Joseph laughed out loud.

Clarisse moved from her seat to sit directly behind the front seat. "In all the time I've known you, Joseph, how it is that you've never, never mentioned that you are a musician?" Clarisse asked.

"It just never came up. I'm only passable at best and drums are not an instrument conducive to solo performance at the royal palace."

"Please let me come and hear you play, Joseph." Clarisse was leaning on the rear of Joseph's seat, inches from his face.

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, trying to appear stern. "Absolutely not. It is no place for the Queen of Genovia to be seen. Its dark, and smoky and loud and - "

"Joseph, please!" Clarisse reached out and ran the back of her index finger up his neck, flicking the hair at the back of his head. "I'm bored. If you take me with you, you will at least know where I am and what I'm doing." She trailed her fingernail lightly down the nape of his neck.

He shuddered, then grinned wickedly. "If I take you home, you will be stuck in the palace and I will know where you are and what you're doing."

She laughed throatily and whispered, "No, you won't!"

He turned to look at her only to see her roll her eyes piously towards the ceiling in a gesture of mock innocence. He laughed out loud.

"Seriously, Joseph," she shifted back to her normal seat in the limo. "I'm not going to spend the evening traipsing around an empty castle. If you have plans, that's fine. But you'll have to let me out at the nearest taxi stand so I can figure out where I want to go on my own."

He signed loudly. "Clarisse, please. You know you can't do that."

"I see a taxi up ahead. Pull over." She reached for the door handle.

"Alright! Alright, already, woman!"

She smiled triumphantly at him. "So. Where are we going?"

"I don't know. Let me think a minute. If I pull over and stop, do you promise not to jump out of the car?"

"I'll give you ten minutes."

Joseph drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, not at all happy with the situation, but familiar enough with Clarisse's moods to know that she wasn't joking – she'd do something stupid and go off on her own if he gave her the chance.

He also knew that the reigning monarch could not simply accompany her body guard to a local watering hole on a Friday night. She might be ready to toss convention out the window, but he knew there would be hell to pay come daylight.

"Eight minutes," she stated matter-of-factly from the back seat.

He slapped his palm against the steering wheel in disgust. As he did, his eyes focused on the store he'd stopped next to. He had an idea.

He turned in the seat and said to Clarisse, "Check the cabinet under the seat. I think Mia left a bag under there last time I drove her from the airport. She changed from her traveling clothes to a business suit in the back seat. See what clothes she left behind."

Clarisse opened the cabinet and found Mia's duffle bag. She pulled out a pair of black yoga pants, a tank top and a denim jacket. Digging further she found a pair of worn flip flops in the bottom of the bag.

"This is all that's in there," she said, holding the clothes up for Joseph to see.

"That will work!" he said brightly. "I have to get something from this store. I'll lock the doors and you change into those clothes while I'm gone."

Clarisse wasn't thrilled with the idea, but resigned herself to Joseph's plan. If she didn't follow it, he wouldn't hesitate to take her back home. She could talk tough, but she knew she'd never be able to beat him at this particular game. She shrugged and raised the partition between the seats.

A few minutes later, she heard Joseph unlock his door and get in the car. He tapped a knuckle against the partition. "Is everything ok?" he asked.

"The pants are too long, the shirt is too small and I'll never be able to walk in these shoes," she grumbled. "Other than that, I'm perfectly peachy." She reached forward and absently lowered the partition while still working to arrange the tank top to cover as much of her cleavage as possible. She looked up to find Joseph grinning at her.

"You look fine," he told her as she struggled into the denim jacket. She was immensely thankful for it. Jackets always gave her a sense of security and control. Joseph handed her a box. "Put this on."

"I'm afraid to look." She gingerly lifted the lid. "A wig, Joseph?! Is this really necessary?"

"Absolutely."

She took the wig out and eyed it with disdain. It was shoulder length, coal black hair. She reached for the button to raise the partition again. "Drive!" she said as he followed her eyes in the rearview.

Joseph pulled out into traffic and headed towards downtown. He stopped a couple of blocks from the pub – The Blue Winter. He got out and opened her door.

Clarisse tentatively stepped out of the car. She avoided making eye contact, but could feel his gaze sweeping up and down her body.

"Do you want to explain, now, why I'm dressed like this? And why this ridiculous hair?"

Joseph laughed. "I told you. The Queen of Genovia cannot possibly accompany me to The Blue Winter for the evening. However, a friend from out of town can. No one is going to recognize you, dressed like this."

"Fair enough." She looped her arm through his. "Lead on, brave knight."