The Prince (Harry Styles)

Chapter 12

In the following weeks after they had finally released us, things had been rather tight around the palace. Security was upping its antics. Rumors were also swirling about that in the safety cabins, they were installing toilets for longer stays. Apparently before that night, the royal family hadn't been in the safety cabins for more than a few hours.

It was still a scary experience, but I'm glad I got to spend it with Harry. I think having there with me was something I needed. He seemed to calm me down whenever I was overly anxious or anything. Sitting in that small little cabin with his arms wrapped around mine, I never felt more at home. He was my protector, I knew he would never hurt me. He saved me. 

That bout of me not being able to breathe, I learned I had asthma. I never knew I had it up until that moment in time. I felt stupid for not knowing, but how was I to know? I never ran as a child because I was far too busy helping mum in the kitchen or working the produce stand in the town. It was a scary moment, I was afraid of my mother's reaction if they hadn't been so quick to act. I especially thanked Harry. He was so fast at getting me help despite the dangerous circumstances.

I never did learn what happened that night. The obvious was clear, we were attacked and it was far worse this time. I only wonder if they were attacking harder or if they had gotten further than they had before. King Desmond had informed me that my home area was okay since there is a lot of military infiltrating the area anyway for protection. Also, my family is protected from harm unless I am kicked out of the palace.

The past few weeks have been a little crazy for me, I have been waist deep in classes about...everything. I began to learn about the history of Ula, the basics which I had already been informed of. I also began learning more etiquette things from Queen Anne. So much new information was being thrown at me and fast, I didn't know if I was even handling it well. I was afraid I would make a huge mistake in front of Queen Anne. I didn't want her or King Desmond to misinterpret anything I say or do.

I was sitting by myself in my room about a week and a half later with Gemma sitting beside me with the promised laptop. She was helping me learn the reading program. As I clicked on a box with letters in it, it would speak the word slowly. We had been working on my reading together over the past almost two weeks. I was learning a lot, I was proud of myself. I could read words that I had learned if I saw them. Sometimes, I would sit in Gemma's room staring at her erotic novels spines and try to pick out words I knew. She was excited because soon enough, I would be able to read the "amusingness" that is women's porn. Can you just hear my excitement?

"Pear," it read as I stared at the screen, a photo of a pear popped up on the screen. I repeated it to myself looking over the word for a long time, memorizing it. 

I wanted to get this right, I had to. If I wanted to better my life at all, I needed to learn how to read. I wanted to prove that I am not a dumb girl who is Ula's future queen. I want to be smart, I always wanted to do things with my life, but I fear it may be too late for me. Everyone seems very helpful with everything, though. They help me memorize words. Trish has put name tags on all the staff in the palace so I can try to learn what names look like. She's like my mother in a way. 

"How did you like your gifts?" Gemma asked lounging back on my bed. I turned to face her with a glare. I didn't really want to talk about this right now. "That much, huh?"

"Okay, I get the rubbers, but how the hell does the other thing work?" I asked and she burst with laughter and began digging in her pocket. She handed me a folded up piece of paper and I looked at her.

"It has diagrams on how to do it," she said with an eye roll. "You know, it may loosen you up."

"Like that would ever happen," I said to her. "Besides, your brother hasn't had more than two hours with me the past few weeks."