NB: I don't own the Princess Diaries or the characters
For the rest of the morning, both present and future Queens were busy getting their hair and make up done and getting dressed. The different states of their suites indicated the amount of excitement and emotion there- while Clarisse, calm as always, only had her personal stylists, her maids, Charlotte and Joseph present; Mia's suite was alive and chaotic with people
When Mia had arrived back in her suite, not only Paolo had been there, but her mother, Helen who was, if it was possible, even more nervous than Mia.
"Where on earth have you been?" she said nervously when Mia and Lily appeared. "I got here and found that…"
"I'll tell you later, Mom," Mia said with a smile, discreetly nodding in the direction of Paolo, who was busy taking off his rings. He did a wonderful job on her hair, but he wasn't to be trusted with any secrets- the last time he had been in on a secret, Mia had ended up on the front page of all the state, national and international papers.
"I see," Helen said, getting the hint before taking a deep breath and accepting a cup of coffee from one of Mia's maids.
"Have you seen my dress, Mom?" Mia asked as she sat down in a chair, ready for Paolo to work. "I can't believe that it only arrived last night! Oh…Lily, did you get…."
"Way ahead of you- done and delivered," Lily said smoothly, collapsing in a chair with a large cup of coffee.
"So Principessa, you are going to be Queen today, eh? Paolo will be doing your hair daily?" Paolo began conversationally as he began brushing her hair- she had already told him what she wanted.
"Yes I am, Paolo, but you will only be doing my hair on state occasions," Mia finished firmly before turning back to Helen and Lily. "Where's Trevor?"
"With Patrick- and don't worry, he's going to have plenty of babysitters today. I don't want to miss one moment of this!" and the three of them laughed, knowing what Helen had meant. She had missed most of the wedding dramatics when Trevor had needed a diaper change, and had come back to see the Queen marrying Joseph, not Mia marrying Andrew.
"So, where is your dress now?"
"Hanging in the special part of the wardrobe- you can look at it now, if you want."
"No thank you- I want to have a wonderful surprise seeing you walk down the stairs in it," Helen said firmly, smiling at her daughter. "I forgot to ask, how did rehearsal go last night?"
"Fine- I fell on my behind when I got to the bottom of the step, and burst out laughing!"
"To be fair, though, it had been practiced over and over again, and everyone was tired," Lily added. "When it happened, Her Majesty had said enough was enough, and that's when it finished."
"So she wasn't upset at all?"
"No, she wasn't. I think she knows how much has gone into this, and she believes I can do this. I hope it all goes well…."
"Don't think like that- it will," Lily chided her.
Meanwhile, in Clarisse's suite, everything was running much more smoothly- this was the end of an era for her, and she didn't need as much fuss and attention as she knew Mia needed and deserved. Her stylists did a wonderful job on her hair and makeup, and were gone within an hour as Clarisse continued sipping a cup of tea.
"You're going to have to go to the bathroom ten times today, if you keep that up," Joseph took the cup away from her gently, and gave it to the maids as she smiled up at him.
"I'm sorry…I'm just a little nervous about today…"
He pulled a chair up close to hers, and took both her hands in his.
"Why are you nervous? Everything has been organised to perfection- thanks to you and Charlotte- and the final rehearsal went very well- except for when the princess fell.." he chuckled and she joined it, the tension dissipating a little.
"It's not about Mia- she has done so very well in the last month- in the last five years, in fact- and I'm so very proud of her…."
"Then what is it?"
She gave a deep sigh and looked out the window for a moment. "Clarisse?"
"Why am I so nervous about today? I'm not going to be crowned- in fact, I'm stepping down- but I feel as though I'm the one being crowned."
"Could it be that you're worried what's going to happen to you once Mia becomes Queen? It is perfectly natural to wonder whether everyone is going to remember you but, trust me, they will.
You were a loyal and devoted wife to Rupert, you loved your sons and Genovia. In fact, you loved this country so much that you put it before your own personal happiness for many years! They can't hold it against you- but it is time to do what you want, without the shackles and pressures of running a country."
She gave him a small smile, and gently kissed his cheek.
"Are you trying to convince me to marry you again? Because, if you are, it's too late- I've already married you…but if I hadn't, I would after that speech. Maybe I may be a little jealous, which is silly because I don't want to be Queen anymore!"
"It is also natural to be jealous- it's her day, and she will be getting most of the attention. But I can guarantee that she will need your help a lot and that she won't let the people forget you…I'll tell you a little secret…"
"You have a secret that you've managed to keep from me?"
"I was jealous of Rupert for all of those years…" Clarisse looked at him, astonished.
