The Prince's Rose

Harry’s POV

We didn’t stop running until our horses were almost too exhausted to continue. We came upon a farm and thankfully the owners were kind enough to let us sleep in their barn for the night because they didn’t have room in their home. We made beds up in the hayloft and I could tell Rose was still having trouble with what she saw back at the village and what she did, because she sat away from the rest of us and peered out the small window. I sighed softly and walked over to her, sitting down across from her so our legs were touching. In the dim lighting I could see tears in her eyes and it broke my heart.

“All of those people… their homes destroyed… lives lost… it's all my fault.” She whispered, voice cracking with sadness.

“Hey, it's not your fault. Isaac is a psychopath who doesn't care about anyone but himself. He's the one who murdered all of those people. If anything think about how you saved those girls.” I said as I put my hand in her knees and scooted closer to her.

“But I killed that man, Harry! I felt the knife go into his flesh and he’s dead. I-I can't…”

It broke my heart as she choked out a sob and I immediately pulled her into my arms, leaning back against the wall as I allowed her to cry into my arms for what felt like the hundredth time. This poor girl has been through so much already and I knew it would only get worse from here on out. It was obvious that Isaac would burn through every village in his way so our best bet was to keep moving until we made it to Paris so we could explain to her parents what was going on.

Rosie’s POV

We had been traveling for a couple days already and by the time we made it to the channel I was exhausted. We still had a long road ahead of us, but at least we were one step closer to being safe. Once in French territory we could find soldiers to bring us home, though I knew it would be hard to trust anyone now. Especially since Isaac was once such a trusted man in my family.

The boys secured us safe passage on a cargo ship so once everything was packed up we set sail and began the day long journey across the channel. I mostly stayed in the cabin I was sharing with Harry but as night time arrived and most of the men were sleeping I wandered up onto the deck to find Harry awake as he leaned over the edge of the ship. The moonlight was the only thing lighting us apart from a couple lanterns scattered along the ship, but the moon gave enough light so I could see fairly well once my eyes adjusted.

“Couldn't sleep either?” I asked softly as I walked up to him.

He turned to look back at me and I saw a soft smile form on his lips.

“No, not really. I assume you didn't get much rest while you were in the cabin?” He questioned.

“No. I'm too nervous. I don't remember my family or anything about Paris so how am I supposed to live there if they make me stay?” I sighed softly and stood next to him as I grabbed onto his arm. “I want to stay with you.”

He shifted to face me and brought his hand up to cup my cheek.

“I won't leave you with them if you don't want to stay there… but for now it's the best chance we have at keeping you safe. I hope your parents will not be like mine and that they will believe Isaac is the man behind your disappearance. If they don't believe us then you and I will run away together. We will find some place safe… start a life together. I'm not leaving you ever again.” He promised.

I smiled softly up at him, feeling my heart flutter at his words. I was so hopelessly in love with this man and I knew now more than ever that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him by my side. My hands move to his chest as I hold onto his shirt, pulling myself up slightly so I could place a kiss on his soft lips. His arms wrapped around my waist to keep weight off my tip toes as we both got lost in the kiss. His tongue swiped over my bottom lip to ask for entrance which I happily granted and welcomed the feeling of his tongue dancing with mine.

We were both breathless when we finally parted and as we looked into each other’s eyes I knew right then what I wanted and that he wanted it as well. I pulled back and grabbed hold of his hand, leading him down to our cabin in the belly of the ship. We snuck past the sleeping crew and locked ourselves in the room, both of us staring at each other in silence for a moment as we realized what was happening.

I started first, proving to him that I was ready for this as I took off my boots then removed my pants before slowly unbuttoning the shirt I was wearing. His eyes scanned over my body as the fabric fell to the floor, revealing my half naked body. He had seen me fully naked before but he didn’t give himself the chance to properly look out of respect, but now that I was giving him permission I could tell he was savoring it.

He began to peel off his clothes just as I did and I allowed my eyes to scan over his bare torso, muscles flexing as he removed every bit of clothing apart from his underwear. He made the first move as he stepped closer to me, hands cautiously reaching out to touch my exposed skin. I closed my eyes as I focused on his soft touch, finding a clear difference between him and Isaac so it wasn’t hard for me to forget about what he did to me. Isaac’s hands were rough and painful, whereas Harry’s were slow and gentle.

I felt his hands slowly slide up my waist to grasp my breasts, causing a soft gasp to fall from my lips as he massaged them gently. I had never been touched with such love and care before so I felt like my skin was on fire with every touch. His lips attached to my neck, leaving soft kisses on my skin as he slid his hands back down to grab onto my thighs. As he lifted my body up I wrapped my legs around his waist, allowing him to move me to the bed as I finally opened my eyes to look at him. His eyes showed nothing but love as they stared back at me and I couldn't help but smile softly at him.

“I love you, Harry.” I whispered.

“I love you, too.” He smiled.

Harry’s POV

I did my best to take it slow and pleasure her the best I could. I had never been with a woman before so all of this was new to me but the boys had given me a few pointers in the past so I kind of knew what I was doing. I was mostly worried about scaring her, though it seemed as if she was doing okay so far. The noises she made drove me absolutely crazy and I could feel my under shorts getting tighter with each passing minute.

