A/N: sorry haven't updated soon, life stepped in again but here's a short chapter... still depressing but there is a light at the end of the tunnel... things WILL get better!

Thanks to all my readers and reviewers- you all rock!

The Princess Diaries doesn't belong to me!

The next morning, Clarisse awoke feeling slightly happier than she had been in months, and while she was vaguely disoriented for a moment, she quickly remembered that she was in the bedroom of Joseph's cabin (which was fairly isolated and far away from Lybitt and the Winter Palace) and that they (naturally it was they, as she knew Joseph was there with her- as if he would let her go anywhere alone, she thought with a sly smile) were there to work out their marriage- and her smile quickly disappeared at that thought.

It was only six months since the wedding, but they had already had so many hiccups, so many headaches, hurts and fights, so many that she had begun to think that they would never forgive each other or solidify their marriage- yesterday's almost deal breaking argument had only weakened their relationship even more- but she also knew that he was just as determined to save their marriage...

"Do you think our problems are fixable?"

"I do... do you?"

"I do... very, very much."

…. and then they had bonded again over their memories of Pierre and Phillipe, which had led to him snuggling up to her in bed that night, which had signalled hope, hope that things could work out...

Embolded by the thought of yesterday and the hope it had begun to inspire, she turned over with hopes to greet her husband but, to Clarisse's surprise, he wasn't there... and he wasn't in the doorway, bringing in a cup of tea (not that he had done that in months, not that she blamed him)

"Joseph?" she called as she sat up, covering herself with blankets as the room was freezing and, after a moment, she heard him respond from the room beyond, a little muffled, and she quickly wrapped herself in her robe and slippers and hurried into the next room where she discovered... the fire roaring, the television on and Joseph already at the table eating breakfast and watching the television! That had almost never happened, aside from times when either of them had had an early meeting, but now...before she swallowed her disappointment and gave him a bright smile.

"Good morning!" she said brightly and he turned his eyes towards hers for a moment and his expression softened.

"Good morning... I have your tea here," he waved over the table where he was sitting, and where she could see a teapot and cup and saucer.

"But breakfast is whatever you want..." he waved casually towards the cereal boxes and toaster sitting on the counter. "Our bodyguards will be bringing our shopping in later, with our various needs, wants and whims..." he drawled almost sarcasticallly and her cheeks felt hot for a moment in humiliation- he was pretending yesterday and last night hadn't happened- before she again buried her anguish and strolled towards the toaster.

"Toast will be fine for me, I'm not particularly hungry this morning," she said matter of factly, pretending that his casual attitude didn't bother her, before she made her toast (almost half hoping that he was creep up behidn her and embrace her but, since he didn't, she prepared her breakfast quickly) and sat down opposite him. He regarded her for a moment- Clarisse, feeling self conscious, focused on her toast-before he turned his attention back to the television and the meal progressed in silence.

It was only after they had finished their respective coffee and tea when Clarisse was suddenly struck with an idea and she immediately blurted it out.

"I'm going for a walk after breakfast," and the announcement surprised her just as it did Joseph.

"What? Where? Why?"

"I'm just going for a short walk," she repeated calmly. "I just want to step out into the forest for a breath of fresh air- I feel as though I've been stuck in stuffy buildings and palaces for the past month."

"Did you want me to come with yout?" he asked, confident that she would say yes, but she surprised him with her next words.

"No thank you," she smiled sweetly at him. "You're not my bodyguard nor my head of security anymore," she chided him gently but also with a sting in her words. "I'm perfectly capable of going on a brief stroll on my own... besides," she added gaily as she reose from the table and took her empty plate, cup and saucer to the sink. " You have to be here when our bodyguards arrive with our shopping."

"But... but..." he stammered, very much taken aback at the split second decision she had made and also feeling a little guilty- yes, he had been acting distant towards her this morning, not because he really, really wanted to, but a part of him didn't trus her at the moment, as well as the fact that they had been practically doing this for the past few months, but he hadn't wanted to push her away THIS far.

"I'll be fine," she said glibly as she headed towards the bedroom- she could see her spontaneous decision was bothering him but, in an odd perverse way, she liked seeing him squirm, seeing him struggle between the indifference he had adopted over the past months and the protective instincts he had always felt around her, an instinct he usually acting upon but, in this instance, wasn't...

"I'll be back before you know it," she said semi comfortingly once she had re-emerged, fully dressed up for her walk in the snow. "I just need some air... but I'll be back," she patted his shoulder briefly before floating out of the room, ignoring the scowl on his face- was she really playing mind games with him?

0

Five minutes passed since she had left... Joseph was still sitting on the sofa, breakfast cleaned up and his eyes glued to the screen, but he was on the alert, constantly listening for her- surely she wouldn't go too far... and he comforted himself by ensuring that she had taken her winter coat with her...

