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watchmegetobsessed · 2 years

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WONDERWALL (part 1)

A/N: its here! royal harry is finally here! im so excited about this story, hope you guys like it! if you missed i posted a little explanation about details of the story!

PAIRING: Royal!Harry X Maid!Reader

WORD COUNT: 5.3

SERIES MASTERPOST | SUPPORT ME!

The morning finds Prince Harry up and awake on his first full day back to the kingdom, he can’t help but feel anxious and worried about what his return will bring. He wasn’t planning to be back so soon, he had years of traveling before he was set to come back and take his rightful duties as the next heir to the throne, but the death of the king rewrote everything.

He was eighteen when he left to experience as much of the wonderful world as possible, see every wonder and culture there is to know so when he returns to Eroda he won’t feel like he missed out on anything. A year in Jamaica, road trips through Europe, Studies in Japan and trips through Australia, there’s not many countries left he hasn’t been to, but the list is now put to a hold as he is set to take the throne at just thirty five.

He visited back almost every year, never forgetting where he came from, but he didn’t think his time would come anytime before he turns forty. However the queen has made the decision to retire and give the throne to her only son, shortening Harry’s time to explore the world and forcing him to return to Eroda to take upon his duties as the next king.

The queen never planned to stay on the throne until her last breath, she knew the kingdom would be in the best hands if Harry followed her as soon as possible and on the tenth anniversary of the death of the king, after leading the kingdom for an entire decade, she decided it was time to step back.

Harry wishes she didn’t want to step back so soon, that he had some more time to find himself before he had to lead an entire country, but it was never a choice he could make.

His old room watches over the forest behind the beautifully kept yard and his mother’s rose garden. Leaning against the window sill he is watching as the first rays of the Sun peek over the crown of the old trees. He knows that forest like the back of his hand, he used to sneak out almost every day, exploring the wilderness and leaving the royal life he was forced to live from the beginning just for a little while. He thinks of the hidden lake in the depth of it and all the time he spent throwing rocks and pretending to be a pirate as he swam around in the crystal clear water.

He has a long day ahead of him, he will be introduced to not just the people of the palace today as the new king-to-be, but today he’ll appear in front of the nation as well, welcoming them just thirty days before his coronation. It’s frightening and daunting, he’s afraid he is not ready to take the throne, but he would never let his mother down.

Impulsively, he finds himself grabbing a coat and putting on shoes as he heads out of his room, rushing down the hallways before anyone could catch him sneaking out. It feels like he is a little kid again, dodging the guards and ignoring his mother’s warnings about the dangers of wandering around on his own.

The air is crispy and the lawn is dewy as he makes his way into the forest, the palace disappearing from his view as the trees close around him. He still knows the paths out of heart, even though the wilderness has altered his roads in the past decades. He is heading to the lake, hoping to find some peace before the craziness catches up with him.

The weather is starting to warm up slowly as the sun reaches more and more into the forest, caressing the greenery around the prince, especially once he reaches the lake where the trees can’t overhang above his head and the light is glistening on the calm surface of the water. He stops and admires the view in front of him, thinking he is the only one enjoying this moment here, but then he spots a figure on top of the rock on the other side of the lake and he freezes.

A woman is standing there, wearing only a shirt and from what he can see her underwear. She is staring down at the still water and Harry is watching her intently, the sight of her completely mesmerizing the prince, right until he sees her jump and dive into the water.

“No!” he shouts, knowing well how rocky the bottom of the lake is there and if someone doesn’t know it the way he does, they can easily jump into their death.

Without hesitation he tears his coat off of himself and kicks his shoes off while running into the water, swimming towards where the woman disappeared in the water and still hasn’t come up. Panic rises in Harry’s chest as he swims as fast as he can, trying to reach her and just when he is about to dive under the water to find her, a head pops up and a pair of confused eyes stare back at the prince.

“Are you out of your mind?!” Harry gasps as he finally slows down seeing her well and alive.

