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Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from iStockphoto.com . ~Sephrena
Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

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Sarah Carerra Book 3: Concerto in A-

Chapter 3.08 - Ever After

We had a small celebration at my house after we arrived home from the airport. It was just Mom, Dad, Emily and I celebrating the fact that 'You Can't Hurt Me' had topped the charts for eight weeks straight!

It hadn't even been four months since Sarah had been created, and over half of that time she’d had a song sitting at #1 on the charts. If I included the three weeks that 'Intuition' had spent at the top, then I was even more amazed at the reception that my music had made with my fans.

Every single day that I put on the wig I tried to figure out why I was so popular. I didn't understand how a nobody like me could have such a following. I really liked my music, but I could not figure out why everyone else did. I had never asked to be famous. I had never imagined myself growing up to be a star. I didn't know how to deal with this attention.

But I knew from the bottom of my heart that I didn't want it to ever end. I didn't want to leave the stage. I didn't want to ever stop singing.

* * *

When I opened the door to let Emily into my house Monday morning, she looked at me oddly. I couldn't blame her - I had a goofy grin on my face, and she knew immediately that something was up. It was Labor Day, which meant that we didn’t have any school, but I had invited both her and Ethan to join me for the shooting of a new music video taking place today and for the following three nights. Ethan was spending time with his family today, but Emily’s acceptance left the door open for what I intended to do next.

"Morning, Emily," I greeted her.

"Morning, um, Sarah," she replied warily. She wanted to know what was going on.

"Follow me," I told her in response. I started walking toward the hall, and my Dad's office. She followed, but she was still looking at me strangely. I grinned back before chuckling to myself.

Dad was waiting for us in his office. He was doing something on his computer, but as I led her in he stopped and grinned himself. Then he stood up and handed an envelope to me. Then I turned toward Emily.

"Emily," I said which caused her eyes to widen a bit. "I can't thank you enough for being my friend. I can't thank you enough for dragging me to that party and making me get up on stage. I can't put a price on what that means to me. But this is a good start."

I handed the envelope to her. She took it from me and stared at it for a moment. Her name, or more accurately Chloe's, was printed across the front with her address underneath. The return address listed Olympic Records as the sender, but the lack of a stamp showed that it had not been mailed.

With curiosity in her eyes she turned the envelope over and slid her finger under the lip, tearing it open. She didn't say anything as she pulled out the piece of paper inside. Her head tilted to the side a moment later as her face took on a look of puzzlement. Then her eyes flew wide open in shock. I couldn't remember the last time she had been so wide-eyed! I didn't blame her because there were more zeros than she was used to seeing on a check.

"No, Megan!" she said immediately. "I can't accept this!"

"Yes, you can," I told her. "You've earned it."

"No, Megan," she said again. "I'm not taking your money!"

"It isn't my money," I told her. "This is your first royalty check for the songs we wrote together."

Her mouth widened to match her eyes as she realized what this meant. I knew that she had been happy when I told her I wanted her to receive her share of the royalties. But she never really took it seriously until now. Now, it was real.

She was speechless for a moment, trying to figure out what to say. She didn't have to say anything, though. I could see it in her eyes. I could see how happy she was. She wrapped me in a hug, and I squeezed her back for a long time. It wasn't until we let go that she was able to speak again.

"Ethan is going to be so jealous," she said. I laughed immediately. It was true.

"The rest of the checks will be mailed to your home," my dad interrupted us. "And they should be bigger."

"Bigger?" she questioned, uncomprehendingly. I laughed again.

"We are releasing 'Ever After' as my third single in a couple of weeks," I told her. "Plus we are filming the music video for it over the next four days. Between the two, sales of the song should jump, along with your paycheck."

She was speechless again. I just laughed and led her toward my dad’s car. I had a feeling she was going to enjoy the filming of the music video a whole lot more now.

* * *

"No way," I said as we pulled through the gate and onto the grounds where we would be filming the music video for 'Ever After' an hour later. "No way!"

I couldn't believe it! Someone had actually found a castle to film the music video at! Right here in the hills above Santa Monica! Well okay, it wasn't a real castle, but somebody had apparently spent a lot of money building a house that looked like one.

