Part Six - FINAL
Once again, I would like to thank Denise and Kathy for their inestimable help in getting this part worked out and actually FINISHED. Any discrepancies and stupidities are mine alone!
Things were rather relaxed for a short time following the coronation. Charlotte, since Queen Clarisse was ostensibly on her honeymoon and Queen Mia was kept busy reading her grandmother's notes from years back as well as taking time to visit with her family for the few days they had left in Genovia, found herself at rather loose ends. She took Maurice for numerous walks in the vast gardens of the palace, and more often than not was also accompanied by Shades who complained with a smile that since his other charges were otherwise occupied indoors and quite safe, he had to watch Charlotte, who insisted on being outside and out of the range of the surveillance cameras.
One late night, in a weak moment after walking in the rose garden and smelling the intoxicating scent from the flowers, Charlotte shyly invited him into her room.
"'I thought you'd never ask,'" Shades grinned, quoting Joseph.
Charlotte smiled back, recognizing the quote. As they stepped inside, Shades' hand felt warm on her shoulder, then his mouth descended on hers, and she was lost in the delicious sensations aroused by the touch of his lips on hers and the warmth radiating from his body.
When he finally lifted his head, Charlotte struggled to breathe again. "You kiss well," she almost stammered, then flushed hotly. What an idiotic thing to say! Why was she so tongue-tied around Shades NOW? Just because of a few kisses? He was going to think she was ...
"Stop analysing, and enjoy!" he ordered, grinning at her before swooping down to capture her mouth with his again.
This time, he took the kiss deeper, and Charlotte was clutching at his shoulders, gasping for breath by the time he raised his head again.
"Oh, my!" was all she could say. Then she frowned at him. "Why are you smiling?"
"Because of the way you make me feel."
"The way I make YOU feel? How is that?"
He grinned at her. "You know. I feel like I'm ten feet tall. My heart is pounding like a jackhammer. I feel like I could leap high buildings in a single bound."
"You feel like Superman?" Charlotte teased, but her smile was tremulous. She was nervous and excited and aroused all at once.
"With you, I do," and Shades proceeded to kiss her cheeks, her nose, and the corners of her mouth. "Do you know how long I've been wanting to do this?" he whispered, his breath hot against her skin.
"No. How long?" She arched closer to him, hardly daring to believe she was acting like this with SHADES! He was her best friend ... not ... She couldn't complete the sentence. Not the way she was feeling as his hands lightly caressed her shoulders, and his lips teased hers. She caught back a moan as his mouth nibbled her earlobe.
"From the moment I first saw you. I just wouldn't admit it to myself right away."
"Why not?" Charlotte was finding it harder to think, and her hands were entangling themselves in the hair at the nape of his neck.
"Because ... does it really matter?" now Shades' voice was beginning to sound hoarse.
"No. I just wondered if it was because you've been with so many women ..."
"Charlotte!" he pulled back, shocked, then realized she was teasing him.
He kissed her seriously, then, and she kissed him back, holding him tightly as if she thought he might try to escape. His kisses were even more arousing than she had ever thought kisses could be.
"Are you sure you want this?" he asked, obviously holding himself back.
Charlotte breathed, "Shades, I'm way past want and into need right now!"
A soft chuckle was his only reply, then he clicked off the light and led her to her room.
O o O o O o
The next morning, Charlotte opened her eyes to find herself still in the circle of Shades' arms and to see him studying her thoughtfully. "Good morning," she whispered, not moving.
"I hope so," was his response. "After last night, I should think this entire WEEK will be good! No, make that the entire year!"
Her lips trembled into a faint smile. "So you don't regret it?"
"Hardly. Do you?"
"Not a chance."
"I'm not sure I want to move, though." Shades grimaced slightly.
"Hmmm," Charlotte nodded slightly. "I know what you mean."
"We should probably get up. I'd hate to be caught coming out of your room. I think I'll make sure later today that the camera doesn't point down this hall very often."
"You mean you don't mind if the bogeyman comes in and carries me off?" Charlotte pretended indignation. "Gee, thanks, Shades!"
He chuckled, then pulled her closer, his hand running over her back. "Actually, Charlotte, my dear, I plan to make sure PERSONALLY that you are safe and secure. If you will allow me the privilege, of course."
