Ties That Bind Us

Chapter 2:

PRINCE HARRY’S POV:

The conversation between Eva and I flowed along well through the night. She was an entertaining bird and talking with her gave me a sense of freedom that I haven’t felt in a long time.

As the night continued, the tipsier I became. I was laughing at every word she said, even though it wasn’t funny. Thank God the press aren’t here. I haven’t drunk this much in so long.

‘Well, Prince Harry. I’m sorry to interrupt but I have to go and prepare for bed.’ She tipped her head to say goodbye and stood up.

‘Wait! The night is still too young! Tell us more about your stories, Dr. Robinson.’ I asked with what I assume, is a dopey smile on my face.

She smiled back, polite. ‘I’m sorry, but I truly have to wake up early for tomorrow.’

‘When’s your flight? You, your son and friends can fly with me tomorrow.’ Bad idea. I was going private and the press was going to be there, but oh well.

Judging by the frown on her forehead, she knew this too. ‘Our flight to London is the day after tomorrow. We’re making a last tour of Lesotho tomorrow.’

‘Oh right, you told me that earlier! Do you need a guide?’

‘We’ll be alright, Prince Harry.’

‘No, no! That wasn’t a question.’ I gave her a cheeky smile. ‘My flight tomorrow is going to be at night, so I can show you around during the day.’

She chuckled. What was so funny? ‘We’ll be doing our travelling on a four wheeler.’

I raised a brow. ‘So?’

She shrugged her arms, daring me again. Did this bird thought that I…. I glared at her.

She laughed and gave me a kind smile. ‘Truly, Prince Harry, we’ll be doing a tough journey throughout the day and I’m sure the children will appreciate it more if you stayed here.’

‘I can make another visit to Lesotho another time. However, you’ I gave her a look. ‘I might never see you again.’

‘That’s the plan.’

I laughed. ‘Seriously, though. Whether you like it or not, I’ll be your official tourist guide for Lesotho tomorrow. What time should I be awake?’ I grabbed a glass of water. I didn’t want to be hangover tomorrow too much.

‘Alright.’ She shrugged again. ‘Be awake at 5.30 in the morning,’ Eva gave me a mocking smile. ‘And good luck getting a four-wheeler.’

Then she was gone, her skirts billowing around her.

‘She’s a cheeky woman.’ Seeiso muttered to my ear.

I chuckled.

When Eva stepped out the building with a still-sleeping Aiden, she looked surprised to see me.

I opened my arms to show her the four-wheeler behind me, Eva’s jaw dropped.

‘But..but…The guy on the line told me that…’

I winked. ‘I have my sources.’

‘Of course you do,’ she muttered. ‘Julia! Get Ernesto and Ana will you? We’re running late!’

‘I’m barely even awake! Why don’t you-‘ the short-blonde woman, who I think was Julia, stopped on her tracks. Her eyes were wide, and unashamedly staring at me.

I grinned. ‘Hello, you must be Julia.’ I offered my hand.

She gaped still, her eyes on my hand. She faced Eva, who was eating an apple and putting her belongings inside the four-wheeler seat. She turned and faced her, shrugging. ‘What?’

‘Is this a joke or something?’ Motioning my casual clothes and protector hat.

‘Why don’t you ask him?’

She faced me again, her face still star-struck. ‘Uhm, I’m Julia?’

‘Are you?’ I ask with a grin.

‘Prince Harry is going to be our tour guide today.’ Eva entangled Aiden from her arms, putting him in the seat of the four-wheeler. Her hair was in a bun again, and this time, it was a clean bun – no fringe or strands of hair leftover. She was wearing worn-out bell-bottom jeans and a flowered-singlet. She looked…fierce.

The enigma of this woman surprised me to no end. Last night, she was lovely and sweet while still be entertaining and challenging. And now, she looked badass that took no shit.

‘Did you ask him to be our tour guide?’ Julia looked like she wanted to kill Eva in a second.

‘Of course not, you idiot! I have manners as well, you know!’

‘Oh, I’m sorry! I forgot that you had one when you didn’t even tell me that the Prince of Wales is going to be accompanying us today!’

‘Because I knew you were going to react this way!’

‘Still! I’m your best friend! So, while I was in my room last night figuring out our plan for today you were hanging out with…this man!’

Eva rolled her eyes and laughed at Julia. ‘You make him sound like a creepy guy, Julia.’