I continued leaving soft kisses all over her skin, watching her as I moved my mouth to her breast and gently biting her nipple. She gasped and her eyes shot open to look at me which made me chuckle.

“Don't laugh.” She pouted as she hit my shoulder.

“Sorry, love.” I smirked, flicking my tongue over it a couple times which finally earned a moan from her lips.

Holy shit…

Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment which I only found adorable.

“Don't be embarrassed, my love. That sound was incredibly sexy.” I assured her as I moved up to kiss her lips softly.

After touching her a little more to prepare her I finally pulled the last remaining clothes off our body and looked down at her, wanting to be absolutely sure that she was okay with this.

“If you want me to stop just tell me, okay?” I said softly.

She nodded and I leaned down to kiss her lips to distract her as I slowly inched myself in. A gasp left her lips and her grip on my body tightened so I paused my movements to look down at her.

“I'm okay.” She assured me.

I nodded and took a deep breath as I continued until I went as far as I could go, giving her a moment to adjust before she finally gave me the okay and relaxed her body. I kissed her softly and lowered myself so I rested on my elbows with my arms under her shoulders to keep our bodies close. Her hands rested on my shoulders and kept me in place as I slowly moved my hips into hers. Her soft moans kept me assured that she was enjoying it just as much as I was and I couldn't help but let out a few moans myself as well. My lips moved from her lips, down to her neck and chest, then back up again as I felt ourselves growing closer until we felt nothing but pure bliss. The look on her face was something I would never forget and she looked so beautiful.

We stayed connected for a moment and I gently brushed some hair from her face, smiling softly as I looked into her bright blue eyes.

“Marry me.” I whispered, seeing her eyes widen slightly.

“What?” She asked.

“Marry me. Once all of this is over I want to spend the rest of my life with you… not just because we’re friends and it would help our countries, but because I love you with every inch of my being and I want to be with you and start a family. I want to wake up to your beautiful face every morning and think about how lucky I am to have you. Marry me, Rose.”

Her eyes glistened with tears and I was almost afraid that I said the wrong thing but when she suddenly pulled me into a deep kiss I knew that wasn’t the case. I smiled into her lips as I heard her murmur a “yes” into mine, continuing to kiss her as we went a couple more rounds tangled up in the sheets.

Rosie’s POV

I woke the next morning to find Harry gone but he left a note on the nightstand to tell me he just went to get us some food and check on how much longer we had until we arrived. I smiled softly as I remembered what happened last night and how incredible it was. Harry really proposed to me and of course I said yes.

I laid in bed for a few more minutes until I finally got up and got myself dressed, putting my hair up into a bun so it would be out of my face. Just as I was finishing up the door opened and Harry stepped in with some food for us both.

“Morning.” I smiled softly as I walked over to give him a kiss.

“Morning, beautiful. How are you feeling?” He asked.

“I feel good. A little tired, but that's understandable.” I blushed.

He chuckled softly and kissed my cheek.

“I have something for you… I've been holding onto this for months since we first spoke about getting engaged, but since I asked you last night it's only fair I give you a ring.” He said as he pulled the most beautiful ring out of his pocket. It had a gold band with a beautiful ruby stone in the middle and a couple other smaller stones around it.

“It's beautiful.” I whispered, smiling softly as he grabbed my hand and slid it onto my left ring finger before placing a soft kiss on my knuckles.

“It suits you.” He smiled softly.

I kissed his lips then sat down to enjoy our meal together before we finally went up on deck to see the boys who all had to give me a big hug of congratulations. I laughed and hugged each of them in return, glad to have met them because they had become such good friends and I trusted each of them with my life.

“Captain Jones said that we should be coming up on land in an hour or so.” Niall told Harry who nodded.

“Perfect.” He nodded.

“Harry? Can you teach me how to fight?” I asked him. “I want to know to protect myself.”

“I suppose I could teach you a few things. I'm not sure you'll be able to use a sword though. They're pretty heavy.” He teased as he pulled his own from it's sheath and handed it to me.

I grabbed hold of the handle and the second he let go the tip fell to the ground and I let out a squeak of surprise at how heavy it was. It was a struggle to lift it.

“Okay. Yeah. Definitely not a sword.” I said, pouting as they all laughed at me.

Harry chuckled and took the sword from me and put it back in its place before he unhooked his weapon belt and handed it to Louis so he could hold onto it.

“Alright. Come here and I'll show you some basics.” He said as he pulled me over to a more open area so he could teach me some things.

I stayed focus as he showed me how to get out of multiple holds, though having him so close after what happened last night distracted me a couple times and led to me falling on my ass.

“Focus, love. I know it's hard.” Harry teased as he reached down to help me up.

I grabbed onto his hand and suddenly yanked him to the ground, quickly getting on top of him and pinning his wrists down.

“Focus, Harry.” I mocked with a grin, feeling his hips shift slightly under mine as the position obviously brought back the blissful memories.

I smirked then stood up and helped him to his feet so we could continue our practicing. But before we could do anything a loud boom in the distance followed by a sudden crash to the ship made us unsteady on our feet. We both looked behind us and saw another ship coming up quickly and when I saw the French flag being waved it sent fear down my spine.

“Isaac…”

Notes