"Hmm," she snuggled in, "that's definitely worth thinking about."
Just then the palace intercom by her bed buzzed loudly. Sighing, she rolled over and answered it. "Yes?"
"Charlotte? It's, umm, Lionel. Queen Clarisse has asked for you to come to her suite right now. She said you're usually at work by now, but no one could find you, so I volunteered to phone to see if you had slept in. Umm, you don't happen to know where Shades is, by any chance, do you? Because Joseph was looking for him, too, for some other reason. I can't remember, now. Oh, crap!" Both Charlotte and Shades heard something smash. "Anyway," Lionel continued, "I just thought I'd let you know ... Oh, oh, here comes Joseph now, I've got to get this mess cleaned up. I dropped my cup of coffee ... gotta go!" Lionel spoke so quickly and nervously that Charlotte barely had time to murmur a response before he hung up.
Sitting up, holding the sheet around her, Charlotte looked over at the clock, then almost shrieked, "It's ten o'clock in the morning!"
Both scrambled up and into their clothes, Shades muttering that he had never slept in so late before. Just before they left her room, he grinned at her as he touched her nose lightly and said, "Well, you've got to admit, if I REALLY thought you plain and ordinary, you'd have been up at your usual time this morning."
Charlotte pushed him out of the room, trying unsuccessfully to frown at him. "Get moving!" Inwardly she was delighted by his words. He obviously truly liked her. Dared she hope he LOVED her? Rather startled by that random thought, Charlotte continue to ponder her relationship with Shades as she made her way to the queen's suite. When she had first come to Genovia, she had come for a job, not to find a boyfriend. She slightly shook her head, remember how she had once even thought of JOSEPH that way. Not seriously, of course, but, well, he was kind to her.
She had had a few boyfriends at university, of course, but no serious relationships. None had survived the few fumbling attempts at consummation. She had grown to LIKE Shades a great deal, and had never expected the liking to turn into something stronger. Yet it had. Shades was the best friend she had ever had, and now, especially after last night, she found she wanted more. She wanted assurance that he would be best friends with her forever, that he would LOVE her forever, despite her mother's view that love was over-rated. For the first time, she truly understood Joseph's words to Queen Clarisse that she was his to cherish always, that they could bring their friendship out of the shadows and love one another openly. Like Queen Clarisse, Charlotte was feeling cherished this morning, and didn't want to think of losing Shades. Yet, how did Shades feel? Charlotte wished suddenly she had a girlfriend to talk these things over with.
The nearer she drew to Queen Clarisse's suite, the more filled with trepidation Charlotte became. If she was told either that her services were no longer needed or that Queen Mia wasn't happy about her work, Charlotte was afraid she might have to return to the States. Joseph met her outside the former queen's suite.
"Lionel said you were looking for Shades!" Charlotte said, trying to smile.
Her smile wasn't returned. "I found him. I was REALLY looking for you, and Lionel had tracked you down." Joseph opened the door for her, his face grave, and suddenly worry almost overwhelmed her.
"What's going on?" she whispered through stiff lips. She was horribly afraid that somehow she and Shades had been seen, and now she was going to fired and sent back to the States in disgrace.
"Lord Palimore is here." he said.
Charlotte gulped and tried to think of what she might have done to offend the elderly gentleman.
"You'll be fine, Charlotte," Joseph touched her arm lightly. "He just wants to talk with you. Come in."
Wondering why Lord Palimore could possibly want to talk with HER, Charlotte stepped into the queen's sitting room. The queen was sitting on a loveseat, and Lord Palimore was pacing in front of the fireplace. He swivelled to face Charlotte, and she lowered her eyes when she realized he was studying her intently.
"Ah, Charlotte! I'm so glad Joseph found you." Queen Clarisse smiled and pointed to a chair. "Please, sit down."
Joseph led an uneasy Charlotte to the chair and seated her, then went to stand behind his wife. Queen Clarisse glanced at Lord Palimore, and he nodded, then returned to his perusal of Charlotte's face. The queen cleared her throat and Charlotte started almost imperceptibly, then concentrated on looking at the queen and trying to ignore Lord Palimore. "Charlotte," the queen began, "You know Lord Palimore, do you not?"
"I've seen him, your Majesty." Charlotte nodded to him. "Lord Palimore."