Their banter was funny and hearing them talk about me was even funnier. I have never met a group of people who were so carefree. The thought that came after that made my heart sting a bit, I was never going to have this.

‘I’m sorry, sir.’ Julia interrupted my musings. ‘I was just…quite shocked. And I don’t handle it very well –‘

‘She doesn’t.’ Eva interrupted behind her. ‘You should have seen her when we went to a Rihanna concert in Canada. She almost passed out.’

‘I feel quite offended.’ I laughed.

Julia gaped at Eva and huffed. ‘I hate you.’

Eva smiled and went inside to grab her other friends. ‘I love you too!’

This left me with a barely-awake Aiden and a hyperventilating Julia. ‘Uhm...’ I started. ‘Hello?’

She inhaled. ‘I’m so sorry I was so awkward, my manners just flew out the window. See, my friends and I’ve been travelling for four years and I’ve forgot how to –‘

‘Four years? Truly? Where’ve you been?’

Julia smiled, and I saw that she had a kind yet weary smile. She was a tiny thing, with short blonde curls that was hidden in a cap. ‘We’ve been everywhere. Parts of Canada, South America, the Pacific Islands and Africa.’

‘With him?’ I gestured to Aiden.

‘Yes. He was four and a half when we started travelling.’

‘That’s…’ shocking, adventurous. ‘wonderful.’

She nodded. ‘It is. We met so many people with different backgrounds and stories to tell.’ There was a quiet, awkward silence when she Julia started talking again. ‘I’d, again, just like to apologize for my unmannered greeting, sir. That was…unacceptable.’

I chuckled. ‘You’re British aren’t you?’

She looked offended. ‘Yes, I am.’

‘You’re accent is fading, that’s all.’ For a moment, she looked devastated and I wondered why.

‘Well, I’d just like to apologise.’

‘Apology accepted, Miss…?’

‘Williams. Miss Julia Williams.’

‘Ah, it was nice meeting you, Miss Williams.’ I gave her a cheeky smile. ‘And since I absolutely had no plans for today as your tour guide, why don’t you tell me your plans?’

She grinned and took a map full of sticky notes.

Five minutes later, I met more of Eva’s crew. There was Ana, who was also blonde but taller than both Eva and Julia. Apparently, she was the official photographer.

‘Well, there goes my private day.’ I joked.

She bowed her head to me in greeting and chuckled. ‘I don’t have to take photographs of you f you don’t want it sir.’

Ernesto, who wrapped Eva in his arms, was the only guy (apart from Aiden) in the crew.

I disliked him immediately.

The way he was holding Eva in his arms, the comfortable look in both of their eyes…

I swallowed the bit of bile in my throat.

‘Mama! Uncle Ernesto!’ Aiden called out from the four-wheeler.

I clapped my hands together. ‘Alright, people. The official tour of Lesotho starts now. I’m Harry and I’m your most awesome tour-guide for today…’

------

EVA’S POV:

Riding in a four-wheeler in Lesotho is one of the most amazing things I’ve done. The sight of the Highlands and the animals that we encountered made me love Africa, especially Lesotho, more.

Harry, which he insisted we call him, was funny and offered us quick facts and history of the country. He was charming and very, very kind. His hands moving about when talking animatedly or passionately about something – like whether chicken soup was really the food for the soul. (In which he answered, yes.)

He handled Aiden well, offering him fun facts that every eight-year old boy loved to hear.

Seeing Aiden so happy with another man that wasn’t Ernesto or my brothers, made my heart ache with motherly insecurity. Am I enough for him?

When we reached, probably the heart of this small forest. I gasped. ‘Oh my…’

Harry drove to my side. ‘Beautiful, isn’t it?’

There in front of me was a beautiful and big waterfall. The Highlands of Lesotho opened up for that majestic body of water. It was…magnificent.

‘This is amazing.’ I whispered to him. He grinned.

‘Wait till you take a dip in the water.’
My eyes widened. ‘No way. Is it even legal to swim there?’ It was too beautiful.

‘I’m friends with the Prince of Lesotho. I think we’re pretty safe.’

So, we did. Apparently, this waterfall was called the Semonkong Falls. Julia swam freely; Ernesto dove in and Ana just took pictures. Aiden and Harry were swinging around a vine, much too my horror.

Overall, it was a fun start to our tour.

---

‘So, you’re a doctor, yes?’ He asked me during our fifteen minute morning tea.

‘I have a PhD not an MD, but yeah. A doctor.’ I smiled.

