Thank you to Regina-sp, aserene, CJmynix and I luv Julie Andrews for your kind reviews I appreciate them. I would also like to thank Shakayla for all her work on beta-ing this for me, so its easier for you to read it!!!! LOL No thank you mama for doing this for me, love ya!!!! And thank you so much for the title of this part as well!!!

I hope you will enjoy this chappy, and I hope to have more for you all soon.

Enjoy:-)

So we had a bad year...

One year and two months - that is how long Rupert and I have been married now. We have been through a lot in these past seven months. Currently, we are relaxing on the island Mauritius just in an effort to get away from it all. We are by ourselves, except for Joseph and Walter, our security. We are enjoying ourselves immensely, even though it is hard to not think about all the things that have been happening in the past several months…

Thinking back in time…

It all started when we were ready to open the new orphanage. Everything seemed to go as planned so we made the opening an official event to celebrate. Apparently, someone didn't think that this should be a happy event. Right after Rupert and I had cut the red ribbon to the entrance, shots were fired. I felt Rupert's body fall hard against mine and I could feel him somewhat slump against me. I could hear a lot of yelling in the background; but there was one clear thing that I heard - Rupert moaning.

We were pulled away in different directions; and within seconds, I could no longer see him. A few seconds more, then I noticed my appearance. I was covered in blood and I instantly started screaming. This prompted Joseph and Jacob, who by now had me in safe custody, to check me over. I insisted, rather loudly, that I was fine! Besides being scared and knowing that my husband must be hurt, and hurt badly. I was scared because I was not with him; but they insisted. I then did something that was probably very odd. Something strange that Rupert would have enjoyed seeing and the effect it had on my security, but it is a move that I regret still to today. In my panic, I unzipped my dress and pulled it of quickly. I yelled at them to 'fine…have their look!' The minute my dress fell, Jacob turned around; but Joseph stayed put and walked over to me. He started looking all over for any signs of injury, but found none. Once he was satisfied, he bent down and pulled up my dress.

The minute his hand touched my shoulder I broke down, "I'm so sorry Joseph…Jacob; I'm just so scared!" I cried

"We know your highness. We'll try and contact Eric and find out how things stand!" They answered with a quiet and calm that I was not feeling.

"I…I felt Rupert's body fall hard against mine, pressing us into the doorframe. What happened?" I sobbed, with heavy tears running down my cheeks.

"I'm sorry, your highness. I believe he was covering you, to protect you, because we did not reach you in time" Jacob told me.

"You were too slow?" I whispered.

"YOU WERE TOO SLOW AND NOW MY HUSBAND MIGHT BE DEAD!" I yelled this time, while pounding my fists into Jacob's chest.

"Your highness, he is not dead. He may not be in the best condition; but he is not dead AND he is not going to die. Now, please, sit down and relax until we can leave!" Joseph ordered me with a forceful calm.

We waited two and a half hours before a car picked us up to take us back to the palace. I insisted, however, on going to the hospital where Rupert was being treated. I wanted to be with him. Joseph, who was in the back with me, could see that there was no need to try and talk me out of it. He was right. So, instead, he sent a message to the palace for new clothing to be waiting for me when we arrived at the hospital.

I sat in Rupert's hospital room, alone, looking out the window, waiting for him to wake up. The second I heard him groan, I was at his side holding and stroking his hand. "Hello darling, how are you?" I asked in almost a whisper

"Shh….you shouldn't call me that here; my wife might hear and she is madly in love with me. I would hate for her to have fight you!" He coughed out as he smiled at me.

"Rupert! How can you joke at a time like this? You almost died!" I asked firmly.

"I just don't practice sad times when they are not there, darling. I was only shot in the shoulder and that is nothing. All that matters is are you alright?" He asked concerned.

I nodded, leaned into him and kissed him. He wrapped his good arm around me and I could feel all the tension from his body leave in his hug - the tension that had built up when he did not know if I was hurt to or what had happened to me. His tension leaving caused mine to leave as well resulting in the shedding of tears of happiness. That led to the sharing of some more kisses.

