A couple of weeks later, Mia wakes one morning and sees that Trevor is no longer in her arms. She gets up quickly, and looks around the room. Having no success, she rushes to Clarisse's room and knocks on the door. Joe opens it up and Mia sees that Clarisse is holding Trevor as she works on something.
"Grandma, do not scare me like that again," Mia says nervously.
"I'm sorry darling, but I came to check on him and he started to wake up when I came in," Clarisse says in a matter-of-fact tone, "He's just helping Grandma Clarisse work on these documents and enjoying my tea." Trevor squeals at this. Mia laughs as she sits down on the sofa.
"Grandma, do you really think you should be giving him tea," Mia asks.
"Oh, pish-posh. He just had one sip, it won't hurt him," Clarisse says, "besides, that is what Grandmas are for." Trevor crawls over in front of Mia and pulls himself up with her knees.
"Good morning, Trevor," Mia says sweetly, "Do you want to come eat breakfast?"
He mumbles something in baby talk, "I'm assuming that's a yes," Mia says as she picks him up.
"Bye Grandma, bye Papa," Mia says as she waves and Trevor imitates her wave at them.
"Let's go get some food," Mia says as they walk down to the kitchen. The chef comes out and notices that Mia has a baby with her.
"Time flies, does it not," the chef says with a laugh.
"No, no, no, this is my brother. Still a baby here," she says happily, as she points to her stomach.
"Ah I see, good practice for you, no," the chef says in his French accent.
"It is very good practice. I think the nanny brought some baby food down here earlier," Mia says as she sits down at the table.
"Ah yes, she did. I will be back momentarily," the chef replies. The chef soon brings out a jar of baby food and a baby spoon and Mia feeds Trevor. The nanny arrives in the kitchen.
"Did you sleep well?" Mia asks the nanny.
"Very well thank you. Would you like me to take over from here?" the nanny asks.
"I think I've got it covered," she says as she gives Trevor another spoonful, "Why don't you go and take a day off. He should be fine with me."
"If you insist," the nanny replies as she gets up, "I will put his toys and clothes in the royal suite."
"That would be wonderful, thank you," Mia says and Trevor waves goodbye to her. She waves back and then leaves the room.
"Well, aren't you being friendly today," she says to Trevor as he nods his head in agreement. She finishes feeding Trevor and they head upstairs to her grandma's room and knock on the door. Joe opens the door and Trevor squeals when he sees Clarisse on the other side of the room.
"Grandma, will you watch him while I go shower?" Mia asks.
"Of course, I will," Clarisse says as she walks over and takes Trevor from her.
"I'll be right back," Mia says as she rushes back to her suite. She showers and gets completely dressed than grabs some clothes for Trevor and walks back to her Grandmother's suite. She knocks on the door once again and Joe answers.
"He really likes you doesn't he grandma," Mia says as she watches Trevor being completely quiet as she holds him and works at her desk.
"Of course he does," Clarisse says with a smile. He gets down from Clarisse's lap and crawls over in front of Mia.
"I think he likes someone a little more though," Clarisse says as she laughs at Trevor's gestures. Mia laughs and picks him up.
"I guess we will see you later grandma," Mia says as Trevor waves.
Mia walks back to the suite and gets Trevor dressed than heads to her office. She is busy working on a few documents while Trevor plays with some of his toys. A knock comes at the door.
"Come in," Mia says as she looks up from the papers at her desk. Charlotte walks in.
"Good morning, Mia," Charlotte says. She notices Trevor reaching up for Mia.
"Good morning, Charlotte," Mia replies as she sets him in her lap.
"How is he adjusting?" Charlotte asks.
"Pretty well. I'm lucky that he likes grandma so much. It gives me a break from him being attached to me at all times," Mia answers.
"Where is the nanny?" Charlotte asks curiously.
"He will not go with the nanny, and I really don't mind him with me. This may sound strange, but it's comforting. It keeps my mind off of everything," Mia replies.
"Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there are several meetings that I don't think a baby will be able to attend this afternoon," Charlotte says as she takes a seat across from Mia and looks at her planner.
