Chapter 6

The wiring was all messed up again. Joseph pulled out the handful of bundled plastic coated copper wires from inside the steel box, deep in the basement of the palace. As he ripped the few loose wires out that had gone astray from the bundle, one solitary copper tip dug in the flesh of his arm.

"Dammit." Joseph watched a few drops of blood trickle out of the wound. It wasn't bad. "More blood than anything," he spoke to himself.

He was glad he had came alone this morning. After being informed of the glitches in the camera system, Joseph had skipped the breakfast he couldn't eat anyway, and headed for the maze of wires and pipes in the very deep layer of his home. She had been on his mind. She was always on his mind, but after the past several days, Clarisse had left teeth marks in his heart, and they were painful. More painful than usual.

Day after day, it seemed, he had given her the chance and the golden opportunity to speak. After waiting the usual few minutes of silence, he could no longer stand being at her side and not hearing what he needed; what she needed to say. It was so obvious to him that she was thinking it, so why was it that she kept quiet?

Joseph twisted the ends together and rerouted the main cameras again, having done just this same thing only months ago. It would have to do until an appropriate time came when the whole system could be shut down and rewired. He would have to see her today, speak to her about it. So much for avoiding her.

He shut the panel, securily locking the steel door. It echoed through the halls, traveling the shallow, empty tunnels until the sound returned to him. It was eerie. It was sort of the way he felt. He had part of her inside him, but mostly he felt empty. Sliding to the floor, he sat. He needed to think, if just for a few minutes. He looked at his arm, rolling up his sleeve. He wondered if the blood seeping out was the only part of his Clarisse he had inside. Was he losing her now?

She had settled for tea only. It smelled wonderful, and was properly laid out before her, fit for a Queen. Clarisse was certain it was as delicious as usual, but breakfast did not settle with her this morning. Somehow it seemed nothing would settle with her this morning.

The majority of the night was spent sitting up, thinking entirely of him. She had imagined every case scenerio that could possible happen in their lives, but one stood out foremost and steadfast in her mind. It was the proverbial 'happily ever after' ending. She had read the fairy tales as a child, but could never believe in them. She rationalized that it had been the lack of happiness and the fact that she had never really been a child to begin with. Clarisse had always looked for the happy ending, but during her loveless marriage all ideas had fled from her heart. Now Joseph was bringing them back.

Her docket was full again. Clarisse had listened to her faithful aide read the schedule over twice now, and still couldn't figure out just when she was suppose to breath. She was Queen, maybe they thought she was beyond breathing. Seeing as now being a good opportunity, she took a deep breath, letting her exhale audibly escape.

Shuffling through the papers, Clarisse could not concentrate on a single one. His face would be the imprint on the paper before her. She would see his smile, the one he graced her with that one special day. He had been so proud of her then. He had let it show all that day. Clarisse leaned back in her chair as she tossed the papers on the desk before her.

Her eyes were open, but she was daydreaming. Millie and Howard, the children, the puddle of rainwater that had made Joseph carry her. She needed to run across more puddles in her life. She missed them, all of them. It had been over a month now since that day. How long would it be before she could travel there again?

They had brought out feelings in her that she had never felt, never known existed inside herself. Joseph was one of them, and he had showed her more love than she had thought possible between two people. She laughed to herself. Here she was, Queen of Genovia, ruler for decades now, and she was still learning about her people, and more importantly, herself.

She literally jumped up from her chair. "Why do I have to wait for anything? I am Queen. I can do anything. I ...can...do...anything."

"Charlotte!" Yelled, she had never yelled before, but found it felt rather good. "Charlotte!" She repeated, as the clicking of heels upon the tiled floor echoed through the vast lower floor.

"Your Majesty?" Charlotte sounded rather out of breath from scurrying down the hall. "Is something wrong?"

"NO..YES. Charlotte, get me Joseph, and clear my schedule for the day."

"Your Majesty, you have a..." Charlotte tried to remind her of what was scheduled.

"I don't care Charlotte. Reschedule if you can, if not, then send my regrets that I cannot attend. Something more important has come up." Clarisse watched the stunned look upon Charlotte's face. "Now, Charlotte, time is wasting."

"Oh, Yes. Right away." She hastily made her exit, shaking her head in pure abandon as a million things ran through her mind.

"Joseph it has occured to me that I am Queen." Clarisse rushed around her suite, quickly tidying herself, preparing for a day out. Joseph stood in awe as he watched, contemplating just what she had on her mind.
"Well, I took it upon myself to think you had been notified that the title had been bestowed upon you years ago." He did not mean it to sound as it had, Joseph had sincerely meant the words that rolled off his tongue. Clarisse stopped in her tracks, and gave him a rather stern look.

"That was uncalled for."

"I apologize, Your Majesty. I had not meant that the way it had sounded. I meant you have been Queen for so many years..." He knew when to stop. Joseph just knew that any more words would be harmful to both of them. "I do apologize." He bowed before her.

"Oh Joseph get up. You need not apologize to me. I understand. I want to take another ride Joseph." Clarisse slipped on a deep mauve jacket over her suit, and straightened it in the full length mirror she was so fond of.

"Ride, where?"

"Anywhere...everywhere Joseph." She fiddled with her hair, still weary of that same strand which always bothered her. "I want to see my country. Charlotte has cleared my schedule for the day, and I want you to show me Genovia like before. The best and worst. I want to see it all." Joseph nodded in understanding. However this completely caught him off guard.

"I want you to drive me, no one else please. I feel inadequate having a driver when we are in some places. I trust you to be everything I need." She rambled on, as Joseph watched her fiddle with her hair. His heart was so confused.

"And I'd like to also visit some of the factories Joseph. I think a surprise visit from their Queen is in order, don't you? I cannot wait for the elections, I need to visit these places now. I love you Joseph. The docks also. I know I see them enough, but that is always planned, you know. I want to know what goes on daily." She knew she had said it. It was easy to just let it fly with everything else. Now she was proud of herself. It was a major step in the right direction...all of it. But did he hear? Clarisse peered in her mirror, studying his blank face staring back at her.

Being use to hearing such ramblings on the security frequency, Joseph understood every word. Every word that she had said except for three of them. Maybe it was all the thinking he had done so early this morning. Maybe it wasn't. Maybe it was all in his head, all there because he wanted it to be.

Joseph stood silent. The glare from the mirror staring him in the eye. The glare was surely the brightness in her eyes. Yes, she had said them. She had said them.