Author's note: it's a bit hard doing two stories at once, but I am enjoying it, and I hope you are enjoying this story!
NB: The Princess Diaries belongs to Meg Cabot and Disney
An hour later, after having breakfast, the royal couple emerged from their suite- Joseph was attired in his usual black, although Clarisse was slowly convincing him to wear colours occasionally, and Clarisse was dressed much more casually than previous years, which she liked.
"I don't miss having to dress in suits and dresses that make me look good, but aren't necessarily comfortable," she informed Joseph when she modelled some clothes for him.
"I think you look beautiful, no matter what you wear," Joe said with a smile, before pulling her down onto his lap for a kiss.
"So, where is the Queen bride-to-be this morning?" Joseph asked as they walked, arm in arm down the hall, past all the guards and black suited men. They never bothered Clarisse anymore- she knew that they were discreet, and would never tell a soul what went on in the palace. She would have been very surprise at what they were thinking- they all thoroughly approved of her marriage, and knew that Joe would be the one man who would make her happy.
They had watched, over the past year, at how much more happy and relaxed the former Queen was, and knew that Joe and Mia were both to thank for that.
"I think…" she paused for a moment as they approached Mia's suite, and cocked her head to one side. "Yes, she's still in her suite…can you hear the music?" Joe paused for a moment, and listened.
"Oh yes…I thought her tastes would change since she became Queen!"
"Not likely, my love," Clarisse said with a smile, before stopping and knocking on Mia's door.
"Come in!" they heard someone call from inside, and they stepped into the suite, before being momentarily stunned by the blast of music that greeted them.
"Now are you wishing that her tastes had changed?" Joe murmured loudly in Clarisse's ear, and she only laughed at him, before stepping into the living room.
The living room of the suite had become a bridal change room, with not only Mia's dress hanging up in the cupboard, but the dresses of Lily, Asana and two other friends of Mia's hanging all around the room. Apart from the dresses, there were suitcases and clothes everywhere- judging by the amount scattered around the room, Mia was planning to go on a year long honeymoon, not two weeks!
Mia was happily working at her desk, oblivious to noise and talking, and looked up when she saw Clarisse and Joe gingerly make their way through girls, suitcases and dresses. She smiled- even though they had been married nearly a year, and she had gotten used to seeing them together, she still thought they looked incredibly happy together…not to mention, so cute! She still remembered the story Charlotte had told her, on their wedding day, about how she had discovered their secret….
Charlotte had been working at the palace for nearly a year, as Clarisse's personal assistant, and she had been thoroughly enjoying the experience. Although Her Majesty's schedule was usually gruelling, the Queen herself was kind and good natured, although rather reserved. The King, whenever Charlotte had the chance to see him, was also kind, but more outgoing than his wife, but Charlotte had sensed that although the King and Queen were relatively friendly towards each other, the King was becoming more and more distant from his wife.
Charlotte was aware of the rumours that the King had other mistresses, but she tried to ignore them…but it was hard not to accept the truth when she saw Clarisse eat dinner alone night after night. But, rather than turn Charlotte off the job, it made Charlotte more determined that she would protect her Queen.
She was glad, however, to see that Phillipe, Clarisse's youngest son, and her Head of Security, Joseph Bonnell, were kind and warm to her- the Queen deserved more attention than she seemed to be getting.
It was an usually warm autumn day in Genovia, and the palace seemed to be working at a slow pace- the King was away in England for a couple of weeks, and Clarisse had opted to stay behind.
"He won't need me there, Charlotte. It will be mostly dinners and business meetings," Clarisse had said by way of explanation. "And he'll have other distractions there, too…and I would only get in the way," she added sadly, looking at her desk, before shaking her head and becoming business like again.
Clarisse had requested a late afternoon meeting with Charlotte that afternoon, in regards to a dinner she was attending the following evening, and Charlotte had been running a little late as she hurried towards the study. She knew that the Queen would tolerate a few minutes lateness, but she had also seen Clarisse get impatient if visitors were later than that.
"I've got other things I could be doing!" she said with a touch of impatience after Viscount Mabrey had kept her waiting nearly twenty minutes. That was the only time that Charlotte had seen her even slightly lose her temper.
"I'm sorry…" Charlotte began as she walked into the study, but, to her surprise, the room was empty! She waited for a few minutes, and then decided to ask the guards where the Queen was.
