The day of the annual Genovian Independence Day Parade had arrived. Clarisse woke up to bright sunlight shining on her bed, and squinted and buried her face in the pillow. Only Olivia's insistence that she not be late got her out of bed and ready for another royal public appearance.

The red silk jacket and jewels made her looked pale and washed out. A little extra makeup was in order today for sure. Clarisse stared at her reflection in the mirror. Was it her imagination or was she looking tired and old? Must be all the stress of preparing Mia to be Queen, she told herself, applying lipstick and eye shadow a bit more liberally than normal.

As Clarisse climbed into the Carriage beside Mia, she didn't make eye contact with Joseph. He had narrowed his eyes when he saw her, taking in her appearance: the tired look, and the extra makeup. Something was not right, but now wasn't the time to inquire. He made a mental note to check up on her later.

However, later turned into several days. The Security Team was busy preparing the arrangements for the Princess' slumber party, the visit of many the royal guests, albeit young princesses. Joseph didn't have much time to see Clarisse, let alone inquire about the reason for her fatigue.

The Slumber Party had not seemed like a good idea to Clarisse, but she knew that her presence was important to Mia and so she prepared herself for the screams of the young princesses and all their silly chatter. Mia had especially asked Clarisse not to miss the talent show portion of the evening, and that had her worried. The last time, Clarisse had been shamed into performing a song at Mia's 18th birthday party, and she had felt embarrassed. Queen's don't do karaoke, she reasoned. She assumed tonight would be more of the same, and she wasn't really up to it. Perhaps a little encouragement before she went down to the party might help. As she reached into the wardrobe to retrieve the bottle she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror. She quickly looked away, not bearing to see the tired, worn look, and undoubtedly more lines than yesterday. When did she start looking so old?

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To take advantage of the soundproofing, Joseph joined Shades in the security room, and they tuned the cameras to the ballroom. Clarisse hadn't mattress surfed in years, and yet there she was joining the youngsters in the somewhat dangerous diversion. That didn't seem like the woman he knew, abandoning decorum in front of not only the princesses, but most of the staff as well. Why was she acting so strangely?

His concern was heightened later in the evening when he watched her onstage singing. He had often heard her sing over the years, but this music was definitely not her style. What was going on? Even Shades cast him a questioning look. When the staff was beginning to wonder about the erratic behaviour of their monarch, that definitely was not good. Something had to be done.