In the three months since returning from the beach house, Clarisse had not spoken of her trip to anyone. Charlotte's attempts to engage her on the subject were quickly dismissed. Joseph wasn't taking calls at the Inn, so all Charlotte could do was let nature take its course and go on planning her own wedding and looking after the two Queens.
The wedding was to be a simple affair. Only a handful of guests were invited; all friends of the bride and groom, or close friends of the Royal Family and, of course, the Prime Minister and his wife. The ceremony was to take place in the Palace Chapel, officiated by the Archbishop. The rehearsal was planned for the night before the wedding and was to be followed by a rather large party, thrown in the couple's honor by Queen Mia, the maid of honor.
It was a beautiful July evening for the rehearsal, and the wedding party had gathered in the chapel with the exception of Pierre, the groom. "Leave it to my son to be late for his own wedding rehearsal," Clarisse laughed.
"Just so long as he's not late for the wedding, Your Majesty" added the Archbishop.
"He'll be here soon. He's just gone to the train station to pick up his Best Man" Charlotte, calm as ever, had things under control. She hoped she was giving that impression anyway, since she was extremely nervous about her fiancé's choice of Best Man.
"Let's take our places everyone, we can get started without the groom. He's done many weddings himself, just from the other side of the rail." The group did as the Archbishop directed and faced the altar in their assigned positions. The Queen took her place in the Mother-of-the-Groom's pew on the left side of the small chapel.
Just then, the chapel door opened, and the groom stepped in announcing his own arrival. "We're here, glad to see you waited. You were right, old man, they couldn't start without us." He kissed Charlotte on the cheek, "Sorry we're late, darling," he whispered, "somebody needed more convincing this was a good idea." Pierre turned to face the altar:"My Lord Archbishop, where do you want us?"
Momentarily flustered, the Archbishop looked from the Groom to the Best Man to Clarisse. "Ahh, Your Highness, right here beside your bride, and ah, your, ah, Best Man beside you."
As the bridal party made room for the two men, the side door of the chapel opened and then closed as the former Queen of Genovia made her hasty exit.
A slight pause as the group registered what had just happened. Then a chorus of "I'll go" from at least three people as they tripped over each other in an attempt to go after Clarisse.
In his authoritative voice, the Best Man quieted them all. "No. I'll go. If you'll all excuse me." Pierre squeezed the man's shoulder affectionately as he left the altar, but Mia stood in his way. "Don't let her say no this time, will you, Joe?"
He smiled, "I'll do my best, Your Majesty". He exited the same door as Clarisse had moments ago, and the former Head of Security went off in search of the woman he loved.
A/N What awaits our tortured couple? To find out keep pressing that little button down there...