The murmur and clatter around the arena began slowly but crescendoed as people started to panic over what they had just witnessed.

Sedition, and in the presence of the Prince no less.

Groups formed and people began talking to each other, some stood as if preparing to leave.

I was no less in shock over what had just happened. A man had run on stage, interrupting the performance, and screaming the words "Dethrone the tyrant king".

What did that mean? I turned to Nick who looked equally lost in thought.

More of the audience shuffled to their feet and began making their way towards the aisles before which another man rushed on stage to preach calm.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please take your seats" he called out into the microphone, "The ballet will resume shortly"

Some obliged him, but most continued their journey down the aisles. I watched the small crowd make their way toward the exit doors and listened to the man on stage urge them back.

"You are in the presence of His Royal Highness. You will act accordingly" The man called out to the disinterested crowd, more of whom were now making their way to the exits.

There, they were met with another shock. The doors were locked.

On the stage, the ballet performers had returned and were scurrying into position behind the speaker.

"Return to your seats this instant"

"Your Highness, Amelia" Percival called out to us, "We must leave"

Nick hurried to his feet and I followed behind him. He took my hand while we walked briskly behind Percival back out of the booth and into the halls where our security was stationed.

I would occasionally turn back to ensure Celeste was following closely behind us.

At the end of the hall, we rendezvoused with the rest of the security detail and together we made our way towards the stairs.

I could feel the tension in the air, something was wrong. I could tell from the way the guards gripped their weapons and how Percival urged us along.

I could tell from how empty the theater was, even the staff were nowhere to be found. As we reached a spiral staircase that led down to the lobby, I could tell from how the soldiers stood guarding the doors that led into the ballet hall.

I could tell from the total lack of paparazzi in front of the theater building, a stark contrast to earlier that night.

"What's going on?" I whispered to Nick as we made our way into the vehicle. He only shook his head in response.

I could tell something was wrong when we passed multiple police cruisers heading back in the direction of the theater as we drove away.

=^..^=

The entire time I feared something would happen but the world outside was quiet. Here there was no sign of the unrest that had occurred in the theater except the occasional cruiser that roamed the streets.

Maybe we had all just been overreacting. We made our way through the GRAs and eventually the forest around the castle in silence. No one seemed in the mood to talk so I kept to myself.

Sometime during the journey home, I realized how exhausted I felt. It had been a very eventful day starting with the drink with Sophia and ending with the theatre spectacle. I wanted it to be over.

I just wanted to get home, take off this dress and heels, and climb into bed.

When the convoy drove through the gates of the castle, I sighed in relief. We were finally home.

I turned my attention to my boyfriend who seemed to be wrestling difficult thoughts. To show that I was there for him, I gently placed my hand over his and squeezed. I was glad when he seemed to relax a bit and throw a smile in my direction. It made me happy to know that I had the ability to ease some of his worries.

It was a strange feeling, the validation I got just from a brief smile on his lips.

"Your Highness, His Majesty has requested your presence immediately" Percival called out from the passenger seat as soon as the car rolled to a halt.

"Alright," Nick replied in such a feeble tone I wondered whether Percival had even heard him.

"I wish I could come with you" I squeezed his hand again as I said the words even I believed to be a lie. Though I wanted him to know I would always be there for him, I couldn't handle an audience with the King that evening.

"So do I" he whispered back.

"Amelia, you have an important day tomorrow" Percival turned his attention to me, "Make sure to get sufficient rest"

Right, the interview was tomorrow. It had seemed so far away but almost in the blink of an eye, here it was. How did they expect me to go on Live television? What if I made a mistake?

"What if I make a mistake?" I asked.

"You have nothing to worry about. It's not actually live, just presented as such" Percival explained, "Just try to relax and read off the prompter in a natural tone. Any parts we don't like will be edited out"

"Okay," I answered meekly.

Percival exited the car and following a single gesture from him, one of the guards stepped up and opened the door for us. I waited patiently as Nick stepped into the night sky and offered his hand to me. I took it graciously.

I had gotten used to our little dance at this point. It was one of the many things that might have bothered the old me but now felt natural.

"Thank you" I muttered to him as I stepped out into the night. A cold breeze blew past sending a chill down my spine.

"Hmm," he grunted. I hated how much he seemed to be carrying the world on his shoulders.

I would have said something to him if we hadn't been led in different directions as soon as we stepped through the doors of Eclipton Castle. I went back to my bedroom with Celeste in tow, and Nick went in search of his father.

=^..^=

"Good morning, my lady" Celeste called to me the next morning. I had gotten used to hearing her voice by now. She was usually the last person I saw at night and the first of the new day.

I like to think we had grown closer in the past few days. Maybe a bit too close judging by what had happened yesterday. I still couldn't make any sense of her behavior back at the King's city residence, but she seemed back to normal now so I certainly wasn't going to bring it up.

