Where I Belong

It was finally the last week of Ellie’s stay with the Royal family. She had spent 4 amazing weeks with her dear boyfriend and his wonderful family in the beautiful city of London. Ellie didn’t want this day to come but she knew in little than 24 hours she would be on a plane to Uganda. Her dream was coming true.

The night before her final day, she had started her packing with the help of Harry, Kate, and Will. The four of them became truly close despite their age differences with Ellie being the youngest. They sat around in the guest bedroom and helped with folding clothes and sorting her belongings.

“This is boring,” groaned Harry, running his hands through his hair and laying on his back.

Kate laughed and playfully swung her arm, hitting him on the leg. “Then go over to the corner then Mr. I-Never-Want-To-Do-Anything.”

Harry scrunched his face and shook his head. “Nah, I’m great here, thanks.”

The girls giggled. Ellie spoke up as she finished folding her blouses. “Babe, are you going to help me or not?”

“I am, I am. But look at Will,” he said pointing at his brother who was looking down at the pile of socks he was in charge of sorting. William looked up and shook his head. “Reasons why socks were never my favorite clothing item when I was younger…”

“Boys, you’ve helped enough, I guess.”

Harry sighed, “I’m sorry love. I’m just exhausted. We did 3 charity events in the past 5 days and tomorrow night is your last night and also the farewell party.”

“Why are you throwing a farewell party,” Ellie asked.

“It was Harry’s idea,” said Will.

The brunette nodded and continued with the folding, sorting, and packing. By the time the clock had struck 1.00 am, she was done. She looked around the room and Kate, William, and Harry were all asleep on the floor. Ellie chuckled softly to herself and went to grab pillows off the bed and gently placing them underneath each of their sleepy heads.

Ellie, herself, crawled into bed. From underneath her pillow she pulled out her mum’s photo album. She stared at it and opened to the first page. She had become familiar with every page since she had viewed the album more than a hundred times. The photo of her dad and mum stared back at them. Their happy faces suddenly made Ellie emotionless.

“Sorry, I’ve neglected you mum…”

The next morning, the Royal family woke Ellie in an unusual manner. They surrounded the bed with a tray of breakfast, waiting for her to open her eyes. As soon as Ellie’s eyes fluttered open, the family all shouted in unison, “Good morning Ellie!”

It was something Ellie did not expect from them but she was glad they did so. It definitely made her morning.

“Thank you so much for everything you’ve done. I truly appreciate and I’m honored to have been a guest here.” She said, pushing the tray away from her and sitting upright.

The family left Ellie alone in the room to get herself ready for the night to come. While it was still early in the morning, the chefs were already working on dinner. As Ellie skipped through the palace to thank each and every maid, guard, and keeper, she couldn’t help but enter the library.

Whilst everyone else in the palace was busying setting up for the gathering, Ellie sat in the library and pulled out a few other books she found interesting. They were all a collection of short stories by several authors. She smiled as she dropped them in the little basket she had hanging over her shoulder and carefully walked down the ladder.

The sun filled the room with the beautiful, natural light she loved. Nothing made her happy like a sun-filled room, especially surrounded by books.

Once she finished a few books, it was already 14.30 pm. She got up from the big, comfortable chair and raised her arms in the air. As she looked down at the side table, she saw the novel she was still in the process of finishing, Where I Belong.

The part she stopped at, the two main characters Marina and Prince Declan were in the middle of a complicated situation. There was unfaithfulness happening and tear stains on the pages, yet Ellie couldn’t put the book down.

Ellie picked up the book and held it to her chest. She smiled softly as she exited the library, probably for the last time. William, who was casually walking down the hallway, beamed as soon as he saw Ellie.

“Hey, we’ve been looking all over for you.”

She chuckled, “You should know where that I’m always in the library.”

“Of course. Hey, you ready for tonight,” he asked, leaning against the wall.

“Ready for the party or leaving you all?”

William looked at Ellie and sighed. “Don’t say that. You’re not leaving us… well, hopefully not forever. You’re a joy to have around and I know Harry loves you. You will come back to visit, yes?”

“Of course,” she answered, holding tight on the book.

“You’re going to be taking that book?”

Ellie nodded and stroked the spine. “Is that alright?”

“Yeah, that’s fine. It’s all yours. Anyway, Kate’s been looking for you. You should go find her.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ellie walked into Kate and William’s bedroom and saw Kate sitting in front of the window with a pile of tabloids in front of her. She shut the door behind her and walked over to Kate.

“Kate? Harry said you’ve been looking for me…”

She turned to look at Ellie and smiled. She patted the cushioned seat next to her and said, “Ellie, I need to tell you something. Something about Harry.” Ellie nodded and sat down next to Kate, turning her body towards her, waiting for whatever she had to say, and hoping it wasn’t bad news.

“You remember that night when Harry had left with William to hospital to visit the sick children?” Kate asked and Ellie nodded.

“That was just a few days ago, right?”

Kate nodded. “Well, Will told me this… and he wasn’t sure he wanted to tell you that night because he didn’t want to ruin the rest of your stay so he told me to tell you now…”

Ellie shook her head and asked, “What are you trying to say Kate?”

“Ellie, that night after the hospital visit, William said Chelsy met up with Harry… and he thinks that they spent time together after visiting hours were up…”

She sat there and looked down at the tabloids. They were old ones but they were the ones that were about Harry’s hookups with random girls and Chelsy Davy. At that moment, Ellie didn’t want to believe. She wanted to leave and find Harry, but she knew Kate was being honest. She was being a friend.

