The Crown (Prince Harry fanfic #5)

Chapter Forty-Eight

March 2026

Since Lucy could remember with her being in the royal family, there was a list: family, duty, life. Sometimes duty and family got switched around. Duty was all the time, but family was important, even if it was your duty. Whatever life entailed, it came third or was pushed back because there was something more important. These words burned into her as she stepped out into London's March air. Her coat pulled around her in the early morning as she walked on. Tony wasn't with her, which was a scary thought easily. It was weird to be without a bodyguard or someone else. It was almost lonely. But it was freeing.

Taking the Tube, she reached her destination. The sun was barely up, on the horizon, but the metal gates had been pulled up. Small and sad were words to describe the outside of the building, but she knew there was more inside. Walking in, she was greeted by old friendly face. The original refugee home and work place she worked at wasn't much either, but it was bigger. Lucy knew this meant to be small, with the looming apartment building next to it that housed over a hundred refugee families.

Lucy was taken through rules and precautions. All these things she knew before. All these things she lived through before. It was different now, of course, then it was back then, with the children she once knew now teenagers and babies being born in the United Kingdom. This work place mostly dealt with that apartment building but was also focused on refugees around close areas.

Lucy wasn't working here or there, at any organizations. She worked for the United Kingdom and their response to the refugee crisis, without payment. Her job was to check up on these sites and find the pulse on how things operated. It was the best she could do with her recent standings as a royal. Perhaps when she older, then she would've gone back to that old life. Now, her royals duties came first. Lucy would've been here for the morning, but she was already occupied this afternoon by an event with Harry.

"Most people are obviously settled," said the other person. "You know how things work. You've done this all before."

"Everyone is grown up now," Lucy said. "It's no longer checking people in and getting them jobs and schools, and no longer is it learning English and getting used to this place. They've been here; they know. What else is there left to do?"

"A lot," answered the other person. "This is the new projects, where there is crime and poverty. Only so much we can do, and we have to work our hardest to keep everything cool."

"Are there gangs?"

"Some here and there." Eyes slid over to her. "Not that gangs ever scared you. The gun rule still apply?"

"Always."

They walked along the grounds of the small building and then the apartment building. Lucy was told about all the special things that came along with these buildings. When Lucy started, she taught English; nowadays, enough money had been invested so that English was taught with actual teachers. Lucy did her best, especially when both of her parents had been teachers, but it never clicked with Lucy. She was good at it, but she didn't enjoy it. There was always a part of her missing when she did it.

Lucy sniffed loudly.

"Something smell badly?"

"No." Lucy shook her head. "I missed the smell."

The person let out a scoff. "You're a weird one, aren't you?"

Happiness didn't truly come until Lucy stared at a computer screen and worked as information was given to her by a refugee. This was about helping people with education and employment. For some reason, this made her happy, because it was simple and easy. She did this every day at least three times a day when she worked at her old job. It was a scheduled thing. Plus, Lucy knew this was as close as she was going to get, when she wouldn't have been allowed to do house-calls. House-calls were interesting things, because you were never sure what you were about to walk into, but Lucy liked the adrenaline.

At noon, a car pulled up to the side of the building, where Tony stepped out. Harry waited inside. Entering the car, it pulled away and they were off an adventure. The event was one at a school, involving a bunch of small children, who sang to them. Harry and Lucy colored with the children slightly; Harry did a much better job, as always.

After the event, the couple returned back to their Kensington Palace apartment, where dinner was held with the boys. Henry was now two years old with Freddie's fourth birthday in July. Dinner was spent trying to get Freddie to stop moving in his seat while Henry just watched his older brother like he was a moron. Oddly enough, it was Henry, named after his father, that was the goodie-goodie. 

"How was it?" Harry asked. "Did you get what you hoped you would get out of it?"

"Very much so." Lucy went on to explain about the paperwork, and Harry laughed at her. She was the only person he knew that actually enjoyed paperwork, a boring subject for him. "It'll fit into the schedule nicely, until we go to Australia and New Zealand in the summer, which will take all summer."

"A tour," Harry stated, "and not a quick one. You're still okay with it, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, I know how you never wanted to go to Australia."

"There are a lot of things that can kill you," she stated, "and you guys did send your prisoners there for a reason."

"Yeah." Harry smiled, holding her hand. "And it'll be two months," he said. "The longest tour we've had and the longest tour a lot of people had."

"They deserve a proper tour, of places no one has ever seen and been. It'll be good for all of us."

Harry could only smile at his wife, as she had changed over the years, and it was beautiful. In the beginning, he couldn't have taken Lucy much anywhere in the sense of touring, but everything changed. It was good, but sometimes it was bad. Time changed people, and everyone needed to evolve. It was a good things. As much as Harry loved her, it was weird because sometimes he didn't feel like he knew her. There was distance. Some of it was him too, as he evolved as a human being. That didn't mean he didn't love her.

Henry was put to bed, and he fell asleep quickly. Freddie was full of energy, certainly after his bath, and he ran around like a madman. After reading him a few chapters of Harry Potter by his mum, Freddie fell asleep. Lucy slipped from his bedroom and into her own.

In the dim light, Harry wasn't in bed. She started to change but stopped. "Harry?" she called.

"Yes, Luce?"

Slowly, she turned around and Harry stood in front of her, fully exposed. Her lips turned up in a smile. "May I help you with something, Ginger?"

He arched an eyebrow. "Only if you want to."

Slowly, Lucy reached up and took off her shirt. Her bra fell off too. Lucy stood naked in front of her husband. "Is this what you wanted?"

Harry couldn't keep his smile off his face, as he took her hands and led her over to the bed. Lucy had locked the door, thankfully. Once Freddie had escaped his own bedroom to walk in on his parents doing "grownup" things. Though Freddie was completely fallen asleep, they still meant to be quiet. Sometimes it was a difficult task. Harry ran his hands along Lucy's skin, and she huffed at him.

"Let's go. Let's go. Let's go," she said.

"I want to take my time," he said.

Lucy frowned, and Harry laughed. He went on.