Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, and I make no money from this work of fiction!

The Proper Thing

"My dearest baby, you KNOW Mommy has always wanted the best for you, don't you?"

"Yes, of course, Mommy, but ..."

"Well, Princess Amelia of Genovia is obviously the best! If she marries within thirty days, she will be Queen! If you are her husband, think what that would make you!"

"A Prince who will be always two steps behind his wife?" Andrew offered, his eyes on the lovely, dark-haired girl in the picture he was holding in his hand.

His mother looked at him scornfully. "NO! YOU will be the most important person in Genovia after her! Believe me, dearest, it is the proper thing to do!"

"As always," his father put in, "listen to your mother. She knows best."

"You MUST offer for her a few days after we arrive," his mother continued.

"What if I don't like her?" Andrew dared to ask. That didn't seem likely, given the expression on Princess Amelia's face in the picture, but he was curious. Would he be given a chance to refuse this marriage, should Princess Amelia choose him and he decide he couldn't go through with it for one reason or another?

"Don't be ridiculous!" his mother scoffed. "She's a queen-to-be! What's not to like?"

"Susan, my dear, perhaps we shouldn't be quite so ... pushy ..." his father patted his wife's shoulder somewhat awkwardly.

"Pushy? I am NEVER pushy!" she declared. "Am I, sweetie?" she cooed to Andrew, who managed to smile. He loved his mother, although she drove him crazy sometimes. "Now, we can leave for Genovia tomorrow ..."

"Tomorrow?" Andrew was startled. "So soon?"

"The sooner, the better, dearest!"

"But I have to ... that is to say, there are certain matters I MUST attend to!" Andrew protested.

"Once your ring is on her finger, you may return to London for a few days, but if you want to win the prize, you have to be ready to put aside all other considerations until everything is formalized!" his mother said. "And speaking of rings ..."

"I had thought we could use my grandmother's ..." Andrew's father said diffidently.

"Yes, that would be for the best. It's a lovely ring, and with that tradition behind it, the queen will be sure to be pleased for her grand-daughter!" Susan Jacoby nodded emphatically.

Andrew looked at his parents, already busy planning his wedding, and he knew he was going to do as he always did ... he would do the proper thing. He would do as he was told. He always had. He was beginning to be afraid that he always would. In this case, however, he was not rebelling too much. After all, every marriage in his family for the last two hundred years had been arranged, and they had all worked out well enough. He had known it would happen to him, sooner or later, he had had a quarter of a century to prepare -- and Princess Amelia was beautiful and looked to be intelligent and fun-loving as well. How bad COULD it be?

"I've got some pictures in the darkroom I'm ready to develop," he said at last, "then I'll start gathering my cameras and other personal things and I'll be ready when you are, Mommy."

"That's my boy!" Susan Jacoby smiled at her tall son and patted his arm.

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The very next day, they were in Genovia. The queen's secretary had arranged that the first meeting and subsequent outing for the Princess and Andrew be a walk along the seashore at the nearby village of Mertz. Andrew and Princess Amelia walked slightly ahead of the others, talking quietly. Queen Clarisse, her secretary, Andrew's parents, and a collection of security guards and ladies' maids made up the party following at their heels. A crowd of expectant reporters and curious on-lookers were a short distance away.

"Not the ideal way to relax and get to know one another, is it?" Princess Amelia asked at last, when they had walked for a while without saying a word, and politely waved and smiled at the reporters.

"Not really, your highness," he agreed.

"Please, call me Mia." she begged him, her smile flashing across her face. She had a beautiful smile. He was itching to take her picture already!

Following the walk on the beach, sharing stories of their respective childhoods, Andrew and Mia played badminton on the palace grounds. Mia's best friend, Lilly, sat on the sidelines watching, and the inevitable security guard and Mia's two ladies' maids were present as well. Backing up to try for the birdie which Andrew had sent over her head, Mia slipped on the grass and fell. Andrew rushed for the cooler to get some ice and carried it over to her, noticing that her friend Lilly had motioned for the ladies' maids to stay back.

As he put the ice on Mia's ankle, she smiled at him. "Maybe we should just, you know, stroll around for a while? The exercise would do my ankle good, and it wouldn't be too strenuous."

"Anything you say, Princess!"

"Andrew?"

"Yes?" he looked up from patting her ankle dry.

"I thought I asked you to call me Mia."

