A Princess Named Harry

Chapter 39

The kingdom was dark and dead silent. It was so early in the morning that the sun had not yet risen, but nonetheless, Harry was up and ready to train.

She put on her training uniform and tied her hair up in a tight ponytail. Once she was finished, she looked at herself in the mirror to determine whether or not she looked presentable. After deciding she did, she headed out.

Harry slowly and carefully opened the door and checked to make sure no guards were around to stop her. However, she only encountered two guards, and they were asleep.

She soon made it to the back entrance of the palace. The two knights guarding the door did not even speak to her, let alone attempt to stop her. When she finally stepped outside, the fresh air that hit her face felt relaxing.

She smiled as she breathed it all in. She resumed walking and headed back towards her spot from before.

She stood there silently and still. After taking a moment to herself, Harry took ahold of her sword and slowly pulled it out. She carefully pointed it up toward the starry sky.

With great determination, she began to practice all of the moves she'd been taught. She executed each one of them perfectly. Instead of practicing her swordsmanship, it looked like she was performing a very elegant dance.

If she had the power to freeze time, then she surely would've frozen it during this moment. It had been the first time she had felt so free after moving into the palace. The freedom, the quietness, the solitude, she loved it all, but it was quickly coming to an end. Harry didn't know that Kahil was seconds away from finding her.

•••

The prince was usually up pretty early, but he had never been outside so early in the morning before.

He had woken up sooner than he had wanted to and felt a strong urge to go out for an early morning stroll. He slowly walked the grounds with the refreshing breeze blowing in his face. He stopped and looked around at the quiet estate. He listened for any kind of sound, but it was dead silent.

Kahil rubbed his fingers through his golden hair as he chuckled at himself. "Really?" he groaned. "What am I doing out here?"

He looked around once more before deciding to head back. When he had finally started to though, he heard a noise; it sounded like a sword being taken out, and it was.

Kahil's curiosity and fear of an assassin being on the grounds led him to find her. After quickly heading in the direction of the noise, Kahil soon stumbled upon her.

When he first came across Harry, he mistook her for an intruder. However, the sun that had been slowly rising had rose enough to reveal her. Kahil was shocked at first and wondered if that was really her. He didn't know why she was up so early.

He didn't want to get any closer to her so that he wouldn't break her concrete concentration. Yet, he found himself calling out to her which, did, of course, break her concentration.

Harry was startled by him. She had no idea he was there nor how long he had been watching her. Still, she quickly composed herself and said with a bright smile, "Your Highness! What are you doing out here so early?"

As the sun rose higher, Kahil started to be able to see Harry better. He saw her smile, but he also saw her struggles. He began to slowly walk towards her. She gasped; she was afraid she was in trouble.

"I'm not doing anything bad," she stated quickly. "I-I was just practicing! I know everyone told me to take a break, but I just can't! I want to be- "

She stopped when Kahil took her hands. He saw that they were dirty and covered in blisters. They were also very rough. They weren't like the hands of any other princess or noble lady's.