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June 17, 2017
The sun is so blaringly bright Jaclyn squints as she waves from the carriage pulling Camilla, Harry, and her to Buckingham Palace. The pastel pink fabric of her dress burns as if lit with fire, and the sheer hat sitting to the side of her head only does so much for her eyes.
She waves and waves, and even laughs at some of the posters people have lining the roads. Trooping the Colour is one of her favorite days, and it takes all her willpower to not stand and observe the regiments still marching ceremoniously around them.
As if reading her mind Harry brightens, "If you stand up, I will too."
"And do you expect Camilla to spot us?" She scoffs but playfully so, and the older woman shakes her head so the feathers from her hat wither in the sun. "If you fall you fall."
People scream and shout around them, and Jaclyn basks in the surrealness of it all. It's hard to fathom sometimes that she lives in a world where this is her normal, knowing very well there's a universe where she's watching the pomp and circumstance from a television alone. People still report and gasp about the fluke that is her position, how miracles and the stars aligned just right for her. Even if they did she won't waste the opportunity.
Through her smile and non stop waving hand she thinks about the girls still confined in the hospital in Manchester. She hopes they all liked the brooches she sent, and wills the world for them to heal. Despite knowing none of them can fully undo the damage done.
She thinks of the attack on London Bridge as well. The van that was driven into pedestrians, the stabbing of anyone in proximity, the eight people dead and the forty-eight injured and turned into statistics.
Her smile doesn't grow tight as she wonders, too many years of practice separating her features from her thoughts, but she sees the people around her and wonders...
Wonders if they're all really safe or if disaster is nestled between them waiting to pounce.
Jaclyn grappled with the moral implications of holding such a grand celebration when the nation was so clearly mourning, while safety was being questioned, and people were retaliating and taking things into their own hands. She watches the news with bated breath every night, picking at her nails while the protests grow and the rage festers.
Now, sitting in the carriage, watching as she trots by women with misty eyes, and families waving flags she thinks they all needed this. A reason to unite and rejoice and show their strength to persevere. Duals have been set aside and temporary white flags have been drawn for the day, so all who want to can celebrate the Queen's birthday.
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After the parade, they all retreat back within Buckingham for lunch while the changing of the guard happens. William, Charles, Anne, Philip and the Queen are already making their way into the room. Mia lights up, wriggling from Harry's arms just like she did when she was little, and Jaclyn has to hide her laughter seeing his mock hurt expression.
