Everything Has Its Time Chapter 26, a princess diaries fanfic

A.N: I am so so sorry to all those whom I said I would be getting this posted much sooner! I didn't realize I would be so tight for time, but at least this time I didn't promise! However, it's ready now and I have put a lot of time into this chapter so you better like it! Lol! Just kidding…

This chapter is set during the PD2 time frame so if you want you could watch it first, before reading this. But either way, it doesn't matter as I have all necessary information within the chapter itself.

Well, here goes…

Chapter 26:

"Charlotte, start making the plans necessary for Lord Devereaux to come and stay at the palace, please," Clarisse said briskly over the phone to her assistant, Charlotte.

She paused briefly as if listening to a reply or confirmation before dropping the phone back into its cradle. She then looked up to Joseph with an exhausted expression.

"How on earth did this happen without us seeing it coming?" she asked simply.

"We are not mind readers, Clarisse, nor can we predict the future. It is just another part of life we have to deal with," Joseph replied reassuringly as he sat down in the chair before Clarisse's desk.

"Would you prefer I have this Lord Devereaux hung by his toes in our courtyard?" he added with a smirk.

Clarisse cracked a small smile before it faded again just as quickly as it'd come.

"I know we can deal with this Joseph, but what about Mia?" her expression was one of deep concern for her beloved granddaughter.

Joseph also frowned at this, realizing just how deep the situation had become for the young woman he considered as his own granddaughter.

"She is strong, Clarisse, and very smart. She'll pull through this and no doubt come up on top," Joseph offered, letting the words roll off his tongue but not even convinced himself.

"I know she is strong, Joseph, but I did not wish this life for her. She deserves more than this, she deserves someone who really cares about her. Someone who can support her, uphold her and protect her; someone to love her," Clarisse spoke softly with a sad voice, as she stood up and moved over to the window, looking out at the sunny day.

Joseph stood up and met her beside the window, looking out at the bright day in silence as he felt mocked by the summer's joy; the palace was not feeling any joy by the turn of events. And to put it frankly, he was not feeling any joy in this moment either, even though he was in his beloved's presence.

He heard Clarisse sigh deeply beside him, pulling him from his frustrated musings. Turning towards her, Joseph watched as Clarisse stepped to the side of the window, away from the view and away from others' view of her. Once she was out of sight of the outside world, she leant back against the wall, her arms by her sides, eyes closed, and head tilted back. Joseph watched her quietly until he saw a silent tear slip from beneath her delicate lashes and drop to the floor.

Stepping up to her, Joseph cupped her cheek, stroking beneath her eye with his thumb. Her eye lids fluttered slightly before she opened her bright blue eyes and looked at him sadly. Joseph felt his heart wrench as he gazed into her eyes, seeing them shine with unshed tears of defeat.

"I try so hard to do the best for my boys, fighting Rupert, fighting the system for years and all it did was bring destruction to their lives. Now that I have Mia, now that I am in charge of her well-being, I fail her also," Clarisse whispered, her voice filled with unspoken pain.

"You have not failed her, Clarisse; there was nothing you could have done. Besides, an arranged marriage is not the end of the world, you know that," Joseph spoke just as quietly, dropping his hand from her face and holding onto her hands.

"It may not be the end of the world Joseph, but it is the end of a chance for love in her life," Clarisse pointed out bluntly.

Joseph didn't know what to say to that so just nodded in bleak agreement.

"I don't want her life to be ruled by the same traditions that I, myself have so vainly tried to destroy; she can not go through the hardships I have had to suffer," Clarisse whispered, another tear escaping and trailing down her lined face.

"Has your life turned out to be that bad?" Joseph asked with a small, sad smile.

"No…it hasn't, dear Joseph, and it is all thanks to you," Clarisse smiled back, her eyes still shining but looking brighter.

"Then let us not weep over what could or could not happen to Mia, let us instead support her more than we ever have before. Let us continue to guide her and give her the love that she needs so then if this does go ahead, she will not be alone," Joseph spoke passionately, locking his gaze on Clarisse.

