Wales Family Oneshots

The Scuba Diver's Fear

Sunday 20th March 2022

Five thousand miles away from their home, Prince William and Duchess Catherine sit on the boat in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean off the Belize island of South Water Caye. Both are excited to have the chance to escape the chaos. William knows that from past tours they never got much time for just them, so when the time came, he jumped on the opportunity to plan something small for just the two of them. With the help of their staff, Catherine still had no idea what they were doing. She just thought it was a long boat ride around the Belize Barrier Reef with a protection officer, photographer, and videographer from their staff.

"William! Will you please tell me what we are doing already?" Catherine asks with a hint of annoyance in her tone.

"No! If I told you what it was then I'd have to kill you, " William says, sarcasm heavy in his voice.

"Yeah, because I'm one hundred percent positive you couldn't do to me. You and I both know that!" Catherine laughs. "What about a hint?"

"Only because I can't stand to listen to you anymore," William laughs before continuing. "We have done it before, but it has been at least four years since we last went. Perfect timing anyway because we are here."

The boat stops and no land is in sight. Catherine sees William walk around to the front of the boat. Her eyes continue following him as he picks up a bag that holds secret contents in it. William brought it on the boat with them and told Catherine to not bring anything except a bathing suit. She wore her bathing suit when they got on the boat, so was very confused as to what else they would need. William brings the bag back over to Catherine and sets it down in front of her.

"Now will you tell me what we are doing?" Catherine asks for the hundredth time that day.

"Actually before I do, let's see if you can figure it out with a few hints." William states.

"And what would these hints be?"

"The first time we did it together was back in 2006 when we went to Ibiza. You always talk about doing it with Pippa and James when you guys went to Costa Rica in 2007. We haven't done it recently. I think the last time may have been before Louis was born."

"Well, the only connecting factor between them all is," Catherine pauses to think for a moment. "Scuba diving! Please tell me that is what is happening!"

"Yup! All the stuff we will need is here, so we just have to put the wetsuits on, then get tanks and the masks. We have literally all afternoon, so we don't need to rush either!"

"Oh, I can't wait! Thank you for planning this!"

"Your welcome, Catherine."

William and Catherine begin to put on all the necessary gear. They go separate ways to put on the wetsuits and meet back up at the edge of the boat. The photographer and videographer from their staff were also going to dive, so they had on wetsuits too. They all get fitted for their tanks and masks. Everyone gets a pair of flippers and slides them onto their feet before slowly making their way into the water.

The first person to get in is their videographer. Shortly following is the photographer. Both of them were going to be doing their respective jobs, so they bring waterproof cameras with them so they can record and take pictures. Next to get in was Catherine. She happily jumped right in expecting her husband to be right behind her. When she looks back, she saw him standing on the edge of the boat.

"William! What are you doing?" Catherine shouts back to him.

"What if there are sharks?" William asks.

"Oh, be a grown man! Get in the water, William! I don't wanna do this alone!"

William jumps into the water and swims over to Catherine. They both put on the mouthpiece that connects to their air tanks. They go under the surface of the water, and it's like an entirely new world. There are hundreds of different colors. Bright red and green variants of coral coat the seafloor that is sixty feet deep.

As they dive deeper down into the depths of South Water Caye, hundreds of different fish and small creatures surround them. They take their time going down, as to observe all the beautiful sights. At one point, they see a starfish slowly moving around. The gentle creature reminds both William and Catherine that they have a relaxing afternoon ahead of them.

The couple swims throughout the waters of South Water Caye, taking in the beautiful sights. Every now and then, they shoot each other signs that they are okay. At one point, they swim together down by a large portion of a reef that almost has a cave to it. They swim inside and stay there. The fish swim by, and it is a very peaceful area for William and Catherine. The couple sits there for about twenty minutes until they see something particularly frightening for William.

A small nurse shark swims right by the opening of the cave where William and Catherine are sitting. As soon as it passes, William jets up to the surface of the water. Catherine follows right behind him, heavily determined to get him over his fear. When they reach the surface, they both take out the mouthpieces to the air tanks.

"William, let's go get back down here!" Catherine tells him.

"What about the shark?" William whines.

"It's a nurse shark. It won't hurt you and you know that!"

"Okay, fine. Let's go, but the second the shark bites my finger off, it's your fault."

They both put the mouthpieces back on and dive back down to the depths of the water. With Catherine in the lead, they swim down by the shark. William is reluctant to go down but keeps going anyway. He pushes on deeper and deeper until Catherine stops swimming.

When William looks up, the shark is no more than ten feet in front of them. He looks on as the shark keeps swimming side to side. Catherine swims closer to the shark and starts following it. William joins her seconds later. They continue to follow the shark around and examine its natural environment and behaviors. Catherine shoots William a look, confused as to why he was following her. He puts his thumb up to indicate that he is okay, to which she nods and then keeps swimming.

William and Catherine keep swimming until they get told by their photographer and videographer that they have to start getting out. The couple both slowly swim up to the surface together. After making their way back to the boat, Catherine climbs out first. William and the staff are close behind her. They get off all their gear and change back into their regular clothing. After they all finish, William and Catherine meet back up in the sitting lounge towards the front of the boat.

"Thank you for planning that, William!" Catherine says when she sees her husband.

"Of course! Did you enjoy it?" William asks her.

"I absolutely did! It was beautiful. We need to start diving more again. Did you enjoy it?"

"I did. I realized that sharks may not be all that scary."

Word Count- 1233

Thank you all so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! This story is inspired by William and Catherine's Platinum Jubilee Tour of Belize, Jamaica, and the Bahamas. I loved the clip of them scuba diving, so decided it was a  perfect quick little story for my return to writing. 

I have been so busy lately and haven't had much time to update. I am getting over the craziness soon so should be able to update a bit more! I have a few drafts almost done that I can't wait to share with you!  

Until next time😄