Royal Performer - Chapter 14

Princess Alexandria Alessi’s life has turned upside down in the blink of an eye. Only a few days ago, she was enjoying a clandestine summer shopping with her best friend at the local mall. Coming home, she was alarmed to discover her mom was there, and her secret of being transgender was suddenly no longer secret! Within a few short hours, her life became like a movie as she discovered that her long-lost father was the Crown Prince of Osané, a small, secluded island nation. Alexandria was immediately thrust into the spotlight in a whirlwind weekend that led to a Monday press conference to announce her royal lineage. Royal Performer is the second Tiffany Shar's 'Suddenly Royal' series.

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Chapter 14: Morning Show

THE DAY AFTER the dinner, I was fortunate to actually sleep in for once! I managed to make it all the way to after ten in the morning before lazily stretching out in my oversized bed. After a last squeeze on Becky, I rolled out of bed and started the day. By early afternoon, Madame Lavigne had her schedule back in order, but at least I’d had a little break that day!

From there, though, the days got busy, and Geneva spent a couple of hours with me to discuss interview tips. I was scheduled to appear on the Osané news station’s version of Good Morning America that Friday morning. It was supposed to be a pretty informal show in their studio. I would then return to the castle and have an interview with Seventeen Magazine.

“So, if they ask about your mother and how she’s doing?” Geneva asked.

“Thank you for asking about her! She’s doing much better! Thankfully, she had great doctors and care, and she just went home to continue her recuperation at a safe location a couple days ago!”

“I understand she was shot because of a client?” Geneva posed.

“Due to the ongoing nature of investigations, I’ve been told not to speak about that at this time,” I answered in the preselected line for that question.

“Is it true it was because she was transgendered?”

“I really can’t speak to any of that,” I told her.

“Just like you are?”

“What?!?” I said to Geneva.

“We’ve discovered…” She started to say.

“Hold up a minute, Geneva! What are you doing?”

She gave me a disapproving glare and a sigh, “It’s going to happen someday, Your Highness. How are you going to answer the question?”

I stared at her dumbfounded for a moment. Not that I could ever forget who I was, but being isolated in the castle and only dressing as Allie – or rather Princess Alexandria, I had started to feel relatively ‘safe’ the past few days from such things.

“I don’t know?” I told her honestly.

“Well, you have two ways you can go with it,” she told me, engaging in the teaching mode she’d been in for much of our prep.

“They are?”

“One, you deny it?” She said.

I sighed and shook my head, “I doubt that denying it would work? I’m surprised it hasn’t already come out.” I bit my lip for a second, “The second option?”

“Tell the truth,” she told me.

We had spent a good hour discussing how I would tell my story, given that I didn’t think lying about things would get me anywhere. That evening, I talked to both Mom and Ellie, nearly in tears with both as I talked about the inevitable!

I had to be up at the ungodly hour of 3am on Friday morning. I was attacked by the tag team of Anna and Giselle before finding myself taking the service exit with Giuseppe, Geneva, and Madame Lavigne to a waiting security detail and SUV. Osané had one major television station, OSN, on the island. With such a small population, there wasn’t enough of a market to have more than one, with the few alternatives being several stations available from neighboring France.

Their headquarters had been moved just outside the central city, so I could finally see more of the inland countryside. The island imported most of its grains and vegetables. Still, some farmland was in use, too, and we passed a few examples before turning into a lot with a ten-story building labeled ‘OSN’ on the side. The brightly glowing lights gave a grand look to the building in the early morning twilight.

Giuseppe and Geneva had clearly made many trips to the building and confidently led me through the halls. I caught sight of myself in the mirror and noted that while I liked the blue floral-patterned dress I wore, it didn’t help me look my age. Anna and Giselle had done my makeup more subtly since the network would be reapplying makeup to be better appropriate for the studio lights and cameras. The effect seemed to bring my age back down to eleven.

“Doesn’t this dress make me look like a pre-teen?” I asked Anna.

“Her Majesty and Geneva suggested going that route to make you seem more likable,” Anna had told me.

“I look like I’m four years younger, though?”

Anna shrugged; Giselle answered, “But you look young and beautiful; I think they’re right.”

I was led into a room labeled ‘Makeup/Wardrobe’ and was greeted by a smiling woman who curtsied to me. “Good morning, Your Highness.”

“Good morning,” I said as sweetly as possible at four-thirty!

“I’m Hélène Grasso,” she told me warmly. I’ll take care of your makeup for this morning’s show.”

“Thanks,” I told her.

“Go ahead and have a seat right here,” she said, pointing to a salon-styled chair in front of a brightly lit mirror.

