A/N Sorry this has taken so long. School has been hell and I have serious commitments that sadly come before writing. Enjoy and please review! Oh, and thanks Freelancer.

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A half an hour later, both Mia and Clarisse were ready to give up. They were tired, cold, and soaked to the skin.

"Grandma, we're done for. I can't go on anymore."

"I know. Never thought it would end like this. I'm still too damned young to die."

"At least you've lived a while. I haven't lived at all." She sat down in the snow.

"We can't spend our last minuets fighting..." She broke off. "MIA! Mia look!." Clarisse grabbed her and dragged her to her feet and pointed off into the woods. "We're saved! A cabin!" Sure enough, there, nestled among the trees was a small wooden cabin. They staggered over and entered. Clarisse recognized the cabin immediately as one she had frequented years ago on her daily rides with, then personal bodyguard, Joseph. A rash of memories assaulted her, but she pushed them aside.

"Come, lets see if we can start a fire."

Twenty minuets later, both were snug and dry. As Clarisse went looking around the kitchen for food, Mia wandered around the cabin. It had four rooms, a bedroom with a large and comfortable looking bed (wink), a small bathroom, a kitchen, and a dining living room, all of which were not large. She wondered how her grandmother had known where everything, including dry clothes, were kept.

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"Sir!" One of the guards called over to Joe. "We have found something!" He pointed over to a tree. There, dangling on it, was a scarf. Joe recognized it as one he had given Clarisse years ago as a gift and she had worn every winter since. Seeing it there froze his heart.

"They must have come this way! A few men go out to each side. Yell if you find ANYTHING!"

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Clarisse had found a can of soup and she and Mia were soon full in addition to snug and warm. They sat curled in front of the fire on the two squashy armchairs that faced it.

"Now this is much preferable to the snow, I must say."

"You said it, Grandma." Clarisse chuckled. She got up to grab a few extra blankets. Mia noticed something. "Grandma, your limping!"

"Yes I know. I landed on it when I was thrown. Its starting to stiffen up but I'll be fine." She settled a blanket over Mia and climbed back into her chair with the other blanket. All was silent for a few minuets.

"Hey Grandma?"

"Hmm?"

"How did you know where everything was?" Mia was becoming quite curious.

"Ah, well I use to come here quite often, sort of a hideout. I needed to get away when I was younger."

"From being Queen?"

"From being Queen, from the palace, and from your grandfather."

"Like I needed to get away from my mother?"

"Yes, quite like that. I was 17 on the day of our wedding, he was nearly twice my age."

"Isn't that illegal?"

"Not really."

"Its still kind of creepy."

"Anyways, neither of us was too happy with the situation but we really didn't have a choice. So we went through with it and learned to get along. We soon became friends, very good friend, however, we often did not see eye to eye. Thus he had his hunting lodge and I found this little cabin." Clarisse looked over at Mia and saw that she had fallen to sleep. Clarisse got up and stoked the fire and soon she too was asleep, just as the clock struck ten.

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o0o Joseph's thoughts o0o

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We have to find them. This country cannot afford to lose either of them. I can't afford to lose them. My dear sweet Queen. She hasn't been out of my sight for more then ten minuets since I became her bodyguard. She has been my best friend and my one love since that day. There's been days when even I couldn't escape her wrath, oh that woman had a temper, but also days when she cried in my arms and was so sweet and innocent that it made my heart ache. Our relationship was often very strange. We might not speak all day, but then I would wake at some point during the night to her climbing in my bed and falling asleep. Or not falling asleep as the case may be. We never were caught, but enough of the right people knew so it never leaked to the wrong people or the citizens of Genovia. King Rupert knew. And Clarisse knew about Emily. Both blessed the others affair, not wanting to carry on with each other. They were friends, nothing more. Theirs was a white marriage, except when pressure for an heir began. The two times they were forced together, both yielded the princes that parliament demanded. After the fact, the times were never spoken. I couldn't have children so there was never any fear that they were illegitimate though some still are skeptical, the ones who suspected something that is. To the public, the King and Queen along with the princes appeared to be the perfect family. To this day I'm still not sure if Pierre or Philippe knew about their parents personal relationships.

I'm beginning to worry more and more. Its nearly three o'clock. If they haven't found shelter by now, they have more then likely frozen to death and I can't think that. Someone is shouting. They say something is buried in the snow. If it is bad news, I'm going to shoot myself, their won't be any reason to live anymore. The country will be destroyed. I do wonder if they realize how important they are. They are the present and the future and my whole world.

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A/N I hope you have enjoyed. The next chapter might come quicker, or might not. Only the teachers who assign homework know. And I have Playfest in two weeks so I have to work on that too. Cheers and happy Halloween!

Athenia