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Desert Love	By : Krayzee_Aussie Category: Celebrities - Misc > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 4321 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction! I do not know Prince Harry of Wales, Prince Charles, Prince William, Kate Middleton, Queen Elizabeth, Camilla Parker-Bowles or Prince Phillip, Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith VC and I do not profit from this story.

Chapter List
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  After the ceremony, Harry was whisked away with his family while Desiree and her family were led away for the royal morning tea. Here she regathered with the other recipients as they talked about the aftermath of the siege back home. Soon, Desiree was whisked away to be introduced to important people. She spoke to several different people, most seemed to be associated with some type of charity that wanted her to make an appearance at their events. She would have lost track of the invitations had it not been for her mother. At some time during her career, she had served as an assistant to a high ranking official, so this kind of thing was not new to her.
She got contact details and dates and promised she would get back in touch with them once they knew what was going on when Desiree returned to work.
Soon, Desiree spotted a familiar face over the crowd. The tall man, dressed in a suit that looked like it was bulging all over the place, was ruggedly handsome and had a bright smile she could recognise anywhere, especially after they’d just been bagged and locked into a freezing cold bunker in the middle of a Western Australian winter.
“Well, I’ll be,” Desiree said smiling cheekily at the behemoth of a man. “Ben Roberts-Smith.”
The man stopped before her scratching his head shyly. “Ma’am, nice to see you again.”
“Likewise, what are you doing here?”
“I was invited as a previous VC recipient. Mark’s here too, somewhere. Daniel isn’t, he couldn’t make it.”
“Slack bastard, could have had a decent bagging party.” Ben laughed heartily. “So, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I actually came to speak to you on behalf of Mates4Mates. They were hoping you would sign on as a patron of their charity.”
Desiree looked at him uncomfortably. She had never considered herself having PTSD. At least never at the level as some of the people that those sorts of charities work with. “I don’t think so, Ben. I can’t really associate with those guys, not to mention I’m a woman and let’s face it, some people still perceive me as the weaker species.”
“What do you mean, you can’t associate with them? You’ve dealt with PTSD before, haven’t you?” Desiree was silent and didn’t answer. “Wait, are you telling me you never got treatment when you came back after your last trip?” he asked incredulously.
Desiree looked sheepish. “I had the debrief with the psych and left it at that. If I had any demons, I dealt with them myself.”
“What about what we just saw then?” he asked, referring to her break down on stage.
“That was completely different,” she replied simply. “That was mourning, not PTSD. She was my best friend and that was me finally saying good bye to her.”
Ben looked taken aback and confused for a moment, but then looked resigned to her answer. “I understand, Des. I got to tell you, you are a much stronger woman than I think anyone is ever going to realise.”
He shook her hand as Harry reappeared at her side. “Hello, Ben.”
“Ah, sir, how are you?” Ben asked shaking Harry’s hand as well. “I was just catching up with Des here.”
“You two know each other?” Harry asked in surprise. Desiree could feel Harry moving closer to her side.
“We were on the same SASR course together. Fun times.” Desiree smirked, remembering their training.
“That it was, anyway, I’ll let you go and enjoy your morning tea,” Ben shook her hand again and departed.
Harry turned to her and family. “Come and join us at the table for morning tea, guys,” he said. He took Ryan’s hand and led him towards the table where the Queen, Charles and Camilla, Kate and William were already seated awaiting them. Harry offered her a chair beside him and put Ryan on the chair next to him, beside Kate, who immediately engaged him with questions.
Once everyone was seated and comfortably having conversations, Harry leaned towards Desiree slightly. “Are you okay, Des? I wasn’t sure how you would react to being presented Banzai’s awards, but your unit wanted to do something special for you.”
Desiree gave a light smile and sighed. “I’ll admit, seeing that photo of her at first hurt a lot. We know before we leave, that photo is taken specifically for our funeral. I never thought we would need to use them. In saying that, I think when you presented me with them, I felt a sense of closure in my mourning of her. It’s like, I’m okay with her being gone now. Thank you.”
Harry smiled back at her, patting her hand that was on the table beside her.
Desiree quickly checked around the table to see if anyone was listening into their conversation before looking back to Harry and leaning closer to him. “Why did you break protocol like that? Surely hugging me like that is against protocol? Did you get into trouble?”
Harry laughed good-naturedly. He patted her hand again, she felt her stomach flip again at the sudden touch. “Relax, remember I told you my grandmother is always complaining about how much like my mother I am?” Desiree nodded. “She always said to me growing up, even if it breaks protocol but feels like it’s the right thing to do, then do it.”
