Running Around Royal (Prince Harry #4)

Chapter Eighteen

A late night didn't mean a late morning. It felt as soon as Meredith placed her head on the pillow, her eyes snapped open to bright sunlight streaming in. Putting her face into the pillow, Meredith tried to ignore it. The clanking of a metal platter echoed in the room, and it was set down on the desk. Harry was awake, which Meredith knew, as he popped up in bed.

"Good morning, your highness," Jessica greeted.

"Good morning, Jessica," Harry said, fully awake. "I smell coffee."

Meredith groaned.

Harry sighed. "Could you please remove it from the room? I'll take it downstairs. It makes her nauseous."

Jessica curtsied and removed the coffee from the room herself. The door closed behind them.

"I don't think that helped at all." Harry sniffed and warm coffee scent lingered, but at least Meredith removed her face from the pillow. She gave him a lazy smile. Reaching over, Harry ran his thumb under her eye, and some of last night's eyeliner came off.

"How bad does it look?" she murmured.

"Not a black eye bad, but you were never one to party hard either," he joked. "How's your head?"

"Honestly, it's fine. I didn't drink too much last night."

"Or this morning." Harry planted a kiss on her forehead and then rolled out of bed. His bones creaked as he stood, and he leaned back to stretch. Walking over, he took a pastry off the plate. Harry wanted to say that today wasn't as busy as yesterday, which was true, but in truth, they had three countries to get through.

Meredith kept this in mind, especially as she dressed and had her makeup redone, as they boarded the airplane and as they landed in Switzerland. Harry had a nice and calm day ahead, taking in the slopes in the Davos Klosters Mountains, attending Klosters Parsenn. Harry had been skiing there since he was a child. Meredith, on the other hand, was not a skier and was not staying long in Switzerland.

Kissing Harry, Meredith wished him good bye and good luck. Her arms wrapped around him tightly. "Don't go and get hurt, please."

He scoffed. "I'll be fine. And you've got this."

"Of course, I do." Meredith kissed him. "Speak some German, do some stuff." Backing up, she motioned for the airplane door to open, which it did. Harry gave her a wink and exited. The door closed again, and the duchess was off to Liechtenstein.

It wasn't exactly a long flight, and there had been questions on whether or not to take a train. In the end, it was decided that Meredith was to take the airplane, and Harry was to meet up by train before heading out to Austria for another party. Not all countries met the Duke and Duchess of Windsor with parties, yet many in Europe wanted to show the old connections to the royalty.

When the airplane touched down and the door opened, His Serene Highness Prince Hans-Adam II and his wife, Her Serene Highness Princess Marie stood there, along with many other members of the royal family: His Serene Highness and Her Royal Highness of Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein and Duchess Sophie of Bavaria, along with their children: His Serene Highness Prince Joseph Wenzel Maximilian Maria of Liechtenstein, Her Serene Highness Princess Marie-Caroline Elisabeth Immaculata of Liechtenstein, His Serene Highness Georg Antonius Constantin Maria of Liechtenstein and His Serene Highness Nikolaus Sebastian Alexander Maria of Liechtenstein. This was only a small portion of the family.

Liechtenstein was a principality, which meant it was all constitutional, reigning over the less than forty-thousands of the inhabitants. The men went to Sandhurst, which Harry attended in his military career. While Meredith was a lower member of the British Royal Family, she earned the respect and pageantry that came along with being queen. It wasn't every day that Liechtenstein was visited by a member of a certain family. There was a hierarchy, even within monarchies, especially between the families.

Meredith greeted them accordingly with a curtsy to Hans, Marie, Alois and Sophie. All of them were above her line. It became tricky with Joseph, who was to be someday ruler. That was closer than Meredith was to ever get. However, he was as lowly as she was, and Meredith curtsied to him but he bowed to her. With the rest of the children, they bowed and curtsied suitably. Meredith greeted them with a head bow.

Having met them only for a short time before, it was best that things were kept formal. She wasn't sure how to make things informal quite yet. It came with years of work together. Harry just happened to know Alois and Joseph because both attended Sandhurst, which made them brothers.

It was a forty minute or so drive to Castle Vaduz, the official castle of the Liechtenstein royal family. Snow covered mountains on both sides of the castle with towns in the valley that followed along the expressway. People waved British and Liechtenstein flags as the cars went past. Hans and Marie's car was marked by flags on either side while one Union Jack flag waved on Meredith's car, which she just so happened to share with Alois and Sophie.

"Liechtenstein is very beautiful," Meredith said, glancing out the windows.

Sophie smiled. "I was told you speak German."

"Ah." Meredith laughed nervously. "Mein Deutsch ist nicht gut. Ich habe Hochdeutsch gelernt in Gymnasium und Univerisaet."

"Then the Bavarian and Liechtenstein accents aren't usual. Can you understand what we say?"

"Bits and pieces," Meredith responded kindly. "Of course there are words and pronunciations that I am unaware of. Reading and listening are fine, but it usually the responding back that becomes difficult."

"I will try to make it the most basic for you," Sophie promised. "When was the last time you were able to practice your German?"

"It was a while ago. There is not much German to speak in London."

"English and French is taught mostly, yes, even though the British Monarchy hails from Germany." Her eyes sparkled. "Lasst uns anfangen." German spilled out of her mouth, and Meredith had a hard time keeping up. It was the accent that threw her off, along with the words that she wasn't aware of and never learned. Meredith did her best to respond back, and Sophie was patient about it.

The chill came through as they stepped out of the car in the mountains. There weren't as many photographers as before in other stops. The royal photographer was with Prince Harry today while the royal photographer took photos of the Duchess of Windsor with members of the Liechtenstein Royal Family. Even then, it was able to tell that they were a small community compared to others.

Lunch was set out on the table, and Meredith was stationed between Prince Hans-Adam II and Hereditary Prince Alois. More family had gathered around the table, and Meredith grasped at the names. English was spoken around the table, which thankfully made it easier to communicate with those around her.

After a few hours, Meredith bid the Liechtenstein Royal Family a farewell as she exited. The car and Jessica waited out front, and Meredith waved one last time before sliding in. "Very good, your highness," Jessica commended, "very well." The car drove down the hill and toward the airport.

The duke already was on the airplane by the time Meredith arrived, and he kissed her. "Looks like you had fun on the slopes," she said.

Harry snickered. "It was all work," he promised. "How was Liechtenstein? How was the family?"

"I practiced my German, if that's helpful at all." Meredith shed her shoes and took off her jacket and dress. Harry smirked as he watched. Sitting down, she looked into the vanity, beginning her own work on her makeup.

"Are you that anxious?" he asked, already dressed in a tux.

"The sooner this day is over, the sooner we get a day off." Meredith felt the jerk of the airplane as it taxied toward the takeoff tarmac. "Let's get this over with."

"That's the spirit," Harry mocked and backed out of the compartment.