"You were jealous of Rupert? Why?"
"Do I really need to say it? He was married to the most beautiful woman in Genovia, the best Queen the country has had, and the woman I loved," he said softly, before pulling her in for a long sweet kiss. They broke apart, and he touched her face softly with his hand, smiling tenderly at her.
"So are you ready for your own life now?"
"Yes, I'm feeling better…It's just going to be a little hard to be in front of all those people, doing this important job, and wondering whether you're going to make a mistake."
"My love, you are perfect inside and out, and everyone admires you for that- you are not going to make any mistakes! Do you want me to kiss you again to make you feel better?"
"Yes, please," she smiled at him, and he obliged, before she stood up and stretched. "And now I must get dressed and go and spend some time with Mia."
Twenty minutes later, Clarisse knocked softly on the doors of Mia's suite- she had asked the guards not to announce her, and Joseph had stayed behind to help Shades with last minute details- and a minute later she heard someone call out "Come in!"
Clarisse opened the door and almost collided with Paolo and his two assistants, who were obviously finished with Mia. Clarisse had hoped to avoid him, but his eyes lit up as soon as he saw her, and he grabbed her hands.
"Majesty!" he cried gleefully, kissing both hands before she discreetly pulled away. "This is going to be a magnificent day, no?"
"Yes Paolo, it is going to be a special day…is Amelia here?"
"Si, si," he nodded enthusiastically and pointed in the direction of her dressing room, before he was escorted out by his two assistants, and the doors shut behind her.
"Mia?" she called, a little hesitantly, as she didn't know who else was going to be there.
"I'm in here, Grandma. I'm getting dressed!" came the reply, and Clarisse walked into the living room to see Mia standing in front of a full length mirror, smoothing her white lace dress. Her two maids were busy smoothing the hem, and Lily was watching from a chair.
For a moment Clarisse stood there, almost breathless at the sight of her beautiful and radiant granddaughter.
"Oh darling…" she managed to whisper as Mia turned and smiled radiantly at her. "You look so beautiful…there are no words to describe…"
"Thank you," Mia smiled shyly, and then looked Clarisse over. "But I think I may have competition in the beauty stakes today, Grandma! You look absolutely gorgeous…you always do, but today…"
Lily and her two maids turned to look at Clarisse- she was wearing a gold dress with a matching coat. Both Charlotte and Mia had decreed that Clarisse had to 'go out in style' and Joseph had concurred whole-heartedly with their sentiments.
"Today's a special day for you too," he had reminded her earlier that morning. Clarisse felt a rare pang of embarrassment as four pairs of eyes looked her over, and she was surprised to feel her face going red. In 35 years, she had been constantly gawked at by complete strangers, but four pairs of eyes in Mia's suite had managed to turn her to jelly!
"I think that will be enough staring," she said a little shyly, before sitting down on the sofa and looking more closely as Mia. The dress, designed and made by Genovian designers (with both Clarisse and Mia's approval) was exquisite, with a lot of work obviously gone into the details on the dress, but somehow Mia made is seem even more lovely.
"Now who's the one who's gawking?" Mia teased before she turned back to the mirror.
"I'm sorry…uh, Lily and ladies…I was wondering if I could have some time along with Mia?"
"Of course Your Majesty," all three of them said in one voice, and quickly disappeared out the door as grandmother and granddaughter looked at each other for a long moment.
"I don't think I should sit down- I'm afraid of wrinkling the dress," Mia began hesitantly, before thinking it over. "But, I will have a train over this so…what the hey?" But she still sat down very gingerly on the edge of a chair, as she cocked her head at Clarisse.
"Grandma? You're still looking at me oddly…is there something wrong?"
"Oh Mia, "Clarisse laughed, and relaxed back onto the sofa. "How I can I look at you oddly? I was just taking in that breathtaking dress, and how much more beautiful you make it."
"I thought there weren't supposed to be any more compliments?"
"Alright, I'll stop. Oh Mia, I can't believe that this day has finally arrived. You have been through so much this summer….and the years before that…your father would have been proud of you. Very proud of you, in fact."
"It's all thanks to you, Mom, Lily and Joe to have gotten me this far. I never would have even accepted my title unless Dad had given me some advice…"
"Courage is not the absence of fear, rather the judgement that something else is more important."
Mia smiled gently off into the distance- that advice had helped her through more than one battle over the years, and she felt closer to her father when she thought about it.
"Yes, I remember Rupert giving him that advice on his 21st birthday, and Phillipe told me when it was clear that he was going to become King…" and her voice trailed off as she remembered that moment. After a pause, Mia broke the silence.
