A Princess Named Harry: Book 2

Chapter 32

Harry sat tapping her fingers on the table as Joseph continued to work on a cure for her mother. She knew she had to tell her father about the man's existence.

She hadn't exactly been hiding him from everyone, but she wasn't honest when she told them she only went out for long strolls. She would stroll down to Joseph's house and sit and talk and watch him work for an hour or two before she strolled on back to the palace.

She knew Joseph would be a great asset to the king, but she also knew that the king wasn't too keen on people evolved with magic. Joseph was certainly a fanatic in that prospect. As she sat and watched Joseph work meticulously, she realized that the decision to reveal him wasn't hers to make, but rather, Joseph himself.

She watched him because his work was fascinating, and she tapped because she was anxious to bring the topic to light. She decided to approach the topic slowly, take baby steps.

"Say, Mister Joseph, what do you think of our kingdom?" She had asked nervously.

"It's great," he replied. "You wouldn't be able to find another place like it even if you tried."

Harry wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not. "And what about our king? What do you think about him?"

"I think he's fine. He's certainly good at his job. I have no complaints about him."

Harry saw her opening. For a little while, she let the sound of the brewing and clanging of the glass tubes take over the room.

"Wouldn't you like to meet him?"

That question seemed to stump the old man. He stopped working and thought about that question for a long time. Harry sat quietly and waited for his answer in anticipation. She secretly would've rather heard the glass tubs clang a thousand times louder than sitting in silence. The brewing seemed to have become still as well.

After a very long pause, Joseph finally gave his answer. "I don't see any reason as to why I wouldn't."

"So you would?" Harry asked hopeful.

"Maybe?" The man turned to her confused. "Why are you asking me this?"

Harry flinched. She hadn't expected him to ask her for a reason. "Um...I-I don't know? Maybe once the two of you get together, you can discuss your magical research? You can even tell him that you're working on a cure for my mother! I'm sure he'd love that!"

It wasn't a lie; Harry genuinely thought that once the king heard the news about an in-progress cure for his wife, he would be thrilled and would welcome Joseph with open arms and warm hospitality.

"It's not a bad idea, right?" she asked very cheerfully.

"No," replied the man as he stroked his beard. "It certainly isn't. When would you arrange this 'meeting'?"

"I'd like to set it up in the next day or two."

Joseph thought about Harry's answer for a second before responding, "I need at least a week before I'll be ready to meet his majesty."

"You don't have to bring a cure with you. Just come as you are."

The man hesitated to answer. Harry thought the reason for it was because of the cure, but that didn't seem to be it.

"Mister Joseph," she called sweetly. "I would really like to have you meet with my father as soon as possible."

"..."

"Can you be ready in a day or two?"

After a hard day's work of convincing, Harry finally got Joseph to agree to meet the king in the upcoming days. The next day, she went to notify the king of her soon-to-be visitor, but she was met with surprise.

Kahil and the king were working diligently side by side. Harry was surprised to see such a thing, but that wasn't what the biggest surprise was.

"Um, Father, I need to inform you of a guest coming to visit the palace soon. His name is Joseph, and he's-"

"Not right now, Harry."

It seemed like the king heard nothing she had said.

"Kahil, are you busy? Maybe I can tell you, and you can pass the message on to Father later?"

Kahil suddenly dropped his papers and walked over to Harry. Without a word, he grabbed her shoulders and pushed her towards the door. He smiled as he told her that they were very busy and then proceeded to cheerfully shut the door in her face. Harry was dumbfounded; she had been kicked out of the office for no good reason at all.

She wondered what she should do when Hubert stopped by and suggested she should practice her swordsmanship since it had been a long time since she'd taken up a sword.

Harry watched as the man opened the door and disappeared into the king's office, the very office she had been kicked out of. Fine, she would go outside and practice her swordsmanship.

Harry got dressed and prepared to spar with one of the royal knights, but another surprise was there waiting for her.

She had never seen him in the Cardiaire knight's uniform, but his blazing red hair and his orange-brown eyes gave him away instantly. Terrance looked up and smiled at Harry warmly.

"Ah, Princess, I didn't expect to see you here. I thought you'd be resting."

"Yes, well...I think I rested enough." Harry never got any rest, to begin with.

"So, are you here to practice on your swings or spar?"

Harry could tell where this was going.

"I usually just spar with Kahil."

"Well, in that case, I'm pretty decent at swordsmanship myself. My skills are on par with Kahil's." He then added quietly with a wink, "If not better."

She knew it.

"Do...you want to spar, then?" she asked. She hoped he would decline, but of course, he agreed. It had been his goal, after all.

The two took their positions and began to spar. Harry looked at the other knights. They were all too busy to watch her.

Cambrel, however, was there and spared her a few glances. His gaze only caused her embarrassment. The last time she had seen him was after Varian left the palace with Nathaniel.

Harry had fallen to the floor in shock and cried for a long time afterwards. Cambrel later found her as he was one of the disguised knights that night. He helped Harry to her room and consoled her on the way there.

Had he known Varian betrayed her? Nobody was supposed to know yet. It was still a secret kept tightly by the king. They didn't even know about the upcoming war. The only thing they were told was that they were preparing for a small battle-not an all-out war.

Harry turned her focus back to Terrance. He knew everything. He was the only exception. Although Terrance was kind, Harry couldn't fathom how Kahil could trust him so much.

The two swung their swords at each other, and the sheer force caused both of their swords to be sent flying.

"You're good," Terrance said with a grin.

"You too," Harry replied.

As they went to get their swords, Terrance said, "You know, I've been thinking." Harry stayed silent as he continued. "Resting in bed, searching for clues, and preparing for war is fine and all, but haven't you felt cooped up here?"

Maybe Harry did a little, but she didn't want to tell that to Terrance.

"I've thought about it, and well, it'll come off as presumptuous no matter how I phrase it."
He walked over to Harry as he sheathed his sword, and when he was close enough to her, he got on one knee, took her hand, and asked, "Will the princess do me the honor of going on a date?"