Then he looked me in the eyes, "Clarisse, my darling, I know we made an agreement about when we should be having children; but I think the scenario has changed a bit. Should we try on having a child before the first year?" He asked

"I was thinking the same thing dear. I do not want to wait much longer, not with a thing like this possible! None of us know what might happen tomorrow!" I answered him immediately. We sealed our agreement with a kiss full of passion.

We got the orphanage opened and started on a new project for the youngest children right away. Here five months later, that project is almost finished as well. We are looking forward to being able to reveal it very soon…with major security, that is! We know that we must be there to open it ourselves. It is our hope that it was only the one man who, seven months ago, didn't want the monarchy to continue. He is now placed behind bars.

To continue our path of unfortunate events…I, one month before our first anniversary, fell ill - or at least that was what I thought. It was a completely normal morning; Rupert and I got out of bed and went to have breakfast as always. We talked about what we were doing that day then after breakfast, we went to our separate dressing rooms and emerged almost at the same time. Rupert was usually finished first…not having to add make up. He gave me a soft kiss on the cheek and left; but a few moments after he closed the door, I could feel that I was about to have the not so pleasant surprise of tasting my breakfast once more.

I ran to the bathroom where I immediately emptied the contents of my stomach in the porcelain bowl. I couldn't get up again. Every time I tried to leave the bathroom to go to the phone to call for my aide, I had to return to the bathroom.

About forty-five minutes later, I heard the door to our suite open. I could hear Rupert calling for me, "Clarisse darling? Clarisse? Clarisse are you up here?" He bellowed through the suite; but I didn't have the energy to answer.

Since I could hear him approach the bathroom, I just waited and kept staring right in front of me or into the toilet. Within a few moments, he looked into the bathroom and hurried over to where I sat on the floor.

"Clarisse, lay down darling. I'll call the doctor right away!" Rupert said hurriedly.

"No…no…no! I don't want to lie down. It hurts in my lower back and I'll throw up if I move!" I cried.

"Clarisse you have to lie down - you are bleeding!" He informed.

For the first time since I entered the bathroom, I looked down at myself. My skirt was soaked; and that's when I started panicking, "Rupert what is happening? Why am I bleeding?" I cried frantically.

"Don't know darling, I don't know!" He said trying to sooth me, while stroking my hair. I continued to cry. I jumped when he yelled for the guards and I don't remember them entering, but suddenly I was carried out of our suite and down the stairs by Rupert. I remember him cursing over the slow pace at which everyone was working and that he had to do everything himself. The next thing I remember is opening my eyes in the hospital…in the same room I visited Rupert in when he was shot.

At first, I thought I had been dreaming and that I was back in the room waiting for him to wake up, so I bolted up in bed and called for him. In a flash he was holding my hand, "Rupert, are you alright?" I asked.

"Yes darling I am fine; you just relax, you need it!" He stated calmly.

"I need re….what happened?" I whispered.

"Darling…..I'm sorry to tell you this, apparently you were pregnant; but, unfortunately, you had a miscarriage." He told me with a very sad expression on his face.

"I….I….miscar….I miscar...Oh God! Rupert, I'm so sorry!" I cried heavily.

"Shh darling, don't apologize it is not your fault; it just wasn't meant to be!" He comforted me with tears streaming down his own face too. He was strong, though, and pulled it together and was there with me and for me while I cried and cried.

I had been a little over 2 months pregnant, without even knowing, and the loss devastated me. Even though I had become pregnant before Rupert and I agreed to, it was a terrible feeling that I had lost it, and lost it without knowing it had been there. I blamed myself because I hadn't exactly been taking care of myself for the past three months - sleeping very little, working 14-18 hours a day, parties, balls, public events, representing my patronages; and, of course, Rupert and my two hour riding trip each Sunday probably had not helped one bit.