“Excuse me?” she questions as she keeps herself afloat.

“You could have died! This part of the lake is dangerous!”

“It is, if you don’t know it the way I do!” she scoffs and the tone catches Harry by surprise. It becomes clear quickéy that she has no idea who she is talking to. “No need to lecture me, I’m just fine.”

“Oh, I’m sorry for wanting to save you!” he huffs back in disbelief.

“Save me? Please, I was just fine, still am. Not everyone needs to be saved,” she sneers at him before swimming towards the coast.

Harry is almost entirely shocked and frozen by the reaction he just got for wanting to help. He watches as the young woman reaches the edge and walks out, water dripping from the shirt that’s now clinging onto her figure, showing every curve and sweet detail of her body and even after the way she just talked to him, he still can’t stop himself from staring at her. He’s sure his body would even react to the sight if only the water wasn’t freezing cold.

Unfortunately, he gets caught pretty fast.

“Would you mind creeping somewhere else?” she snaps at him when she finds him ogling her.

Harry looks away and swims after her to get out of the water while she keeps her eyes on him as he emerges, his clothes dripping wet, sticking to his torso the same way.

“I see someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed,” he grumbles under his breath while the girl gets dressed in some dry clothes, something Harry doesn’t have so he has to get back to the palace like this.

“I’m sorry I don’t like strangers shouting my hair off for minding my own business.”

“A simple thank you would be enough,” Harry replies as he tries to squeeze as much water out of his clothes as possible, though it’s kind of useless.

“A thank you? For what exactly?” she laughs dryly, wrapping herself into a thick cardigan, her legs now covered in a pair of black pants. “If you want to play the hero, do it somewhere else,” she scoffs and gathering her stuff she simply walks over to a bicycle that’s leant against a pine tree and without as much as saying goodbye, she rides away in the direction of the palace, as Harry stares at her rapidly disappearing figure down the path that brought him here as well.

This is not what he was expecting to experience on his morning outing and now he is forced to walk back in his drenched clothes. The day is off to a great start.

“What happened to you?” the queen questions when Harry walks into his room in his wet clothes, finding his mother waiting for him by the window.

“I had a morning swim,” he grumbles as he starts to undress, without a second thought, the maid that’s exiting the room blushing at the sight of the prince shirtless before she closes the door behind her.

“God, you never change,” the queen sighs. “Change quickly, I’m introducing you to the staff in ten. Everyone is gathered downstairs.”

Harry growls as he grabs a dry set of clothes to change into.

“Is it truly necessary? I know most of the staff, they have been here since I was a kid.”

“Not everyone. And you’re gonna be the king, not just some crazy little prince,” she smiles, brushing his wet hair out of his face as he buttons his shirt. He doesn’t answer, just nods. “I know you think it’s too early for you to take the throne, but I know it’s the right time.”

“I know,” he says as he grabs himself a towel to dry his hair and try to tame his curls.

“You’ll be a great king, Harry. Already are,” the queen tells him before heading towards the door. “Be down in eight minutes,” she adds before walking out.

“Y/N, you’re late!” Cassidy states when you burst into your shared room in the east wing of the palace, knowing damn well you’re late. “Quick, hurry up or Agnes will send you to the stable for the day and we both know you’re not friends with the horses!”

“Thank you for stating the obvious, and thank you for joking about my fear of horses,” you roll your eyes as you rush to change into your uniform at the same time as Cassidy is trying to braid your hair, but it’s an impossible task. “Just leave it! I’ll do it on my way. Go before you’re late too,” you tell her and shush her hands away from you.

“Pray that the prince is not as punctual as the queen,” she sighs before leaving the room.

In a record time of just two minutes, you change into your black and white maid uniform and run after your roommate and friend while braiding your still wet hair. The queen is introducing the prince today as the future king and new owner of the palace. It’s still unsure for you why it needs to be such a big deal especially since he is not new around here, though most of the nation hasn’t seen him since he was eighteen and left to travel the world. You were just a kid back then, being ten years younger than Prince Harry and you only remember your mother watching the TV that broadcasted his last appearance.

