A/N: Hi everyone, I just want to say thank you to everyone for reading the latest chapter of this story (and all previous chapters if you have only just discovered it) and an even bigger thank you to those taking the time to leave me such wonderful reviews for every chapter posted so far, especially for the more detailed reviews. I absolutely love love love getting more detailed reviews. It's one of my favourite things about writing. Getting reviews that mention bits about what happened in the chapter. So thank you so very much for them, I really do appreciate it and your continued support!

My apologies again for taking so long to post an update, but here's the next chapter for you now. I hope you will enjoy it…

"I now pronounce you husband and wife," the Lord Archbishop smiled and looked from Clarisse to Joseph as they turned to face each other. "You may kiss your bride."

Smiling, Joseph stepped closer to Clarisse and raised his hands up, placing them on the sides of her neck, his thumbs resting against her jaw as she placed her hands out onto his sides, and leant in close to press his lips against hers. Letting them linger there a moment before kissing her a couple of times and pulling back just enough to gaze into her beautiful, sparkling blue eyes that were so full of joy and love, it actually took his breath away. "Are you okay?" He whispered with a small, yet nervous, laugh and smoothed his hands down to rest on her shoulders.

"I am," Clarisse whispered back with a small nod and removed one hand from his side to now press against her stomach. It had been full of butterflies throughout the whole ceremony, because even though she felt nervous over the fact that she had just married her best friend, she was excited and looking forward to their future together and what lie ahead for them as husband and wife, too.

She couldn't recall ever feeling this way, this happy before. Except, of course, when she gave birth to her sons. But that was a different kind of happiness. She had finally found her soulmate, and she couldn't be happier. "Are you?" She whispered while studying his face intently.

"I'm more than okay, I have just married my best friend," Joseph nodded with his sexy smile and smoothed one hand down her arm, to take the hand that remained on his side in his, while watching her take her bottom lip between her teeth, "and I have never felt more better than I do right at this very moment."

"Congratulations, Your Majesty, Joseph," the Lord Archbishop smiled, pulling them from the world they had somehow slipped in, and watched as they both turned their heads to look at him.

"Oh, thank you," Clarisse smiled with a small laugh and looked back to her new husband, studying him a moment as he leant closer to the Lord Archbishop.

"Thank you for marrying us so quickly, but like we spoke about before, we would appreciate it if this were to still remain a secret for the time being," Joseph said and the Lord Archbishop nodded as Clarisse turned her head to look at him now too.

"Of course," the Lord Archbishop said and raised a hand up to his face, to tap the side of his nose with his forefinger while looking to the Queen. "Your secret is safe with me."

"Thank you, Lord Archbishop," Clarisse smiled and watched as he bowed his head in acknowledgement to her, then to Joseph.

"I'll go now and prepare the marriage certificate for you both, and your chosen witnesses, to sign," the Lord Archbishop smiled as he looked from the Queen to Joseph, then back to the Queen.

"Oh yes, of course. I forgot about that," Joseph said with a small chuckle and glanced to Clarisse as she smiled before looking back at the Lord Archbishop, "please do let us know when you are ready for us and we will come over to sign it."

"I will," the Lord Archbishop nodded and smiled happily, watching the Queen and her new husband a moment as they finally turned to their guests, before he wandered across the ballroom to a table that they had set up to sit and sign the marriage certificate together.

"Woohoo," Philippe exclaimed as he and his brother both got to their feet and hurried over to them. "You did it. You're married."

"Yes we are," Clarisse smiled and excitedly embraced her youngest son in a hug.

"Congratulations to you both," Pierre smiled and watched his mother giving Philippe a hug before pulling back and looking up at Joseph standing next to them, as everyone else began to make their way over to join them.

"Thank you, young man," Joseph smiled at Pierre then at his parents.

"Felicidades, Felicidades," José beamed happily as he stepped closer to Clarisse and kissed both her cheeks before smiling at her and stepping to one side.

"We couldn't be happier for you," Alonso smiled as Joseph looked up at him, "and we wish you both a lifetime of happiness. Which we all know you'll have together."

"Thank you, brother," Joseph smiled at him and shook his hand.

"Welcome, officially, to the family, Clarisse," Mariana smiled as she now stepped in front of her and put her hands up to briefly cup her face in them before giving her a long hug while whispering in her ear. "You look as gorgeous as ever."

"Thank you," Clarisse smiled as she wrapped her arms around her new mother-in-law. "I'm so glad that you made it in time."

"We are too, but only just," Mariana nodded as she gave her a little squeeze.

"You've been part of our family for as long as I can remember, Clarisse, but you are an official member now," Ana smiled and looked at Joseph as their father, José, shook his hand and gave him a hug. "At long last."

"Yes, at long last. You were around our home so often growing up that I actually remember my sisters and I all wished that you were our real life Princess sister," Alonso said and everyone laughed as Mariana and Clarisse pulled apart and turned to them while leaving their arms around each others backs.

"Mother, father, I have just realised that you now have three grandchildren instead of just one," Sofia smiled as her mother looked at her.

"What do you mean now? They didn't need Joseph and Clarisse to marry to see them as their grandchildren. They already saw them as their grandchildren and have done ever since they were born," Alonso laughed as both their mother and father looked at him and nodded. "Just like they saw Clarisse as another daughter, and her mother, the lovely Béatrice," he said, flashing Béatrice a quick glance and smile before looking back at his sister, "saw Joseph as her son."

"Always have, and I always will," Béatrice said, and she and Joseph shared a quick, small smile before looking back at Alonso and the others.

"Does this mean, now that mother and Joseph are married, we get to officially call you grandma and grandpa?" Philippe asked as everyone looked at him.

