Chapter 14: Mia's Arrival
May 29, 2006
A little before the ball for the Princess's birthday, Joseph entered the security room. He greeted Shades.
"Hello Shades."
"Hello Boss. How was the trip with the Princess?"
"Yes, everything went well. Here, everything went well?" Joseph asked.
"Yes, no problem. The Queen is late for her day, but she's fine, she's doing well."
"Late?" Mia asked surprised.
"Yes, the Queen was in Rocabruna and she came back to the palace a good hour late.
"Oh I see. Where is she now?" Mia smiled
"In her suite. She's still meeting with the Duke of Latte County. They should be finishing. At least I hope so, because the Queen has to get ready for tonight's party. »
"Perfect. The Princess is already in the guest suite with maids getting ready."
Finally, the party guests had arrived. Joseph was standing ready in the entrance hall. Charlotte was next to him and she looked at her watch.
"I'll go see if she needs anything. She should have made her entrance by now." Charlotte said.
"Are the guests getting impatient?" Joseph asked.
"No, not at all. We started serving appetizers to keep them waiting. In fact, I don't think anyone noticed that the Queen is almost 45 minutes late." Charlotte said before heading out into the hallway.
Joseph smiled under his breath. He found the situation rather funny. He was the main person responsible for the Queen's delay. She was late because they didn't notice the time passing. They were late because they had sex this morning instead of coming back to the Palace on time. Suddenly Charlotte came back quickly in front of the doors of the reception room.
"The Queen is coming." Charlotte said into her earpiece to warn everyone.
"Here she is now. Come on, shake yourselves, take your places. She will enter through the double doors." Continue, Charlotte advanced towards Joseph.
"The Eagle is in flight, I repeat, the Eagle is in flight." Joseph said into her earpiece.
"She is in the entrance hall." Charlotte then said into her earpiece.
Joseph then saw Clarisse arrive in the hallway. She was so beautiful. She was wearing a magnificent peach dress, embroidered with small, subtle, shiny pearls. A splendid dress with an open back, with a charming train. She was smiling. She immediately saw Joseph's gaze on her. She turned around as she walked, to show him her entire look. She had taken the time to install hair extensions to enhance her hairstyle. Her makeup was perfect. She wore white gloves, diamond earrings and her favorite tiara. Joseph couldn't take his eyes off her. She always managed to make him freeze in place like that. He held out his hand for her to take.
"Magnificent." Joseph declared before kissing her hand. Charlotte and the guards on site looked away.
"But you're late, Majesty." Joseph then continued.
"No, you're the one who's early. In fact, a queen is never late. » Clarisse explained with a smile.
"Of course." Joseph replied.
Clarisse cupped his cheek in a couple to express her affection. It was the only mark of affection she could give him in public. He looked up at her. The two looked at each other teasingly, they were the only ones who knew the truth. Then Joseph guided her towards the double doors, before she was announced in the room.
"Her Majesty Clarisse Renaldi, Queen of Genovia!"
The reception went very well. Mia seemed to be enjoying herself and Clarisse was chatting with the guests. Joseph always stayed two steps away from her. He noticed Viscount Mabrey approaching the Queen. Joseph stared at him. He would not take his eyes off him. He barely took the time to blink.
"Good evening Your Majesty. » The Viscount began, curtsying to his Queen.
"Good evening, Viscount. So, are you enjoying yourself tonight?" Clarisse asked politely.
"Yes, absolutely. Your evenings are always a perfect success, Your Majesty. You are an incredible host."
"Thank you for the compliment, Viscount."
Joseph found the Viscount much too close to Clarisse for his taste. He knew that this man did not want anything good for the Renaldis, so he considered it perfectly justified to intervene. But he did not want to make any splashes. He grabbed Clarisse's arm and gently pulled her back a step or two. Clarisse held back a smile as she felt Joseph's movement.
Later that evening, Joseph was standing next to Clarisse, they were talking alone near the stairs.
"Thank you for earlier with the Viscount." Him, Clarisse said.
"It's nothing, come on. I hate it when that piece of shit gets too close to you. Did you know he finds you, and I quote, delightful to look at? That, coupled with the fact that he covets power and wealth, I prefer he stays away from you.
Clarisse leaned slightly closer, while remaining decent to the people around him. They simply seemed to be chatting in private, which was perfectly normal given their respective positions. Clarisse spoke to him discreetly.
"Could it be jealousy, Mr. Romero?"
Joseph smirked, then replied.
"No, it's perfectly normal that he finds you delicious to look at, since that's the case. But if he dares, even think of touching you, I'll unscrew his head."
