Harry's pov

My voice echoes the tunnels as I shout out for Anastasia, catching nothing in return besides Matthews shuffling feet behind me and this scent that gets stronger.

When I think that things can't possibly get worse, I am constantly proven wrong. It should not be THIS hard to keep Anna safe, I swear this has to be most dramatic and frantic rein. The king has done so well with being non-problematic, but lately, he takes the cake for the most issues and security breaches. My pace gets fleeter with every moment that passes by, my mind racing with many thoughts of what could have occurred. I call her name again, no response. I call again, and again before her voice echoes.

The vibration of our hammering shoes pounding the stones get more powerful as Matthew and I get closer to Anna, and within an instant, I have my hand on her, prompting her to face me. "Are you hurt? What happened?" I immediately question.

I discover her, hand clasped to her mouth, her eyes watering with tears. My heart pounds fast with fear, for what lies in front of her is not anything I ever anticipated. I have witnessed a lot when it comes to this field, and not too many surprises me, but this... this catches me off guard.

"Oh, my God," Matthew breathes out, reflecting his flashlight to the floor and following the dried blood on the stones that I recognise at our feet. I peer over Anna's shoulder before I bring her in to me, my arm wrapping securely around her.

Now I know where the horrible odour was coming from. To my bitter disappointment, the putrid smell wasn't from rats or moulded water that has risen into the tunnels, no. The smell comes from something far more disturbing.

"It's okay, it's okay," I whisper in her ear, "I have you, it's okay."

Anna buries her face into my neck and sobs, unable to keep herself together.

With everything that has occurred in the last few days, I thought the insane roller coaster of poor luck was over with, I thought we'd have some peace and quiet, maybe a drama-free week, but I've been unquestionably mistaken.

"Anna, I need you to breathe for me," I pull away so I can gaze at her, "Darling, I know you're scared, I know your world is upside down right now, but you need to breathe. Take deep breaths with me."

Anna shakes her head, "Harry—— she's.... she's," She struggles to find the words through a waterfall of tears and choked up breaths. "Harry, she's dead, Victoria is dead and—"

"Sweetheart, I'm sorry you had to see this."

"She's dead," she whispers, shocked that someone has been lying dead in the tunnels and nobody knew about it. Security didn't manage to catch her getting into the tunnels, there is no telling what her plans were once she got into the castle.

I don't know how this wasn't caught by the team. I know people are watching the monitors at all hours. The only explanation is that this was either an inside job or Victoria found a dead spot in the camera system, but how? She has never been to Windsor as far as I am aware. She had to have arrived in the tunnels the night we got the family settled in. She had to have known or been following us somehow.

"H-Harry, she's dead," Anna repeats, unable to wrap her mind around everything. This woman, who I associate with evil, sits dead in front of us and I don't have answers for Anna or a way to solve this.

Was she coming for Anna?

Was she coming for her parents?

What would she have done with them?

"That could be me soon."

I shake my head, "Don't talk like that, as long as I'm alive you're protected," my voice comes off sterner than I had anticipated. I don't want her thinking about what could happen to her. Nobody will harm her as long as I am around. They have to go through me first and I will be damned if I give up without a fight.

"It could have been me," Anna informs me again.

"She has been dead a while, can't see any visual wounds. Must have swum across the river, there's a gun but it doesn't look like it has been fired, no gun powder—" Matthew begins explaining to us, mainly me.

None of this makes logical sense right now to me, to be quite honest, to figure out what has happened, I will need a bottle of whiskey and a few hours alone.

This will more than likely be left up to the detectives if the family reports it, but something tells me that the King will do everything he can to keep this quiet. Not that he will ask my opinion, but it would be in his best interest to quite literally hide this body. He will be the first one pinned for her death or perhaps even Anastasia will be dragged into it, the media will swarm this story and tear the family to shreds. Victoria isn't stupid; if she was smart enough to figure out how to get in without being seen, I am ninety per cent sure that she has left some sort of trail that could incriminate someone within the royal family. Not that I want additional work to do or to have to be the one to deal with a dead body, but the King should leave Matthew and me to figure out the best way to handle the situation without anybody getting involved, no police, no detectives, and most of all, no media attention. Sweep it all under the rug and pretend it never happened. For all the media and the people of Britain need to know, Victoria has gone missing— I'll gladly leak a story about the fact she and her family have mafia ties and are involved in criminal activity— just out of spite, I will even add how Henry is a psychopathic, money-hungry man who is thirsty for the crown that he will never possess.