When I was finally allowed to go home from the hospital, we had to be secretly taken out the back door, because the entire hospital was full of reporters wanting to know more about how I felt, how Rupert felt, what happens next and so on and so on. I didn't want to face that and neither did Rupert. We just wanted to be the two of us, all alone, to heal ourselves and each other. So we snuck out the back door to a waiting car and were whisked away to the winter castle while a decoy couple was coming down the hall towards the reporter jungle. Fortunately, it all went smoothly.

We stayed at the winter castle - just the two of us and only four security guards. They never entered the castle; but stayed at the little cabin out front. It was exactly what we needed at that time; and it helped us to go on…and to keep going. We had been able to take care of ourselves without any interruption from the press or the Queen.

Our anniversary started off great; but was quickly ruined by the Queen. Rupert and I had planned on spending an entire day together, just him and I. Two hours after we woke up, however, we had people everywhere…all of them, it seems, with a purpose from the Queen's office.

We had awoken early; the minute I opened my eyes, Rupert was on top of me looking down at me, smiling, "Good morning, Mrs. Renaldi!" He said with a kiss.

"Good morning, Mr. Renaldi!" I answered back and responded to his kiss, laughing at his groaning.

"Don't call me that darling, it sounds like you are addressing my father; and I do hope that I'm the only one to get these good mornings from you."

I started laughing, but my laughter was muffled but Rupert's kisses. We ended up being very intimate for close to two hours…that was when the celebration ended. A knock on the door interrupted us.

"Five minutes and I'll be with you!" Rupert yelled towards the door, in a completely normal voice while he worked his manhood in and out.

"Rupert!" I scolded in a whisper, trying to keep my panting down.

"No one will see darling…..oh God…..and……and……..and………and I do think they…..uhm…..know that we are………….oh……..doing this from time to time!" He panted out.

I couldn't do anything but try to forget that someone was at the door as I surely didn't want this to stop. I liked this more than anything; and Rupert was so gentle that sometimes I felt like I was on a cloud, light as a feather and nothing could replace that feeling.

That feeling suddenly ended and was replaced by a feeling of being violated when the Queen suddenly entered. I screamed and Rupert quickly pulled the sheet up over us, yelling, "MOTHER GET OUT!"

"Oh Rupert, do relax dear. It is just that I hate waiting; and I know this can't take that long. I know that your father and I have never taken this long!" She said carelessly as she just stayed there and stared at us.

"I do not care. We do not care how long it took you to have sex! We would just like to be alone; so for one last time mother - get out!" He said calmly, but I knew he was agitated.

"Oh, don't mind me darling; but I do have about fifteen people waiting for you, so I suggest that you two finish up now." She stated again; seemingly oblivious to what she was witnessing.

This agitated Rupert further. My lids were closed to avoid eye contact with the Queen and so I just felt Rupert crawl of me and out from under the sheet. Those actions had me open my eyes; I couldn't believe that he would do that - but he did.

Completely naked, he started pushing her out of our bedroom. "My wife and I do not want any interruptions for the next hour at least!" He spoke loudly and clearly before he closed the door.

After closing the door, he turned around and looked at me. I couldn't help but to look at him, my gaze going from head to toe and back again causing me to blush, almost as much as I did when we were interrupted, if that was possible. I noticed that his desire hadn't died down; he was just smiling at me and walking towards me in what seemed like slow motion. The pace increased suddenly to fast forward and he was under the sheet with me again. Without wasting any more time, he lifted the sheet and slid under; the next second, I could fell him pressing and entering my slick entrance. Within moments, we were moaning and panting again.

We did surface a few times from our suite, occasionally bumping into some of the staff. I blushed right away; they all knew what had taken place, what we had been doing and what had been seen. Unfortunately, we didn't even have to leave our suite for me to be embarrassed. The Queen had arranged for people to come to us all day long, so the interruptions were frequent; however, we didn't get interrupted during such an intimate time again, not that day at least.

"This is not what I had pictured our first anniversary to be like!" Rupert said disappointed.

