A Note:

I just finished the Princess Diaries 2 because I was in the mood for a chick flick. I totally loved Andrew but Nicholas bugged me to death. And I didn't like that the only chemistry between Nicholas and Mia was attraction. He does redeem himself towards the end somewhat but I still didn't like it. =P So of course I had to write something to change it and satisfy myself. This is for all you Lord Andrew of Kenilworth fans! =]

Sooo... future Queen of Genovia... Yeah, that would be me. A daunting prospect right? Well,I can't say it's my dream job but it is my dream. (Sorry, a lot of times what I write down doesn't make a whole lot of sense.)

I love Genovia and I want to follow in my grandmother's footsteps and be a just, wise ruler. There's just one teensy weensy little hitch that was tossed in my face a few weeks ago: an arranged marriage. My first thoughts were not exactly "YIPPEE!" Because honestly, Arranged Marriage and True Love aren't really the first words you put together when playing Word Association Game.

In a nutshell, parliament said I had to get married in thirty days or forfeit the throne to that jerk Nicholas. (I don't like him. That's actually an understatement. Strong words are something princesses aren't supposed to use. We'll just leave it at that.) So guess what time it was? Time-to-check-out-all-the-eligible-men. Hey, I like eligible men.

Charlotte, the Queen's right hand woman, had arranged a slideshow of these guys and we had begun husband hunting.

Prince William popped up on the screen.

"Yes! Oh, oh YES! I absolutely accept!" I exclaimed.

"Prince William... He's not eligible because he's in line for his own throne." Charlotte replied.

"Oh." Meh.

"If he's not eligible why is he included in the pictures?" Joe asked.

"I just like to look at him." Sighed Charlotte.

"Me too." I, Lily and grandma answered.

We went through something like a billion more guys before grandma threw up her hands in disgust. "We need someone titled. Someone who can help you run a country without ego getting in the way. Someone attractive, smart, but not arrogant. Someone with compassion-"

"Someone like him?" I asked.

That's when Andrew, Lord Andrew Jacoby Duke of Kenilworth came up on the screen. He wasn't dashing, which was good. Dashing men made me uncomfortable. My first thought when I saw him was that he had a kind face. Wow, he was adorable. And he was a pilot in the Royal Air Force! Man in uniform, need I say more?

Lord Nicholas, to be perfectly honest, is hot. And it makes me quite disconcerted. To give you an idea about that, whenever I see him I can't decide whether to hide or give him some fantastic come back to his sarcasm. Unfortunately I suck at fantastic come backs.

"Princess Amelia." He flashed a pearly white grin at me.

"Nicholas - Lord Nicholas." I kept walking up the stairway.

"I hear you're expecting company today."

I turned and faced him. "Yes. Lord Andrew of Jacoby is coming."

"He an old friend?

"No." Ugh this man. "The queen invited him." I continued walking.

"I see."

See? Infuriating. I turned back. "You see what?"

He blinked innocently. "Are you all right Princess Amelia?"

I couldn't think of anything to say. I hate come backs.

Andrew was the most chill person I had ever met. Like, when we first met he didn't mind chasing my flyaway scarf halfway across the beach. He was cute, skinny and incredibly intelligent. He also had this really funny way of talking. At first it seemed a little awkward. We were playing tennis and I fell over (because I'm a freaking klutz) and he was like, "Just a minute princess!" I mean, not many people talk like that.

I had just met the perfect man and I was supposed to marry him. But Life has a funny way to treating you. And, not to be totally cheesy, but it's favorite toys seems to be peoples' hearts.

I liked Andrew. I also found him attractive. But I couldn't see myself with him. It sucked. It also sucked that the entire country of Genovia (which, granted, isn't all that big) expected him to pop the question any day. And I had no idea how I was going to deal with that... if it happened at all.

But he did propose. We were sitting on a bench under a tree and he handed me a film canister. Inside was a gigantic diamond ring. It had belonged to his grandmother and now it was my engagement ring. I would have responded a lot more enthusiastically if the media hadn't been spying oh-so-discretely on us.

There weren't any sparks between us but we just got along ridiculously well. I guess he had to be sort of into me in order to ask me to marry him. That gave me a happy kinda feeling.

