The Royalty (Prince Harry Fanfic #4)

Chapter Eighteen

Lucy sat in the kitchen and drank coffee. Her eyes scanned over a newspaper article of the engagement party from the previous night. Harry had an event this morning, only getting three hours of sleep. Lucy managed to sleep for five hours before tossing and turning; eventually, she got up. All morning, she had been catching up on work, but the newspapers called to her now.

The article about the last night engagement party criticized lack of Lucy's family. Sydney was there and it was noted, yet it continued to argue about her family. It asked where her cousins were and her friends.

"What family?" she snorted.

The article annoyed her but she put her head down and trudged through.

Harry marched into the kitchen and kissed her on the cheek. "You're beautiful."

She rolled her eyes. "Good afternoon."

Harry leaned on the counter and matched her gaze. Lucy slowly looked up; she arched an eyebrow.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"So, there's a thing, Luce, since you're almost part of the family now, you should know...." He bit his tongue. "We do polls. All family members are polled, individually and then as couples, and there a few more groups. You have been secretly polled for a while, but this is the first real poll since we got engaged."

"We're polled?"

"Only every few months, unless something major happens," he muttered.

Lucy wasn't surprised. "I get to see these polls now?"

"Yes."

"Should I be concerned?"

"Unknown," he admitted. "I haven't seen the numbers."

"What are my numbers in the past?" she asked.

Harry chose his words wisely. "They vary."

Siobhan walked into the room and curtsied to Prince Harry and then his fiance. She held files. "Stacy is out sick today so I will be doing it." She smiled kindly.

The couple and Siobhan moved over to kitchen table. After the files were handed out, Lucy flipped to the first page and remembered why she hated maths and sciences classes. She couldn't read the graphs, no matter how much she forced herself to look. There were some things she could interpret, like age groups and percents, then there were extra numbers.

"Starting with page one," Siobhan began, "Prince Harry's numbers are currently stable." Her eyes watched her only pages. "There was a slight dip after the engagement was announced with the eighteen to twenty-four year olds but increased with forty-five to sixty and then sixty and up. After the engagement party last night, all numbers increased and are stable. Numbers have increased as we get closed to the wedding date for your highness, especially fans of your late mother." She glanced down at the sheet. "Many people found you dashing last night in the suit, your highness.

"Ma'am, many people liked your dress as well but they thought you looked slightly pallor." Siobhan moved to the second page. "You two as a couple have polled highly and have moved into first position for most popular couple within the royal family, moving past the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and the Duke and Duchess Cambridge. As a couple, you poll at seventy-eight percent.

"Ma'am, your turn." Siobhan flipped to the third page.

Harry glanced at Lucy, giving her a hopeful smile. His eyes went down to paper.

"Ma'am, you are currently polling high. You tend an influx, up or down, meaning you are either generally love or generally hated. You have high respect from most, though." Siobhan scanned the sheet more. "Among the younger generations, you poll high at ninety-three percent. They see you as 'one of them' because you have some personal beliefs that match theirs. However, this is why you poll low with the older generations, whom feel that you are 'too childish.'"

Lucy glanced over at Harry, and he turned pink in the cheeks. Lucy was "too childish?" Who was Harry? Siobhan glanced up at Prince Harry too but averted her gaze down.

"Among middle aged generations, you poll normally. It is among fans of the Prince's late mother that you poll the highest."

Lucy almost choked on her own spit. "What?"

Harry's eyes came up as well.

"Yes," Siobhan said, meeting his gaze first. "Ma'am, they feel you are a 'free spirit' that is a fighter and lover. They feel they have a 'deep connection' with you."

His blue eyes rested on Lucy but she refused to look at him. She couldn't look at him; she was afraid what might be on his face. What if it was sadness, for his late mother? But what if it was pride, for Lucy? The latter was worse for her.

"This brings another issue, which Jessica Morris from Public Relations wanted me to discuss with you, your highness and ma'am. As a couple, like I said earlier, you are polling highest. Your highness, you have always been a favorite royal since birth, and you currently lead your brother, which is to be expected with the impending wedding. What no one quite realized is that Miss Lucille Smith would be polling higher than the Duchess of Cambridge."

Lucy stopped. She polled higher than Catherine, the true Cinderella story, though technically Lucy was a Cinderella story too but she never thought of herself like that. Yet, Lucy polled higher than Catherine. Lucy was more popular than Catherine.

"Kate needs to be high," Harry said. "She needs to be higher than Lucy."

She didn't disagree. Lucy knew that Catherine needed to be higher, upon being truly in the spotlight forever. William was to be King of England someday, and Catherine was to be Queen Consort. It was the same way William and Catherine's children were to be polled highly.

"Is there a way to lower my numbers?" Lucy asked.

"We don't lower your numbers. We don't change that way. Something will be done so that Kate gets back with good graces." He turned to Siobhan. "Is there a reason for Kate's low polls?"

Siobhan said, "The Duchess of Cambridge's numbers tend to vary much like Miss Lucille Smith's. Sometimes people think she isn't good enough and sometimes she seems too perfect. You always find someone who doesn't like her or them as a couple. It has been an off-putting few months for them since light is very much put on the wedding."

Pausing, Siobhan moved onto the final topic. "Though the numbers are well, we need to discuss a few things. Ma'am, you seemed aloof at a charity event, perhaps boredom accidentally came through but you recovered nicely from that. Also, pictures taken while you were in Minnesota, ma'am, those were the moment were people called you 'childish.'"

Lucy laughed.

Harry sighed. "They loved the pictures of us fishing, though."

"Some did," Siobhan said. "Others were not impressed. They do not believe a future princess should be doing that."

Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Or that," Siobhan snapped.

Lucy fought the urge to roll her eyes again.

"Is that all?" Harry asked.

"Yes, your highness."

"Thank you."

Siobhan stood and left the room.

Lucy faced her fiance. "I feel like a politician," she said, "where I am constantly polled, to see if I will become the next President of the United States of America. Or, like I'm a movie star or a singer, and I need to know who is the prettiest."

"You feel used," he summed up. "I promise, Luce, these numbers help us. We are nothing without the people."

She smirked.

"What?"

"I love you." She kissed him.