Desiree stared at him for a moment, unblinking. ‘If it feels like it’s the right thing to do?’ She wasn’t sure what he meant by that but she began to feel awkward. “Oh, well as long as you didn’t get a scolding on my account,” she replied. “So where did you go?” she asked curiously as she was given a cup of coffee.
“We had a couple of things to discuss, but it’s nothing to worry about. It definitely wasn’t a scolding. Sorry for worrying you.”
“I’m female, apparently worrying is something we do,” she joked. Harry laughed quietly.
The discussion picked up around the table. Harry and Desiree soon got involved in the conversation, telling little anecdotes of their adventures in Afghanistan. Now that the classification had been lifted on the operations, they could talk freely about it. While they were talking, Ryan stood from his seat and moved to sit on Desiree’s lap. She carefully lifted him and placed him on her lap, careful not to hit her sword. He began to analyse her new medals, touching them and following their shape with his finger.
The Queen leant forward and watched Ryan for a moment. “Ryan, dear boy, what do you think of your mother’s new medals?” she asked him as he looked up at her question. Ryan looked from the Queen, up to his mother’s face and then back at the Queen. Desiree heard the distinct sound of a quiet camera lense, she caught a glimpse of Chris, off to one side.
“They’re really cool, I can’t wait until we get home and we can put them up with dad’s medals.”
Desiree felt a pang of regret and pain at that, she felt her eyes beginning to prickle with tears. Her husband would be happy to know that his son still thought of him to this day, but it hurt to think that he was missing out on this. Desiree looked around the table, to see all the royals with pained expressions on their faces. Desiree glanced at Harry, he gave her a sympathetic smile, before patting Ryan on the head.
“You’re a good kid, Ryan.”
                They were soon interrupted by a palace assistant. “Sorry to intrude, ma’am, but the stylist team organised for you will be arriving at your hotel soon.”
Desiree looked at Harry before glancing at her watch. She looked back at him incredulously. “It’s only one in the afternoon.”
Harry smiled nervously. “Well, it’s more than just a stylist team, if I’m honest.”
Dan piped up behind her. “He’s saying you’re a lot of work, in a nice way, Des. You going to take that sitting down?” Harry looked at Dan in horror as Desiree’s mother pinched her son on the arm.
“Don’t be rude, they don’t get Australian humour.”
The Queen gave a little chuckle in amusement. “My, your family is very close, Major.”
“Yes, we are, your majesty,” she said with narrow eyes at Dan.
“Well, we should probably go and prepare too,” the Queen said looking to her stewards and assistants. There was movement as she stood up. Everyone around the table stood up quickly, Desiree lifting Ryan to his feet before standing herself. “Thank you, Major Kitana and family, it has been an absolute pleasure. I look forward to seeing you tonight.”
Harry stayed behind as the rest of the royal family left. He walked Desiree and her family back out to the waiting cars. Desiree turned to speak to Harry as Dan and Ryan climbed into the car. “So what’s the go with tonight?”
Harry smiled and scratched his head, she knew it was something he did when he got slightly nervous and was off guard. She couldn’t help but get a little pleasure out of it. “I’ll meet you at the entrance of the ball room at six. I need to meet all my guests from five, so everyone should be there before six and I can have a quiet moment with you.”
Desiree looked taken aback but nodded in agreement, quickly trying to detach her sword from her belt, unable to bring herself to meet Harry’s gaze. She couldn’t undo the clasp and was beginning to get flustered.
Harry reached across and helped her, undoing the clasp easily and handing the sword to her. She took the sword bashfully, her hand brushing his as she did so. She looked away in alarm, thanking him quickly and bidding him farewell as she climbed into the car hurriedly.
When she sat down, she reached for her seatbelt, going to fasten it, only to look up and see her brother pulling kissing faces at her. She smacked him on the forehead. “Ow! What was that for?”
“You’re so immature.”
When they arrived back at the hotel, Desiree followed her family into the lobby. “You excited to stay with your Meh Yai tonight?” Desiree’s mother asked Ryan as she gave him a hug.
“Are we having a slumber party?” Dan asked, pretending to be excited by the prospect.
“Anything to keep you out of trouble tonight,” their dad answered, knocking Dan on the arm. Dan wrinkled his nose at the comment but rubbed Ryan’s hair.
As the lift was about to open, Desiree noticed a man approaching her. It was Gabe.
“Miss Desiree! We have been waiting for you!”
“Oh, hello, Gabe. We only just got back from the medal ceremony,” she answered.
