Accidents Happen

Victoria heard a knock on her new door, and she called out for them to come in.

"Er, I thought you would want to come and have dinner with... with my family..." Harry said, scratching the back of his head. He looked nervous; almost as nervous as Victoria!

"Wait. Your family as in...?"

"Yeah. Will, Kate, Dad, Gran."

"Oh. I'd love to but, I've got nothing to wear!" Tori bit her lip, glancing at her closed wardrobe.

"I've got that covered." He smiled. "Wait here, I'll be right back!"

"Again?" Tori whispered, letting herself fall back onto the soft four-poster bed.

Before she got time to wonder where he'd gone, he was back. He had a big box in his hands, and he brought it over and placed it carefully on the bed.

"What's this?" She asked, staring from the box to the prince.

"It's what you're going to wear tonight. It's the right size, I can tell. Could you put it on? Please?"

Tori raised her eyebrows. "Alright. I'll need you to go into the bathroom or something while I change."

"Yeah. Yes, of course!" He jumped up and raced into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Victoria shook her head, took the lid off the box and gasped when she saw what was inside. There was a beautiful blue dress that flowed from the waist down. "Oh, wow." She whispered.

"It's on." She called, after she had gone through the painstaking effort of changing into the dress without wanting to do any damage.

As Harry raised his head, his mouth visibly fell open and he stared for a few moments, before realizing what he was doing and snapping it shut. "You look amazing." He gushed, striding toward me and taking my face in his hands. "Do you know whose dress that was?"

She shook her head in wonder, not taking her eyes off him.

"It was my mothers."

Victoria felt her eyes widen as she looked down at the gorgeous dress that was draped over her slender figure. "You're joking." She choked out, looking back at the prince.

He shook his head and smiled. "She last wore this three years after I was born. I don't remember what she looked like it in, but I would hope it looked as good as it does on you."

Tori blushed and whispered, "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. She would have loved you to wear it. In fact, she would have loved you." He smiled warmly. "Now, come on. We don't want to be too late so that no one but me can see how beautiful you look."

"You think I look beautiful?" She stared at him. She hadn't been called beautiful since her brother had called her beautiful. That was a very long time ago.

"You look more than beautiful, Victoria. You look stunning, amazing, gorgeous." He breathed, moving closer to her. "I mean it."

Victoria tried to speak, but found that she couldn't. This moment, this dress, it was too much for her. So, when he started leaning in, she panicked. "I-I'm sorry. I can't. Not right now. Can we please just go downstairs?"

Harry frowned and nodded. "Sorry. I just thought-"

"No. You don't have to apologize! It's me, it's all me. It's not that I don't want to kiss you, it's just that I can't. Not... not in this dress." She whispered the last few words.

Realization dawned in his eyes and he nodded once more. "I understand. Yeah, that makes sense." He smiled. "Come on, I want my family to see what a beautiful girl I've befriended."

***********************

The soft chatter ceased when the people at the big dining table saw Victoria and prince Harry step inside.

"Harry!" Tori recognized prince William's voice as he stood. "This must be Victoria!"

Tori smiled timidly. She was nervous, to say the least. It was nerve racking meeting anyone's parents over a formal dinner, never mind the man you fancy and the bloody queen of England.

The queen looked up from the table at Victoria and smiled a sweet little smile. "Victoria! It's lovely to finally meet you!"

Tori curtsied. "It's lovely to meet you too, Your Highness."

The queen chuckled lightly. "Please, call me Elizabeth. I will not be called by my title in my own home!"

Victoria nodded, smiling.

"That dress looks familiar." Elizabeth frowned a little. "It was Lady Diana's, was it not?"

"I told Tori to wear it tonight. Mum would have loved the way it looked on her." Harry smiled fondly, watching Victoria's every move.

She blushed and looked at her feet. "It feels weird, you know. Wearing this."

"Hush! It looks wonderful on you, dear. Now, take a seat. I'm sure you need a good feed after the day you've had." Said the queen, taking a sip from her small glass of wine.

"You're right." Tori laughed and took a seat next to Kate.

"It's great to meet you!" Kate beamed sideways at Victoria. "Harry's talked about you a lot, you know."

"Oi! Family secrets, y'know?!" Harry said loudly.

Tori blushed. "It's great to meet you too." She felt awkward, but right at home at the same time. These people were royalty, but they made her feel so comfortable. It was nice.