Thanks for all my reviews, lovely of you guys! Disney, Meg Cabot own all these, I just get to twist them….

She woke on the Friday, her birthday, extremely early. She lay for a while, the silk sheets clinging to her body, even though the air-conditioning had been on full all night. She felt dreadfully languid and she was acutely aware that that feeling was not suited to the day ahead. Nor was it like her to feel so utterly lazy. She rolled over and huffed slightly, then lifting herself out of the bed, made her way to the bathroom.

An hour later, she emerged from her suite. She was well aware it was her birthday but she wanted no-one else to be aware of that fact. She was always glad that every four years the elections fell on her unofficial birthday and it over shadowed it quite suitably. She had always loathed birthdays. It was because with each one that passed, as well as losing another year to her lonely life no one chose to celebrate it quietly and from the day she had come onto the planet, she had never been allowed to just have a small gathering. Her 34th had been terrible and she had never celebrated the passing of another birthday since.

However, that was not to dwell on and she made her way to her office, where Charlotte was waiting and sat down to her schedule. However, she noted that it had changed since yesterday.

"Charlotte?" she questioned, re-reading the list.

"You're Majesty?" Charlotte smiled, looking up from whatever document she was studying.

"Charlotte" she answered, "I do not remember that on the sheet there was a dinner with the Prime minister tonight".

"Well, Your Majesty" Charlotte turned slightly red, "I forgot, well with all that's happened to Joseph and such, the traditional dinner".

"Oh, yes of course Charlotte!" she exclaimed, "I had quite hoped that was a tradition that had been dropped this year! However, I must say Charlotte that is not like you to be so careless."

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty!" Charlotte implored, "I've had so much to do!"

"Oh! My dear! How cruel of me, I tend not to think of you!" she said suddenly, apologetically, "I should have expected the dinner tonight, I have been in this job for long enough!"

"It's OK", Charlotte said quickly, quietly, "It's fine really."

"Well, Charlotte now I have completely made a fool of myself in front of the best assistant I've ever had" she laughed, "What are the arrangements for this evening?"

"Yourself and the re-elected Mr. Motaz at the Grand Royal. 7.30 For 8.00".

"Well, it does not sound so bad", she mused picking up a piece of pedantic legislation, "Sebastian is rather good company".

"Anod your Grandaughter, your Majesty?" Charlotte questioned, taking notes down on a pad.

"Oh no!" she smiled, "My grand daughter would be positively bored to death!"

No quicker had she finished her words when her office door burst open and her grand daughter bounced in, with her best friend quickly at heel.

"Well, good afternoon Amelia", she smiled setting down the paper; "Nice to see you know how to knock and be told that you may come in!"

"Yeah, forgot that", her grand daughter blushed considerably.

"Well, my dear" she smiled again, "You must not allow such a lapse of memory again."

"Of course not", her grand daughter agreed sarcastically, setting herself down on the couch "Anyhow, Grandma, what you up to tonight?"

"Dinner" Clarisse answered, returning to signing the paper, "With Sebastian Motaz".

Lilly made a face and then continued to lounge on a queen Ann chair in the office.

"Why?" Mia questioned, fiddling with the pairs in the arrangement on the table.

"Well, it is tradition of course", she answered, sitting back in the chair and rubbing the bridge of her nose, "For, oh how many years I don't know but in years gone past it was to allow the royal family to get to know the Prime minister, who would of course had to support them in everything they decided."

"I get it", Mia answered, "It's like when you know, you suck-up to someone!"

"Well, if you choose to put it that way…" She looked at her grand daughter disapprovingly, and then stood up "However, Amelia it is part of the job, one that is indeed necessary and anyway. Why on earth are you remotely interested in what I'm doing this evening?"

"Because", Mia shrugged, "Just wondered".

"Well, was there something you had arranged?"

"Nope".

"Ok, are you staying here fro lunch?" she questioned, moving to stand in front of Mia as she stood, "Because you can, with Lilly if you wish."

"Really, Grandma" Mia smiled, then planted a kiss on her cheek; "I'll be seeing ya!"

O0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

After lunch, when the palace was generally quite calm she decided to wander the gardens. The sun, because it was high noon burned the back of her neck but she was quite content to move among the rose gardens, her thoughts entirely her own.

She reconsidered her thoughts that morning and decided that her 34th birthday had not been so terrible after all, just life changing.

Rupert, being the loveable but stupid man that he always had been had insisted on her having a birthday party. She was not entirely against the idea just not totally for it. She was never easily enthused by such meandering; it seemed pointless celebrating another year closer to death. However, she had given in after he had niggled at her for months and allowed him to throw her a ball. It transpired to be the most stupid idea that had ever entered his mind - it was the night Rupert lost her.

She had argued with him in his office after the ball over a petty comment he had made to Lord Hawthorn while she danced with someone. However, perhaps that evening she had been looking to pick a fight with him because he upset her so much in general with the way he strutted around the palace. She cried, as always and ran to the gardens where she found Joseph and not for the first time she was drawn to him, his looks, and his power.

They had sat for hours and hours, then they went to her room, where he wished her goodnight but he did not leave till the next morning.

She regretted it, even now, standing among the mauve coloured roses, she regretted it. Not him, she did not regret him but she regretted the action that had caused them so much pain over the years. She could, if she closed her eyes feel his body against him, his breath on her and the fact that all the while, all she wanted was more of him. Not Rupert, not even her precious boys meant more to her than him in that moment. And then, it had been over and she could not look him in the face because she had betrayed her family, her country and most of all, him.

She had given herself to him, merely for hours and then drew away, ashamed and shy and left him with nothing, not a word, not a whisper of the events. She had decided, in her naive and torn mind to pretend they never happened. Though sometimes over the years, she had withdrawn them from her memory to see if they had faded or disappeared. They had not, they would not, and they never could because she loved him.

Well yeah, sort of boring but it was necessary.

Please R&R.

Yours,

M

Xxx