The Prince and the Girl

Harry, Pippa, James, Beatrice and Eugenie stood in a circle with Gillian, all of them sporting mischievous looks on their faces.

All of the older guests had already left; only Charles and Camilla remained. Charles stood, followed by Camilla, and announced his departure. He slowed as he passed Harry and Gillian, giving them a stern look of warning. He knew something was about to happen.

As soon as they were out the door James dashed to the windows and pulled all the curtains closed very tightly. Harry stood up on a stool with his hands cupped around his mouth.

“Alright! Bar’s open, lights down, music up!” He shouted and suddenly, within a matter of minutes, the party was transformed into a club. Loud music was pumped out of speakers that had been cleverly incorporated into the decor of the room.

Obviously, this sudden change in atmosphere caught Gillian off guard. She hardly knew what to do; it wasn’t until Pippa grabbed her by the hand and pulled Gillian in to her circle.

Gillian hid it well, but she was a fantastic dancer. She could move her hips back and forth in such a way that everyone, male or female, would look at her, with her dark brown hair thrashing about, coming out of her bun. Pippa stood next to Gillian, gyrating to the music. Gillian caught a glance of Will and Kate, both of them looking surprised and happy.

Gillian forgot about the man who had asked her here and danced her heart out, watching as James got close to Eugenie and as Pippa and Beatrice danced vigorously to the beat. Harry seemed to have disappeared somewhere.

Suddenly, Harry was there beside Gillian, grabbing her hands and attempting to dance. Harry was an awful dancer, but he put his heart and soul into it. He shook his fists and feet in a manner that was somewhat reminiscent of a marionette. Gillian could help but laugh.

Harry stopped dancing and looked up at her. “What are you laughing at, miss? Jealous of my dancing abilities, are you?”

Gillian looked at him sarcastically and replied, “Why yes, your highness. You must have learned to dance while watching men fall off horses at your polo matches!”

Harry laughed and continued to jerk back and forth until the song ended, and even after that, anticipating the beginning of another. The next song, however, did not particularly match his dancing style. Gillian saw William and Kate taking each other’s hands, Pippa and Beatrice had found someone each, James was holding Eugenie close. Harry reached for Gillian’s left hand and put it on his shoulder, then taking her right hand and sliding his around her waist. She rested her head gently against his shoulder, relaxing.

Harry suddenly jerked his head up and Gillian lifted her head to look at him.

“I have an idea.” He whispered and pulled her by her hand out of the room. Gillian followed him through the dimly lit hallways, still elegant in all of their darkness, until she stood next to Harry in front of the balcony doors. He looked at her with a devilish smile on his face.

“No.” Gillian responded firmly.

“Oh come on, it’ll be fun.” Puppy dog eyes chased the mischievous smile off of Harry’s face.

Gillian removed her hand from Harry’s to cross her arms. “No! Someone will see us!”

“That’s the fun of it.” Harry put his hand on Gillian’s back and pushed her forwards. He opened the balcony doors and pulled the curtains aside. Reluctantly, Gillian stepped through the middle doorway of the balcony and out into the cool night air. Harry followed.

Words could not describe Gillian’s feelings upon seeing the night sky of London, illuminated up by the city’s lights. She leaned against the railing, looking over the square at the Victoria Memorial.

“It’s so big.” Gillian gasped.

“Can you imagine it full of people? It was pretty crowded when Kate and Will got married.” Harry replied, standing beside her.

“I can’t imagine being Kate, with all those people looking at me.”

Harry laughed. “Well, let’s see here.” He reentered the palace and beckoned Gillian to follow. He positioned her on his right. He turned to look at her intently. “You are the wife of a stunningly handsome prince. You have just been married.”

Gillian laughed. “And you are?”

“I’m the stunningly handsome prince, obviously. You can’t watch the fly past without me.” Harry responded playfully.

Gillian laughed again. “Of course.”

“Now, we make our balcony appearance.” Together, Gillian and Harry stepped out of the centre door and onto the balcony. “The crowd goes wild.”

“Oh, wow. There’s so many of them.” Gillian added jokingly.

“It’s overwhelming, I know. Will you be alright?” Harry asked, still grinning.

“Yes.”

As they reached the balcony railing, Harry’s hand found its place on her back. “Now, smile and wave.”

