A.N.: The chapter is dedicated to Liz, because, well, she's Liz. That's enough reason.
Chapter 14 – Toxic
The last day of the Genovian Entertainment Fair. Thank God, thought Clarisse with a sigh, as she made her way through the game stands. She couldn't take anymore than that. The sun followed her, and she was reminded she would have to stay the whole day, to watch the closing festivities. She remembered that the last night of the Fair always had a performance; last year it had been the Russian Ballet. Meanwhile, she had no idea what she would do. Mia and Charlotte were nowhere in sight; Joseph was a few steps behind her, Heather beside him. She had two options: either walk beside them and risk receiving a death glare from Heather, or worse, engage a conversation with her, or keep walking pathless in search of something to keep her busy.
Finally, after what seemed hours, Mia and Charlotte came back running to Clarisse's side, breathless.
"God, Amelia, what happened?" asked Clarisse. Joseph caught up with them quickly, holding Heather's hand.
"The karaoke" Mia said, still trying to catch her breath.
"What?" Joseph asked, confused.
"Today is the karaoke day" Charlotte answered.
"And that means…" Joseph trailed off, obviously waiting for someone to fill in for him.
"That the people are free to go up to the stage and sing whatever they want, and in the end of the day, the best singer will win an award" Heather said, excited "Wanna bet I'll win this thing?" she said, turning to Mia.
"Hm…" Mia pretended to think long and hard "No, thanks. I'm sure you will win. Definitely" she winked to Clarisse, who tried to suppress a smile.
"Look, it has begun" Charlotte pointed to the stag behind them, where the Prime Minister was announcing the first contestant.
"Come, darling, I have to put my name on the list" Heather said, dragging Joseph by his arm, leaving the other three women to look stunned at each other.
"She's kidding, right?" Mia asked.
"Nope, I don't think so" Charlotte answered.
"Is she really going to sing?" Clarisse asked.
"So it seems" Mia answered.
"I'm feeling really sorry for the ears of Genovia" Charlotte said.
"Genovia? I don't give a damn about the ears of the people of Genovia; I'm worried about my ears. They will never be the same again after I hear her sing."
"Amelia, we can still slip away unnoticed." Clarisse said, hopefully.
"No, we can't" Mia said
"Why not?" asked Charlotte.
Mia said nothing, only nodded her head in the direction of the stage, refusing to look at it, as if the scene was too much for her to take: The first contestant was leaving the stage, and the Prime Minister was announcing the next one.
"Please welcome Miss Heather Morrison" he said cheerfully, and gave the microphone to Heather.
Mia, Charlotte and Clarisse looked at each other when the song started to play. "Oh, Heavens" they said in unison. Up in the stage, Heather smiled and waved to the crowd watching her. Everything was fine, until she started to sing.
Baby can't you see?
I'm calling
A guy like you should wear a warning
It's dangerous, I'm falling
Clarisse widened her eyes; Charlotte looked anywhere but at Heather, and Mia was trying unbelievably hard to control her laughter.
There's no escape, I can't wait
I need a hit, baby give me it
It's dangerous, I'm loving it
Too high, can't come down
Losing my head, spinning 'round and 'round
Do you feel me now?
Mia, bent over with laughter, tried to support herself on Clarisse's arm. She wasn't prepared for what she had just seen: Heather dancing a la Britney Spears, very suggestively.
"Please tell me she is not taking her clothes off" Charlotte, who had her eyes closed, whispered to Clarisse.
"Ask Mia. My eyes are closed too"
"I wish I could close my ears" said Mia, putting her hands on her ears and still being able to listen to everything.
Oh, the taste of your lips, I'm on a ride
You're toxic, I'm slipping under
Oh, the taste of a poison, I'm in paradise
I'm addicted to you
Don't you know that you're toxic?
And I love what you do
Don't you know that you're toxic?
"Is she having an orgasm up there?"
"Amelia!"
"What? Listen to her voice, she isn't even singing, she's moaning"
"You know, she does an almost perfect personification of Britney Spears" said Charlotte.
"I do prefer Britney"
It's getting late to give you up
I took a sip from the devil's cup
Slowly it's taking over me
"I'm sure it is, Heather" Mia said.
"Amelia, stop it. Can't you recognize a good song and a good voice when you see one?" Clarisse had to admit, she really tried not to give in to the laughter, but it was stronger than her.
