A/N: Thanks to my loyal readers and reviewers!
The Princess Diaries doesn't belong to me!
There was a day or two between lessons, due to unexpected commitments (Mia had an extra shift at the rock climbing centre and Clarisse had unavoidable meetings and an evening function she couldn't get out of) but the day apart gave them time to consider their options- and the other's perspective.
Clarisse knew she had been too hard on Amelia the first time they met (obviously expecting her to assume the title without considering the teenagers feelings) and things hadn't improved the following day with the first 'lesson', but she was determined to make amends the next time they met.
Also, deep in her heart (although she would never admit it to anyone, except maybe Joseph), she was coming to the conclusion that knowing her granddaughter and being part of her life possibly meant more to her than preparing her for a life as Queen. There WERE times when Genovia and it's responsibilities had to come first, but Amelia was her only grandchild, Phillipe's only child, and she had a duty to her family just as much as she had a duty to her country- the only problem was finding a balance between the two.
Mia, meanwhile, had a chance to calm down and, when she did, she began thinking about Clarisse, her father and the title she was supposed to want. She had never dreamed of being a Princess (or even wanting to be one) but now that the title was being offered as her future, she didn't know how to think or feel, although, very deep down in her heart, she knew that she not only had a duty to listen to her grandmother and learn some life lessons she knew she needed to learn, but... she also wanted to know her grandmother- and, by extension, her father- much better.
The moment they say each other again, there was a somewhat awkward silence but before Clarisse could greet her, Mia suddenly asked: "What do I call you?"
"Excuse me?" Clarisse was momentarily taken aback.
"I mean, I can hardly call you Your Majesty or Clarisse... I can barely remember what I called my mother's mother... but what would you prefer?"
"Well, I..." Clarisse stalled, hesitating- she had dreamed of this happening but hadn't thought it would, considering the rocky start they had had, but now, this was an opening and she wanted to take it. "You could call me... Grandma...if you wish."
"Grandma," Amelia's face contorted into a thoughtful frown as she tried out and considered the name, before her expression lightened. "I like it... Hello, Grandma."
"Good afternoon, Amelia," Clarisse responded just as formally before she spied a wistful expression on Amelia's face and she realized that she had to make a concession of her own. "What would you like me to call you?"
"Mia," the teenager said after a moment, looking shy. "My mother calls me that... as did Dad, whenever he wrote to me."
"Indeed he did," Clarisse agreed, remembering the times he had mentioned 'Mia' before she regarded Amelia again.
"Alright, I will call you Mia, although there may be times when I call you Amelia- I always thought that was a pretty name."
"Thank you... and I understand...just as long as you call me Mia sometimes."
"I will do that, Mia- definitely."
"So," Mia said after a moment. "What's happening this afternoon?"
000
Much later in the evening, Mia long gone, dinner over and after another hour's work in her study, Clarisse finally retired for the evening but quickly found that she couldn't settle...and she knew why, she hadn't stopped thinking about it since it happened...as she stood by her bedroom windown and gazed out at the sparkling lights of San Francisco...
The afternoon session with Mia had been much easier- and with much less tension- than previous days, and Amelia...Mia...seemed more interested in listening and learning- even even asked a few pertinent questions about Genovia, and she didn't even blink when Clarisse tactfully approached the subject of her 'makeover'.
"Are you sure you're alright about the makeover?" Clarisse had to make sure.
"Yes... it's about time a few things about me changed," Mia said wryly, waving at her hair and face. "I should have taken more pride in my appearance before now, but... I just couldn't be bothered."
"Even though there will be a few changes, I want you know that I don't want your personality to change- I still want to you to be you."
But none of that- not even Mia's mishap with Joseph while learning to dance to the 'Wango'' (Mia's words, Clarisse winced at the memory)- had made Clarisse so agitated but, rather, the moment that had occurred afterwards, when Mia had gone, insisting that Joseph have the night off from driving her home...when Joseph had led her out onto the dance floor with the words:
"You've been wearing black too long..."
They had danced together many times over the years, usually at parties and the occasion private dance, but this time had been so very different- there was something in the atmosphere between them that made her nervous yet excited and then... she had been painfully aware of other things- the way his hand rested on the small of her back, the way he skillfully guided her through the moves they knew off by heart, the way his eyes never left hers, as her cheeks burned a deep red but she found that she hadn't been able to look away either...
The dance made her tremble all over again as Clarisse attempted to settle into bed again after standing by the window a moment longer- all she knew was that she would never forget that dance, or the feelings that she had never dreamed she would experience that had been evoked...
Joseph, meanwhile, was having the same trouble sleeping downstairs, and for exactly the same reason...he too had sensed that there was something different between him and Clarisse as they had danced that afternoon, the first time since Rupert's death, but that hadn't been the reason for the change between them... he had always dreamed of being closer to her than anyone else, and it was gradually happening, but today... they had connected in a way that had never happened before and he had realized that he not only loved her more than anything in the world but, as her blue eyes held his, compelling yet innocent, he knew that, eventually, he wanted something more with her... a life with her...marriage...
