Running Around Royal (Prince Harry #4)

Chapter Sixty-Four

In the morning, Meredith woke up in Hong Kong. In a skyscraper, other skyscrapers hovered near and above their own. The skyscrapers went on for miles before dropping off into the sea and other land. Most of Hong Kong had Chinese traditions mixed in with European styles. At one point, Hong Kong belonged the British, given up in 1997 after a 99 year treaty; Prince Charles had been there to sign over the colony to the Chinese government. Below the skyscrapers, public transportation bubbled, and people moved freely. From this high in the sky, the royals didn't even hear what happened that far below.

When they had gotten in last night, Meredith had stayed away from the windows as they were so far up. Harry, on the other hand, was quite the daredevil, stepping out onto the small balcony. The wind whipped his ginger hair around, and he had thrown his hands into the air. Meredith had the fear that at any moment, he was going to be picked up and tossed over. Harry's feet remained planted on the balcony.

In the morning, cloud cover made the sun not burn as brightly. While Hong Kong itself was very energy and climate change aware, their neighbor, China, was not. Smog covered most of the city. Meredith blinked awake with the sun trying to peek through the clouds, but it was all left in a haze. Harry had his arm draped around his wife, and he continued to sleep soundlessly. 

In honesty, as Meredith tried to think about it, she didn't know long it had been gone. In the beginning of the trip, she had tried to journal, but that had decreased steadily. Most times, when she came back, it was off to another place, and she wanted to sleep. When she did have down time, she tried to escape with a book. She loved her life, but it was a lot sometimes.

The clouds shifted in the breeze, and Meredith found herself daydreaming at the thought of them blowing off. She had off days coming up, but they were still too far off. For now, it was about the motion of things and keeping a pattern.

Sliding out of Harry's grip, Meredith tiptoed into the bathroom and closed the door silently behind herself. In the mirror, she looked like herself now, except for the purple bags of exhaustion under her eyes. While she had been tired, she didn't expect it to be this bad. The stylists had been working miracles on her then, she decided. In the buzzing lights, Meredith stared at herself in the mirror a little longer, trying to figure out what was different about herself; she didn't know what it was.

Turning on the shower, Meredith stepped into it and just felt the water roll off of her. Even in the water, she heard the alarm clock go off in the bedroom, and Harry grunted as he turned it off. Meredith turned in the shower, washing her hair, which always felt greasy nowadays. She ran her fingers through it again and again, clawing at the knots to come out. It almost worked until she found another.

A knock came to the bathroom door, and she expected for it to be Jessica, telling her to hurry up. It was Harry, and he closed the door behind himself. He had a smirk on his face as he saw himself. Meredith arched an eyebrow, and then she popped open the shower door. Harry came inside.

After hair, makeup, clothes and breakfast, it was off to the events. In the morning, their first event came from the severe poverty in Hong Kong. The city offered one of the highest per capita in the world; however, severe poverty came along with it. Today, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor visited one of the impoverished slums. The government of Hong Kong worked with these areas, but the richer continued to get more rich and the opposite came for the poor.

Dressed in an expensive dress and heels, the duchess just looked like another wealthy woman trying to help the poor. The duchess knew this for a fact. Photographs were taken as the duchess met with mothers and children. The duke was off, talking politics with politicians and leaders. While the British monarchy didn't hold much sway with the Chinese government, they were still respected by the Hong Kong government. There was much to say about the dichotomy between the Chinese and Hong Kongese governments. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor had to walk this fine line carefully.

With the change in government, the poverty despair increased. The older generation moved into more areas without work because they themselves had moved out of the bracket. With all the glory and bright lights of the city, Hong Kong offered one billionaire for every 100,000 people or so. The top ten percent earned more than 44% compared to the bottom ten percent. All of this, clearly showed as the royals had moved from the skyscrapers. 

The event was no more that a publicity stunt, and it was like the people felt it. Jessica kept checking her watch, even though the duke and duchess tried to make it more than that. However, after all the impoverished areas they had visited, it was just another stop. The photographer took the pictures with the best angles and saddest looking children and people. After another photographer was taken, the duchess let out an audible sigh and roll of the eyes. Jessica hurried the photographer away after that, in the hope, undoubtedly, of finding of the duke.

After not doing much to help the situation, the car with police surrounding it drove back to the hotel, where Meredith was offered a shower, and her narrow eyes and jutted jaw gave away she wasn't in the mood for any of this. Steering his wife away from a possible argument with the private secretary, Harry put his hands on his wife's shoulders and took her in the dining room, where lunch was served. Like the day prior, Meredith didn't look very happy with her food, and she picked at it more than anything. Harry wore a worried expression, but he didn't push. Nothing, besides her little look today, gave away any more feelings.

With another outfit change, the duchess and duke arrived on the shores of Hong Kong. In the harbor, boats were already lined up and ready to take off. People packed into the brightly colored and decorated boats. At the front of the boats, it was shaped like dragons, fierce and powerful in nature. The duke and duchess watched on the sidelines as the boats started going, cheering for no one in particular. From along the sidelines, Cantonese and English was yelled.

To improve Hong Kong's image abroad, these dragon boat races became more popularized, and the tourism board pushed them as well. Hong Kong offered up a perfect place to hold the competitions, since it was such an international city. About half the population of Hong Kong held British citizenship because of the change in sovereignty as many did of the residents hold Chinese citizenship as well. With over seven million people, these number were massive.

When one race was done, the duke and duchess joined a dragon boat's crew, and they did their best to help. The Duchess of Cambridge had done much of rowing in her life; the Duchess of Windsor had not. Her arms burned within a few seconds of it, and sweat started to drip down the back of her neck. The duchess managed to keep a smile nonetheless, even through gritted teeth. Water splashed up onto the duchess, and she flipped her blonde hair back, loving the sensation.

Her arms burned for the rest of the day, and it hurt to move her arms at all. Thankfully, they went back to the hotel, and Meredith was pushed into the shower again-- with her hair up this time. The stylists went at her with precision, and Meredith didn't have to move at all. Not putting on her dress quite yet, Meredith had dinner with Harry in the dining room with large windows. Golden sunlight made the room glitter.

Meredith had steak, which had been a special request by her husband, knowing how much she loved it. She ate it with a grin on her face while drinking a beer beside her. Harry was happy his wife was eating-- more than nibbling-- for the first time in a couple of days. It made him relax quite a bit.

"You look worried, Harry," Meredith said between bites.

Harry took a drink of his own beer and settled back into his seat. "No, I don't."

She rolled her eyes again, but she didn't ask anymore questions.

After dinner, Meredith changed into her dress for the evening. They were off to see the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, who played with traditional Chinese instruments. She had a long flowing dress, which had already been used for an event earlier in the tour. She didn't wear a tiara, and she was thankful because her neck hurt a bit from the nights prior. Harry had changed into his signature black tux and waited in the living room as Meredith said she had to go to the bathroom one last time before leaving.

In the master bedroom, she closed the door. In the bathroom, she closed the door. She turned on the faucet to just add a bit more sound. Meredith vomited all of dinner's contents into the toilet. She swallowed down a secondary gag, closing her eyes and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. When she felt no more coming up, she cleaned up and flushed the toilet. Standing up, Meredith brushed out her dress and washed her hands. Checking herself in the mirror, she found that the purple bags under her eyes slowly return, but she just pinched her cheeks to turn them pink and returned to the group.