Kerttu's Selection

Their First Interviews Pt. 1 - Chapter 10

Uncle Kile came bustling out of the backroom and unto the stage. "Hey, Princess," he said lamely. After Gavril Fadaye retired, Uncle Kile had taken his spot. He was a natural entertainer. He knew how to be serious and fun at the same time.

"Hey, Uncle Kile! You ready for tonight's show?"

"I don't know," he answered, shrugging. "I don't really like the idea of you dating. Eikko, how do you feel about that?"

"If anyone deserves love, it's Kerttu. I support it wholeheartedly," he said warmly.

There's nothing like the support of your father to make you have a great night.

"What up, Illea? It's Kile Woodwork here with today's Report. Kerttu de Koskinen's wonderful Selection has begun and with it some pictures." They showed pictures of me and Shaan at our picnic, Tyrion eating chocolate cake in the third floor lounge, and me teaching Adim how to fence. They even captured my breakfast high five with Jakob. Over the course of my life, I had learned to ignore the cameras as best as I could.

In studio, the suitors were all wearing their best suits. I caught Shaan's eye and gave him a wink. He gave me one in return. They had greased back his hair. It looked weird on him. Adim kept fidgeting with his glasses. I did a deep breath in and out and luckily, he simulated me.

"Now, usually, Queen Eadlyn and King Eikko give us updates on our rising country but today, they have chosen to give all of their time to their daughter. Kerttu, come on up!"

I walked onto the stage, careful not to trip. Magazines already had compiled pictures of my best falls. I was a little clumsy. Kile guided me to my chair.

"Your Highness, you look absolutely beautiful tonight," Kile admired. "So what's going on with this Selection?"

"I don't know what to tell you, Kile. What do you want from me?"

"Your multi million dollar tiara." This sent the crowd into a rage of laughter as a photo of a 19 year old him was wearing a tiara. I wondered the story behind that. "But I'll settle for who are the guys you've been connecting with the most these last couple of weeks."

"I'll start off with my first date, Shaan," I began, folding my hands in my lap. "He has an older sister and was a bit of a bad boy growing up."

"Really?" Kile questioned. He then stood up and pointed at Shaan. "You hurt my sort of niece and I will have to destroy you." He sat back down, comically pulling on his suit. The crowd loved it, clapping and hooting it.

"Trust me, he's a good guy. Then there's Tyrion. He may seem stoic and unfeeling but if you place him in a library, he acts like a newborn baby." The audience laughed and I continued down the list.

"Adim is the most adorable little bubble of sweetness, Chaarlie is the chillest and most self assured dude I have ever met, Tyler is nice," I rushed, "And Jakob. Jakob, come down here."

He bumbled down the stairs, buttoning his suit flap. Another chair was brought out for him.

"Hello, Sir Jakob. How's it going?" Kile asked.

Jakob grinned, waving to the audience. "I'm good. I'm on the Report, baby!" The audience cheered him on and he took their energy gladly. He even high fived an audience member in front on him.

Uncle Kile and Mom shared a look of disbelief before he continued the interview. "Now, why did you bring him down here, Your Highness?"

I beamed. "As you can see, Jakob is a man of the people. Even more than that, he's a comedian. I know you're going to interview all the guys but I was hoping he could perform for us, for a little bit."

"Go ahead," Kile encouraged.

Jakob stood up, walking from side to side on the stage. "You know, when thing they never tell you about living in a Palace is, the multiplicity of everything," he launched into his impromptu sketch, growing more confident by the second. "You don't have one spoon. You have twenty of them. You don't have one butler. You have twenty of them. And most importantly, princesses can't start off with one boyfriend. They start off with 35. Just kidding, love you, Your Highness."

I clapped and the audience grew louder than I have ever heard them. They loved him. I knew it, I thought, bouncing up and down and my seat. Jakob then began to do a victory lap around the studio, high fiving every person he could. He sat back with the rest of the boys, smiling wider than I have ever seen him.

"As you can see," I stated, "he's hilarious and the best high fiver in Illea."

"Alright, well let's start the interviews."

**Do you like interviewer Kile?**

**Jakob's standup....you a fan?**

**Thank you so much for reading and as always, always question, never settle!**