‘Oh. What kind of PhD?’

‘Chemistry and Physics and well, you could also count Biology.’

His eyes widened. ‘Smarty particle you are,’ he finished his first sandwich. ‘What do you mean ‘you could also count Biology’?’

I laughed at the memory. ‘I gave my final thesis paper for Bio in Oxford and I was supposed to get it by November, but my professor got ill and I didn’t receive it until late December. I was supposed to graduate that month, but it was delayed until March – by then I was already travelling.’

‘So, are you licensed to teach Biology with a PhD degree?’ He asked, clearly into the conversation.

‘Well, my mother told me that I’ve received my certificate for a PhD in Biology with honours, a medal and a letter of highest recommendation, so maybe I could.’ I offered him.

‘Well, you are clearly accomplished. Why volunteer? Why travel?’ He asked me.

‘Why not?’ I asked him back. ‘Travelling, volunteering, meeting people – you get more joy out of it. Well, I do anyway.’

‘What about your degrees? What are you going to do with them? The amount of money you’ve paid to get into university just gone through the window.’

‘I got a scholarship, so money wasn’t really a problem for me.’ I told him. ‘And I use my degrees everyday while travelling or volunteering. I joined Chemists and Scientists without Borders in South America and helped the UN in a bit of peacekeeping in the Middle East. There are more jobs, creative jobs, out there that I could do. I didn’t want to be stuck in a lab or a desk for the rest of my life.’

He nodded, his eyes knowing. ‘Why did you choose Africa as your next destination then?’

I chuckled and looked over at Aiden who was playing with Ernesto and Julia. Ana was just snapping photos after photos. Harry’s RPO’s were just at the side, looking at the little group.

‘I’ve always wanted to visit Africa. I saw a documentary once that showcased the culture, the food, and the people. It became one of my dreams to visit the country.’ I told him. ‘Even though I knew that most of Africa are experiencing hunger or poverty, it still shocked me when I came here.’

‘And you fell deeper in love, didn’t you?’ He asked me, resting on his seat of the four-wheeler. His stance friendly, his tone knowing.

‘I did.’ I smiled. ‘I know it sounds cliché, but I need to help. I need to be needed. It’s why I chose to study those three sciences, they have mysteries that need to be uncovered – but they need me to do it.’ I blushed – oh heavens, am I really talking to Prince Harry about what science means to me?

He saw my cheeks and laughed, he walked closer – and my heart jumped a little bit. He took a strand of my hair that fell of my bun and put it behind my ear. ‘You don’t have to be embarrassed,’ he whispered. ‘I know what you mean, although not the science part.’

I laughed lightly, and just with that reassurance, I’m comfortable again. He moved away, ‘So, share me one of your most memorable stories when you were travelling.’

I raised a brow. ‘Is this the Spanish inquisition or something?’

‘Nope. Go and ask the Spanish Royals for that.’ He grinned as I laughed. Hitting him with a piece of my sandwich.

‘Hey! That was a nice piece of sandwich!’

‘I’m sure you had better tasting sandwiches than that, your Royal Highness.’ I joked.

His mouth went up. ‘I have.’

‘Well, aren’t you cocky.’ I told him.

‘I am.’ He grinned and intertwined his legs. I didn’t even notice how tall he is. ‘Now, tell me a memorable story.’

I rolled my eyes. Demanding princes… ‘My first travel alone with Ana, Julia and Aiden was to Samoa. We visited tourist spots and enjoyed ourselves, but we got lost one day trying to look for this coconut oil shop that the locals told us about. We were in the middle of nowhere and suddenly; there were these two children who invited us to their house. It was a little wooden house filled with more children.’ I told him, the memory clear as day.

Harry smiled, encouraging me to keep going.

I licked my dry lips. ‘There were no parents, just children under the age of thirteen. The house was worn down, and the children didn’t have much food to eat, but they still invited us. They’d put us in their mats and gave us all of their coconuts and taro to eat. They were beautiful children, and I visited them again after that day with food and proper clothing. Ana and I tried to get the community from the other village to help, and they did. It was a slow process and we stayed there for three months. The feeling of joy of helping out never left me, and Aiden kept asking when we could visit them again and if we were ever go to do something as that.’ The memory made me smile. Of four years of being lost and not knowing what to do, that moment in Samoa made me pick up the pieces that weren’t healed by Aiden.

