The next day dawned grey and cool- not normal weather for April, but seemingly appropriate for this day- and the palace almost silently and soberly came to life, all its inhabitants knowing that this day was very, very different to the previous funeral- it was a funeral of a young, handsome man who had been taken away too soon and too early.

Just as many mourners who had attended the King's funeral flew into the country in the days leading up to the day itself, but the second most important mourner flew into Genovia the afternoon before the funeral and, upon arriving at the palace, headed upstairs with barely a greeting to the palace staff waiting for him, not that Charlotte could blame him- coupled with his grief over his brother, the attitude some of the palace staff (mainly loyal to His Majesty) displayed towards him had made him wary, but she wanted to tell him that there were some that were loyal to him and his mother.

It was late when Charlotte finally finalised the details of the funeral and wake- again, it would be held at the church with a private burial at the family crypt and a reception at the palace- and she was relieved that she would be able to go home, even for a couple of hours sleep, tomorrow would be a long and difficult day- but before she could move away from her desk, there was a gentle knock on the door and she turned to see Prince Pierre standing there, looking weary and grief stricken.

"Prince Pierre… Your Highness…. Your…."

"It's still just Pierre, Charlotte," he gave her a small smile.

"Pierre… I am so very sorry for your loss."

"Thank you- it was an awful shock…" he looked past her towards the closed study doors. "I still can't believe it."

"None of us can."

"And Mother…I cannot describe…." He shook his head in disbelief, as if trying to rid himself of an unpleasant image. "I wish I could stay longer to help her…I can only stay until the day after the funeral."

"Why so little time?"

"I am studying, Charlotte," he finally looked at her directly. "No, it's more than that… it's just that after what's happened… I don't really belong here anymore…"

"You do… we all miss you… the people who are still here are people that care about you… and Her Majesty…" before she trailed off, realising that she had probably crossed the boundaries that were established between the royal family and the palace staff.

"Thank you, Charlotte, I appreciate that…" he reached over and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "I'm sure that my mother also does as well…" before he paused and let out a long sigh. "Well, tomorrow is going to be a long, long day….I just wanted to come and say hello and thank you personally for all that you have done, planning two funerals in the space of a year- I truly appreciate it."

"My privilege," was all Charlotte said and Pierre gave her hand another squeeze before silently leaving the room.

0

In years to come, Charlotte could barely remember many details of the next day- she was not only grieving herself for a man that she liked and respected, but she was also a close witness to the pain that Her Majesty and her son were enduring, made all the worse by the fact the rest of the country and the rest of the world were watching and able to see that pain as well. Charlotte herself could barely imagine the sensation of being watched so closely by familiar people and strangers, so she could only imagine what was going through the minds of the Queen and son, although she knew that they had been trained to keep their emotions under wraps and their expressions neutral.

However, Charlotte knew that Her Majesty was truly suffering- the moment she set eyes on her that morning when she emerged from her suite, Pierre and Joseph accompanying her, she almost let out a loud gasp- she was pale and withdrawn and looked as though she hadn't slept or eaten in the week since she had learned about the accident. Charlotte only hoped that the day would pass quickly for her.

The ceremony was traditional in some aspects but it also reflected Phillipe's personality and interests, and while Charlotte had been determined to get upset, there were instances during the ceremony when she had to dab at her eyes.

All in all, it was a ceremony that celebrated the Prince's life and it was an occasion that she suspected that Phillipe would have appreciated, and the ceremony afterwards was less solemn and there were moments of quiet laughter as his friends told stories about their friend. Charlotte remained in the background, floating around and observing and occasionally pausing to talk to a guest, but she was pleased to see that Joseph and Pierre remained close to the Queen's side and that she looked a little better, even giving brave smiles when some of the guests told her stories about her son.

However, she was glad when Her Majesty finally left the reception- it was the signal that the reception was over and Charlotte had the opportunity to sink into her chair behind her desk and reflect on the day itself. The funeral and reception had been memorable (and definitely what Phillipe had deserved) but she had other concerns that had come to the forefront in the past couple of days and she was hoping that the palace would return to normal as soon as possible- the deaths of the King and the Crown Prince had destabilised everything to an extent that was disconcerting, and she had heard rumours that there were members of parliament (including the Von Trokans, a socially ambitious couple who wanted a seat in parliament) who were making murmurings about 'making a move' in regards to the throne, although she didn't understand how they could do that while there was a Renaldi on the throne.

"Not a blood Renaldi," Sebastian had said quietly when Charlotte had queried the rumours with him only a day earlier. "Yes, Her Majesty has been Queen in her own right and has been ruling very well since the death of the King," he added quickly as Charlotte opened her mouth to protest. "However, there is a group in parliament that stick to the Constitution and one of the laws is that a blood Renaldi (or whoever) should always been on the throne- and that could also include distant relatives, including the Von Trokans."

