Ties That Bind Us

Chapter 1:
EVA POV:

The blistering heat of Lesotho reminded me of the little things that I was going to lose. I removed my jacket and tied my hair in a bun, looking around the field. The children's laughter, pure and loud, did not make leaving easy.

However, I had to do it. I had to continue.

For my son.

Where is he? I waked towards the big white building and hugged the children that ultimately, grew close to my heart. I felt their fragility, their pain and happiness in that hug. When I pulled away, kissing each child on the cheek, I heard Aiden's boisterous laughter. It filled my ears and my heart.

I will never get tired of hearing him like this.

My son.

'Mama! Mama!' He shouted from the hallway of the building. He was running towards me, hands flying wildly. 'Look what I and Azubi did!' He reached me and immediately went to my lap, a dangling piece of paper on his hand.

I kissed his chubby pink cheeks and took the paper.

'It's us!' Pointing his fingers to the colourful picture. 'You're here, this is Director Shubi, that's me, Azubi, Malia…'

I laughed and gave him raspberry kisses on his stomach. ‘Why do I look so fat in that picture? Hmm?’ He squealed and jumped away from my lap.

I stood up from the ground and looked towards him.

‘Aiden!’ I shouted.

‘Yep?’

‘I’ll just be with the girls in the kitchen! Find me if you need me!’

‘Sure, mama!’ He totally was not listening. I shook my head and walked inside.

When I arrived in the kitchen to prepare food for the children, Ana and Julia were already bustling about.

'Hey girls,' I greeted them.

'Hello! Mind grabbing three eggs from the fridge please?'

I grabbed three eggs and handed them to Julia who was cooking the bacon. She giggled, jumped and took the eggs from my hand.

I frowned.

'You alright, Julia?' I asked, tucking a stray of hair to my ear.

'Oh, I'm alright!' She giggled again and continued beating the eggs for scramble.

Ana scoffed behind her Canon camera. 'She's been giggling still from last night.' She took a photo of us.

'Oh shut it! I haven't been giggling until this morning!'

'That makes all the difference, doesn't it?' Sarcastic Ana makes an appearance.

'Hmph.'

'Alright, alright. What's happening? Why so giggly Julia?'

'Are you serious?!' Julia stopped beating the eggs and faced me.

'Uhm, yes?'

'Oh God. You're a social disaster, Eva. You know that don't you?'

'I do. You don't need to remind me.' I rolled my eyes. 'So, tell me. Why so giggly? Did you finally found out that Jack is the guy for you and decide to marry him when we weren't looking?'

Julia glared. 'No, silly. Trust me, that’s not happening anytime soon. I'm excited because the Prince of Wales is coming here today!' She squealed again and poured the beaten eggs into the pan.

'You mean Harry?' I clarified. I knew that Prince Harry co-founded Sentebale, the organisation that I'm currently volunteering for, with Prince Seeiso.

'It's His Royal Highness Prince Harry of Wales. Get it right, Eva.'

I rolled my eyes mockingly. 'Oh, I didn't know you were one of those girls Julia.'

'You have no idea.' Ana muttered on the corner.

'Just wait and see, girls. I mean, who can officially say that they met Prince Harry during charity work?'

I shook my head. 'Oh, Julia. Didn't four years of travelling the world proved that meeting a prince isn't what its made up to be?'

Julia sighed at me. Not understanding me at all, probably.

I put the strips of bacon on a separate bowl from the rice. 'Ana, will you stop taking pictures for a moment and help me put this on the table, please?'

'Sure.' She grabbed the jug of water and glasses.

'See you outside, Julia!'

-----

'Mama?' Aiden whispered in my ear.

'Hmm?' I cuddled him closer. Although it had been eight years since he was born, he still smelled like a baby. My baby.

'Did you like the drawing?'

'I loved it. Of course I did. You are such a good drawer.'

‘That’s good.’ Aiden shivered in my arms.

The blistering sun, the lack of wind, and him wearing a jumper shouldn't make him shiver. My throat closed up. 'Are you alright, teddy bear?'

'I'm good, mama. I think I just tired myself too much. Running around and all.'

'Well, at least you had fun, right? Did you eat breakfast?'

'Yes and yes, mama.'

'Good.' I let my fingers massage his black curls and my lips kiss his nose, his cheek. 'What do you think of having a final tour of Lesotho tomorrow?

'In a four wheeler?' He gave me puppy dog eyes. He’d been waiting for this since he was six.

I laughed. 'Yes, teddy bear. In a four wheeler.'

From calm baby to a wiggly toddler, Aiden squirmed and looked at me in the eyes. ‘Really? Are you serious? Really? Really?!'

I laughed. 'Yes, honey. I've already booked four bikes for tomorrow.' One for Ana, Julia, Marcus and I. Since Aiden was too young to ride, much less a four-wheeler, he could ride with any of us.