"It appears that he thinks you look familiar, and he would like to ask you some questions about your family." Queen Clarisse spoke gently.
"My ... my family?" Charlotte's eyes grew wide as she looked at the man. "You really think you know my family?"
"If my guess is right, my dear, you are my grand-daughter," Lord Palimore said. "My first wife and I had a daughter ..." his voice cracked, and he turned away abruptly to hide his emotion.
Queen Clarisse smoothly continued the story for him. "Their daughter ran away from home when she was seventeen, after becoming pregnant and refusing to name the father. Lord Palimore and his wife were understandably upset ..."
Lord Palimore interrupted, "We were incredibly stupid, Queen Clarisse should be saying. I sincerely regret our actions now, and have since Giselle's death twenty-five years ago. We threw our daughter out, and told her she was no longer our daughter and we didn't want to have anything to do with her, since she had disgraced her family so badly. You ... You look very like my daughter, Charlotte. Tell me, if I may ask, what was your mother's name?"
"Jeanne ..." Charlotte was dazed.
His eyes closed, and Charlotte could see tears beginning to seep from beneath the lids. "She kept her middle name. Does ... does this look anything like her?" Lord Palimore handed Charlotte a picture, and Charlotte bit her lip as she found herself looking at the young girl she KNEW had been her mother.
"Clarisse, my dear, I believe this is our cue to leave the room," Joseph bent over his wife. She seemed about to protest, but then she rose and the two left.
Charlotte, tears forming in her eyes, finally looked back up at Lord Palimore, seeing the tears brimming in his. In a moment she was up out of her chair, her arms tightly around him as he hugged her close.
O o O o O o
The news spread rapidly throughout the palace, and then across Genovia, that Charlotte Kutaway, personal assistant to the queen, was also the grand-daughter of Lord Palimore. Many stories circulated, some of them wild and crazy, some of them close to the truth, but no one who actually KNEW the truth would say a word. Although Lord Palimore wanted her to come and live with him and Lady Palimore, Charlotte had demurred, wanted to stay where she felt more comfortable. Queen Mia had begged her to stay on to help her, and had been the one to encourage Charlotte to agree to Lord Palimore's request that she take his place in parliament.
In spite of her happiness at having found some family, Charlotte was annoyed that Shades appeared to be a little disgruntled and a bit stand-offish being that she was now known to be the grand-daughter of a lord. Indeed, at times it seemed as if Shades was being extra cocky and outrageous in the hopes of driving Charlotte away.
One day just two weeks later, they happened to be standing together watching the dancing at one of the balls. As it was the first time Charlotte had attended a ball as an invited guest instead of as the queen's assistant, she was rather at loose ends. She had danced with her grandfather, then stood and talked to Lady Palimore for a while. Lady Palimore had taken Charlotte under her wing, claiming she saw the younger woman as an adopted grand-daughter, and Charlotte had revelled in her attention. Then Lord and Lady Palimore had become involved in a conversation with others, and Charlotte had taken the opportunity to walk over to Shades for a moment.
Seeing Joseph and Queen Clarisse swing by, Shades now asked abruptly, "Do you think Joseph and Queen Clarisse, you know ... did it? Before they were married?"
"Do you think they are human, like us?" Charlotte asked wryly. She wondered if he had hoped to shock her.
"Joseph is. I was never sure about the queen, myself. I mean, being royal and all ..."
"Being royal doesn't mean you get away with not being human. You saw how the queen suffered when she thought Joseph was going to leave, didn't you?"
"No. I only saw how HE was suffering because she wouldn't be open and above-board about their relationship. That's the trouble with women, you're often sneaky and deceiving ..."
"Shades!" Charlotte interrupted him, feeling horribly hurt that he had included her in the 'sneaky and deceiving' part, but not willing to explore his inclusion right then. Instead, she concentrated on his words about Joseph and Queen Clarisse. "You can't be serious! She felt she COULDN'T let everyone know how they felt about each other because of the von Troken's. They'd have jumped all over her and the princess if they'd felt that Genovia was not in the best of hands. You KNOW that. And Viscount Mabrey would have made his move a lot sooner, putting Lord Nicolas on the throne the moment he turned twenty-one. Think where Genovia would have been THEN -- with Viscount Mabrey in charge! Oh, I know he SAID Nicholas would be king, but he planned to be the power behind the throne, and you needn't think otherwise! Just being a member of the royal family doesn't cut you off from the rest of the world. Queen Clarisse is human, all right."