Too high, can't come down
It's in the air and it's all around
Can you feel me now?
Oh, the taste of your lips, I'm on a ride
You're toxic, I'm slipping under
Oh, the taste of a poison, I'm in paradise
I'm addicted to you
Don't you know that you're toxic?
And I love what you do
Don't you know that you're toxic?
"Where the hell is Joseph?" Mia asked, desperate, searching the crowd for him.
"He is smart. He left" said Charlotte darkly.
"No. For God's sake, no. He has to be here when she comes down the stage" said Clarisse.
Taste of your lips, I'm on a ride
You're toxic, I'm slipping under
Oh, the taste of a poison, I'm in paradise
I'm addicted to you
Don't you know that you're toxic?
Heather kneeled down and smiled seductively to a man in the crowd, crawling, much like something Britney would do.
"My eyes!" cried Mia loudly.
"My ears!" said Charlotte.
"My brain!" said Clarisse.
Intoxicate me now
With your loving now
I think I'm ready now
(I think I'm ready now)
Intoxicate me now
With your loving now
I think I'm ready now
"If that wasn't suggestive enough..." said Mia
"She practically begged for someone to…" Charlotte was cut off by Clarisse.
"Alright, enough"
"Think she got pregnant this way? I mean, begging for people to…"
"Amelia, I said enough!"
"What does Joseph think about that? His wife-to-be crawling on a stage, telling someone to intoxicate her…"
"Charlotte" Clarisse warned.
"I'm not really sure he would like seeing someone, you know, hm, with his…"
"Oh, for God's sake, shut up!"
"Whoa, easy there, Grandma"
"Thank you, Miss Morrison. That was certainly… interesting" Said the Prime Minister as the song ended. Not so long after that, Heather appeared beside Mia.
"So, how did I go?" she asked, eyeing the three women.
"Great!" said Charlotte.
"Wonderful" lied Clarisse.
"Definitely, a winner" said Mia, shameless.
"Where's Joseph?" Heather asked, noticing he wasn't with them.
"He is…" Charlotte started.
"I'm right here" Joseph materialized beside Heather, smiling "You were great" he said to her, putting his arm around her.
"Thank you, darling. Come on, I have to watch the other contestants." Heather said, and left to stay in a spot closer to the stage.
"You didn't even watch, did you?" Mia asked Joseph.
"No."
"Jerk" Charlotte said.
"Well, that was a hell of a show you missed" Mia said.
"Don't doubt that"
"Oh, go to hell, Joe. You had no right to leave us here to put up with your fiancée" Mia said.
"Yeah, go to hell" Charlotte agreed.
"You'll send me to hell, too, Clarisse?"
"I was hoping I could be any more subtle than that, but, since you mentioned it, yes, I will. With pleasure"
The three women turned to the stage, just as an old lady begun to sing. Joseph stayed behind them, grinning.
"You know, I think you should go up there and sing, Grandma"
"No, thank you, Mia"
"I'm serious. You have such a beautiful voice" Mia insisted.
"She's right, Clarisse. Your voice is amazing" Joseph whispered on her ear, and Clarisse felt the oh-so-familiar shiver running down her spine in consequence of him being so close to her.
"Thank you, but I don't think it would be proper for the Queen to sing in a karaoke" she said as if it closed the matter.
"Always hiding behind the image of the Queen" she heard Joseph muttering. What was that supposed to mean?
A few hours later, the winner of the karaoke contest was announced. Thankfully, it was not Heather, it was a woman who had sung "Bennie and the Jets", by Elton John. The sun had just set, and it was finally time to begin the closing festivities.
Clarisse found herself sat in between Mia and Joseph, watching an opera. Oh, God, how much se disliked operas. Sat in the front row, she was forced to keep a smile on her lips and a dreamy look in her eyes, as if she was understanding and enjoying the performance. Being Queen was really tiring most of the times.
"It's getting close to the end" Joseph whispered on her ear.
"Thank God" she whispered back.
Heather was nowhere to be seen, probably realizing it was going to be a boring night before the rest of the crowd did. Mia and Charlotte were playing ticktacktoe, trying to hide the paper they were scribbling on from Clarisse's view. Clarisse and Joseph were pretending to pay attention to the show, but they could be seen occasionally bending their heads to share a word with each other; discussing the opera, of course. Clarisse would give anything to be able to run away from Pyrus. For God's sake, opera? Couldn't they be anymore creative than that?