"Charlotte, I want you to be the first to know that I'm going to try to allow Nicholas to perform more of the duties than myself. I need to focus on Trevor and the new baby," Mia says.
"Are you saying that you may be relieving yourself from the duties of……being a queen?" Charlotte replies in a fairly shocked tone.
"I'm not sure. It is a possibility," Mia says nervously.
"Whatever you decide, I hope you know that I will trust your decision completely," Charlotte replies caringly as she stands to leave.
"I think we are going to go out to the garden for a walk," Mia says as she stands up with Trevor in her arms, "I need some fresh air. Would you like to join me?"
"I need to go and cancel a few meetings," Charlotte says as she opens the door for Mia.
"Alright, well if you change your mind, you know where I'll be," Mia says as she walks out to the garden and sits at one of the gazebos. She sees Clarisse walking out a few minutes later. Trevor sees her as well and starts waving.
"Do you see grandma?" Mia says sweetly. Clarisse walks over to them.
"I needed some fresh air," Clarisse says as she sits across from Mia.
"So did we," Mia replies as she plays with Trevor and one of his toys.
"He still won't let the nanny take him?" Clarisse asks.
"No, he won't," Mia says tiredly.
"I can watch him if you would like to go take a nap," Clarisse says as she notices the weariness in Mia's voice.
"No, I am getting ready to go feed him lunch," Mia says trying to avoid a long conversation with her grandmother. For some reason, she felt so guilty about even thinking of relieving herself from being queen. She had no idea how her grandmother would feel about this.
"Alright darling," Clarisse says as she gets up and kisses Mia's forehead, "but don't forget about your needs as well."
"Have you seen Nicholas?" Mia asks as she stands up.
"He was on his way back to the royal suite when I came down," Clarisse replies.
"I'll go see him for awhile then," Mia says as she heads off towards the palace door and up to the royal suite.
"Hello, darling," Nicholas says when he sees her walk into the room. She places Trevor down on the floor by his toys.
"Hello, how are you?" She asks tiredly.
"Not nearly as tired as you are, I'm sure," Nicholas replies as he takes hold of her hands in his.
"Yes, well it's almost like having a Siamese twin at the moment," Mia says as she sits down beside Nicholas. Trevor crawls over to her lap and reaches for her.
"I see what you mean," Nicholas says sympathetically.
"Will you go see Nicholas, buddy?" she says to Trevor. Trevor shakes his head no and then lays his head on her shoulder.
"I think you should just stay in here with him and relax for the rest of the day," Nicholas says.
"Nicholas, taking care of him has made me realize that I don't want to miss out on our child's life or his life," Mia says in a now concerned tone. She knew that it wasn't going to be easy
"What are you saying, Mia?" Nicholas asks in a confused tone.
"I don't know if I want to continue being queen any longer," Mia says in a very serious tone.
"Mia…." Nicholas is interrupted by a knock on the door. He goes and answers then returns back to Mia.
"Mia, we will discuss this later. I have a meeting with Germany that I have to go to," Nicholas says as he kisses her than leaves.
Mia gets Trevor asleep, all the while thinking intently on the words she had just spoken to Nicholas. She sits down in a rocker given to her by Clarisse and falls asleep. A few moments later, Clarisse walks in.
"Hi grandma," Mia says in a whisper, as to not wake Trevor.
"Hello, Mia," Clarisse says with a smile, "He fell asleep I see."
"Yes, he did. He finally let me put him in the crib," Mia says as she looks over at a sleeping Trevor.
"Mia, what is this I hear about you wanting to renounce your duties?" Clarisse asks worriedly.
"I see Nicholas talked to you," Mia says annoyed.
"He was only trying to help," Clarisse says as she sits down on the sofa across from Mia. Mia looks away trying not to cry. She fails miserably and wipes a tear from her face.
"Mia, what is it?" Clarisse asks worriedly, "You fought so hard for this position. Why do you want to give it up?"
"Grandma," Mia replies through her tears, "I don't know what to do. I do not want my children or Trevor raised by nannies their entire lives. I don't want to miss out on any part of their lives. It isn't fair to them or me."