‘Like I said, volunteering and just doing something for others…Great, I’m not making any sense am I?’ I felt stupid, talking to him about this. Usually I was confident of what I was going to say – but I have never felt so bare in four years than with Aiden.

It was refreshing.

Harry nodded. His eyes never leaving me when he answered me. ‘Helping people, feeling the joy that you’ve done something other than for yourself – it’s addicting…in a good way.’

I nodded in agreement. ‘It is.’

Our eyes met. His clear blue and mine hazel brown.

I broke it. ‘You know what else is a good memory of my travels?’

‘Mhm?’

I smiled and leaned in conspicuously. ‘Learning how to sing the African bits in the Circle of Life.’

Harry laughed.

HARRY’S POV

‘And you?’ She asked. ‘What made you visit Lesotho and Africa as a whole?’

‘I had to visit Sentebale of course.’ I told her, sitting on the side of the four-wheeler.

She smiled. ‘You do great things with that charity, Harry. Very great things.’

I’ve gotten that comment many times from officials, people of higher status, the Queen even, but hearing it from her – whose smile was bare and unprotected from the world, whose intentions pure that you could see it coming out of her…It meant more to me. It made my throat close up and tingle for a drink to ease it.

‘Thank you.’ I told her gratefully. Hearing that from a person who was just good made my heart clench a bit painfully. Living life as a Royal from birth, I knew the people who faked it for the sake of being close to me, gaining my affection or agreement on things. I developed that sensor from an early age, and it never failed me.

It didn’t fail me this time.

Eva was pure yet knowledgeable of the world, and her carefree personality and openly joking attitude to me just made me like her more, as a friend or a something else – I didn’t know.

She wasn’t one of those.

‘When I co-founded Sentebale with Seeiso in 2007, I never looked back.’ I said to her. Early memories of being so inspired to help these children being clear. ‘I haven’t looked back since.’

‘Making a rash, but wise, decision does that to you.’ She faced me and smiled lightly – remembering something. ‘Trust me, I know.’

I nodded. ‘The whole of Africa is a recluse for me from the rest of the world.’ I told her, her openness on her answers from earlier made me want to give back. ‘It’s a safe haven where I can’t be judged. There are so many things you could do. You could help, explore, or just…I don’t know be spiritual or something. It makes me feel normal and grounded.’ Normalcy…

‘Why be normal though?’ She interrupted.

I blinked at her question. What?

Nobody, since now, ever asked me that question before. Why be normal? William wanted to be normal for Kate, father wanted to be normal for Camillia, Eugene and Beatrice wanted to be normal so that they can get away from the press who kept stating that they were too overweight to be princesses.

Why be normal?

So that I couldn’t be judged, so that the press could stop bringing Mum up every interview. So that I could just be happy, drink the night away. So that I could be able to find love like William did. So that I could find an honest and wonderful woman and not worry if she’s princess material or not.

Or worry if she’ll leave you because she just couldn’t handle your world.

That’s why I wanted to be normal.

I shook my head. ‘Trust me, if you’re in my position – you’d want to be normal and be just like everyone else.’

‘But I’m not.’ She faced me, hazel eyes curious and untangling the layers inside me – slowly. ‘Seriously? Why be normal? Why be part of the rules of 98% of the human race, when you can make your own rules and play with it?’

‘I didn’t make the rules in which I live in, Eva.’ I tried to explain to her. To this carefree bird who if I’d held on too tightly would die in my hand, but if I let go will fly and leave me alone.

In my not-so-normal world.

‘Then play with it. Be different, in a good way of course. Those 98% is looking at you to guide them to be different, because at the end of the day: we all are different. Even that 98%. They just don’t know it yet, but we, the 2% know that, and it’s our duty to share them our knowledge.’

I blinked.

In just two days, if you included yesterday’s meeting, things spiraled out of control. My seeking for normalcy – without the press, father or Will on my back – was thrown to the wind.

‘It gets tiring.’ I whispered my last line of defence.

She laughed. ‘And that’s why you have Africa!’

‘Mama! Mama!’ Aiden shouted from behind me. Eva giggled this time and opened her arms and kneeled in front of the running boy. Once she had him safely in her arms, she stood up and twirled him around. Hugging him so tightly in her chest.

Mum…

‘Come on! We’re ready to go!’ Aiden said, and with the strength and flexibility of an eight year old, was on Eva’s back.

Looking at her now, with the Highlands as a backdrop, my head and heart knew one thing:

This was it.