Chapter Ninety Eight

Prince Harry sighed, staring at himself in the full length mirror. His Forage Cap rested underneath his right arm. His own blue eyes stared happily back at him. He took another deep breath, trying to blow away the amount of stress which now turned out to be his center feeling.

He was getting married in an hour.

His Blues and Royal's Officer uniform in Dismounted Review Order he had worn so many times before seemed different today. This was his wedding attire. He would marry the silly blonde that managed to make him laugh every day in this uniform. He had gold aiguillettes, a cross-belt and he proudly carried the Wings of the Army Air Corps and Golden Jubilee and Afghanistan Campaign medals upon his chest.

He held on to his white gloves, biting his lip. God, he wondered what she was doing right now. She would probably already be in her wedding gown, looking beautiful. He pondered if she was as nervous as he was. Probably. Maybe even more. He was just the contextual, she would be the epicenter today.

He was going to spend the rest of his life with this woman.

She was going to be his wife.

The mother of his children.

An anticipated grin covered his features as the door behind him opened. His brother, all dressed in his Uniform Of Colonel Of The Irish Guards, looked dapper. William gave his brother a proud smile, stepping closer. He patted Harry's shoulder, "Are you ready for this?"

Harry nodded his head, "I don't think I've been more ready for anything else in my entire life."

"Not even that one time you lost your virginity?" William grinned, hoping that a little teasing with take off the edge.

"Shut up, Will." The ginger mumbled. He noticed how William already had on his gloves and copied him. "When do we leave again?"

"Five minutes." William answered, noticing how Harry fumbled with the collars of his uniform. "There's quite a crowd. I just turned on the television."

The Prince nodded his head, "People seem to like the fact that it's a bank holiday. I've peeked outside earlier, the streets are packed. I almost feel bad for Evee."

"She's a tough one, she'll manage." Will questioned. "I heard that the Cathedral's already full. Everybody's waiting for us."

"Right." Harry took a last deep breath. "Let's do this. You have the ring, right?" He mumbled nervously, looking around the room to make sure he didn't forget anything.

He was stopped by his older brother, who put both his hands upon the ginger's shoulders. "Hey! Deep breaths okay, just remember you're marrying the woman you love." William spoke, looking his brother in the eye. Harry just nodded his head. "This is Evee and your day. Do not think about what everyone else is thinking, forget about the cameras. Think about her, alright?"

Harry immediately smiled, nodding his head. He imagined her walking towards the aisle for a minute and swallowed the lump in his throat. "Thank you for being here."

William nodded his head in seriousness, "Where else would I be, Harry? Mum's here too, you know."

Harry nodded his head, "I know that."

"Good. She's probably wondering how you managed to strike a woman like that in the first place." The Duke of Cambridge his eyes twinkled as he patted his little brother's upperarm. "Come on, big guy, let's get you finally wedded off. Took you long enough."

Harry let out a nervous chuckle as the brother's walked through the hallways of Clarence House. Stepping out into the courtyard, Harry could already hear the crowd's roaring voice. He took another big breath as the Bentley parked itself in front of them. Police officers on motorcycles would escort the Bentley from Clarence House all the way to St-Paul's Cathedral.

James managed to open the door of the Bentley with a proud smile, "Congratulations in advance, sir."

"Thank you, James. I bet you thought the day would never come." Harry teased, placing himself in the car and putting on his Forage Cap. He felt his brother seating himself next to him.

"I always had faith in you, sir." James spoke one last time, closing the door of the Bentley to move towards the Range Rover that would drive behind them. The security guard might have looked cool and collected, but he was a nervous mess inside. The security protocol today was immense and there was a huge amount of responsibility upon his shoulders to make sure nothing happened today. He turned towards the driver of the Range Rover. "Stay close to them." James instructed, watching how the one motorcycle leading them started to drive and the Bentley followed.

Meanwhile in the Bentley himself, Harry wetted his lips in anticipation. He felt the car move underneath him and William turned towards his brother one last time in private. "I can't wait to see her before you do."

"Please, don't tease me too much." Harry mumbled, his eyes shifting towards the upcoming crowd. The car passed the final gates of Clarence House and rolled onto the streets. He could hear the howls of the crowd, see their flags waving eagerly. Some of them shouted his name.

"I wouldn't dare." William responded, looking at his brother with a grin and meanwhile lifting his hand to wave at everybody.

Harry waved and smiled at the crowd, his heart beating his throat. They managed to drive through The Mall when he felt the car turn right, into Horse Guard Road. There were so many Union Flags and even occasionally he could see a Belgian flag waving in between. The sides of the road were filled with people, standing behind fences secured by police officers.

The cars turned left when they passed the Guards Division Memorial, entering the Horse Guards Parade. The driver drove the guards through the gate as the brother's simultaneously saluted the Horse Guards. Turning left on Whitehall street, Harry noticed the even bigger crowd. He lifted his hands once again to wave at everybody.