The Von Trokans had amused Charlotte at first, with their antics- crashing dinner parties and giving the occasional interview to the media- but her former boss, Joseph and Sebastian had quickly convinced her that they WEREN'T amusing, their interviews and 'crashing' could be interpreted as threats and they were serious as were the rumblings from the other members of parliament.

"They're bad news, be very, very wary around them," was all Joseph had said.

Aside from the Von Trokans, another major threat included Arthur Mabrey, a new member to parliament but clearly arrogant and had delusions of ambition and believing that he deserved more than what he had, and he was frightening with his obvious ambition and his behaviour, particularly towards Her Majesty- sly and flirtatious, but there was clearly something more under the surface, and Charlotte was determined to find out what was going on and be there for Her Majesty- her loyalty was to the Queen, no one else.

000

Meanwhile, upstairs in the royal suite, Her Majesty was sitting in front of the fireplace, staring emptily into the fire (late for April, but Joseph had insisted on it), the heat and light of the flames seeming to warm up the living room, convey that there was life in the room, but for Joseph, sitting quietly on the sofa near the fire, he was keenly aware of the black clad figure almost huddled at the opposite end of the fire and he was concerned about her own state of mind- yes, the day had been difficult for him as well, genuinely grieving for a young man he had been very fond of, as well the knowledge that there undercurrents in parliament but he was more concerned about her, Clarisse… his Queen… his boss… his beloved….

"Joseph?" suddenly came a soft (but to his ears, elegant and melodic) and he turned to see her looking at him, drawn, tired and pale.

"Yes… Clarisse?" At times like these, when they were alone, he knew that formalities we to be discarded, but most especially at this time, when she obviously needed companionship.

"I didn't… didn't mean to leave earlier… should I have stayed downstairs a little longer?"

"No, I think when you left was the best time."

"But… but…."

"Clarisse," he moved a little closer and reached over slowly to rest his hand on top of hers. "You already have had a lot to deal with in the last week or so and I think that they would have cut you a little bit of slack if you retired early… and frankly, you don't need to justify yourself to anyone, not even me."

"Do you know where Pierre has gone to?"

"I think he's already retired to his room… would you like to send for him?"

"No, no, he doesn't need that… I just wish that he had more time here than two days."

"I'm sure he wishes that too."

"But I also don't want him to suffer with his studies… he gave up so much to follow his dreams and I don't want him to miss out on anymore…"

"I'm sure he wouldn't feel that way if he could stay… I'm sure he would stay longer if he could…"

"Parliament…damn parliament," she muttered bitterly to herself before she took a long, shaky deep breath in. "Do you know if everything has been cleaned up downstairs?"
"I'm sure it would have all been, knowing Charlotte, Mrs Cout and the rest of the palace staff."

"Charlotte," Clarisse said softly. "I fear that I have taken advantage of her in the past few weeks… actually, the past few years….I know this was not was what she was expecting when she applied for the position…"

"I wouldn't worry about her at all, I know that she's enjoying every minute of the role and you haven't taken advantage of her, she has been doing the additional work because she wants to and that she is loyal to you."

"Additional work?" Clarisse suddenly looked mortified. "How much 'additional work' has she been doing?"

"Not much," Joseph said vaguely.

"Joseph…."

"She hasn't done that much at all, and you are not to worry yourself about what she has been doing- she's a very capable worker and she is enjoying the work."

"Alright," she collapsed back against the sofa, energy spent and Joseph sensed that she was exhausted. "Alright… but tomorrow, there is going to have to be a meeting between her, you and me as well as Pierre and maybe even Sebastian."

"Alright… but why?"

"Well, I'm well aware that my time on the throne is almost over and that it's time for someone else to step into the void."

"You can't be seriously considering… abdication?" Joseph said in horror- surely she wasn't that crushed that she would consider the one option that would cause a great deal of trouble in the country, as well as playing into the hands of the troublemakers in parliament. "You can't do that! I won't let you!"

"I'd like to see you try and stop me," she said with the ghost of a small smile. "But no, that option is one that I haven't considered… there is another option."

"Which is?"

"I know Phillipe and I agreed to keep our distance from her daughter until she's eighteen, but… that's something that I cannot do now, not with others wanting to wrest the throne away from the Renaldi family. I know she is only fifteen, but…. there is really no other choice," she said with a twinge of regret in her voice. "The parliament needs to know that there is a genuine blood relative Renaldi that can succeed the throne… I will merely be a caretaker until she comes of age."

"When she's 21?"

"Yes. When she's twenty one," before she sighed again. "I hope that I don't have to endure again the past two weeks… or, rather, the past two years."

"I hope you don't have to either," he said softly as he shifted closer to her and she suddenly moved closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder while he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.