Clarisse remained silent for a moment as Joseph watched her mentally pull herself together; finding the strength Mia will be looking to her for. She kept eye contact with Joseph also, her eyes clearing as her expression began to glow with strength and resolve.

"Yes, we will go on, Joseph, just as before," Clarisse finally declared.

Pulling her close to him, Joseph held Clarisse in his arms, wrapping her up with his love and hope. He held her to him as he kissed the side of her head before whispering in her ear.

"And just as before, I will be right by your side, my love."

OoOoOoOo

"Next!" Joseph heard Clarisse command, so he flicked on to the next 'eligible bachelor'.

He had been asked to help out with Mia's 'choosing' of her future husband, as he knew a lot of information about each of the men that the woman in the room were not privy to. In other words, Clarisse wanted his help and support so asked him to come along.

So far he could only cringe in silence at each option that Charlotte had managed to pull together, knowing that this was going to be worse than he thought; not that he would let Clarisse know that!

At an exclamation from Mia sitting further ahead of him, Joseph was pulled from his own thoughts and to the matter at hand. Looking up to the screen, he saw Prince William.

"Prince William. He's not eligible, because he's in line for his own crown," Charlotte said with an amused voice.

"If he's not eligible, why is he included in these pictures?" Joseph asked, confused at what exactly was going on.

"I just love to look at him," Charlotte gushed from her seat before Joseph, shocking him in her honesty.

But it was the next voice that surprised him the most.

"Mmm, me too," Clarisse agreed, smiling broadly whilst gazing at the screen.

"Your Majesty," Joseph said in a seductive voice, highly amused at the audacity of her comment.

"Next," Clarisse commanded, not looking at Joseph, but her eyes clearly sparkling mischievously.

Joseph's mind wandered again as he tried to think of the man that would best suit Mia and her needs. Every man he thought of, though, had some kind of fault that he believed would definitely make them ineligible; therefore ruling out any man for Mia.

It was then that Joseph noticed Clarisse was up out of her chair and speaking passionately.

"Someone attractive, smart, but not arrogant," she listed off, walking up to stand beside Joseph behind her own chair; Joseph nodded in agreement.

"Someone with compassion," Clarisse continues, looking towards Joseph.

It was then that he realized just how close she was, and how she kept aiming her comments towards him. Turning to Clarisse, Joseph lifted his eyebrows as if to ask just what she was saying but Mia spoke before Clarisse could continue.

"Someone like him?" she suggested, pointing up to the young man upon the screen.

Joseph smiled; of course! Andrew was by far the best suggestion yet, and he would be very well suited to Mia; Joseph was sure that this would be their man and that he would willingly allow him to become 'part of the family'.

Joseph noticed that Charlotte was beginning to pack up as Mia and Lilly were trailing after Clarisse as she approached the door. He rushed to their sides, opening the door for them and stepping back. Clarisse also stepped back, allowing the chattering Lilly to leave with a stunned Mia, before placing a hand on Josephs arm and giving him a warm smile. It showed that she longed to stay and speak to him but 'duty called', so she had to obey. Joseph just smiled in return, his eyes accepting her apology and promising to make time later in the day.

Clarisse left the room; closely followed by Joseph as they made their way down to her office to prepare for the next events of Mia's 'arranged marriage'.

OoOoOoOo

Joseph had hardly seen Clarisse for many days. She had been so flat out with all the arrangements between Andrew and Mia, as well as keeping up with her usual duties and watching the movements of the mischief maker Lord Nicholas Devereaux.

Joseph was hurt by this loss of contact from time to time but would also remind himself that he had no right to her time anyway. What else did he expect from this relationship? They were supposed to be kept a secret so how could she just stop what ever she's doing and say "please excuse me; my love is waiting". He was kidding himself…

But Joseph also realized that Clarisse still loved him dearly and that she also wanted the time to be with him. However, a woman can only do so much! She might be a Queen, but even a Queen can't do everything, no matter how much faith people have in her.

So Joseph just took each day as it came and didn't put anymore pressure on her than she needed, or could handle. But still…he did long for the days they used to have where they would have a moment to themselves every single day, no matter what. But then…she was going to be passing the crown onto Mia very soon…and then what would happen? What would they do then?