"What did you have in mind dear?" I asked while leaning into his side.

"Oh I had pictured us in bed all day doing nothing but making love, kissing, nuzzling and making more love - just you and I, naked all day, alone in bed!" He shared with a dreamy look in his eyes.

I just smiled, leaned into him further and tilted my head back so we could share a kiss. We decided that, overall, we had had a fantastic day despite everything.

About one month ago, it all went down hill again. We were aroused from sleep, early one morning, by the screams of the Queen. This was surprising as her suite is on a different floor than ours. We bolted out of bed and threw on our robes and ran out to the hall. Rupert stopped in front of one of the guards, "Do you have any idea what is going on?" He asked the poor guard loudly.

"Unfortunately not, your Highness. I am sorry that I can not be of assistance!" He apologized

"That is quite alright, sir. I will just go inquire of my mother myself!" Rupert said and patted the guard on the shoulder - a gesture the man seemed to be happy for having received.

Rupert turned around and grabbed my hand, dragging me down the hall at a pace that was hard to follow. We ran down the stairs and down the hall to reach the King and Queen's suite. Once inside, we found a very distressed Queen. She, along with the King's aides and some maids were running back and forth. Only a few seconds after we entered, the royal physician entered as well. This led to, the Queen breaking into tears, "Oh Rupert, your father is very ill!" She cried out taking his hand from mine.

"Mother what is wrong? What is happening?" He asked

"I think your father is having a heart attack! He complained about chest pains when he came up here after finishing his day in the office yesterday. He said that he felt a little nauseous and that he had had trouble with heartburn all day. But I just dismissed his complaining and told him to go to sleep!" She confessed, crying.

I was saddened that King Albert was sick; and I was amazed at the Queen showing real emotion. She wasn't being fake, the tears weren't for effect…no, they were real, from the bottom of her heart, or so I thought.

"Mother, everything will be alright. Father will be alright. I'm positive that the doctor has something to give him that will make him bounce right back!" Rupert tried to reassure his mother.

"Do you know what it is like lying in bed next to a man who is having a heart attack? I feel so filthy, and not even my rosewater can ease that feeling!" She stated and it shocked both Rupert and I.

"Mother, how can you say a thing like that?" Rupert asked in dismay

"Oh Rupert – don't be silly. It was not a pleasant feeling. What will our friends and the rest of our family say? No man will ever want to dance or even touch me again!" She muttered, almost as if she were in a state of shock.

"I cannot believe what I'm hearing - this is your husband! I would be devastated if anything like this happened to Rupert. I would not be thinking about if I would ever dance with someone again. No – wait, yes actually I would. I would be wondering if I would ever be in Rupert's arms again, dancing a slow waltz. Either way, I would be happy that I was with him. You must be the most selfish, egocentric woman in this world!" I said and stormed out the door.

"Silly girl, I cannot believe I chose her to be your wife!" She spat.

"Well mother, I must say that I do believe it is the only good choice you've ever made!" Rupert said and followed my lead.

He found me right outside the door with tears running down my cheeks, soundlessly sobbing; only the movement of my shoulders told him I was crying. I cried even harder as he wordlessly turned me into his embrace and just held me.

The King did bounce right back after a month of nothing but rest. Rupert had taken over completely; and from that month, it was clear to everybody that he was truly born to do this. He was instinctively a true ruler! I really enjoyed seeing him work, watching him perform in his element. Everything was done with perfection. What I enjoyed the most was how he always included me in almost everything. Of course, that was not something that pleased the Queen, who still hasn't forgiven me for telling her my opinion.

Present day..

Just as she hasn't forgiven me, or us, for now taking this vacation to relax after Rupert's hectic month; although I think if I had mentioned that our vacation could be responsible for those children coming soon, she would really have exploded and rushed us out the door.

I laughed to myself at the thought of knowing that the children will come when they come!

Thank you for reading this far yet again lol please leave a little comment, Thank you!!!