I had to climb up into it practically since it was taller, and I carefully did my best to do it with some semblance of dignity. “Sorry, Your Highness, we have a lot more taller guests through here.”

I blushed, “It’s fine, I’m used to it unfortunately!”

“I know you don’t have much makeup on right now, but I’m going to clean it off before I begin,” she told me when she moved before me. The chair rose into the air further, and I realized she was trying to avoid bending over to reach me.

“Go ahead and close your eyes,” she told me as she took a few makeup wipes and gently cleaned my face. “You’re so lucky to have a clear complexion like this!”

“Thanks,” I said.

“All good now,” she told me. “Might want to open those eyes back up so you don’t go back to sleep! I can’t imagine they make you wake up at this time each day?” She said as she began arranging some brushes and other tools beside her.

“Thankfully, they don’t! I don’t really get to sleep in, though, either,” I told her.

I still felt butterflies doing backflips in my stomach. Still, Hélène was a fantastic person to have to work on me before one of the most terrifying mornings I’d had so far! She kept up an easy conversation with me throughout her work before finally saying, “I think we’re good! Let me get you to the green room, where you’ll wait.”

“Thanks,” I told her.

Before I could slide out, she reached down and grabbed me under the arms like a child and sat me on the ground. “Sorry, Your Highness, I hope that wasn’t too forward of me; I just didn’t want to see you twist an ankle in those shoes hopping down.”

I blushed but said, “Thanks.”

Per her words, she walked me to a room where Giuseppe, Geneva, and I relaxed on chairs and couches spread throughout the room. A few pastries were on a countertop, but I was far too nervous about the interview to eat!

Madame Lavigne looked at me knowingly and comfortingly put her arm around my shoulder. “You’ll be great!” she reassured me.

I wasn’t called to go to the set until closer to seven, which made me wonder why I’d had to get there so early! One of their production team members came to the room and gathered us to go to the studio. It was a reasonably ample space, so there was plenty of space for my entourage to hang out on the other side of the cameras as I waited on standby on the edge of the set out of camera view.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have a special treat this morning for you! Not quite two months ago, we sadly lost Prince Alexandros. After a period of mourning, though, I think we were all ecstatic to learn that he did have an heir! Princess Alexandria has lived a story the past few weeks that could seemingly only happen in movies, and today, we are fortunate to have her join us on Good Morning Osané!”

I was nudged forward by a production assistant and did my best to smile and seem composed on my walk to a comfortable-looking chair. Madame Lavigne had spent several hours drilling me on this walk throughout the week. I hoped I had made her proud as I gracefully swept my skirt underneath me to sit down.

“Welcome, Princess Alexandria!” the woman I had been taught, Eloise Barone, told me. Her brown hair hung beautifully styled down her back, and she maintained a warm smile.

“Thank you for having me!” I told her.

“Of course!” She told me. “We’re excited to have you on! This is your first interview, correct?”

I blushed, “Yes, it is.”

“Nothing like having a first-timer on here!” Sophie Dubois, one of the other hosts, said. She, Eloise, and Jacques were the trio of hosts and were sitting on chairs around me.

“Well, let’s get to some basics; what can you tell us about yourself?” Jacques asked me.

I smiled, “I guess we’ll start with the basics then. I’m fifteen years old and have grown up in the United States. Back there, I was just an ordinary kid. I played clarinet in our band and ran track. My best friend Ellie and I like to hang out and do normal things like shopping, swimming, watching silly videos, and such.”

Sophie said, “We’ve heard you had no idea you were a princess?”

“No, no one bothered telling me that until a few weeks ago.”

“That probably came as quite a shock?” Eloise asked.

I blushed, “I most definitely had a wild day that day. When Grandma… Her Majesty told me the truth about my dad. I pretty much fainted.”

The three laughed at that.

“So, what happened then?” Jacques asked.

I did my best to keep my body posture open like Madame Lavigne, and Geneva had been pushing me to do, even though all I wanted to do was squeeze myself in a self-hug or have my teddy bear in my arms. “Grandma was starting to get things in motion to introduce me to everyone and had a stylist come to help with my wardrobe.”

“You didn’t dress like this before?” Sophie asked.

I blushed, “He, that is, my stylist, might have called the dress I was wearing that day mall tween trash or something…”

The girls laughed at that. “So, full-on makeover?” Eloise asked.

I nodded, “they were doing their best to make me look more sophisticated and my age.”

“I imagine that can be an issue for you?” Eloise said with a knowing look. She was taller than me but still shorter than Jacques and Sophie.