"Oh I see. And that's not jealousy?" She asked him.
"No, it's love." He whispered.
Clarisse smiled before mentioning that she wanted to go back to her suite. Joseph escorted her.
As she entered the suite, Clarisse turned to him and smiled. Joseph looked at her, without moving, love in his eyes. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Clarisse asked.
"Your Majesty, your beauty hypnotizes me." He replied.
"Oh Joseph." Clarisse said.
"You know, I have been feeling a strong desire to kiss you since the beginning of the evening. It's lucky that the cameras don't record the sound, because at least I can externalize my elusive desire to feel the softness of your lips against mine." He said as he slowly approached her.
"Your desire is to share Joseph." She said as she cupped his cheek.
Clarisse looked behind Joseph to confirm that the soot pot was indeed closed, then she smiled.
"I have to show you something in the bedroom for a few moments, you know, in a blind spot those cameras." She said, still smiling.
Joseph understood immediately and smiled at her.
"I am following you, Your Majesty. »
They entered the room, then headed to the side, away from the cameras.
"We don't have much time before we arouse suspicion." Clarisse said.
Joseph didn't waste another second, he gently backed her against the wall and kissed her.
The kiss was needy. Clarisse wrapped her arms around Joseph's neck. Joseph meanwhile rubbed up and down Clarisse's hips and ribs. After a few moments, they pulled away, reluctantly. They both knew they had to get out of the room now without arousing suspicion. They made sure they were presentable and then left.
"Do you want me to send the maids for you, ma'am?" Joseph asked.
"Oh that would be nice, thank you. I would like to take a bath."
"I'm sending Olivia to you. Good night, Majesty." He said, kissing the back of Clarisse's hand.
Joseph then left the room.
May 30, 2006
Joseph and Clarisse were sitting at the garden table in the back courtyard of the palace. They were chatting over tea.
"I understand that this morning's parliamentary session went badly." Joseph said, taking a sip from his cup of tea.
"Indeed, it was atrocious. From beginning to end, Mabrey tried to discredit me and he saved the best for last. Imagine that Viscount Mabrey is imposing a new candidate for the throne on us." Clarisse said.
"What? You mean instead of Mia?" Joseph wondered.
"Yes. His nephew Lord Nicholas Devereaux. He is a distant descendant of the Renaldis, but a descendant nonetheless."
"Yes, but Mia is the direct descendant, she is the one who takes the throne, it makes sense."
"Yes, indeed, but according to an old law that has not been applied for centuries, a woman must be married before she can accede to the throne. Since Mia is not, Lord Nicholas is next in line. In other words, either Mia gets married or she cannot accede to the throne. Parliament gives her one month to get married." Clarisse explained.
"That is far too short a deadline, it is completely stupid. 30 days to find a husband and to organize a wedding takes longer than that." Joseph was surprised.
"They want to push her into a marriage of convenience. Mabrey is not crazy, he knows Mia a little, from time immemorial. Mia is a romantic, she would never accept a marriage of convenience, without love, so that would automatically give the crown to her nephew. "Continued Clarisse.
"Does Mia know?" Asked Joseph.
"Yes, I told her about it right after the session. Believe it or not, she accepted the marriage of convenience. She already speaks and acts like a true Queen Joseph, it's fantastic. But, oh Joseph, this is so not what I want for her as a Grandmother, but as a Queen, I know that it's the right thing to do. I feel torn between my two roles."
"I think the decision is up to Mia. And who knows, maybe it'll work out for her. She'll find someone she'll truly love." He said.
"Maybe. That's what I wish for her. I just don't want her to go through what I'm going through. " She said.
"What do you mean?" Joseph asked curiously.
Clarisse checked around them to make sure no one was close enough to hear her, then spoke.
"Of not being able to be with the man she loves because of her duty. That she finds herself a good husband, but that she is not in love. That despite that, everything goes well, until the day she meets the man of her life, with whom she is madly in love, but her hands are tied and she can't do anything about it. I know what it's like and believe me, it's painful."
"Clarisse my dear, everything will be fine, for Mia and for us. You had a big day today, the parliamentary session has exhausted you. I suggest a nice hot bath and you'll see, tomorrow you'll be better."
"There is only one thing that would really relax me, but you see, my duty takes it away from me, day after day. What I need more than anything is for you to take me in your arms, Joseph." She said, taking care to whisper her last sentence so that Joseph would be the only one to hear.
"If you knew how much if I could, you would have been in my arms for a while already." Joseph said quietly.
"My duty has rarely weighed on me as it does right now." She said.
"Clarisse, our time will come. There is not much longer to wait. We are approaching our goal, our dream, that of being together and happy." Joseph said, taking Clarisse's hand.
