A Royal Pain

Chapter eleven

Harry finds himself in the library again the day after.

The truth is that he hates the breakfasts, the lunches, and the dinners with the Tomlinson family. Don't get him wrong, he loves them all and thinks they're wonderful people, but the times he spent with them in the dining room were unbearable.

It was like the silence was swallowing Harry whole, its teeth slowly biting on his skin and making shivers run down his spine. The awkwardness and the servants around the table weren't helping either. He felt so watched...

It makes him emphasize with Louis and the other members of the English Royal Family. Sure, he believes that everywhere can be a home if love is surrounding it and he still stands by that. Harry believes that the palace is a home to all the people living there, but he can't imagine how hard it must be to have no privacy at all except in your own room. To always have to wear a mask that can only be lifted when you're alone and this way you can only be your true self when there are no other people surrounding you.

And when you do drop the act and let the mask fall down your face, you get betrayed. Louis is living proof of that and it has changed him as a person. So no matter what, you never could be yourself around someone else living in the castle... Well, the only one Harry can do so with, is Louis.

But he doesn't want to be clingy and he, therefore, decided to eat his breakfast in the library while finishing Louis' favorite book. He asked Jay with a shy smile if he could be excused from having breakfast with the rest of the family and the Queen simply gave him a knowing smile. It also helped that Louis wasn't there, so it wouldn't seem like he was avoiding him.

Harry really does want to see Louis, in fact. He just can't bear the silence again and because of this he preferred a not-forced silent breakfast on his own, while reading a book. Even though it's really sad that he can only drop his mask when he's on his own, he still prefers that over not letting it vanish at all.

So now, his warm plate is resting on his thighs as one of his hands is lifting a book in the air and the other is scraping the food laying on his plate. The chinaware contains hashbrowns and egg yolks and he's practically inhaling it. One good thing about the palace is that the edibles it offers are marvelous.

He's almost nearing the end of the book and his hand carefully lifts one of the worn-out pages to flip it over to look at the other side of it, when he suddenly hears someone enter the room. Before looking up, he wonders if it's the one person that he can be himself with, or if he has to put his mask on again.

A huge smile forms on his face when he sees Louis and can relax in his chair again, not having to straighten his posture or talk posher than he's used to. The lessons from Mark also learned him etiquette and he doesn't mind it too much, but he prefers being able to talk freely and not look like a wooden plank, so he's glad that he doesn't have to put his education into practice.

His beaming face morphs into a frown, however, when he sees the look Louis is wearing. It shows a mix of sadness, stress, and loneliness. When Harry notices these emotions, he quickly scrambles to his feet and pulls Louis in a hug.

Louis immediately accepts the embrace and their bodies melt together as they hold each other close. He can feel the Prince's eyelids close against his shoulder and a shaky breath being released against his t-shirt and it makes Harry's frown deepen. "Louis, what happened?"

Louis pulls away and looks Harry in the eyes, his pupils moving from side to side and his gaze is tired and dull... Almost dead. "I-I need a distraction, Haz. I need something else to think about."

Harry purses his lips together, because what should he do about this? Louis is clearly in a bad emotional state and if he has the correct distraction in mind, he doesn't know if he should take advantage of Louis' breakdown. Also, he can't help but wonder what the Prince is so distressed about, but he doesn't want to ask because tears are already clouding Louis' eyes and he would rather not watch them stream down his cheeks if he can avoid it. Harry can better give him some time.