How Long?

2002

Louise now 15, came down the stairs dressed in what she felt like was a ridiculous attire for a party with friends and family. She hated these kinds of shindigs that her dad threw every now and then. She was dreading this night for weeks. She stood in front of the door before entering the hall contemplating running away and hiding in basement.

“Dare I say that someone is looking rather like a lady today?”

A familiar voice came from behind. Louise turned around with a huge grin on her face to find Harry standing there in his dashing suite with a cocky grin plastered on his face.

“Harry” She said and flung into his arms.

She had missed him these last couple of months. He was severely lacking behind in his studies at Eton Collage because of which most of his weekends had been spend with his tutor.

“What are you doing here? Is William coming as well?” She asked breaking the hug.

“No gratitude that I showed up to give you company to this bore fest. And to answer your question no, Will is not here. He is quite busy with his swim team” He said with mock annoyance.

“I am much obliged for your presence here your royal highness” She said taking a dramatic bow.

“That’s better. I guess you have been learning how to treat oneself in the presence of royalty” Harry said with a smirk.

“Oh sod off you git” She said slapping his arm.

“Oi!” Harry said putting his hands on his chest with mock horror.

“Well now, that’s not how a lady behaves” Harry said giving her his arm. “Shall we” He asked imitating adults.

“We shall” She said talking his arm and they pair entered the hall.

----------

Inside the party as always Harry started to work the room. Even at sixteen, Louise was surprised with how good he was at charming people. He was talking to a bunch of old ladies when Louise noticed Prince Charles and her father coming her way.

“Louise” Charles said giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“Uncle Charles” She replied.

“This event is getting duller by the minute. I came to request if you could play something for us” Charles said.

Louise looked at her father for approval. Since childhood she had a passion for music. She took regular piano lessons since the age of three and recently she started learning guitar as well, though that was something her father was not aware of.

“Go ahead Louise play something. Maybe some Beethoven” Said her father with proud gleaming eyes.

Louise sat at the grand piano. As a child she always was so eager to share her piano lessons that she would just sit in front of the guests and entertain them for hours, which soon became nuisance for them. After a while her brothers started calling her a names and since then she played alone which made playing in front of the crowds nerve racking.

Now sitting in front of the grand piano she took a deep breath to calm her nerves. She placed her hands on the piano and just like as if the piano was an extension of herself, her fingers started moving automatically.

The crowd went silent within seconds. Harry watched his friend looking serene while playing the piano. He always thought she looked exquisite when she played music. It was always difficult for him to peal his eyes off her when she looked like that.

The room erupted with a round of applause when she finished. She got up and took a bow.

“That was fantastic Lou. It was Beethoven’s Moonlight sonata?” Charles said.

“Yes, it was” Louise said.

“Simply fantastic wouldn't you agree Harry” Charles said looking at his young son.

“Yes dad it was beautiful” Harry said grinning at Louise.

-----

Harry and Louise were sitting in the basement while the party was still going in full swing upstairs. Louise was sitting with a bottle of soda while Harry had managed to swipe a bottle of champagne for himself.

“School is dreadful Lou, I hate it there” Harry said taking another sip of champagne.

“You don’t hate it all. You excel in sports Harry; it’s just the studies you have a problem with” She said.

“I do love the sports but it just not that. Everyone there, they just expect me to be better at everything like Will and I am not Will”

Louise kept quiet for a second. She knew the constant comparison with William bothers him.

“Well, I am not doing that well myself. Dad made me take all these classes that I have no interest in and
I have a feeling I am going to fail majority of them”

“You will not. You almost got all B’s last term”

“No I didn’t, I even got a couple of C’s and a D” She corrected him. “You have no idea what it feels like to be at the bottom of the class”

“Lou, you have no idea what it’s like to be at the bottom of the school” Harry said.

“Are we feeling bad for ourselves now?” She asked raising her brow.

He chuckled. He loves spending time with her. She always had a way to put him in his place.

“I don’t feel bad for myself, Lou. I have this” He said pointing at the champagne bottle in his hand.
“This makes me feel rather good about myself” He said with a toothy grin.

“About that, it’s getting a bit much don’t you think? You can get into massive trouble with this” She said pointing to the bottle.

“I can hold my liquor” He said with pride.

“You shouldn’t be having any liquor. You are sixteen” She hissed.

“Don’t be a party pooper. You are coming to Highgrove next weekend?” He asked.

“That’s the plan” She said.

“Good. It’s going to be your initiation to the Club H” Harry said with another one of his famous grin.