I clear my throat, "Matthew, as much as I'd love to stand here and examine a dead corpse with you, we need to get her out of here before she has a panic attack on me," I instruct, holding Anastasia close and rubbing circles on her back.

I know she appreciates my effort, she probably can't get the image of Victoria out of her head, but I can't fix what she has witnessed. I don't know how to get her to calm down, this is very strange circumstances that I have never been trained in, and as a boyfriend, I never expected I'd have to console Anna over a dead body of her ex-boyfriend's mother.

Anastasia continues muttering and sobbing, her breaths getting quicker and harder to come across, "They're— they're... they're out to get us... and," she trails off pulling away from me.

All the colour has washed from her face, her breaths are laboured and her hands are shaking as she glances down at the dried blood at her shoes.

I step towards her and grab her arm, "Anna, take deep breaths with me."

"I can't. She's dead." She shakes her head.

"Anna... Anna you're swaying and shaking, let's sit down."

"No. Not near her." Anastasia gestures towards Victoria.

I wrap my good arm around her and motion for her to walk. I guide her further down the tunnel before we stop, "I need you to sit down before you pass out on me, okay? Just sit." I instruct, helping her sit down on the chilled stones before I kneel in front of her. "Breathe with me, okay? In and out. Look at me and just breathe, darling, it's just you and me."

She gazes at me and does her best to listen to the sound of my voice, focusing on my breaths and attempting to mimic them. I lean over and caress my warm hand to her cheek, "That's it, just focus on us, just me and you, sweetheart. Keep breathing while I talk. I need you to know something, I'm so damn proud of you. You have handled everything so well, I'm honoured to be able to call you my soon-to-be wife. I couldn't have asked for a stronger soul than you. You are extraordinary, you, my darling are going to make a wonderful Queen, and I am honoured to stand beside you through it all. But I need you to keep breathing, because as extraordinary as you are, your soon to be husband is far from it, if you pass out on me, I'm going to have to have Matthew carry you out and that isn't going to sit well with me," I wink, doing my best to lighten the mood and make her feel better with a small joke. I graze the pad of my thumb over her cheek before leaning closer and kissing her cheek.

Anastasia offers me a small smile and wipes a few tears away from her eyes, "You'll stand by me as Queen?" Anastasia asks with a raspy voice.

I nod my head. As much as part of me despises the concept of her life revolving around a monarch and being officially apart of the royal family, I will gladly stand by her whether she is Queen or not. I will stand by her and be the best husband that I can be, I don't expect any royal title, all I expect is for her to support me and stand by me as I do her.

I do not tell her often, due to the fact I like to steer away from conversations about her being Queen, but she will make an incredible Queen, she is level headed, has the sweetest soul and best of intentions. I can declare that she will not turn out like her father. Her father has been an astounding King up until recently. Granted, I know why things have taken a turn for the worst, but I have all hope and faith that Anna will not follow her father's footsteps. She will uphold the monarch with nothing but dignity and respect, she will ask for help when she needs it and she will not let her monarch fall. She will not fail in the ways her father has.

"I hate to break the romance, but we need to get out of here.... like now." Matthew comments as he wanders closer to the two of us.

I raise my head and glance up at Matthew, "She needs a minute." I stare at Matthew, a little irritated that he isn't considering the fact she's in no position to get up and walk.

Matthew clears his throat and bends down to our level. He whispers in my ear, gesturing subtly to the water that is beginning to rise and creep its way towards us.

Fuck.

I gaze back at Matthew, looking for answers on how and why there's water rising into the tunnels. "I know I've been asleep for a few days but I know it hasn't rained enough for the river to break its banks."