When Dad stopped his car, Emily and I were out immediately. People around us who were preparing for the shoot stopped what they were doing, but I couldn't keep my eyes off the house. It was amazing! I would love to live in a place like this, but just being able to use it for the music video was going to be awesome.

"Pretty impressive, huh?" someone said from next to me. I turned to see an older guy whom I had never met before smiling at me. He seemed genuinely happy to see me.

"Totally!" I replied, trying to figure out who he was.

"I'm Darrin Scofield," the man replied. "I own the house."

My eyes lit up in surprise. Looking at Darrin, I never would have guessed that the house was his. I had this image of someone who looked very regal and dressed in fine clothing, but he dressed a lot like Grandaddy did. He was wearing expensive looking slacks and a button up shirt, but it definitely didn't make him look like someone who lived in a castle.

"Not what you expected, huh?" he said, guessing my reaction.

"No," I replied with more than a little humor in my voice. He smiled, and I was glad to see that he wasn't offended by my laugh.

"I built it for my daughter," he told me. "She really wanted to be a princess while she was growing up, and I had the money to make it happen. She's grown up and married now, but she still enjoys staying here when she comes to visit." There was a hint of sadness in his eyes that told me she hadn't visited in a while. I was curious why, but it wasn't my place to ask.

"Anyway," he continued, shaking his head slightly. "The house is yours to film as you please. My wife and I will try to stay out of your way."

"Oh," I said. I hadn't thought about someone actually living here. "I hope we aren't intruding."

"It's okay, Sarah," he replied, smiling again. "I want to do this. I want you to use the house in your video. It deserves to be shared with all of the princesses out there."

He had that look of longing in his eyes once more, and I knew he was thinking about his daughter again.

"Is she a fan?" I asked.

He smiled broadly now. "Yes," he replied. "She lives in Connecticut with her husband. He's trying to make partner at his law firm, and they don't get to travel very much right now. My wife and I have visited them a few times, but she hasn't been able to come out here for a few years now. I miss seeing her light up when she sees the house, and I would love to see what their two little girls think about the place."

He paused, smiling as he looked into the clouds. Then he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a wallet. He opened the wallet and held it out to me. I took it to find a picture of a woman in her late twenties. With her in the picture were a handsome looking man and three children, two girls and a boy.

"She's my baby," he said as I looked at the picture. "The only girl in a family of five boys."

I handed the wallet back to him, and he gazed lovingly at the picture before returning the wallet to his pocket.

"Anyway," he said again to break his train of thought once more. "Would you like a tour?"

"Definitely!" I replied.

Darrin led us on a tour of the house. It looked just as regal on the inside as it did on the outside. I didn't know what Darrin did for a living, but it certainly paid well, if the opulence was any indication. The house had a very medieval feel to it in each of the rooms. There were also a lot of Gothic-style details in a few of the rooms that gave it an amazing flair. My favorite part of the house was the bridge that led from the house over to the tower! I already had been told that the bridge and the tower itself were going to be featured pieces in the music video. Most of the interior would not be used, according to my dad, who had spent a lot of time with the director.

We finished the tour in the great room where I was introduced to Theresa, Darrin's wife. I'd had glimpses of the great room as we toured, but this was the first time I'd stepped foot inside. It was gorgeous, and spacious!

"Theresa," Darrin said as he led us into the large room. She looked up from where she was sitting on the couch, reading a book. "I'd like you to meet Sarah Carerra."

Theresa stood up, and she looked me over for a moment without any recognition. It was obvious that she didn't know who I was. "It's nice to meet you," she replied. At least she smiled. "I'm still not sure why you would want to film at this old house, but you're welcome here. Just don't crush my chrysanthemums."

For a second I thought she was joking, but her serious look told me she wasn't.

"I won't let anything happen to them," I promised her. "And thank you for the welcome. We'll try not to be a burden on you or your husband."

She smiled slightly, and I guessed that she wasn't happy that her husband had rented out their house.

"Come on, Sarah," Dad said when he realized that we may have overstayed our welcome with her. "Let's go get you ready for shooting."