"Well, maybe. But she's not royal by birth anyway. She just married into it. That's different."
"Queen Mia IS royal by birth. You don't think she is human?"
"There's something about her ..." Shades' voice trailed off.
Charlotte laughed. She couldn't help herself. "Oh, really, Shades, I just don't believe you!"
"Well, I don't want to talk about royals any more. They give me the creeps, to be honest. I don't know how Joseph ever got the nerve to even THINK about the queen that way, let alone kiss her in the beginning. It's easy for Lord Nicholas since he's practically royal himself. No, I'm glad to be just a regular commoner, with ..." his voice trailed off and he turned away to watch the dancers again.
"With ...?" Charlotte prompted him.
"Nothing."
For a moment, Charlotte stared at him, and he resolutely kept his face averted. Then she said, slowly, "It's because of my mother, isn't it? That's why you don't treat me the same way you did before. And you blame me for not telling you, which is why you say all women are sneaky and deceiving. Shades, I swear, I did not know who my mother really was until just two weeks ago! Really, I'm the same person I always WAS!"
Reluctantly Shades looked at her, his face sheepish. "I think this is a moment when, if we were in a movie, I'd shuffle my feet and say, 'Aww, shucks, Ma'am, I ain't saying nothin' right.' The truth is, Charlotte, I, well, I guess maybe I'm a little ... scared."
"Scared? Of what?"
"Well, of ... us. You're now Lady Charlotte. Lord Palimore's grand-daughter. I'm still just Shades. Known only by my nickname. No last name. Like Joseph, you know? Just a nobody, really."
"And who did Joseph marry?" Charlotte interjected.
"That's different."
"Yes. He married a queen. I'm not sure what your point is, Shades. You know your family. You yourself are very well known in Genovia now as the Royal Head of Security. You're not a stranger with no last name at all. All I know for sure is that you seem to suddenly be carrying a big chip on your shoulder. I'm not sure I like you when you act like this. This isn't YOU, Shades!"
He was about to say something, when suddenly Lord Harmony was standing before them, bowing to Charlotte. "Lady Charlotte? May I have this dance?"
Charlotte looked at Shades. His face hardened, and he bowed slightly, "My lady. Lord Harmony is waiting." With that, he walked away.
Putting her hand in Lord Harmony's, Charlotte allowed him to lead her onto the dance floor, but all the time she felt as though she was drowning in misery. She wondered if she could find Queen Clarisse and ask to be excused from the rest of the ball, but when the dance was over, Lord Harmony led her over to another gentleman standing near an alcove. "Lady Charlotte, this is Prince Connor, King Rupert's younger brother. Your highness, this is Lady Charlotte, grand-daughter of Lord Palimore."
"Your highness," Charlotte sank down in a curtsey, her mind whirling. She had HEARD of this man, but had never met him. It was rumoured that he hadn't been seen in Genovia since Prince Philippe's baptism as a baby! Why was he here now, and why had he so obviously requested to meet HER?
"My lady." He kissed her fingers, staring deeply into her eyes.
Nervously Charlotte looked away, and happened to catch Queen Clarisse's gaze as she danced by with Joseph. Instantly the queen stopped dancing and, still holding Joseph's hand, approached the other couple. "Connor! I didn't expect to see you here!"
"Do you ever expect to see me, sweet sister-in-law-that-was?" he grinned, bowing to her. Straightening up, he held out his hand to Joseph. "I'm Rupert's black sheep younger brother, Connor. You must be Joseph. I've heard a great deal about you."
Shaking the hand held out, Joseph smiled rather thinly. "And I you, your highness."
"Please, call me Connor."
"Why are you here, Connor?" demanded Queen Clarisse, putting a hand out automatically to detain Charlotte who was considering slipping unobtrusively away. "Why are you bothering Lady Charlotte?"
"On the contrary, Clarisse, I am not bothering her. I heard the news, of course ... and I had to come."
"The news?" Queen Clarisse's eyes darted to Joseph for an instant.
"No, no, not THAT news!" chuckled the prince. "No, my old friend Harmony told me about Lord Palimore's long-lost grand-daughter."
