Chapter twelve

"Do you think it will work?" Sebastian Motaz spoke over the roar of the crowd.

"I'm sure she'll be there, however I'm not counting on her flying there," Joseph answered, knowing exactly what he was speaking of. It wasn't the same subject that graced the room for the past two hours, but the two had it continuously on their minds the whole time. The Queen of Genovia had to fly again.

Prime Minister Sebastian Motaz had been supporting her to the fullest, yet his work as Prime Minister was suffering as he took the bulk of her travel as his own responsibility. Joseph knew he was wearing thin, the travel tiring and the responsibility overburdening. So not only was his mission one of simple compassion for Clarisse, but also of concern for the Prime Minister of his country.

Today the Prime Minister had showed his weakness. If not for Joseph, Viscount Mabrey would have dealt Genovia a raw hand for his own personal gain. Joseph had sat erect beside Motaz the whole time, with his eyes glaring directly at Mabrey. The intimidation had worked, as Mabrey became so uncomfortable he had left early, regardless of his ranking. Today Joseph had been everything that Motaz could not.

"Here's to air travel," Sebastian raised his glass. Joseph raised his in turn, and gulped the brandy down, letting it burn away the immediate need for his Clarisse.

After clearing her schedule for the following weekend, Clarisse had Olivia pack a few things. To her, a few things consisted of one suitcase and two carry-ons. It had been a tedious job, figuring out what exactly to carry, especially since she could not say where exactly she was going. She almost blushed when the thought occurred to her that she would not be wearing hardly anything at all. However she had to make it look real, so she picked out several suits, along with a few evening gowns in which she would have wore for dinner. After all, a Queen must always be prepared.

So now her luggage was sitting on the floor in front of her, awaiting a staff butler to carry them to the chopper, which was conveniently waiting on the western grounds. She still had a half hour before she must leave, and Clarisse was beginning to feel lightheaded.

She took two deep breaths while closing her eyes, envisioning her Joseph. She had told herself earlier that she would think of only him, and for the past four hours it had worked. Several times she had caught a glimpse of a blush across her cheek, and she tried to hide it. For the most part she had. However she could never hide it from herself. The blush ran deep inside, and warmed her whole body and soul. Not only was it comforting, but for the first time in quite awhile, Clarisse felt like herself again.

It had taken far longer to figure out what to wear tonight. After rummaging through the mass, she decided to follow her instinct and go with a simple black dress. It wasn't extravagant, but she knew well that her Joseph would appreciate the simple much more. Besides, it flattered her figure, and Clarisse appreciated that. Looking in the full length mirror once more, she ran her hands over the curves of her hips. Sighing at the fact she had gained weight, Clarisse became content at the fact that the dress transformed her most problematic area nicely.

Her hands ran down her sides once more, forming to her curvy hips. Of course her thoughts turned to him again. "Joseph," she whispered. Tonight those hands would be his, roaming her form, squeezing and taunting the nerve endings in her skin. She swallowed, feeling a warmth spread through her. Her body craved him, and Clarisse could no longer control the heat surging inside her, brightening her cheeks to a bright red.

"Time to go, Your Majesty," a voice called from just inside her door.

"Very well," she answered, turning away from the mirror to hide her condition. "I'll be down in a moment," which could easily be translated to 'whenever she was ready'.

It was time. Clarisse walked from one room to the other, making excuses to herself of any sort. Anything to keep from going downstairs. In being honest to herself, she knew she would be nervous. She had prepared herself for that all afternoon. Now the afternoon was over, and evening was upon her, and it was time.

Beads of perspiration seeped through her pores. She chided herself for sweating, after all, a Queen should never be seen perspiring. Neither should a Queen be seen shaking, such as her hands were now. Her heart beat hard, pounding her every extremity, and a sudden chill set upon her. In an instant, Clarisse found herself sliding to the floor in her closet, her arms wrapped around herself, her body uncontrollably shaking itself into a fretful shock.

"So you want me to believe that the Queen asked you how it was, and if she would enjoy it?" The tall man sitting before the monitors broke out in hysterics. He doubled over in laughter, holding his stomach like it ached, and his mouth as if he would spit up like a baby.

"You don't believe me?" Shades sighed, understanding just why Andre refused to believe his story. After all, he had not really believed it himself as it was happening, and even afterward he had often thought it had been a dream. "Oh come on. Joseph believed me," he added, knowing how much pull Joseph's beliefs had on the group of security men.