Gabe looked to her chest to see the medals. “Wow, I’ve never seen one of those before. Congratulations. However, we have a lot of work to do. May we come up?”
Desiree narrowed her eyes at Gabe, remembering the comment that Dan had made at morning tea about her being a lot of work. Gabe, however, seemed nonplussed. She sighed. “Yes, of course.”
“We will follow you up in the next elevator. There is a few more of us than last time.” He motioned to the lounge area. Sure enough there was at least three more people.
“Why so many?”
“We were given strict instructions to pamper you, and make you feel like a princess.”
Desiree heard a gasp from behind her. She looked to see her mother looking very excited, while her dad and brother smirked at her. She glared at them before looking back at Gabe. “Oh, ok. Thank you. I will see you up there.”
Desiree said good bye to Ryan and her parents after they exited the elevator upstairs, promising to stop in at the end of the ball to say good night to Ryan. She then went and entered her room, leaving the door open for the stylist team. They soon arrived. She found they had a masseuse, hair stylist, stylist, make-up artist, manicurist and beautician.
They immediately began setting up, leaving Desiree in awe as they dragged in their gear.
******
                Harry looked at his watch nervously as he waited by the doors to the entrance of the ballroom. It was only five thirty but all his guests except for his father and grandmother had arrived. Many had already asked him if Desiree was accompanying him, wanting to meet her for themselves. Photos from the morning tea and ceremony had already been released, the hype around Desiree even bigger than it had been before. One of Chris’s photos, a photo of Desiree with Ryan on her lap and Harry smiling brightly at them both had been circulating the most.
He assured those that asked, that she would be arriving soon. He was careful not to mention if she would be accompanying him.
Kate and William joined him at the door having already been inside and greeting people. “Not here yet?” William asked.
“No, I hope they get here soon, I was hoping to have a moment alone with Desiree before I had to enter, I still want us to start on time.”
“Oh, its fine if we are a little late, we planned for that, remember?” William said, checking his watch. “Or do I sense you’re impatient because she isn’t here yet?”
“I’m fine.” Harry looked back to the doors opposite him.
“Sure you are,” William teased.
“Oh stop teasing him,” Kate said elbowing William. “We will go inside and keep the masses entertained for you, Harry. I’m sure she’s not far away.” She patted his shoulder before motioning for William to re-enter the ballroom.
Harry was beginning to get impatient when the doors opposite were opened and his Grandmother, father and Camilla appeared. He was surprised to see an elegantly dressed young woman following along behind them, walking ahead of the royal handlers and stewards. She was stunning; her dark skin seemed to radiate against the red dress she wore. Her long black hair flowed in soft waves to one side of her face and her dress plunged at the front slightly, a black mesh halter covering the plunging neckline.
Harry straightened himself to meet his Grandmother, but as the group got closer, Harry realised that the young woman was actually Desiree. Her usually light coloured lips were red, matching her dress and she gave a small smile when his gaze met hers.
“Harry,” his Grandmother greeted, looking sideways at Desiree slyly. “How are you, dear?”
Harry snapped out of his stupor when Desiree looked to his Grandmother after she had addressed him. “Oh, good evening, Grandmother. I’m quite well, thank you. We are just about ready to begin, now that you are here, all the guests have arrived.” He looked to his father who was beaming at his son. “Good evening, Father. Camilla, how are you?”
“I’m very well, Harry. I was just complimenting your friend, Desiree, on how absolutely stunning she looks. She pulls off that dress very well, it’s a different look to her uniform, that’s for sure.” Camilla nodded to Desiree with a big smile. Desiree smiled bashfully back at Camilla, murmuring a thank you, before looking back at Harry. Even under her make up, he could see her cheeks beginning to go a slight shade of pink.
“I found this one hanging around by the elevators, apparently you told her not to come down until six but she was a little bit early. I told her she could come with us, best not to leave such a beautiful woman waiting around on her own, or someone might steal her away,” Harry’s Father commented, looking at his son accusingly.
Somewhat horrified by his Father’s comment, Harry smiled apologetically to Desiree, but she shrugged off Charles’ damsel in distress comment. “I assure you, your majesty, I would like to see someone try and take me on, I may be wearing heels, but I can still outrun a man, not that i would be running away.”
“And I don’t doubt the girl, Charles. Still, better that you come with us anyway. Come Charles, Camilla, let’s leave these two and take our seats. You should be making your entrance right on six fifteen, I’m assuming, Harry?” the Queen asked.
“Yes, Grandmother,” Harry answered, still not taking his eyes from Desiree. He couldn’t help but stare, that this beautiful woman standing before him was the same woman that was dragging him around the battle fields by his shirt three years ago.
