A chicken situation in the Throne Room! How utterly ridiculous! Not in all her years as Queen of Genovia had such a spectacle occurred.

Clarisse had expertly smoothed over the situation as best as could be hoped for, but inside she was cross, humiliated and embarrassed. How could Mia have done such a thing? She shook her head as she removed her tiara, almost carelessly dropping it on the dressing table, followed by her gloves. She quickly shed her white suit jacket, feeling only slightly cooler in the silk camisole underneath. Sinking to the vanity bench, Clarisse held her head in her hands. Mia would never be ready to assume the throne, and she would be forced to carry on herself, alone, for years to come. She moaned; she couldn't handle this today.

She suddenly found enough energy to get up and go into her closet. Moving a few boxes she found what she was looking for and smiled. It was going to be all right. One sip and everything would be all right again.

-0-0-0-0-0

The reviewing of the royal guards had been a complete disaster. 'Herbie', the secret wooden leg, had been exposed. It was only Joseph's good intention to help the Princess, but unfortunately his concern created more humiliation as Herbie slipped off the saddle and into his hands. The vile Viscount Mabrey had laughed and laughed. She could hear it even now. They may as well just hand the crown to him right now and be done with it. Mia had cried, and had been inconsolable most of the day, not even Joseph could cheer her up.

He had stopped by earlier in the evening to discuss the day's unfortunate events. It had been uncomfortable to not talk about his proposal, but she hadn't had the energy or the heart to have that conversation. They had only spoken briefly before she suggested that she had to get back to the mound of paperwork still on her desk. He had bowed and bid her goodnight. The tears overwhelmed her and she brusquely wiped them away. Why did these days have to be so hard? She needed something to take the edge off, just a little bit and it would be all right again, just a little bit would see her through.

She went back to the closet, and poured a small glass and downed it in one gulp. She leaned against the wardrobe, clenching and unclenching her fists. It would be better in a moment.

-0-0-0-0-0-

After a heartfelt chat with Nicholas, Clarisse formed a plan of action for Mia to get to know her future subjects. A garden party was the ideal choice for the time of year and the goal to be accomplished. No detail had been spared for a perfect afternoon: food, drink and wonderful music was all provided to the guests, all that remained was Mia to make connections and win over the people. Clarisse had one glass of champagne to celebrate the impending success of the afternoon. As she sipped it she realized that she hadn't seen Joseph at the party, and that Lionel seemed to have the honour of protecting her today. Strange, she thought, Joseph seemed to be around less and less these past few days. She'd have to seek him out after dinner.

Then Mia, the incarnation of bad luck, or so it seemed, had struck again. Sopping wet, she walked by the Queen and into the palace to put on dry clothes. Clarisse shook her head, and wondered how such a wonderful afternoon had turned into such a disaster. She declared the party over and left with her entourage, Charlotte, Olivia and Lionel, to go back to her suite. After changing into more casual clothes, promising Charlotte she'd have the dispatches done by dinner, she dismissed them all, claiming to need a short nap. After they'd all left, she headed to the closet, quickly moving the boxes and grabbing for the bottle, one gulp, then two. She closed her eyes, a measure of peace settling over her.

-0-0-0-0-0

Mia came to her Grandmother's suite later that evening. She had been summoned, and dreaded the confrontation she knew would come.

"When are you going to start acting responsibly?"

Mia sighed, here comes the litany of faults, she thought, and she was right. Yes, she knew she wasn't supposed to 'lose it', but this was all new to her – her grandmother had years of practice to be perfect, to find it when everyone else was losing it. How did she do it, anyway? How did she keep it all together in one terrific package? Honestly, Mia didn't believe she'd ever make as good a queen as Grandma Clarisse.

Clarisse was thinking the same thing herself as Mia stormed out of her suite. Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all. Despite Joseph's confidence in her, Mia didn't seem to be making much progress. Joseph. He hadn't stopped tonight on his nightly rounds to say goodnight to her as he usually did, and it was well past the hour when he considered it decent to come to her suite. She smiled inwardly. After all these years, he still cared about protecting her reputation. She looked down at the tray the maids had left. Perhaps a little shot of something in her tea would take her mind off things and help her sleep.