A/N: Short chapter, but at least it's a chapter and I've not left you hanging too long ;) . I'm still not sure where Joe and Clarisse are leading me with this. They don't seem to be co-operating with me for a happy ending at the moment. We shall see... Thank you for the reviews!
"Uncle Pierre?"
"Yes?" Pierre answered as he looked at the sad face of his niece.
"She's never going to remember, is she?"
Pierre pulled his niece into a hug. "I don't know, Mia." He smiled lovingly at her when she pulled back. "I am beginning to doubt the doctor's advice not to tell Maman the truth. I think if we told her, it might actually help."
"Do you think maybe she just doesn't want to remember because it hurts too much?"
"I honestly have no idea, Mia. She's hurting now because there's so much distance between her and Joe, even though he's trying desperately to pretend he's her husband and that things are alright between them."
"But," Mia bit her lip. "But he's not the same Joe that she knew. He's colder, emotionless."
"Not emotionless, Mia. I've seen it in his eyes. There's still emotion there, but it haunts him."
Mia sighed, "Just like it's haunting her." A tear rolled down her cheek. "There's a new baby coming, Uncle Pierre, and I want my Grandma to know, to celebrate the good news with us. She loved Joey so much and came home for his birth even though it hurt her to be here."
"Congratulations, Mia."
"Thanks," she whispered. "I think this time the baby will be a girl. Grandma would be so happy about that."
Pierre nodded. "Yes, she would. She would see it as a second chance to make up for all the years she missed with you."
"I want Grandma to," she stopped on a broken sob. "I want her to give my little girl Princess lessons and teach her all the things I still haven't learned very well."
Gripping his niece's shoulders gently, Pierre smiled tenderly at her when she looked up at him. "I'm praying, Mia, and you have to remember to keep praying too. I'll do what I can. I'm going to have a talk with Joe this afternoon about telling Maman the truth."
"Just be careful. I don't want her to have a setback."
"I promise. We'll be careful. Or I'll be careful. I'm not sure Joe will go along with it."
"I think he will. I know he doesn't like pretending to be something he's not."
"I think you're right."
CnJ
"Joseph?" Clarisse said his name in a barely there whisper.
"What is it?"
"Why are you and Pierre lying to me?"
Joe blinked in surprise. "What do you mean?"
"We don't live here."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because it doesn't look like the place in the dreams I have." She turned and stared out the windows. "The gardens are wrong. There is supposed to be a maze."
"Clarisse," he started, stopping when she shook her head.
"I've seen a ballroom filled with people staring up at a young woman. That ballroom isn't the one here, it's much larger."
Sighing, he sat heavily in the chair behind him. "You're right, Clarisse. We don't live here."
"Where do we live?" she asked.
"You live in the Palace with your granddaughter, the Queen."
She blinked. "I don't understand. Philippe's daughter is a baby. And Queen?"
"You and I aren't married, Clarisse. We never have been. Pierre isn't my son. Philippe isn't my son. You are the Dowager Queen of Genovia. Pierre abdicated for the Church."
"Philippe? Why won't you speak of him?"
Looking down at his hands, he sighed, wishing he didn't have to tell her this part. "Six months after Rupert, the King, died, Philippe was involved in a automobile accident. He didn't survive. That was eight years ago."
Clarisse closed her eyes, tears rolling down her cheeks, an ache beginning in her head. "All of this explains why you've been so distant. Why you won't share my bed." Opening her eyes, she stared at him. "What did I do to you?"
"None of it matters now, Clarisse. What happened between us in the past is inconsequential. What's important now is that you know the truth, even if you don't remember. There's a young woman that misses her grandmother, and a young man that doesn't quite understand why he can't see his beloved Nana."
"How old is he?"
"Who? Joey?"
"Joey?" she questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"That's what they call him. His name is Joseph Philippe Renaldi Jacoby. And since he's a baby, they call him Joey."
"And he loves me?"
"He's quite fond of you I've been told."
"How old is he?" she asked again.
"Two."
"I want to see him."
"Are you sure?" Joe asked.
"I may not remember him, but if I don't see him, he'll forget me."
"I assure you, Mia won't allow that to happen."
"What does she look like?"
"Dark brown hair, brown eyes like her father. She reminds me of you when you were younger. She's grown into a very graceful and poised young woman. Your Princess Lessons paid off."
"May I see Joey today?" Clarisse asked.
"I'll call Mia and see what she says. I'm sure it won't be a problem."
Holding Joe's gaze, Clarisse repeated an earlier question, "What did I do to you?"
Joe sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as he looked away. "You chose your duty over me and our love. I wasn't enough, our love wasn't enough."
Clarisse could hear the bitterness in his voice and looked down at her hands. "Duty has always ruled my life and taken away the things I love most," she spoke so quietly he nearly didn't hear her.
Surprised that she'd remember that bit of her life when she didn't remember being Queen, Joe shook his head, giving up trying to understand what was going on with her mind. "It's in the past, Clarisse," he told her.
"Is it?" she asked. "You aren't the man I used to know. I may not remember things correctly, but I remember the man you were." She swallowed and tried to control the tears that threatened but failed. "I did this to you."
"Clarisse, until you can remember what happened, there's no need to feel this way about yourself. The you that you are now, did nothing to me. As I said, it's all in the past. Leave it there." Joe stood and made his way out of the room, calling over his shoulder, "I'm going to call Mia and ask about Joey. Then I'll discuss moving you back to the Palace with Pierre."
The coldness in his tone nearly ripped Clarisse's heart out. She may not remember what had happened, but she remembered her love for him. A love that was the only thing constant in her life right now.
But did he still love her?
Was his love buried beneath all the hurt and bitterness?
Or had it died somewhere along the way?
