DISCLAIMER: Not mine.

I made a mistake in all of the previous chapters; I wrote Mia as Queen of Genovia, when she should still be Princess. Sorry!

ALL CREDIT for the new title goes to The Setting Sun25. It was her idea, and is much better than my ideas.

Special thanks go to Di Pekka and the Setting Sun25 for their help and support- you guys rock!

She looked in the mirror, pleased with the effect. She had applied a little eye shadow, mascara and lip-gloss and tied up her hair, half-up and half-down style. She was wearing a white, short-sleeved and silky top and a floaty blue skirt which came down to her knees, and a pair of gold kitten-heeled sandals.

She didn't want to look too dressed up, as it was not a date, she didn't want to look too formal, as it was not a business dinner and she didn't want to look too casual, as it was not a trip to a bar with friends. She thought she had it just right.

There was a knock on the door and Tina entered. She smiled at Mia, taking in the outfit her friend had decided to wear. "How do I look?" Asked Mia worriedly. "I don't want to look to dressed up, or too much like I'm going on a date, or too much like I'm-"

Tina cut her off. "Mia, you look fine. You have too low a self-image, that's your problem. You are always worrying. Don't. It won't help you." There was a pause, as she looked into her friends eyes seriously. Then her face brightened. "Come into my room for a minute," she said. "I have something for you."

Mia followed her friend into her bedroom. She hadn't seen it before. It was blue and cream, and had little furniture: there was a bed, two big walk-in wardrobes, a chest-of-drawers and a bookshelf. The window was open and the breeze coming in was billowing out the curtains gently.

Tina opened the top drawer of the chest-of-drawers. She drew out a small, velvet box and motioned for Mia to come closer. She showed her the contents.

Inside was a beautiful gold necklace, with a butterfly pendant attached to the end. Mia gasped. "Tina," she said, wonderingly, "It's beautiful!"

Tina blushed. "I got it for your eighteenth birthday- I was going to give it to you then, but you left...and... well...we didn't exactly see each other, or anything. I've kept it for ages and I thought that perhaps you could wear it tonight, for your dinner?"

"Tina!" Mia was amazed. "It's...it's lovely. I'd love to wear it! Thank you so much!" She threw her arms around her friend and hugged her. "I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry I left! I-"

"Mia!" Cried Tina. "It wasn't your fault! No one could have predicted what was going to happen. You have no idea how much I respect you for what you did...leaving us all here and going...over there."

But she doesn't know the half of it thought Mia. No one really knew. Except Lilly. Even her Mum thought she had just gone over there because---well, anyway.

"Tina, are you sure you don't mind me going out and leaving you here tonight?" Asked Mia, worriedly. "You positive?"

"I'm positive, Mia," replied Tina, sighing at the number of times her friend had questioned her that evening. "Look, it's half-past six now. I'd go now, so you can be there first- you are paying after all. You don't want to leave him on his own, waiting for you."

"You're right," said Mia. "I'll go now."

Isabel Brown sat at the table in the Spindrift restaurant that overlooked the sea. She had booked a table outside- on the decking they could watch the sunset whilst they ate. She waited for John Weston to turn up.

"Funny," she thought. "I haven't been on a dinner date that was nothing to do with Genovia since...well, since that night with Michael..."

"Anything else, Sir?" The waiter enquired of Michael.

"No, I'm fine thanks. Mia?" Michael replied.

She shook her head. "I'm fine thanks as well."

"Very well, your meals should be along in about forty-five minutes," said the waiter. "I shall bring your drinks in a few minutes."

"Thank you," they replied.

The waiter left and there was an awkward pause for a minute or two. "I was just-" began Mia, just as Michel started up with, "don't you think-"

They both smiled. "Sorry," said Michael. "You first."

"I was just thinking about...well, about Genovia. Because next year- unless I can persuade Dad to let me go to college or university- I'll be in Genovia."

"What do you mean 'if you can persuade your father to let you go to college or university?" Asked Michael. "I thought he was all for letting you go there?"

"Yes- the University of Genovia to study how to run the country!" Cried Mia, despairingly.

"Tell him you don't want to go there," said Michael. "He might listen."

The waiter came up to give them their drinks. They thanked him. "You were going to say something?" Asked Mia, meaning the time when they had both spoken.

"Yeah...nothing important," said Michael.

"Go on," said Mia. "I'm sure it was."

"I...oh, I've forgotten now!" Michael replied, although Mia got the feeling that he hadn't.

"Umm...Isabel?" The voice of the man who had rescued her broke her out of her reverie. She shook herself mentally and smiled at him.

"Hi, John!" She smiled at him. "You OK?"

"I'm fine, thanks, and you?" He asked.

"Fine," she replied.

"Look, Isabel, I know this is going to seem really rude of me, but do you mind if I just go and make a phone call for a minute? I normally wouldn't, but it's quite important," he asked.

"No, that's fine, I'll wait here for you," she responded.

The rest of the evening was wonderful. They had their meal, and went to a dance. It was nearing midnight when they returned. They would have stayed out for longer, but Michael had classes in the morning.

They made passionate love that night and fell asleep tangled in each other's arms. Everything was perfect. Until the next afternoon. That was when everything went wrong.

Very wrong.

In the Directors office, the phone rang. He looked at the caller list.

Moscovitz.

He worried he had done the right thing in sending Michael out there alone. The case was difficult- he himself had no idea who the killer (or even killers) were, but he knew that they would be very dangerous.

And if they were as dangerous as they had proven themselves to be, then they were clever. Really clever.