-----

Louise was sitting on the stands with William watching Harry play a friendly polo game at Eton College. She loathed polo, being a daughter of a polo club owner she had seen her fare share of polo matches in her short span of life. She looked around with here lazy eyes. Harry was on the horse playing effortlessly in his white and green jersey. He was cranky though, she could see that even from here. His lips were in a tight line as he tried to concentrate on the ball. The sun was beating down on her and she needed water desperately. She located the water cooler and after asking William if he needed anything she made her way to it.

She stood inside the tent with plastic water cup in her hands, looking at the game. Harry’s team was losing badly and he was throwing a tantrum with banging is mallet on the ground.

“What a twat. Can’t even lose gracefully, call themselves royalty”

“Royalty my arse, the “prince” is failing most of his classes. Heard he was called to dean’s office, he might even have to repeat a year”

Louise tried to ignore the conversation the couple of boys were having but she was getting angrier by the minute.

“He is just so damn ugly with his red hair”

“Haven’t you heard the rumors? Apparent Princess D was a whore. That hair must be result of his whore mother sleeping around with other men”

William was sitting on the stands shaking his head seeing his younger brother throwing tantrum when the corner of his eye caught Louise throwing punches at couple of guys inside the tent. William rushed towards her.

“What were you saying dickhead. Care to repeat it” Louise yelled while one of the boys was trampled on the ground with his hands covering his groin.

It took the other boy a few seconds before it registered what had just happened and once he did he launched himself on Louise.

William rushed as fast as he could but by the time he reached Louise was already bleeding from a split lip. Her hair was wild and she was still trying to hit the other boy. William grabbed her by the waist while some guys were trying to pull away the other guy.

Harry heard the whispers of a fight. He turned around to get a better look when he saw William holding a wild looking Louise by the waist.

“You bitch! Leave me Graham I will teach her a fucking lesson”

“If you even lay a finger on her I will pull all your fucking teeth out, you fucking Wanker” Harry said giving him a death glare. “Why don’t you have a go at someone your own size? Huh?” Harry said throwing his helmet aside.

“That’s it!” William yelled. “Harry, take Lou to your dorm I will deal with this” William said sternly.

“No Will, I will deal with these punks” Harry said not breaking an eye contact with the boy.

“Harry, stop it” William said. “Take Lou she is bleeding badly”

----
“Are you fucking mental? You are half their size. Jesus, what’s wrong with you” Harry rambled as he cleaned up Louise lip. Other than the split lip she had a cut on her right cheek and a shiner coming on her left cheek.

“There were two of them, Lou. What were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t…Ouch” She said in agony.

“Don’t talk, they busted your lip pretty bad” Harry said putting the ice pack on her left cheek.

“What did they do by the way? Did they… I mean said… inappropriate”

“Oh lord, No!” Louise said with a groan.

“Then?” Harry asked raising his brow.

Louise looked down at her hands. She didn’t want to talk about this. She knew how much these stupid stories in the papers hurt him.

“It was nothing” She said in a whisper.

“Nothing” He said. “Come on, what is it?” Harry asked bending his head so he could look into her eyes.

“Nothing” She repeated.

“I will know. I go to school here. It will come out sooner or later. It always does” He said.
She looked at him biting her lip.

“It was about me wasn’t it?” Harry asked reading her expression.

She nodded lightly.

“What about me?” He asked in a soft voice.

“They were talking shit Harry”

“What shit?” He asked.

“They called you ugly”

Harry snorted “You call me ugly all the time. What else?”

“They were talking about you flunking classes and some other stuff”

“What other stuff?”

She groaned. “Why do you want to know? I took care of it”

“Getting your arse kicked by someone does not constitute of taking care of it” Harry said rolling his eyes.

“You should have seen the other guy”

“I did see the other guy. Now don’t change the topic”

She knew how stubborn he was, he won’t leave her alone until she told him. Plus, he was right those guys went to same school as him and sooner or later he will get to know.

“They were talking about the whole James Hewitt thing” She said not meeting his eye.

He kept quite nodding his head. She looked up to see his face. First anger flashed on his face which later turned into hurt and sorrow, which was so much worse than the anger.

“Harry…” Before she could say anything William came marching in the door.

-----

William and Harry were walking Louise to her car. William hugged her goodbye and then Harry stood there looking down at her friend. Her left cheek was already puffy and lip swollen. He brushed his hand lightly cut on her right cheek.

“You are so stupid, Lou” He said.

“I know” She said smiling sheepishly.

He smiled the kind of smile which reached all the way to his eyes crinkling the corners. She loved that smile.

“Take care of it” He said pointing to the lip.

She nodded and then he hugged her. The hug that meant so much more than any words he could have said. His grasp was so tight that it nearly took her breath away.

“Thank you, Lou” He whispered in her ear.