"Grandma? Do you wish that Dad had become King, and not been killed? I mean, I'm sure he would have been great, and you would have gotten together with Joseph a lot sooner…"
The two of them laughed before Clarisse sobered up and thought about the question.
"Yes, I do wish that Phillipe hadn't been killed. I miss him every day, and often wonder what would have happened if he had become King. But," she added with a sigh. "Joseph constantly reminds me that everything happens for a reason…who knows? Maybe, if your father had been alive, we would have been in contact with you much sooner."
"I'm just afraid that people will begin to ask 'what her father would have been like…..I wish I had known him better. He did send me some wonderful presents, not to mention paying my school tuition…but, since I never met him, I guess I felt that I never knew him. That's changed since I've been here, but still…."
Clarisse leaned forward and took Mia's hands in her own, and looked intently into her dark brown eyes.
"People will not be asking that question- they have seen you blossom over the years, and they all know that you love Genovia. Your father loved you more than anything- it was his dearest wish that you and your mother had come to Genovia for his coronation. He wanted a relationship with you…but, to do that, he would have had to tell you the truth about your heritage, and neither he nor your mother wanted to you know that too early. We had planned to tell you when you were eighteen, and could make up your own mind, but fate intervened….
I had so many different plans years ago…never in my wildest dreams had I imagined my eldest son abdicating or my second's son dying…but….you never know what's going to happen."
"I know, Grandma, and I am so grateful for them, and you, for keeping that from me. I already had a difficult time at school, and being princess only brought up more jealousy," Mia winced, remembering the awful tricks that Lana and her friends had played against her.
"And that's what they wanted to protect you from- Phillipe always knew he was royal, but he fought against it for a long time. I can understand why you were so angry at the time, but you learnt awfully quickly what to and not to do," Clarisse smiled fondly at her, and let go of her hands as she leant back in her chair. "And now here you are, on the day of your coronation, ready to show the world what you're made of."
Mia sighed, a mixture of anticipation and nerves, and then stood up to walk towards the window. She looked out, and then turned to Clarisse again.
"This feels unreal….Grandma, how did you feel when you were crowned? I know that my grandfather had most of the attention, but how did you feel?"
Clarisse sighed, and thought back- yes, Rupert had had much of the attention but, as Mia experienced most of the time, the press and parliament were carefully scrutinising Clarisse herself, just watching to see whether she made any mistakes. Rupert had been beloved as a Prince, and could do no wrong, but because Clarisse was more reticent about her feelings, never allowing her mask or behaviour slip, everyone was constantly on the look out for any mistakes she could make, which only added more pressure.
On the coronation day, she was aware of all the eyes on her and tried to be as perfect as possible, and make Rupert proud of her. There had been many months of preparation, unlike Mia who had had a month's notice, and Clarisse had studied long and hard…and, on the day, all that preparation and paid off. She had been very nervous, as to be expected, but she kept calm and cool, and the press had only positive things to say about her. Even some of the parliamentarians had complimented to her on how lovely she looked, and how fine a Queen she would be.
"I was very nervous, Mia, but I knew that I would have the support of Rupert and the people. I have never told you this, but the press and parliament thought that I, too, was too young to be Queen of Genovia. I was married at barely 18, a mother soon after and then Queen Consort by the time I was 25. Older than you, to be sure, but since the average age of a monarch's consort was 35, I was in the distinct minority.
But I proved over time that age was no barrier to hard work, and I have worked hard all these years to prove that but then, because duty had been drummed into me my whole life, I almost lost the only many I really loved. I can see you love Genovia- you almost married a man you didn't love- and I know that your age is no barrier."
Clarisse finished her speech, and was surprised to see Mia looking at her with a wide smile and tears in her eyes. "What's wrong?"
"You have just proved again how extraordinary you are, Grandma. You are so wise and so understanding- I don't think I could get through all this without your support. Yours, and Joe's and Lily's and Mom's." Mia smiled brightly and sat close to her grandmother and put an arm around her.
"I just want you to be happy," Clarisse said simply.
"I know you do, and I will be happy being Queen, hopefully with Nicholas nearby…" Mia smiled coyly and trailed off. There was a pause before Clarisse understood the full meaning of Mia's words.
"You've seen Lord Devereaux? When?"
"This morning, in the throne room. He went away after the wedding, but found that he couldn't stay away…"
Clarisse was delighted and, judging by the radiant smile on Mia's face, she suspected that Mia had found her perfect match.
"Really? Well, we've got a little time, so why don't you tell me all about it?..."