'Aaaah!' His arms circled my neck for a hug.

I set Aiden on my left arm and tickled him. He was growing so fast, too fast for me to cope. He was jut four and a half when I decided to travel and bring him along. I tried to give a childhood as much I could. I gave him Harry Potter books, watched Spongebob and Cars with him, and let him play with the children that we met along the way.

And although he was just eight, he knew more about the world than anybody. You wanted to give him life. This is life, Eva.

Once he was done laughing from my previous tickling, I grabbed him with both of my arms and swung him again and again.

'Excuse me,' I heard a deep male voice behind me. With both our cheeks rosy red, we turned around to face the voice who called out.

Oh, shit.

Think.

'Oh, hello sir!' I began, trying desperately to get my bearings.

There across from me was Prince Harry of Wales.

I knew that he was coming today, but the shock that came from meeting a person so highly known – especially a Royal – threw me off a bit. Although, he was quite important – no one was going to beat Nelson Mandela’s position. I remembered hyperventilating and almost passing out when Mr. Mandela took my palm to kiss the back of my hand. Yep, no one is going to beat Nelson Mandela.

'Hello, who is this little fella in your lovely arms?' His voice was deep and surprisingly, quite soothing.

'Hello! My name is Aiden Robinson!' The said fella in my arms offered his arm for shaking. 'What's your name?'

Prince Harry laughed and shook the offered hand. 'My name is Harry. It's nice to meet you. What do you do here in Lesotho?'

'I'm volunteering alongside Mama's friends for a charity called Sentebale! You?'

'I'm here for that reason as well!'

'Well, that's good! The children living here truly deserve more help, and that's what I, Mama and our friends are doing.'

Harry gave him a kind smile and continued chatting with him. During this, Aiden was, surprisingly, still in my arms. Usually when he was talking to older people, he would stand on his own and talk to them with his feet on the ground, but maybe due to my surprise regarding four wheelers tomorrow - he wanted to hug me still expressing his gratitude.

Well, I sure am not complaining.

During this time, I had a chance to actually look at Prince Harry. He was tall, red-cheeked, had broad shoulders, weird yet tall masculine nose and, of course, the ever prominent spiky bland red hair he was known for.

His posture, which I always looked at first before facial expressions, was one of calm, confidence and well, a bit of swagger. Comparing him to Prince Harry that I usually see in UK television, there was no difference. He hadn’t changed at all for the sake of the press. He was bare for the whole world to see.

I wonder how he does it.

When they were done talking. The Prince (I wasn’t about to call him Harry) looked at me and smiled. ‘And you? What’s your name?’

‘My name is Eva, sir. Eva Robinson.’ I told him. ‘I’ll offer a hand to shake if my son isn’t cuddling me tightly to his chest, I will.’

‘No, it’s all right. How long have you been volunteering for Sentebale, Eva?’ Smart.

Name-dropping was good to not forget the person who you’re speaking to.

‘My friends and I have been here since November last year. We’ve been here for two and a half months. This is our last day.’

‘Oh, I’m sad to hear that. I hoped you enjoyed your time here. It’s a beautiful country with beautiful people.’ I smiled at him. Africa was beautiful; it was just buried underneath poverty, death and hunger.

‘It is. The whole of Africa is. We actually plan on having a final tour of Lesotho on a four-wheeler tomorrow.’

‘Well, that’s going to be fun, isn’t? With friends and all.’

‘Me too!’ Aiden joined in.

‘Sorry?’ Prince Harry faced him.

‘I’m joining Mama and her friends!’ Aiden repeated.

‘Oh…’ He frowned, clearly confused.

Oh, here we go again.

‘Aiden,’ I whispered in his ear. ‘Why don’t you go help Ernesto with packing our things for tomorrow?’

‘But…’ He started, clearly worried for me. His face nuzzled my neck tighter. ‘I don’t want to leave you yet.’

‘Come on now, Aiden. I’ll join you soon.’ I entangled his fingers from the back of my neck. I didn’t look at Prince Harry yet.

‘Fine.’ He’s down on the ground, looking up at me, face upset.

I gave him a mocking look and mouthed ‘I love you’.

Aiden’s face softened, his blue eyes became clearer. He mouthed back ‘I love you too.’

Soon, Aiden was gone.

And I was left with Prince Harry.

I sighed and finally turned to look at him. He looked at the ground. ‘I’m so sorry, Eva….’

‘Please, don’t. Truly.’ I told him. ‘People always get shocked when they hear about it.’

‘How old is he?’

‘He’s eight.’

