Against All Odds

Chapter Twenty-Five

                                     MALDIVES

                                    One month later...

I open my eyes lazily, feeling a hand in my messy hair, soft lips on my shoulder. Henry's warmth radiating towards my body, making me shiver with anticipation even though I've only just woken. I've lost track of the days, the hours of the days.

Wonderfully set into our small little bubble, I am content, finally getting what I dreamed I'd never have. Henry.

Turning slowly, resting my head into the ridiculously fluffy pillow, I sigh with a smile. Outlined by the early morning sun, he smiles too, both hands on either side of me.

"Good morning," he whispers, leaning in. I hum as he nuzzles my cheek, wrapping my arms around his shoulders.

"Good morning."

He pulls back, smiling suddenly. "I think I shall teach you to surf today."

"You know how to surf?"

"I do," he murmurs. "The waves are large today... You up for it?"

I nod excitedly, biting my lip. "I'm in."

...

Henry sets the orange long board onto the soft, white sand. "Alright, come here."

I walk forward in a knee-length wetsuit, taking his hand. I appraise him intimately, noticing how well he fills out the space in his body suit. Following his instructions, I lie down on it, giggling to myself when he has me pretend to swim.

"I feel ridiculous," I mutter, rolling my eyes. I hear him chuckling behind me.

"You look ridiculous," he says, amusedly. I gape at his audacity before I give up, standing.

"And on that note, can we just get in now?"

We move across the hot sand together, into the vibrant, clear water. When we first arrived, I truly believed I had this island set as my laptop screensaver once. We landed in South Asia just a day after Henry cancelled his wedding and wanting to remain out of news coverage, since the entire world had heard of Henry's last minute change of heart, we boarded a small jet, which took us to a small, secluded island completely surrounded by water. We're the only two on it, apart from Thursdays, when a man on a boat arrives with food and necessities.

We've fallen off the map. And naturally, I worried after so much time apart, that we'd be awkward around one another or grow annoyed easily. I mean, Henry and I haven't ever lived together really... But, the seclusion has only made us calmer. Happier. We rarely wear clothes, we wake, eat when we'd like.

For a month, everything has been completely perfect. And I find myself waiting for the moment when everything goes to shit, when real life beckons again but it doesn't come. Henry has spoken to Richard only once since we landed. They shared few words. It was mostly Richard detailing the specifics...

That Henry would not be publicly disowned but he was no longer welcome at Kensington or in Parliament. That Richard was not sure when he could come back since the last minute cancelling had left him in a difficult predicament. Richard told him that he loved him still, but had warned him of the consequences.

Richard also told him that he would be welcomed back with open arms, as long as I was not with him. I was there when Henry hung up on him and I'm not sure whether Richard has tried to contact him again but Henry doesn't speak of it- not Richard or life back home. I am aware that he's left everything behind, I am aware that England will always be on his mind. He loves his country. He loves his brother.