The Prince (Harry Styles)

Chapter 8

The following morning I was awoken to a rapid knocking sound on my door. I sat up confused, but looked over to find Princess Gemma fast asleep not seeming to be bothered by the loud noise. I shuffled to the door quickly wrapping an afghan around me and pulling my hair over one shoulder. I pulled the door open and rubbed my eyes to see Prince Harry standing in front of me.

"H—"

"No, it's not about last night," he said quickly. "Have you seen my sister? She's missing."

"Uh, yeah, she's sleeping in my bed," I said gesturing to my bed. "She needed to vent so I let her vent and we talked and fell asleep."

Harry let out a heavy sigh of relief and held one finger up as he ran down the hallway. I leaned against the doorway and breathed heavily. I noticed he was in his red military uniform leaving me to wonder what time his day actually starts. Much earlier than mine I've gathered. My fingers twirled the ends of my hair mindlessly as I waited for Harry to come back. I saw him come back with maids and whatnot.

"Sorry to wake you, Em," he said rolling his lips inward. Well, this was awkward. "My sister has some birthday plans today and it's an early morning for her."

"It's okay," I nodded to him. "I'm um, I'm going to go back—"

"Can I be frank?" he asked.

"I guess," I nodded looking down at the wooden ground where his shiny black shoes were. A clothed hand pressed underneath my chin and lifted my head. I was looking into those green eyes once again.

"I never meant to hurt you, Emerald," he whispered. "I shouldn't have demanded an answer and I shouldn't have forced myself upon you. It was not my finest hour, I admit."

I looked at him and saw that he was being genuine. Those hours where I was awake and Gemma was asleep, I was thinking of our encounter last night. I knew I would forgive him, especially after what Gemma had explained to me. He was inexperienced and I was probably his first proper girlfriend.

"It's fine," I nodded turning to go back into my room. He grabbed my arm making me turn back to him.

"No, Emerald, it's not fine," he said to me. "I acted out of character, I said rude things, and most of all, I forced myself upon you. I wouldn't forgive me if I were you. Toying with one's innocence is not in my nature."

"Harry, I said it's fine," I said. "It's what? Six o'clock? Can't we talk about this later?" I asked.

"Technically, it's only five," he said with a smirk. "It's fine if we talk later."

"Why the hell are you awake at this hour?" I asked shaking my head. "It's too early, even for my family this is quite early."

"I have guard duty from four to seven," he said with a shrug. "I've cleared both of our schedules for the day. We're not expected in the throne room today so it will be just us for the day. That is if you'll have me?" he asked.

"Yeah, of course," I nodded. "If you don't mind, I would really like to go back and snuggle in bed. I'm sorry if you don't like that, but I don't need to be up for another two hours."

"It's fine," he laughed. He hesitated and then leaned forward and pressed his lips to my cheek. "Thank you," he whispered to me. I nodded and went back into my room.

Gemma was just getting out of bed grumbling to her maids. She waved me a goodbye and exited the room. I lay back down on my bed and let out a heavy sigh. I kicked my blankets and pulled them up over me hiding in their warmth. 

I couldn't help but think about what had just happened. Harry was ashamed of what he had done, he thought he didn't deserve forgiveness. The fact that he knew and was ashamed of what he had done proved to me that he was indeed forgiven. I also knew that he had both of our schedules cleared for the sake of making everything up to me.