"The locks Harry, they opened up the locks. Mustn't have closed them like they were meant to."

"Fucking hell," I mutter.

I take a breath and glance at Anastasia who's looking at me like a deer in the headlights. She's still pale white with laboured breaths and tear-stained cheeks.

I take my sling off and hand it to Matthew, deciding that Anna is not walking through water. With the fact that there could be something in the water that killed Victoria, I am not risking Anastasia, there could be anything from harmful bacteria to snakes. "Alright, come on, let's get you out of here," I move closer and place my arm under her legs, "I'm going to lift you up."

"Your shoulder."

"Hush," I shake my head, "You need to focus on breathing and not passing out, and I'll focus on getting you out of here before the river floods the tunnels." I gesture towards the thin flow of water beginning to make its way to us.

I lift Anna into my arms and Matthew helps me to my feet before we begin to walk.

With each moment that passes by, I hear the splashing of water as my feet kick about the now ankle-deep water. I feel Anna peer over my shoulder, looking down at the cold water I walk amongst.

"This is why we are not having children when we are married," Anna whispers to me her grip tightening around my neck, I can only assume she can see the water rising a little further.

"Why?" I chuckle.

I haven't thought about children. I'm far too busy to take the time to think about it, I tend to leave those thoughts to her. I'm sure one day we might have kids, I am sure she would want children, someone to pass the crown down to. I'm not sure whether I would want to raise our children in the royal world, but I think that is something we will discuss at a much later date.

"If we had kids at this moment, it would be a lot harder getting them to safety." Anastasia points out the obvious. She has a point, it would be a bit difficult carrying her and however many children we have to safety, but I am sure Matthew would be thrilled to carry one of our children in his arms and the other one on his shoulders while I carry Anastasia. It makes me giggle thinking about it, to be honest.

"Mhm," I hum, "We'd figure it out. After all, I always figure it out with you. Always manage to get you to safety." I respond.

"Prince in shining armour."

Matthew laughs, "Ha, I wouldn't go that far." Matthew chimes in, reminding me that he listens in to conversations when we forget that he is around.

At this point, Matthew is trustworthy, he helped me form a relationship with her, so there isn't much that can be said that he'd use spitefully. He's too invested in the relationship to want to ruin it or to speak of anything that he overhears Anna and I discuss.

I glance over at Matthew with a grin, "Oi, that's no way to talk about a future king."

"You might end up being the king, mate, but I'll still be your boss as long as you're in the royal service," Matthew informs me, making sure to remind me that he will always be my boss.

I wouldn't want to have it any other way. When Anastasia and I get married, I intend to continue my job and working under Matthew. I don't want to be the head of security as he is, I want to stay where I am. I may joke about being the future King, but it is just that— a joke. I don't care for the title by any means, I'll happily continue as a part of the security services. Granted, that is if I am allowed to do so.

♔♔♔

The moment we are out of the tunnels and I breathe fresh air, I feel relieved and somewhat free. I don't feel as suffocated or like I'm breathing in old dust that has settled. The tunnels are an obscure and chilly place that has an eerie feeling. Ever since discovering Victoria, I couldn't help but feel creeped out and like I was being followed. I didn't want to mention anything to Anna or to Matthew, but finally breathing in the fresh air and not being confined in a narrow tunnel makes me feel a little bit at ease. I place Anna down, allowing her to walk now that we are out of the tunnels.

I glance up at the night sky, the scent of rain in the distance taking my attention. The last thing we need is to get caught in the pouring rain. Matthew looks over his shoulder towards me and we both gesture that we need to hurry up and get to safety or the car.

We trek through some wooded areas and pass blacked-out cars that are apart of the royals but against Anna's pleas, we do not take them. She doesn't understand that we didn't place those cars in those locations, she doesn't realise that more than likely, those cars are a setup for whoever caused the manner to go into lockdown. Whoever caused a threat, was smart enough to know that the royals would exit and require a vehicle. The last thing that we need is to fall into a blind or setup. At this moment, we do not know who we are dealing with, we could be dealing with the Ace's or we could be dealing with their string of Mafia associates. There is no telling at this point.

