The Prince's Rose

Rose’s POV

It has been a few weeks since Prince Harry found me in the woods and I was slowly gaining my strength back. He was so sweet and patient with me, trying everything he could to jog a memory but nothing was working. I knew he wanted me to remember, but with the nightmares I had been having I wasn’t sure I wanted to. Usually I woke up before anything too bad happened, but there was a fear of reliving the bad parts that kept me from wanting to remember at all. The nightmares are the exact reason why I found myself sitting in the garden next to the well in the center of it.

“Rose! There you are. What are you doing out here this late?” Harry asked me as he walked over to me.

“Couldn't sleep. I'm sorry I worried you.” I said softly as I pulled the blanket I had around my body closer to keep myself from getting colder.

“You'll catch a cold out here, love. May I?” he asked as he looked over at me, motioning towards the seat beside me.

I nodded and watched him sit down then he shrugged off his jacket and draped it over my shoulders. I opened my mouth to argue but he put his finger to my lips to silence me before I could.

“Ah ah ah. You're still in recovery which means you could catch a cold far quicker than I could. Don't argue with me.” He said.

I furrowed my brows and pouted at him which only made his smile widen.

“Put that lip away before I make you.” He teased.

“Make me? How would you make me?” I asked curiously.

“I have my ways…” He murmured, glancing down at my lips.

The way he was looking at me made butterflies form in my stomach. He leaned in slightly but instead of kissing my lips he lifted his head to place one on my forehead.

“Do you want to talk about your dream?” he asked.

I sighed and shook my head as I looked down at the stone path under my feet, gently kicking a few petals away.

“You won't be able to remember until you get yourself past this block you have on your mind. Get past the fear and then you'll remember all of the good things.” He said softly.

“And what if I can't? What if the only thing I remember is what that awful man did to me? Those are horrible memories, Harry. From what little I remember I don't want to remember the rest.”

“Alright. If that's what you choose to do then we will make good memories to replace the bad. I'll help you… starting now.” He grinned as he stood up.

“What are you doing?” I asked him as he held his hand out to me.

“I'm asking a beautiful girl for a dance under the moonlight.” He smiled.

I blushed at his compliment, smiling softly as I reached out to place my small hand in his large one. His hand looked giant compared to mine yet they fit together so perfectly. I stood and let the blanket and jacket fall off my shoulders but I did slip the jacket back on so I could stay warm. Once I stood close to him he placed his hand on my waist while the other held my hand. I placed my free hand on his shoulder and smiled softly as I followed his lead, dancing around the small open area with ease.

“So apparently you know how to dance quite well.” Harry mused.

“I suppose I do.” I smiled back and as I looked at him I suddenly found myself in a ballroom staring up at a boy who looked annoyed because he was being forced to do something he didn’t want to.

“Do I have to?” He huffed.

“Yes. You need the practice and she is already here so you might as well practice with a partner.” A woman who I assumed was his mentor ordered him.

“Fine. Just don't step on my toes again, Rosie.”

“You're not that great of a dancer either.” I spoke aloud the same time as the girl in my memory and it caused Harry to stop and snap me out of it.

“Well geez. Thanks.” Harry chuckled.

“What? Oh my god. I'm sorry. I just… I think I remembered something. There was this boy who didn’t really want to dance with me but this woman made him and he told me not to step on his toes… he called me-”

“Rosie…” Harry finished, his eyes growing wider. “Oh my god, it really is you…”

He laughed and pulled me into a tight hug but it only left me even more confused.

“Um… am I missing something here?” I asked him.

“You still don't remember? Come here. I'll show you.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me back inside, racing up the stairs until we finally got to the King’s study which I had never been in before.

“Harry, I don't think we should be in here.” I said nervously, but when he moved me in front of a painting I froze. “That’s him. It’s the boy from my memory.”

“That's me, Rosie. The boy in your memory was me. Miss Laura always made me practice dancing and when you came to visit with your parents she made me practice with you. You always used to step on my toes because you were so uncoordinated.” He chuckled a bit and ran his hand through his hair. “I knew it was you.”