I nodded and Dad and I followed as Darrin led us back out the door. I was led over to a trailer where I saw a familiar face waiting for me.

"Hello, Sarah," Jonothon Smith greeted me warmly. Jonothon had been the director of my first music video. We had originally been scheduled to film a music video for 'Ever After' until I had written 'You Can't Hurt Me' and requested to make it my second single. Now Jonothon would be able to fulfill the vision he had worked on for quite a while earlier in the summer.

"Hi, Jonothon!" I replied. "Congratulations on the VMA nomination," I told him. The music video for 'You Can't Hurt Me' had received 5 nominations, and one of them was for Best Direction in a Video. That nomination was credited to Jonothon.

"Thank you," he said with an even larger smile gracing his face.

Jonothon then walked me through the video. He showed me where we would be shooting specific scenes and asked my opinion on how to best transform the song into each scene in the music video.

This interaction with Jonothon was completely different than the last music video we had made together. For 'You Can't Hurt Me' I had pretty much showed up and did what I was told to do. This time I had more say in how the video would turn out. I really admired the way that Jonothon was willing to include me in the process. I could tell that he was impressed with what I had accomplished already, and he knew that I could bring something special to the video.

After the walkthrough of the video I was turned over to Julia and Stephanie, who would get me ready for shooting. They had set up shop in my tour bus, which I was surprised to see had been driven across the country for the purpose. After filming finished on Thursday Eddie, my driver, would be driving it up to Montana for the concert this weekend. In my enamored state I had failed to see the bus parked out on the street.

Once I was on the bus, I lost my breath again. In the front living area Julia had set up a mannequin that was wearing one of the most beautiful dresses I had ever seen! The white dress had a very small hint of a yellow undertone to it. From the simple, scoop neck, through the empire waistline and to the bottom of the full, flowing skirt it radiated an essence that screamed 'fairy tale'. It seemed to be a mix between a dress that I would expect to find a beautiful girl wearing in a fairytale and the type of dress that I imagined Juliet of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ would have worn.

"Julia!" I fawned excitedly. I briefly turned my gaze on her for a moment before my eyes were dragged back to the dress. She had lit up at my reaction. Julia always seemed to be able to find the perfect clothes for me to wear for any given event. But she had outdone herself this time! I was going to need to do something special to thank her.

"Are you ready to try it on?" she asked me. I nodded. I was actually nervous to put the dress on. It seemed so feminine and ethereal from anything that I normally wore.

Once I had the dress on, I felt like I was floating. It captured the feelings and the essence of 'Ever After' so well. Just like the castle manor I had toured earlier, it felt like the dress had come straight from the song.

Walking was somewhat difficult in the dress. The skirt was longer than I was tall, which meant that the hem dragged along the ground as I moved. I had to be careful not to trip on the dress as I took a step forward, and I had to actually lift the skirt up and carry it when we weren't filming to prevent it from getting dirty.

Over the course of the following four days we filmed all of the scenes required for the music video. The first day consisted of the first verse, where the song introduced the young princess that the song was about, and a few other shots that would be used throughout the video. After school the second evening the band was there to film a few scenes where they were featured on the balcony above the library, which made them look like they were playing on the top of part of the castle. The third night consisted of filming scenes covering most of the second verse where the princess pined and yearned for her prince to show up to rescue her. The fourth night involved filming scenes with a group of people that had been hired to play the princess' parents and boyfriend.

Andrew, the actor who had been hired to play the boyfriend, was perfect. His dark hair and dark eyes matched part of what had enamored me in Josh Holliday and some of the other boys who had caught my eye. He was also very nice, and after an initial awkward phase where he was giddy to meet me, we started to really get along. I especially liked the scene where I got to jump into his arms and kiss him. We were able to practice that scene a lot before Jonothon was happy with what we had given him.

"That's a wrap!" Jonothon called late Thursday evening. The light was starting to wane, but we had accomplished everything that he had set out to film. I couldn't wait to see how the video turned out.

"Bye, Andrew," I said with a wave as I climbed into Dad's car 45 minutes later. He was still staring at me and I hoped that this would not be the last time that I saw him.

* * *

"Hello?" the girl on the phone asked after the call had connected.

