The Shield (Prince Harry fanfic #2)

Chapter Nine

Upon having gone to her hotel, she dropped off her things and changed, her feet took her elsewhere. Lucy always liked London, and it didn't stop when she was there again. It wasn't quiet here, much like New York City, and she embraced the chaotic hassle of the world around her. Everyone moved around, in whatever means necessary, focused on their own business. It was nice to know she wasn't famous. No one glanced at her as she walked in, pressing her feet to the ground. It was warm in London, and the sun greeted her. Laughing to herself, last time she was in London, she got a sunburn, and she thought maybe she would bake under the sun again.

The sky above her was endless, like the skyscrapers, gracing the sky with their presence. The skyscrapers were her friends, the ability to touch the sky and to be free, such a rarity. At night was Lucy's favorite, when the London still shined as if it was sunny. She liked the nighttime, when the heat would go down like the sun, and she felt most at home. The shadows were like a home, where she could whomever she walked. The sun didn't allow this for her. 

Everything was shiny and new, mixed with the history of the raised bridges of life. The River Thames was the only problem for Lucy, as it had the same scent from when she was there in the past, which was terrible. That was what happened when people dumped their feces for three-thousand years. She loved the city, but hadn't grown used to the smell. She would get used to it after a couple days, if she stayed that long. Though she loved it here, perhaps staying here for too long wasn't a good idea, due to the recent events.

The old architecture was probably her favorite, where she able to walk around on the cobblestone and her shoes would clank against the ground. During here, people would smoke in the corners, the locals watching the tourists for sport. The old shops had long windows that reached upward and the doors were barely enough to get through. The colors were usually the neutrals, and then there was a sudden blue or pink that popped. The skinny streets dragged along, barely five people able to fit through the width. Turns were taken into the small shops. The small shop signs hung over, which Lucy could almost touch with her height. She desperately wanted to reach up and touch them, but it was frowned upon in this society. The alleyways emptied out onto larger streets, where the skyscrapers bloomed.

She couldn't count the stories of the buildings, losing track after ten or fifteen or twenty. The Union Jack flag billowed the into the light breeze, hanging off the buildings in even amounts. Taxis blew past her, and she laughed. This was why she waited until she allowed to walk across the street. The double-decker buses of redness were a little harder not to notice. Statues grew from the ground of famous figures and of holy beings. Sometimes gates surrounded it, like a priceless artifact. Sometimes small trees grew on the less traveled streets, and there was never a bad view.

The Tower Bridge drew closer, and she smiled. It was interesting how that one bridge made her happy. Perhaps she enjoyed the breeze blowing her hair back and how she could hang her arms off it. There were other things about London that made her happy. Lucy walked further down the river, not really bothering with everyone else there. They were either like her, technical tourists, or the people who lived here.  She saw the London eye, the circle of watching London, and she moved past it. She reached the golden reaches of Parliament, before she walked away from the river again.

Someday, Lucy swore, she was actually going to go within the walls of Parliament. There was so much history that she refused to miss. She wanted to be apart of something. She wanted to be apart of history for a good reason. However, she had no problem lurking in the shadows.

Perhaps she wasn't really thinking about it, but it just happened. She lost control of her body without thinking, and she showed up. Lucy had walked through Saint James Park, where the green algae floated on top the greenish water. Trees covered the path, leaning over to offer some type of protection from the blazing sun. There were memory bronze plates in the ground, and people took pictures of the plate. Lucy glanced that way but didn't stay to see.

Her legs continued to work until she stood in front of the gates of Buckingham Palace. Like all tourists, she stopped to watch, as if something magical was going to happen. Perhaps the gates would open and they would've been allowed inside, so that they all might be royal for once in their lives. Perhaps a ball was made for them. Girls shifted around, some dancing around with their friends. Unlike the tourists, she didn't take a picture. Bodies pressed up against the gates, as if to reach in. Lucy rolled her eyes. She walked on.

Ten minutes away, it was an easy walk for Lucy, especially when she had been walking the whole day. She wasn't even tired. Kensington Palace gleamed in front of her, with the rusty outer look of years of use. The white statue of Queen Victoria sat in front, which Lucy didn't dare to enter the gates. Though she walked close, she chose to stay on the other side of Broad Walk. Her eyes found the building falling apart in a few places, but still put together in a fancy home. No one could see her, and she was no one. People went in and out, and Lucy stayed still, almost hiding in the shadows of the trees. From what Lucy remembered, the compartments were in the back, and that was where Harry was.