The queen's eyes widened. She looked from Prince Connor to Charlotte, then back to the prince. After a short pause, she drew a sharp breath and said, "I think we should all go in the alcove to discuss this."
"As you wish," agreed the prince. "After you, ladies."
By now, Charlotte's stomach was roiling. She obediently followed the queen into the alcove, but she wished fervently she could run away. She wished Shades could be with her. But Shades didn't even LIKE her any more -- simply because she was Lord Palimore's grand-daughter! And what did this ... this PRINCE have to do with her?
Just then, she felt a hand on her arm, and Joseph murmured to her, "I'll get him, Charlotte. I do believe you might need him."
"Him?" she turned in puzzlement, just in time to see Joseph sharply beckon Shades.
"Your Majesty? Sirs? My lady ..." Shades entered, rather taken aback to see the small enclave standing in the alcove. He obviously had no idea who Prince Connor was either.
"It is because she IS your lady, I believe, that I thought you should be here," muttered Joseph to Shades, just loud enough for Charlotte to hear, too. "Am I right, Shades? Charlotte IS your lady?"
"Well ..." now Shades had a slightly abashed look on his face. "I had hoped she was ..."
Charlotte tossed her head, forgetting the presence of the others. "In your dreams," she announced briskly.
Shades frowned at her. "What does that mean?"
"If you don't mind," Queen Clarisse recalled them all to the matter at hand. "Connor ...?" Joseph stepped closer to his wife, and put his hand on the small of her back in his characteristic fashion
The prince bowed again, his eyes on Charlotte. "I have every reason to believe, based on what I have heard that you are ...well, my daughter." He ignored Queen Clarisse's gasp. "Yes, and seeing you know, my dear, I really do think that I am your father. If all had gone as your mother and I planned, you would, even now, be known as Princess Charlotte."
"Ah, man ..." Charlotte vaguely heard Shades' low groan through the swirling darkness that suddenly descended on her. Next thing she knew, she was blinking up at Shades and realized she was being completely supported by him. His arms were around her, holding her upright. "Don't bother saying, 'where am I?'" Shades grumbled at her. "You're in my arms, and if I have my way, you'll stay here forever. In a manner of speaking, of course. Now, if you want to ask, 'who am I?', I'm with you." Then he looked up. "Just who are you, sir? Besides saying you're her father and making her faint dead away like that."
Faintly amused, Prince Connor smiled at him. "I think I like you, and I don't even know you! But I like how you obviously care for ... for my daughter." There was a catch in his voice, but no one said anything when he paused for a brief moment. "I am Prince Connor. King Rupert was my big brother. Rupert was the perfect one of the family. I was the wild son, the one my father despaired of reforming. In my late teens, I became involved with Lady Marie Jeanne, Lord Palimore's daughter. We got to know each other extremely well, fell in love and planned to be married. Unfortunately, my parents had already chosen my bride, and I had to abandon poor Marie Jeanne. I had no idea she was pregnant, however, when I left her." His compassionate eyes were on Charlotte, and she swallowed hard, fighting the disbelief that was still swirling around her brain. "Had I known, you may be sure that I would not have married Gwen Mabrey, arranged marriage or no! I suspected, of course, when I heard that Marie Jeanne had run away just a month after I was married and left Genovia for Liechtenstein, but I could find no trace of her. Now I know that she moved to America and changed her name as well. When Harmony told me the news, that Charlotte was Marie Jeanne's daughter, I knew she had to be mine as well."
Charlotte continued to lie comfortably against Shades, feeling his heart thudding under her cheek. She closed her eyes, and wished this was all a dream, that she and Shades were alone in her bed... She didn't WANT to be the daughter of a prince! She simply wanted to be Shades' wife! If this was true, if she was really a princess, Shades would never have anything to do with her again!
Just then, Queen Mia walked in. "Excuse me, but I just now realized a number of my guests are gathered in here! Shades? Is something wrong with Charlotte? Err, I mean, Lady Charlotte. Sorry, Charlotte, I keep forgetting." Then she stared again at Prince Connor. "I ... you look a little familiar."