And Michael was young in the scheme of things, which meant he was inexperienced. He was the only one really able to pose as a lifeguard (even though he had told him all the other agents were incapacitated, he still would have used him, even if they weren't).

Sighing, he picked up the phone.

"Michael?"

"Yes, sir."

"Where are you?"

"You won't like it."

"Shock me. It can't be worse than last time."

Michael, hiding in the men's bathroom at Spindrift cringed. Last time he had been sent on a special mission he had managed to give the game away as to who he really was too soon, resulting in his capture. The Director himself had had to accompany troops to help to get him out. And he had had the worst "stripping-down" afterwards since the agency had begun. People had joked about it for weeks afterwards, much to his embarrassment.

"I'm in a restaurant having dinner with the Princess."

"You're what?"

"Mia! Mia! Hello, this is planet Earth calling!"

"What..?" Mia blinked twice and looked at her friend. "Sorry...I was kinda far away."

"Yeah...thinking about my brother again were you?"

"Sorry Lilly, I'll try and concentrate!"

"OK, what's wrong with you?" Asked Lily.

"Wha…?"

"You've apologised twice to me in the last five minutes, there's something wrong with you," Lily said.

"She's right, you know, Mia," said Tina, looking worriedly at her friend.

"I'm fine," said Mia.

"Mia?"

She looked away from Tina, tears filling her eyes.

"There is definitely something wrong with you," said Lily, matter-of-factly. "One, you apologised twice in one minute; two, you looked really, really far away and three, you didn't answer when we asked you if Michael was taking you to the ball. My reasoning suggests that there is something wrong with you and my brother, as you looked awful when you came back from staying the night with him."

"Lilly, for God's sake STOP trying to psycho-analyse me all the time!" Mia snapped.

"Whoa, somebody ate too many bitch-flakes this morning!" Lilly raised her eyebrows so that they were near to bouncing off the roof.

"SHUT UP, Lilly!"

"And you have just proven my point. Twice in fact!"

"Lilly, for God's sake, stop being such a smart-arsed-" Mia exploded.

"ALL RIGHT! I get the message!" Lilly yelled back.

They glared at each other for a few seconds, and then Mia picked up her bag and stalked out of Lilly's room, muttering darkly.

"What are you doing there?"

"I...er...well...you see, I was being a lifeguard when I saw someone drowning, so, of course I had to go and rescue them and when I got in the water and pulled the person out, I realised it was Mia...uh, I mean Princess Amelia of Genovia...anyway, she was OK, but after I'd pulled her out and she had calmed down and all the rest of it, she invited me to dinner with her, to thank me for saving her life, and even though I refused the invitation, she cajoled me into coming, which means that I'm here now and also she told me that her name was Isabel Brown and I said that mine was John Weston-"

"For God's sake, Moscovitz, shut up! It was idiotic of you to get into this...er...situation in the first place, but I have a plan to get you out of it," began the Director. "Go back to your table and tell the Princess that the call was about Urgent Family Business and you are very sorry but you're afraid you have to go."

"What do you mean? What shall I say?" Michael asked, confused.

"I don't know!" The Director exploded. "Tell her your sister has appendicitis, that your brother has broken his leg, your parents are getting divorced- hell, tell her your wife's in labour for all I care, but for God's sake do something!"

"Yes, sir."

"Mia!" Yelled Lilly. "Come back!"

Tina and Lilly looked at each other as they heard the slam of the apartment door. A second later, a very surprised looking Wakim was rushing after Tina, who was rushing after Lilly, who was rushing after Lars, who was rushing after Mia, who was rushing home.

Mia jumped into a taxi (so did Lars) and headed home. Lilly grabbed another taxi and headed to Mia's apartment, and Tina and Wakim headed to Tina's house. (She had told Lilly to tell Mia that she had to get home to look after her sisters as her parents were going out for dinner together).

When Lilly arrived at Mia's apartment, Mia was sitting looking at the television with a blank expression on her face, not moving.

"Mia," began Lilly. "I don't know what you think it is that gives you the right to get in a mood with me just because you've fallen out with my brother. I wouldn't-"

Mia held up a hand for her to stop. Lilly listened to the television, which was playing in the background.

"It is not yet known weather the accident was intentional or not, but it is being likened to Princess Diana's fatal car crash in 1997. We go now to our reporter, live at the incident; Matt, what can you tell us?" The female newsreader, who looked to be in her twenties, looked seriously at the man on the video screen in front of her.

"Well, Becky, there's not much extra information I can give you. As you can see behind me, it is a very hilly area, and the roads, especially where they were, are high up with a steep slop downwards. The Dowager Princess and the Prince were driving home after a joint interview when a car came shooting towards them."

"The driver of the royals' car is believed to have swerved into the cliff to avoid hitting the other car and so that they wouldn't fall off the edge. In doing so he created a landslide, where a big boulder was about to hit the car. He swerved left to avoid it, crashing into the other car and sending both tumbling down the hill," informed 'Matt', the Genovian correspondent.

The picture switched back to 'Becky' in the studio. "And just to recap on this breaking news story, for those that have just joined us, the Dowager Princess Clarisse Renaldo and her son, Prince Philippe are both now known to be killed in a fatal road accident in North Genovia. We will now return to the---"

Mia turned the television off, stared at the blank screen for a second or two, then bolted out of the room, a hand over her mouth.

She reached the bathroom just in time.

END OF PART ONE. Part Two coming...as soon as possible.

Kudos for the Setting Sun25 for coming up with the title.

If you want to find out why MandM split up, go back and read the end of chapter two (the bit in italics)...but it's really, really rubbish.

Please Review!