A/N: Thanks to all my readers and reviewers- you all rock!

The Princess Diaries doesn't belong to me

After the chaos of the past few months, Charlotte had hoped that, for a time, life at the palace would be uncomplicated, although she knew that she was being unrealistic, considering that there were several issues that were poised to cause potential trouble in the time to come- parliament was still ever looming, Pierre still hadn't returned to Genovia, despite promises that he would, the Von Trokans were still angling for a seat in parliament (and there were rumours that they were considering ever desperate measures) and the Princess was approaching her 21st birthday and, as such, would be considered eligible to ascend the throne, according to an outdated law.

Her Majesty, Joseph, Charlotte and Sebastian were all hoping that this law would not be invoked, that parliament would allow the young woman some additional time to get used to her new responsibilities, but Charlotte was devastated when, just prior to Christmas, she received word from her former boss that there was a growing group of members that were planning on invoking the law during the final session.

"They can't… surely not!"

"I can't say for sure, Charlotte, but I have heard several stories from several different sources and… the more stories that I hear, the more concerned I am that this actually may occur."

"But…."

"We both know that they shouldn't do it, not ethically anyway, not if they had any sense of loyalty to the late King and the Queen herself, but… if they want to do it, they will."

"What good will come out of it? The Princess has got another six months before she graduates, before she turns twenty one."

"I'm not quite sure they even know what they want, but I have an inkling that… some of these desperate men will try and discredit the Princess as quickly as they can so that they can force her to abdicate… frighten her into stepping down just as she had stepped up."

"They can't do that… surely they wouldn't be that vengeful."

"You don't know some of these men, Charlotte, particularly men such as Arthur Mabrey and his cronies. They are obsessed with power and gaining the throne for their own means- and if it means completely destroying the royal family of Genovia, so be it. I am horrified at the possibility of this happening, but… you need to be prepared."

"What should I do? Who should I speak to?"

"At the moment, definitely do not say anything to the Queen- she has enough on her plate as it is, for this final session of the year and preparing for the Princess's arrival next year. I suspect that if I have my sources, Joseph and Sebastian have their own and already have been forewarned."

"So…."

"I want you to be prepared for the session of parliament, know what the Palace and the Queen are up against and be prepared to continue supporting Her Majesty no matter what… her and Her Royal Highness."

"Is this why Prince Pierre hasn't returned?"

"In part, but mainly because parliament was so cruel towards him when he chose to abdicate the throne for his theological studies. You may have seen comments in the press, but behind the scenes… they were really awful and I actually don't blame him for not returning to Genovia."

000

Charlotte's former boss's instincts had proved correct- in the final session of parliament, just after the general meeting notes had been read out, Viscount Arthur Mabrey stood up and declared:

"Since Her Royal Highness will be due to turn twenty one the following June, I would like to move a motion that upon her birthday, she is to ascend the throne of Genovia and Her Majesty steps down from the throne, signing the Instrument of Abdication."

There was a long awkward silence, Charlotte, although she had been forewarned (and had wished that she had been able to confide in someone, even Joseph), shocked enough to stop taking notes and looking around the room, before the silence was broken immediately as, almost as one, parliament stood up and began shouting amongst themselves, some of them shaking their fists at Viscount Mabrey while others were arguing with each other. Viscount Mabrey, however, was silent- and he was gazing directly at Her Majesty, almost frozen on er chair, a faint smirk playing on his lips.

Sebastian was banging his gavel loudly and angrily, shouting "Subside, Honoured members of this body' but Charlotte was watching Her Majesty and she could see, for a moment, that she had been blindsided, the complete surprise flickering across her face momentarily before her expression was wiped clean and she gazed icily down towards Viscount Mabrey.

Finally, the frantic banging of the gavel calmed the men down and they finally took their seats again and silence reigned again before Sebastian spoke.

"Sir, what are your reasons for your motion?"

"The Genovian law states that when the heir to the throne comes of age- which is 21- they are able to ascend the throne as the new monarch of the country. Seeing as Her Royal Highness will turn 21 on her arrival next June, I feel that it would be the perfect time for her to ascend the throne… with no disrespect to Her Majesty and her long years of service to her country," his eyes turned back to the Queen again and he gave her a small nod of the head.

"Is that your only reasoning?"

"I also feel, and there are a few others who feel this way," he waved his arms around the room at the watching parliamentarians. "We feel that there should be a true blood Renaldi family member on the throne- we greatly regret the loss of the Crown Prince and His Majesty, so it's natural that we should have someone who reigns, who is actually a member of the royal family… again, no disrespect to Her Majesty."

"What about experience? The young woman in question has only just finished college, she has only returned to Genovia every summer for a few months… Her Majesty has been ruling for years," spoke up another member of parliament.

"Doesn't the saying go that you 'learn on the job'?" Mabrey smirked at the speaker. "I'm sure that Her Royal Highness is more than capable of learning as she goes along."

"If your reasoning is what you have for this argument, how come the Crown Prince Phillipe wasn't immediately put on the throne when the King passed away? Or either Prince ascend the throne on their twenty first birthdays?"

