The Throne (Prince Harry fanfic #6)

Chapter Six

Harry had been waiting for Lucy to come home. His confidence had been strong after speaking with his brother. He had a clearer head. He knew what needed to be done. But as he waited now, his confidence slowly diminished. When Lucy's car pulled up, his confidence was gone. When Lucy stepped out of the car, somehow he got angry. He pushed it down as his wife entered the house.

Eyes fluttering up to him, Lucy closed the door behind her. She put her purse on the table and pulled off her shoes. "Where are the kids?" she asked, noticing it was too quiet in the apartment.

"Sleeping," Harry answered quickly. "They had a lot of fun at Buckingham last night but didn't sleep much, so they're sleeping now."

"Their sleep schedules will be completely screwed up now." Her voice was heavy and slow. Lucy's fingers ran through her lightening hair. "How were they this morning?"

"Just running on energy and sugar. As soon as I got them home, they pretty much passed out. Only Louise fought a little." His blue eyes never left his wife, not for a second, as she stood defeated in front of him. She coughed before swallowing again. Slowly, her eyes swept up to him. "Do you want a divorce?" Harry asked.

Once again, Lucy didn't respond.

He waited and waited. Uncomfortable silence fell over them. It was thick and suffocating. Seconds ticked by, when it felt like a lifetime. It never ended. Harry counted his heartbeats. With every passing second, anger grew within Harry. He just wanted an answer, but his wife stayed silent. "Lucy, answer me: do you want a divorce?"

"I don't know, Harry. I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"We're married, Harry. I gave my life over to you-- to this life."

"I don't want you to forfeit your life over to me--"

"That's not what I want." Lucy couldn't find the right words to say. "I married you. I made a vow."

"If you're only staying because of a vow, not because of anything else, then that's not really--"

"No, Harry, no, you're not even listening." Her hands slapped against her thighs in frustration.

Walking past him, he followed her into the kitchen. "Lucy, you aren't really speaking to me, ever."

Harry saw as Lucy bit her tongue so she gave no retort.

His anger only grew. Once again, he pushed it back down. Anger wouldn't have done him any good. "Well, if you want to stay in this marriage--" he huffed, "I want to stay in this marriage, then I suggest we go to marriage counseling. We can work this out. We can continue with our lives."

It took a minute, but finally Lucy nodded. She agreed to do so.

Standing there dumbfounded, Harry wasn't sure what he found more shocking: she said yes or they agreed upon something. To the latter, it had been a while since either of them agreed to do something. Usually it was one or the other dragging their feet. Then when it came to the kids, it was usually Lucy who had more power. Yet Lucy said yes; she would go to marriage counseling with Harry.

Taking a deep breath, Harry decided to push his luck. "So, tell me about your day."

Lucy pursed her lips.

"Open communication, Lucy. Speak to me. Tell me about the event this morning," Harry begged.

Slowly her eyes flickered up to him. "I don't want to talk about the event this morning."

"Why not? Did it not go well?"

"I forgot all the words to my speech today," Lucy admitted bitterly. "I didn't know one damn word to one damn sentence. I didn't even know where I was. People stared up at me and I stared down at them. I'm just happy I didn't vomit on them."

"You've never had public speaking problems before?"

Lucy pursed her lips again.

"Lucy?"

"I'm tired, Harry, and I'm hungry. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night and I didn't eat this morning before I left. That's all." Moving around the kitchen, Lucy had a slow process to just grabbing cereal out of the cabinets.

"Lucy, I can make you something to eat."

"No, it's fine."

"Lucy--"

"Harry, don't push it." Lucy grabbed out the milk and a bowl. For a few seconds, she stared at the cereal in front of her. Her hands gripped the counter, and then she moved again. It was like she did a silent prayer. Lucy wiped her face with the back of her hand and began to eat. "Harry, don't give me that look."

"Lucy, you should take better care of yourself."

"Don't treat me like a child, Harry."

"I didn't mean..." he trailed off. Harry couldn't find the words to apologize or say anything else about it. Gulping, he tried to find words. "I have an event tonight."

Lucy nodded slowly.

"Would you like to go with me?"

It had been a while since Harry and Lucy did events together, mostly because one of them needed to stay with the five children. People found it unacceptable if one of the parents was not. Plus, most of the events they did together were posh suppers, which was frowned upon. Like previously stated, with the recent cuts to the monarchy, posh events were no longer an usual thing.

Harry knew this too. "You could wear one of the old dresses you have and some of that jewelry, and you know how to do your hair and makeup."

"Nanny is still sick."

"Wills had an event today. We could drop the kids off there and pick them up after the event."

"It'll be past midnight."

"They can sleep at Buckingham again. God knows the place has enough rooms."

Lucy didn't like that answer. "You go. I'll have the kids tonight."

"I can stay home," he offered, but that made Lucy stop.

"We can't afford to screw up right now, Harry, not with all the shit going on. If they see a falter, we'll be less than what we are now. Go to the event. Put on a good suit and a good smile. Do our duty." Her eyes watched the cereal in front of her eyes.

Glancing at the clock, he had to run. He needed to shower and change before going to the posh event. Harry paused where he stood. It was compulsive but he wanted to go over and kiss Lucy's cheek. He wanted to say something sweet to her. In the olden days, he would've done just that. Now, he blinked at her and left.