"Yes, you did. I'm sorry, I ..." then he realized she was teasing him gently. "I shall endeavour to remember, Mia," he added gallantly.

As they walked, he found out she had taken Diplomacy and Political Science at college, and loved her sense of humour when she added that she had wished there had been a course in "Queen" or "How to Run a Country 101". He told her about his studies at Oxford, how he had been on the Olympic swim team while in his teens, and what it was like to pilot a plane.

It was the next day that they made their way to the bench under Genovia's famous pear tree. The day before, Mia had pointed it out, saying that her grandparents had gotten engaged on that very bench, prompting Andrew to wonder aloud if it was famous also for being a "pair" tree! Mia had chuckled, at that, then had steered him away to show him the stables. That made him wonder whether or not she was diplomatically telling him that she did not want to marry him! Today, however, it seemed that she was coming with him willingly.

Taking a deep breath, not sure how to begin, he finally said, "Every marriage in my family for the past two hundred years has been arranged and ..."

Mia interrupted him at that point and asked if he could talk without moving his lips, indicating the reporters with binoculars watching them from the other side of the fence. Andrew then rummaged in his pocket, finally producing the film canister he had prepared just an hour before. He thought it was fitting, somehow, that a film canister be used as the holder for the diamond engagement ring, since it had been his picture which had prompted Mia and her grandmother to ask him to Genovia in the first place. Mia shook the canister, and made a few comments about how he hadn't needed to get her anything as her birthday had been a few weeks ago ...

"Why don't you open it?" Andrew suggested. He felt like a fool. It was much harder than he had thought it would be, proposing to someone who had already chosen you and yet was still expecting to hear the words!

She tipped the ring out into her hand. "Oh!"

Andrew could tell by the way she looked up at him, then back at the ring that she was happy with it. He rushed into speech. "It was my great-grandmother's engagement ring. She and my great-grandfather were married for 57 years. So I felt it could be lucky for us, maybe."

"Do I have to put it on myself?" Mia smiled up at him.

"No, I could do that!" he said rather diffidently.

"Okay." She passed him the ring and held out her hand.

"Yes?" Obviously she was saying yes, he scolded himself. Carefully he slid the ring onto her finger, wondering as he did whether or not he should kiss her now. But he was acutely aware of the reporters and cameras crowded at the gates, and really didn't want an audience for such a private moment! He supposed he would have to get used to it, however. She was going to be a queen. Her entire life would be an open book. Instead, he patted her hand and smiled.

Sure enough, by the time they made it back into the palace, they were met by Queen Clarisse, Mia's friend Lilly, and Susan and Arnold Jacoby, who all hugged them and congratulated them on the upcoming marriage, just as if it had been a love match, and as though they had had no idea that Mia and Andrew were even considering such a thing! Andrew caught Mia's eye and almost laughed out loud, realizing that she was thinking the same thing he was. She really was a nice person, he thought. He hoped he would fall in love with her -- soon.

Then Charlotte was hurrying back into the room. "I've arranged for the balcony appearance later this afternoon, your Majesty," she said to Queen Clarisse. She smiled at Andrew and Mia, saying, "It's what they do in England for all the important royal 'happenings', so I thought we should do it here in Genovia for you two."

"Thanks, Charlotte," Mia said, a little awkwardly, and her hand gripped Andrew's more tightly.

He leaned closer and whispered, "I'm not even moving my lips ... we'll be fine, won't we, Mia?"

The smile she turned on him was brilliant.

It seemed no time before they were standing back from the balcony doors, hearing the noise of the crowd outside.

"Are you ready?" Mia asked him in a whisper, her eyes searching his.

"If you are." He was already quite fond of her. It was obvious she was nervous, and Andrew was determined to do what he could for her. From their talks, he was sure she would be an amazing queen!

He heard Charlotte's signal 'Fly the lovebirds', and hand-in-hand, he and Mia walked out onto the balcony. The noise from the crowd swelled as the two waved, gamely smiling at the throng amassed in front of the palace. Once again, Andrew realized the extent of Mia's nervousness when she moved to one side and accidentally knocked over a flowerpot. Grabbing for it, she managed to stop it falling, then she stood there, holding the pot in her arms, obviously at a loss as to what to do next! Taking pity on her when she turned a wide-eyed, mute plea in his direction, Andrew picked up the other pot, and hoisted it in a salute to the crowd. Then they smiled at the crowds and retreated back into the palace. There, Charlotte and Queen Clarisse met them, and Charlotte took the flower pots from them, her laughter soft and gentle on their battered spirits.

