Fanfic: A Late Night Stroll (C/J)
My first post for 10_quotes. Only 9 more to go! Story cross-posted to 10_quotes and the JA Online Forum
Title: A Late Night Stroll
Rating: G - All audiences
Fandom: Princess Diaries
Movie/Quote: The Silence of the Lambs (#74)
“Well, Clarice- have the lambs stopped screaming?”
Summary: Joseph's confrontation with Mabrey leads to unexpected consequences.
Disclaimer: Princess Diaries is owned by Meg Cabot and Disney. No infringement is intended.
~*~*~*~
Joseph padded wearily down the hallway towards the security command center. He had been looking forward to at least six hours of uninterrupted sleep, but given the chaos that had descended over the palace since Mia's arrival, he wasn't surprised to have been woken barely 45 minutes after he'd fallen asleep. What had surprised him was the reason for his unanticipated trek through the darkened corridors. It wasn't the twenty-three year old heir to the throne who had caused the disruption in his evening plans; it was Queen Clarisse herself.
“Report!” he barked at Shades, his second in command, as he threw open the door to “command central”.
“We've been following her via camera ever since we got the signal that she'd stepped out onto the balcony of her suite. She stood, staring out across the grounds for 20 minutes. She then walked down to the gardens, stopping at various times to pull a dead leaf or sniff a blossom. As you can see from the security footage here,” Shades said as he gestured to one of the monitors, “every few moments she keeps turning her head as though she's listening to something. But there's nothing out there that we can see.”
Lionel Motaz, summer security intern and nephew of the Prime Minister, piped up excitedly. “Sir! She's on the move!”
“I can see that, Lionel,” Joseph growled irritably.
“But where is she going?”
“I know,” Joseph said, heading for the door. “I'll go get her. You two stay here and keep working.”
“But sir, aren't you going to...” Lionel's protests were cut off by the door closing behind Joseph. “...put on a shirt first?”
Shades chuckled. “My guess is, he'll have a much easier time getting the Queen to do what he wants without his shirt.”
Lionel's eyes grew wide. “Do you know something?”
“Watch and learn, kid. Watch and learn.”
The two men turned their attention back towards the monitors. Both watched in surprise as Joseph followed his quarry towards the stables. Surely they weren't going to go riding at this hour of the night.
Joseph shivered in the cool air. He picked up his pace to warm himself as much as to keep Clarisse in his sights. Had he honestly been so out of it that he'd gone traipsing through the palace in just a pair of sweatpants? Apparently so.
The stables loomed large in the darkness. If those walls could talk, what would they say about the dramas of the day, he wondered. It had started with the unmasking of Princess Mia's inability to ride sidesaddle by the discovery of “Herbie” the wooden leg, a turn of events that could seriously threaten Parliament's decision to allow Mia to ascend the throne instead of Lord Nicholas. The only good thing about that debacle had been Joseph's discovery of evidence that Viscount Mabrey was plotting to place his nephew on the throne. It had been very satisfying to threaten that spineless coward Mabrey, he recalled. In fact, it was one of the best parts of his day.
Joseph's threats had been more effective that he had anticipated. In Mabrey's haste to remove himself back into town, he had driven off the road into a field, striking a pregnant ewe with his car. When the police came to investigate the accident, the shepherd had begged for assistance for his injured flock. The palace veterinarian had been summoned to the scene and had transported the ewe to the palace stables where she gave birth to twin lambs before succumbing to her injuries. The babies had wailed and bleated for hours, not understanding what had happened to their mother.
It was these last events that had led his Queen to wander around the palace grounds in the middle of the night, he supposed. Clarisse hated to feel that things were out of her control, and today's events had shaken her self-confidence badly. To someone who didn't know her like he did, it would have seemed bizarre that she now felt a responsibility to these two orphaned lambs. But he was certain that she had been tossing and turning in her bed, unable to sleep until she checked just one more time to be sure they were alright. Making sure they survived was something she could control.
He slipped silently into the barn and smiled to hear her crooning tunelessly. He wondered if she realized the irony of singing “Someone to Watch Over Me” to the two white fluff balls she had snuggled into her arms. No matter how adorable a picture she made, however, if he wanted sleep before his next shift started, he needed to get her to return to the palace.
“Well, Clarisse...have the lambs stopped screaming?”
“Oh, Joseph, you startled me!”
“I startled you?” he asked, incredulously. “Do you want to guess how many security personnel you startled with your unscheduled midnight stroll?”
She had the good grace to look embarrassed. She kicked absentmindedly at the straw underneath her feet as she tried to stammer out an explanation.
“Well... you see... Joseph... I just couldn't...” She looked at him helplessly, pleading with her eyes for him to understand what she couldn't articulate.
“They're your subjects too,” he offered.
“Something like that.”
“Clarisse, they're asleep. Don't you think you should be too? It's going to be a long day tomorrow, what with the garden party and Anna Netrebko's performance.”
“You're right,” she agreed. When she made no move to put the lambs back into the pen that had been set up for them, he realized she was still waiting for something.
“A security officer comes past the stables every hour on the twenty-eights.” He couldn't believe he was going to let her manipulate him into this, but the wide-eyed look of trust she gave him worked on him every single time. “I'll have them take a look in and make sure that every thing's all right.”
“Thank you, Joseph,” she said, once more the regal ruler.
“You're welcome, your majesty,”
He waited for her to set down the sleeping animals, then stretched out his arm to escort her back to the palace. As they walked silently through the night, he was struck by a realization. Shades wasn't going to let him live this down for a very long time.
