The War at Home

Since returning from Afghanistan Harry found that sleeping no longer came as easy to him as it once had. There was no longer any peace for him at night, and he spent most of it tossing and turning. He’d been conditioned by the Royal Air Force to be constantly ready for battle, and be on call at a moments notice. Even months after arriving home he hadn’t been able to resolve the need to be on guard. It seemed, as though, the moment the quiet crept into the room his mind was full of possibilities. He’d shut his eyes and think of all the things that could have gone differently, and all of the brothers he’d left behind. It was a rarity that he ever reached a deep, uninterrupted sleep.
His only solace came from a young woman he’d never met. Night after night he imagined the conversations they would have with her if she were laying beside him; how she may have reached out and stroked his cheek until he fell asleep. At a time in his life where he felt no one understood him or could provide him with the comfort he longed for he needed her; even if she was only in his imagination. Most of the time, just imagining her there was enough to help him reach a resting point but other times the ache for a real person hindered his ability to sleep.
That’s at least what was occurring the night before he reached New Jersey. He was alone in a beautiful hotel, somewhere in New York City. It was half-past midnight, and despite an early morning wake up call, Harry was still wandering aimlessly around the hotel room. He consoled himself that if he just figured out how far away she was he’d be able to get to sleep. But once he realized she was only a 15 minute drive from the city, he couldn’t keep his mind from wandering. He was so close; if only he got into a cab now he’d put all of this wondering behind him. Still, there was no way to appropriately explain why he was showing up at her door in the dead of night. Even for a prince, that was just creepy behavior. He would just have to stay put for the night, and do his best to attempt some sleep before his fully packed schedule for tomorrow.
Despite being tired the next morning, Harry continued on his US tour and made his way to New Jersey. As he strolled the newly rebuilt boardwalk, he played boardwalks games and conversed with the hundreds of people that lined up to get a glimpse of him. If the tiredness he felt showed up on his face, it was overshadowed by his charming personality. There was no denying that Harry was good with people, and knew how to entertain a crowed.
By the time he had climbed back into the SUV, though, he was exhausted. The night of little sleep was catching up with him, and he requested they pull over somewhere for lunch or, at least, coffee. A small deli, in the middle of a small town was the perfect spot. No one would expect him to be dining at a deli, and all of the photographers were probably to busy setting up for his arrival at the next function that they couldn’t be bothered with his lunch choice. Sliding out of the SUV while his assistant went inside to retrieve lunch Harry stretched out his legs, stifling a yawn.
In the distance he could hear children playing, followed by the sound of a ringing bell. After a busy morning of meeting young children and entertaining them, it had never occurred to him that they were supposed to have been in school. He found it unusual that parents would take their children away from their education just to meet him. Then again, he always thought of himself as a regular guy while in reality he was a part of history.
As he continued to ponder he heard someone shout, “Ian! No! Stop!” It startled him and surveyed the area as if he would in his helicopter. Quickly, he spotted a small child running full steam ahead towards him. It only took him a moment to process and respond, as he acted instinctively. He grabbed the small boy in his arms, heaving his little legs off the pavement. Even as he was lifted through the air, the boy kept attempting to run. Eventually, a young woman reached them pulling the boy out of Harry’s hands and placing him on the ground. She seemed frantic, and overwhelmed by the situation yet remained composed.
“Ian, no run,” She stated firmly as she got on eye level with the little boy.
Holding onto her hand, Ian still look far off into the distance as he repeated, “No run.”
Once she had reprimanded Ian, and caught her breath the young woman stood up and brushed off her dress clothes. As she carefully tucked her bangs behind her ear she turned to face Harry. His breath caught, and for a moment he was speechless. After months of imaging her beside him, he could not believe he was looking at the real Amelia. He had to close his eyes and blink a few times, just to make sure his overtired mind was not playing tricks on him. If it was even possible, she looked more radiant than her picture in the newspaper. The sadness that had plagued her smile was replaced with pink cheeks and bright, golden eyes.
She was different, and not what he had expected. Harry wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. For almost nine months, he had been making assumptions about who she was and what she would look like. In reality, she was not what he had pictured but it did not stop him from wanting her. Resisting the urge to reach out and rub his thumb over her cheek, he needed and wanted to believe she was really there.
When his mind returned from it’s wandering, he noticed Amelia wore a strange look on her face. He had thought he saw her lips moving, but he didn’t process what had been said.