"I feel like a complete idiot!" Mia confided to Andrew.

"You looked adorable with the flowers," he vowed, touching her hand. "It was I who looked silly."

"You both were wonderful," Queen Clarisse said. "Dear Charlotte, DO stop laughing. You're making them feel worse."

"I'm sorry," Charlotte tried to contain her amusement, but her eyes continued to dance. "You must admit, it was rather endearing of the duke to ... copy the princess!"

Andrew didn't mind. He liked the woman, and knew she was not malicious in the slightest. His eyes met Mia's, then all three exploded into fits of laughter. The queen shook her head and left the room, but not before Andrew caught sight of the smile tugging at her lips.

His parents, however, were decidedly not amused by the entire episode, and his mother berated him for having picked up the second flower pot. "You looked ridiculous!" she almost hissed. "You should have just let the footman take the flowers from the princess and not drawn attention to her clumsiness by grabbing that second pot! What were you THINKING?"

"Mommy, I just ..."

"Don't bother with any excuses! REALLY, Andrew! I think it's a good thing we are heading back to England tomorrow! I won't be able to hold my head up in Genovia until this has blown over!" Andrew's mother shuddered. "Please, Arnold, let's not go down to dinner tonight."

"I think we should, Susan," his father said quietly, "It WILL be Andrew's first meal as a future member of the royal family. We must keep up appearances, you know!"

"You're right, as usual. Very well. Andrew? Will you go down with us?"

"Yes, Mommy. I will stop in on my way and we can go together."

"Thank you. And dearest, DO try to do the proper thing always ... not just whatever fancy pops into your head!" As his mother turned away, he heard her mutter again, "Flower pot!"

Shaking his own head, Andrew retreated to his own room. So, according to his parents, his first "public" appearance with Princess Mia had been a disaster. According to Charlotte, it had been funny and endearing. According to the queen ... he wondered exactly what she had thought, then realized she had probably already dismissed it as unimportant. Picking up the flower pot really was a rather insignificant part of his introduction to the people of Genovia.

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It was almost a week later when Andrew finally made it back to Genovia. His parents had elected to send him over earlier, saying they would come in ten days in order to arrive shortly before the wedding. He arrived at the palace to find that Mia was going to be reviewing the Royal Guard. Charlotte pointed him in the direction of Lilly, and he rather reluctantly went over to stand beside Mia's best friend. The somewhat outspoken American unnerved Andrew, as he felt himself lacking in her regard. However, she smiled sweetly at him this time. Then the young man standing beside him stuck out his hand and introduced himself as Nick, Viscount Mabrey's nephew.

"Ah!" Andrew said, shaking his hand. "The chap who's trying to stage a palace coup!" Mia had told him about Lord Deveraux last week.

Lilly leaned over Andrew and also shook Nick's hand. "I'm Lilly Moscovitz, official best friend of future queen. I don't like you."

Andrew almost jumped. Yes, Lilly WAS outspoken, all right! Nick muttered "pleasure" before turning to face the front stoically. Andrew almost felt sorry for him, then Mia came regally down the ranks. After Mia's horse had spooked, Andrew forgot about Nick in the ensuing confusion. Queen Clarisse's head security guard had gone to Mia's rescue, and had inadvertently embarrassed the girl by disclosing that she had been wearing a wooden leg to make it appear as though she were riding side-saddle. Andrew could sense the man's fury as he turned on the groom, and rummaged through the groom's pockets to find a rubber snake.

"You're lucky I don't wrap this around your pathetic neck!" the security guard had snarled. "Needless to say, you're now looking for another job ... in another country!" Then, stuffing the snake into his own pocket, he had stalked away after Mia.

Lilly came up to Andrew then, saying, "Looks like Joe is going to find Mia. I bet he feels awful right now, since he was the one to pull off the fake leg. I'm surprised he didn't know about it, though. Mia said her grandmother used to use the leg all the time, so I'd have thought Joe might clue in."

"Is there a reason he SHOULD have 'clued in', as you say?" Andrew asked, interestedly.

"Only just that Joe's been with the queen forever, and probably knows her better than anyone ... well, except Charlotte, of course. Didn't Mia give you her family's history?"

"She told me what I NEEDED to know, of course -- about King Rupert's death, then her father's, and how Queen Clarisse had found her five years ago ... but Joe and Charlotte weren't mentioned."