We reach the parking garage west of the manner and climb the stairs to the second last floor.

I lead us to a black Audi and use my free hand to reach into the pocket of my sweatpants before I pull out the keys, and unlock the car. I look at Anastasia, "Get in," I gesture towards the car.

"You own an Audi?" Anna questions.

I nod my head and open the passenger door for her, revealing red leather seats and a spotlessly clean car. I chuckle to myself taking note of the fact Matthew was nice enough to get my car cleaned and detailed while I have been recovering from surgery. I can only assume it compensates for the fact I am sure he took my car for a spin— he uses any and every excuse to take it. Matthew's wife doesn't relish the idea of fast sports cars, therefore, he lives vicariously through me.

Matthew chuckles to himself, "It's an A6, and it isn't the only sports car he owns."

"Shut up, Matthew," I comment, gesturing for Anna to get in my car.

I do not brag about what I have or don't have. I don't feel the obligation to tell anyone that I have superior cars or that I have a racehorse. I don't feel the need to explain any of it. I worked hard for what I have and that's all that matters. I work my ass off and I like to treat myself for it. Some might find it absurd that I have admirable cars that I rarely get to drive, but when I do get to drive them, damn, it's a privilege that I love.

"And you just leave it unattended here?" Anastasia questions, taking note that my car has been unattended.

"How do you think I get to work and get around? Do you think I ride a broomstick?"

"No? Use the royal cars?"

I shake my head. I don't like to use the royals things unless I have to. "I always keep my personal car near an exit of where we are stationed, while I've been cooped in bed, Matthew was kind enough to bring it over here from Buckingham, please get in the car," I explain to Anna vaguely. I am too tired to be dealing with questions that have nothing to do with anything right now. Where I leave my vehicles are not of any importance.

Anastasia gets in the car and I close the door immediately. Anastasia rolls her eyes and I see her huff, annoyed that I have closed her off from the conversation that Matthew and I are about to have. She has never been one to approve when we don't include her in conversations, but there are some things she doesn't need to be apart of. Right now, I am not her boyfriend, I am her security detail and I don't think she requires to hear the fact that I have no clue what I am meant to do with her. "Where are you taking her?" Matthew questions and I stare at him.

I don't know where I'm taking her. All I know is I need to get her out of this town.

"I don't know... I can't take her to any of the royal estates, Italy is an option but I don't have it in me to drive ten hours, I can get her to my mother's, that's probably the safest. She has a security system set up now, nobody should follow us, and we can have a small team out patrolling there by late afternoon. I do not know what to tell her parents."

Matthew nods his head in agreement, "The King is going to Amsterdam and the Queen is going to Ireland, I will talk to them. Wherever you go, I'll meet you there in the morning, I think someone should handle the fact we have Victoria in the tunnels."

"Mhm," I hum, "Leave the evil bitch there, there's no telling what she had planned. The Ace's will come for the family once they find out Victoria died in our tunnels. I overheard the king on the phone to her husband, I assume."

"I think you and I will have to handle Victoria, we can't just leave her there."

I nod, "Well, I only have one arm, I am no use when it comes to Victoria. Let the rain wash her away," I know Matthew is hinting that he and I physically move Victoria and dispose of her body, but I don't want my hands on it.

Matthew raises a brow, "I just watched you carry Anastasia."

"With great pain."

"Mhm, if I have to move her, you're helping."

"I have Anastasia, I can't tell her if I am a part of that."

"And I have a wife, do you think I tell my wife the shit I have to do? No. So you just don't tell Anastasia. Keep your phone on." Matthew instructs, not taking any of my excuses. "Tell me about that call later. For now, take Anna to safety, I will go into the manner and grab her personal belongings like her phone and handbag" Matthew dismisses me and I nod my head.

I get in on the driver's side and turn the car on, instantly turning on the heat for Anna, "There's a jacket in the back seat if you want." I inform Anna who's holding her arms in an attempt to keep warm.