"Oh you most certainly can," Mariana smiled happily as she walked over to him and Pierre, and wrapped her arms around his and his brothers' backs as they began to walk away slowly together. "As long as you feel comfortable in doing so, and your mother is okay with it, of course," she said as they stopped after a few feet and turned to Clarisse and Joseph.

"Can we mother?" Pierre asked with a smile.

"Can we call them grandma and grandpa?" Philippe asked.

"Of course, but only if, as Mariana has already said, you both feel comfortable in doing so," Clarisse smiled and watched her sons both look at Mariana as Joseph moved to stand back beside her and placed his hand lovingly on her lower back.

"Then yes, since you are already sort of our adoptive grandparents, we would love to officially call you grandma and grandpa," Philippe smiled and nodded.

"Well in that case, we would both love that very much," Mariana smiled and first kissed Philippe's cheek before kissing Pierre's. "Wouldn't we grandpa José?" She said, smiling over at her husband.

"We most certainly would, grandma Mariana," José smiled, watching them together.

"Before you all wander off. I have an idea," Joseph smiled as everyone looked back at him. "Because obviously you already have grandma," he said, glancing to Béatrice before looking back at the boys standing with his parents, "and since my family have Spanish heritage, why don't you call them abuela Mariana and abuelo José instead? Which, as you know, is Spanish for grandma and grandpa."

"That's a great idea," Clarisse smiled and looked at Mariana and José before looking back at her boys. "What do you think about that? Calling them abuela and abuelo?"

"I like that better," Pierre nodded.

"Me too," Philippe smiled.

"That's settled then, abuela Mariana and abuelo José it is," Mariana smiled and they all turned to continue walking over to the seats to sit back down with the rest of Joseph's family as Clarisse's mother and two sisters moved closer to Clarisse and Joseph.

"Hey you," Clarisse's sister, Valérie, smiled as she raised her arms up and stepped in front of her older sister to give her a hug.

"Hello," Clarisse smiled happily as she momentarily embraced her in a hug before watching her step back. "Thank you both for coming at such short notice."

"Oh, we wouldn't have missed it for the world. You should know that," Valérie smiled as she stepped closer to Joseph, to kiss his cheek before stepping back and looking at them both as their younger sister embraced Clarisse in a hug. "Welcome officially to the family, Joseph."

"Thank you," Joseph smiled and looked at his new wife and her younger sister as they pulled apart and whispered to each other a moment.

"I'll tell you, because I know that Valérie wouldn't have told you," Isabelle whispered, "but you look absolutely stunning in this dress. It's very you."

"Thank you," Clarisse smiled happily and gave her another quick hug, "and you are right, because it doesn't involve a compliment to her, she didn't say a thing."

"I thought as much, but then that's her all over. We both know what she's like by now," Isabelle nodded, and they both laughed a little.

"Who would have thought it, though, that the little boy who was forever here at the Palace when we were growing up would eventually become our brother-in-law," Valérie smirked as Clarisse and Isabelle pulled apart and turned to look at her.

"Yeah, who would have thought," Clarisse chuckled and looked up at her husband a moment as he laughed beside her and reached his hand out to place lovingly back on her back.

"The boys are happy," Béatrice smiled at Clarisse and Joseph as they both turned their heads to look at her standing next to them before looking over at the boys laughing and enjoying spending time with Joseph's family.

"Yes they are happy, they are very happy," Clarisse smiled at them, watched them a moment as her heart swelled with pride at the sight before her, before looking back up at her husband as he wrapped his arm now around the top of her back. "As am I," she said, turning to face him now and slipping her hands in the opening of his jacket and around his waist as she stepped closer to him.

"Mmm that's good, because I am very happy too," Joseph smiled while putting his hands up onto the sides of her neck once again. "In fact, you have made me the happiest man alive," he whispered between kisses before pulling back to gaze into her beautiful, captivating blue eyes.

"Good," Clarisse smiled and glanced down to his lips as he leant in and kissed her again. This time, a slow, lingering kiss, as her mother and two sisters all looked at each other with smirks on their faces. They had never seen this side to her before. It was all new to them just as much as it was to Clarisse. Being so open and showing public displays of affection. Something she never shared with Rupert.

Slowly approaching them, to let them know that he was ready, the Lord Archbishop cleared his throat to get their attention and watched as the Queen and her new husband broke from their kiss and turned their heads to look at him standing a few feet away from them as Joseph lowered his hands from where they had been resting against the sides of her neck and placed them on her sides. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, Joseph," he said, gesturing to the table across the ballroom, "I just wanted to let you know that I am ready when you are."

"Of course," Joseph smirked and looked across the ballroom at the table a moment, as Clarisse momentarily buried her face under his chin in embarrassment, before lifting her head to look up at him and bit her bottom lip as he looked back at the Lord Archbishop. "Just give us a moment to gather our witnesses, then we will be there."

"Of course," the Lord Archbishop smiled and bowed his head to them before turning to make his way back over to the table.

After gathering their chosen witnesses, they all made their way over to join the Lord Archbishop at the table to sign the marriage certificate while Clarisse's mother and two sisters stood watching them for a moment.

"Well this is different and new," Valérie said thoughtfully and looked at her mother and sister standing beside her, "how she's behaving, it's like you can tell she's found the one that she's going to spend the rest of her life with."

"Uh huh, I agree," Isabelle nodded while watching her older sister laughing across the room with her new husband, the Lord Archbishop, and their witnesses. "It's about time that she found that someone special. Someone who's going to look after her and love her how she so deserves."

"Yes it is," Béatrice said and nodded in agreement as they all looked back over at Clarisse, Joseph, and the others at the table. "She's finally found her soulmate at last," she smiled happily.

"Yes she has," Isabelle smiled happily, knowing that Joseph is exactly that.

Her sisters one and only soulmate.