Lilly grinned. "Well, if she stopped with the family five years ago, Joseph and Charlotte SHOULD have been mentioned, because they were both very important in San Francisco, too! Why, Mia probably would have MISSED being the princess if it wasn't for Joe finding her that last night and bringing her to the ball! You should have seen her, dripping wet, not dressed up at ALL ... she really made a statement, all right! I was so proud of her. So was Joe. You know, I sometimes feel that he thinks of her as HIS grand-daughter, too ... not just Queen Clarisse's. I guess you really haven't been around long enough to ask, but tell me, do YOU think there's something between the queen and Joe?"

"Something?" Andrew questioned, not entirely sure what Lilly meant.

She wrinkled her nose at him. "YOU know, d'you think they ... oh, forget it." Lilly suddenly realized they were still in a crowd. "So, tell me, Andrew, when are your parents coming back to Genovia?"

"Next week, two days before the wedding."

"You getting nervous?" Lilly grinned.

"Should I be?" he countered. "I don't think so. Mia and I suit very well, I think. It's, well, the proper thing to do."

Lilly grimaced. "Oooh, never did like being 'proper'! I suppose you've always done the proper thing?"

"Of course." Andrew nodded, smiling. "I doubt Queen Clarisse would have accepted me into the family had I not."

"You're probably right." Lilly sighed. "I hope that, somewhere along the way, the proper thing, and what you WANT coincide!" Even as Andrew digested that thought, Lilly looked around. "Speaking of being proper, have you seen that Nick lately?"

"Nick? Oh, the instigator of the palace coup! No. He was beside me, but ..." Andrew looked around, then shrugged.

"Well, nice chatting with you, Andrew." and Lilly darted away.

Andrew watched her go, his thoughts going back to her previous statement. Didn't the proper thing ALWAYS coincide with what he wanted? Surely he would never want something IMPROPER ... would he? What if he ever did? What then? What would Mommy say?

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At the palace garden fete, Andrew met Nick again. Following the entertainment by the rising opera star, Anna Netrebco, Andrew obediently followed Mia when she beckoned to him to walk with her. He had finally got the lighting right on his camera, and was trying to get some more pictures of Mia when he realized they had met up with Nick and a lovely young woman.

Andrew cleared his throat, seeing that neither Mia nor Nick were going to make the introductions. They had no eyes for anyone but each other, although their glances were skittish and uncomfortable. Andrew held out his hand and introduced himself to the young lady, kissing her hand gallantly.

She smiled and said, "Lady Elyssa."

Next thing Andrew knew, Nick and Mia were trying to outdo one other with their partners' accomplishments. Andrew looked wryly at Elyssa, who said quickly, "Andrew, would you like to get a drink? I have a feeling they're going to start a 'my horse is bigger than your horse' ring!"

"I'd absolutely love to." Anything to get away from the embarrassment of hearing his pitiful doings broadcast. Two months in New Guinea studying the bark of a tree, for heaven's sake! That was Mommy's fault, anyway. HE had wanted to study the natives, not the plants! "You know," he added to Elyssa, as they walked away, "her horse is actually very huge ..."

Elyssa laughed lightly. "Yes, I've seen Sandy. Still, they were arguing over us as if we weren't even there!"

"True ..." He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. She was very lovely, and, if Nick was telling the truth, very intelligent as well. "Where are you studying?"

Andrew and Elyssa spent an enjoyable quarter of an hour as they sipped their punch and talked quietly. He found out that her father was a member of the Genovian Parliament and that she had gone to university in Cambridge for her undergraduate studies. Discovering that she had received the Rhodes scholarship for graduate studies in Anthropology at Oxford, Andrew began telling her about some of the courses he had taken there. Then Andrew noticed a commotion at the entryway to the maze, and saw Mia appear, dripping wet. He excused himself and hurried over to where the queen was standing saying her goodbyes to the guests.

He arrived in time to see Mia stop meekly beside her grandmother, who eyed the wet young woman with a somewhat bemused expression then said, "Do I WANT to know?"

Andrew looked back towards the maze, and sure enough, Nicholas was standing there, also dripping wet, with a contrite look on his face.

When Mia had walked on into the palace, Andrew came up to the queen, and said, "She's going to be a handful, isn't she?" He wasn't trying to condemn Mia or anything. It was a simple statement of fact. It seemed that Mia might have a hard time fitting into Mommy's 'proper' mold. Fortunately for Mia, as queen, she would be able to make the mold fit!

