Disclaimer: Princess Diaries does not belong to me. And I'm not making money off of it.

Joe made his way back to the entryway of the ballroom to wait for Clarisse to return and make their entrance to the reception. Mia was already dressed and waiting when he got there.

"You called ahead?" Joe asked Mia

"Maybe." Mia said sheepishly.

"Mia?" Joe stared her down.

"OK, yes I called ahead. Maybe I wanted you two to have a romantic night. Maybe I wanted you to be happy and in love. You both have been stuck in the shadows for so long, you two of all people deserve this more than anyone else."

"OK, I get the point. It was very thoughtful, thank you. So how does it feel not being married?"

"Pretty sweet. Not only am I not married, I changed a really old, almost archaic law that would have prevented me from becoming queen. I stood up to those stubborn old men and told them I wouldn't do it. I still can't wrap my mind around what happened."

"Just proves Lilly is right, you have the power to make change, and make people listen. If you can conquer this, you should be able to handle being queen quite splendidly." Joe smiled.

"Thanks Grandpa."

"Grandpa?" Joe was perplexed

"Yes, you married my grandmother, that makes you my grandfather. And I know you are gonna be an awesome grandfather." Mia pulled Joe into a hug.

Looking over Joe's shoulder, Mia heard the familiar click of heels on the marble floor and saw her grandmother come around the corner and stop. Mia pulled out of the hug. "I think, I'll leave you two alone, and go do…something else." She said, smiled, then hastened out of the room.

Joseph looked over his shoulder, seeing his wife standing there. He turned fully to face her, his jaw almost going slack and his eyes glazed over. There in the room stood an angel, his love, his wife. "So beautiful." he whispered. He remembered the dress from the previous time she had worn it. It had beautiful Genovian lace and crystals covering the bodice with a high neckline and cap lace sleeves that covered her shoulders. The A-line dress brushed the floor as she moved towards Joseph. He immediately took her in his arms and kissing her with passion that has been brewing in him all day.

She responded in kind, her hands running over his neck and shoulders. They eventually broke apart for air, their foreheads resting against each other. "How I wish I could whisk you away right now." Joseph said, dropping a kiss to her shoulder.

"How I wish you could too. But unfortunately we have a dinner to sit through, a cake to cut, and many people to dance with. The second we can excuse ourselves, I guarantee we will."

"Good, but before we go in, I have one thing to do." He fished the ring box out of his pocket and got down on one knee. "And don't worry about my knees, they are fine. I didn't do this the first time and I regret it. But now, I want to do this the right way and ask you properly." Clarisse knew what he was going to do, she just didn't expect him to have a ring. He took the ring from the box and took her hand in his. "Darling, I know we have already done the marriage bit, but I wanted to ask you anyway. Clarisse, my love…will you marry me?"

"Oh Joseph, yes, of course." This time she did not hesitate to accept his proposal. She watched as he slid the ring on her finger and stood up. She looked at the ring, admiring the beauty.

"If you don't like it, I can always change the stone, make it bigger…or add something to it—" Clarisse interrupted him.

"It's perfect as it is. It's beautiful and I love it. And it fits perfectly. Although the one from the church seems a tad bit tight, we may have to get it resized." She proceeded to take the rings off her finger to inspect the band that they had been given at the church.

"If I remember correctly…" Joseph took the gold band and looked in the inside of the ring. "Yes, there it is. Just as I thought, this ring is in Mia's size. That's why it's snug." He held the ring for her to look at the inside, where she saw "Amelia & Andrew" engraved. "I guess one good thing about having the wrong ring is, I get to take you ring shopping." He gently took her face in his hands and kissed her again.

Joseph hoped he could make it through the reception without ravaging her against the nearest wall. And Clarisse hoped she could make it through the reception without giving in and letting him ravage her against the nearest wall.

"When are we supposed to make our entrance?" Joseph asked

"I believe after Mia, but I don't think she has gone in yet."

"Ok, so what is all going to be involved for us to do?"

"I believe we will make our entrance, we will mingle a bit. Then I believe dinner will be served. Then I assume a speech or two will be made, they always are, and cake. Then I assume dancing will take place. And if all goes to plan, we will be leaving the reception for the privacy of the suite soon after that."

"I can't wait, sounds like heaven already. I must admit I am a bit scared. What if I screw something up? What if I don't follow the protocol properly? I'm not just your guard anymore, I'm your husband." Clarisse pulled her husband into a hug.

"Please don't worry about that. It doesn't matter what all those stodgy old men and cranky women think of you. You are my husband, we are equals now. And I know what your thinking. It doesn't matter that I married into royalty. My blood is common, like yours, and those people have no right to belittle you in any way. There will be some people who will be opposed to us getting married, and some things that may be said could be hurtful. But know that I am here for you. And you will be standing beside me from now on."

"Ahem." Mia cleared there throat. "Is it safe to come back in now?" Mia asked. Clarisse sighed and chuckled. Charlotte and Shades followed behind.

"Yes Mia, you can come in." she said.

"Are we ready to go in? I believe everyone is waiting." Mia smiles. Clarisse looked at Joe.

"Yes," he said. "I believe we are." He smiled at his wife.

Mia took her position in front of the doors. She nodded to announcer. And with a couple thumps of the staff, and the door opening, Mia made her way into the ballroom.

The crowd bowed to the princess as she came into the ballroom. The champagne was already flowing and Mia immediately grabbed a glass from a nearby waiter. After speaking with Sebastian for a few moments, she positioned herself near the doors of the ball room. She indicated to the announcer, and the staff thumped.

"Greetings good friends." Mia started. "I am delighted that you all could join us here this evening. Even though the events of today did not go as planned, they are still the reason we celebrate tonight. Tonight we not only gather to celebrate a marriage, but we gather to celebrate love. Tonight we celebrate Joseph and Clarisse."

Mia turned to face the doors, as the staff thumped and the announcement was made. "Presenting, Her Majesty, Queen Clarisse Renaldi Elizondo, and her husband, Joesph Elizondo, Prince Consort." The doors opened, and her grandparents made their way into the ballroom.

~Please RR. Sorry it took me so long to post. In the process of putting the story into the computer, I've been switching some scenes around and rewriting some others. And also my handwriting is crap so my own writing is kind of a pain in the back side. Let me know what Y'all think. Thanks. -S~