"I know, and to be honest with you, I must admit, on days like today, it is this perspective that keeps my head above water." She answered him.
"Me too, ma'am, me too." He said, kissing the back of her hand.
"I have a small favor to ask of you Joseph."
"Anything you want, Madame." He said, kissing her hand a second time before placing it delicately on the table.
"Lord Devereaux will be staying at the palace this summer. I would like you to watch over him."
"What?" Joseph replied simply.
"Yes, I invited him. In fact, at the end of the parliamentary session, Mabrey seemed to want to accuse me of banning his nephew from all our events this summer and of being in bad faith towards young Nicolas. So I decided to invite him to the palace for the summer. And all the more so since I want to get to know him. If he ever ends up reaching the throne, I want to know who the country will have to deal with."
"Clarisse, this makes no sense, he can't settle in the palace, think of Mia. This young man is trying to steal the crown from her. I honestly believe the best option would be to hang him by his toes in the palace courtyard."
Clarisse smiled at Joseph's suggestion, then spoke.
"Actually, I suspect they're trying to discredit Mia and me. To make their point in parliament. I'd rather keep an eye on them. By keeping young Devereaux safe, it's a subtle way of keeping an eye on him." She said.
"Out of the question, Your Majesty. With Mabrey in the palace day and night, you can be sure that I would not leave your side. I do not trust him."
"Rest assured, Joseph, Mabrey is not himself, only young Devereaux."
"Oh, ok, I like that better. Then, of course, I will keep an eye on him, you can count on me."
"As always." She smiled at him, cupping his cheek.
May 31, 2006
The next morning, Joseph entered the security room and came face to face with Lionel Motaz, the nephew of the Prime Minister. He had almost forgotten that young Lionel was spending the summer working in palace security for an internship. He took a few seconds to look at him. Lionel was dressed exactly like him. He sighed. The summer was already looking long.
"Hello, Mr. Joseph, so what do we start with?" »
"First, just call me Joe. Second, around this time, we're doing a camera round, then we're going to join the Queen in her office."
"The Queen. Okay. Can I have an audience with the Queen, do you think?" Lionel asked.
"We'll ask her."
Joseph had been with Lionel for barely an hour now, and he'd had enough already, but hey, he wanted to learn and he had potential.
The day had gone well. Lord Devereaux was settled in and Mabrey hadn't nearly pushed everyone to the end of their patience. Joseph was in his bed, ready to sleep. He had a small royal blue velvet box in his hand. He opened it to gaze at its contents. He smiled at the sight of the magnificent ring it contained. One day, soon, Clarisse would wear it. One day, soon, they could finally be together. One day, soon, she would be his.
June 1st, 2006
The next afternoon, Mia, Lilly, Charlotte, Clarisse, and Joseph were in the palace's movie theater. They were watching a slideshow prepared by Charlotte, listing the best parts of Europe to find Mia's ideal husband. When the picture of Prince William of England was displayed, Mia and Lilly expressed their crush. Charlotte explained that he was not a candidate because he was already heir to his own crown.
"If he is ineligible, why did you include him in this presentation?" Joseph asked.
"I find this young man attractive." Charlotte replied.
"Me too." Clarisse said, staring at the image on the big screen.
"Your Majesty." Joseph said only.
"Next." Clarisse said.
Joseph obeyed and changed the slide.
When the presentation was over, Joseph went to the security room to empty it for a few minutes. He assigned tasks to all the guards in the room. He then quickly headed to the Queen's suite and closed the door behind him. He found her sitting at her desk.
"Your Majesty, I would like to speak to you in private, so I have kicked everyone out of the security room for a few minutes."
"Oh, go ahead, I'm listening."
He approached her, sat behind her chair and leaned down to whisper in her ear.
"So, Her Majesty has a crush on Prince William?" He said before placing a soft butterfly kiss on her neck.
Clarisse smiled at his statement.
"Has Her Majesty already forgotten her head of security?"
"Maybe he should refresh my memory." She declared.
Without further ado, he grabbed the side of her face opposite him to turn it slightly then pressed his lips against hers. During the kiss, Joseph felt Clarisse stand up, so he moved his body back a little then allowed her to do so, but without ever leaving his lips. Once Clarisse was standing, Joseph wrapped his arms around her. Clarisse did the same. They separated after a few moments, knowing that the guards would soon return to their posts.
"Well, I have to admit, my head of security is more attractive than Prince William." Clarisse joked.
"That's what I thought." Joseph smiled warmly at her, before turning around and walking towards the exit.
Clarisse sat back down at her desk, smiling.