You remember a pair of green eyes and messy curls along with a wide smile, but you couldn’t pick him out of a line of men for the sake of your life. He wasn’t an active member of the royal family this past seventeen years, thus you didn’t pay any attention to him. But now he is back and he will take the throne in a month, meaning that he’ll be the king soon.

You’ve heard countless rumors about the prince during your time you’ve been working at the palace. Some say he is as sweet as cherries, a true gentleman, some say he is a spoiled ass, but everyone agrees on one thing: he is the most handsome bachelor in the country. You have nothing to say about the matter, since you have no idea how he looks. There are very few pictures of him through the past decade and you didn’t bother to check them before his arrival.

You’re one minute late as you reach the hall where the staff is and you’re relieved to see that the queen and the prince are not present just yet.

“Again?” Agnes growls as you take your place in the line and you just flash a sweet smile at the old lady who is the mistress of the household, the one responsible for the twenty maids working for the royal family.

Before she could scold you, the queen appears with a bright smile and greets everyone.

“Good morning, thank you for gathering here to officially meet my son who will be taking over not just the country, but the palace as well,” she smiles and you can’t help but return it.

Queen Anne is a blessing from the gods, you’re convinced. The woman led Eroda for the past decade better than any man in history, you’re not sure why she is so keen on leaving the throne so early, she could do so much more.

“I will help him get a hold of every task around the palace in the upcoming week, but essentially, he is the boss from now,” she smirks around just when you hear footsteps coming from behind her, a tall figure appearing and when you look at his face, you almost trip.

“Oh shit,” you breathe out, Agnes’ eyes snapping to you in an instant, so you roll your lips into your mouth.

It’s the guy from the lake, the one that tried to save you when you were completely fine and then stared at your almost naked body when you came out of the water, expecting a thank you from you for nothing. Lake guy is the prince and you’re just about royally fucked right now.

“Good morning, it’s nice to be back,” he smiles around with a nod as he stands next to his mother. He hasn’t spotted you just yet, so you keep your head down, hoping to get away with this, though you don’t stand much of a chance.

The queen goes on about how things will change around the palace and what Harry’s role will be in the upcoming month before he gets the crown, while you’re looking everywhere but at him. When you think you might be able to leave without him spotting you, Cassidy sneezes so loud next to you that all heads turn to her and the prince’s eyes fall on you.

“Bless you, Darling!” The queen chuckles and your eyes widen when they meet Harry’s.

He recognizes you, there’s no doubt. His mouth opens as if he wants to say something, but then he closes it and clenches his jaw before turning his attention back to his mother, but you catch him looking in your direction a few more times before the queen finishes with her speech.

The staff is soon dismissed and you’re quick to grab Cassidy’s hand to drag her away quickly, but you’re not fast enough.

“Miss? May I have a word with you?” The prince’s voice comes from way too close and Cassidy’s eyes widen as she looks over your shoulder.

“I think he is talking to you,” she whispers before slipping her hand out of your hold and running away, leaving you alone. Great, you should definitely consider getting better friends.

Turning around you face the prince and it’s an entirely different sight from his state in the morning by the lake. You can’t say you prefer this more, because he wasn’t the only one staring. You definitely noticed his sculpted upper body through the wet shirt, you were just better at hiding.

However you don’t have the chance to eye him, because the look he is giving you sends a chill down your spine. He doesn’t look too pleasing and now you regret being so rude to him in the morning, even though you had every right.

“Of course, your majesty,” you nod and the two of you take a few steps away from the rest of the people in the hall. You look up at him expectantly, but he just stares back at you, as if you were the one who wanted to talk. “How can I help?” you ask.

“Don’t you think you have something to tell me?” he replies and you can’t help but raise your eyebrows at him.

