A/N: Thanks to my readers and reviewers- you all rock!
The next morning, Charlotte was surprised to discover Her Majesty's study doors open, and when she stepped towards the doors, she almost collided with Joseph who was stepping out of the room.
"G…good morning, Joseph," Charlotte gasped when she had recovered from her surprise and he gave her a warm smile, knowing that he had surprised her.
"Good morning… are you alright?"
"I'm… I'm fine- I just hadn't expected…."
"As I can see," his eyes twinkled mischievously but before he could say anything else, another voice from behind him spoke up:
"Good morning, Charlotte," and Joseph stepped back to reveal Her Majesty sitting at her desk, clad in black and still looking pale and withdrawn, but considerably better than the day before; and Charlotte was also surprised to see Prime Minister Motaz sitting in one chair and Prince Pierre sitting in the other chair.
"Good morning Your Majesty, Prince Pierre, Sebastian. Is there anything I can do for you at the moment?"
"We need to have a meeting," Joseph said bluntly, waving her into the study and closing the doors behind her. "There's nothing on the schedule for this morning, and any phone calls will be dealt with by the others."
"I see," Charlotte was still slightly dumbfounded at seeing everyone (particularly Her Majesty) in the study, ready to work while she was seemingly unprepared and her head was full of questions; namely, what was this meeting about- although she had a creeping suspicion what it could be about… but WHY were parliament forcing the issue? Her Majesty had lost her husband and son in an unbelievably short period of time and needed time to herself, to grieve and accept her losses she had endured (Phillipe's passing more than the King's) and the changes that had been forced upon her- parliament attempting to be much more influential in serious decisions (that is, they made the decisions with the 'input' of the Queen) and threatening to bypass the royal family altogether, put someone more 'appropriate' on the throne but Charlotte personally felt that she needed some time to heal… but obviously that wasn't going to happen.
"What is the meeting about?" she queried finally and it was Sebastian's turn to give her a warm smile as she sank into the remaining free chair and accepting a notepad and pen from Joseph, still trying to remain professional and dignified.
"We need to discuss the royal family's 'next move'," Sebastian said bluntly, leaning forward in his chair with an intense expression on his face.
"Next move?"
"Yes, next move. You are probably aware of certain… rumours… in parliament… about…"
"Yes I am," Charlotte said immediately, giving the Queen and Prince Pierre an uncomfortable look but their expressions was neutral. "I don't know all the details…"
"Well, Joseph and I do," Sebastian said grimly. "It's not particularly pleasant but… there are certain members of parliament who are… discussing trying to wrest the throne away from Her Majesty."
"WHAT?!" Pierre leapt out of his chair, his expression horrified but Her Majesty's was still unreadable. "You're not serious, are you? It's ridiculous, it's absolutely ridiculous!"
"I know, Your Highness, I agree with you completely and I'm not going to allow this… movement…to continue."
"What are you planning?" Pierre sank back in his chair his eyes still on Sebastian.
"Your Majesty," Sebastian turned his gaze towards the still silent monarch, sitting behind her desk and fiddling with her glasses, but when Sebastian focused the attention on her, she set her glasses on the table and, after a moment of studying her hands, she took a deep breath in and then looked up.
"We need to get into contact with Helen Thermopolis and… Amelia…" she suddenly stopped, seeming a little overwhelmed with her emotions as she looked back down at her hands again.
"Why?" Charlotte couldn't help asking before blushing, realising that it was a ridiculous question. "Sorry."
"It's alright," Sebastian said as Pierre and Joseph gave her sympathetic smiles.
"Now that…" Pierre paused for a moment before continuing. "…after what's happened… according to Genovian Law, there must be a genuine Renaldi blood relative on the throne (or set to inherit the throne within a certain amount of time) otherwise it reverts to an equally ancient family with connections…such as the Von Trokan family, although there are other families with parliament who have a better claim to the throne."
"I have heard- not directly, but through other sources, that there are other potential candidates for the throne and that they are already considering their options…."
"What options?" Charlotte asked sharply, so sharply that even the Queen looked at her in surprise.
"I cannot say for sure, but my sources say that they are serious…very serious."
