This story is based on a section of my last story, "A Royal Scandal." I will change some parts slightly, by slightly I mean unimportant things like timing ok? This is what would have happened if Clarisse decided to keep the baby. It's also a detailed explanation of how Joseph and Clarisse got to know each other. (It would be a good idea to read my other story first so you know what I'm going on about…)

I would like you to understand that I will be writing longer chapters now, so I won't be updating quite as often. So we're looking at around a 2-3 times a week update.

The year was 1967 and Clarisse Renaldi was sitting alone in her husband's office reading a book, late in the evening. She was waiting for Rupert because he had told her that he needed to introduce her to somebody. At that moment, Rupert came marching through the door, talking to a man.

"Ah, darling you're here. I'd like you to meet our new night watchman. His name is Joseph. Joseph, this is my wife, Clarisse."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty," he said, kissing her hand.

She was stunned by how gentle his touch was, "Likewise."

"Now Joseph, your job as night watchman entails you to be very observant and make sure no uninvited guests are able to get through the gates, understood?"

"Yes sir."

He couldn't keep his eyes off the Queen. She was beautiful.

Rupert couldn't help but notice, "Eyes off, she's mine," he joked, "You start work tomorrow night. Darling, would you mind showing Joseph to his room?"

"Not at all, come Joseph, it's right this way."

She led him down a long hall way and down a flight of stairs.

"If I may say so, Your Majesty, it is an honour to be working for you."

She didn't quite have anything to say to that.

"If I may also say so, Her Majesty is looking very beautiful today."

Her eyes widened. She couldn't believe he just came out and said that, "Flattery will not get you a pay rise," she smiled.

"That wasn't my intention."

She stared at him for a moment, "What exactly IS your intention?"

He laughed slightly leaving her confused.

She then spoke, "Here's your room, here's your key, your bed is over there, the bathroom is through that door and there is a wardrobe to put your things in. Goodnight!"

"Thankyou, Your Majesty."

He walked into his new room and sighed. It was very small and dark. He put his things down and lit a candle. He then walked towards the bathroom to have a shower.

Clarisse was feeling a bit strange. It had been quite a while since somebody had called her beautiful and she didn't quite know how to handle it. She wasn't sure whether to be shocked, insulted, flattered or confused. She was definitely flattered and confused though. Was he coming on to her? The man seemed a bit…forward? He was a good-looking man, about 185cm tall, thinnish, but not too thin, and he seemed very charming. There was just something about him that Clarrise couldn't quite put her finger on. She didn't quite know what it was, but she was sure going to find out.

The next morning, she was eating her breakfast alone in the gazebo, watching the man run about the grounds. What was he doing, exercising?

He noticed her and waved. She smiled, then waved back and continued watching him.

She was toying with the idea of asking him to eat with her, so when it looked like he had finished whatever he was doing, she called him over.

"Good morning, Your Majesty. Is there something you wanted?"

"I would like to know what you were doing just now."

"How do you mean?"

"The running around."

"Oh, I was merely checking the area. I must be aware of my surroundings if they are what I'm going to be protecting."

"Oh I see. How very professional."

"Is that all you wanted?"

"Well, no actually, I was wondering if maybe you would like to join me for breakfast?"

"I'd be delighted."

"So when did you first realise you wanted to be in the security industry?" She asked.

"Well," he replied after swallowing his food, "Ever since I was young, I wanted to be a security guard. I thought it might be fun having everyone respect me."

She nodded her head and continued eating.

"So when did you first decide you wanted to be the Queen of Genovia?" he asked.

She looked at him, "Actually, it was decided for me when I was about ten. My mother and father had arranged for me to marry Prince Rupert as soon as I was eighteen."

"And is that what you wanted, to be Queen?"

"I admit that I wasn't too sure at first, but then my mother told me that she believed in me and that she thought I could make a big difference as Queen. I did have my doubts, but I decided that I would do it for my country."

There was temporary silence.

"Do you regret anything? Becoming Queen, having children, marrying young?"

"Sometimes I regret being Queen. I don't quite like the long hours, the continuous admiration, the lack of privacy. We're probably being watched as we speak. As for my children, I could never regret having them."

"And marrying young?"

"Yes, I do regret that actually. I should have had more time to live before settling down with a man I don't even…"

"Don't even what? Love?"

"Well this has been splendid, I have to go now. It was nice talking to you, Joseph."

She got up to leave, but he blocked the exit, "We haven't finished talking yet, haven't we?"

"Yes, we have. Now can you please move out of the way or will I have to summon the guards?"

He moved and she hurried back towards the palace.

"I shall see you around, Your Majesty!"

Joseph was quite sure he had touched a sensitive subject, otherwise she wouldn't have ran out like that.