“You were the one who wanted to have a word with me. I’m very sorry, your majesty, but I don’t have the ability to read minds just yet.”

Harry’s expression matches yours at your sassy remark and for a second, he is at a loss for words. He is surely not used to be talked like this. He might have been away from Eroda for a long time, but he was treated like royalty throughout his journey and no one has dared to talk to him the way you just did. It’s furiating, but mostly because in a way… he likes it.

“I surely spent way too much time away from the palace and only now finding out how free-spirited the staff has gotten.”

“If this is about the incident at the lake, I still have nothing to apologize for, not even knowing your title, your majesty,” you simply tell him.

“A young woman like you shouldn’t be playing around at dangerous places like the rocks at the lake. You’re lucky you didn’t end up jumping onto one of the rocks underneath the water.”

“If you haven’t heard me saying it, I know exactly where it’s safe around the lake, you don’t have to worry about me, though I doubt you have the time and energy to do that.”

You have no idea where this sassy attitude is coming from, but something is telling you that you need to defend yourself regardless of the prince’s title. You won’t just bow your head only because he is the next king. It doesn’t matter when it comes to your business he is trying to get into.

“Are you always this impossible?”

“Are you always this insufferable?” you snap back before you could think about your words and the way his pupils dilate makes you regret your choice of words, but it’s too late. However before he could get another word out, the queen joins the two of you.

“Ah, I see you’ve met Miss Y/L/N!” she smiles brightly at you. “She’s been working here for five years now, a bright young lady, she is.”

Harry takes a deep breath as he looks at his mother and then back at you, nothing could be read from his expression as he plasters a smile across his face.

“Yes, I’ve had the luck to meet her. Wonderful woman.”

“The pleasure is all mine, your majesty,” you smile back a little too enthusiastically, he surely catches onto how fake it is, but he chooses not to question it.

“Harry, we have a lot to do today, better not waste our time. Excuse us, Miss!” The queen smiles at you, placing a hand to the prince’s arm. You bow your head before taking the opportunity to escape, rushing away, but not without glancing back at the prince one last time, only to catch his eyes on you as his mother is talking to him on their way to the stairs leading up.

It’s hard to focus on anything when Harry is still silently raging over the conversation he had with you at the debriefing this morning. He can’t believe you had the audacity to talk to him like that, to even call him insufferable!

You’re the insufferable, he thinks to himself as his mother drags him from one meeting to the other, constantly keeping him busy, all while he is still thinking about you. The initial shock that washed over him when he saw you almost knocked him off his feet. It’s now hard to believe he didn’t spot you right away, only when the girl next to you sneezed. There you stood, in the same universe as all the other maids, yet he couldn’t spare a look at them, only you. Your hair was braided, definitely not as neatly as the others’, but it still brought out your features more than when he saw you at the lake, your wet strands wildly framing your face. The uniform was a lot more modest than the state he caught you in the morning and images flashed into his mind of the way that wet shirt gave out your body that was now hidden under the fabric.

For a split second he forgot how annoyed you got him, but the moment you opened your mouth again, he was slapped across the face by your attitude. You got his blood boiling within just seconds and if it wasn’t for his mother, he would have done something he would have regretted.

For example kissing you.

God, he wanted to shut your gorgeous lips up by giving them something else to do! Because above all the fury he felt towards you, he couldn’t deny arousal was rushing through his veins every time you talked back and mocked him.

“Are you listening?” Anne asks him and he snaps out of his thoughts, realizing he has no idea what his mother just told him in the past ten minutes.

“Of course,” he nods, clearing his throat though he can’t fool the woman who raised him.

