A.N.: Only now I've realized I'm making this story too long. I've spent three chapters talking about the same day! Do you guys want me to speed it up a little bit? If you have any suggestions, don't hesitate to tell me.

Thanks to my lovely reviewers:

VictoriaGrant - Now you'll see why Heather can't be banned from the castle. And no, no stones for you, darling. The doctor said we should keep you away from those.

bluegirl-783 - I'm working on your suggestion, thank you so much!

Captain Weirdo - Kiss him would be very un-queenly, don't you think? But I'll keep this for future references.

JUJUChick16- I would knock her out, too. In fact, I think everyone here would!

Clarisse Renaldi - Give me a few creative ways to kill Heather and I'll think about it. Thank you, although I don't think I deserve such compliments.

50 points to the first one of you girls who can tell me where the age and the Uncle Sam quotes are from :D

Chapter 9 – Tears dry on their own

Clarisse made her way to the kitchens, hours after her talk with Joseph in the library, from which she was still recovering. Heather would probably be back by now, and she didn't want to see her again. Ever again. But she knew that it was impossible. "Of course I love her", Joseph's words rang on her mind. He didn't love Clarisse. He loved Heather. He was in love with the woman he was getting married with. Why was she surprised? Wasn't it how it's supposed to be? Then, why did it feel so… wrong?

Entering the kitchens, she was surprised to not find it empty, as she thought she would, since the cooking staff had taken the day off. Instead, Mia, Charlotte and Heather sat on a table, drinking tea and chatting like three long time friends. Clarisse was surprised, jealous even; not long ago Mia had said she didn't want to get to know Heather. She only hoped she could slip away unnoticeable. Talking with Heather was the last thing her mind (and ears) needed now. As she turned around to leave, she heard Mia's voice:

"So tell me, Heather, how old are you?"

Clarisse stopped. It occurred to her that she didn't have the faintest how old Heather was. She knew Heather must be way younger than herself; maybe one of the reasons Joseph chose her. "Stop it! It isn't a matter of choice; he can't choose who he'll fall in love with", said a little voice inside her head.

"You see, darling, when you're 20, I'll be 40. When you're 30, I'll be 40. And when you're 40, you'll understand why I'm still 40.", said Heather with a smile.

Mia laughed, Charlotte coughed on her tea and Clarisse had to suppress a very un-queenly snort; the three of them knew Heather was lying, and she seemed to know that they knew, but she didn't care. Clarisse knew she was young, but not that young. Maybe 10 years younger than her.

"How did you start working at the Museum? You're not Genovian, are you? They don't usually accept foreigners there." Asked Charlotte.

"I'm American, actually. Well, darling, let's just say I can be very convincing when I want" Heather said, and Clarisse could see a mischievous smile on her face. Both women who sat with Heather grasped the meaning of the smile, but did not comment it.

As Heather and Charlotte engaged on a conversation about the palace staff, Mia, who had noticed her grandmother standing stunned in the doorway, excused herself from the table and made her way toward Clarisse. They both left the kitchen without saying a word for a few minutes, and when they're out of Heather's earshot, Mia spoke:

"How are you, Grandma?" Joseph had asked her this same question not so long ago and she remembered how painful it was to answer him. Why didn't it hurt to lie to Mia?

"Fine. What were you doing?"

"Heather came back, couldn't find Joseph, so she went looking for us. I've been trying to embarrass her since she walked into that kitchen, but, damn it, she's good." Mia muttered, frustrated.

Clarisse suddenly felt very proud of her granddaughter.

"Where's Joseph?" she asked.

"Hiding. He finally realized her voice is the most unbearable thing in the world and decided to call off the wedding. She wants to kill him." Said Mia

"Very funny, Mia, but I must ask you not to joke with this in the future" answered Clarisse.

"I'm sorry Grandma. I just wanted to…" but she was cut off by Joseph, who opened the door to the room they were in.

"Is she here?" asked him hurriedly, out of breath. It was visible he had been running.

"Who is she? And what happened, Joseph?" asked Clarisse.

