A/N: Thanks to all my readers and reviewers! This is a little different for me but I'm looking forward to it!

The Princess Diaries doesn't belong to me!

Charlotte started work at the palace two weeks later and she had to admit that, almost from the beginning, it was very different to working with the Genovia Attaché Corp, but stimulating as well.

On her first day, Jane Kent spent much of the morning detailing her duties as her assistant, as well as the duties she would have dealing with parliament, although she wouldn't be dealing with parliament as often as His Majesty's assistants.

"Of course, I am Her Majesty's private secretary so I will be dealing with most of the correspondence and most of the delicate issues that affect her relationship with His Majesty and her professional life; I may delegate some tasks for you to do yourself, but much of the time, we will be working together."

Charlotte had expected those instructions- she hadn't had any more personal one on one contact with the Queen and she didn't expect so for at least a couple of months- and while she knew that it was clear that Jane resented her being hired (Charlotte assumed that she felt that the younger woman was usurping her own role) and resenting sharing the role, but she honestly didn't care- she was there to do a job and she was determined to do the job to the best of her ability.

For the first week or so of her employment, she only saw Her Majesty from a distance (and His Majesty not at all, although she had heard his voice echoing down the hallway to the office where she was situated) and both the royal princes were away at college/school, and she knew it would take a while to get to know the rest of the palace staff, but one person who had gone out of their way to make her feel welcome was the Queen's Head of Security, Joseph.

"How is your first week going?" he asked when they met in the hallway, Charlotte going to the kitchen for lunch and Joseph obviously having finished lunch. "Dealing with any delicate situations yet?"

"Not yet, I'm still getting used to the office and working with Ms Kent," Charlotte said, pleased that someone was speaking to her- the other staff were still daunted by her presence and Jane only spoke to her when necessary.

"Ah, the famous Ms Kent! Have you discovered her bad side?"

"Her bad side? I thought I was already on it… she doesn't seem to like me," Charlotte admitted, showing a slight touch of vulnerability, although it was something she didn't like showing, she much preferred remaining professional.

"Don't worry, you're not the only one she doesn't like… I don't think there's anyone here she really likes, except for Her Majesty."

"I wonder why that is."

"I don't know, but I wouldn't worry about Ms Kent not liking you- I don't think she's smiled in decades," Joseph chuckled and Charlotte couldn't resist joining in, although she couldn't help but feel a little guilty that she was being disrespectful towards her senior colleague.

"Anyway, if there is anything you need, you know where I am," he waved towards the closed door they were just standing in front of and Charlotte knew that was the security hub where Joseph and his men (including His Majesty's team) were located.

"Thank you, I appreciate that," she said politely before starting to move away towards the kitchen- she had to admit, she was starving- before Joseph's voice stopped her again.

"Ms Kutaway?"

"Charlotte, please," Charlotte turned back to him with a warm smile.

"Alright, Charlotte?"

"Yes?"

"Welcome to the palace."

000

Charlotte soon settled into palace life and she knew that while there were some aspects of working with diplomats she missed, she knew that she was enjoying her work (even though it was mostly mundane work such as typing letters and royal schedules, as well as dealing with phone calls from the Attaché) and she knew her boss had been right in advising her for the job.

She met His Majesty three weeks into her new role- he had been away for a week and then had been holed up in his study or attending meetings- and she had to admit, he was still an attractive man, even into his fifties, but the rumours she had already begun to hear turned her off from wanting to work with him closely.

"Who is this?" she heard his voice as she worked at her desk, typing several letters that Jane had assigned to her only half an hour ago, and Charlotte looked up and was momentarily stunned before she stood up, almost knocking over her chair as Jane, from the other side of the room, hurried over.

"This is Charlotte Kutaway, Her Majesty's new link to the Attaché Corp," she said with reverence in her voice (but Charlotte knew that it was aimed towards him and not her) and Charlotte curtseyed politely before looking up and meeting intense blue eyes.

"Welcome to the palace, Ms Kutaway," the king said formally, holding a hand out to shake hers. "I hope you will enjoy working here and working for Her Majesty."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Charlotte said quietly, his hand holding hers a little longer than necessary and his eyes seeming to scrutinise her, before he dropped it and turned his attention to Jane. "Is Her Majesty in her study?"