I nodded, “I’ve been told my father was a tall man, but I seem to have picked up my height from my mom, who is a little shorter than I am. Finding clothes that aren’t meant for a kid is not easy!”

She nodded, “It can come in handy though! Don’t totally knock it!”

I smiled, “I know!”

“So, after this makeover you had dinner with a few of the VIPs from our government?” Jacques asked.

“Yes, I met with several people who had flown over. It was a pretty crazy day! After that, we had kind of a day off before everyone figured out who my mom was and swarmed our house.”

“Disgraceful that,” Eloise said. “I’m glad you don’t have to deal with that here!”

“Me too,” I nodded.

“So that brings us to the tragedy; your mother was shot the next day while you were doing a press conference. How is she doing?”

I gave a thin smile, having practiced that in the mirrors for a long while when this question would come up. “Mom’s recovering slowly but surely! She was released from the hospital and is now staying where she can recuperate.”

“Your house also burned down that night?” Sophie asked.

I sighed, “Yes, it did. I’m so grateful for Giuseppe, our head of security, who got my grandparents and me out safely. We only lost things at least, but from what I have heard, it’ll probably take twelve months or more to deal with the insurance and rebuild.”

“We’ve been told it was arson? Any information on who caused it?” Jacques asked.

I looked at them, “I really can’t speak to that due to an ongoing investigation. Sorry.”

“Understandable,” Sophie said. “So you’re here now; what is your plan moving forward?”

I smiled, “I am here now, and as far as the plan is concerned, I know that’s still being figured out. I will really miss my old school, but I think I’ve about accepted that returning there isn’t an option.”

“So, will you go to school here?” Sophie asked.

“That’s still to be determined,” I told her.

“Any idea where you might go?”

I shook my head, “Grandma and my mom will discuss it. I’ve been told I have much to catch up on, so I’m sure they’re keeping that in mind?” I forced a smile.

“I’m sure it’s not easy to decide where, huh?” Eloise said in a friendly tone. “So, what’s been the favorite part of Osané you have seen so far?”

I thought for a second, “That’s really a tough question! Everything here is so new to me! I mean, the Chateau is, of course, beautiful – and I can’t believe I’m living there!” I thought briefly, “We took an afternoon and went to the shops on Rue due Chat-qui-Pêche last week. That was really cool! There’s an artist who has a gallery called Galerie de Chats Heureux that I visited. I was shocked when I entered and saw this beautiful painting of me! The lady who owns the gallery is amazing!”

Sophie smiled at me, “I just saw that painting this past weekend myself; it’s a very nice portrait of you!”

I blushed, “Thanks, it was just amazing she did that in like a day! I also love the whole fishing cat lore and story I’ve heard about here.”

“So, what’s the plan for the rest of your summer?” Eloise asked me.

I smiled, “Well, my mom and my best friend, Ellie, are supposed to fly out sometime in a few weeks to be here for a while. I know Grandma has mentioned a big event to formally introduce me soon, too. Mostly, I’ve been studying to catch up on subjects and knowledge I don’t have. I have a fantastic teacher helping me with that!”

“Sounds like a busy summer!” Jacques told me.

“It definitely isn’t the summer I thought I’d have a few weeks ago!” I told him.

They asked me some questions for a bit longer, and we stopped for a couple commercial breaks before the final segment.

“Well, Your Highness, it has been amazing getting to know you! Thank you for coming on our show!”

“Thank you for having me!” I replied.

After a few quick words to preview the next part of the show, I was done with my part and led back to the makeup room. Hélène was kind when she removed the makeup appropriate for television and applied a more subdued day look to my face.

“Thank you for doing my makeup,” I told her as I climbed down from her chair.

“It was a pleasure, Your Highness!” She said with a smile. “You were great on the show!”

“Thanks!” I blushed. I followed my entourage from the building to the car and settled into my seat for the drive back to the castle.

I was surprised we didn’t go inside the back way, “Why are we coming this way?” I asked.

“Your Grandma likes for the tourists to see her arrive home occasionally. Since you were just on television, it made sense,” Geneva said.

“Oh,” I said.

“You did well for a first interview,” she told me as we climbed from the limo.

“Thanks,” I told her. “Seventeen is next?”

“Yes, I think we’ll take some pictures in the music room first, then we’ll guide them to your quarters to take more photos and conduct the interview.”

“What time?” I asked.

“In a few hours? About fourteen hundred hours?”

“So, I have time for a quick nap?” I asked.

Geneva nodded, “That’s probably a good idea. I’ll ensure Anna and Giselle get you up early enough to prepare.”

“Thanks!” I said, even as I sleepily walked to my room and crashed out on my bed!