The Crown (Prince Harry fanfic #5)

Chapter Forty-Four

April 2025

The flight to Minnesota, United States of America was long. The drive to her old grandfather's house was even longer. The wait until the funeral was the longest. At the funeral, before it started, Lucy waited in line like everyone else. There stood Sydney's parents and her sibling, as they all took condolences. Words weren't enough; words were never enough. It wasn't going to get better. They had a huge hole in their hearts. Lucy had a hard time giving words when everything was said. It was lies what people said, how it was going to get better. Lucy knew it would've, but at that moment, it felt as if the world was falling apart. It didn't matter if the pain would lessen or if you would forget, it mattered now. The world sucked now.

When she moved down the line and gave condolences, she said the nice things. Everyone said the nice things. And then Lucy gave silence. There were just moments of peace and silence as they moved down the lines. No one wanted anything special. Everyone got to breathe. There wasn't acting.

Lucy reached Sydney's mom, who looked so much like Sydney, if she had made it that far in her life. Sydney's mother grabbed a hold of Lucy and pulled her to her chest. Sydney and Lucy had known each other since kindergarten. They grew up together. Sydney lived just down the street. Sydney survived the school shooting with her. Sydney got out without being shot. The wounds never left her; they haunted her. They just became worse and worse. Sydney and Lucy had been friends forever, coming apart and then back together, like waves. Sydney's mother moved onto the next person.

Sitting down the pew, her eyes remained forward as other people sat down around her. She stared at bloody Jesus on the cross that hung in front of her. Lucy and Sydney had been the same religion, Catholic, and had done all the classes. They got their first communion together and confirmed together. Sydney stayed more with the religion than Lucy ever did, but it wasn't saying much.

The church service started. Words were said and repeated. None of them made sense to Lucy. Motions were followed: stand, sit, stand, kneel, stand, sit, stand, kneel, kneel, sit, kneel, kneel, stand, sit. Lucy moved like everyone else. The church service ended and everyone moved out to the graveyard, outside the town. Police officers led the way and cleared the streets, like most funerals, as they went to the graveyard. The priest continued. Afterward, they went to a third location, where food was served. After spending enough time there, and Lucy couldn't actually swallow anything, she said good bye to the old family she once knew, with Sydney's parents and sister.

Lucy went back to the house. She made the trip alone, not allowing Tony to come with her. The house answered in silence. Thankfully, no cameras followed her. No one thought to interrupt her now, even though she wished for some sound. She hated the sound of silence.

After texting Harry, it didn't take long for him to want to FaceTime. She set him so that she wouldn't have to hold her phone. Lucy let her heels drop to the ground and changed out of her black dress. She put her pearls away. Putting on sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt, Lucy sat on the bed.

"Hello," Harry said through the phone. The boys were asleep from the time it was in London. Besides them, he was the only one in the apartment. He looked tired too. The boys had been crazy today without their mum. Harry could only do so much. "How was the funeral?"

"You know I put the fun in funeral." Lucy sighed. "How were the boys?"

He rolled his eyes and shrugged.

"Oh, so they were good?" She let out a shaky laugh. The breath was too quiet and narrow. She truly hadn't been breathing all day. Lucy had been walking on eggshells, but why? There was pain in her chest, because of a hole that Sydney left. Then there something else in there, down at the bottom, guilt. Lucy felt guilty. The shaky laugh turned louder and longer, as Harry's eyes watched his wife. The shaky laughed turned into a giggle and then a chuckle and then never ending laughter of massive proportions. The laugh shook the walls of the house and threatened the break glass. It was uncontrollable and long. For some reason, it all spilt out at once. For some odd reason, Lucy laughed when she should've been crying.