Gillian did as she was told, waving and smiling to an imaginary mob of people. “Oh, they love us.”

Harry laughed, still waving. “Of course they do. You’re a beautiful young bride.”

Gillian could only smile and look away.

“And now,” Harry said breathily, “The moment the entire world has been waiting to see.” Gillian looked up at him and his old grin returned to his face. “The balcony kiss.”

Harry leaned over slightly and Gillian tilted her chin up and their lips met gently and softly. Their heads touched together lightly and their lips parted. Gillian could feel Harry smiling. His smell was comforting, like fresh bread or old books.

“And now we go inside.”

•••

When Harry and Gillian returned, people had begun filtering out. “Were we gone for that long? Where is everyone going?” Gillian asked.

“We try to keep these kinds of parties quiet, so they generally are very short. We don’t want the press knowing what’s going on in here.” Harry responded.

The lights had been turned up and slower music was now quietly playing and Kate and William thanked every again for coming. Harry sat down on a couch and Gillian joined him. He threw his arm over her shoulders and pulled her towards him, so that her head rested on his chest. She entwined their fingers together. William looked over a smiled before whispering something to Kate.

“I had a wonderful time tonight. Thank you for coming.” Harry whispered. “I think we’ve started some royal gossip though.”

Gillian laughed tiredly. “Suits me.” She looked up at Harry. “Thank you for the invitation. I can’t wait to tell the press all about these wild parties.”

It was Harry’s turn to laugh. They sat in silence now. Gillian watched William with Kate as they talked with Pippa, James, Eugenie and Beatrice. As even those guests left, William and Kate were left to themselves. He took Kate’s hand and kissed it before pulling her into a tight embrace.

“They really do love each other, don’t they?” Gillian looked up at Harry once again.

“Yep, those lucky gits.” Harry responded with a tired smirk.

William and Kate crossed the room to where Gillian and Harry sat, the two of them seating themselves on armchairs opposing the sofa.

Kate looked to Harry and William and said, ‘Thank you for a wonderful night. I cannot imagine a better way to spend a birthday than with the man I love, an old friend and a new friend.” She said, looking to William and then to Harry, and finally to Gillian. There was a moment of silence as they all treasured her words.

Harry piped up and said, “By the man you love, you mean me, right?” They all laughed at this quip.

Gillian sighed, realising it was nearly one in the morning and said, “Well, I must be going. I’m lucky I don’t have to work tomorrow.” She stood, as did the other three, all ready to see her out.

William shook heart hand heartily again, thanking her very much for coming. Kate took her arm and walked her to the door, telling her she would call for lunch. “I would really love to get to know you better, I feel as if we are already great friends.” She hugged her and kissed her on the cheek.

Harry was waiting behind Kate to say the final goodbyes.

He took both of Gillian’s hands in his and said simply, “I will see you again soon.” He smiled before adding, “That is, if Kate doesn’t steal you away from me.”

Gillian laughed. “There is a definite danger of that.”

Harry quietly bid her goodnight and walked her to the door, where George was waiting.

As attendants opened the door and Gillian stepped outside, she was once again blinded by camera flashes. The questions, however, had changed since the beginning of the party.

“How do you know Harry?”

“How long have you been seeing each other?”

“Should we expect another royal wedding in the near future?”

Once again, George guided Gillian through the jungle of blinding lights and opened the car door for her. She got into the car quickly and watched as George opened his own door and got it.

“How did they find out? We’re not even seeing each other!” Gillian asked of George.

He sighed. “That’s not really the way it works with the Princes. Either you are or you aren’t.”

“Still, how did they know?” Gilliam demanded.

“These things get out. It’s natural, Harry is a member of the royal family.” George responded calmly.

“Right. Right, he’s famous.” Gillian reassured herself.

George looked at her in the rear view mirror of the car. “You’ll be alright?”

“Yes. It’ll just taking a little getting used to.” Gillian responded. George nodded and sat in silence for the remainder of the drive.

As Gillian arrived home and George opened the door for her, he took her hand, led her to her door and said, “Don’t let the media ruin what you could have with Harry. Good night.”

With that, George got back in the car and drove off into the night, leaving Gillian standing in the doorway of her home.