"Hello, Maddie," I greeted her calmly.

"Sarah!" she screamed excitedly. I hadn't expected her to call me by that name, but it didn't surprise me. A moment later I heard a click and I knew that I was on speakerphone because I could hear a couple of other girls start screaming, and it wasn't in the background. I had to wait a minute or two before I was able to say anything more.

"They sound excited," I mentioned to my cousin Madison. She was the only female cousin I had on Dad's side of the family.

"They are," she replied. I heard one of them scream again and the other was saying something about her disbelief that I was actually on the phone.

"They didn't believe you, did they?" I asked next, chuckling at their reactions.

"No," Madison replied with a chuckle of her own. "They didn't."

"What are their names?" I asked. It sounded like they were trying to settle down, but I could still picture them jumping around in excitement. I had seen how excited fans get when they meet me, and these two had just found out that the offer I had extended to Madison was real.

"The one still screaming is Tori, and the one who is still dancing around in excitement is Rachel," Maddie replied.

"It's nice to meet you Tori and Rachel," I said, which caused both of them to scream again. They were so loud that I had to actually move the phone away from my ear. When I returned the phone to my ear they were still screaming, but it was tolerable. I knew that Madison had taken me off of speakerphone.

"Sorry," she said, and I guessed she had probably been overwhelmed with the volume on her end of the call like I had on my own. "I've never seen them so excited before. I can't imagine how bad it's going to be when you actually get here."

I chuckled again. "I can," I told her truthfully. "This is actually normal."

"Are you serious?" she replied, amazed.

I nodded, before I realized that she couldn't see me. "Yes," I replied. "It's really cool when I meet new fans. I've never heard people scream and lose control like they do when they meet me. I still can't understand why, but I'm not complaining."

"This is going to be a fun weekend then," she said. I had to agree with her. Sarah Carerra was playing Missoula, Montana this weekend, which is where Madison lived. The entire tour stop was planned only because we had family there. Dad always jumped at a chance to see his brother, and I was more than willing to perform a concert for Madison and her friends, and the more than 5,700 other fans who would be there. Madison had helped me co-write a song, which made it only fitting that we perform in her city.

"The party bus is on the way," I told her.

"Oh," Madison said in surprise. "You mean it isn't already down at the Adams Center? There are like tons of busses and trailers with your picture all over them there already."

"No, my bus isn't there yet," I told her. "We finished filming the music video for 'Ever After' earlier this evening, and Eddie, my driver, said that he would be driving up tonight. I've been using it as a dressing room while I was on set. You’re going to love it. The bus is amazing!"

"Well now that Tori and Rachel know the truth I'm going to have four excited girls waiting for the chance to spend the night on it," she replied. I smiled. I had never done anything like this before, but I had offered Madison the chance to bring four of her friends with her to have a slumber party on my bus. Then the next day they would all have an exclusive behind the scenes experience where they would get to hang out with me all day. Originally I had only wanted to include Madison, but Amy had gotten her clutches into my plan and had expanded it. I wasn't upset at all, since I'd still get to spend all day with one of my favorite cousins.

"Well, I better not stay on the phone too long," I told her. "I still have a bunch of homework to finish if I'm going to have the weekend free. I hate to think what my dad would do if I didn't finish it."

Madison giggled at the thought of my dad cancelling a concert because I hadn't done my homework. I wasn't sure it would come to that, but I didn't want to find out what would happen if my grades started to slip. Sarah was too important to me to risk losing her like that.

"Okay," she said. "I'll see you tomorrow then. What time do you get in?"

"There aren't any direct flights from Los Angeles, so we won't get in until about 5 o'clock," I replied. "But we'll be coming straight over to your house when we get there."

"We'll be waiting for you," Madison said. "Some of us with baited breath."

I laughed as I imagined her looking over at her two friends who, while no longer screaming, were chattering loudly in the background.

"Goodbye, Madison," I said.

"Goodbye, Sarah," she replied. I heard the click that indicated she had hung up, and I did the same before turning back to my math book.

She might have hung up, but that didn't stop my excitement at the prospect of seeing her again. However, that excitement was going to make finishing my homework hard.

It was a small price to pay.

* * *

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