Red & White

thirty eight.

not gonna lie, this chapter gets a bit...spicy..so if you're not into it, skip over it at the end of the chapter, and i'm sorry if the smutty stuff makes you uncomfortable, but the intimacy between them seemed needed to me..so yeah, enjoy!

"Oh my.." Leah quietly gasped as the horse trotted back into the barn under the guidance of Harry. The castle looked so colossal in the daylight.

"What's wrong?" he cautiously asked her, bringing the stallion to a halt in its stable. He swung his legs over and hopped off first before offering a hand up to his girl. She graciously took it, weakly following suit.

"Nothing's the matter," she hummed, hugging Harry's chest, "I just missed the castle..and you, of course."

He happily sighed into her hair, having never felt so content in his life before. Harry didn't care about the war going on right now, and all the duties he was in charge of, or his studies he still had to complete. Leah was back with him and that was all that mattered.

"I missed you more than you can imagine." A kiss was pressed on to her sweet head.

"Not possible," Leah teased, glancing up at him, and he saw more of her spirit blossom again.

"Hey," Harry mentioned after a moment of embracing each other. "I have a surprise for you."

She smiled up at him through her long, stunning lashes. "You do?"

The Prince nodded, taking her hand in his. They walked slowly out of the barn in the direction of the castle for her legs to gradually gain back the muscle. It would take a decent week for her to obtain the usual energy she had back. Harry didn't mind. He was fully prepared to bring her breakfast in the morning and make sure she rested halfway through the day until he was sure, under the assurance of the castle nurse, that Leah was fine again.

The pair was spotted by dozens of townspeople passing by the palace grounds who could see them making their way into the castle from their view behind the gates. Everyone was touched by their story. The people of England were ready for a change to happen in their society. Having a role model practically being the spokesperson for this change just added to their excitement.

"Welcome back, Lady Leah," an elderly maid walking by smiled as the pair entered the castle. She thanked the woman, while Harry stayed silent because he remembered her. The maid was one of the few employees who saw Leah being taken away by the soldiers as Harry was restrained in a frantic manner.

The two traveled further into the palace, turning down separate corridors that the Prince led them through.

"Your sitting room?" she questioned with a quirk to her brow, glancing up at him when they stopped walking. The door was right in front of them and he beamed down to her.

Harry nodded encouragingly. "Go inside." Nervous bubbles filled his stomach. He hoped Louis had organized this properly, as he requested.

Leah squeezed the doorknob, twisting it and timidly opening the door. She stepped inside, only to let out a squeak and gasp. Her hand flew up to cup the sound that flew from her mouth.

Harry peeped in to witness the girl fly into the arms of her mother and two siblings. He watched on from the doorway as they embraced each other with tears streaming here and there. Ben hugged his sister tightly, twisting his head over her shoulder to give Harry a smile that spoke a thousand words. He had his sister back.

"Mother," Leah weeped, kissing her mother's cheek before bending down a tad to hold the twins. "I missed you boys so much." Cal wiped away her stray tears.

"We missed you more," their mother answered, looking really good for how tired she used to feel and appear. Back when the family worked in the fields, her mind was open to thinking about her husband and their father, and his death. Now, she was happily busy all day in the palace.