Running Around Royal (Prince Harry #4)

Chapter Sixty-Seven

Late that night, the airplane landed in Tokyo. The royal couple came off the plane wearing what they had been wearing in Thailand, except for the tiara. At the hotel, Meredith shed her dress and proceeded to stretch. Her whole body felt like it needed to be cracked. Harry shed his own clothing and scrambled on into bed. Meredith went to the bathroom.

In the bathroom, she scrapped off the makeup on her face, finding the pink flesh underneath. Her left cheek was naturally redder than her right one, and makeup was always applied more heavily to the left side. She took off all the excess glitter on her face and body. The dress had shed across her skin. Brushing her teeth in the mirror, she let the water run. Even in the bathroom, she head Harry's snores; he was starting to come down with a cold. This tour was taking a tour on him as well. With over half of it done, it was too late to quit now, not that Meredith wanted to quit.

She found herself looking aged too. It wasn't just the bags under her eyes that made her look different. Meredith had the ability to state that maybe it was Jessica's doing, trying to make Meredith eat healthily and look better. However, that had only lasted a short while-- but it had felt like forever. In that time, nothing had changed. She hadn't lost weight.

Staring at herself in the mirror, she sucked in her stomach. It had never been flat, even when she was a child. It didn't bulge, but it was there. It hadn't changed either way. Meredith wasn't sure what she expected, but none of it made sense.

Meredith spit into the sink, and immediately, she felt her stomach squeeze. She bent over the sink before finding her way over to the toilet bowl. She opened her mouth, feeling her stomach releasing its contents, yet she had nothing to come up. For the last few hours, she didn't eat or drink, so there was nothing inside of her stomach. She just found herself dry heaving.

When she found her steady legs again, Meredith returned to the sink and washed her hands, thinking she was the one who passed the flu onto her husband.

The morning was just like every morning. In front of the vanity, Meredith read more of her book while the stylists did her hair and makeup. Harry was slow to get up in the morning, and when he awoke, he sounded terrible. Jessica sent for a doctor, but everyone knew the symptoms of the flu.

"Your highnesses will be staying apart until this is cleared up," Jessica stated.

"What?" Meredith asked, head coming out of the book. She admitted she hadn't been paying attention to the earlier conversation. 

"We cannot have two royals out of commission, your highness," Jessica explained. "The two of you will do your duties, but sleep in opposite rooms until the flu is cleared up. If his highness starts to get worse, then you will have to continue on with the duty until he can rejoin you."

Meredith arched an eyebrow at her husband, who had his head resting on his hand. "Is this an actual thing?"

"Yes." He sighed, looking green in the cheeks. Standing, he swayed a bit on his feet, and Meredith's eyes grew wide. "I'm fine," he said. "I'm fine. I can do today."

"Maybe he shouldn't," the doctor said in perfect English. "I would suggest bed rest, and in a couple of days, he will be back on his feet and ready to continue on with the tour."

"A couple of days?" Harry groaned.

"Do you feel ill, your highness?" the doctor asked.

All attention turned to her, and this wasn't the attention that Meredith liked.

"I'm fine," Meredith automatically said while Jessica said, "She has been flushed for the last few days."

The doctor looked between the two women, but he was only being paid by one of them. Taking Jessica's word, the doctor walked over to Meredith and bowed in front of her respectively. "Do you mind, ma'am?" he asked, holding a thermometer.