“Very good.” The Queen looked back to Desiree, patting her on the arm. Desiree leant down, as she was a good two foot taller than the Queen and allowed her to whisper something in her ear. Desiree smiled and nodded, before standing back up and waiting patiently while the Queen, Charles and Camilla entered the ball room to the sound of trumpets and the announcer’s voice, closing the door behind them and leaving Harry and Desiree surrounded by silence.
“Sorry,” Desiree and Harry both began at the same time. They stopped and looked at each other bashfully, before laughing out loud.
“You look amazing, Desiree,” he said, moving closer to her. Standing closer,; he took note especially of the scar on her left shoulder. Another wound she suffered on his account. He felt his breath catch in his throat as he thought of it.
“Thank you, you’re crack team of beauticians did some mighty fine work, it hurt. A lot.” Harry looked at her in horror, only for her to start laughing at the look on his face. “I’m kidding. Relax, will you.”
“Well, it’s just I’ve heard horror stories and stuff,” Harry replied, returning the joke and making Desiree laugh again. It made his chest tighten to see and hear her laugh like that.
“You and me both.” She looked sideways at the door to the ball room nervously, before looking back at Harry. “I still don’t know why I’m here.”
Harry looked at her, even with heels on she was still slightly shorter than he was. He took her hand in his, much to her apparent surprise as her cheeks began to redden slightly again. “I would not want to go through this ordeal with no back up. You helped me survive Afghanistan. I would love it if you could help me survive this?”
Desiree gave him an amused look before smiling brightly. She then made a mock look of thoughtfulness. “Well, the conditions seem to be a little fairer, I suppose, and you haven’t insulted me prior to jump off this time.” She narrowed her eyes playfully at him, making him scratch his head, like he always did when he was a little flustered or embarrassed. “So, I suppose I can cover your back again. It’s going to be a little weird doing that without a weapon though. And in heels, no less.”
Harry laughed loudly, before bending down and bringing her slender hand to his lips. He kissed her hand gently, sending her cheeks an ever redder shade. “Just having you here is a weapon enough, Des.” He felt like he wanted to say more but one of the stewards appeared through the doorway looking for him.
“Sir, Prince William is about to announce you and Major Kitana.”
“Right, we’re ready,” Harry replied, looping Desiree’s hand through his arm. They waited patiently for both doors to be opened. “You know, you look stunning, red really suits you, even more than green, I think.”
Desiree sighed. “H, shut up.”
Harry felt Desiree tense beside him as the doors slowly began to open. “Please welcome, Captain Henry Wales, accompanied by Major Desiree Kitana, 2 Commando, Australian Regular Army.” There were loud applauds as he led Desiree into the ball room. She seemed to glide in beside him with no struggle to keep up with his stride, much to his surprise. He knew she was wearing heels beneath the floor length dress, but he had expected her to possibly use him for balance considering how little time she spent in heels from what he had seen. However, she floated through the ballroom as if she wore no shoes at all.
Harry led her to the centre of the ballroom where they were both offered a glass of champagne by a waiter, Harry took both, handing one to Desiree. She accepted with a gracious smile. Her smile sent a thrill through his body, he could feel the hairs on the back of his neck begin to stand on end.
He looked to the high table where his Grandmother and Father were already seated and they nodded approvingly to him and raised their glasses.
                Harry and Desiree chatted idly with people here and there. Desiree received a lot of compliments, most were of astonishment at how different she looked out of uniform. Harry heard Desiree joke about the large team used to make her look like that. He wanted to interrupt and disagree but thought better of it.
He also noticed quite a few of the fellow officers and some high ranking nobility were quite taken with Desiree. She spoke so easily with them about many things. They seemed to take great interest in her military career as well as her homeland. She seemed to have loosened up from earlier. Harry glanced at the glass in her hand. It was still full.
He excused himself from his current company and moved to her side. “Sorry, to interrupt, gentlemen,” Harry said, putting his hand on the small of her back. Her dress was low-cut at the back, showing off her toned back, as well as a few light scars, and he felt her warm, smooth skin as he touched her back lightly. “Is everything alright?” he asked, gesturing at her drink.
A look of shame passed over her face and she bit her lip lightly, it was tantalizing the way she looked back at him through her eyelashes. “I don’t really drink much wine or champagne, lest for Moscato. I can’t handle the taste.”
Harry smiled back at her. “What would you prefer?”
“I generally only drink bourbon and coke,” she whispered, looking around bashfully.
