Hi- sorry it's been awhile but I haven't been able to access the internet-hopefully that will be remedied very soon! Thank you to all my readers and reviewers- I'm still out here!

The Princess Diaries

From the moment Charlotte set eyes on Amelia Thermopolis that first afternoon, she had the sense that this teenager had the potential to be the future of Genovia- that she could actually be the next Queen, if she accepted her new role.

She was struck at how similar the girl looked to her father- her eyes, smile, brown hair- and from the few words she uttered, she seemed polite and respectful but Charlotte had no time to make any additional judgements (not that she would actually make any judgements about this teenage girl who had no idea about what her grandmother was about to tell her) but she couldn't feel sympathetic toward her before mentioning that Her Majesty would be 'right down'…

"I don't need a moment, I'm here," came the Queen's brisk voice from the staircase and they both turned to see Her Majesty come down the stairs and Charlotte suddenly realised that she was witnessing the first meeting between grandmother and granddaughter, which was touching, but she couldn't help but feel a frisson of apprehension as well…

0

"How did it go?" Charlotte asked quietly an hour later when Joseph came through her study- she had stayed out in the garden for a little while after the older woman and the teenager had settled at the table, but she had felt that there were already enough people hovering about the table (consulate staff and security- she could see Joseph wandering casually down from the house, hovering near some of the bushes directly behind the girl) and she didn't want to overwhelm the girl- she was already going to be told something she hadn't expected, so she had crept back into her study, she still had more planning to do in regards to the State dinner.

"Not particularly well," Joseph said calmly. "The young lady was… surprised, if that is the word, and she ran off- I take it that you didn't see her come through here?"

"No, I was on the phone- where is Her Majesty now?"

"Out in the garden… I have a feeling that you will be quite busy with note taking her ideas in regards to the garden- I think that she wants to improve the garden while we're here," he teased gently and she smiled at him.

"It is rather bare," Charlotte acknowledged. "Anyway… what will happen with Miss Thermopolis?"

"I'm not quite sure yet," Joseph frowned. "Her Majesty wants me to be security for her when Her Majesty is here at the consulate, although I'm not sure that it's going to work…."

"It will work, she doesn't have that many public appearances here in San Francisco, and I'm sure that Miss Thermopolis only has school and her after school job…."

"Charlotte?" they suddenly heard Her Majesty's voice and they turned to see Her Majesty strolling into her study towards them.

"Your Majesty," Charlotte immediately stood up.

"I'm going to need your help…Joseph's as well," she acknowledged him with a brief look. "This afternoon didn't go very well, and we need to brainstorm some ideas to try and get my granddaughter to return to the consulate…. There is so much I need to do before I'm able to present her to the press and the public at the Independence Day Ball."

"Such as?" Joseph asked, sounding wary- the vulnerable woman who had been nervous about meeting her granddaughter two hours ago had disappeared, replaced by the pragmatic, practical Queen who was considering her country first, rather than her granddaughter. Even Charlotte was a little taken aback at how calm and collected the Queen was and how she was considering her granddaughter in terms of what needed to be 'done'.

"She is a very attractive young lady but… there are some aspects of her appearance that need to be…tampered down a little."

"Alright…." Joseph said slowly as Charlotte took a notebook and pen and starting making notes. "But you're not going to do a complete makeover, are you?" His tone was wary, with a tiny note of apprehension and the Queen looked at him in surprise for a moment before she realised that his expression and concern were real.

"No, Joseph, I'm not," she said reassuringly. "I also need to start giving her some lessons in palace protocol and the history of Genovia… I'm not going to push her too hard, but there are some things that need to be addressed."

"But how are you sure that she is going to accept the title? From what I saw before, she didn't handle the news too well…."

"I know," Her Majesty suddenly wilted a little at Joseph's words. "I know that it was something that she obviously didn't expect but…. she doesn't know the urgency of the situation back in Genovia."

"And you probably shouldn't inform her of that almost immediately," Joseph said gently as Charlotte stopped writing and just listened to the conversation- she felt that she was suddenly invisible and the conversation was mainly between the Queen and Joseph. "But you cannot force her to make a decision that affects the rest of her life," Joseph said gently. "I know you wouldn't have chosen this life for your sons if you could have, so you need to allow her to make the decision for herself."

"So… what should I do?" the Queen suddenly looked lost and vulnerable again, and Charlotte suddenly spoke up:

"You need to meet her on her terms, on her territory- being here, in the consulate, a place she has never been before probably contributed to whatever happened this afternoon…she may have felt a little overwhelmed…"

"Especially considering that she had never met you before, having heard of you only via letters and Christmas cards and presents," Joseph added quietly.

"Perhaps, you could call Helen Thermopolis and arrange to go around to their house tomorrow morning and talk it out."

She suddenly stopped, realising that she had probably spoken out of turn but when she met Joseph's eyes, he was giving her a grin- he clearly approved- before she finally looked at Her Majesty and found that she too was giving her a smile.

"I think you are absolutely right, Charlotte- it is precisely what I should do… thank you."

00000

The time in San Francisco seemed to fly by- Charlotte was flat out planning for the State Dinner as well as the Independence Day ball, but because the Queen was running the country in a different country, her workload had almost doubled, through sending faxes and papers through special overnight delivery, as well as keeping in touch with the press secretary in Genovia and what was going on Genovia, but she didn't mind that.