What seemed an eternity later, it ended. Clarisse stood up and clapped enthusiastically, glad to be free from this torture. The Fair ended, and it would be another year until she would have to face it again. The group moved to the car to go back to the castle, and nobody asked where Heather was. They left the remains of the Fair behind, and Clarisse couldn't help but wish she could leave some other things behind, like Heather's pregnancy. It seemed a lifetime ago since she had first heard the news. Then why Heather's belly hadn't grown up? She remembered it had been only a few days ago since they all had found it out, it would take longer than that for any changes to be noticed. She only hoped she would have time enough to get ready for what was about to come.
As she entered her suite, she pushed all these thoughts aside. She had had a lot of fun on Heather's expense today, and even laughed a little with Joseph while they were watching the opera. She was on a light mood, and intended to remain this way. She deserved it, and needed a little bit of humor on her life now.
"Amelia?" Clarisse said, opening the door to Mia's suite.
"Hey, Grandma. What's up?" Mia asked, surprised to see her grandmother in her room.
"I just wanted to…" Clarisse uncharacteristically stuttered
"Wanted to…?" Mia encouraged.
"Laugh" Clarisse said shyly.
Mia blinked, confused, and kept silent for a moment, until she realized what Clarisse was trying to say.
"So…" Mia started.
"What have you brought from America?"
Mia smiled; that was a chance she wasn't going to miss. She took a box from under her bed and opened, revealing a lot of DVD's. She picked up one and waved in front of Clarisse.
"Now this one will make you laugh"
Mia turned on the DVD player and made herself comfortable on her bed, Clarisse doing the same thing. After a few minutes, what seemed like an American sitcom started.
A blonde woman and a guy who seemed like a butler were talking.
"I find it very unseemly of Maxwell to start dating again. Isn't the customary period of mourning 10 years?" said the woman.
"Die. Let's find out." The butler answered.
As the night went by, Mia and Clarisse watched episodes of the TV show. Clarisse couldn't remember the last time she had this much fun, thanks to Mia and her 'comedy materials', as she called it. She soon found she loved whenever the butler and the blonde woman would start bantering. She thought they had a thing for each other.
"What's the name of the woman?" Clarisse asked Mia.
"Her name is C.C., and the butler's name is Niles"
"Oooops, I'm dating myself." CC said
"Dating yourself? How pathetic. Even you can do better than you." Niles retorted.
There was also a nanny who seemed to be the most important character on the show; her name was Fran.
"Niles, do I sound like I'm coming down with a cold?" Fran asked.
"Constantly."
"You know, Mia, she sounds a lot like..."
"Heather. Yep, I know. Think she's her sister or something"
"I'll bet my reputation on it!" CC said.
"Sorry, there's a five dollar minimum." Niles answered.
It was 2:40am when Clarisse finally got back to her room, feeling happy and bright. She went to sleep thinking about the characters of the show, mostly Heather's 'twin', and how much fun she had had. She had loved the show, and was still amazed with the similarities in between Fran and Heather. Before letting sleep completely overtake her, she made a mental note to ask Mia for the other seasons.
The next day, Clarisse met up with Heather when she was walking down the steps leading to the gardens. The Queen was still on a very good mood which remained from the night before.
"Oh, good morning, Fran" Clarisse said and walked past Heather, not aware of both her mistake and the woman she had left behind, confused.
TBC
A.N.: My life has been so chaotic these days, so many things had happened, and it left me no time to even breathe. So I apologize for the unanswered reviews, the long time without posting, and all the e-mails I didn't answered, especially the ones by Liz and Incantevolle. By the way, Incantevolle made such a lovely poster for this fic, and I want to share with you all. So tell me if you want me to send it to you. Thank you so much, Incantevolle! Also, as always, thanks to all my lovely reviewers: Poppinswannabe, green dame, bluegirl-783, addlogcon, Captain Weirdo, Clarisse Renaldi, Minerva M McGonagall, JUJUChick16, Zsulie, One Special Lana, risingdancer, Incantevolle, BellamortsdaughterNesha, Tamara Thermopolis, ijsboerke, nasimrochester.