Three months and no one had heard from Joseph. Clarisse had continued grooming Mia to be Queen, and had kept herself quite busy. It was much easier, she thought, to be occupied and not have time to think.

It was late September, and the approaching fall was in the air. Mia had asked for a break to visit her mother back in San Francisco, and her Grandmother had agreed. The Palace was quiet when Mia was away, and Clarisse relished the peace herself. She decided to do a walk about, and spent the morning talking with many Palace workers that she rarely got to see. Her last stop was the Palace post office, with its three young and energetic workers.

"Oh, my goodness, what's all this mail?" Clarisse stared at the piles being sorted by the young men.

The Post Master smiled and said, "Happens every first of October. It's all yours, Ma'am, Happy Birthday."

One of the young men asked, "Are you going to read all these postcards, Your Majesty?"

Clarisse laughed, "I suppose it'll take me to my next birthday to get through them all, but I'll certainly try. Thank you, gentlemen. Good day."

"Before you go, Your Majesty, I found this one earlier today and put it aside for you, thought you might like to have it sooner than later." He handed her a postcard with a picture of a Genovia beach. It was nothing remarkable and Clarisse wondered why the Post Master had noticed it. She put it in her pocket, thanked him and left, heading to the kitchen to get her lunch.

As Clarisse got ready for bed later that night, she remembered the postcard in her pocket. After changing into her pale blue silk robe, she sat on her chaise lounge and took a sip of tea before turning the postcard over to see the message.

"My darling. You are always in my thoughts.
Happy Birthday,
Joseph"

She stared in shock at the words. It was his handwriting there was no mistaking it. Joseph had written the card himself. He had used the general palace address, not the personal one he knew would reach her. He had had a need to make a connection with her - he could not have expected the Post Master to be so observant. There was no return address, nothing to give a clue as to his whereabouts, unless, could the card itself be a clue? She could only wonder.

The Coronation had been a joyous event for the entire country. Mia had been fully accepted by the Genovian people, and was making her own way as Queen. Clarisse was very proud of her granddaughter, and very impressed at the progress she had made in such a short time. In fact, so impressed that the former Queen decided to take a holiday of her own. Spring was coming, and so was the wedding of her son Pierre to Charlotte, the engagement announced on New Year's Day.

"Mia," her grandmother broached the subject at breakfast, "I'm thinking of taking a holiday next week, do you think you'll be alright by yourself for a little while?"

Mia put down her fork and looked at the older woman "Absolutely! That's a great idea, grandma, if anybody deserves a break it's you. Well, maybe Charlotte, but with wedding plans and looking after me, she doesn't have the time."

"I agree. But part of my vacation will be to ensure that Charlotte and Pierre have a wonderful honeymoon."

"What?" Mia looked at her grandmother, confused.

"I'm going out to the beach house, I think it will be a wonderful place for Charlotte and Pierre to disappear from the public eye for awhile. It needs some sprucing up after all these years, I'm afraid. I want to see it for myself before the renovations begin."

"We have a beach house? You've been keeping this a secret why?"

"It's not a secret, Mia. It's simply just fallen out of use since the boys grew up. There's a caretaker there, but no one's done anything to the place in years. I'll be gone for only a few days. I'll bring you back some pictures."

More to come...perhaps tomorrow.