Andrew smiled at Mia. She was, well to be honest, she was stunning. She was also hilarious. She complained about being a klutz but it was rather endearing. He had almost laughed aloud when she knocked that flower pot over at the Royal Engagement Announcement. As they walked through the garden, he held her hand that had their engagement ring on it.

"What are you thinking about Andrew?" Mia smiled up at him.

"I was thinking about how gigantic this diamond is and how on earth women can go around with something that big getting in the way of their fingers all the time."

She laughed. "It does get in the way sometimes. But Andrew, it's gorgeous and I love it."

Do you love me? He wondered. He could only admire her more for agreeing to marry him for the sake of duty.

They talked about a lot of things. "If you were a Power Ranger, which one would you be?" He asked her. "Pink. All. The. Way. You?"

Or, "Are you a coffee or tea person?" He of course, was a tea person. She was a coffee person.

"What three books would you take with you if you were to be stranded on a desert island for the rest of your life?" He asked her.

"Pride and Prejudice, The Scarlet Pimpernel and The Blue Fairy Book."

"You're a hopeless romantic."

"Pretty much."

Some questions were important. "Do you like kids? I saw you playing with them that day we visited the schools." Mia said to him. He loved them.

"Do you?" He asked.

"Yeah. My mom remarried and just had a baby. I wish I could see him."

"So," Nicholas followed me into the garden to continue our heated argument. I was practically spitting fire. "you're going to marry him?

"Yes."

"But you don't care about him."

I sat down on the edge of the fountain. "I have a duty to my country."

Suddenly Nicholas was all concern. "Mia, think about yourself for once."

I felt myself calm down. Nicholas seemed ready to end the disagreement.

He continued. "The man you marry should be your best friend. He should understand all your dreams." His hand was on my shoulder. "Is he honestly the best man you've ever met?"

I thought about that. Joe was basically like my dad. He was the best man I'd ever met. I wanted to marry someone just as good as he was. Andrew balanced me out. He was solid and stoic compared to my way of flying from thing to thing and panicking under stress. He understood my love for animals, kids and books. He was adorable when he played with toddlers. He was simply goodhearted. I whirled around. "Yes. Andrew is the best man I've ever met." I stood up and turned away. "Leave me alone Nicholas."

I began to walk but suddenly Nicholas grabbed my arm and spun me around. He was kissing me - hard and sick. I struggled loose and shoved him as hard as I could. Then I ran.

The first person I came to was Andrew. I almost ran straight into him.

"Are you alright?" He looked concerned.

"No." I said miserably. I sunk my head onto his chest and he hugged me.

"Come on," He said quietly. "we're leaving."

He led me to the car and during the ride home I told him Nicholas had kissed me. He was silent and I wondered if he was angry with me. I was too embarrassed to tell him the dialogue that had passed between us. Finally he asked just one question.

"Why were you in the maze with him?"

"We were arguing and he followed me in."

"Mia, you're watched everywhere."

My face grew hot. "You think I don't know that?"

"I just -" He looked out the window. "You're right. I'm sorry."

"Andrew -" I looked out my window. "Me too."

He went away for a while, Andrew I mean. My wedding was in a week. To put it mildly, the whole palace was more chaotic than that storm on Jupiter that's been going on for hundreds of years. (My analogies always sound better in my head.) Of course grandma was fine though. I don't think she gets excited.

I thought about Andrew a lot. I certainly liked him and found him attractive. He was the kindest man I'd ever known. And just a bit insanely talented. Yes, I know I've been through all this. But I need to think stuff out. Of course my big question was, did I love him? I didn't have butterflies. But every time I saw him the world just seemed a bit brighter.

The night before Andrew came back I knocked on the queen's suite door.

"Mia darling, is that you?"

I walked in and curled up on the couch opposite her. I just sat there for a while as she read. We did that a lot. After a while she closed her book. "What is it dear?"

The fringe on the pillow I clutched was fascinating. "Can I ask you something?"

"About Andrew?"

"I don't know much about love, Grandma."

"Most people don't."

I lay down. Suddenly I felt super emotional. "I just don't know if I love him."

