yaaaaaaaaaaay! peeps are still reading this!! you all have great patience! A big thanks to all who have reviewed this, you guys actually rock! please continue to R&R...they make my day! :)

here's just a little short pointless part, I promise I have big plans for this story, lots of twists an turns coming up ;)

as ever, I DO NOT own The Princess Diaries, no copyright intended and all rights reserved etc etc.

Chapter 7

"Is it me, or do the stars suddenly look brighter?"

Joseph smiled at his wife's words as he looked up to observe her standing on the balcony of the Genovian consulate in London, staring out into the night. "Well, they are indeed very bright, but I still think your eyes are brighter."

Clarisse laughed and gently nudged him as he moved up beside her and placed his hands on her waist. "Well thank you for the sentiment darling but I'm being serious! I feel like, oh I dont know I just feel...lighter."

"Weight of the world has lifted now that you and Anna are back on speaking terms."

"And you could be right! Oh Joseph it was so lovely to see her again! The last time I saw her she was drained and pale and on a downward spiral in emotional heartache and now.....she looked really good didnt she?"

"She looked wonderful, every inch herself, still the same fun, carefree and spirited girl she always was."

"And Max seems like a wonderful man doesnt he?"

"Hmm, for all Anna loves him and Nicholas considers him a good friend I would still like to run a background check on him."

Clarisse couldnt help a slight laugh at his words as she turned in his arms to face him. "Perhaps you need to loosen up a little bit."

"I never loosen up when it comes to the safety of people I love." Joseph replied instantly on reflex as his wife gazed at him unwaveringly.

"Joseph, you have always been there for me and my family through everything, you dont have to go so far to protect us, we feel safe enough just having you stood beside us....thats all we need."

"I know, just let me do this, if only to make me feel a little better."

"Alright. You know, Anna mentioned something tonight that, kind of makes me feel a little better, a little less guilty in a way."

"What was it?"

"She said that Rupert, and Phillipe knew about us."

"There was no 'us' when they were alive."

"Not in any real sense no but, there were feelings, we did have feelings for each other we just didnt act upon them."

"So they both knew?"

"Yes they did, and I think, knowing Rupert as I did, were he to have any objections, he would have been all too quick to voice them."

Joseph laughed slightly and tightened his grip around her. "Rupert would have kicked my arse all over the grounds....or at least tried to."

"Now that fight I would actually have liked to see!" She added on a seductive whisper as she leant into him.

"Oh yes?"

"Mhhm. I suspect you would have won...if not the actual fight you definately won my heart."

"Thank god for that." He whispered back as he was finally rewarded with her kiss, sealing the perfect end to a simply perfect day.

"So, first impressions of your cousin?"

"Oh! Well, she seems...nice...ya know...fun."

Nicholas sat up in his chair as he watched Mia pace slighty, a nervous action that she did often when her mind was full of thoughts.

"Whats wrong?"

"Nothing! No its nothing"

"Mia."

"Alright fine! Yes she seems like really nice girl and she was perfectly pleasent to me its just....its like she was the original, and I'm the replacement! She and Joe are so close, Charlotte was like a different person around her and well, Anna knows things, she knows things about Dad and my Grandpa, things I never knew about people I never knew and that, irrationally, makes me feel a little...jealous."

"You're jealous...of your cousin! Well yeah sure she's gorgeous, talented has a great family, ya know everything you dont have!" He laughed sarcastically as Mia glared at him, until he continued his sentence. "Mia, you have nothing to be jealous about, you and Anna have everything in common and you know, if you ask her, she'll be willing to sit and talk to you for hours about Phillipe and Rupert!"

"You think?"

"Oh I know she would!"

Mia smiled and flopped into a chair by the window, the night stars drawing her attention too. "You and Anna seem quite close."

"Well yeah! I mean, she and I didnt really know each other that well until we dated for a month and then she dumped me for my best friend! For a while we did the whole 'I hate you for being a jerk' thing but then things got serious for her and Max so we made more effort and who knew....now we're great friends."

"Yeah I can tell, very...playful...tickle fight that was earlier."

"Oh Anna is hilariously ticklish! A vast majority of the funniest memories I have at uni were sparked by tickle fights with Anna!"

"Yeah thats lovely Nicholas just.....great." She added, unable to hide the distaste in her voice.

Nicholas sighed and moved towards her. "You know, I may be good friends with Anna, but thats all it is....my heart lies with you, you know that....I gave up a country for you!"

"Yeah right! Like I would have let you have it in a million years!" She laughed, eased by his tone and playful manner.

"So, your majesty, are you going to relax and enjoy your family instead of over analyzing everything or......are we gunna have to fight this out in a tickle contest?"

"Well, as much as I wanna say yeah to that first bit....I kinda want the tickle contest."