"Yes sir," Jane said eagerly and led the way towards Her Majesty's closed study doors as Charlotte sank back into her chair, a little stunned at the meeting- yes, he was quite charismatic and she could understand his appeal to men and women, but the hand holding and the scrutiny made her feel a little uncomfortable and she was more than half grateful that she was working for Her Majesty rather than him.

0

Her meetings with the Princes were much more relaxed, if not quite unconventional- or not what she expected from royal princes of Genovia.

She was returning from lunch one day, a month or so after she had started and she wasn't thinking, already absorbed in the work she had to do that afternoon, before she collided with someone- a tall, muscular someone- and she was mortified upon discovering, when looking up, that she had collided with the handsome younger Prince Gerard Christophe Phillipe Renaldi, or as he was known, Phillipe.

"Your Highness! I am so sorry!" she gasped, instantly bending into a curtsey, her eyes back on the floor before she finally managed to look up to see dark brown eyes and an amused expression.

"It's quite alright, I shouldn't have been running… You must be my mother's new diplomatic assistant."

"Yes, Ms Kutaway," she offered a hand to him and he shook it.

"Very pleased to meet you… and you obviously know who I am," he added teasingly and Charlotte realised that he was flirting with her, even though he was only twenty or twenty one, if not a little older, a college student and she was several years older, being around the same age as his older brother, she had figured out.

"Yes, sir."

"Sir? Sir is my father… I'm just Phillipe… and you're more than welcome to call me that…if I can call you Charlotte."

"Of course, sir."

"Leave her alone, little brother!" came another voice from behind him and they both turned to see an equally as tall, fair haired and blue eyed young man aged around twenty five strode towards them.

"What? I'm not doing anything!" the younger prince protested and the older brother- clearly His Royal Highness Prince Pierre Gerard Andre Renaldi, the Crown Prince of Genovia- only rolled his eyes.

"Yes, it look like it… Good afternoon, Miss Kutaway, forgive my brother for his manners. As you can tell, college hasn't done much for his manners," he proffered a hand to her and Charlotte, a little overwhelmed at meeting both princes at the same time, took his hand silently.

"Good afternoon," she finally said, gathering her thoughts together. "I'm very pleased to meet you both but…" she glanced at her watch. "I need to excuse myself- I have some paperwork that I need to finish this afternoon."

"But…" Prince Phillipe protested and Prince Pierre nodded understandingly and stood aside, pulling his brother along with him.

"Of course, we're not going to keep you from that… it was very nice to meet you and I hope that you will enjoy your time here."

"Thank you," Charlotte murmured before walking past both of them and walking, head high, back to her desk, having the strange sense that she was being watched.

00000

The next year seemed to fly by in moments- Charlotte was gradually given more and more work to do, and while she still didn't have very much to do with Her Majesty, she was getting more involved with the life of the palace and she had already made some good friends, including Joseph's second in command, Scott Turner (or, as everyone else called him, 'Shades') and while he had shown signs of being interested in her as more than 'friends', Charlotte firmly but gently suggested that they would just remain friends.

"One day, though…." Shades teased one day but he knew that she was dedicated to her work and that would come first for her.

After finally finding her feet in regards to palace life, she had the opportunity to look around and observe the world around her- a world that she hadn't imagined being a part of until she had got the job, and she had to admit that she had made some quite interesting observations.

After her initial meeting with His Majesty, she hadn't had many dealings with him but, when she had attended state dinners and balls (as Jane's assistant, and there had only been three in the year she had been there), she noted that he flirted with many of the younger women present and, if there weren't any present, he flirted with the wives of the members of parliament who, to her astonishment, didn't seem to mind in the slightest- in fact, she had noted that there was open encouragement from husbands to wives.

Her Majesty, she couldn't help but feel sorry for her- she was obviously aware of the situation but there was nothing she could do about it and instead chose to take the high moral ground and main a dignified silence, although Charlotte suspected that it couldn't have been easy for her.

