JUJUChick16: Thank you very much, Sweetie- hehe, yeah, smart guy, isn´t he ;)
addlogcon: Thank you- well, you know how it is, usually when someone is interested in you, you are the last person to notice- and your partner always is the first.
Captain Weirdo: Aw, thank you so much- I´ll post the next part now, hope you´ll like it as well!
bluegirl: Thank you :D Yeah, jealous men, aren´t they just ADORABLE... ;)
"Good morning, Your Majesty."
"Good morning, Josef."
There was no reply and Clarisse realized that she had sounded a bit snappy, she had overslept and now the mountain of paper work on her desk seemed impossible to get over with before her lunch appointment but that wasn´t a reason to be unfriendly, especially not to Josef.
She looked up again, a soothing smile on her face.
"I´m sorry- good morning, Josef, did you sleep well, how are you feeling today and- have I left anything out?"
HIs eyes were twinkling when he shook his head.
"No, you havn´t- thank you, I did sleep well and there´s no reason to believe that today will differ from yesterday."
"You are still mad at me about Amelia" the queen sighed, pulling her glasses off and leaning back in her chair.
Maybe Rupert wasn´t that wrong when he kept telling her that her Head of Security didn´t think of her strictly as his queen, why would he be so upset about her making him spend his time with Amelia instead of her otherwise?
Clarisse´s heart beat a bit faster at the thought as she allowed herself for a short moment to picture her bodyguard and herself in a dark, shadowy corner, his arms around her waist as his eyes burned into her´s...
"Your Majesty?"
She snapped out of her daydream.
"I´m sorry, Josef, you were saying?"
"Are you sure you are all right?"
He asked suspiciously, "You are looking flushed."
"I´m fine, it´s just hot in here, I´ll be glad to get outside."
"Where are you going for lunch?"
"Are you loosing track of my schedule?"
She smiled innocently but he didn´t go for it.
"Not my concern anymore, you saw to that, I can tell you where the princess is going for lunch."
"I´m not going to apologize to you for the third time this morning" the queen stated, he was starting to annoy her with his childish attitude, it was only for a few weeks, they would survive this- no, he would survive, she didn´t care- or did she?
She had to admit it felt a little strange not to have him around- maybe even very strange- and yes, she missed him, she missed the hand on the small of her back that would guide her along her way, she missed his reassuring smile and the quiet things he would whisperer into her ear, usually sarcastic remarks about anyone in attendance at a social gathering.
She missed him telling her how beautiful she was when she descended the stairs and most of all she missed that overwhelming feeling of being safe in his presence.
Now that was enough, she was starting to loose it as Amelia would say- she wasn´t supposed to be the one to loose it, she was the one to find it.
Clarisse sat up straighter and looked back at Josef who was still watching her with a bemused expression on his handsome face.
"Yes?"
Clarisse asked, doing her best to sound dignified and calm.
"Nothing- I´ll be on my way then."
"The German consulate."
"I beg your pardon?"
"My lunch appointment- it´s at the German consulate" the queen explained, feeling hurt that he obviously wasn´t really interested where she was going to spend her afternoon.
"Oh, ok- I´ll bring the princess over after lunch."
"Yes- Josef?"
"Your Majesty?"
"Is everything all right- between us?"
She added, knowing that she better not had asked this but unable to restrain herself.
"Since when has there been an us?"
He asked, now sounding interested and Clarisse mentally cursed herself for having asked such a stupid thing.
"Oh stop being ridiculous- you seem so distant."
"I am distant, due to the fact that I´m not around you very often which was your wish and all I´m doing is living up to it- so if you excuse me please, the princess will be late for school."
He left the room and Clarisse shook her head, wondering if she had just acted a lot more childish than Josef.