I lean into the back seat and grab my jacket, pulling it to the front before I place it over Anastasia like a blanket, disregarding my own wet clothes and cold body.

"Where are we going?"

"Anywhere but near the fucking castles," I respond, causing Anna to glare at me. "I don't know, it's my decision where I take you and I don't know where is the safest place right now."

I don't want her to be anywhere near the damn castles right now, I want her nowhere near the monarch, but I don't get a say in it, all I can do is find a safe place for her for a few nights until we come up with a proper plan. I don't know what a proper plan will entail, at this point, security is failing.

"Are my parents okay?"

I nod, "They are fine. Your father has agreed to split up and go to disclosed places."

"Are you even okay to drive?"

"I have no choice, we need to get out of here."

If I don't drive, who will? Anastasia knows how to drive but she rarely drives, she doesn't like it and I prefer when she isn't driving herself places.

"Harry—"

"Anna, baby," I sigh, "I love you, I do, but without sounding like a prick, can we stop with the questions? I'm in pain, I'm tired but I still have to do my job, wherever we go, we will be safe..." I trail off and take a breath, "I need time to think, my head is pounding, I have many thoughts running through it and I just need a few moments of silence, okay? I'm not trying to be a prick."

Anastasia looks over at me and nods her head, "I'm sorry."

I shake my head, "Don't apologise, it isn't your fault. I'm irritable and I just need some quiet time."

I need time to think of where to take her and where she'll be the safest. I need to just drive, put my foot down on the accelerator and let my hands decide where the fuck I take her. I need to drive down the highway and breathe.

My attitude with Anna eats away at me while I drive the empty and dark highway, taking my frustration out on the road, breathing in and out. I glance over towards Anastasia and notice leaning on the window. "Are you feeling okay?" I softly ask.

I recieve no response and I can only assume she has fallen asleep. I smile to myself and with a heavy sigh, I reach for my phone and call the only person I know who can settle me down.

The phone rings a few times and I bite my lip, debating whether to hang up due to the ungodly hour.

"Harry?"

"Mum," I respond, "Can we talk?"

"Is everything okay? Is your sister okay?"

I chuckle, "Yes, yes, I think she is fine... I'm driving and I have Anna, she's asleep... Mum, can-can, can we come home for a bit?" I softly ask, feeling guilty for waking my mother and asking to say at her home. I don't know why, but I always feel like I am intruding on her.

"Of course, you can always come home."

"I have Anna, too."

"Harry, you can both come here. What has happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it, can you tell me about your day?" I ask, just wanting to talk to someone who won't ask questions and who will gladly tell me about their day and keep my mind occupied.

♔♔♔

I perch at the kitchen counter with a cup of tea in my hand. The rain has just begun to fall and it is comforting as it hits the roof of the house gracefully. I am grateful to have made it home before the rain set in, mainly because the sweetness of rain tepidly befalling makes me sleepy and carries me to a calming state of mind. I take in a deep breath, closing my eyes for a moment with my hands cupped around my mug. I open my eyes and I discover my mother staring at me with a fluffy blanket wrapped around her.

"You can go to bed, Ye know?" I smile over at her.

My mother nods her head, "I will when you do.... What happened? The media stories are probably lies." My mother asks, gesturing to her phone. We may have spent some time on the phone together while I drove, but that won't stop her from still wanting to know what has happened.

It's no surprise the media have already published stories about the fact the castle was evacuated at an ungodly hour. "Was quite scared when they first announced it, said there was an explosive."

My mother isn't one of those people who is glued to their phone, but when it comes to any sort of news or event that could affect myself or my sister, she reads every single article. In fact, my mother examines every royal article to keep up to date with matters. I have told her many times that not everything she reads is true, but she doesn't always listen.

My mother has yet to figure out that some of the articles she has read have been falsely leaked by myself to cover something up.

"Mum..." I begin softly, "I still don't know what happened, Matthew woke me and we had to evacuate. I can assure you, it wasn't an explosive, can't believe everything the media says right now."

"Must be pretty bad if you have to hide out here."