She also was also a witness to the deepening relationship between the Queen and her granddaughter and the lessons that both of them were learning as Amelia (or Mia, as she preferred to be called) wrestled with her decision to accept the title and role of Crown Princess of Genovia and the fact that she would be the next in line to the throne.

While the 'lessons' with the Queen took up much of the afternoons (and they had been called 'lessons' when the deal had been struck between the Queen and Mia on the morning the Queen had gone to Mia's house to discuss the situation), Charlotte was also secretly pleased to witness a moment between Joseph and the Queen, soon after Mia's first dancing lesson, two days after she had found out about her heritage.

She had seen the young girl leave for the day, and she assumed that Joseph had returned to the security hub, so she had gone to see what Her Majesty needed from her now, but instead of finding Her Majesty signing papers, or about to return to her study, she found her dancing… with Joseph!

"You've been wearing black far too long," he murmured in a husky voice as he turned the CD player back on and the Queen gave him a wry smile before allowing herself to be led out onto the ballroom floor. Charlotte crept backwards out of the room, but she couldn't help but pause for a moment out of the doorway and watch them dance- it took her breath away, to see the elegance and smoothness of their dancing movements, they seemed so in sync with each other, it was unbelievable if she hadn't suspected something between them before, but this dance just proved to Charlotte that there was something going on between them… that it was reciprocated was even more wonderful….

Joseph's comment had obviously had some weight with Her Majesty for, the next morning when Charlotte met her in her study, instead of the usual sombre black suit and black silk scarf she had been wearing daily since the accident, Her Majesty was wearing a purple patterned suit and matching silk blouse, making herself look younger and more youthful than she had been in quite a while. Charlotte approved thoroughly, although she couldn't say so, and she could sense Joseph approved when he came into the study halfway through their meeting, judging by the elation flaring in his eyes as well as the small smile that followed the expression.

"Good morning, Your Majesty, you look lovely this morning," he said politely and the Queen couldn't help but smile back.

"Good morning, Joseph. Thank you- I decided to take some advice that I was given yesterday."

"I'm glad that you did," he responded, leaning over and pressing his lips onto her hand before they both remembered that Charlotte was in the room but when they both looked at her, Charlotte was still looking down at her notebook, seemingly having not seen anything at all.

Mia's makeover was equally successful- Charlotte knew that Joseph had been worried that he Queen would try and change the young teenager too much (which confirmed that he had concern for the young teenager, as a father or grandfather would), but despite the overdramatic gestures and chatting from Paolo, the Queen's trusted makeup and hair stylist, the changes were more minimal that even Charlotte had expected- and the changes were for the best, the young girl suddenly looked more like a young woman, a princess and a future Queen, and the lessons afterward continued her 'improvement', especially in regards to her confidence in public speaking.

The presence of the teenager in the Queen's life had also made the world of difference to the Queen herself- before they had come to San Francisco, she had been quiet and withdrawn, a little sad and distant (which was perfectly understandable, considering what had occurred within the past few years), but now, as she slowly got to know her granddaughter, the distance and sadness was drifting away somewhat, and while she was still quiet, there was a new contentment and peace about her that Charlotte instantly attributed to her granddaughter, as well as Joseph.

"She's coming alive again," Joseph said to her one day as they watched Queen and Princess (although she had yet to accept the title- the Independence Day ball was the deadline) practicing walking in a 'crowd' (they were the crowd, as well as a few of the other palace staff). "Phillipe would be so relieved…."

Of course, the inevitable downside had to come when Paolo sold the story of Mia being a Princess to the press and the press began to stalk the school she attended, as well as her own home and even around the consulate. Her Majesty had been furious about the 'slip up' and she had made it perfectly clear in the press statement that was released in San Francisco as well as Genovia that the young teenager "deserved her privacy and will be expected to receive it, despite her new knowledge about her family and heritage."

According to Sebastian, the parliament in Genovia wasn't particularly pleased about the situation, some loudly arguing that it wasn't possible for a teenager to become the next Queen of Genovia, but the Queen wasn't bothered by the statements.

"Ridiculous! They are always causing trouble by making statements that make no sense- and while Sebastian didn't tell me who it was, I have a feeling I know who it was that made that statement."

Charlotte had to admit that the parliament was being ridiculous about the press interest surrounding Amelia (and their comments reflected this, they wanted to have the press interest focused back on them), but she was also concerned about the additional pressure the press was adding to the teenager's shoulders. She had only known her a week or so, and really didn't have much time to talk to her, but Mia was always cheerful, always calling out 'hello' when she came into the consulate in the afternoons for her princess lessons and stopping to chat with her on occasion and Charlotte had to admit to herself that she liked her for herself and that she also hoped that she made the decision that was right for her- and that didn't necessarily be becoming the newest Crown Princess.

She had coped with the press onslaught fairly well, but the first time she would actually meet members of parliament and attend an official function was the State Dinner… and while the Queen and Joseph had expressed their confidence in the girl, and she herself believed in Mia, she had from the beginning, Charlotte couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive about the dinner and what could happen…