A Royal Pain

Chapter five

The next day, Harry can be found in the early morning inside the library.

After he walked away from Louis the day before, he immediately headed to his room and went to sleep, but not before answering Niall who was sending him dozens of texts.

Just like Zayn predicted, Niall was blabbering to Harry about talking to his ex again. He seemed over the moon and happy to tell this news, brightening Harry's day up a little. Because it was tough for Harry...

He struggled with missing his mom and sister, two people who he would love to talk to, and now sadly can't... He's actually considering going back to his family, because why would he stay here? His soulmate is nothing he would wish for in a partner and other than that, everything is better at home.

The thing is, Harry is embarrassed. He would be seen as a spoiled brat who didn't think the Prince of England was good enough for him if he went home. Besides, he didn't want to do that to the royal family. How would they have to find a solution to Louis' soulmate running away? Right, there is none.

He sighs as these thoughts cross his mind and he shakes his head, mentally hitting himself. He has a whole castle and a library full of books. Why is he complaining?

With this in mind, Harry starts skimming one of the many bookshelves. He honestly doesn't have an idea where he should begin because there are so many choices to pick from. A beautiful tone of pink with a pride flag on the spine of the book catches his eyes and he can't control his hand, so he reaches for the book that has sparked his interest.

The back of the book, which shows the summary, tells him that it's about two girls in a relationship and he smiles brightly as he presses the book to his chest. He can't wait to read all kinds of new stories which he couldn't learn about before. Now, he has that opportunity though, and he is on cloud nine because of it.

He then notices the time, his phone lighting up on the wooden floor where he had put it for a moment because he wanted to admire the book. His eyes widen and he picks his phone up and lays it on top of the book, before moving toward the dining room.

Harry has to admit that he doesn't know a lot about his new schedule, but he guesses that eight is an appropriate time for the family to eat, so he better hurry. Also, he wants to ask Jay as soon as possible if it's alright if he lends the book that is currently in his hands before he gets called a thief again.

Sadly, his plan fails, because just before he's about to enter the dining hall, he hears a chuckle from beside him. He spins on the back of his heels to see who produced the sound, even though he has his guesses because he recognizes the laugh, and he knows he's correct when two blue eyes meet his.

"Couldn't help yourself, could ya?" Louis says with an angry whisper, leaning closer to Harry's face so he can hear what he's saying without anyone else hearing the words that are exchanged. There are of course eyes and ears everywhere, so they have to be careful.

Harry rolls his eyes. "What, are you going to call me a thief again? I don't think a thief would walk around with his loot and show it to the ones he stole it from, do you?" He questions, lifting his eyebrows and giving Louis a 'are you dumb?' look.

Louis grunts but doesn't reply, walking into the dining room and taking the closest seat. Harry replaces the frown on his face with a fake smile as he walks toward Louis' mother.

"Jay?" He asks softly, taking a seat next to the kind woman, sitting in the same place he sat the night before. "I grabbed this from the library, is that alright? I didn't know who I had to talk to, but I love reading and-" He starts defending himself, but he's cut off by Jay.