A/N: In this story, Mia and Michael never met. Mia was born royal, and therefore has always lived in Genovia. Everything that happened in regards to Michael inventing the CardioArm, starting Pavlov Surgical, and donating one to Genovia, that happened in books 9 & 10 does happen here.

And I don't own the characters. They belong to the ever-so-talented Meg Cabot. I just own the plot idea.

Princess Amelia stared out her bedroom window—the one that overlooked the beautiful palace garden and, further in the distance, the white sand beaches of the Bay of Genovia. She absent-mindedly twisted her shoulder length blonde hair around her left index finger, a sure sign that she was deep in thought. This was, after all, her eighteenth birthday, and while she was excited to finally be considered an adult, she was also nervous about having to take on a more serious role within the monarchy of Genovia. Granted, the country was a constitutional monarchy, and she would never directly have to rule over the people of the country, she was still going to be a figurehead—and she would still be responsible for how things were done in her beloved country. And right now, she wasn't quite sure she was ready to handle that commitment.

Her mother, Helen, walked in and watched her daughter for a few moments. It was hard to believe that eighteen years had gone by so quickly. It felt like it was just yesterday when Mia, as she was affectionately known to her family (well, with the exception of her Grandmere), was born. The clumsy little girl that she used to be had matured into a very graceful young woman. And that graceful young woman would be more than able to head the country she loved so much.

"Hi mom," Mia said, looking at her mother's reflection in the window. Helen smiled and walked over to her daughter.

"Happy birthday, my little princess," she said, wrapping her only daughter in a hug.

Mia laughed. "I'm your only princess, mom."

"So?" Helen replied, smiling. She knew that the media portrayed most royal families as being distant and very formal with one another. And she knew this portrayal was because in public, it was correct protocol to be formal. However, she was glad that her relationship with her daughter was very comfortable; they were very close, and always had been. That's probably why Helen found it so hard to believe that her only daughter was now an adult and getting ready to take on her full responsibilities as heir to the Genovian throne.

"Come on, Mia," Helen said, taking her daughter's hand and leading her out of the room. "We have to go meet with your father and Grandmere. Even though it is your birthday, you have royal duties to attend to."

"Ugh," Mia sighed. This was the downside to being royal. She wouldn't be able to relax on her own birthday. Especially this one. She was now an adult, and she had responsibilities that started today. "What's on the agenda today?"

"Well we do have breakfast, and I believe presents are waiting for you." Helen laughed as she saw Mia perk up at the word presents. "And of course, your birthday ball is tonight." Mia rolled her eyes at this. Grandmere was always looking for an excuse to throw a huge party and invite all the other royals from all over the world to Genovia. She wanted people to think that Genovia was superior to everywhere else. Mia could care less about having a huge party with all the other fancy, snobby royals.

"But, there's also some business that has to be discussed today," Helen added.

"Oh?" Mia raised her eyebrows. "What business?"

"Well, it looks like our hospital will be receiving a very expensive, but very helpful, piece of medical equipment. A…..CardioArm, I think it's called. Something to do with heart surgery. Your dad knows more about it than I do. Anyway, the young man who designed it will be coming here personally to give it to us, and he'll be spending about 3 weeks in Genovia to train our doctors how to use it."

Mia sighed. So, it's going to be someone else that she has to show around; someone else who probably has never met royalty before, and will spend the entire time being awe-struck. She hated that. She just wanted people to see that she was a normal human being, too. She just happened to be born into a royal family. But she was still human.

"Well, do you know his name at least?" Mia asked.

"Um, I believe it is Michael Moscovitz."

Twenty-two year old Michael Moscovitz looked around his New York City apartment. He'd never been one to care too much for material things, but he had to admit that this was nice. It wasn't a penthouse house in the Upper East Side, but it was still pretty amazing. It kind of reminded him of his parents' apartment. And considering that both of his parents were psychiatrists, they had a nice place. And for him, at his young age, to be able to afford an apartment just as respectable as that one that was a big accomplishment for him. Inventing the CardioArm, which would make non-invasive heart surgery possible, and subsequently starting his own business to produce the CardioArm, Pavlov Surgical, it was his dream. He just didn't realize that he would be able to achieve that dream at age twenty-one. He developed the prototype at his alma mater, Columbia University, and then spent two years in Japan developing the real thing. While he did enjoy the couple of years that he lived in Japan, he was definitely happy to be able to get back to his native New York and get his own place there. He had to admit, it was good to be home.

He heard a knock on his door, so he walked across the living room to answer it. There stood his eighteen year old sister, Lilly. He hadn't seen her since he arrived back in the city a week ago, so he was glad she showed up. He smiled and opened the door to let her inside.

"Nice place you have here," Lilly commented, looking around. "Looks like mom and dad's place."

"That's what I was thinking," he replied. He walked into the kitchen. "Want something to drink?" he asked her, opening the refrigerator and grabbing a bottle of water.

"Nah, I'm good." She sat down on the couch and noticed an envelope on the coffee table. Never one to really care about other people's, especially her brother's, privacy, she grabbed it. She noticed that the envelope had the seal of the royal family of Genovia on it. "What's this?" she asked, turning it over and opening it up.

"Oh, I'm giving one of the CardioArms to the country of Genovia. That's the letter giving me the information I need for my trip over there."

Lilly read the letter. "Jeez, this is a detailed itinerary!" she exclaimed. She continued reading it. "Wait….you're leaving in two days?"

"Yeah," he said. "I need to go ahead and get all this done. I've already been over to the UK, Monaco, China, India, and South Africa. And of course, Japan got one before I left. It's all publicity that I need right now. I need to get the word out about the CardioArm and Pavlov Surgical."

Lilly laughed. "You know," she said, "you will never have time to settle down and meet someone if you keep this up."

"What makes you think that I'm even thinking about settling down right now?" he asked, taking the letter away from his sister.

"Well, you've graduated college, and you are a very successful businessman now," Lilly replied. "Next step—meet a nice girl, settle down, and make me an aunt."

Michael threw a pillow at her. "You will not be an aunt any time soon Lil. So don't even think about that."

Lilly laughed. "Okay, okay. But promise I will be one before I'm 30."

Michael glared at his sister. "We'll see."

"Well, if you can't find a girl here, maybe you can find one in one of the many countries you'll visit," Lilly responded. "Hey—I hear Genovia has a nice princess who's single." She smiled and winked at him.

"Oh yes, Lilly. I'm sure that the princess is looking to hook up with a 'commoner'," he said, sitting down on the couch.

"You never know, big brother," she said. "After all, it's been done before."

"Well, little sister," Michael said, a slight smile on his face, "I can assure you that while I am in Genovia, I will not fall for Princess Amelia."