A/N: We're slowly building to the conclusion….
Thanks to all my readers and reviewers! You all rock!
The Princess Diaries doesn't belong to me!
In San Francisco…
"Mia?" Helen gently knocked on the door and peered in- Mia was stretched out on her bed, her lap top beside her and staring up at the ceiling. "Mia?"
"What's up, Mom?" Mia sat up at the sound of her mother's voice. "What's wrong?"
"What are you up to?"
"Nothing much… I finished my English essay and my maths homework and I was thinking about watching a movie…. Why, what's wrong?"
"I've just had a phone call from the Genovia consulate."
"Oh?" Mia sat up even straighter and swung her legs off the bed. "What's happened?"
"Apparently there was another serious explosion in Pyrus overnight and there were several injuries and…fatalities."
"Oh my goodness!" Mia practically almost leapt to her feet. "Does that mean….?"
"No, the American ambassador called from Pyrus and just wanted to let us know that your grandmother and uncle are still safe and that security will be even tighter around us from today."
"Which means…?"
"You will probably be on Christmas vacation earlier than usual."
"Oh… okay… although Christmas vacation starts at the end of the week so… it's no great loss…." Mia said flippantly, although she was still very worried about what was going on in Genovia. "I guess it's just as well I wasn't going over there until after the New Year, right?"
"I suppose," Helen said with a sigh, sitting down on the side of the bed- they had spent the previous Christmas in Genovia and Clarisse had agreed that they would spend this Christmas in San Francisco (Mia had plans with her friends) but now she was beginning to wonder whether they should have been over there….. "I know you're worried, honey, but Joe knows what he's doing, as do the rest of the security team and everyone is still perfectly safe."
"I don't understand why they are doing it… I mean, why would anyone want to assassinate Grandma? She's Queen of Genovia, she's not political, she follows the advice of her ministers….it's just unbelievable."
"I don't understand why either, Mia, but we're just going to have to wait it out…"
"You don't think they will try and come over here, do you?" Mia suddenly looked worried as she sank down onto the bed next to her mother, younger than her seventeen years and Helen realised that, despite her royal background, she was still a child and she was worried and scared, not only for her grandmother and her uncle but herself as well.
"It's going to be alright, honey, I promise," she moved over and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"But how do you know that?"
"I don't, but we're just going have to trust the police to do their job over there… but they will be alright, I promise."
0
In Scotland…
Pierre had just risen and was sitting in a chair by the bed, praying- he found it started his day off well and he felt peaceful afterwards; he had been doing it for a long time, but it had been particularly helpful during the past few days, being under virtual house arrest -although he appreciated WHY he was under heavy guard, although he didn't consider himself a prince of Genovia anymore, an idea that Adam found ridiculous:
"You may not be a Prince in terms of ruling the country any more, but you are still the son of a King, the brother of Prince and an uncle to a Princess… you are of royal blood and you always will be!" and it was only at times like these that he knew that he would never be able to let his past go, he was still royal, no matter what…
Just then, there was a knock on the door and he looked up to see Adam peering around the door.
"Good morning, Adam."
"Good morning, Pierre," Adam responded- he and the other men had long since been convinced by Pierre to call him by his name rather than his title. "You're up early."
"Not really, I'm always up this early, if not earlier- I prefer to wake up and watch the sun rise, it's almost like seeing a new day dawn…and it helps me with my sermons…and I could also say the same about you."
"You know we usually have to be up early and ready for anything," Adam said with a small smile before he stepped further into the room.
"Is something wrong?" Pierre asked, suddenly feeling apprehensive.
"Not really…"
"But…"
"I've just received word from Genovia….there was another explosion last night and this time it was fairly serious."
"How serious?" Pierre slowly stood up from his chair, his expression and voice grave.
"There were several fatalities, a couple of houses burnt down and at least half a dozen people were seriously injured."
"Oh my," was all he could say before he followed Adam back into the living room of the house where the television was on, the news still obviously covering the scene and it looked awful… and Pierre felt guilty that he was in hiding, he should be there, helping out in any way he can. "Is there anything we can do?"
"Before you can ask, Her Majesty is fine and still safe, as is the Crown Princess."
"I trust you, Adam, and I know that you are telling the truth, but I would like to speak to the palace," he said grimly, still staring at the screen.
"Pierre…"
"Adam!" Pierre suddenly snapped, turning to him with a scowl on his face, the peaceful feeling he had had only moments earlier having disappeared upon seeing the scene on the screen. "I KNOW you're only doing your job and I appreciate all that you are doing to keep me safe but I NEED to speak to someone who ACTUALLY knows what is going on and will tell me the truth! My mother has Joseph, Mia has her mother and I am alone with no one else aside from you guys… I need some reassurance….Please, Adam, I need to call Pyrus…!"