"She may have gone for a quick walk around the garden," one of the maids suggested, and Charlotte smiled- she knew that the garden was a sanctuary for Clarisse, particularly after she had a busy and difficult day.
She stepped outside onto the balcony, and gazed down at the garden- it was still beautiful at the late hour of the afternoon, although most of the flowers had finished blooming, but Charlotte could understand why Clarisse spent as much time as possible there. As she looked around, she spotted the Queen wandering past where her roses usually were, and…Joseph was at her side! Unaware that they were being watched, Clarisse and Joe were chatting as they headed back in the direction of the palace, and Clarisse stopped for a moment to laugh at something Joseph had said- Charlotte could hear her laugh from where she was…before Joseph took her hand in his, and raised it to his lips.
Distinctly aware that she was spying on her boss, Charlotte quietly tiptoed back into the palace, hoping that she hadn't been seen, but also secretly hoping that there was something going on between them!
She continued to wait patiently in Clarisse's study, the images still dancing in front of her, before Clarisse appeared in the doorway, eyes bright and cheeks flushed.
"Charlotte! I'm sorry…I didn't realise the time…I hope you haven't been waiting too long for me! I was just out in the garden for a walk!" she said apologetically, as she hurried to her desk.
"Not at all, Your Majesty," Charlotte replied calmly. "I only just arrived myself."
After that, Charlotte was increasingly aware of the special looks and smile the two shared, but she was discreet enough not to notice. She was now well aware that the Queen deserved her own privacy, and happiness, and Charlotte was going to ensure that no one would find out about them. The next few years were sad for Clarisse- first, her husband died, and then Phillipe was tragically killed in an accident- but never once did Charlotte see Clarisse break down in front of anyone. She was still the same calm, composed woman she had always been, but, when Charlotte looked into her eyes, she could see that there was a deep sadness always just below the surface in her eyes.
She was trying to organise the trip to San Francisco when two young guards pulled her aside, four years after she had found them in the garden.
"Hey Charlotte, we were wondering if you could tell us whether Her Majesty and Joe are…you know, involved?"
"I beg your pardon?" she had picked up the expression from the Queen, and she could tell that the guards were rather unnerved by how much she sounded like Clarisse.
"Well, Viscount Mabrey has been telling some of the guards that there is a secret romance between Joe and the Queen…and that it could have been going on before the King died…"
Charlotte listened in disbelief at what was being said, before anger overtook her disbelief.
"And you actually believed him? You know that man is only trying to stir up trouble. Honestly! I thought you two would have more loyalty to Her Majesty than to silly gossip!" she finally said, and the two men backed off hurriedly as Charlotte turned on her heel and walked in the other direction.
How on earth could anyone actually believe what that man said? Everyone knew that he had secret ambitions to be Prime Minister, until Sebastian Motez had beaten him to the role, and he was trying to find ways of causing trouble.
"Charlotte?" came a voice from behind her, and she turned to see Clarisse, clad in black as she had been for the past 14 months, looking at her from her study doorway in concern. "Are you alright? I don't think you heard me calling you from my study. I need you to check with Joseph to see that all the arrangements have been made…I don't want this meeting with Amelia to be complete chaos!"
"Yes, I'll do that straight away," she curtseyed quickly and walked away, relieved that Clarisse hadn't guessed why she had been storming through the palace. Little did she know…
Clarisse watched the young woman go, genuinely touched at what she had overheard with the guards- she had suspected that Viscount Mabrey, as well as the Von Trokans, would try and spread rumours about her and her bodyguard…but it was wonderful to hear the girl staunchly defend her and Joseph……
The trip to San Francisco was a marvellous success- although the young princess, Mia, had been, at first, startled that she was really a princess, she had risen remarkably well to the occasion, and had made everyone proud of her at the Independence Day ball. Charlotte knew that Mia would be a wonderful asset to Genovia and, more importantly, a comfort to Clarisse. Joe had been teaching Mia how to dance and, after he left, he had turned the music back on again.
"You have been wearing black for far too long," she heard him murmur to Clarisse, who turned to smile warmly at him. As they danced slowly and intimately together, neither aware of anyone else besides themselves in the room, Charlotte quietly tiptoed out of the room, relieved that, again, they hadn't seen her.
