Arranged To Him #Wattys2017

Twelve

Harry's POV (That same day)

I woke up to an empty room, besides me of course. Eliana wasn't here. I frowned and sat up, throwing the blanket off of myself. I scratched my head and looked around. I sighed to myself when I came to the conclusion that Eliana had indeed left. I was about to get up when I noticed a piece of paper on the table. I leaned forward to read it and smiled to myself as I read it's contents.

In her beautiful, neat writing - yes I called it beautiful, get over it - she had written, "thank you for letting me stay. I am in the garden should you need me."

I chuckled to myself and stood up from the couch. Last night was a first for me. I never usually let people (girls) stay in my room and I was pretty sure the princess was not going to be an exception but nevertheless, I let her stay. Why? I'm not sure.

I cleaned myself up and got dressed and headed out to the dining hall. Once I got there, I found my parents sitting at the table with their breakfast laid out in front of them. They turned their heads towards me and smiled brightly. I smiled back and made my way over to the table. Once I sat down, I jolted a bit when I noticed the surprised look my parents had on their faces.

"Everything alright?" I asked.

"Yes," mum replied, "it's just, you never smile at us."

I sighed and smirked a bit before leaning across the table. I leaned forward and lightly pecked her cheek before sitting down at my seat again.

"Just in a good mood s'all," I mumbled, smiling to myself.

"I don't know what this princess has done to you, but I am quite the fan of her already," dad joked. I huffed and slouched forwards in my seat. I ate my food quietly and listened, or tried to, to my parents talking. I couldn't focus though, because my parents were right. Eliana was doing something to me and to be honest, even I was a fan of her for what she did.

I know nothing happened between us for me to change my mind about her, but something is telling me that if I try to let go and let her in, I won't regret it.

So I think I'm going to try.

"Did Eliana come to breakfast?" I asked, looking up from my plate.

"She did, but then she took her food out to the gardens," Mum said. I nodded and worked to finish my food as quick as possible because, unsurprisingly, I wanted to spend some time with her today.

I scarfed down whatever I could and dismissed myself from the table and made my way outside. Upon getting there, I saw Philip, our stableboy, struggling with one of the horses. I decided to watch for a little bit, to see how it plays out. He struggled with the horse for a bit, trying to get the reigns on properly and he must've slipped because the next thing I know, he's on the ground in the mud while the horse is running off into the wilderness.

I knew the horse would come back, but this boy needed to know that if he was to continue to work in this castle, he'd need to be a bit more careful than that. I marched over to where he lay and stopped about a foot away from him. He was still in the mud and he must've not heard me coming because he let out a tired groan. I bit my lip to keep from snickering and cleared my throat. He raised his head up and looked around before his gaze settled on me. I rose an eyebrow and managed to give him a stern look.

He quickly scampered up and almost slipped a couple times, and honestly, I wanted to help him up but I didn't. The Harry I knew would not have helped him up, so I didn't. I knew I had a nice side; El brought that out in me, but for some reason, I only wanted her to be the one that saw it.

"What happened?" I asked. Philip fiddled with his trousers as he gulped. He looked down and then up at me, then down again before he mumbled something incoherently.