Disclaimer: None of these characters belongs to me.

Author's Note: This is a part of a chaptered story idea I have in the making, so some parts might not make sense for which I apologized.

Set after Clarisse turns Joseph down.

Joseph was walking through the palace gardens, heartbroken. His one true love had turned him down. He felt foolish that he actually thought that Queen Clarisse Renaldi of Genovia would want to marry him, a peasant. He had been in love with this woman, no, the Queen (as she wanted him to think of her first and foremost) ever since he came to work for her over forty years ago.

He reflected on the time when she told him that she loved him, but now he believed that she lied to him all those years ago. She never said it again, even after King Rupert died, but he thought he was getting somewhere with her – the dances, the looks, and accidental touches, the smile that she reserved only for him. Such sweet gestures apparently did not mean anything for her, since she was able to turn him down so easily.

He sat on the bench where he and Clarisse had many conversations. "Damn," he mumbled.

"Joseph?" came a voice. Joseph looked up and saw Charlotte coming towards him. After seeing the Queen, Charlotte decided she needed to talk to him and left through the side exit of the palace into the gardens.

"Hello, Charlotte." Joseph tried to smile, but could not manage it.

"Joseph, I heard what happened. How could you do that to her?"

"How could she do this to me?"

"She just needs time. She has had feelings for you forever. Don't do this to her."

"Why are you taking the Queen's side?"

"I just saw her. She snapped at me and apologized immediately. You finally helped her pass her breaking point because when I left, she was almost in tears. I think you are rushing her when the only times she is truly happy are when she is with the princess or you."

"I know, but I have been waiting for over forty years and I can't wait any longer. I'm always going to be second after the country. Also, maybe she loved King Rupert too much to fall I love again."

Charlotte could not believe how stubborn he was. "You know her marriage was arranged. She never felt more for him than a friend. I heard the older maids say that they used to fight all of the time before they lost their third child in infancy. I am pretty certain that she fell in love with you before I was born."

"How do you figure?"

"She saved your job after my birth. One maid told me when I was eighteen that you had an illegitimate child, which was forbidden because the King wanted the staff to have morals. The Queen must know that I am the same child and yet she still loved you after you had an affair. Did she even need to forgive you or did she understand? Don't give that kind of love up now."

"I made my decision, Charlotte. I have decided to retire after Princess Mia's coronation."

"Now you can't do that to the Princess. You love her like she was your own granddaughter. Besides, how will you be able to retire? You never go on vacations because you're always too worried about the Queen's and Princess' safety to be able to relax. I remember how you reacted when they went sightseeing around San Francisco five years ago."

"I believe that Shades is perfectly capable of seeing to the security," Joseph lied through clenched teeth. Charlotte was correct; he would worry about the monarchy's safety.

"Where will you go?"

"I don't know, but I do know that I can't stay here."

"You know when you leave the palace, you're going to leave me."

"Charlotte, please don't go there. Stop trying to make me feel guilty."

"Maybe if you talked to the Queen, you would see her side."

"Charlotte, she has given me the same crap for years! She told me she loved me once many years ago, but she has never repeated it. She told me after I had taken a bullet for her; probably just tried to make me feel better while I was injured."

"I can't agree with that. Joseph, she's scared. She has never had the ability to follow her heart because of her upbringing. And that bullet you took for her was before Philippe was born."

"Charlotte, I know all about her past from our many conversations."

Charlotte was running out of ideas to make him come to his senses. "Joseph, did you ask her right then or was this a continuous thing?"

"I first asked her after the Princess and Lord Nicholas were found in the closet. Tonight I asked for her response."

"You know that if she didn't care, she would have turned you down when you first asked, not have taken time to think about it. I have been accidentally walking in on your private moments for years and I don't believe that the queen could be as cruel as to string you along without planning to commit to you. From what I heard tonight, even though I truly didn't mean to hear the conversation, she meant desperately that she would be with you after…"

"After? After what? In a little over a week, she will no longer be Queen. Why couldn't she say yes, but to keep our relationship secret for a month or so?"

"Joseph, I can't talk to you. If you want to throw your life away because of some stupid argument and your stubborn pride, that's your choice. Think about that for a while." Charlotte then walked away. Her cheeks were flushed. She had never been so upset at anyone in her life, but she knew that those things needed to be said. She would apologize to Joseph tomorrow after giving him a night to think. She felt sorry for both him and the Queen, but knew at this point Joseph had more control. Maybe after the Princess was married and crowned Queen, things would work out for Queen Clarisse and Joseph. In the meantime, she would have to hope for the best.