“Alright, I can tell you’ve had enough for today,” she sighs, closing the folder in front of her. The two of them are seated in her study room, a bright, library-like room that’s one of her favorites, because it has a door that leads right into her rose garden. Harry will be taking his father’s study, but it’s still under construction, so he needs to wait a little before he could occupy it. It reflects Anne’s taste undeniably, Harry spotted the flower arrangements around the room the moment he walked in, his mother loves to brighten her surroundings with nature’s prettiest creatures. Ever since his return he has noticed how there’s a bouquet in every room his mother spends time and he can’t deny it brings him a spark of joy as well.

“It’s been a long day, mother, and I just got back yesterday,” he sighs with an apologetic look.

“We only have a month before the ceremony. It’s not like we can sit around.”

“I know. Is there anything else you wanted to talk about today?” he asks, knowing well Anne only wants the best for him and the kingdom.

She takes her glasses off as she leans onto the massive desk that separates the two of them.

“We need to talk about marriage.”

“God, please don’t!” he groans, standing up from his seat.

“I know it’s a touchy subject, but we have to think ahead.”

“Think ahead as in you’ll get me some lord’s daughter to marry if I don’t find someone?”

“Arranged marriage is not what I’m aiming for, but I’m open to organize a few meetings with possible candidates.”

“Candidates?” he scoffs. “That surely does sound like an arranged marriage.”

“Harry, you’re thirty-five. I let you do everything you wanted, you left Eroda for seventeen years and had the chance to live the life you dreamed of. But now we need to plan ahead and finding a wife is very much top priority once you take the throne.”

“I know, you don’t have to remind me. But I haven’t met anyone I could imagine by my side,” he sighs as he walks up to the window and stares out into the warm afternoon that has the rose garden buzzing. The gardener is working on a crimson bush that’s full of flowers, his straw hat shading his wrinkly face from the Sun.

“That’s why I offered to get you together with some women who might be good choices. You don’t have to ask any of them to marry you, I’m just giving you options. And who knows, maybe you’ll find the right one!”

Just as she says those words, Harry spots two women on bikes, riding across the yard, the baskets on the fronts full of fresh flowers. He recognizes you right away, still wearing your uniform, the skirt flowing around you as you ride ahead of the other girl who he recognizes from the meeting in the morning as the one who sneezed next to you, but he can’t get himself to care about her when he sees you laughing as if the two of you were racing like kids.

The braid is gone from your hair now, your hair waving after you as the gentle breeze catches into it. You look a lot younger now, but also so much more beautiful from when you’re grimacing at him. He wonders how old you really are, his guess is you must be in your early, at most mid-twenties, making you about a decade younger than him.

When you disappear from the sight of him he turns back to his mother, finding her already eyeing him with a knowing look he chooses to ignore.

“Do I have a saying in the schedule of the staff?” he asks, clearing his throat, pretending like he has no specific intention with the question.

“If you’re interested in choosing your own maids, Agnes McCoy is your person, you can find her in the east wing,” she answers before averting her attention at the stack of paper waiting for her on her desk. “That’s it for today. I’ll see you at dinner in an hour.”

And with that, Harry is dismissed.

You were counting the hours until you were off the clock. Today has been way longer than it should have, especially after the rocky start with the prince. Cassidy has been up in your ass about what it was all about, but all you said you ran into Harry before the meeting and just wanted to ask your name. She probably didn’t buy it, but at least stopped asking you after a while.

Today was laundry day and you had to change the flowers in the queen’s suit and study, it’s one of your favorite tasks, because she trusts you to pick a bouquet yourself from her garden.

Cassidy is finishing up in the laundry room and you’re on your way to her when you run into Agnes.

“Y/N, you’ve been requested,” she claps her hands together.

“Requested? By the queen?” you ask, because this is the only scenario you can think of. Maybe she doesn’t like the flowers? Or you forgot to change one of her pillows?

“No. By the prince. Please go to his room before you clock off.”

That’s all she says before rushing off, leaving you frozen in your spot. The first thought that pops into your head is that he’ll fire you now, for what happened in the morning and for the way you talked to him. It’s all you can think of as you head to his room in the West wing, knowing well which room is his.