"You'll never be bored, Andrew." Queen Clarisse offered a rather trite comment, obviously biting back her scandalized thoughts.

"Yes." He trailed after Mia, wondering if he dared ask what had happened, and also wondering if he, like the queen, really WANTED to know. Mia had told her grandmother she probably wouldn't want to know, and Andrew suspected it would be the same for him.

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The next day was the Genovian Independence Day Parade. Mia was going to be riding in the carriage with her grandmother, Lilly was going to ride in Mia's beloved Mustang. Charlotte told Andrew that, if he wished, he could have a seat across from the media's announcing table with some of the parliamentarians and honoured guests. She ushered him to a seat in the front row, and moments later he was joined by Elyssa, Nick and Viscount Mabrey. Nick merely nodded a greeting, as he was listening to his uncle's mutterings. Elyssa smiled at Andrew as she slid into the seat beside him.

"How are you today?" she asked in a low voice.

"Oh, I'm doing well. You look lovely today," he said sincerely.

Elyssa blushed slightly, her smile spreading over her face. "Thank you. Today is one of my favourite days. I've always loved this parade."

When Mia ordered the carriage she was riding in stopped, it happened to be very near their seats. Andrew leaned forward, wondering if something was wrong. Elyssa touched his hand and leaned closer to him, saying, "Joseph is watching out for her. She's just going to talk with the orphans."

Again, Andrew found himself wondering about Joseph as the man stood back in the street, nodding with seeming satisfaction as the Princess spoke with the children. When Joseph realized what was happening, he returned to the carriage and reassured the queen in a low voice. Andrew then overheard Nick saying softly, "Oh, she's letting the children join in. How nice."

Nick's grumbling uncle merely growled, "Not with everyone!"

Andrew and Elyssa exchanged laughing glances, and this time Andrew's hand touched hers. Elyssa's skin was so soft. She really was fun to be with, and they had so much in common. Then Andrew stiffened slightly. He was engaged to Mia. He had no business thinking such things about any other woman. Resolutely, he turned his eyes from Elyssa and watched as Mia led the children down the street. Unfortunately, he was finding it harder and harder to erase from his mind the charming young woman at his side.

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Andrew greeted his parents when they arrived back in Genovia, then went out to the palace grounds to watch Mia practicing her archery. He had to admit that she really was not very good at it. He wondered what would happen if she shot the flaming arrow, missed the coronation hoop, and set fire to something or someone. Then he inwardly scolded himself for having such little faith in her ability to master the sport. Once she singed the arm of his jacket, however, when he had thought he was well out of harm's way, he knew he had been right to be a little concerned! He didn't care about his jacket, of course, but he cringed when he thought of what Mommy might say when she saw him again!

When Lilly came up to him and asked if he would take her to meet his parents, he was more than happy to go with her, thinking that Lilly's presence would keep his mother's mind off his jacket. He tried to keep his mind on what Lilly was saying, but found himself thinking about Elyssa instead. He wondered if she was any good at archery. He wondered what his parents would think of her. He wondered if he would see her again before the wedding ...

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The next morning, even though he had dreamt about Elyssa all night, he was angry when his mother burst into his room to tell him that Mia had been caught with another man ... NICK! How could Mia do this to him? He knew she didn't love him, but she HAD agreed to marry him, had approached him FIRST knowing that he would be willing to participate in an arranged marriage. How could she have gone off with Nick AGAIN, and provoked such a scandal the very day before the wedding! His mother was insisting that he had to overlook the slight ... SLIGHT! ... because, after all, Mia would be queen and he had given his word, and he had to do the proper thing and marry her, and all this scandalous talk would die down.

When Andrew had managed, with his father's help, to get his mother out of his room, he dressed and headed downstairs. Seeing Charlotte, he headed for her. "Is Mia coming to speak with me?" he asked, his voice shaking with his suppressed anger.

"I ... I'll go see," Charlotte offered, not wanting to meet his eyes.

"Never mind! I'll go find Nick and break his neck first, THEN I'll deal with Mia!" and Andrew stalked out of the room.

Charlotte must have rushed right off to Mia, because it was only a moment later, as he was going out the front doors, that he heard Mia calling to him.

"Andrew, I'm so, so sorry! Andrew, please wait! I promise you, nothing happened!"