0000000
Mia stared disbelievingly at herself in the mirror, unable to make the connection between the frizzy haired, awkward looking teenager who had looked expressionlessly in the mirror this morning, to the glamazon (or it seemed like it) that was looking back at her this evening- it was such a momentous change, despite her grandmother's ressurances...even her mother's jaw (and Mr O'Connell, whose presence Mia didn't register until later) had dropped when she had walked in and Helen was her mother!
Mia had been mildly apprehensive when her grandmother had introduced her to Paolo (and looking much better in an outfit that wasn't black, although she understood that Clarisse was still in mourning) and then had to leave to call the press secretary in Genovia but, thankfully, she had instructed Charlotte to stay in her stead and Mia was glad of that- Paolo was more than a little exhuberant for her tastes.
But when she looked at herself in the mirror for the first time, after Clarisse's genuine approval...she knew that her life had changed and it would never be the same again...she only hoped that her friends- Lily and Michael especially- wouldn't dislike the difference...
0
"You look awfully serious," Clarisse said lightly the following morning when Joseph, who had just dropped Mia off at school, had come back to the consulate to collect her for yet another meeting in the city. Is something wrong? How did Amelia's new look go with her friends?" she gave him a steady gaze but Joseph looked away as she stepped into the car. He still didn't say anything until he had slid behind the wheel and the cut had taken off.
"Joseph?" she had taken down the partition between the front and back seat.
"Mmmm?"
"You didn't answer my questions- is something wrong? How did Amelia's look go with her friends?"
"Things were somewhat... awkward between Miss Mia and Miss Lily."
Clarisse looked slightly surprised at the familiar nickname (not that she minded- she was glad Mia trusted Joseph, he was just the type of man she wanted Mia to trust) but she was more concerned about her granddaughter's contemporaries reactions.
"Oh?"
"Well..." Joseph hesitated for a moment before he recalled everything he had witnessed, most especially Mia's tears.
"Oh no... the poor girl," Clarisse murmured sympathetically- she should have foreseen this, and Mia hadn't even publicly accepted the title. "Is she alright?"
"I think so- when I drove past them, I think she was giving it right back to Lily...I suspect she will have let her best friend in on the secret... I know you want to keep this discreet," he added as he spied her opening her mouth to say something. "But Miss Mia deserves the chance to tell someone she trusts- and I'm certain that Miss Lily will keep the secret."
"I wasn't going to protest about Mia telling Lily about this- Mia doesn't want anyone to know just as much as me- but I was going to agree... I just hope that her friend will be much more supportive than she was this morning, according to you."
"I'm certain she will be... and I'm more than certain that no one else will know about Miss Mia until you're ready to tell the world..." he said reassuringly and she sat back in her seat with a thoughtful look, hoping that he was right.
0
Unfortunately, Clarisse's carefully laid plans for Mia exploded long before she expected- two days later, when she switched on the television and saw that the media had besieged the school where Mia attended- and the reporter, standing in front of the school itself, a group of teenagers trying to get access to the cameras, standing behind them, waving and jumping up and down in the air, was excitedly stating to the cameras that:
"This is an exclusive! According to our source, the next heir to the throne of Genovia, a small country in Europe, attends this school... and her name is Mia Thermopolis! The school has had no comment on this, but witnesses have told us that the teenager has been seen arriving and leaving in a black limousine with the Genovian flags on the hood... And now we're going to find out more about this mysterious young Princess..." before she turned to a group of teenage girls who were grinning and preening at the cameras.
"So... how well do you know Mia Thermopolis!"
"Charlotte! Do you know what 's going on?" Clarisse switched off the television and turned to the younger woman in horror and a growing sense of anger- she had definitely not wanted this to happen today- obviously someone had betrayed them to the press! Charlotte hesitated for a moment, bewildered at what she had seen on the television, but she couldn't even imagine how the Queen... or even the Princess... was feeling.
"I have no idea, ma'am, the papers haven't arrived here yet, but Joseph has informed me that both the school and Helen Thermopolis have called and both insist that you should go to the school."
"Where is Amelia?" That was her primary concern- hopefully, they were keeping her away from the rest of the school, just until she had sorted everything out.
"According to the vice principal, she is safe in her office."
"Right... well, we had better get down there," Clarisse stood up with a defiant air and smoothed down her peach jacket. "Where is Joseph?" She wasn't going anywhere without him, not that he would have allowed her to.
"Right here, ma'am," Joseph said politely, stepping into the room behind Charlotte. "The car is waiting downstairs."
He could see that the Queen was furious and he didn't blame her- someone had obviously sold the story to the press and now the safety of the young teenager had been compromised, along with Clarisse's plan to keep things low key until Mia had made her decision, before the Independence Day Ball.
"Good...we need to get to Grove High School as soon as possible... do you know who did this?"
"I have someone on the trail... but I can guarantee that it wasn't Miss Lily."
"I hope not," Clarisse said tightly as she walked out of the study and walked determinedly down the stairs, Joseph and Charlotte on her heels. "Whoever it is, I'm going to make sure that I'm severely displeased with them...Who else could it be?"
"I don't know ma'am, but I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of this before too long..." and he knew that he was going to make sure that that! No one was going to betray his boss and her granddaughter without him knowing about it!
They were both hoping, as they silently drove towards the school, that Mia wasn't completely panicked and had made a decision that could change things for the worse...that she didn't want to be Genovia's princess...
