her hair wasn't fixed up as pretty either, it was just pulled back some.

"Thank you," she answered. "But Mother looks even more gorgeous than I."

Caroline smiled and patted on the empty seat beside her for Harry to sit on. After Harry was seated, she began to speak, "Mother, there's something I need to discuss with you."

Caroline picked up the teapot and began to refill her cup. "Tea?" she asked Harry.

"Yes, sure, please," she replied.

Harry talked to Caroline as she poured her some warm tea. "Um, I'm not sure how I should say this, you-you see, His Majesty is a very wonderful person but . . . "

"But?" asked Caroline.

Harry clenched her fists. "But . . . recently . . . he's . . . he's been around me a lot lately."

Caroline sat back and thought about what to say to her tense daughter.

"Hmm," she replied.

Harry twirled her thumbs and added, "I know I shouldn't complain, but I was hoping you would talk to him about not visiting me so frequently."

For a while, there was nothing but silence between the two. Caroline had been thinking over Harry's situation and what to say to her.

"Alright, so let me get this straight," she said with a heavy sigh. "You want the king to leave you alone?"

Harry nodded, "Yes, I'm grateful to His Majesty, but I also want some time to myself." Harry's eyes suddenly widened and she quickly added to her previous statement, "Is that selfish?"

"Harry," Caroline said in a concerned voice.

"Yes?" Harry answered eagerly.

She reached her hand out to pat Harry's head. "It's not selfish," she replied. "I'll talk to him, okay? Don't worry and do whatever you want to."

"Really?" Harry gasped.

She moved her hand off of Harry's head, leaving her with messy hair. She was very happy that Caroline would talk to the king for her.

"Thank you so much!" she happily cheered. She got up out of the chair and quickly dashed to the door, when her mother shouted, "Wait!" Harry stopped and turned around. "I will help you out, but not today. You need to get to know the king, give him a chance, besides he's got a surprise planned for you tonight- well, not just you, the whole family. So be nice to him today, understand?"

Harry clenched her fists and looked down at the floor. "Yes," she answered in a small voice, "I understand, Mother."

She opened the door and hurried out. She felt betrayed by her mother's sudden change in actions. Although she still felt upset, she thought her mother was right.

She stopped by a window and looked out at the side view of the royal gardens. She thought that she should now visit the king. She had planned to hurry over to him, but she got distracted by the view. She only snapped out of it when a certain someone called out her name. She already knew who it was before she even turned around.

"Good day, Your Majesty," she said.

"You like the gardens I see," he replied as he approached her.

"Yes," she answered. "They are very pretty."

The king chuckled and asked, "Shall I give you the gardens then?"

Harry quickly shook her head. "No! No, that's too much, Your Majesty."

"Too much?" he asked a bit saddened. "You think that's too much?"

Harry tilted her head to the side. "Pardon?" she asked.

"No, something like that is far too simple," he muttered. He joined her as she looked out of the window. "Buying a store, a piece of land, or even a thousand presents, all of those things are simple for me, so having a couple of flowers planted for you is nothing."

The sunlight shinned through the window and illuminated his hair and eyes. Harry looked at him thinking his appearance was likened to a god's. She also thought if he was a god, then her mother was a goddess. She hoped to be able to find someone as wonderful and kind as her mother had.

"I know that Your Majesty is a kind person," she said quietly.

"Kind?" he laughed.

The two began to walk down the hallway together. Harry continued to talk to him about many different things, but their conversation was mainly about her mother.

"You are a kind and dependable man; I can see why my mother married you."

"You mean she didn't marry me for my wealth?"

Harry frowned at him. "No," she replied sternly. "There is no way my mother would marry you for that reason. She's not like that. She's not a shallow person." She looked the king dead in the eyes. "Such a thing like that . . . is . . . impossible."

"I know," said the king quickly. "I was only teasing you, I'm sorry."

It would've been a lie to say that Harry wasn't annoyed by his joke.

"That was mean, Your Majesty," she replied.

He laughed and said, "You think so?"

The rest of the day was spent with them speaking about idle things and exploring all the rooms inside the palace. Time passed by and it was soon time for the king to put his plan into motion.