She was surprisingly pleased to see that Joseph was usually around her most of the time, ensuring that no one jostled her or stepped to close to her or said inappropriate things- but, then again, it was his job to protect the Queen and if that involved keeping men away from her, then so be it.

Joseph was always unfailingly courteous to her, and she sensed that she could trust him, but she had no interest in him as anything more than a friend- she was here for her career.

The young princes came and went from the palace during the school terms and Charlotte liked both of them, although she knew that there was a firm boundary between them becoming friends- she was only the Queen's diplomatic assistant, and they were the royal family.

Pierre, she had discovered, was much more serious than his younger brother but they both had qualities that she appreciated and liked- and they were both friendly with her, although Phillipe had initially tried flirting with her but that had stopped as he focused on his royal duties, although he was looking, she had overheard him mention to Joseph (or Joe, as most people called him) and Charlotte had realised that the older bodyguard was something of a surrogate father to the princes, although there had been nothing said or done, it was just the way she sensed it through the interactions the three men had.

All in all, she was quite happy in her position- Jane Kent had slowly thawed towards her, finally realising that Charlotte had no intention of usurping her position- and she was finding the work challenging and fulfilling, still having quite a lot to do with her former boss and former colleagues and she was hoping to continue in the post for many years to come… but then came an explosion that rocked the palace to its knees and while she was on the outer fringes, she was also a witness to what happened and the situation between the players….

000

"HE HAS A DAUGHTER?" She could hear the roar of the King's voice from his study all the way down to her desk at the opposite end of the hallway. "HOW CAN THAT BE?"

It was common knowledge that Prince Phillipe had been married to an American whilst in college but the marriage had ended two or three years ago- long before Charlotte had been employed at the palace, but she had heard the story through the diplomatic corps and she had also heard that the King and Queen had forced them to divorce- the said girl had been deemed 'unsuitable' to be a member of the royal family.

The prince had acquiesced to their request and had returned to the palace, but there had been no mention of a child born of the union, until now… the press had dug up the story and the Prince had had to admit that there had been a child born, a little girl who was now three years old, but he and his ex-wife had promised each other that she would not know anything about her royal heritage until she was much older… unfortunately, their agreement hadn't gone to plan…

The prince had been summoned to the King's study half an hour ago and while the King had shouted at his son, it was nothing compared to the roaring he was aiming at his wife, who he had summoned just ten minutes earlier and she had left her study, looking drawn and worried.

"DID YOU KNOW?" he roared again and there was the sound of silence as Charlotte assumed that Her Majesty was explaining the situation to him, and she was also glad that she couldn't hear any more shouting.

Jane was sitting at her desk, looking at her computer screen but Charlotte knew that she wasn't really working.

"How could this have happened?" she murmured to herself. "I… I'm sure…"

"The press do their own digging," Charlotte said matter of factly and Jane turned towards her. "They're always looking for scandal in regards to the royal family."

"But… the prince… how could he have lied to his parents? How could he have lied to his mother?" the older woman looked distressed and Charlotte realised that the older woman cared for the queen far more than she had realised and had given her credit for.

"I don't know about that…." she began slowly- even she found it difficult to understand why the prince had lied to his parents about his daughter… but, then again, she couldn't imagine being married to a member of the royal family and being told she wasn't good enough to be a member… so she could understand the ex-wife wanting to keep their child safe and unaware of her heritage until she was old enough to understand.

"Neither do I…." but she was interrupted by the sound of footsteps in the hallway, coming closer and closer to their office and seconds later, Her Majesty stepped into the room, looking even more distressed than earlier.

"Your Majesty…" both women stood up- although Her Majesty had told them (or she had told Jane who had told Charlotte) that it wasn't necessary- but she only brushed past them, her head lowered. When she reached the door of her study, she turned towards Jane:

"Jane, please cancel the rest of my appointments for today and Charlotte…" she looked towards the younger woman and Charlotte's heart ached at the sadness in her eyes. "Could you please call the security hub and send Joseph to me… we're going to have to make additional arrangements for Phillipe's security for the time being."

"Yes, ma'am," Charlotte sat down quickly and reached for the phone as the study doors closed quietly behind the Queen- if she could make this time easier for Her Majesty, she was going to do what she could… for a brief moment, her job was more than a job...