Clarisse was feeling a tad upset. She did regret marrying Rupert. Everyday. She didn't love him and he didn't love her either. The people didn't see them that way though. They saw the two as a happy couple, but they didn't know the real truth; that it was just an act put on for the public.

They were friends though. Best friends. They treated each other with respect and even shared a joke or two sometimes. They had tried for years to fall in love but it never happened. Even when the boys were born, they still couldn't force themselves into it, so they made do with the fondness that they had for each other.

Later on that evening, Clarisse was taking her usual walk around the grounds. She was thinking about where her life was going and wondered if she would ever find love.

Joseph was out walking too, he was on his first 6pm-12am shift. He saw her and snuck up behind her, "Good evening."

She jumped, "Oh god! You scared the shh…oes off of me!"

"I am sorry, Your Majesty. Please forgive me."

He started walking with her.

"Is there a reason you're following me?"

"I'm not following you, I am merely doing my job; walking the grounds in search of trouble."

"Of course, of course. How is your first night on the job?"

"Uneventful. I thought I saw somebody trying to sneak under the gate, so I rushed over to stop them. As it turned out, it was just a wild rabbit."

She laughed, "Is that why you're following me, because you're bored?"

"I told you, Ma'am, I'm not following you. I'm doing my rounds."

"Then, why aren't you outside?"

He stopped and realised that he had followed her inside the palace.

She laughed at him again and started walking up the staircase, "Goodnight, Joseph."

He smiled and ran outside to save himself from further humiliation.

The next morning, he woke up at 8am and got ready for the new day. He found himself heading towards the kitchen for some food. When he got there, he saw Clarisse sitting down with her hand to her forehead. She seemed quite sad.

He started searching through the fridge, "Is there something wrong, Your Majesty?"

"Yes. Rupert just took the boys off camping for the week. Apparently he's been planning it for a while. He didn't even ask me if perhaps I wanted to come."

"I see, and you didn't ask him if you could?"

"Of course I did, but he said that he needed me to stay here and take care of things while he's away."

Joseph didn't know what to say, "Would you like me to make you something to eat?"

"Would you? I'm starving."

"Of course. Now, what have we here? Aha, eggs, bacon, carrot, peas, cheese, milk. Fancy an omelette?"

"Love one."

She watched him mix the ingredients together and they continued talking

"So, are you excluded from camping trips often?"

"Always. He thinks that just because I'm a woman, I won't like the outdoors. But it's actually quite the opposite. I try to tell him that, but he won't listen."

"That's a great way to make someone feel special," he joked.

"Oh believe me, I feel special. Special like a fox!"

When Joseph had finished cooking the omelettes, Clarisse was staring at them in amazement. They didn't look very nice. They were more like scrambled eggs with chunks of food in them.

Joseph noticed that she hadn't yet touched them, "They don't look very good, do they? I'm not too good at cooking."

"Oh, I'm sure they don't taste as bad as they look."

She took a bite out of it put on a straight face. It wasn't as bad as it looked, it was worse, "Very…unusual taste…"

Joseph took a bite out of his and spat it out right away, "I think I may have gone overboard with the salt and pepper."

"I agree!"

"If you'll excuse me, I must go and wash my mouth out."

"Me too."

They hurried off to their separate bathrooms and were quite relieved when they came out.

"I don't think you should try cooking again anytime soon, Joseph," Clarisse laughed as she met up with him in the ballroom.

"It's probably for the best," he replied.

He noticed a music machine (not quite a jukebox, not quite a stereo) in the corner and walked over to it. He stared at it carefully, "Does this thing work?"

"It should," she replied.

He pressed the button and classical music began to play, "Would you care to dance?"

"Uh, I don't know. I'm not sure I should."

He took her hand and led her into the dance.

"I don't know what I'm going to do all week with nobody here," she said, "This is the slowest time of the year."

"Your Majesty, have you ever had any fun?"

"Of course I've had fun. Take last year for example, we took the boys to the Annual Genovian Street Fair and…"

"No, no. I mean real fun, as in practical jokes."

"Of course not, I'm the Queen! Queens don't play practical jokes on people."

"You mean to tell me that the Queen has never ever played a joke on anybody at all?"

"No…well, once I set Rupert's alarm clock forward by two hours while he was sleeping. He ended up getting up at 4:30 instead of 6:30 and wondered why nobody else was awake," she laughed.

"That's good, that's funny. But I've got something better planned. You and I are going to spend the whole week together, laughing, playing jokes on people, just having fun."

"But I have a job to do here. I have to take care of things."

"I remember a few seconds ago that you said it was the slowest time of year. Come on, you said you wanted to live, so live!"

"I'm not so sure if I want to spend all week with someone I've just met. I mean, I don't even know you."

"That's the whole point. We can get to know each other by spending time together. So what do you say?"

"Well, if you insist."