“I’m sorry sweetie, but I don’t know what the two of them did afterward.”

“That’s why he was home so late…” Ellie said softly. “What do you think they did?”

Kate sighed. “Shit, I knew I should have told you this earlier…”

“No, no. Today… right now, was the perfect time to tell me.”

Ellie sat there quietly as she skimmed through the papers. She picked one up and read through the article and threw it on the ground. One by one, she read it and threw it. She wasn’t sure if Harry was still that kind of person – a playboy – but she knew that he lied to her. And she wasn’t sure of anything anymore.

“What are you going to do babe?” Kate asked, scooting closer to Ellie and comforting her.

She shrugged. “I have no idea but if this is true, I’m gone.”

That night as guests started arriving, Ellie looked out the window and saw lights going on and off from all the cars. She pulled on the curtains and covered the sight. Her bags were piled next to the door and as she walked out into the hallway, she ran into the person she’d been meaning to speak to, Harry.

“Hey babe, haven’t seen you since this morning. Where have you been?” As he leaned in for a kiss, Ellie pulled away and crossed her arms over her chest. “Don’t.”

Harry looked at her with a puzzled look. “What’s wrong?”

“Is she here? Is this why YOU wanted to throw this “party”? So you can sneak her in and be with her?”

“What are you talking about Ellie?” He asked, taking a step back.

Ellie rolled her eyes. “Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about.” Before Harry could say something to her, she turned around and walked down the hall to the large room where everyone was. While everyone was dressed in formal attire, Ellie was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. She felt alone in a crowded room and desperately searched for Will and Kate.

“Ellie, over here!” she heard them call out for her. Ellie ran to them and into Kate’s arms.

“He’s not telling me the truth! What do I do?”

William groaned. “She is here.”

Kate looked over Ellie’s shoulder and saw Chelsy walking across the room towards Prince Charles and Camilla. From a distance, she saw Harry coming passed the hallway and towards them.

“Ellie! Ellie!” He called out for her.

Will and Kate reassured Ellie and said to her, “Ask him. If he denies, then listen to your heart. Go with your heart tells you. He’s coming…” The two of them left Ellie alone just until Harry spun her around.

“Please tell me what’s going on.”

Ellie looked at the ground. “Just so you know… she’s here.”

Harry’s arms ran up to Ellie’s shoulders and asked, “Who? Chelsy?”

At that moment, she stepped away from him and looked at him in the eye. “Tell me the truth Harry… were you with Chelsy the night of the hospital visit?”

Silence. Silence. Silence. Stutter. Silence.

“Ellie, let me explain…”

She shook her head and looked down. She didn’t want to look at him, especially when she was tearing up. Ellie tried her best to hold it in because she wasn’t quite done speaking to him. She felt her body tremble and with hundreds of people in the same room, all she wanted was to break down. “What did you two do?”

“Ellie –”

“Did… you… kiss… her?” she asked sternly.

Harry sighed and stood before Ellie, trying his best to not let his emotions knock him down. “I may have kissed her…”

“I trusted you.” Ellie said, taking a step towards him. As their eyes met, she shook her head and before turning away, she slapped him hard. Everyone in the room turned to look at Harry and others turned to watch Ellie as she ran away into the hallway with Will and Kate chasing her.

The tears began streaming down her face as she entered the room. Finally, she was able to let out her emotions. She broke down and leaned her back against the wall, falling down. She dug her face into her hands and cried. Never in a million years would she have imagined this happening. Never in a million years would she have found out that the ginger prince would cheat on her.

Will and Kate caught up with Ellie and shut the door behind them as they entered the room. They kneeled down next to her and pulled her into a hug. “Come on, we’ll bring you to the airport.”

The three of them were on their way to the airport. Ellie sat in the back and stared out into the night with streetlights being the only source of light entering the car. Her face was stained with tears and her eyes were heavy. What was going to happen between her and Harry? She wasn’t sure and she didn’t want to deal with that.

“I’ll ring you as soon as I arrive in Uganda.”

The couple nodded as they gave Ellie one last hug. Her Uganda trip was happening hours early, but all she wanted to do was get out of the country. She waved bye to William and Kate as she walked into the terminal, leaving everything Royal behind.

Mum,
Today I realized something: fairy tales don’t come true and in the end, boys are all idiots. I should have never spoke to Harry that day in the library. I should have never gotten to know him and I shouldn’t have told him my life story. I should have never been his girlfriend and I should have never done what I did. I didn’t come back here to fall in love. I came back for school and for nain and taid. God, I haven’t spoken to them in a while. What kind of granddaughter am I? You know what else I realized? That being with Harry made me be apart from you and Cardiff. What a mistake. Don’t worry though mum, I won’t fall for that again. I promise. X

~~~~~~~~

“Where is she? Just let me know that she’s safe…” begged Harry.

William stood before his brother. Ashamed, he replied, “She’s safe. She’s on her flight to Uganda and she absolutely doesn’t want anything to do with you.”

As he looked down on his brother, he couldn’t believe he had pulled another stunt like this. He shook his head and turned to look at Kate, who was sobbing quietly as she left the room. William took a deep breath and as he turned his heel away from his brother, he said, “You know, sometimes, I’m ashamed to call you my brother.”