A King's Destiny

Three

E-6B NATIONAL EMERGENCY AIRBORNE COMMAND POST 

07:00 AM

15 MAY 2033

 "Tilly! Stay still!" Harry snaps sharply at his six-year-old daughter. Harry has a toothbrush in one hand and is trying to hold his daughter's head still with the other hand. He sighed and put the toothbrush down. Tilly hated having her teeth brushed by her parents. Thankfully her dentist had said that next year, she would be old enough to start brushing her teeth herself and Harry and Louis's twice-daily nightmare would (hopefully) be over. Harry had already undressed Tilly from her pyjamas, washed, wiped and dried her all over, and dressed her in a clean, fresh outfit ready for the day. The only thing left was to brush her teeth, and this was what he was struggling with.

Hearing Harry's angry voice, Louis stuck his head in through the bathroom door. "Tilly just won't cooperate today," Harry says in a frustrated voice. Louis nodded. "Why don't you let me handle this, and you can go check if Charlotte is awake yet. Go on love, I can cope with her." Sighing, Harry leaves the bathroom.

Louis turns to Tilly.  "Right, miss Nathalia Kimberley Styles-Tomlinson. Let's stop this acting out and get your teeth brushed, shall we?" and obediently Tilly opens her mouth and allows Louis to give her teeth the recommended three-minute brushing. He wipes the toothpaste from around her mouth with a wet flannel and takes his daughter's hand, leading her from the bathroom to the breakfast table where Harry and Charlotte are already waiting for them, as the uniformed Air Force flight stewards begin to serve breakfast.

A few minutes later, as the small family are enjoying breakfast, the harsh ringing of a telephone handset interrupts the relaxed atmosphere. A steward snatches up the receiver, listens for a few moments, then turns to Harry and Louis.

"It's Captain Stone, calling from the space station." Harry nods and takes the handset from the steward's hand, holding it to his ear.

"Your Majesty, we tracked the launch of the warhead that was used to attack Parliament," says Captain Stone through the secure satellite link, "and we strongly believe it was a North Korean attack."

"Good work, Captain," replies Harry. "I'll get back to you." He disconnects the call and pushes another button on the handset to connect him to the aircraft's onboard communications centre. A young flight lieutenant answered the call. "This is the King," Harry spoke into the handset. "Set up a call with the president of North Korea for later today." After getting a reply from the communications officer that his call would be arranged, Harry disconnected the call and returned to eating his breakfast. Unlike Harry, who had washed thoroughly and was fully dressed, Louis had slept an extra hour, and so he was wearing only his pyjamas, dressing gown and slippers. Half an hour later, breakfast was finished, and Harry, after clearing away the breakfast things, was keen to get Louis ready for the day ahead. Considering that Parliament had been attacked with a neutron bomb, there was a chance Louis could be contaminated with fallout from the bomb, and Harry was taking no chances - Louis needed to be stripped and washed immediately to minimise or eliminate the risk. So Harry took Louis's hand and led him gently but firmly to the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind him.

He turns to Louis. "Strip," he orders sharply.

"Wh-What?" Louis stammers in surprise. 

"You heard me, Louis, strip. Now." Harry orders as he filled the bathroom sink with hot water, then wetted and soaped up a bath brush. 

"Strip, Louis. Now." Harry orders, this time more forcefully. "Either you undress on your own, or I'll undress you myself. I'm not asking you for the third time. Which is it going to be?"