Life in the Palace (Prince Harry #5)

Chapter One

It had been a stressful last couple of days. There had been revelations, such as Harry keeping secrets and Jack Campbell having a following. Stress ended up running high throughout the whole world tour. Meredith was grateful for the opportunity, the memories and moments, but it felt like they had grown apart-- her and Harry. It had been a day there and a day there, but there hadn't been enough time between them and only them. There had been barely any moments of them being a couple and working together, which was what they did best. Meredith liked what she did, but it had been too much. Now she knew what royals only did so much at one time. Granted, when Elizabeth did royal tours in her youth, she was gone for five to six months at a time, leaving behind Charles and Anne. Meredith wasn't able to do.

Looking out the window as the airplane descended into Minneapolis-St.Paul, Meredith was ready to be back in Minnesota for three weeks before returning to London. Harry, who sat beside her, wanted to be home in London badly, but he also understood why Meredith wanted to be in Minnesota. London was only home so much, but her whole life had been here. After five months on the road, it was good to have some peace and quiet time for just them.

Harry held her hand, running his thumb over the back, and Meredith squeezed his. Usually, she was sick on the flights, but her wanting to be in Minnesota again overridden that. It was that and the fact that morning sickness used up most of her time now. She didn't know if it was motion sick or if her body deciding that now was a good time to not feel well.

The sky was dark as the went down after the shaky ride. Meredith had gripped Harry hard. She hated airplane rides; she liked to travel but didn't like getting there. Her husband, a former pilot, liked the airplane rides and seemingly enjoyed the turbulence. Meredith had to respectfully and disrespectfully disagree. The lights lined the way, and when the tires hit the ground, she let out a deep breath.

She was back in Minnesota, where she wanted to be, and thankfully, where she was going to be for the next three weeks. It didn't seem long enough, but it all depended on how the time was spent. As for now, she just wanted to sleep without an alarm clock.

Harry, as to not be spotted, though no one expected him on a flight to Minnesota, wore a Minnesota Twins baseball cap and a jacket with the collar up. This was his old way of thinking the paparazzi wasn't going to notice. Meredith, on the other hand, had stripped herself off the fancy makeup, clothes and hair supplies. No one had noticed before, and no one cared now.

Meredith, who still had her American passport, skipped to the front of the line and got through customs quickly. Harry was stuck with all the other foreign passports. Meredith sat on the floor and waited by the carousel of luggage. Harry still wasn't through. Even after she pulled their luggage off, he still wasn't through. On the passport, he had a last name, Mountbatten-Windsor, but in real life, he didn't.

Finally, he walked over. "Did they want an autograph?" she joked.

"No," Harry said, "but they did make my take off my hat." He had placed it squarely back on his head. His ginger hair gave him away quickly, but he was also a bit self-conscious about the balding spot on his head. Meredith didn't mind.

Leaving customs-- after being checked again-- Harry and Meredith walk out into the brightly lit area of the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport. With a neon pink sign colored and even glittered, Meredith's father held it high. Immediately, Meredith blushed at the sign, not that it gave her identity away. Harry looked around to see if anyone noticed, but at this time of night, everyone just wanted to move onto their next destination: bed.

Meredith ran ahead and hugged her father. It had been such a long time. She had been traveling; he had been traveling. Time didn't match up. Meredith was a daddy's girl; there was no way around that. He had been her rock for so long, but times changed. Meredith grew up. Her father went into the next phase of his life.

Pulling back, she signed to her father, and he signed back. Her father had been deaf for some years now, and they communicated clearly. However, Harry, when he came over, was a bit behind as he translated in his head. He had tried to learn so that he was able to speak with Meredith's father, but sometimes his hands got all jumbled up. It was American Sign Language after all, not British Sign Language.

Meredith's father watched Harry carefully as Harry tried to sign, but Meredith was too tired for this and she signed what Harry said. He chuckled and then pulled Harry into a hug. "Welcome back to Minnesota," her father said. "Let's go." He led the way.

Exiting the airport, Meredith smelt the air. It smelt just like gasoline and burned off fuel. This was not how she wanted it to be because she had just been complaining about this is New York City. The smelt churned her stomach.

Meredith stopped mid-step.

Harry paused. "What?" Concern crossed his face. "Mere, are you all right?"

Slowly, she nodded her head, watching her father as he walked ahead, not realizing that the rest of the group had stopped.

"What's this about?" Harry asked.

"I haven't him told," she realized.

"Haven't told him what?"

Meredith glanced down. There was really only one thing that was so large that she was supposed to mention it to him. Throughout the world tour, there hadn't been enough time, and when she did have the time, she did something else. She called Rachel or talked to Chloe. She read and slept. Texting wasn't good enough to tell him, even though they texted. Meredith wasn't that far along, but a lot of Harry's family knew.

"Oh." Harry leaned back. "Why haven't you told him?"

"Don't take that tone with me," she snapped. It had been a very stressful day; didn't he remember that someone tried to slash her that morning in Quebec City? Jack Campbell was out there making threats. At those thoughts, Meredith started to panic again.

"Mere?" Harry asked, like he was reading her thoughts.

"I'm good." She shook it away. Her mind had been racing all day, but she wanted that to stop. Meredith was back in Minnesota now-- home. They weren't surrounded like before, but they also didn't have that security. Jack Campbell wasn't able to get to her, and she needed to realize that. She was home in Minnesota, and they were going to enjoy their time.

Finally, her father realized he wasn't being followed, and he turned around, signing about what happened.

"One moment," she signed and then pretended to pick up something she dropped, finishing it off by pretending to stick it in her purse. She met Harry's eyes, and he gave her a nod of encouragement. Off they went, following her father again.