I saw Harry’s eyes widen. ‘And how old are you?’ If this question wasn’t asked a hundred times by who didn’t even know me, I would snap at him – but this wasn’t my first time handling a situation like this. It still hurt, though. The looks, whispers and judgment from those who still lived in a world where propriety is everything. When I was nineteen, things got too much and I cried on the side of Aiden’s crib. He woke up from his nap and when he saw my red and tear-stricken face, he began to cry alongside with me. I cradled him close and swore that I will learn to live with it.

And I did. Slowly, it got better.

Experiencing the world for four years, meeting people who had more devastating experiences than I, taught me that I wasn’t alone. There were others who felt this way.

So, I answered him. ‘I’m twenty-five.’

I could see his mind rolling. Counting the difference and making judgments. I didn’t care; they can judge all the want. It doesn’t make a difference.

I won’t allow it to make a difference.

I was ready for the awkward response, the judgmental eyes…

It didn’t come.

There was just a quiet silence.

I looked at him in the eye, my head bowed still. My defenses up.

He smiled at me, and I realized that there was a difference between Prince Harry in front of the camera and Prince Harry away from the camera.

His smile was brighter.

PRINCE HARRY’S POV:

Her name was Eva.

Over the bustling noise of children, people and the strong wind – I could hear a laugh. It was lovely and I wondered if it was hers.

I listened to Seeiso and the Director of what had been going on in Lesotho. He was going on about finances, volunteer work, etc. I slipped away from the conversation for a minute…

‘Eva!’ Seeiso called out from my side. Her head turned and I could see her now.

There.

‘Eva, her son and her friends had been volunteering for Sentebale from November till now. It’s her last day. She brought the kids so much joy.’ Seeiso commented to me. ‘Eva! Come over here!’

I saw her smile. Her smile was wonderful, pure and just invited you in. She didn’t even look she was doing it purposely – she just did it. Her whole face lit up, all her features became softer. Eva smiled like you were the person she was waiting to see for her whole life.

And although it sounded cheesy, her kindness – through that smile – was bared for all of us to see.

There was no denying that this lady was a nice person.

I drank my shot of vodka, feeling the comfortable burn inside me.

She closed in further to us. She had her hair in a bun, with a few strands of hair hanging out. Her porcelain skin was mostly hidden on a jumper and a long skirt.

‘Hello sirs!’ She smiled widely. Jesus, how could she beat her other smile? ‘How are you tonight?’

‘We’re good, sit down with us Eva.’ Seeiso offered her a seat across us.

‘Thank you.’

‘I was just telling Harry here how wonderful you and your crew are during your volunteer for Sentebale.’

‘That’s very kind of you.’ She smiled, and this time, it wasn’t that large, happy-to-see-you smile. This one was more…conservative. Her white cheeks that were naturally rosy began to colour more. Although her back was straight and poised, she still looked embarrassed about the comment.

Seeiso glanced at me for a moment. I idly drank half a shot of vodka, not saying anything at all. ‘Well, let me properly introduce you to Prince Harry, yeah?’

‘Of course.’

‘Well, this is –‘

‘Wait!’

I blinked towards her.

‘Do I have to curtsy?’ She timidly ask, her cheeks becoming rosier by the second.

I laugh. ‘If you’re a British subject or part of the Commonwealth – then yes.’

‘Oh, alright then.’ She stood up and grabbed her skirts.

My eyes widened. ‘Wait! What are you doing?!’

‘Curtseying, sir.’ She blushed.

‘But…’ I stammered. ‘You’re not British.’

She laughed. ‘Oh, yes I am, sir!’ Letting her Londoner accent come through.

‘Oh heavens… What accent were you doing, then?’

‘Uhm…I’m not quite sure. What accent do you think I’m doing?’ She asked her eyes bright and her brows getting more defined.

‘Well, definitely not a British accent – that’s for sure.’ I muttered.

‘May I continue curtsying, sir?’ She asked me in her most courteous British tone, it almost made me laugh.

‘Nah, I was just joking. The bowing thing is getting really old. I mean, why waste two seconds of your life bowing to someone?’ I asked to nobody.
‘Because you’re a Royal, sir. That’s why we need to bow.’

‘Well, please be the few to not bow to me.’ He winked.

The tip of her lips pulled up. I dare her to smile so close to me. I dare her.

She did.

Fuck this. Fuck her smile.

‘Alright, sir.

‘Stop with the ‘sir, also.’

She laughed, loud and clear. It could be compared to a laugh like a man, if her voice wasn’t so feminine.

‘Alright then, Prince Harry.’

Cheeky woman.

Seeiso coughed loud enough for us to hear. ‘Introductions. Harry, this is Dr. Eva Robinson. Eva, this is, well, Prince Harry.’

Eva offered her hand to me. ‘Lovely to meet you, Prince Harry.’

I dropped my drink on the table and took the offered hand. Her fingers were warm, sure and smooth.

I gave her the smile and a wink.

‘Nice to meet you, Dr. Robinson.’