Suddenly it occurred to Joseph just what needed to be done; what needed to be said. Whether it would add to her pressure of everything else, it still had to be addressed. In fact, he would go and speak to her now. He would make it known that it was imperative they speak.

OoOoOoOo

It wasn't until late that night that he was finally able to speak to Clarisse alone. He went to her suite to speak to her but was told by the doorman that she had gone down to the ballroom to play the piano and had requested not to be disturbed; Joseph took that as an obvious 'come hither' so went there directly.

Walking into the room, he could hear her soft voice floating towards him passionately. She was clearly caught in the moment of her song as she began to belt the chords out on her piano.

Joseph listened carefully to the words of her song and smiled when he heard what she was singing; the words reached down into his soul and filled him with immense joy.

When I'm lost in the rain,
In your eyes I know I'll find the light
To light my way.
And when I'm scared,
And losing ground,
When my world is going crazy,
You can turn it all around.
And when I'm down you're there
- pushing me to the top.
You're always there,
giving me all you've got.

For a shield from the storm,
For a friend, for a love
to keep me safe and warm
I turn to you.
For the strength to be strong,
For the will to carry on
For everything you do,
for everything that's true
I turn to you.

When I lose the will to win,
I just reach for you and
I can reach the sky again.
I can do anything
'Cause your love is so amazing,
'Cause your love inspires me.
And when I need a friend,
You're always on my side
Giving me faith
taking me through the night

For the arms to be my shelter
through all the rain,
For truth that will never change,
For someone to lean on,
For a heart I can rely on through anything,
For that one who I can run to...

For a shield from the storm,
For a friend, for a love
to keep me safe and warm
I turn to you
For the strength to be strong,
For the will to carry on
For everything you do,
for everything that's true
I turn to you.

When her words faded away, Joseph went to step into the room to announce his presence when Charlotte suddenly appeared from atop the stairs.

"Your Majesty?" Charlotte asked timidly, walking down the stairs towards her monarch.

Joseph backed out at that and headed to his own suite; she would now be busy until she headed to bed herself, leaving no time for what Joseph so desperately wanted to speak to her about. Another moment lost…

But their time would come; Joseph just knew it.

OoOoOoOo

Joseph's heart thudded in his chest. It had been days since he had made his proposal clear to Clarisse but yet still he had not heard what decision she had come to. In fact, they had not been alone together in all that time so they really had no chance to talk about it.

But this evening he was finishing his rounds upon the grounds before meeting Clarisse in the ballroom where she was apparently sorted out the music selection for Mia's wedding reception; this could be interesting. After all, it would definitely give Joseph an excuse to ask her to dance and if anyone caught them, they could just say they were testing out the music!

Pushing through the billowing curtain, Joseph smiled when he saw Clarisse begin to sway to the music in the middle of the ballroom, all by herself. Glancing around quickly, Joseph made sure there was no one else present before stepping into Clarisse's embrace and turning into the dance with her. The delighted smile upon her face as he did this filled his heart to overflowing; he loved to see her smile like that.

Continuing to move to the music, Joseph felt as if he could take on the world as she smiled up at him before laying her head upon his shoulder. They swayed slowly, caught in the moment and loving each other so much as the words bubbled up out of Joseph's mouth before he realized they were coming.

"Have you been thinking about us?"

He continued to smile down at her as she raised her head and looked into his eyes.

He felt his smile falter slightly and confusion begin to ebb at his mind upon seeing her regretful expression.

"Yes I have," was her reply.

Joseph's heart stopped and he went into shock; he felt his mind detach from the world around him.

No…this can't be happening…no…no…NO!

A.N: Cruel place, I know, I know; I am the Queen of cliffs. But please tell me what you think of that AWFULLY detached chapter. I would appreciate all your thoughts and opinions! Even flames would be appreciated!

Have hope dear readers…we all know how this turns out anyways…and I promise the next chapter will be worth the wait! (Which I am hoping will not be too long…)