“What are you talking about? Harry, it might just be a coincidence.” I said as I shook my head and stepped away from him.

“No, it's not. You're Rosalie Devereux. Princess of France. We wrote to each other all the time. I still have your letters. You can read them if you want. Maybe they will jog your memory.” He said as he once again pulled me to his bedroom and set a box of letters in my lap. “This one was the last one you wrote to me.”

He handed me the letter and I looked at the handwriting, finding it slightly familiar but there was just too much missing in my memory. I read it over and bit my lip gently.

My Dear Friend,

I have finally convinced mother and father to allow me to come visit you for Christmas and through to your birthday. I hope that we can continue our conversation that we had last time I visited. I can’t help but think that it’s the right thing to do. I mean, who wouldn’t want to marry their best friend right? It’s far better than marrying any of the suitors my parents have sent to me. I’ll see you soon!

Love, Rosie.

I stared at the letter in my hands, faintly recognizing the handwriting, but what really caught my attention was the marriage part.

“Marriage?” I asked Harry, seeing that his cheeks flushed a little.

“Um yeah… Well our families have been kinda pushing us to get married the past year or so and we were getting tired of being bothered about it so we were going to propose to our families that we get married. That way we would be with someone we actually like and our families would profit as well if we combined the two countries more. It just seemed like the right thing to do.” He shrugged and ran a hand through his hair.

“No… I would never agree to marry just for convenience… friend or not. I would only marry someone I love. That much I know for sure. There was no way that I would agree to marry you unless-”

“Unless you loved me…” Harry finished, seeming to realize what it meant.

“I can’t… I’m sorry, but I just don’t remember.” I said as my head started to hurt.

“It’s alright. I’ll send for your family and they can come here and help you remember.” He said as he stepped closer and put his hand on my shoulder as my eyes filled with tears.

“And what if it’s not true? What if I get my hopes up that this is my family and it turns out that I’m not their daughter? I can’t do that, Harry. I just can’t.” I sniffled and pulled away from him. “I have to go.”

Before he could say anything else I ran out of the room and rushed back to the bedroom I had been staying in since I came here, feeling my head pounding as I struggled to stay on my feet. The room began to spin and I faintly heard Harry calling my name before everything went black.

Harry’s POV

“Rosie wait!” I called as I rushed after her.

As I got into the bedroom I saw her wobbling on her feet so of course I rushed forwards and caught her just as she fell. Immediately I called for someone to help and when one of the maids rushed in I told her to fetch the doctor, who was thankfully still in the castle because I had gave him a room so he could be on standby when he wasn’t out in the village helping the people there. He was in the room in a few minutes and after explaining what happened he instructed me to place her in the bed and I did just that, lifting her up into my arms before carefully placing her on the bed so she was comfortable.

“If what you say is true and this is the princess, then I’m guessing the memories returning to her caused an overload in her head. Hence the fainting. She should be alright, but make sure she drinks lots of water to stay hydrated and it might be best to stop pushing the memories on her. They will come back in time. Just be patient.” He told me.

I nodded slightly, letting him leave while I stayed by her side and gently brushed some hair back from her beautiful face. I felt awful that this was caused because of me, but now knowing that she was in face Rosalie I felt relieved. However, when she read that last letter she mentioned that she would never marry anyone unless she loved them… So did that mean she loved me?

The fact that this was all happening before she went missing it made my heart ache. I still had my reply to the letter because before I could send it she was reported missing so she didn’t know that I did in fact have feelings for her. I mean, who wouldn’t fall in love with a kind and beautiful girl like her? Now she didn’t even know who I was and didn’t remember any of the moments we shared or the good memories. It made me so angry to think of whoever did this to her. It was obvious based on her dreams and her faint memory that she had been kidnapped, and thank god she got out when she did. Part of me hoped that she would never remember what happened while she was there, but I knew that was a long shot. She was already starting to remember things so it was only a matter of time before it came back to her.

I let out a deep sigh and looked down at her sleeping face for a moment before leaning in and placing a soft kiss on her forehead.

“Sleep well, my love.”

Notes