"Serious enough to drag my niece into the fold?" Pierre spoke up and, like a tennis volley, eyes and attention turned towards him.
"Yes," came from the Queen- it was a simple, singular word but the power behind the word, the determination, firmness and intransigence was what confirmed the decision to all present the room.
"Maman- why? She's only a young girl, barely sixteen, Phillipe wouldn't have wanted this… stupid parliament," he muttered to himself but he also knew WHY Amelia had to be introduced to her father's heritage and family- it was urgent and necessary that she knew that the was next heir to the throne and accepted that role and associated responsibilities, but even so, knowing what he knew about being the heir to the throne and what it entailed, he wanted to protect her. "Surely, Maman, she deserves privacy… at least until she finishes high school."
"Enough, Pierre," his mother said sharply, in a tone that seemed to take everyone aback- Pierre included. "It is regrettable that we have to do this," she continued in a softer tone. "But… if we are to prevent what we discussed earlier, we need to take steps to prevent that…."
"Abdication is definitely not a consideration," Joseph finally spoke up, giving the Queen a hard look, followed by Sebastian and Pierre, while Charlotte suddenly felt that she was in the middle of something she shouldn't be (as well as registering the word 'abdication'… NO!) but unfortunately, she was the furthest person away from the doors, she would definitely be noticed if she tried to leave the room. Both Sebastian and Pierre both looked shocked at Joseph's words and they both looked at the Queen in horror.
"You weren't seriously considering abdication, were you Maman?" Pierre asked in a small voice.
"Your Majesty, you cannot do that! You would be virtually handing the throne to this group of trouble makers!" Sebastian almost growled. "I know I am supposed to be neutral, politically, but abdication… no! You cannot do that!
"The country has only just recovered from MY abdication," Pierre stepped in again. "If there was another abdication so soon… it would destroy not only the Renaldi family reputation but the reputation of the country…."
"Pierre, Sebastian," the Queen held up a hand with a weary look. "I can assure you that abdication is most definitely off the table- I admit that I may have flirted with the idea, but not seriously."
"You don't need to mention this part in your notes, Charlotte," Joseph said sternly, but Charlotte had already put her pen down and was only listening to the conversation between the others.
"Of course not. I won't do that."
"We trust you, Charlotte," the Queen said to her directly with a tiny smile. "Joseph is just being over protective," before she gave her Head of Security the same tiny smile and their eyes met and held for a long moment.
"So… what are we going to do?" Charlotte said, hating to break up the moment but wanting to know what she had to do in regards to planning and paperwork.
"I recommend that Her Majesty goes to San Francisco to see the girl herself," Sebastian said finally. "This news is not something that you can tell over the telephone."
"Definitely not," Pierre agreed.
"What do we… I do when we meet Amelia?" the Queen suddenly sounded nervous, something that Charlotte had never thought she would hear in Her Majesty's voice, and she suddenly realised that Her Majesty was well aware of what was at stake and that this visit was essential to the survival of the royal family.
"Play it by ear," Sebastian advised. "Get to know the young lady and her mother, spend time with her…."
"All while running a country from San Francisco."
"I know it seems impossible, but I will keep an eye on things here and I will let you know if any problems come up."
"What dates do you have in mind?" Charlotte asked after a moment.
"When are the American summer school holidays?"
"Some of June, July and August…."
"Amelia's birthday is at the end of June," Joseph suddenly spoke up quietly and the Queen turned to look at him.
"Is that so?"
"It's true, you know that as well."
"If we go a week or so before her birthday, maybe we could have some time then…"
"She would still be in school, but it's possible that you could spend time with her after school."
"What about the Independence Day Ball? It's around that time….and there's a state dinner for the Ambassador of Japan…." Charlotte trailed off and the rest of the room turned quiet for a moment before Sebastian clapped his hands together with a grin.
"I have a brilliant idea- have both the Ball and the state dinner at the San Francisco consulate! It will introduce the young lady to some of the responsibilities that her role will entail… and besides, it might be fun to have a different location for the celebrations… the palace staff deserve a break."
"Have… both of them… at the consulate?" Her Majesty repeated slowly, looking intrigued. "Is it possible?"