Besides, I had much more important things on my mind this morning.

"Good morning, Celeste" I replied while pulling myself out of bed.

Together, we went through our usual morning routine ticking off one item after another until it came time to get dressed. I stood only in my underwear waiting for her to get started helping me dress when she walked up to my dresser to retrieve a file I hadn't noticed earlier.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Your talking points, my lady" she replied while handing it over to me.

I skimmed through the questions and answers contained within while Celeste went about preparing me for the day. I couldn't say I wasn't feeling a bit tense. Of course I was, I was about to speak to an entire country. This was insane.

I was just some guy working a crappy job a few days ago. I wasn't prepared for this. It did help a bit that I wouldn't have to think for myself. On those pages were written everything I would have to say. I had nothing to worry about.

Everything about my attire today was more subtle, especially when compared with the golden gown from last night. The dress was very professional, mid-length with a slightly flared skirt in a very welcoming shade of blue.

To my surprise, Celeste had only helped me with the dress and undergarments after which, she'd stepped away.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" A small laugh accompanied my words.

"Miss Isidora will be handling your makeup today" she informed me.

"Izzy's here?"

"She is waiting in the drawing room. Whenever you're ready, my lady" Celeste bowed as she spoke. She was acting very formal with me this morning, which was a far cry from the casual stance she'd taken only yesterday.

Still, I focused my attention on what mattered, the questions I was to expect.

Questions about how Nick and I first met, questions about the girl who captured the Prince's heart, questions about our future together, and many more.

I studied them as long as I could until it was nearing time for the interview. With a deep breath, I pulled myself to my feet and out the door.

 =^..^=

Celeste and I didn't make it very far before another member of staff walked up to me and bowed her head.

"Good morning, my lady"

"Hello," I said to her.

"His Majesty has requested you join him briefly in the dining room"

"The King?" I asked surprised.

'Yes, my lady"

I looked over at Celeste but she only had her gaze on the floor. It wasn't as though I had a choice anyway. If the King called, you answered and that was that.

=^..^=

"Good morning, Your Majesties," I said the words I'd practiced in my head several times in the minutes it took to reach the dining room. "Good morning, Your Highnesses. Good morning, Lady Olivia"

I desperately hoped that I hadn't made any mistakes regarding etiquette to avoid getting on their bad sides.

"Amelia dear," The Queen was the first to speak to me, "Come closer, will you?" She smiled.

I took several unsteady steps further into the dining room at her command. As far as I knew, I hadn't done anything wrong so I had nothing to be worried about. However, that helped calm me only a tiny bit. It was an intimidating feeling being in the presence of royalty.

"I believe you have your interview soon" The Queen commented.

"Yes, Your Majesty" I replied.

"Are you prepared?"

"I believe so" I replied deciding to neither confirm nor deny anything concretely.

"That's good" The Queen smiled once again. I liked her, she was nice, certainly less intimidating than the King and even her daughter.

I glanced over at Princess Sophia who sat quietly eating her breakfast. As though she possessed a sixth sense, she looked up and our eyes met in that brief moment.

I'd wondered why her husband wasn't present but of course, kept my thoughts to myself.

I quickly shifted my gaze over to Nick. His warm expression back in my direction felt like safety.

"I trust you slept well--" The king spoke for the first time, "Despite last night's disturbance"

I nodded before speaking up, "I did, Your Majesty"

I wished I had a teleprompter to tell me what I was supposed to say.

"This interview comes at an opportune time--" he continued, "It provides us a chance to project strength and unity, the love you must show for my son is in many ways symbolic of the faith the people must have in the monarchy. It must be absolute."

I remained quiet and only listened.

"Do you love my son?" he asked me, catching me off-guard. Why would he ask that? He knew more than anyone that this was all an elaborate game of pretend.

"Uh--" I paused while trying to process the question.

"Remember, silence leaves room for doubt"

"I love him" I answered and breathed a sigh of relief when King Richard didn't press me any further.

"You two must be the band that holds us all together" The King added but those words were not directed at me.

"Yes, Father" Nick answered quickly.

"I want the two of you making more appearances" he continued, "Be affectionate. Show the people your love. I trust that will not be a problem?"

I shook my head.

"No, Father" Nick spoke.

"Good" he replied before turning back to me, "I will be watching your performance very closely"

=^..^=

King Richard hadn't done much to help my nerves. In fact, he'd had the opposite effect so much so that I was shaking by the time I reached the drawing room.

The drawing room windows were closed and the only lighting was coming from all the artificial lights that had been set up. And there were almost as many cameras as there were lights.

My palms had started to sweat when it dawned on me how real all of this was. I was to be seated in one of the two chairs at the front of the room.

"Amelia, this way" Isidora called out to me immediately she spotted me.

Her words seemed to garner the attention of every last person in the room who had been in various stages of preparation. Every last one turned to look at me.

"That's her" I heard someone whisper.