The years continued to fly by, and Charlotte delighted in seeing how they treated each other- Joseph was always deferential and polite to the Queen, but when they were alone, it was clear that he adored her. The Queen was a little more reticent about her feelings, but just seeing Clarisse's eyes follow Joseph told Charlotte what she had suspected all along- Clarisse had fallen for her bodyguard.
There were more rumours about Clarisse and Joe know, and Charlotte was hard pressed not to mention her concerns to Joseph. She knew that Joseph would always treat Clarisse with care, and she didn't want their reputations tarnished by rumours- no matter that they were true. She suspected something had happened in the pagoda, three weeks before the wedding, when Clarisse came in for a meeting with heightened colour in her cheeks, and a radiant smile on her lips. Charlotte didn't want to say anything, but Clarisse mentioned it only once:
"I am going to be so happy once Mia is on the throne- I will be free to do what I want…" before she realised what she had said, and blushed.
However, the scene she had accidentally witnessed two days before the wedding had broken her heart- seeing Clarisse give up the only man she had ever loved, and Joseph's crushed look and subsequent exit had made Charlotte feel devastated. It was so unfair that, because of a few small minded people in parliament, Clarisse had had to sacrifice her personal happiness! Charlotte completely understood when Clarisse snapped at her a few moments later.
"Charlotte…I'm sorry…I'll get something from the kitchen later."
"I understand, Your Majesty," and Charlotte hoped that she conveyed everything she had witnessed, and her true feelings to Clarisse as, for a moment, Clarisse realised that there had been a silent witness to her secret romance…but she had never told anyone anything…Joseph had been right……Charlotte had been truly devoted to her……
"Thankfully, that was all sorted out two days later," Charlotte concluded, and Mia finished wiping her eyes with a tissue.
"I had never realised…all this time…they really do love each other…and you never told anyone what you saw…"
Charlotte's amazing story was still in Mia's head as she stood up to greet her grandmother and Joe, while signalling Lily to turn off the music.
"I know you don't like my music much," Mia said with a grin as the loudness decreased greatly. "So…what are you two doing?"
"We came to see if you needed any help this morning- as I can see, the dresses have finally arrived," Clarisse said as she glanced over to see Lily's hanging in the doorway.
"Oh yeah…my wedding dress is hanging in my wardrobe, if you'd like to see it," Mia waved vaguely in the direction of the room, but Clarisse shook her head.
"I would like a surprise on your wedding day, thank you very much," but she then smiled.
"And Joseph can wait till then too," she added before Mia asked him the question.
Joe looked from one woman to the other.
"I wasn't inclined to look at the wedding dress until then anyway," he said, pretending to look offended, before smiling.
He had never seen Mia look so happy, or so excited, in all the years he had known her. She still had her grandmother's regal bearing, and confidence, but…this was different…she hadn't been very happy leading up to her wedding to Andrew (neither had Clarisse or himself, but for different reasons), but she was most definitely happy for this wedding….
"So, what would you like us to do?" Joseph repeated, as Clarisse sat down in the only free chair in the room that wasn't covered in clothes or papers. Mia looked thoughtful for a moment.
"Well, I wanted Grandma to check the place settings for the reception…as she has done before…and see whether the music for the reception is alright…again, as before…and I wanted her to have a look at the flowers for the church…and…."
"You sound like you've got a list for your grandmother that's going to last all day!"
"Yes, it sounds like that, but it's not that much, anyway. I know you have to take Nicholas and his friends to get their suits…will you be picking up yours then, too?"
"Yes- but your grandmother…" he shot a mock angry look at her. "Wanted me to help her with a few details- 'minor details' as she called them."
"I think she will need a bit of help…oh, and the rehearsal dinner tonight…I've got a guest list here…"
"How many?" Clarisse took a deep breath in- she didn't know why, but since her marriage to Joseph, she had preferred small dinners and events, rather than the major events that she had had to attend.
"Only…14- us four, Mom and Patrick, Lily and Kip, Asana and Jess and Nick's two friends, and Sebastian and Sheila. That's all- I swear! I know big dinners aren't your style anymore, and they really aren't ours either!"
Clarisse listened to Mia with a smile- she supposed her granddaughter hadn't thought about it, but she had already begun speaking about her and Nicholas as 'us'….how she wished she'd been able to do that with Rupert…but more with Joseph…another wish that, happily, had come true!