The Unexpected Journey-A Prince Harry Fan Fic

Chapter 91

When Maddie and Harry returned to London, they were returning to a barrage of excitement and action. They had six months before the wedding and quite suddenly everything seemed to be rushing around them. It was the storm before the calm, Maddie would smile and nudge Harry playfully. It was a prelude to the main act, Harry would shake his head and warn.

Either way, things were moving at record speed and all they could do was move with the flow; and hang on.

Kicking off the delightful ride was Maddie's citizenship. They had been home for ten days when Thomas requested a meeting with Maddie and the family attorney. With a small smile, he informed them that Maddie had met all of the standards for citizenship, including the mandatory residency requirements. It was time to send in her application.

"I just need your signature here," the attorney had slid the paperwork across the table to Maddie with a nod to the flagged signature line.

"You sure about this?" Harry spoke up next to her; smirk on his face, gleam in his eye.

"Are you?" She arched a defiant eyebrow as she signed her name and passed it back to the attorney, her attention turning to Thomas. "What's next?"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Next was tea. With the Queen. At Buckingham Palace.

"No big deal," Harry had told her with a slight upturn of his lips. "You've been there before. You've done this before. How many times is it going to take before this is a casual cup of tea with gran?" He watched as she crossed their room in a flutter of scarves as she tried to dress for the afternoon with his grandmother.

"How many times is..." She took a deep breath and walked right up to him; squaring her shoulders and looking him in the eye. "You really want me to start treating this casually?"

"I really want you to relax," his hands met her shoulders soothingly. "She said I could marry you. She asked about you at Christmas. She wants to see how you are, make sure I haven't chased you away yet."

"Ha!" Maddie laughed; rolling her eyes at herself. "I'll relax. I just need to figure out what to wear and I'll relax." She kissed him then. "I promise."

And she did; relax. She found the scarf she had been searching for, she slipped into the perfect pair of shoes. She eased into the car, sighing into a settled mode for their ride to Buckingham. She was calm as they stepped from the car, smiling a greeting to the Queen's personal assistant as he stepped aside and escorted them into the Palace.

She was at peace, serene even, as they turned over their coats and walked through the halls—her arm linked loosely through Harry's. She was completely relaxed; right up until they rounded the corner and the assistant smiled warmly.

"You'll be joining Her Majesty for tea in the Drawing Room." The way Maddie's body halted, reflexively pulling Harry to a dead stop along with her, was instinctual; outside of her control.

Harry turned confused eyes to her, his smile warm and in place. "Maddie?" He wanted to laugh, wanted to poke fun at whatever was happening inside her mind at that moment but his grandmother was waiting; The Queen was waiting. "Everything okay?"

"I..." She stammered, glancing around as a red flush filled her cheeks. "The Drawing Room?" And it hit him. If he had any self-control, he would have tampered down the wide grin that stretched his cheeks as recalled the last time they were in this very room; what they had been doing. But his control was failing him and the amusement was just too much.

"Come on love," he tugged gently at her hand on his arm; taking the last few steps towards the infamous room. "It's time for your first lesson in behaving badly." His voice was so low she almost hadn't heard him.