A Royal Love Story

Chapter 21 - The First Letter

I did what I wanted in that month. I spent every second with Harry until the day he went. It was a very tearful goodbye, but we both knew it would be. Once I had let go of harry, Will was there to comfort me until the plane had taken off at RAF Brize Norton. Charles and Will were both there to see him off. Once the plane had left our view, Will walked me to the car and took me back to Clarence for the night. Once I had got home, I took a shower and got ready for bed, wearing one of Harry’s old polo shirts. Then I saw it, a letter sitting on my pillow. I was reluctant to open it, but when I saw the hand writing, I knew it was from Harry. I opened it and started reading the 2 pages of letter. It read,

‘Dear Soph,

I know I have just gone, but I miss you already. These next 6 months are going to be the hardest ever for me. While writing this you are in our bed, sleeping and you have the face on an angel. I love it when I watch you sleep. I always have butterflies in my stomach when I see you so peaceful, without a worry in the world. I am so sorry I have to leave you like this. I never wanted our relationship to turn out in this way. I want to watch you wake up every morning and fall asleep next to you every night. That is the way I want my ideal life to be, but I can’t have it. Instead I am on the way to Afghanistan, scared that I have never done enough to tell you how much I love you. I am scared that I will never be able to lay my eyes on my precious girl anymore. You are precious to me Soph, so please don’t change who you are, ‘cause I fell in love with the Sophia that I met at that club all those months ago. I have asked my father, Will and Catherine to look after you while I’m not there to do it myself. I will speak to you as much as I can, and will definitely write to you once a month. When I get home, I promise I will marry you too. I love you enough to marry you, and I have just been waiting for the right moment, but it just hasn’t come yet. I will marry you though, Soph. you just have to trust me, and I will get home and I will change our lives forever. I promise.

Tonight, I will sleep with my picture of you by my side, and tomorrow, you will be in my pocket all day. I saw you packed on of my t-shirts you wear. Is that so I can remind myself of you? I will never forget you Sophia Smith. You have changed my life and made me the happiest man in the world.

Until my next letter, I love you with all my heart my baby girl. Don’t forget me!

                                                                Love you Soph

                                                All my love, forever, your Harry xxxxxxx’

I finished reading the letter once, and then read it three or four more times over. I knew that everything he had written in that letter was true. I smelled his shirt, shut my eyes and began to think of the happy memories between the two of us over the past year.

I cried myself to sleep that night. Not because I was sad, but because I had this slight doubt in the back of my mind that Harry may never come back and I will never tell him how much I do love him. I have never really said that to him enough. As I fall asleep, I image I have Harry’s strong arms wrapped around me. That gives me some time to settle before I do, fall asleep for the first night without Harry.