A/N: Here's the sequel… hopefully it will work out!
The Princess Diaries doesn't belong to me!
There was an atmosphere in the palace.
An atmosphere that wasn't particularly happy or full of busy, bustling people going around, minding their own business- instead, the palace was full of tension, anger, angst and stress and everyone was aware of it.
The Queen was aware of it.
Charlotte and the Queen's personal staff were aware of it.
The palace staff were aware of it.
The security team were aware of it- and it was affecting the running of the palace, although no one had dared to address the source or the cause of the emotions running through the palace, although they would have to soon, before people outside the palace (particularly members of parliament) became aware of the tension and began questioning the effectiveness of the Queen in running the country- if she couldn't even keep her own palace staff under control, how on earth could she handle a country competently, was one of the questions that would be asked and they all knew it.
However, the cause of the source wasn't coming from the Queen (although it would perfectly understandable if she was stressed, considering that they had just come off the Christmas and New Year's celebrations, as well as two previous busy months of dinners, travel, public duties and paperwork) - the day at the beach in October had been incredibly therapeutic for her and she was still enjoying the after effects of that….
So… if wasn't the Queen that was the source of the tension in the palace, who was it?
Joseph hadn't had the greatest couple of months since October- of course, the months had been busy with Her Majesty's already overcrowded schedule as well as the associated celebrations with Christmas and New Year's Eve, and he had been able to handle those with ease, but there had been other problems that had sprung up during those months of busyness, that had made Joseph's life literally a living nightmare…..
The security team in particular weren't looking forward to their weekly staff meeting this morning- he had had been a bad mood for quite a while now and they weren't looking forward to facing their boss again, although he had quite a few justifiable reasons for being in such a black mood….
000
They had had a temporary intern during those busy months- it had been Scott's idea, he knew a Pyrus University student who was interested in security- and while he had worked well in the team, had asked plenty of questions and had demonstrated enthusiasm and passion towards his work (almost too much so, Scott had muttered on more than one occasion) but there had been several issues that had caused Joseph to wonder about whether they really should have an internship at the palace, being so close to the palace; and to question his and Shades' own ability and what they were thinking when they had agreed to host this intern.
The first instance was when he, going around with Joseph when he was guarding the Queen on an official visit outside the palace, had gone far too close to the Queen- so close that he had almost touched her but Joseph and his offsider had pulled on his shirt and jerked him back into his proper place.
"What are you doing?" Joseph had hissed angrily as the Queen continued on her way- she, thankfully, didn't seem too bothered by what had happened.
"I… I'm sorry, sir- I just thought that that guy was getting too close to Her Majesty and I wanted to prevent him from touching her."
"That's not your job… and 'that guy' as you were referring to, was the Prime Minister."
"Oh."
"Everything alright?" Her Majesty had queried in a quiet voice as she had passed him to climb into the car- he had been holding the door open for her, the 'intern' had already been sent back to the palace in disgrace, he was already considering his lecture to him.
"Fine, Your Majesty, just fine," he said with a grim smile.
However, the failure to identify the Prime Minister and stepping closer than necessary to the Queen had paled into comparison when, only days prior to Christmas, something almost catastrophic had occurred that had put the Queen's safety into question….
"What else is on the Queen's schedule for today?" Joseph sat back in his chair and glanced around the room at his staff- the day had already begun and Her Majesty was on her way to a meeting of parliament after the opening of a new wing of the Pyrus hospital, and while he usually went to those, he had opted to stay this time as he had wanted to make sure that everything was running smoothly here.
"Once she gets back from parliament, she is due to have a meeting with Sebastian and then she's having dinner with the ambassador," one of his men said, consulting the daily information sheet that they received from Charlotte.
"Good…so she'll be remaining at the palace for the rest of the day," Joseph said in satisfaction. "Right, so now we'll get onto the budget…."
Just then, the door to the security hub opened and in stepped 'the intern' (Joseph had failed to remember his name, although he knew it was something like Max, Jeremy or James). Joseph didn't register him for a moment and then he looked up.
"Her Majesty is back from her hospital visit?" he inquired mildly as the Intern sank into a chair at the furthest end of the table.
"No, she left about half an hour ago… I just got back from a patrol in the palace grounds."
"What were you doing that for? I thought I assigned you to go with Her Majesty and Scott to the hospital."
"I didn't hear anything about that…."before he trailed off as he saw Joseph's expression.
"So, you DIDN'T go with Scott to the hospital?" He glanced around the room at the other men. "Who DID go with Scott?"
There was usually at least three men going with Her Majesty on any public outings, but this time Her Majesty insisted that two men would be fine, especially since she would be going straight to parliament afterwards… except, Joseph slowly grasped the meaning of what had just happened.
