Disclaimer:I don't think I really need to say this … but, no, I do not own the Princess Diaries (book or film), it's characters, or anything in it. I make no profit from these stories. I am merely borrowing these characters for fun.
A/N: Hey! Surprisingly I actually got to update this weekend! And it's an especially long chapter too :D … I really love writing this story and, at the moment, it's helping me forget about the chemistry test I have tomorrow morning and the pain I have from having a wisdom tooth taken out (the first of four, by the way … [ouchy]). So, yea, I hope you enjoy this, and hopefully I'll be able to post again soon (maybe I'll get some writing done this week to get my mind off the Biology test I have coming up as well :P)
Enjoy, and please review:
"Grandma?" spoke Mia in a low voice as she entered the room
"Yes?" asked Clarisse, who was curled up on the bed, in a small voice
"I'm going up to the palace for the night, Charlotte has just come back and she says she'll stay here through the night … shades is on his way to stay with her. Lily and Nick are coming with me … we think you should come to. You need to rest, and there isn't much you can do here …" said Mia moving towards the foot of the bed so she could see her grandmother's face
Much to the Princess' surprise, Clarisse didn't argue. She merely let out a long breath and closing her eyes for a few more moments, slowly sat on the edge of the bed, slipped her feet back into the shoes she'd left by the bed and, letting out another breath nodded and stood to follow Mia.
"Are we ready?" asked Lily who was standing by the doors leading into the ICU waiting room
As Mia nodded, Clarisse spoke "I'm just going to uh … check on Pierre for a moment. I'll be right back."
Considering the constant turn of events, nobody knew whether the queen was really going to check on her son or if she was just making an excuse to see Joseph, so no one offered to go with her.
"Pierre?" whispered Clarisse as she stood at the foot of the bed
"Hmm?"
"Darling, I'm going to the palace, alright?" asked Clarisse thankful for the fact that it was dark and she couldn't look him the eyes.
"Mhm" Pierre mumbled in return, obviously too sleepy to formulate any words
"Alright …" sighed Clarisse taking a step back from the bed.
As she did so, she caught some movement in the bed next to her son's and, not really thinking, looked in the direction only to meet Joseph's cold, angry eyes which were lit by the small bit of light escaping through the doors that linked the ICU to the waiting room.
Frozen for a few seconds, Clarisse didn't know what to do, what to say or where to go. Luckily, at that moment, Mia poked her head through the doors and called for her.
Just as Clarisse got, once again ready to leave, she saw Joseph turn away from her, not a word spoken, not even a small facial expression to help her understand what he was feeling, to tell her that there was still hope; nothing. A tear slipping from her eye, Clarisse turned briskly and walked towards her granddaughter, her heels clicking on the hard white floor as she did her best to hide the tears before the light hit her and everyone started to fuss over her.
Awakening from a foggy dream, Joseph looked around the ICU. Everything was dark except for the bleeping green lights of the machines he was attached to and the faint light coming through the doors to the waiting room where he could vaguely make out two people sitting and talking.
Wondering who they might be, Joseph's thoughts inevitably fell on Clarisse, and suddenly the pain returned. It wasn't the sharp physical pain one might expect after surgery, it wasn't the terrible tightening in his chest the heart attack had caused. No. It was another kind of pain, a kind of pain that only comes with severe heart ache; severe heart ache and love.
Shutting his eyes tightly, Joseph willed himself back to sleep. At least with the drugs, he seemed incapable of a coherent dream; at least in his sleep, he could escape the reality of it all and relax.
"Princess!" came Charlotte's panicked voice over the phone at 7 am the next morning
"Uh…" grunted Mia who had just looked at the clock and was feeling like strangling someone "yes?"
"Princess, I'm sorry to call you at this time … but, uh… have you seen the paper … no, of course you haven't … I … uh …"
Taking a deep breath, Mia sat up in bed "Charlotte! … Charlotte! Breath … what's going on?"
"The papers … the …" over the phone, Mia could hear the faint noise of a television "the TV … they're saying that … oh, god! … that the Prince is … uh … Joseph and … Clarisse …"
Not needing to hear any more, Mia was suddenly out of bed and on her way to get dressed, the phone held tightly to her ear "Charlotte … Charlotte! Listen to me … keep this quiet, keep reporters out of there, and, whatever you do, don't let Grandma, Joe or Pierre see this … please …"
"But uh …"
"Charlotte, I'm on my way down there right now … just stay there and wait for me, alright?"
"Certainly, Princess …" replied Charlotte seconds before Mia turned off the phone and rushed out the door, leaving a quickly scribbled note on the dresser for Nicholas.