When Andre refused to stop laughing, Shades shook his head and vowed to give up on the subject. He'd never win this one, even if it was true. Right now he had to go anyway, as Queen Clarisse would be preparing for departure any minute now. Shades, being Joseph's most trusted side-kick, was adorned the responsibility of taking his place beside her until she met up with Joseph.

Shades, thinking over the fact that no one in the palace refused to believe his story but Joseph, strolled along, eventually coming to the west end doors. "20 on the Eagle?" Shades spoke into his mic., wondering just how late his Queen was running this time.

"The Eagle's in her nest," a voice replied. Shades nodded to himself, having already confirmed to himself that she would be late, as usual.

He slipped into a chair by the doors, one that was used for security anyway. In an attempt to keep himself awake, he tried stretching. It had been a long day, as they always were when Joseph was away. He could hardly wait until he returned tonight.

She pulled herself up, after minutes of being a total nervous wreck. She was thankful no one had seen her like that. Making her way into the bath, Clarisse wet a cool cloth and placed it on the back of her neck. Not only did it wash off the layer of sweat, but it refreshed her enough to bring her back into her conscience mind. She knew that she could not handle the flight she so wanted to take tonight. She held it there for a moment or two, hiding in the bath as she heard Charlotte in the outer room.

Holding the receiver to her ear, Charlotte jotted down several notes as she spoke. "I'll be sure to let them know right away, I believe they are getting ready to lift off soon." Charlotte hung up, and began walking out as she believed the suite to be empty.

"Shades, Joseph is down," she spoke into her mic that connected her within the circle of the Queen's most important employees.

Clarisse overheard the words, and a sudden reality hit her. Joseph was in trouble. A thousand questions ran through her mind at once as Clarisse ran out the bath to catch Charlotte, only to find that she had already disappeared, surly to meet with the security staff.

With her hands shaking, Clarisse took off after her, needing more information than what she really wanted to know. 'Joseph', she worried. She just knew his plane was down. Was it some curse on Genovia One lately? Was it the weather? The new pilots? WHAT?

She literally ran down the staircase as fast as her heels would allow. As she hit the tiled floor at the bottom, the thought hit her. 'What if he's ...'. She could not even think of the word. Passing several guards, who couldn't help but be awed at the sight, Clarisse headed for the west exit. There was no time to meet with security. She needed to find him, just like he had her, so many months ago now.

Sprinting like a deer, she swept across the grass and climbed into the chopper herself. "Let's go," she demanded as the pilot gave her a questioning look. "Now!"

"Your Majesty, your security?"

"There's no time, go!" She buckled herself in the middle and held onto the armrest to her left where her Joseph had sat only days ago.

The whirling gradually became louder, and at last Clarisse felt the rise off the ground. She felt it, but she did not think about it. All that crossed her mind was the situation that was happening at the moment. Joseph.

She had not even stopped to find out what 'down' meant. It had only now occurred to her that the only times she had heard that term was when he or someone else had been shot. "Oh God," she sighed. She swallowed hard and tapped on the pilot's shoulder. "Can you radio my security and find out about Joseph?" She spoke above the noise, but still louder than she needed to.

"I'm sorry, but we've gone too far to radio the palace directly. I'll have to call the tower at the airport."

"No, no." She knew that would be a mistake. That would be one thing Joseph would not want her to do. "Take me to London," she replied.

"London, ma'am?"

"Yes. Fly over the springs first, then on to London." Where ever he was, she was going to find him. The springs were not out of the way, and London was where she could be informed of the situation, and most likely where Joseph was, or close to. He would have left about the same time as she. He could not have gotten far.

"The springs are just ahead, ma'am," the pilot called over his shoulder. "There," he pointed to a darkened area, lit only with lights surrounding the pad built especially for the chopper.

She knew Joseph would have had a landing platform built. She was right about that. Everything else was dark, though she could make out the form of a building. It was dark inside.

"Go on," she called back, then turned to try and see more of Joseph's surprise for her. 'But will we ever get to see it together now?'

It would take slightly longer to reach London in the chopper. She wanted to get out and push. At least she would be doing something now besides worrying over him. No, it was more than worry, and the chopper was going as fast as possible. This may well turn out to be her longest flight ever.

That was almost funny, for she was sure her first real flight would probably be her shortest ever. Right now it didn't seem to matter. Nothing mattered but finding him, and finding him safe and sound. A pain moved into her stomach, and Clarisse feared the worst. She had every reason to.