Prince Connor bowed to her. "I am your great-uncle, Mia. Your grandfather was my brother. And Lord Nicholas is my nephew, since my late wife was his aunt on his father's side. You may call me Uncle Connor. Oh, and Charlotte is my daughter, therefore she is actually Princess Charlotte."
Charlotte struggled to remain standing upright, grateful for Shades' supporting arms around her. She saw Queen Mia's mouth drop open. "Charlotte's a PRINCESS? SHUT UP! This is WONDERFUL news!"
"I'm not so sure Charlotte is of the same opinion," Prince Connor said dryly. "I have yet to hear her reaction. I SAW the faint, of course." He sighed when Queen Clarisse made a faint derisive sound in her throat. "She IS my daughter, Clarisse. I WOULD have married Marie Jeanne, but Father wouldn't hear of it. He had arranged to have Gwen and I married about the same time he arranged to have you and Rupert married. And we both know how many arranged marriages turn out."
"Rupert was my best friend!" Queen Clarisse hissed. "You barely tolerated Gwen!"
"Could you have tolerated her brother, Arthur, had you married HIM?" the prince retorted. "She was just like him."
Queen Clarisse recoiled slightly at the thought, and Queen Mia and Joseph both instinctively stepped closer to support her.
"I had to marry Gwen to please Father, to try to make peace with our families. I cried at our wedding, but was forced to dance. I wanted to dance at her funeral, not cry. Not meaning any disrespect, of course!" he added hastily. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm getting lonely for family. You know Gwen and I had no children. I must say, I'm incredibly delighted to have found out about Charlotte, and I do hope that she will be delighted to get to know me a little better. Many women would love to be a princess of Genovia."
Shades suddenly spoke up, and everyone could hear the scepticism in his voice. "Charlotte doesn't even KNOW you! What if she doesn't want to be a princess? What if she doesn't want to acknowledge YOU as her father?" He shook his head. "I just don't understand. It seems to me that the main advantages in being royal are doing WHAT you want, WHEN you want and WITH WHOM you want! Charlotte can do that right now, as plain, ordinary ..." He stopped, and his hands tightened on Charlotte as he looked down at her and smiled suddenly. "I'm sorry, darling. You are not at all plain and CERTAINLY not ordinary. My mistake." Then he glanced back at Prince Connor, almost defiantly. "Charlotte can be whatever she wants to be, and WHOEVER she wants to be, and she'll be with ME, if I'm lucky, for the rest of our lives. I think you should just ... take a hike, or do whatever it is you royals do, and let her have some time to think about all this, and decide what SHE wants to do and who SHE wants to be."
At that moment, Lord Palimore walked in, followed by his wife. He looked around the group, then banged his cane on the ground, harrumphed and said gruffly to Shades, "The way you're holding her, I hope you plan to make an honest woman out of my Charlotte, Sir!"
Taken aback at being called sir, Shades nevertheless answered firmly, "Charlotte is the most honest woman I know, Lord Palimore. I don't NEED to make her any more honest. But if you are asking if I am planning to marry her, I can tell you that that is my greatest desire in life right now."
Charlotte suddenly felt waves of joy washing over her. He really DIDN'T seem to mind who her parents were anymore. Could it be that he truly cared for her as a person? Was he at last understanding ...?
"Hmph." Lord Palimore snorted. "Spoken with the silver tongue undoubtedly learned at your father's knee in Hollywood. Marshall always COULD talk the hind end off a donkey!"
"Ah, but it was spoken with truth and love, sir," Shades said, tightening his arms around Charlotte.
"And of course you were planning to ask my permission to marry her?"
"Lord Palimore ..." Prince Connor began.
Shades interrupted them both. "No, sir. Nor yours." He looked at Lord Palimore first, then at the prince. "Only Charlotte. I'm just going to ask Charlotte. She's the only one who matters in this discussion. And I'll ask her when we're alone." He looked down at her and she smiled back at him, knowing what her answer would be. She continued to lean on him for support now, loving the feel of his arms around her, not because she needed it, but because she wanted it.
"Hmph," Lord Palimore said again. Then he growled at Prince Connor, "I stood just outside and listened. For a while. I'd love to hold you responsible for me losing my daughter, but I can't. I did that on my own, and I've suffered for it for many years. I guess that, even though I wish I didn't need to, I DO have to hold you responsible for giving me a grand-daughter. But that doesn't mean I have to like you." He scowled. "Now that you've dropped your little bombshell, I think you should ... take a hike, as my grandson-in-law-to-be has already suggested!"