I nod my head, "I can't go into detail, Mum."

In all honesty, I can't go into detail. Even if I had the details for her, I am not allowed to spill too much information for safety purposes. I also don't think my mother wants to imagine a dead corpse in the tunnels at his hour, nobody does. I don't even want that image branded into my thoughts.

"Do I need to prepare anything?"

I shake my head, "Matthew will have more security patrolling, we will all be fine. No need to worry." I assure my mother, not wanting her to panic or feel unsafe in her own home.

"Is anna okay?"

I take a sip of my tea and heavily sigh, "Honestly, I don't think so... She's gone through a lot lately and I don't know how she hasn't broken down."

"She's strong, she'll be okay. How long are you staying?"

"I'm not sure... we can go somewhere else if you—"

"Harry," my mother cuts me off, "I'm asking because neither of you has clothes... I assume she'd like some clean clothes."

It slipped my mind that neither of us has clothes on us. We left everything behind at Windsor, I grabbed my phone, keys and pistol. I'm lucky I fell asleep with sweatpants and a t-shirt on, otherwise, I wouldn't even have clothes.

"Oh," I trail off. "I think there are some old clothes I left behind."

"I don't mind you both staying, just thinkin' ahead. I'll buy her some clothes so she has something to change into when she wakes up."

"Thanks, Mum," I smile, "Do you need my card? It's in my—"

My mother cuts me off, "I'm not taking your bloody money, I can buy my daughter-in-law clothes."

"I appreciate it, Mum. I'm sure she will too." ... "I might need your help with something though," I softly add.

"Anything."

"Help Anna with the wedding, get her excited about it."

Anna is thrilled about the wedding, but I know parts of her aren't as excited about things. Every daughter dreams of their wedding day and having their family there to support them. It's her decision to not tell them and to not have the big fancy royal wedding, but I do feel bad for her.

"That's what her mother should do."

"Please, just help. She could use with a friend."

"A friend?"

"Don't make me ask my sister to do it. Please, mum?" I sigh, not wanting to leave my sister in charge of wedding plans. I have nothing against my sister but considering she has yet to meet Anastasia and has a different style, I don't think my sister's input will reflect what Anna wants.

My mother nods her head and offers me her sweet, tender and loving smile that has always been reassuring in all situations, "I will help her and talk to her. I think you should get some sleep."

I nod my head, placing my empty cup on the counter, "I couldn't disagree more. Do you need help in the morning with the animals?"

"You're not waking up in a few hours to help me, get some rest." My mother shakes her head.

I don't argue my mother and continue to offer to help her, instead, I make my way to my old bedroom.

I stand in the doorway and lean on the frame, cocking my head to the side with a smile on my lips.

I stare at the woman in my bed who is my world. There's not a day that passes that I don't admire her for who she is as a person. Her upbringing has been different to mine but she's still level headed and grounded. She doesn't act upon status or look down on anyone, she sees the better in people and sometimes that can backfire on her, but no matter what, she always treats people with the utmost respect. It's a shame that someone as pure and sweet as she can be dealt the hand of cards that aren't always the best. I can't begin to imagine what she's feeling or thinking with the events of what has been happening, I can't even begin to process the last few hours myself— I'm shocked— and that says a lot.

The woman that rests in my bed is a woman that I thank the heavens every day for, I thank the heavens that she sees in me things that I don't recognise, I'm happy she loves me for who I am and nothing else. She sees me for the raw form I am when I'm not in a suit and having to act cold. Anastasia has seen me at my best and my worst and she still wants to be with me. I'm not sure how I was lucky enough to have her fall in love with me as I have her, but I'll forever be grateful for her. I'm not sure where this life will take us, I'm not even sure if we will have a normal life, but as long as she's falling asleep beside me each night, safe and sound in my arms', we will be alright.

I step forward and shuffle closer to the bed. I draw the covers back thoughtfully, doing my best not to wake Anastasia as I crawl in bed beside her.

I carefully lean closer to her and kiss her cheek, "I love you," I whisper softly before getting comfortable and falling asleep.