Shaking himself out of his awe Harry blushed sheepishly. He had been caught not just staring, but fantasizing. “I’m sorry,” Harry responded rubbing at the back of his neck. “I didn’t hear what you were saying.”
“Oh, well,” Amelia began with a smile, as Ian tugged impatiently at her hand. “I was just saying thank you. My little buddy over here, has never gotten away like that before. Who knows how far he would have gotten, if you hadn’t been here to stop him.”
“It wasn’t a big deal. Just the luck of being in the right place at the right time.” He said remaining modest. “Where was he going, anyway?”
She shrugged looking down at Ian, who had begun to entertain himself with her shoe laces. “I am not really sure, but I better get him back to school.”
Harry nodded, but felt panic creep up on him. There had been to many times he’d imagined them meeting, and saying all of the right things that would lead her into his arms. This moment was possibly his only chance to do something, or say something and he was blanking. If only he had more time to think or to plan, then this moment could have been perfect. Harry stood there silently confused as he watched her begin to walk away.
“I read your article!” He suddenly shouted after her. The sound of his raised voice, startled even himself.
Amelia turned back to him surprised, “What article?”
“The one about your brother. When he came back from Afghanistan. It was ... it was a really well written article.” He couldn’t help but wince at his words. Of all the things he could have said about her article, he had chosen “well written.” It was so much more than that, but how do you tell someone you’ve just met that they’ve changed your life. He recovered quickly, “I mean, I really enjoyed it and I’d love to discuss it with you.”
“Your highness ...” she started.
“Harry,” He said looking at her, with a small smile.
She chuckled at the thought of calling him Harry. It was odd that he would allow such an informality. “Harry, I am flattered you enjoyed the article but I have not been able to talk about it since I wrote it. Once I had put it all down on paper, I decided to close that door of life and I’m not looking to go back there. You understand, don’t you?”
And of course he did. He understood better than she probably knew. Losing a loved one was hard enough, without having to relive it over and over. He could not just let her walk away, though. If she wasn’t willing to talk about the article, he had to think of another way to keep her close.
He was staring at her with a look Amelia couldn’t decipher, and it made her feel awkward. She wished he would have answered, said anything to let her know it was ok to not talk about her brother. That would have ended the conversation there, and allowed her to move on. Since the moment her article had been printed she had been receiving sympathetic smiles and reassuring words from nearly everyone she met. Each time someone recognized her name it was like reliving the whole ordeal over again. Yet, Harry stood there looking at her not with sympathy, rather admiration. It was startling and unexpected, and if she didn’t get out of there soon the tears were sure to come.
“I really need to get back to the school before they send a search party out for me,” she said softly, hoping it would give him the cue to stop talking.
Being the gentleman he was, Harry gave her a small nod and let her go. He really had no other choice. He couldn’t exactly ask her to stay, have lunch with him. She had work to get back to, and he had to move on to the next event. There was no real reason to convince her to stay. His one opportunity with the girl he loved, was gone.
***
Amelia returned to the classroom, Ian in hand, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. No one questioned her whereabouts, it hadn’t really been as long as it felt, and she didn’t bother gossiping about her meeting with a prince. Who would have believed her anyway? She was having a hard enough time wrapping her mind around it. Could she even be positive it had actually been Prince Harry? She’d been too nervous to look him in the eye. None of it mattered now, though. He was long gone, and their meeting would have to remain mystery.
Walking into the main office to sign out for the day, Amelia was stopped short of leaving by the elderly secretary, Lucy. She was waving something in her hand to get Amelia’s attention. “Some man in a suit gave me this. He looked official, but it’s on a scrap piece of paper,” she said handing it over to Amelia, nervously.
Amelia’s heart raced, she had an idea who it could be from. Lucy stared at her intently curious as to what the note said, but Amelia did not want anyone to gossip. So, she thanked Lucy and slipped the note into her bag as if it were no big deal. Once she was out of the school, and in the safety of her car only then did she dare peek at the note.

I am sorry we didn’t get a chance to speak more. I’m only in the area for the night, but I’d like to meet up with you. How about the Four Seasons around 9? ~ Harry.

Her heart raced with anticipation, and disbelief. The whole incident seemed too unbelievable, that she was having trouble deciphering reality from imagination. There had been many times James had teased her for fawning over the third in line to the throne. Yet, he had always believed she’d make the perfect princess. Amelia began to wonder if her brother had anything to do with coordinating the meeting, and a smile spread across her face. She realized this was what she had been waiting for, this break from reality. There was no doubt in her mind that she would be going to that hotel at 9. She just had to.