A/N: Thanks to all my readers and reviewers- finally back on a roll again!
The Princess Diaries doesn't belong to me!
Charlotte thought that the rest of the trip would be easier, hoping that the hiccup of the state dinner, 'the big reveal' (thankfully, Paolo had been apologetic and mortified when the Queen had spoken to him) and the impromptu 'tour of San Francisco' that would be the only humps in the trip- but unfortunately, it had been an optimistic yet unrealistic view, with several more 'hiccups' occurring during the remaining week in San Francisco.
"It definitely sounds like that Miss Thermopolis could certainly shake the palace up if she ever comes to Genovia," Scott joked to Charlotte one day on the phone. "I hear that both she and Her Majesty are keeping you and Joe on your toes."
"Yes, well… it's actually more interesting when things are unexpected, rather than planned."
"I never thought that I would hear you say that- you, Charlotte Kutaway, who likes being organised and having lots of lists and schedules… you prefer the unexpected?" Scott couldn't help but tease.
"Well, when ensuring that Her Majesty's schedule run smoothly, I prefer to expect everything… but, with Miss Mia… I don't think I could bear to organise her life to the last second."
"You may have to one day, Char."
"I know- but I hope that I don't have to do that for a long time to come."
Unfortunately, Charlotte's enjoyment of the unexpected, in terms of Mia, suddenly disappeared in light of the 'Bega Beach Party' and the incident that was splashed over the newspapers the following morning.
Charlotte had received word early that morning that there would be a semi-nude picture of the princess on the front page of the San Francisco papers, and while she had already gone into 'damage control', she knew that the Queen would have to be informed of anything before it was given to the press… and she also knew that she would be furious, an assumption that proved correct when, with a thunderous expression, she stormed into her study just after breakfast. Charlotte herself was grateful that she hadn't been the one to inform Her Majesty of the next 'scandal' with her granddaughter, she wasn't quite sure how she would have dealt with her earlier in the morning.
"Where are the papers, Charlotte?" she snapped, seating herself behind her desk and reaching for her glasses.
"Right in front of you, ma'am."
"Have you already prepared a statement for the press?"
"Yes ma'am, I'll bring it into you right now."
"Where is Joseph?"
"He's gone to pick up…Mia and take her to school."
"Call him and ask him to bring her here- I need to speak to her at once."
"Yes ma'am," and Charlotte quietly slipped out of the room without another word.
The scene between granddaughter and grandmother was brief but brutal- Charlotte made sure she was well aware from the study after Mia had arrived, but she could tell that it had been just that when Mia almost crept out of the room, her expression downhearted and her eyes on the floor.
"Good morning, Miss Mia," Charlotte said sympathetically, wanting the girl to know that she was cared about.
"Good morning, Charlotte… although, is it really?" she met Charlotte's eyes for a moment and Charlotte could see the shame and mortification in her eyes- she was not only embarrassed for the royal family and her grandmother, but she was humiliated herself and Charlotte's sympathy increased. She hadn't asked to be betrayed by her so called 'friends' (not that they were, according to Joseph's ever reliable sources) and the tricks that they had played on her (the public kiss with the teenage boy and the pulling down of the tent while she was changing) were downright cruel, and for a moment, Charlotte could feel tears in her own eyes.
"Well… there's only another week or so until school is out," Charlotte began encouragingly. "Do you have any plans for the summer?"
"Hopefully crawl under a rock and stay there for the rest of my life," she muttered sullenly and Charlotte was about to try and cheer her up again when Joseph came out of the study- he had been hidden around a corner, obviously at the Queen's suggestion, to witness the scene- and Charlotte wasn't surprised to see that he didn't look happy, but not as angry as he had been after the state dinner.
"We'd better go, Miss Mia- you don't want to miss any more classes."
"I think I would prefer to miss the rest of the day completely," Mia murmured softly and Joseph and Charlotte exchanged a look before the teenager walked quietly out of the room, Joseph following behind.
000
Communications between the Queen and her granddaughter remained minimal for the rest of the week, and while Joseph and Charlotte had their hushed discussions about how they could improve matters, they had come to the conclusion that it would better if the Queen approached her granddaughter (or vice versa) without any inside interference.
"Of course, if Miss Mia is anything like her father (and her grandmother), there could be a long wait for one or the other of them to break- both Clarisse and Phillipe could be incredibly stubborn when they wanted to be," and there was no mistaking the tenderness in his voice.
"But… the ball…Miss Mia's decision…"
"Don't worry, Charlotte- one of them will come around, it's only a matter of time," Joseph looked at her with a confident smile and Charlotte hoped that he was right.
Of course he was right, he was always right. The afternoon of the ball (with no contact between the royals, although Helen Thermopolis had called to confirm that they would both attend the ball), the Queen emerged from her study, carrying a diplomatic pouch, a pouch that had only just arrived the day before and what Charlotte knew to contain a red leather diary that Phillipe had made for Mia for her sixteenth birthday, a tradition that had been going on for generations.
"Ma'am?"
"Charlotte, I'm going to see Mia- yes, Joseph is waiting outside for me- so can you keep things going here while I'm gone? I should only be gone an hour?"
"Of course," Charlotte said quietly, knowing that it was a loaded visit- not only would she be presenting the teenager her birthday present from her father, but also to discover what decision she had made in regards to accepting the title of Crown Princess of Genovia. "Good luck," she said softly as the Queen made her way towards the door, before the Queen paused and turned to smile back at her, knowing exactly what she meant.