Ten minutes after she had left... he suddenly found himself pacing the room, tv still on but he wasn't paying attention to it at all, wondering where she was... surely she couldn't have gone too far...

Fifteen minutes after Clarisse had gone for her walk, he was fully dressed and out the door, furious at her and himself- she had wanted to prove her independence, disguising her distress at his indifference to her; and he had wanted to pretend to be indifferent, to disguise the fact that he still loved and cared about her desperately, despite their argument and mini cold war.

"CLARISSE!" he shouted almost as soon as he stepped out into the snow- there had been another snow fall over night- and shivered momentarily, his body adjusting to the drop in temperature, before it adjusted and he strode confidently in the direction her footsteps were headed, his footsteps crunching through the crisp fresh snow.

"CLARISSE!" he shouted again as the cabin disappeared behind a grove of trees and he increased his speed as he got deeper into the forest- it had snowed, it was cold, they weren't as young as they used to be... he couldn't bear thinking about the consequences of this...

"I'm here!" he heard her call back and he looked around to see his wife calmly walking back towards him from the east. "I told you I would be back soon."

"It wasn't soon enough!" he said in irritation and her expression changed from one of bewilderment to one of annoyance.

"I TOLD you I would be back, and I would be... see, I was heading back now... you weren't particularly interested when I told you where I was going earlier!"

"Not true, not true!" he argued heatedly, relief at finding her safe and sound fiercely fighting against his angery. "You KNOW I don't like you going anywhere alone!" he suddenly shouted.

"I KNOW that you're no longer my bodyguard so you don't have to remain in that role!" she almost screamed back at him. "You're my husband, not my HOS!"

"Which means that I take protecting you even more seriously... and that includes not letting you go for walks alone!" he snapped, softening his voice- he had never meant to should at his wife andhe now felt awful.

"Oh ho, ho... well, I thought you didn't mind me going this morning!"

"I changed my mind... actually, I wasn't all that pleased but you were out the door before I had a chance to say anything!" he snapped back before they stood and stared at each other for a moment, breathing heavily from their brief, heated words and the atmosphere, before Joseph, feeling guilty, held out a hand.

"I'm glad I found you, though... let's go back..." but she snatched back her hand at his words.

"I'll go back when I'm good and ready!" she almost growled, her eyes sparkling angrily before her husband, still angry at both of them, suddenly, roughly pulled her into his arms and crushed his lips down on hers and kissed her with so much fury, passion and roughness that she momentarily struggled against him before, overwhelmed by her own feelings ofanger, desire and passion, she relaxed into him, kissing him back with just as much fervour as he was giving her.

Neither of them could remember the journey back to the cabin, only briefly pausing on occasion when they stopped to kiss again- but once the front door closed behind Joseph, he almost slammed her back against it, his lips still on hers, his hands exploring- namely, unbuttoning her clothes and run his hands down her smooth skin.

"You are so... beautiful..." he murmured huskily as he tossed her blouse aside. "I've always felt that you were, and you are..."

"Even when we haven't been speaking?" she teased throatily as she skillfully unbuttoned his flannel shirt and tossed it aside- they hadn't done this in so long...

"Even then," he responded playfully before he guided her towards the sofa and the fireplace, still pausing occasionally to kiss and touch each other.

"The bedroom?"

"Too cold," he murmured before he gently pushed her down onto the couch and, after shedding the rest of his close, crawled on top of her as she lay back, resplendent in only her undergarments, feeling vaguely self conscious- they hadn't done this in a long time (even the time at Christmas has been perfunctory, reminding her of the times with Rupert) but he gave her a long, loving look as he gazed down at her and she finally let go of her inhibitions and anger, a sensation that was almost immediately intensified as he leaned down to meet her lips again...

0

It was a long time before they recovered sufficiently enough to break away from each, and Joseph solicitiously reached for a blanket as she shivered.

"Are you cold?" he asked and she shook her head.

"No... I just can't believe... us, here in front of the fire..." she trailed off as the expression on his face changed from soft and tender to one of hardness and regret.

"We shouldn't have done this," he said stiffly as he stood up and groped around for his trousers. "It was a mistake."

"It was a mistake for us to make love? We are supposed to be husband and wife!" she argued, successfully hiding her disappointment and mortification at his words.

"Not like this, not when we haven't had a chance to have a proper conversation about our problems..."

"Mainly because you've been too busy storming out when I tell you the truth about my feelings, and then subsequently pretending that the connection we shared last night didn't happen... before, after saying it was fine for me to go for a walk..."

"You didn't give me a chance to say otherwise!"

"... and then you come after me and shout at me... how were we supposed to have a decent conversation when you've been running so hot and cold?"

Before he could furiously protest (although, deep down, he knew she was right), there was knock on the door and they both froze, both well aware of the situation they were currently in.

Who could that be? Clarisse thought to herself as she pulled the blanket around herself... hopefully it wasn't anyone sinister or wanting to invade their privacy...