"Shades!" called Mia as she saw the security guard standing outside the waiting room doors, his shades on, his uniform straight and his 'on duty' face showing that he wasn't one to be messed with "shades…"
"Good morning, your highness" he replied
"Where's charlotte?" she asked
Looking behind his shoulder, Shades spoke "she's inside … those lies … it's just …"
Not wanting to have to lie to the man by agreeing to how horrible the 'lies' were, Mia merely patted him quickly on the shoulder before rushing into the waiting room where Charlotte was sitting, news paper on her knees, TV flashing images of the royal family.
"Charlotte…" Mia spoke in a low voice as she approached the assistant
"Oh, your highness … I … look" she said handing Mia the paper
Looking down at the large letters at the top of the page, Mia's gut churned, this was not going to be easy … in fact, it was going to be messy, tough and simply down right painful.
--
Sex, Lies and the Bodyguard
Genovia's first world-class Royal Scandal?
As it turns out, our trusted, beloved and exemplary Queen might not be as exemplary as we thought. Late last night, reports came in that Pierre Renaldi, King Rupert and Queen Clarisse's first born son, may in fact, not be a Renaldi at all. "He couldn't be" says an inside source at the hospital where the Prince and the Queen's personal Bodyguard, Mr. Joseph Bonnell, are being treated following the car crash which had us all fearing for the Prince's life "It's simple genetics. He just couldn't be." According to this anonymous source and the evidence they produced, it appears that we have all had the answers under our noses for some time: As was well reported at the time of his death, His Majesty King Rupert (may he rest in peace)'s blood type was A+, as it appears, her Majesty's is O- and, by what can only be described as magic, the Prince's is B+. Now, any basic biology text book will tell you that in no way can the blood types A+ and O- be combined to give B+; so there is no way that the King and Queen could have had a baby with blood type B+. If this shocking discovery weren't enough, our goes further and gives the name of the Prince's biological father: Joseph Bonnell, the queen's personal (apparently more than we thought) bodyguard.
There has been suspicion for quite some time now, as to the true nature of the Queen's growing friendship with the bodyguard. Especially since the King's death, the idea that the Queen may have found a new love in the 63 year old man has been thrown around on more than one occasion. However the thought that this new lover may have actually been present in Her Majesty's life for over 4 decades was one that never crossed this country's mind.
From the onset, there are four questions which need to be answered: Is Joseph Bonnell really the father? Was he the Queen's only lover, or were there others? Was Prince Philippe also the product of adultery? Did King Rupert know? As we await further developments on this story and, hopefully, a statement from the palace, if not from the Queen herself, we will leave you with this thought: Do we have it in our hearts to forgive Clarisse Renaldi, or is the ascension of Her Highness, Amelia Renaldi going to happen earlier than planned?
--
Speechless, Mia could do nothing but stare at the page in front of her. She had known all of it, she had come to terms with it all, and yet, seeing it in print and knowing that, come noon, every person in Genovia, above the age of 10, would know, she was completely speechless.
"Your highness?" spoke Charlotte. When she received no response, she continued "If I may, Princess, I feel we should call her Majesty. All she has to do is to go on television and tell them all the truth … tell them all that this is nothing but li…" when she saw Mia shake her head, Charlotte stopped talking, the thought that it might, in fact, be true clouding her mind "No…"
Now Mia switched from shaking her head to nodding "I'm afraid so, Charlotte … I …"
"No! It can't be! Her Majesty wouldn't …" began Charlotte
"Charlotte! It is … and this" she held up the paper "Is going to make the whole situation harder than I had expected"
"Er … I'm sorry, 'you expected'?" asked Charlotte confused
Sighing, Mia sat back in her chair "When Pierre was found to be a match for Joseph, Lily figured it all out. She realised that Pierre couldn't have that blood type and be … my grandfather's. Somehow, Joseph found out as well … and, he and my grandmother have, well, he refuses to even look at her …"
Gasping, Charlotte shook her head "This is … this unbelievable … I … uh …"
"Charlotte, I need to know where you stand on this … she needs our support, she's beating herself up about this enough as it is … and besides, the truth is, we all would have done the same thing, in her place …" to her relief, Mia saw Charlotte nod
"You're right Princess, of course. I'm sorry I just … it's shocking … I … I want to help, I'll do whatever I can …"
"Thank you" sighed Mia placing a hand on Charlotte's shoulder
TBC
As always, I hope you enjoyed that, I fully intend to post more as soon as I possibly can. Please let me know what you thought :D
Thanks,
CJS-DEPPendent