"Mia, when you took this position as queen you knew it came with sacrifices that you would have to make," Clarisse says sternly. It seemed that this was a time when she was torn between being a grandmother and a queen. The grandmother part of her wanted to tell Mia to stay with her children and do what is best for them, but the former queen part was saying Mia should do what is best for her country.
"What if I'm not willing to make that big of a sacrifice?" Mia replies clearly upset.
"Mia, my children turned out fine and they were practically raised by nannies. I had to choose what was more important to me. Now, you must make your decision, I can't help you make it," Clarisse says as she begins to leave the room.
"Grandma," Mia stops her, "Can you please stop being a queen and be my grandmother?" Clarisse has her back turned toward Mia and stops in her tracks. She stands there for a few seconds and then leaves the room. She goes back to her suite and opens the door, still very upset with Mia.
"Clarisse darling, what's wrong?" Joe asks worriedly as he puts down the book he is reading.
"How on earth could she even think of renouncing her duties? She took this position knowing that she would have to make sacrifices," Clarisse says angrily.
"Mia wants to renounce her duties?" Joe asks curiously.
"I just can't understand that girl," Clarisse says as she sits in a chair. Joe gets up and walks over to her.
"First of all, that girl is a young woman who is trying to balance a new marriage, a pregnancy, the death of her parents, the guardianship of her brother, and on top of all that ruling a country. Second of all, I seem to remember another queen who was having a difficult time at this point her life," Joe says attempting to allow Clarisse to get past her anger and realize why Mia wanted to do this. Clarisse begins to realize that Mia cares so much about her brother and her new child that she would be willing to give up something so important to her.
"I suppose you're right Joseph," Clarisse says, "Mia would not just give up the throne so suddenly if she didn't have good reason."
"I think that Mia may need the advice of a grandmother, instead of a queen," Joe says comfortingly.
"I'll go speak with her," Clarisse says as she gets up and walks back into Mia's suite. When she walks in Mia is still sitting in the rocking chair,
"I'm sorry grandma," Mia says on the verge of tears. Clarisse walks over and sits across from her.
"No, it's me who should be apologizing. I've been a queen much longer than I have had to be a grandmother, so it is easy for me to act like a queen when I should be a grandmother," Clarisse says lovingly.
"I just don't know what to do," Mia says as she wipes the tears from her eyes.
"Mia," Clarisse says caringly as she walks over in front of her, "I truly believe that if you renounced your duties, you would regret it your entire life. You love this country and its people. You are one of the most wonderful queens that this country has ever had, and trust me; it has had its share of queens. Your only downfall is that you care so much about other people, that you would trade your own happiness for theirs. You need happiness too, Mia. Now, as a queen, I am telling you that your people and country are top priority, but as your grandmother, I am telling you that you should let Nicholas take on more of the responsibility of the throne for the time being. I did it alone for several years and Nicholas is more than able. That way, when you are ready, you will still have the ability to take back your position." Mia sits there in silence for a few seconds contemplating hr grandmother's words.
"I am going to temporarily renounce some of my duties," Mia replies, "But I am not renouncing my position."
"Very good decision," Clarisse says as she hugs Mia, "I must be going dear, I have tea with China in a few minutes that I just can't be late for."
"Thank you Grandma," Mia says caringly.
"What are grandmothers for?' Clarisse answers playfully as she kisses Mia's forehead then leaves the room.
Later that evening, Nicholas comes back and finds Trevor and Mia happily playing together while watching television.
"Mia darling," Nicholas says as he walks in. She stops him.
"It's all taken care of. I am temporarily renouncing some of my duties, but I am not renouncing my position," Mia says.
"If that is what you feel you need to do," Nicholas replies, "than I guess you must."
"Thank you for understanding," Mia says gratefully.
"Only because I love you though," Nicholas says playfully.
"It's good to be loved," Mia replies happily as she kisses him.
"Yes it is. I thought we were finding out what we were having last week," Nicholas says curiously.
"I did," Mia says happily, "We have been so busy I just never found the right time to tell you."
"So…?" Nicholas replies.
Mia smiles widely, "A girl."
"That's absolutely wonderful," Nicholas says as he kisses her.