Josef looked up when the terrace doors were opened and for a moment could do nothing but stare open mouthed at the the vision displayed in front of him.

Her Majesty Queen Clarisse Renaldi had just stepped out onto the terrace, clad in nothing but a blue bikini with her eyes hidden behind large sunglasses, her hair gleaming in the bright morning sunlight.

Josef quickly averted his gaze and stood up straighter as the queen settled herself in one of the chairs and reached for the cocktail glass her maid had placed there seconds before, Josef knew it would contain something light and fruity mixed with champagne, being on holiday Her Majesty obviously had no objections against alcohol at ten am.

They had arrived at the Chateau in South France two days ago and so far Josef couldn´t confirm the rumors he had heard back at the palace- the most persistent being that it was due to the queen´s habit to start a fling with one of her staff members at every vacation that the security team so frequently had to employ new men.

Josef smiled at the thought, he didn´t know the queen well of course but he couldn´t imagine her being anything but cool and distant, arrogant even, even though it was hard to believe at first, she looked so sweet with her angelic face and large blue eyes and golden hair.

Most likely all those talk was started by some unfortunate guy who had tried to come on to the queen while being alone with her and had been fired afterwards.

Josef had been surprised when he had been told that he would be going to France this year, he had joined the palace security only recently and couldn´t imagine why none of the others would make it their concern to be with the queen.

"Josef!"

Clarisse Renaldi´s melodic voice rang out to him and Josef made his way over to the terrace, grateful for his dark sunglasses that would prevent her from noticing the way he was looking at her barely clad body.

"Yes, your Majesty?"

She readjusted her sunglasses so that he was now looking into her intense blue eyes and gave him a dazzling smile that made Josef feel even hotter in his black trousers and shirt.

"Oh, it´s nothing special, I just thought we could talk a little- there is nothing pressing you have to do, is there?"

"No, Your Majesty."

Josef replied, a little more guarded now, other than most people who first were confronted with the queen he wasn´t fooled by her friendliness, he might not believe everything that was being said about her but he was certain that she was anything but the sweet innocent girl she seemed to be.

Clarisse Renaldi had recently turned twenty seven, had been married for ten years and as far as Josef was informed she was neither a loving wife nor a devoted mother, the royal couple was leading a functional yet loveless marriage and the nine and seven year old princes were already attending a boarding school in England.

The only thing Clarisse Renaldi liked to devote her time and interest to was being the best queen for Genovia she could be and she was succeeding, the people loved her and her husband was grateful for the support he got from her and otherwise was as uninterested in his wife as she was in him.

"Do you want a drink?"

She asked now, motioning for Josef to sit down on a chair next to her´s but Josef shook his head.

"I´m not on holiday, Your Majesty, I´m on duty."

"Of course you are- how silly of me- anything else then, a coffee perhaps- Giselle?"

The maid instantly appeared next to them, she must have been waiting inside the door.

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"Bring some coffee and some cold juice and water, will you?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The girl disappeared, leaving Josef alone with the queen.

"So, Josef- do you like it here?"

"It´s a beautiful place, Your Majesty."

Josef replied politely, trying to relax into his chair- for some reason he felt uncomfortable, she was friendly, a little too friendly for his taste and it made him suspicious.

"Yes, it is- you don´t mind being here, do you."

"No- should I?"

She laughed, a pearly, unconcerned sound, she was putting on a show and Josef now was sure that this conversation had a purpose he couldn´t understand yet.

"I hope not- it´s just that most people aren´t very keen on accompanying me here- especially the members of the security team."

"Is that so" Josef said vaguely before he thanked Giselle who had reappeared and was handing him a glass of orange juice.

The queen waited until the maid had gone back inside, then she turned to Josef again.

"Please don´t try to tell me you havn´t heard any of those- rumors."

Now she had actually managed to catch him off guard, Josef couldn´t imagine what she was playing at and it made him insecure, a feeling he didn´t appreciate at all.

She was looking at him expectantly and Josef knew that she had confused him on purpose and that he had no choice but to play along in her little game until he found out what she was trying to achieve.

"There are always rumors- which rumors do you mean exactly?"

Her smile didn´t falter but it changed from innocent to triumphant in a heartbeat, making Josef feel sure that she had him exactly where she wanted him, though he still had no idea where that was- this was going to be much more challenging than he had thought and not in a good sort of way.

"Oh, you know- that I am sort of a man eating vamp."

She laughed airily but her expression was still calculating and Josef felt as though standing on particularly thin ice.

"LIke you said, Your Majesty- rumors are just rumors."

"So you don´t believe it?"

She asked, shifting slightly in her chair so that her slender body was stretched out even more provocatively in the chair and suddenly Josef realized what she was doing- she was playing the exactly same game with him she obviously had played on every vacation with one unfortunate man who had suffered the consequences first thing upon arriving back at Genovia.

Usually at his point he was to tell her that of course he believed that she could have every man she wanted and then she would continue to spin her nets until he gave in to her charms- but this time she had chosen the wrong man, Josef was determined to make sure of that.

He slid his own sunglasses off and looked firmly into her eyes as he answered "No, I don´t believe them."

She paled visibly, her smile becoming the mask Josef had seen before when she had to address parliament or guests at a formal dinner, it was plastered and unreal and Josef had to fight to keep his own face impressive when he in fact wanted to laugh out loud.

How predictable she was- a bored high class girl who didn´t care about what happened to people around her as long as she got the distractions she wanted- it almost made him smile.

For a moment she seemed speechless, then she pushed her sunglasses back onto her nose, shielding her eyes from his.

"You don´t-"

"No- Your Majesty, I have to check on the gates, I havn´t gotten around to do it today yet- please excuse me."

"Of course."

She still sounded shocked but Josef ignored her obvious distraction and got up from his chair, then walked inside the house without looking back.