Pierre was aware that he was sounding desperate, angry and quite the opposite of the composed, calm Father Pierre Renaldi, but he needed even the smallest contact with the palace, the place he had been born and lived until his abdication; the place where he was still connected to his brother and his mother….
Adam stared at him for a moment, regarding him and considering his options before he nodded and reached for his phone.
"Here you go, P…" he said gently, handing the phone over to the younger man.
"Thank you," Pierre smiled gratefully…
0
In Pyrus…
The palace was still quiet and still- in fact, since the Queen had been 'evacuated', it was more than a little still and quiet with the staff moving soundlessly around the palace, going about their work and saying very little.
The tension was growing- not only from the fear of what was going on in their city, their country, but also from the fact that many of the palace staff had lives and families outside of the palace and aside from a daily phone call, none of them had seen them for the three days and while they were all dedicated to their jobs and wanted the Queen to be safe, they were also worried about their own families.
The morning's news hadn't helped matters- several fatalities, half a dozen injured (at the moment) and several houses were burnt down- and there had been a rush to the phones to call family and friends (Shades had allowed it)- and there were silent questions about Joseph's decision, isolating the Queen from the rest of the country, as well leaving Shades in charge, but no one dared to voice them… they only hoped that the situation would be resolved, and soon.
Meanwhile, in the security hub, Shades and his men were glued to the screens, half of them checking on the outside (and there was a camera outside the actual grounds themselves) every half an hour while the other half were watching what was going on down on the crime scenes. Shades was spending time talking to the police- and ensuring that Joseph knew everything that was going on- and things were finally dying down around lunchtime (although there was still a lot of damage in Pyrus and the newsbreaks were continuing every hour) and Shades was looking forward to a break when the phone rang…..maybe even something to eat, he had been up since four and had only had a piece of toast, he was practically living on coffee and the high was beginning to dissipate as he slumped in his chair….but then the phone rang….
"Hello?"
"Scott?" the voice was familiar but Scott was so tired... "It's Pierre..."
"Your Highness!" Shades sat upright in his chair, suddenly alert. "How are you?"
"I'm fine… is everything going well there?"
"Of course….but, with the greatest respect, why are you calling here?"
"I just needed to talk to someone who is in touch with Joseph and my mother…. Are they alright?" Pierre suddenly sounded vulnerable on the other end of the line and Scott suddenly felt sorry for him- the Queen wasn't the only one in this situation.
"They are fine, they are safe and well, Your Highness and I have kept Joseph up to date with the situation here… I hope that Adam is doing the same with you."
"Of course he is, I… I just needed to know that my mother is alright…is my niece okay as well?"
"She's fine, although security will have to be tightened up considerably around her, but since Christmas vacation is only a few days away, she should be alright."
"Is there anything else I should know… or, rather, that I'm allowed to know?"
"Nothing at the moment- the police are still investigating and I believe that some detectives from England have been ordered over, but as far as I know, everything that we know, you know."
"Thank you. I appreciate it." There was a pause on the line for a moment. "I'm sorry for this- I know that I am breaching security protocol by insisting on calling the palace, but…."
"I understand, Your Highness, I do," was all Shades said, simply, and it was true- he understood and knew that
0
Several hours later in another part of Pyrus….
"Well, that was a complete bust!"
"Sorry?"
"The boss didn't think that it worked… and he is furious! "
"What do you mean, he doesn't think it didn't work? I mean, a couple of people died, a couple of people got injured…."
"You know he's not talking about that…. there is still no sign of Her Majesty."
"Why is it so important that Her Majesty appears in public? It's common sense that she remains inside the palace when something like this happens… Her main man probably hasn't even let her out into the gardens."
"You KNOW why Her Majesty needs to be seen in public….this is what the boss wants, and since she hasn't been seen…."
"But the palace has been releasing those statements, surely she would be seeing them before they are released."
"You are an idiot! There is a press secretary that does all of that and she trusts him to say the right thing… You know, I'm starting to think that she's not there and neither is her Head of Security."
"What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I mean- Joseph, her extra bossy and busy bodyguard has taken her out of the palace, to somewhere else, and we need to start looking for them."
"Do you really think he would do that?"
"Yes and I wouldn't be surprised if it's only him guarding her… the boss seems to think so…"
"Why?"
"I don't know, I'm not going to ask him his reasons, we're just going to have to trust him…and he wants us to start looking for them."
"Where do you think they would go?"
"We have to look at the usual places- the Winter Palace, the beach house- and then the not quite so usual places…."
"Would he have taken her out of the country?"
"No! Would you please turn your brain on for once? He's a clever man, I'll have to give him that, getting her away from the palace….We need to find him, and if we find him, we'll find her…. Yes, get K to investigate old Joey boy… he might have a secret hiding place and I bet you we will find them together….."
"Why does the boss want the Queen so badly?"
"Let's just say, he wants her for a very special reason."