Reaching his door you knock confidently and when you hear his approval from inside, you walk in. He is standing by the window in only his shirt that’s loosely tucked into his dress pants, his suit jacket is discarded on the untouched bed. He turns around, arms crossed and the look on his face is so intent, a shiver runs down your spine as you close the door behind you and look at him.

“You’ve requested me, your majesty?” you speak up and luckily, you’re able to keep your voice strong and even.

“Yes, thank you for dropping by,” he nods, walking just a few steps closer before stopping and staring at you, but not saying anything else. The silence is starting to irk you, is it why he wanted you here? Just to look at you when you could be already having dinner with Cassidy?

You’re just about to snap at him when he finally speaks up.

“I feel like we’ve started off on the wrong foot. Neither of us knew who the other was in the morning and you were right, I shouldn’t have given you a lecture. I’m sure you’re fully capable of deciding what’s risky and what’s safe. So I’m sorry about that.”

His apology comes as a complete surprise, you weren’t expecting to admit he was in the wrong at all, but it’s a pleasant plot twist.

“And I apologize for the way I snapped. You were just concerned about my safety.”

He smiles at your words and it brings out his dimples, your stomach dropping immediately at the sight of them. It shouldn’t be legal for a wealthy and prestigious man to be this handsome. Above everything, it’s one thing you can’t deny: Prince Harry is truly the best-looking man you’ve ever seen.

“Alright. Now that we are over this, I would like you to switch schedules with Veronica.”

Your eyebrows shoot up instantly at the request that wasn’t even a request, more like an order.”

“Excuse me?”

“I want you to switch schedules with Veronica.”

“But that would mean I would be working your floor eighty percent of the time and I would basically be your personal maid.”

“That’s right,” he nods so smugly, your palms start to itch at the sight of him. “I talked to Agnes already, she said I only need your approval.”

You blink at him in disbelief, all while he is just standing there waiting for your answer that he surely won’t like. You don’t want to switch, you love working with Cassidy and taking care of the queen’s suit most of your time. Harry didn’t do that, he is just expecting you to do whatever he wants and that just doesn’t sit right with you.

“Alright, well, you don’t have my approval. Is that all you wanted?”

His face falls as he cocks his head to the side.

“What do you mean I don’t have your approval?”

“Exactly that. I’m not switching schedules with Veronica.”

“But I just asked you to do it.”

“No, you didn’t. I heard no question, especially not one about my schedule,” you enlighten him, which he is clearly not taking well, again. You’re back to square one.

“Are you trying to make a game out of being the most stubborn person in the palace? Because you’re surely winning.”

“I’m not stubborn for standing up for myself, your majesty,” you say, using the title clearly as a way to mock him. “You’re trying to take control over me for some reason, but I’m not open to run with it. Are you anxious about not being able to lead the kingdom, prince? So you’re using your power over the staff?” you arch an eyebrow, standing your ground as he stares back at you with his jaw clenched. “If you asked, I might have considered it, but you stood no chance with this attitude. I will not bend just because you’re trying to assert your dominance over me from the fear of your upcoming future as the king.”

You regret part of what you said the moment you finish talking, but you can’t take it back. His assumption about your willingness to switch was annoying, but he didn’t deserve you to walk over him like that and you see the change in him evidently.

“Your ma—“ you start, but he cuts you off.

“You’re finished, thank you,” he says as he turns around and walks back to the window, staring out, keeping his back facing you as you stay still in your spot. When he doesn’t hear you leave, he warns you again. “I said you’re finished.”

There’s no place for talkback this time. You turn around and rush out of the room as if it was on fire. The heavy door closes behind you and you lean against it for a second, your chest rising and falling rapidly. You crossed the line. Whatever little game the two of you have been playing, you definitely just broke some unsaid rules and it’s now weighing down on you.

Thank you for reading, please like and reblog if you enjoyed and buy me a coffee if you want to support me!

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