"Didn't you have one of the Princes 21st birthdays in London?" Sebastian asked.
"Yes, we did," Joseph spoke up. "It went very well and all the guests enjoyed themselves… I remember one of them saying to me that it would be nice to celebrate different occasions away from the palace."
"So… why not now as well?" Sebastian looked back at Her Majesty with a curious look. "I think it will work."
Her Majesty looked around the room with an almost dazed look and Charlotte realised that she still wasn't totally back on board emotionally before her blue eyes stopped on Charlotte.
"Charlotte? What do you think? It will mean a lot of extra work for you especially."
"It is completely up to you, Your Majesty," Charlotte responded quietly, although she found the idea intriguing and she thought she would be able to cope with the extra workload.
"That's not an answer to my question, Charlotte," the Queen chided her gently with a small smile. "I want to know what you think."
"I think… it could work and I don't mind the extra workload… I think it might be… fun," Charlotte finished with a blush and she couldn't help but blush even deeper when she heard Sebastian's deep throated chuckle.
"Pierre?"
"I won't be there, of course, but I think that Sebastian is right- it will give Amelia the chance to learn about her possible responsibilities, as well as you getting to know here. I think you should do it."
"Joseph?"
"It's up to you, Your Majesty," he shrugged. "But it would be worth the effort."
"Then, we'll do it," Her Majesty said decisively. "Sebastian will keep an eye on things here…"
"There won't be any problems- most of parliament will be itching to go on holidays anyway, and there's no official visits scheduled until the end of August… so, everything will be fine here."
"I'm still going to be contactable even though I'll be in America, I'll be requesting paperwork be sent over there…."
"Your Majesty, it's going to be fine," Sebastian stood up and walked over to the desk and reached down to rest a hand on top of hers. "All that matters is that you get to meet your granddaughter and she begins to learn about her heritage."
00000
Six weeks later, Charlotte found herself on Genovia One, heading towards San Francisco, sitting behind Her Majesty and going through some paperwork, while Joseph was sitting further down the plane, talking quietly with one of the flight attendants.
She had been on Genovia One at least once or twice over the years, but she still found herself slightly overwhelmed by the opulence of the cabin, the soft, padded seats (and there were considerably less chairs than on a commercial flight), the ready access to technology (including a television in one corner of the cabin), the friendly flight attendants who offered beverages and food every hour and just the general peaceful surroundings.
"You look comfortable," she suddenly heard Joseph's voice above her (they had been in the air for a couple of hours, and while Her Majesty was perusing paperwork in the seats ahead, Charlotte herself was going over her notes for the state dinner that was scheduled for the second week of their visit) and she looked up with a smile.
"I've been on this plane a couple of times over the years but I'm still not used to it… it's amazing."
"Indeed it is- on my first trip on it, I was afraid to move from my seat, just in case I dragged dirt through the carpet. Her Majesty had to call me at least five times before I dared to get out of my seat."
"I'm sure that made you popular."
"She was quite alright about it… how are the plans going for the state dinner?"
"Fine. Everyone has confirmed their attendance, and the consulate staff is already planning menu and all of that… I just have to confirm it when we get there…. When do you think we'll get there?"
He glanced at his watch and frowned, as if calculating the time difference.
"We should be there around seven o'clock in the morning… we'll go straight to the consulate and we'll go from there."
"What about….?"
"We'll see about that later," he glanced quickly at the royal sitting just a seat ahead of them and shook his head slightly. "Do you need anything?"
"I'm fine for the moment, thanks for asking," she smiled gratefully at him and he returned the smile before he moved forward to bend down over the Queen.
Charlotte paused in her work to watch the interaction between the two- as soon as he had mentioned her name, Her Majesty had looked up with a smile, before removing her glasses and murmuring something in response and then waving to the seat next to her. There was a slight pause before he sat down next to her and then they began talking again, their voices so low that Charlotte couldn't hear a word (not that she wanted to hear what they were talking about) but there was something about the way he had leaned slightly towards her, as well as the soft expression on the Queen's face, the way she smiled slightly at something Joe said to her, that confirmed a suspicion of Charlotte's and made her wonder what they truly were to each other… hopefully, they were at least friends….