"That was His Majesty's decision," Mabrey scowled. "We cannot question his decisions and, at that time, they were appropriate for the time… but now… it's time for things to change..." and again, his eyes lingered on Her Majesty, who remained frozen in her seat but her expression unchanged. "Out with the old, in with the new…. Am I right, Your Majesty?"

000

Charlotte and the Queen had only just returned to Her Majesty's study after the session of parliament when Joseph stormed into the room, a face like thunder. Charlotte suspected that he probably would have been nearby- he hadn't been able to accompany them to the session, Scott instead did that- and Scott would have immediately told him what was going on as soon as he could… and it was only a matter of time until he stalked into the study.

The trip back from parliament had been quiet- the Queen had seemingly recovered from the blindside to participate in the session, even quite spiritedly, but once the session had been over, she had withdrawn into herself, barely registering the sympathetic touch on the shoulder Sebastian had given her, and Charlotte was concerned- she was actually relieved when Joseph appeared.

"Your Majesty, I cannot believe what I just heard… Are they insane?" he almost growled as Her Majesty sank slowly into a chair, her expression still unreadable but Charlotte could tell she was upset.

"They're not insane, Joseph, just interested in power. That's why Rupert got along so well with them," she said simply.

"But not so much that he would destroy his own family for the sake of power. Even the King wasn't that silly, we both know that."

"As you say," she shrugged and Joseph shot a concerned look at Charlotte before focusing his attention back on the Queen.

"But Viscount Mabrey's motion was ridiculous, there was very little reasoning about it- those reasons were just…. preposterous!" he almost stammered, clearly frustrated at parliament.

"But it's the truth…" Clarisse said gently, finally looking up at Joseph with a grave expression. "It's true- Mia comes of age at 21- and will be able to legally ascend the throne- and she is definitely a blood Renaldi- I am royal only by marriage," she gave him a tired smile. "There's nothing I can do."

"Surely… you're not going to allow them to steam roll over you and allow Mia to ascend the throne as soon as she's arrived? She's not ready for that."

"What do you suggest I do, Joseph?" the Queen suddenly snapped, looking up at him with a frown on her face. "Allow parliament to choose their own regent? Allow Viscount Mabrey to discredit my whole family- make my whole life seem as though it was a lie? That I wasn't a true Queen of Genovia?"

"That's what they will do if you accept what they want to do," he said in a softer tone, obviously taken aback by her sudden show of emotion. "Your reputation and all that you have done over the years will be tarnished."

"Are you more concerned about my reputation than anything else?" Clarisse suddenly flared up again as Charlotte, caught in the middle, tried to remain invisible as she slowly made her way towards the door.

"No, you know that's not true," Joseph said roughly as he pulled a chair up to hers and grabbed her limp hands in his own. "You know that's not true… I'm worried and I'm angry for you and for Mia….this is completely ridiculous… they're all idiots, serious idiots."

He paused for a moment, his expression grave as he continued looking at the Queen, who was looking at her hands. "So… what are you going to do?"

"Charlotte, tell him what they have decided," the Queen was looking at her hands and Joseph turned to look at Charlotte.

"Parliament was split on the motion- one of Viscount Mabrey's friends seconded the motion, but it wasn't able to pass."

"That's a good thing, isn't it?" he looked back at Clarisse before back at Charlotte. "What happened then?"

"I thought you knew," Charlotte said with a sly smile, a smile that disappeared when he frowned at her.

"I want to hear it from someone who was actually there, not outside the room."

"Well…it was obvious that the Viscount wasn't going to back down, so...there was a compromise."

"Compromise? Why should you have to compromise with….them?"

"Necessary," Clarisse said quietly. "It had to be done."

"So… what was the compromise?"

There was a long silence in the room and Charlotte really didn't have to be the one to tell Joseph this, but it was clear that Her Majesty wasn't.

"WHAT was the compromise?" Joseph repeated, his tone sharper. "Charlotte?"

"The Princess won't be ascending the throne immediately, once she returns to Genovia next June…"

"Which is good news."

"….But Her Majesty, when she feels the Princess is ready, will have to step down… and it has to be before next Christmas."

This time, the silence was for longer and was more ominous- even Charlotte didn't dare to look at either of them- before Joseph let out a long, heavy breath.

"Well… it's hardly ideal but… there is time, some time."

"But… there is still so much to do, so much she has to learn…."

"I have every confidence that she will handle everything perfectly well; and I have even more confidence that you will be able to handle training her as well as doing everything else….I believe in you," he reached over and tilted her chin up so that she was looking into his eyes. "Do you trust me when I tell you that?"

"I… I guess so," she stammered.

"And… do you believe that Mia will be able to handle whatever is thrown her way… even parliament?"

"I… I do," this time, her words were stronger and had more confidence in them.

"And… you're not going to let parliament steamroll you into making decisions that are crazy and wrong?"

"No, I'm not," she said firmly.

"Good," he said, reaching out and touching her cheek gently for a moment as Charlotte quietly slipped out of the room, thankfully unseen- she was getting caught up into too many private moments of Joe and the Queen's and she didn't think she should be privy to any more…

Life was certainly going to be just as interesting and full in the next few months, Charlotte thought to herself ruefully as she sat down at her desk….

She had been silly to think that life in the palace would ever be 'normal'… but even she didn't dream of how complicated life was going to be in the next few months….