He swung around. "Yes, but Mia, you still went, didn't you? You went! I don't think you understand! I'm an extremely eligible bachelor in England! I really am! I have plenty of friends ... lots of lovely women friends, and ..." he stopped. What was he saying? He sounded ridiculous! Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself down, and said, "I still think this marriage is a good idea!" He looked at her closely, making a split second decision. "Mia ..." For the first time, he kissed her -- a long, deep kiss. Then he took a step back and said diffidently, "So ... anything?"

Mia considered, as she tried to smile at him, then she said earnestly, "I really want to say yes, but no, there's just no ... spark!"

Andrew had to smile. She was delightfully honest. "Me, too!"

"Really?" Mia looked surprised.

"Really." Then Andrew realized that what he was saying wasn't exactly complimentary. "I mean, it was pleasurable ..."

"Very!" she put in.

"Very pleasurable, but no ... fireworks." he sighed.

"None. What are we going to do?" She bit her lip and turned away. "We will ...We'll just figure something out!"

"Hmmm. Mia ... you chose me." They were interrupted as some guards walked past, and Mia muttered, "NO PRIVACY!" Andrew chuckled then continued. "You chose me and I accepted and a gentleman never backs out on his word. We are going to stand up in church and say 'I do', and tomorrow we'll be man and wife. And you are going to make an amazing queen of Genovia."

Mia looked up at him, and he could feel the gratitude pouring out of her. She kissed him on the cheek and his arms went around her as she hugged him tightly. "Thank you," she whispered.

As Andrew stood on the front steps of the palace of Genovia, with his bride-to-be and the future queen of Genovia in his arms, he wondered just what he had gotten himself into.

"Andrew?" Mia turned her face up to his, tears still standing in her eyes, "I really didn't mean to be out all night ... we were just talking ... if Nicholas hadn't taped it ..."

"Let's not talk about it again. Or do you ... care for him?" Andrew had to ask. He couldn't marry her if she truly loved someone else.

"I HATE him!" Mia said fiercely, but she wouldn't meet Andrew's eyes. He sighed. Nick seemed to have more of her passion than he, himself, did ... and wasn't hate akin to love? If Mia wouldn't admit it, though, Andrew didn't feel he had the right to renege on their contract. They had pledged to marry, and marry her he would. Elyssa's face drifted through his mind, and he resolutely pushed it away. He would marry Mia and would be faithful to her. It was the proper thing to do.

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Standing at the front of the church, Andrew was somewhat surprised at the tension and nervousness he was feeling. When the doors opened and he saw Mia, looking so beautiful in her wedding finery, he glanced over at his parents who were both beaming at him. He smiled, then turned his attention to Mia who began to walk up the aisle. Suddenly she slowed down as her smile faded, then she stammered, "I ... I'm going to need a minute or two!"

As Mia rushed back out, Andrew turned in confusion to his best man, who shrugged and motioned for him to remain standing where he was. Queen Clarisse hurried down the aisle, conferred briefly with Charlotte, then announced that this was just a momentary interlude, and she vanished out of the church after Mia. Andrew noted that Joseph went out as well.

Everyone in the church began murmuring among themselves, but the bridesmaids and groomsmen all remained standing, as did the archbishop and other officiants. Andrew resigned himself to standing there as well. He only hoped Mia would come back in. He didn't want the embarrassment of being left at the altar on top of the other scandals!

He was very relieved to see her appear at the door again, calmly refusing her wedding bouquet when Charlotte proffered it, then she was walking down the aisle swiftly. Andrew went down the steps to take her hand and lead her up to where the archbishop was waiting for them. When they got to the top of the steps, however, Mia stopped him.

"Andrew, wait!" He looked at her enquiringly, and she whispered, "Everyone deserves the chance to find true love, right?"

"Yes." He wondered what she was going to say next, and didn't have long to wait.

"Including us?" Mia asked, and held up the engagement ring he had given her. She wasn't going to marry him! She was ... she was JILTING him!

For a moment Andrew didn't know what to do or say, even as he took the ring. "I...I..." Then he realized that he was suddenly free! Free to think about Elyssa again ... perhaps even free to MARRY her, should that event come about! "THANK you!" he said to Mia.

"Hmm?" Mia looked as if she couldn't believe that that was what he was saying. Had she expected him to rant and rave and scream his objections to her, or perhaps even demand that she marry him?