"Heather, of course!" he snapped, and then seemed to calm down seeing Clarisse's frown. "I'm sorry, Clarisse." He apologized, entering the room and closing the door behind him.

"Is there something the matter?" Clarisse asked again.

"I need to give those papers to Heather" he said, motioning to the envelope in his hands.

"What are those?" asked Mia, curious.

"I'm going to ask her to sign a prenuptial agreement." Joseph answered.

"Why don't you just walk through downtown Iraq dressed like Uncle Sam? It'll be quicker." said the teenager.

"Amelia!" Clarisse's eyes widened in shock "I apologize, Joseph, she didn't mean to imply…" she started, but Joseph gently held up a hand to silence her.

"It's alright, Clarisse" he said, then chuckled. "I guess I'm afraid of her, too"

He looked into her eyes, and she allowed herself to be lost in his gaze, knowing it was wrong, that once she let it happen, she would probably never be able to live without those eyes again. She had been in hold of her emotions for so long; she just couldn't set them free. Not now, not ever.

Mia noticed the tension in the room and quietly slipped away; neither Joseph nor Clarisse seemed to notice it.

"I feel bad I've never asked you if you set a date already."

"Yes, we did. It was quite difficult to come to a conclusion. Heather wanted June, 1st. But I couldn't get married this day." He said, and Clarisse nodded in understanding. It was the day Philippe had died, and he had always thought of Philippe as his own child. One of the innumerous reasons she loved him "So, we set on June 20th"

Clarisse shivered. Two months from now. She didn't know if it was too soon, or too late. But, too late for what?

"Do you have anything prepared?"

"Heather is in charge of almost everything. She said since it was her wedding, she would make sure it was the way she had dreamed it would be" he smiled "We don't talk much about the plans she has for the party. I only know the ceremony is to take place at the Genovian Cathedral in Pyrus"

"You can have the party here", Clarisse said on instinct, and soon cursed herself for it. "No, no, say no!", she pleaded silently.

"Heather was going to ask you if we could have it here. Well, then, she doesn't need to ask anymore." Joseph said, and smiled. His dazzling smile was almost worth offering the palace to the party. Almost. "Thank you so much, Clarisse. I'm going to tell Heather; maybe she won't be so angry with the whole prenuptial agreement." Flashing one more of his brilliant smiles, he walked away to look for Heather, leaving Clarisse there, in shock.

What had she been thinking? Having the party here, in the castle? She had offered the bloody palace for the party after the ceremony. Well done, Clarisse, you can't go back now. She tried saying to herself she'd just wanted to be nice, but truth be told: she wanted to keep and eye on the married couple. Why, she didn't know.

Òòòòòòòòòò

Clarisse watched the sunset, feeling the last sheds of light in the day on her soft skin. She closed her eyes for a second, for the first time truly admitting she had never been so tired, and she had done basically nothing the whole day, besides trying to hide from Heather. As usual, she replayed the day's events on her mind, and remembered the argument she had had with Heather in the garden. My God, it seemed years ago, but it had only been hours. Her head was about to explode, her body felt numb and her eyelids heavy. Time to go to sleep. She was sleeping earlier every day. Was she getting old? As she moved to close the window and retire for the night, the very last drop of golden sun shined on her, and then it was gone. She sighed. Looking down, to the gardens, she saw Joseph getting Heather into a palace car and biding her goodbye. Clarisse watched attentively as they seemed to have an argument, but then Heather put a hand on Joseph's neck and pulled him to her, kissing passionately. Clarisse shut her eyes tightly; no, the tears wouldn't fall this time. She had shed the last tear she would ever shed because of Joseph. She turned her back from the scene developing in the gardens. She had adopted a new attitude about this situation: with her head held high, she would get through all of it. It would be over soon, in two month's time. She didn't know how it would be over, though. Maybe she would be happy in the end, maybe not. She tried to think that if her best friend was happy as can be, she would be happy too. What a lie. In any way, no more tears. This she promised herself.

TBC