Chapter 2: The Anxiety
Sunday, June 10, 2001
Joseph went down the stairs of the consulate and headed towards the Queen's office on the ground floor. He expected to see her sitting, her reading glasses on her nose, but no. He went to look in the garden, Clarisse liked to walk there or have tea there, but she wasn't there either. He knew that since there had been a royal dinner last night, the Queen would come down from her suite a little later, but now he looked at his watch and found it rather strange. It was after 10 o'clock in the morning. He decided to go take a look in the greenhouse. On the way, he passed Charlotte.
"Hey Charlotte, is the Queen still in bed?" Joseph asked.
"Oh Joseph, hello. No, actually Her Majesty went out with the Princess an hour ago. She had me cancel everything on her schedule and they went to town."
"Oh okay. When Shades gets back, could you send him to me? We have some things to discuss for the Queen's safety while I'm here with the Princess before I take her to Genovia for the summer."
"Um actually Shades is already set up on the big table in the dining room for your meeting." Charlotte said.
"Um, okay, but he knows that if I don't go out with the Queen, he has to. That's a top priority. I already told him. Okay, who's going with the Queen and Princess?" Joseph asked.
"They actually left without any security personnel." Charlotte said, slightly uncomfortable.
"You're kidding, I hope?" Joseph asked in a very, very serious tone.
"Is Newton at least driving them?" He has basic security training, light, but it's better than nothing." Joseph asked.
"Actually the Queen went out alone with the Princess." Charlotte said delicately, knowing full well that Joseph wouldn't react very well.
"But I don't understand, they left on foot?" he asked, genuinely confused.
"No, Amelia wanted to show her grandmother her Mustang. So they left in the Mustang."
"Damn, that's not true. Why didn't anyone tell me?" he asked, almost shouting.
"I suggested it, but I think they both wanted to be fair." Charlotte explained.
"By jeopardizing their security? That's completely ridiculous. Clarisse knows I can be discreet to give her a semblance of privacy."
"She must have just not thought of it. She wanted to comfort Amelia so badly. After last night's reception, Amelia was very sad. For once she wanted to play her grandmother role. She pushed the Queen for the grandmother to take charge. And you know what, I think these two are going to come back best friends from this escapade. You should have seen how happy Amelia was to spend time with her grandmother and not the Queen." Charlotte defended.
"I understand. I'm just so scared for Clarisse. Think about it Charlotte, she doesn't know San Francisco. She could get hurt or get lost."
"Everything will be fine Joe. Amelia knows the city well. And the Queen didn't bring her crown with her, so she'll go unnoticed wherever they go." Charlotte joked.
"Okay, you're right. But I want to be notified as soon as they get back to the consulate, is that clear?"
"Yes Joe, I promise." Charlotte smiled at him.
A few hours later, Joseph heard Charlotte talking to him in his earpiece.
"Joseph, the Queen is back. She's in the office. She's waiting for you. »
"Did everything go well?" he asked.
"Yes, yes, but um. They had a little run-in with the Princess's car. Nothing serious, but a police car brought them back."
"Okay, thank you Charlotte."
Joseph walked toward the office, his steps determined.
"Good morning, Your Majesty." He said politely as he entered the office.
"Good morning Joseph." She answered him, biting her lower lip slightly. She knew perfectly well why he had requested an audience with her.
"May I speak freely, Your Majesty." Joseph asked.
"Of course Joseph. But I know why you wanted to talk to me."
"Did you enjoy your little ride in the police car?" he asked.
"Oh um, it was still fun." A smiling Clarisse said.
"Madam, with all due respect, would you mind telling me what you were thinking?" You put yourself in danger by going out without an escort. Not only that, without anyone to drive you. You could have had a much worse accident."
"I know Joseph. I'm sorry, I didn't realize. It all happened so naturally. For one day, I wasn't a queen anymore, I was just a grandmother spending time with her granddaughter. For one day I had no audience, no obligations, no royal responsibilities. I was careless and I didn't think. Please don't be mad at me."
"I can't be mad at you, come on. But I was scared. I was scared that something would happen to you. I know you're a responsible adult, but you're not used to this kind of outing. And this is different from Genovia. Your Majesty, promise me that you will never risk your safety like that again. » Said Joseph.
"I promise you, Joseph." She answered, cupping his cheek.
Joseph closed his eyes, enjoying the contact.
Monday, June 18, 2001
Clarisse was at her desk in the consulate library. She was reading the article that had come out about the Princess following the beach party. She was waiting for Mia to arrive. Once the Princess arrived, she scolded her for her actions. After the young girl had left, she called Joseph.
"Joseph, you can come in."
"If I may say so, Your Majesty, it didn't go very well."
"Is this the way a princess should act?" She replied.
"According to my information, that kid took advantage of her and that kiss was nothing more than a ploy, in order to get her 15 minutes of glory. And they didn't help the girlfriends at all. The Anna, fanana, banana, bandana, montana. »
« I don't understand any of this gibberish. Why didn't she have enough common sense to get out of it, Joseph? »
« She's only 15, but today she acted as if she were older. She showed great respect and accepted your criticism in a very noble manner. »
« You say that as Queen I was too harsh with her? Well I was, towards the one who could very well become the next Queen of the Genovian kingdom. »
« No, what I'm saying is that as a Grandmother you were perhaps too harsh with your granddaughter. »
Clarisse sighed, understanding perfectly what Joseph meant.
« Do you think she can do it? » Clarisse asked.
« Oh I don't doubt it, ma'am. »
« That's what I think too. » She replied.
"She looks so much like you, it can't be otherwise." A smiling Joseph told him.
"Oh Joseph." Clarisse replied, cupping his cheek, before continuing.
"I have an appointment with Mr. Motaz later, he'll arrive in San Francisco around 3pm, but tomorrow morning, I'd like to go see Amélia."
"I'd be happy to take you there." Joseph replied.