Andrew enlightened her. "For saving me from doing the proper thing, for once in my life!" Mia smiled in agreement. Then Andrew added, "Now all I have to do is tell Mommy!"

Mia drew in a quick breath, then said almost desperately, "I have to tell everyone else!"

"Good luck!" they said to each other as they clasped hands, meaning it completely. Andrew had never liked her as much as he did right at this minute, with a mixture of fear and courage shining in her beautiful eyes.

Mia walked over to the pulpit as he went to sit down beside his father who turned and looked at him, as did his mother. Andrew pretended not to notice and looked up at Mia, who then began to speak ...

Later that evening, at the wedding reception for Queen Clarisse and Joseph, Andrew spoke with Mia. "I want to thank you again, Mia, for having the courage to stop our wedding. It would have been wrong."

Her smile blossomed, and she teased him gently, "Proper, but wrong?"

He chuckled. "Yes. Surprisingly enough, Mommy agreed that we did the right thing to call it off. I was rather amazed, actually. But I quoted Pascal's wonderful line from his unfinished "Pensées" -- the one that translates something like 'the heart has its reasons that the mind knows not of' -- and Father conceded that it was probably something that was meant to be."

"Joe said that very thing to me before I started up the aisle the first time!" Mia said in surprise. "It was a quote?"

"Yes. Pascal was speaking about Christianity and saying that the heart is never mistaken, in spite of the confusion of our other faculties."

"NOW I understand what Joe meant!" Mia nodded in comprehension.

"Mia, how did you know they loved each other?" he had to ask.

"Grandma and Joe? It's been obvious for years to me. And Charlotte. And I guess the archbishop, too, since he said 'FINALLY'. Wasn't that a riot? Did you see Grandma's face? I'm just so happy for them!"

"Well, I'm happy for you, that you get to be queen WITHOUT the bother of a husband!" Andrew said.

Mia clasped his hand. "Andrew, thank you again for being so wonderful through all of this. I'll never be able to thank you enough ... and you wouldn't have been a bother, but ... well ... I guess I'm still hoping for a fairy-tale ending for myself."

"I hope you get it, too, Mia. You deserve it. And you really WILL be an amazing queen!"

"Will you stay here at the palace until the coronation next week?"

"May I?"

"Please do! That way, everyone will really know that we parted on amicable terms."

"True. Otherwise they might think that I threw you over because of Nick." As soon as he said Nick's name, Andrew could have bitten out his tongue. He felt like an idiot as Mia's eyes clouded. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ... Mia, you love Nick, don't you?"

"I ..." she started to shake her head, then gave up and looked Andrew straight in the eyes proudly. "Yes. I suppose I do."

"Well, I hope something comes of it. He didn't come to the reception?"

"No. Charlotte said he never came back into the church after walking out ... she doesn't know where he is. With his uncle in jail, we don't know if he went home or not. She's going to keep asking around. Joe'll be busy, or he would help us." she tried to smile.

Andrew tightened his grip on her hand, then lightly kissed her cheek. "I do hope all will be well. I don't know much about Genovia or many people here, but call on me if you ever think I CAN help. You know you have my silent support always, Mia. I really DO like you."

"Thanks, Andrew. You're a dear."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Andrew spent an enjoyable week in Genovia. Following his talk with Mia, he had told his parents that night at the reception that they might just as well return home, since he wasn't being married. His mother seemed about to object, but his father had agreed instantly. Then Andrew had looked up Lady Elyssa, and, while dancing with her, had asked if he could see her again. They spent almost every waking hour that week together.

At Mia's coronation, Andrew finally saw Nick again, standing beside Charlotte. Nick's eyes were on Mia at all times, and when Andrew caught Mia winking at the other man, he nodded sagely. Those two were meant for each other. Then he took Elyssa's hand in his, thinking that had it not been for Mia inviting him over to Genovia to marry her, he would never have met Elyssa. That was a thought almost too horrible to contemplate! He had talked to his parents last night, and Mommy had urged him to do 'the proper thing' again, and ask Elyssa to marry him promptly. Although Andrew had said to Mia a mere week ago that he was grateful to her for saving him from doing the proper thing for once, he knew that he couldn't keep flouting tradition and his upbringing and Mommy any longer. Now he was just waiting for the proper time to offer Elyssa his great-grandmother's engagement ring, and with luck and a great deal of love, they would have a long and happy marriage just like his great-grandparents!