Queen Mia smothered a giggle at the old man's uncharacteristic use of slang, but Charlotte, her heart overflowing with happiness, suddenly knew she had to forgive the man who had fathered her so carelessly all those years ago, but who now, for whatever reason, wanted to try to make it up to her. She had no idea yet if she WOULD accept the title of 'princess', but it didn't really matter anymore. He had cared for her enough to come and inform her once HE knew the truth.
Then Joseph grinned again. "Isn't it nice to know that Charlotte is really Mia's cousin? First cousin once removed, I believe. She's also Nicholas' cousin, even if it IS only by marriage. And to think I once wanted to hang him by his toes in the courtyard!"
"Oh, tosh! Speaking of Nicholas, I'd better go find him, or he'll be wanting to hang ME by my toes!" said Queen Mia.
"TOSH?" Queen Clarisse stared at her grand-daughter. "When did you start saying that?"
Queen Mia grinned impishly. "When you wouldn't let me say 'he ...'"
"MIA!"
Queen Mia laughed. She was about to leave when suddenly Lionel poked his head in through the curtain, and, oblivious to the frowns directed at him, stepped in, smiling at Queen Clarisse. "Is everything all right here?"
"Queen Mia!" Lord Palimore barked, and they all jumped. Queen Mia looked at him inquiringly. "I trust you are aware of what is happening to the Heads of Security around here. One married the queen. The next is going to marry my grand-daughter, the princess. I'd like you to tell me that you are not planning to marry Lionel here! After all, it's not YOU he idolizes, is it?"
Everyone but Lionel had known of the young man's crush on Queen Clarisse -- unbeknownst to poor Lionel, stories of his adoration of her had been circulating the palace and, apparently, Parliament as well. It was impossible to stop from grinning at Lord Palimore's dry comments. Charlotte hadn't thought her grandfather was ever awake enough to take notice of such a small thing, but he was continually surprising her.
Lionel flushed deeply. "Oh, sir, I'm not Head of Security yet, and no, sir, I don't want to marry Queen MIA, I mean, I don't love HER, I mean, I'm too young to marry ..." Continuing to stammer, he backed out of the alcove.
"We can all learn something from you, Lord Palimore!" Joseph grinned, clapping the Lord on the shoulder and ignoring the pained look the older man gave him.
Queen Mia laughed and exited the room, followed by Joseph and Queen Clarisse, arm in arm. Lord Palimore stared at Prince Connor for a moment, then stuck out his hand. "Connor," he growled. "I hate to be in your debt."
"Likewise," Prince Connor said, shaking the hand firmly. "But it is Charlotte who concerns me most now."
"True." conceded Lord Palimore. Then he looked at his wife. "My dear, shall we retire? I find I can't stay up as late as I used to. Good night, Charlotte, my dear. Shades, be good to her."
"Always, my Lord."
"I always liked you, you know," Lord Palimore suddenly confided. "From the moment I first met you, you know, I thought Joseph was right to groom you to be the next Head of ..."
"Come along, dear," Lady Palimore took her husband's arm firmly, interrupting his conversational flow. "It's late."
Lord and Lady Palimore went out of the alcove too, leaving Shades, Charlotte and Prince Connor. Charlotte disentangled herself from Shades' embrace and approached the prince shyly. "I'm sorry I reacted as I did when you told me who I was and who you were."
He smiled faintly. "And I'm sorry I had to do it that way. In fact, I'd say I was sorry I had to do it at all, but once my friend Lord Harmony told me of your existence, I just couldn't resist coming to see you. You are beautiful, my dear. You resemble your mother a great deal, but you have a little of me in you, too. Your eyes. They're like MY mother's. Be happy, my dear, in your new life, whatever you choose it to be. I DO hope to meet with you again."
"Thank you." Charlotte watched as he left, then turned to Shades, stepping in to his embrace as if she had been doing it all her life. She did indeed have a new life to live ... and she wanted to live it as a member of the Genovian Parliament for her grand-father and, yes, even as a princess for her father, but most of all, she wanted to live it with Shades by her side as her husband, best friend and lover. Forever.
THE END at last!