Title: A Late Night Stroll
Rating: G - All audiences
Fandom: Princess Diaries
Movie/Quote: The Silence of the Lambs (#74)
“Well, Clarice- have the lambs stopped screaming?”
Summary: Joseph's confrontation with Mabrey leads to unexpected consequences.
Disclaimer: Princess Diaries is owned by Meg Cabot and Disney. No infringement is intended.
~*~*~*~
Joseph padded wearily down the hallway towards the security command center. He had been looking forward to at least six hours of uninterrupted sleep, but given the chaos that had descended over the palace since Mia's arrival, he wasn't surprised to have been woken barely 45 minutes after he'd fallen asleep. What had surprised him was the reason for his unanticipated trek through the darkened corridors. It wasn't the twenty-three year old heir to the throne who had caused the disruption in his evening plans; it was Queen Clarisse herself.
“Report!” he barked at Shades, his second in command, as he threw open the door to “command central”.
“We've been following her via camera ever since we got the signal that she'd stepped out onto the balcony of her suite. She stood, staring out across the grounds for 20 minutes. She then walked down to the gardens, stopping at various times to pull a dead leaf or sniff a blossom. As you can see from the security footage here,” Shades said as he gestured to one of the monitors, “every few moments she keeps turning her head as though she's listening to something. But there's nothing out there that we can see.”
Lionel Motaz, summer security intern and nephew of the Prime Minister, piped up excitedly. “Sir! She's on the move!”
“I can see that, Lionel,” Joseph growled irritably.
“But where is she going?”
“I know,” Joseph said, heading for the door. “I'll go get her. You two stay here and keep working.”
“But sir, aren't you going to...” Lionel's protests were cut off by the door closing behind Joseph. “...put on a shirt first?”
Shades chuckled. “My guess is, he'll have a much easier time getting the Queen to do what he wants without his shirt.”
Lionel's eyes grew wide. “Do you know something?”
“Watch and learn, kid. Watch and learn.”
The two men turned their attention back towards the monitors. Both watched in surprise as Joseph followed his quarry towards the stables. Surely they weren't going to go riding at this hour of the night.
Joseph shivered in the cool air. He picked up his pace to warm himself as much as to keep Clarisse in his sights. Had he honestly been so out of it that he'd gone traipsing through the palace in just a pair of sweatpants? Apparently so.
The stables loomed large in the darkness. If those walls could talk, what would they say about the dramas of the day, he wondered. It had started with the unmasking of Princess Mia's inability to ride sidesaddle by the discovery of “Herbie” the wooden leg, a turn of events that could seriously threaten Parliament's decision to allow Mia to ascend the throne instead of Lord Nicholas. The only good thing about that debacle had been Joseph's discovery of evidence that Viscount Mabrey was plotting to place his nephew on the throne. It had been very satisfying to threaten that spineless coward Mabrey, he recalled. In fact, it was one of the best parts of his day.
Joseph's threats had been more effective that he had anticipated. In Mabrey's haste to remove himself back into town, he had driven off the road into a field, striking a pregnant ewe with his car. When the police came to investigate the accident, the shepherd had begged for assistance for his injured flock. The palace veterinarian had been summoned to the scene and had transported the ewe to the palace stables where she gave birth to twin lambs before succumbing to her injuries. The babies had wailed and bleated for hours, not understanding what had happened to their mother.
It was these last events that had led his Queen to wander around the palace grounds in the middle of the night, he supposed. Clarisse hated to feel that things were out of her control, and today's events had shaken her self-confidence badly. To someone who didn't know her like he did, it would have seemed bizarre that she now felt a responsibility to these two orphaned lambs. But he was certain that she had been tossing and turning in her bed, unable to sleep until she checked just one more time to be sure they were alright. Making sure they survived was something she could control.
He slipped silently into the barn and smiled to hear her crooning tunelessly. He wondered if she realized the irony of singing “Someone to Watch Over Me” to the two white fluff balls she had snuggled into her arms. No matter how adorable a picture she made, however, if he wanted sleep before his next shift started, he needed to get her to return to the palace.
“Well, Clarisse...have the lambs stopped screaming?”
“Oh, Joseph, you startled me!”
“I startled you?” he asked, incredulously. “Do you want to guess how many security personnel you startled with your unscheduled midnight stroll?”
She had the good grace to look embarrassed. She kicked absentmindedly at the straw underneath her feet as she tried to stammer out an explanation.
“Well... you see... Joseph... I just couldn't...” She looked at him helplessly, pleading with her eyes for him to understand what she couldn't articulate.
“They're your subjects too,” he offered.
“Something like that.”
“Clarisse, they're asleep. Don't you think you should be too? It's going to be a long day tomorrow, what with the garden party and Anna Netrebko's performance.”
“You're right,” she agreed. When she made no move to put the lambs back into the pen that had been set up for them, he realized she was still waiting for something.
“A security officer comes past the stables every hour on the twenty-eights.” He couldn't believe he was going to let her manipulate him into this, but the wide-eyed look of trust she gave him worked on him every single time. “I'll have them take a look in and make sure that every thing's all right.”
“Thank you, Joseph,” she said, once more the regal ruler.
“You're welcome, your majesty,”
He waited for her to set down the sleeping animals, then stretched out his arm to escort her back to the palace. As they walked silently through the night, he was struck by a realization. Shades wasn't going to let him live this down for a very long time.