I recently re-watched Princess Diaries 2 for the first time in years, and this popped into my head. It might turn into multiple chapters, it might just stay as is; either way thank you for reading!
Mia loved her job. She loved her country, she loved her people, and she loved serving that which and those whom she loved. Sometimes, though, it got to be a little bit too much to face. The endless scrutiny and the every fluctuating opinions of her and her rule, sometimes kind, sometimes cutting, wore down on her. Hers was to be a lifetime of politics, and the wheels of change she directed moved with agonizing slowness. The guidance of the people around her and her own ever increasing experience made her a wise ruler, and her heart for her subjects made her a kind one. It was that same heart that made much of her job so difficult for her. Wanting to help, working to help, and having to fight every day to make even the smallest difference made her sometimes feel like this would one day break her. Often it seemed as if there was no right answer and all she could do was watch people suffer; suffer with them.
On the worst days when she felt her most useless and the meaning of the word heartbreak was impressed upon her afresh, Nicholas was there. He knew, he always knew, and he was unafraid to interrupt any meeting with urgent news that could not be detained. He brought her outside, away from people and paperwork and Parliament. He brought her to the trees, or the lake, or the horses, but always away from the eyes of others. And then she would let go. Sometimes into a rage of frustration, a whirlwind of anger against the seeming futility of her struggles. Sometimes she simply wept and he held her, kissing her tears dry once she had spent her sadness.
He knew he did not complete her, nor she him. She stood tall and strong on her own. But on those days, on the days that reminded both of them that leadership is a burden just as it is a blessing, he brought her the freedom to be less than a queen for an hour's time. To be less and more than a ruler; to be simply Mia. And when the storm had passed and her heart was calm, he reminded her once again of what Lily had said all those years before. That she had the power to affect change. That she would affect change, no matter what this day or this week or this year had carried to make her feel otherwise. And then he kissed her nose, and she laughed, and her eyes remembered to shine joy.