Harry smiled and shook his head. Nothing about Desiree screamed lady, it was something he found so charming and attractive about her. He waved to a waiter and ordered her a new drink before leading her up to the high table.
He motioned to the seat beside Kate. Under his Grandmother’s advice, he and William had placed her beside Kate. Harry had subtly accused his Grandmother of making the suggestion due to their common roots, but his Grandmother had rebuked him, saying it was better for her to be seated to someone closer to her age and gender, rather than seated next to Harry’s Father where there would be next to no common ground. He remembered how taken aback by his Grandmother’s thoughtfulness towards Desiree. He had never seen or experienced her show any kindness or thoughtfulness to his previous girlfriends, or dates.
The entrees were served and Harry chatted with his Father and Grandmother while they enjoyed the first course. He heard Kate and Desiree laughing and chatting quietly beside him. After the entree, William moved to the podium, calling up a few of Harry’s old officer cadet instructors. They told some anecdotes and stories of Harry causing trouble and mistakes he made.
A couple of times he heard Desiree gasp or laugh at the stories. He would look back to see her smiling brightly, her eyes enhancing her smile. She would then continue to shake her head in disbelief.
Soon the main meal was served. Harry chatted with Desiree about the stories from his cadet training. She had a hard time believing the stories of his mischief making were real. Harry looked to Charles for confirmation, who did so adding that his son “had a flare for causing trouble”.
Kate and Desiree soon started discussing growing up, the differences between the Australian way and her British upbringing. Harry found it quite interesting to hear that Desiree often got into scraps in school.
“After about year eleven, if I got into a fight it was usually because I was trying to break it up.”
“Why do I have a feeling even that could end badly?” Harry asked, narrowing his eyes. Desiree shrugged in an offhand manner. “Just going to leave that a mystery?” he asked as she drained the rest of her drink.
“Considering how the media has been this week, it wouldn’t surprise me if all my dirty laundry is being aired back home as we speak,” she replied with a sigh. Harry felt sorry for her in that instant; because of him, her life would have changed dramatically. She wasn’t used to having such a huge public interest in her life.
“It hasn’t been too bad, I hope,” Kate said ruefully, saying aloud Harry’s thoughts. “I remember when the media first heard I was dating William, they followed me everywhere. It was terrible.”
“I suppose, on the bright side I’m not going to be here that long. Hopefully like everything else in Australia, interest in me will fade to obscurity.”
Kate glanced across at Harry, a questioning look crossing her face for a moment. Harry gave a subtle shake of his head. He knew what she was asking, but now was not the time.
After the main meal, his Father and Brother both gave a speech. It was his Father’s which proved to be the most riveting of the two.
He moved to the podium, placing his glass to one side.
“Good evening, I hope you have all enjoyed your evening. The boys have done a rather good job, it seems.” He began pulling out notes from his pocket, but placed them to the side too. “You know, I had written a speech for tonight a couple of days ago. However, I think it more fitting to speak about something else now. You may have seen media releases today, regarding my son’s active tour to Afghanistan, under the command of the Australian contingent. It was there, that my son has proven how capable a soldier he is. However, you may have also heard of the trouble he found himself in during both the Afghanistan trip and recent Australian trip. During both times, Major Desiree Kitana was there.” He turned to look towards Desiree. Even with his attention completely focused on his Father, Harry could feel Desiree tense up beside him. “Her leadership and courage saved my son and made sure he came home. Major Kitana.”
Harry leaned back and turned to look at Desiree too. She sat rigidly in her seat, her cheeks thoroughly red even through her make up.
Charles picked up his glass, looking around the room as he did so. “Although this retirement ball is for Harry, I’m sure he would be more than happy to agree to toasting you. Major Desiree Kitana, thank you for making sure my son came home. You have our family’s, and no doubt our countries’, gratitude.”
Harry picked up his glass and stood up ceremoniously, raising his glass as his Father did. There was the sound of scrapping wood as everyone around the room did so too. Harry looked back down at Desiree to see her looking shocked and in awe around the room. Her face was now very close to the same colour as her dress.
He took her hand and lifted her to her feet. She looked at Harry, her face was etched with concern. He smiled at her reassuringly and she turned to face his Father, bowing her head slightly. “Thank you, your majesty, but I was simply doing my duty. It is a pleasure to serve the Commonwealth.”
Harry patted her on the shoulder as she moved to sit down again. As he sat down, he began to think of his Grandmother’s admission of ordering Desiree to put her life on the line to protect him. Doubt began to settle in his mind. Perhaps his feelings towards Desiree were misplaced.
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