"Hi, Izzy" I waved back as I began closing the distance between us, trying to ignore all the attention. It was something I was going to have to get used to one way or another for as long as I was Amelia.

"How are you?" She gave me a big hug. "I heard what happened yesterday, that must have been so terrifying?"

I shrugged.

"Well, we better get you ready" Izzy quickly ushered me into a chair, "We want to have you looking your very best, don't we?"

I smoothed the skirt of my dress and lowered myself as gracefully as I could into the soft leather seat. I was being watched by everyone in the room. The performance had already begun, even before the cameras began rolling.

"Celeste, can I have the script?" I asked.

Celeste, ever so diligent, hurried over to me.

'It wouldn't hurt to go over the questions and answers one more time.' I thought to myself.

=^..^=

Soon, I found myself in front of all the cameras in those few moments before they began rolling. A member of the crew was showing me the teleprompter and was performing checks to ensure I had no issues reading the text or keeping up with the speed.

Annie, my interviewer had also arrived. We'd said only the briefest of hellos before she'd retreated to the makeup station.

This was real.

I coughed then cleared my throat when Annie approached and took the other seat by my side. I closed my eyes briefly and prepared myself as the other lights went off around the room except those focused on the two of us.

My gaze shifted to the director whose fingers counted down to zero. It then turned to Annie who was saying something in a very animated manner. I froze when she stopped speaking and looked at me expectantly.

Oh fuck, had she said something? I had no idea what she'd said. I quickly turned my attention to the teleprompter which read, "It's a pleasure to be here, Annie"

I tried to say the words but no sound left my lips. I'd messed up. Not even 10 seconds in and I'd already messed up.

"Cut! Reset." I heard the director call out and my face must have been white as a sheet.

"It's okay," Annie quickly said to me, "We'll go again" She added before she stood and walked off to have some conversation with the director.

I was stuck in that chair, unable to move. It was so embarrassing having Izzy come over to lead me back over to the makeup table.

"I can't do this" I whispered to Izzy when we were back by ourselves.

"They'll do this as many times as you need to get comfortable," she told me, "Just try to relax."

"Can I have some water?" I asked, my throat suddenly feeling dry.

Fuck, how was I going to do this? My heart was beating much quicker than usual and my fingertips suddenly felt cold.

This wasn't me. I wasn't the type to seek out attention. I wasn't the type to pretend to be a woman for that matter. This was all my usual fears rolled into one.

Before long, Izzy was retrieving a glass of water from Celeste and handing it to me.

"Than--" my voice cracked.

I took a sip from the glass using the included straw and then another. When I returned the glass, there was a clear imprint of my lips on the straw.

"Feeling better?"

"Not really" I confessed.

"You'll get there" she assured me, "Now sit still, let me just retouch your lips"

"Good morning, Your Highness" I heard the words repeated all around the room. A moment later, Isidora stepped away from me and bowed in the direction of the entrance.

I turned to look and prepared to offer my own greetings but found only Nick standing there. What was he doing here?

I stood and made my way over to him with a questioning expression on my face.

"What are you doing here?" I asked when I was close enough. By that point, every other person present had ceased whatever they were doing and quickly made their way to the other side of the room, offering us some privacy.

"It looked like you needed help" he answered.

"Wait, were you watching?" Even though he didn't answer, I knew the answer was a resounding yes, "Is everyone watching?"

He nodded.

"So the King saw me--" I whispered even quieter because who knows if they were listening even now.

"Don't think about that okay?" he interrupted, "In fact, don't think about anything. That should be easy for you right?"

"Hey!" I punched his shoulder lightly and pouted.

"I'm sorry," he smiled at me, "But I mean it, don't think about the cameras or anything else. Pretend they're not even there. It's just you and the interviewer"

"How am I supposed to do that when all those cameras are staring me in the face?"

"Try to focus on her. I hear she's really nice. Just pretend you're having a casual conversation with her." he explained, "Nobody else matters"

"I don't think it's --"

Nick took my hand in his. They felt warm to the touch.

"There you go thinking again" he smiled, "No more of that okay?"

I chuckled, "Okay"

"You can do this"

"Will you stay?"

"I can't, I would if I could--" Nick looked a bit sad as he spoke, "There's something I have to go do"

"Okay"

"But I'll come see you when I get back, okay?"

"You don't have to do that," I told him.

"I'll come" he confirmed, "Remember, you got this" he added after a quick glance around the room.

He leaned in and I closed my eyes expectantly. A moment later, I felt his lips on my forehead.

"I gotta go, but you got this," he told me as he stepped away. Why did I feel so disappointed?

=^..^=

"Good evening Lenoria" Annie once again spoke with very animated movements, "Tonight we have a very special guest with us. It is my great pleasure to present to you, Miss Amelia Beaumont"

"It is a pleasure to be here, Annie," I said with a bright smile.