Talking to Joe

The bed dipped slightly, the occupant rolling to the side. A warm body slipped under the covers next to the occupant.

Clarisse opened her eyes to see Joseph settling beneath the covers, finding a comfortable position on the bed. She had been wide awake ever sense Mia left for bed a few hours ago.

He sensed her eyes on him after a moment.

"Trouble sleeping, my love?" he whispered.

"Yes, there's something on my mind," she whispered back to him. He turned to face her, their eyes immediately meeting.

"Tell me about it."

"Mia learned about Isabella today," she said, not beating around the bush. "It seems she came upon her grave and she came to me with questions. I saw no way to possibly get around them and now she knows."

"Knows what exactly?" Joseph asked slowly. He appeared to be unfazed by the news and that just made Clarisse add that to the list of things she loved about him.

"She knows that you're the father of Isabella. She learned about Rupert; general information about him. That's really about it," she summarized. "That's all she asked about and I didn't see fit to tell her things I'm not ready for her to know."

Joseph chuckled. "That seems fair. Her curious nature was just getting the better of her."

"I know and I love that about her," she interrupted.

"But if she asks more, you'll have to tell her. She's old enough to know and it's not hurting anyone," he pointed out.

Clarisse settled herself ion his arms.

"I know. That's what I'm afraid of."

The morning was sometimes the quietest time in the palace. The maids weren't bustling around; the guards weren't making their rounds. Hardly anybody was up before six AM. Mia was though, and so was Joseph.

The kitchen was where she found him that morning, sitting at the counter sipping coffee. He was flipping through some papers she guessed were about security matters.

She hesitated at first about talking to him but when he acknowledged her presence without even looking up, she just had to know.

"Good morning, Princess. You're up early."

Mia walked down the rest of the stairs and joined him at the counter.

"How'd you know it was me?"

"I always know," he said simply. "And I bet I even know why you're up and down here so early."

Mia narrowed her eyes at him. Joe finally turned to look at her.

"You want answers."

"Answers about what?" She tried to move around the subject. She wasn't going to make it that easy for him.

"Now, Princess, you and I both know the answer to that," Joe answered coyly.

Mia gave up. "What'd you do, talk to grandma already?"

"Of course not. She never gets up before seven."

"How do you know that?"

Joe gave her a look and Mia understood. "Right, it's your job to know and you always know."

He pushed the papers aside and abandoned his coffee. He turned his full attention on the young girl and couldn't help but feel a little scared.

"Please, Mia, ask any and all the questions you want for now. I do have other things I need to be doing." He let her set the pace, allowed her to ask any questions just so she could ease her mind about the matter.

"I learned about Isabella yesterday," she started. "Did it hurt grandma more than she's letting on when she lost her?"

"It hurt her very much," Joe answered quickly. "She cried for days afterwards. She wouldn't eat, wouldn't let sunlight enter the room. It was hard snapping her out of it. Some years, she has a rough time getting through January. Other years, it can go by without as much heartache. Everyone here lets her go into recluse. The way we see it is that it's her much needed vacation every year."

The young woman stayed silent. She only hoped that when she was married and had children that she would never lose one.

"Mia, I'd advise you to never mention Isabella again to your grandmother. It's far too painful a memory for her. One must know how to speak to her," Joe advised. Mia nodded.

"Do you love her?" she asked succinctly a short time later.

He hesitated for a second but couldn't help answering.

"Very much so."

"Was it difficult having an affair with the queen?" Mia asked boldly.

Joe shot her a look. "Mia…" he warned.

"What? It's an innocent question," she shrugged.

"No, it wasn't. The king was away a lot and as long as we stayed from the maids, we were in no danger."

"So you're saying she was lonely."

"No, that's not what I'm saying at all. She was very busy with the king's absences. She had her duties and his to take care of. Not to mention her children to take care of. She never appeared lonely on the outside but I suppose sometimes she was," he explained. Quickly he added, "But that is not why we started out relationship."

"Why did you? Joe, you of all people have to understand why I can't understand this."

"Listen closely to me, Mia. Your grandmother and I know very well that infidelity is wrong. Don't follow our example," he told her calmly. "Let me tell you about when we first met."

"It was a month before she moved to the palace. We met in the market, at a café. She was there with a friend and I was rushing through because I was late to return to the palace. I had just begun my internship. We collided as she was getting up from her seat. I was so smitten with her right away. I didn't want to leave, I was so captivated. I didn't know that I would later see her at the palace, engaged to marry the crown prince.

"I've loved your grandmother from the moment I saw her, Mia. It was inevitable from the start," he confessed.

"Anything going on now?" Mia asked sarcastically. Joe couldn't help but answer.

"That's something you should ask your grandmother."