The ride was longer than it had been at William's wedding. St-Paul's Cathedral was a lot further away from Buckingham than the Abbey had been.

They managed to pass Trafalgar Square, to take the second exit off the roundabout, entering Strand. Harry knew that there would be no more turn offs. The road was straight ahead until they finally reached the Cathedral. He managed to smile at the crowd the whole time, waving every now and then. The cars finally made it to Ludagate Hill. When finally the West front of St Paul's came in his view, Harry tried to not look too anxious.

There was a humongous red carpet covering the mesmerizing Geometric staircase. The big columns rising sky high always managed to take away his breath. He wondered if his parents felt the same as he did when they arrived here on their wedding day. He waved at the crowd standing around the Cathedral, realizing that they would see Evee's dress before he would.

Biting his lip, he noticed how the Bentley stopped in front of the big staircase. He noticed the press at one side of the cathedral, cameras in hand to film every single move of him. When the guards finally simultaneously opened his door, the closest one to the cathedral, and his brother's door, he heard the crowd's cries.

He managed to step outside the car gracefully, tugging on his uniform making sure it was straight. Harry saluted the guard in front of the cathedral, offering his hand to shake immediately. "How are you?" Harry spoke over the crowd's roars.

The guard pleasantly smiled, "Very well, sir. Yourself?"

"A little nervous." The prince grinned, watching how his brother finally made it by his side. William saluted the guard and they said their goodbyes. Harry waved to the crowd once again, ignoring the clicking sounds of the cameras. He thought he could even see people on top of buildings.

The bells of the Cathedral were loudly beaming in the air as they marched upon the great staircase. "This is the part where you have to give up your cap, you do know they also film from the ceiling, right Will?" Harry tried to banter, he had to do something to cover up his nerves.

"You're not far behind." William shook his head, chuckling at his brother. Two men, dressed in Blues and Royals themselves immediately greeted the two brothers. Harry took off his cap and his white gloves handing them over to the guards.

He let his hands roam through his hair one final time, eyeing the scenery in front of him nervously. He just realized he stepped into the Cathedral as a prince and he would exit it as a Duke. The Duke of Clarence and Avondale. And he would have a Duchess. He would have a wife.

Dean David John Ison greeted the brothers shaking both their hands. He introduced them to the Chapter. "Nice to see you." Harry spoke, shaking everybody's hand.

The Dean immediately smiled at the ginger, "Big day today."

"There's indeed quite a crowd." Harry answered back, noticing how his brother spoke to the Chapter of St-Paul's. 

"Not too nervous?" The Dean questioned, looking at the prince his fumbling hands.

"I know you can tell I'm nervous." Harry chuckled, "I can't wait to see her."

The Dean laughed, turning towards William as well. "I can tell. I hope you have a wonderful day ahead of you. The weather's certainly nice."

"Thank you very much." Harry nodded his head, shrugging his throat. Was this air actually really  humid or was it just him getting so hot?

"Is it alright if I escort you both to the High Altar now?" The Dean questioned, looking at both brothers.

"Be my guest." Harry smiled, walking next to the Dean casually. He followed the man together with his brother through the naïve. His eyes shifted towards the crowd, recognizing many people. They all gave him an encouraging smile. When they finally walked underneath the dome, he couldn't help but let his eyes shift towards the sky. The dome was raised on a tall drum surrounded by pilasters and pierced with windows in groups of three. Harry knew that the interior of the damn was painted in eight scenes from the life of St Paul. This place always managed to keep him in awe.

He held his hands crossed in front of him, trying to ignore his sweaty hand palms. His legs seemed to have a mind of their own as he strolled towards the front. They finally reached the quire, where he could see his mother's family sitting. He swallowed the big lump in his throat when he noticed his uncle smiling at him.

Harry quickly greeted them by a kiss on the cheek. He turned around watched how the Dean nodded his head at them, telling the brothers for now that they were free to greet everybody they wished.  After saying hello to his mother's family, he turned towards his bride's family. They were seated the closest to the altar on the left. Evee's mother, father and brother weren't present yet but her other relatives were.

"Harry, you look good." Evee's uncle smiled, patting his upperarm. "Not too nervous, I hope?"

This was her uncle from her mother's side, Harry remembered him because he was the one who was in the military. "All's well for now." Harry grinned.

"For now, huh?" Mark, Evee's uncle grinned. "I bet Danny's losing his mind already."

"Somehow, I don't think he'll be the only one." Harry smiled, scratching the back of his neck. His eyes eagerly searched the room, his brother was still talking to his mother's sister. "Would you excuse me for a moment?"

Mark nodded his head, giving the boy a final smile. Harry's legs eagerly made their way towards his brother's. "We probably should go to the back, where we have to wait." He mumbled.

He remembered the wedding planner that the brother would do best to wait out of the public eye until his grandmother arrived. William nodded his head, "Alright, let's go."

Author's note: next chapter is Evee's morning & car ride. She will walk the aisle and they will say I will in chapter hundred.

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