Grandma got up and sat on my couch, helping me into a sitting position. It was her way of saying I had to be tough right now. "Mia. Some people are lucky. When they meet the person they're supposed to be with, it's very clear to them that they are in love. But Mia, love rarely starts with a feeling. Attraction is a feeling we can't control. However, love - well we choose to love someone. Love is always a choice. And once we choose, then the feeling comes. Does that make sense?"

"You're saying I can choose to love Andrew?"

"You chose to love Genovia. And I can tell you wish to care for Andrew. You're very fond of him. Yes, you can choose. Is he the best man you have ever met?"

"I don't deserve him."

"And he doesn't deserve you. That will make you love each other more than ever."

I paced the halls, my bare feet felt good on the cold stone floor. I couldn't sleep. Andrew was back. He'd kissed my hand and smiled when we greeted, but he'd looked strained.

It was four thirty AM. Talk about not being able to sleep. I passed Andrew's suite. A light glowed from under the door. Was he already up? Or could he not sleep either? I crept up to the door and put my ear against it. He was definitely up. I hesitated, but then knocked. The door opened. His hair was all messed up.

"Mia?" He stared groggily at me.

"Can you not sleep either?"

He stepped out into the corridor. "No. Would you like to take a walk?"

He took my hand as we walked. We went out a pair of french doors into a garden. The sky was just beginning to lighten and it was freezing. We sat on a stone bench.

He broke the long silence. "I'm sorry I don't have my coat to give you."

I smiled. Yeah, he is what you call a catch.

"I guess we have a pretty big day coming up."

"Two days away." I shivered and continued to walk. He took my hand again but suddenly I pulled away. "Why do you do that?" I asked bluntly. "Because you're supposed to?" My throat hurt. I guess with all the wedding stress and the fact that I had no idea if this wonderful man loved me, I was getting pretty high strung.

"No, that's not why." He took my hand again but didn't continue walking. "A week ago I would have said yes though."

I inhaled deeply and gazed at the pale pink sky. "My grandmother told me something yesterday. She said love is a choice. Andrew, I think it only fair to warn you that I've decided to love you." Holy cow, I couldn't believe I had just said that.

He grinned. "That's good. Because I've pretty much fallen head over heels for you, Mia."

That was confusing. "Uh, really?" I asked. "When did that happen?

He grew serious. "Gradually. It was finalized though when a perplexing burst of jealousy came over me after what happened at the garden party. I felt... I felt I had let you down. I wanted to protect you. And that's when I realized how much you'd become a part of my life."

I took his other hand and looked at it. "I love the fact that you were jealous when we're engaged." I studied the palms of his hands. "Andrew, I owe you an apology. Throughout our engagement, I've pretty much only thought about how it sucked for me to have to deal with an arranged marriage. I never once considered how much you were giving up for us. You didn't love me, but you chose to propose to me to help me lead this country. I can't think of a bigger sacrifice than that -" I smiled. "that's realistic at least."

"Mia, I knew the moment I met you that I could come to love you. You're talented, smart, beautiful and amazing. Erm, how on earth did you decide to love me? That doesn't seem like the sort of thing you decide to do."

"Don't make me laugh." I grinned. "But really, it wasn't a very big choice to make. It was a pretty easy one. I mean, it must have been because I did. Geez, you're pretty lovable." And I was turning bright red. I was glad the sun hadn't risen much yet.

"Can I kiss you?" Andrew let go of my hands and put his hands on my freezing arms. He pulled me into a kiss that sent me into a gooey mess. I ran my fingers through his hair and over his shoulders as he pulled me even closer.

He was smiling again. "If you ask me, it's much to cold for you to stay out here and you need your sleep." Suddenly he swooped me up and carried me inside. As he set me down outside my door he kissed me gently. It was so light I could barely feel it. And I hugged him for a long time, my head on his chest. (Always make sure your man is tall enough for you to put your head on his chest.) And yeah, I kissed him again but I don't want to talk about it. And yeah, it was great.

So we got married two days after we figured out we loved each other. In the words of Andrew, the wedding was smashing. Then I was crowned queen. Honestly, what's smashing is the fact that I get to have Andrew by my side, helping me guide this country, for the rest of our lives. I think that's what you call happily ever after. Not to mention that I grew to love him more every day. Which is a hell of a lot.

The End.