Captain Weirdo: Thank you, I thought it was somehow funny :D Please, please keep reading and reviewing!
JUJUChick16: Thank you- hehe, yeah, it´s Mia, isn´t it ;) She´s so cute when she is annoying- more to come now!
bluegirl- 783: Thank you- yeah, yeah you can never be prepared enough when Mia is present, so you have to go with all individualities, havn´t you- yeah, poor Darling, I LOOOOOOVE horses and I´m mad about them but I really can imagine how it must be if you are forced to deal with them if you are scared of them... Well more moments alone to come of course- thank you again :)
Clarisse Renaldi: Hi back ;) Hehe, yeah, me too but it´s Mia, you know- well, go and ask him, maybe you get lucky- if he moves in with you I´ll ask Clarisse to move in with me and give me some princess lessons :DDD More now!
"It wasn´t bad" Clarisse told Mia in a comforting voice but the princess shook her head.
"You are right, it wasn´t bad, it was a catastrophe."
"Don´t be too hard on yourself, Sweetheart, everyone thought you are charming."
"That´s a way to put it- wait, that´s what Joe always calls diplomatic, right?"
Clarisse looked over at Josef who was standing next to them.
"He does?"
Mia nodded.
"Yes- whenever someone says something they use to express something unpleasant and sugar coats it."
"That´s an interesting way to describe it" Josef mumbled and Clarisse laughed.
"Don´t think about it anymore, Amelia, just go to bed, I´ll have some hot chocolate send up to your room."
"Thanks, Grandma- goodnight."
The princess kissed Clarisse´s cheek, then smiled at Josef.
"Goodnight, Joe."
"Goodnight, Your HIghness."
"And don´t forget about your riding lesson at eight thirty" Clarisse added cheerfully and Mia paled.
"That´s still on?"
"But of course, Sweetheart, I´ll be waiting for you outside the stables- your riding outfit is laid out in your room already."
"You will be- I mean you are going to be there- with me?"
"Yes, why?"
"But I bet you are perfect- you are perfect at everything!"
Clarisse laughed, shaking her head.
"You will be fine, don´t worry, Dear."
"I do worry though- Joe, can´t you do anything about this?"
Mia pleaded but Joe´s face remained impressive.
"My advice, Princess- listen to Her Majesty."
"Of course, I should have known you´d take her side."
Josef leaned over to Mia.
"I hate to break it to you, Your Highness but she´s my boss."
Clarisse gasped indignantly, causing both Josef and Mia to break into fits of laughter.
"All right, I´ll go to bed- goodnight, you two."
Mia ran up the stairs and Josef turned to the queen.
"I´m sorry, I-" "I know, you wanted to distract her from her fear- thank you, I really need some more time to adjust to the whole parental patience program, you seem to be a natural."
"Well you didn´t have any practice when your sons were small, they always came to their nanny- or to me."
"I see- well so I´ll rely on you in future- let´s go to bed, I can´t bear those shoes anymore."
"Shall I carry you upstairs, Your Majesty?"
"Thank you, I think I´ll make it upstairs on my own- you´ll have to accompany me though, just in case."
"Just in case, of course- so we´ll be meeting the princess at eight thirty?"
They were walking down the corridor towards the queen´s suite now, it was quiet at the late hour and they enjoyed their moment´s of solitude.
"Yes we will- do you think she´ll be all right with Rose?"
"Everyone is all right with Rose, Rose falls asleep while she walks."
"Yes, you are right- Josef?"
"Yes?"
The queen opened the door to her rooms and let Josef walk through before following him.
"When Mia takes the crown- in about five years, yes but still-" Clarisse hesitated and Josef turned around.
"What will be then, Darling?"
"Do you think we´ll ever can really be together?"
"We really are together, Clarisse."
He pulled her close to him, his lips brushing against the soft skin on her neck as she relaxed into his embrace.
"You know what I mean- I want to be with you openly, kiss you when I feel like it, dance with you while everyone is watching, I feel so guilty for asking this of you."
"I love you, Clarisse- don´t even forget that. I will wait for you as long as it is necessary, I simply want to be with you, any way I can, you don´t have to apologize for anything."
"You are wonderful" she sighed dreamily, looking up into his eyes as he pulled her still closer to him.
"So are you, Darling- now let´s get you out of that dress, it looks highly uncomfortable."
His eyes were twinkling and Clarisse kept her face straight when she nodded.
"You are right, it absolutely is."
--
"Im looking like a clown" Mia complained, looking down at her riding outfit.
"You are looking perfectly adorned for riding" Clarisse assured her granddaughter and Mia frowned.
"Yes, well, you look perfect of course, how come you can pull off wearing something like that and I look like a freak?"
Clarisse obviously decided to not pursue the topic any further and instead began walking towards the horses that were waiting for them outside the stables, held by a stable hand.
"So first things first" the queen began resolutely while taking the reigns of a chestnut mare.
"This is Rose, Amelia."
"Uhm- hi Rose."
Mia patted the horse´s neck hesitantly, then jumped slightly when the chestnut nudged her head against the princess´s arm.
"So what now?"
Josef looked at Clarisse and merely shook his head and the queen got the subtle hint and handed him the reigns.
"Josef will help you."
"Good- uhm- sorry, I mean- ok."
"Don´t bother, Sweetheart, I know I´m a little impatient from time to time" the queen said soothingly, then she reached for the reigns of a gleaming copper Arabian horse.
"This is Caprice" she told Amelia, patting the horse´s mane.
"And she lives up to that" Josef whispered to the princess, making the girl giggle.
"Don´t listen, Darling, you are my best girl, aren´t you" Clarisse gushed, then allowed the stable hand to help her into the saddle while Josef assisted Mia before mounting his own horse.
"We´ll just let you get the feel of it today" the queen told her granddaughter comfortingly for Mia was looking terrified as she tried to adjust to her horse´s movements.
Josef gently corrected the princess while they slowly moved through the park, Clarisse´s temperamental horse occupying the queen´s whole attention what in Josef´s opinion wasn´t a bad thing for Mia.
Finally Clarisse noticed how exhausted her granddaughter was and declared the lesson to be over.
The queen stayed atop her horse while the stable hand helped the princess down, then announced that she would stay out a bit.
"Coming?"
She asked Josef who nodded, then she spurred on her horse and Josef hastened to try and keep up with her though he knew that there was no chance to catch her unless she let him.
The queen reigned her horse in next to the lake and waited for Josef to reach her, then leaned over to him and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek.
"Thank you for helping her so much- I would have been much to hard on her."
"I know that, Darling" Josef smiled, then dismounted and lifted the queen off her horse.
"So do we have some time or so we have to go back now?"
"We´ll just steal some time, shall we?"
"That sounds like a wonderful idea" Josef breathed into her hair, deeply inhaling the scent of her shampoo.