00000
In the months to come, Charlotte looked back at the time in San Francisco and wondered how she could have ever thought it would be simple and predictable to convince Phillipe's daughter to accept a title and responsibilities she had little idea about as well as returning to a country she had barely heard about, but only as the homeland of her father… Charlotte had been a little over optimistic, although she knew, deep down, that nothing was ever that simple when dealing with royalty, teenagers and parliament- and the last fortnight had proved that. She hadn't expected the hiccups but she had gotten to know and like the potential Crown Princess (and she knew that Joe, balancing his commitment and loyalty to Clarisse, as well as his growing affection for Mia, felt the same way) and she also knew that the Queen was happy to have established a growing relationship with her granddaughter, although it was tempered by her anxiety (well hidden, of course) over Mia's decision about whether she would 'accept' the title or not… and the inquiries in regards to that had been increasing on a daily basis, both from the guests that were continuing to arrive from Genovia as well as the press (Genovian press specifically) but all Charlotte could say, as instructed: "We'll know by the evening of the ball."
But when the Queen returned to the consulate later that afternoon after visiting her granddaughter- and thankfully the guests for that evening were either upstairs getting dressed or at their hotels- Charlotte could sense, despite the elegant way she had set her shoulders and the warm smile on her face, that all their hopes for the Crown and Mia had come to nil (disappointing, yet natural, considering the nature of teenagers) and the consequences were now what they had thought as disastrous were now a reality.
Joseph, who had been following closely behind her, shook his head briefly, confirming what Charlotte had surmised from the Queen's demeanour, and Charlotte focused her attention back on Her Majesty, who had been asking if there had been anything going on in her absence and, pleased to discover that there hadn't been anything going on, announced that she was going upstairs to get dressed for the evening.
"Does this mean….?" Charlotte inquired in a low voice when the Queen had disappeared and Joseph nodded.
"Yes, but we'll think about that tomorrow, we're going to have to get through tonight as best we can."
"Will… Mia come anyway?"
"I think so…she has to, to confirm her decision to the press- she said to Clarisse that she would, so she will."
0
The next few hours seemed to fly by in moments, but Charlotte, despite being incredibly busy dealing with the press and the guests (the Von Trokans in particular, were skulking around the room, looking sullen but she could sense their eagerness for the news that they suspected was coming), could still remember almost every moment of the evening.
"Where is Miss Mia?" Sebastian inquired and Charlotte, who had been ensuring that the orchestra had been set up in the corner of the ball room, looked around in surprise.
"Why? Isn't she here with her mother?" but she could see that Helen and her date had arrived, but there was no Mia with her. "I'll just go check with Joseph…." and Joseph confirmed her biggest fear: "She's going to run."
"Why would she do that?" Charlotte asked, although she suspected she knew why.
"I'm not sure but I think it's because she is scared…" he glanced at his watch. "Charlotte, I'm going to go and find her- Her Majesty doesn't need to know anything, stall her from making any announcements or doing any interviews… I should be back before too long," before glancing over his shoulder again and, noting that Her Majesty was absorbed in conversation with the Motazes, hurried out of the room.
Of course, the clouds that had been building all afternoon finally opened and the downpour that followed created complications, in such that she couldn't reach Joseph on the mobile, finding out what was happening, and she had just hung up the phone when she sensed that Her Majesty was standing behind her.
"Charlotte, is there a problem?"
"No, no problem… everything's fine… everything's perfect," Charlotte stammered, her nerves and worry over what had happened to Joseph and Mia spilling forth, despite her efforts to remain calm- and the Queen somehow sensed that she was lying, as she watched her with an amused smile.
"Charlotte… you're not very good at lying…"
"I know," Charlotte looked down at her shoes for a moment, feeling ashamed.
"But the garden… looks lovely," she added and Charlotte looked up to see the Queen giving her a warm smile and Charlotte felt a little better. "So, are you going to tell me what's going on or am I going to have to command that you tell me?"
"Well… I…."
"It's about Joseph and Mia, isn't it? Joseph isn't here and I have already seen that Helen and her friend are here, but Mia didn't come upstairs, so….?"
"I'm not quite sure what's going on, I can't get him on the phone, but…."
"All we can do is wait and see," Her Majesty concluded with a calm smile, but for a moment, Charlotte saw an uneasy expression cross the Queen's face.
For a moment, a little later, Charlotte honestly thought that Mia had disappeared and Joseph's best efforts had come to nil (and she couldn't help but feel very disappointed in the teenager, she had thought that she would have at least come to make the announcement herself), as Her Majesty gathered herself together, preparing to make the statement that Mia should have maid, when a consulate staff member came and whispered in her ear- Joseph had sent her, and she was needed out in the kitchen….
Afterwards, the evening seemed to flow smoothly- the teenager officially became the Crown Princess of Genovia, the Queen was pleased and proud and the press surrounded them once Mia had changed, the two of them had walked into the ballroom together and then there was the first official dance, Sebastian with the Queen and Mia with… for a moment it had looked like there was no one… and then Michael Moscovitz stepped out of the crowd and the look on Princess Mia's face was one that Charlotte wouldn't forget in a hurry.
The other major moment of the evening was when Joseph cut in on Sebastian and the Queen, and the Queen's expression was one of happiness and relaxation- and Charlotte was pleased and relived for them- finally, finally, things had fallen into place! Hopefully now, things wouldn't be quite so complicated…..