"Are we saying…" he began slowly as the other men began to look down at their hands and the Intern began looking uncomfortable, as if realising what he had accidentally one. "Are we saying that HER MAJESTY has only been accompanied by one security guard?"
"I'd say so, sir," the Intern said finally, seeing that no one else was going to answer and Joseph glared down the table at him.
"Now is NOT the time to be flip, Jeremy!"
"It's Max, sir…" he mumbled, looking younger than his twenty years and Joseph had to stand up and take a deep breath in, letting it out slowly.
"Right, I'll deal with you later… Liam, Ethan, get a car and get to the hospital as soon as possibly- hopefully, Her Majesty won't have noticed what had happened."
He really, truly hoped that she would understand what had happened… but he had the feeling that he wouldn't….
Unfortunately, his intuition proved correct and he had a justifiable dressing down from the Queen….
"WHAT exactly happened this morning?" Her Majesty (he didn't dare consider calling her Clarisse, not with this happening) asked evenly, sitting down behind her desk as Joseph moved from the doorway to standing in front of her desk. "I take it that it wasn't planned."
"No, it wasn't. I had two men, as you agreed, on the roster to go with you…but somehow, some people didn't get the message."
"I take it you are referring to Max Smith, the temporary intern?"
"Yes, ma'am. Appropriate disciplinary action will be taken."
"I see. Will appropriate disciplinary action be taken in regards to the men who were actually in charge of ensuring that Max Smith accompanied Scott to the hospital?"
"Ma'am? That means that…."
"Yes, it will be both you and Scott that will require action, although you are receiving yours now from me."
Her tone turned cool, corresponding with the expression on her face and Joseph knew that she was preparing herself to give a lecture that she had given many other members of her staff over the years (him only a couple of times, mainly when he was younger and still unsure of what was going on) and that she knew off by heart.
"Are you willing to admit that it was the fault of the senior members of your team that caused this problem? That both you and Scott should have checked on the roster and ensured that everything necessary was followed through?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"That Scott was put under unnecessary pressure with being the only person present on my team when I went to the hospital? Also, that you assigned an intern into a role that he shouldn't have been assigned to?"
"Agreed, ma'am."
"That you created more attention for the palace and your security team by sending two additional men to the hospital and attracting the attention of the press?"
She waved to the newspaper on her desk and he looked down to see a picture of his two security men racing across the hospital floor, toward where she was, with the headline reading: "HALF SECURITY FOR THE QUEEN- IS HER HOS STARTING TO LOSE IT?"
"Yes, ma'am, and I'm truly sorry for that."
"Apologies won't suffice, Joseph, you know what could have happened."
"Of COURSE I know what could have happened!" he suddenly exploded, taking them both aback. "I've always been aware of that, and today was a mistake… I'm sorry, I promise that it won't happen again."
Clarisse regarded him evenly, not particularly pleased at the way he had raised his voice to her but also confident that he was well aware of her feelings on the subject and that she had dealt with the situation.
"Thank you, I hope that it doesn't happen again," before he turned and walked back towards the door, taking that as his signal for dismissal.
Thankfully, the intern was removed from working anywhere near the Queen (having been transferred to a less sensitive area of the security team) and Joseph relaxed somewhat, although he wasn't pleased that, over the Christmas holidays, he did more hours than anyone else, not that he minded- he had the chance to spend more time with the Queen, although there wasn't as much time as he had hoped, considering that Mia had returned for the vacation and that there were plenty of parties and occasions that the two royals had to attend.
That was the final piece in the puzzle, the final issue that had contributed to Joseph's bad mood- he and Her Majesty… Clarisse… had barely any time since their day at the beach to consolidate what had occurred- the deepening of their friendship and the furthering of their relationship- and he was beginning to wonder, paranoia beginning to seep in as well as irritation, frustration, stress and anger, whether she was pushing him away deliberately, burying herself in work so that she didn't have to deal with him and their feelings for each other.
Yes, when they had returned to the palace, she had been more than open to the potentiality of their relationship, that things could and would change- but since then, since the busyness of their respective roles, and the stress of what had happened lately, Joseph had suddenly realised that things possibly mightn't be the same between the two of them…maybe she had regretted the closeness that had occurred during their beach trip, and she probably also regretted their kisses….
000
This was the thought that he had woken up with that cool January morning (a thought that he had been woken up with for the past few months) and his mood, which had been calm for a few moments when he had woken up (again after a late night of paperwork and a few Scotches), suddenly deteriorated again, particularly once he realised that he had a staff meeting that morning….
It was just after eight when he stormed into the security hub- thankfully all team members (except those on duty) present and breakfast and coffee on the table- and slammed his folder of paperwork onto the table and, after pouring a cup of coffee (the room suddenly turning silent at his arrival), sat down at the head of the table.
"Alright, let's start this meeting!"
