"Not a word of anything inappropriate," Elora warned Grigori.
The KALE, as well as the Queens sat in an arc, with the famous host sitting across from them, his make up being touched by a few artists.
Grigori gulped and nodded.
"Just to be clear, which one of you is the Queen of Illea?" he asked, looking at the two Queens, both of whom were dressed in identical purple dresses and diamond crowns.
"You don't need to know that," Elena said sweetly. "But you may want to know, that one wrong word on the Princess and you'll be fired".
"And we'll make sure you don't get a job again," Elora added.
Elora heard a small giggle, and saw Elodie whisper something to a smiling Aurora.
The three of them were wearing similar blue dresses, wearing small pearl tiaras on their hair.
Elanor and Aurora practically looked identical - their face structure was almost the same, and they had the same hair and eyes.
"We're live in five," the cameramen called out, and the make up artists rushed out of the stage.
"You'll be fine, chill," Adelaide said, sitting beside Aurora and gently squeezing her hand.
Elora saw her daughter smile, looking nervous, yet not playing the air violin.
She was slowly learning to conceal her 'tells'.
The screens opened up and Grigori smiled widely and said flamboyantly, "Hello, Illea".
The crowd cheered wildly, and royal family gave identical nods to them.
"Hello, Your Majesties, Your Highnesses, and Ladies," Grigori said. "How do you do?".
"Very well, thank you, Grigori," Eric answered smoothly, sitting beside Adelaide.
"Phew, a lot has happened since we last met, hasn't it? But let's go to the biggest news of the century - an unknown princess lost as an infant was found again! And in the most interesting of manners too!" Grigori said, and the crowd cheered again. "How do you feel about that, Princess Aurora? Or should I call your Princess Ella?".
"Anything will do, Grigori. One name was given to me by the mother who waited for many years to see me, and the other was given to me by the mother who lovingly raised me. But coming to your main question, it's great being a part of the royal family. They've all helped greatly to make me feel at home," Aurora answered.
"Her definition of help involves us accepting that she, Elanor, and Elodie are the supreme goddesses of the palace," Lucian joked, and the crowd chuckled.
"We are the supreme goddesses of the palace," Elanor and Elodie said together.
Elora didn't understand what they were talking about, but she laughed and said, "The Princes and Princesses already have so many inside jokes that we don't know how to catch up to them!".
Grigori laughed and said, "Well, on behalf of the citizens of Illea, I would formally like to welcome our Princess to our ranks".
"Thank you, Grigori," Aurora said graciously.
"Now, Princess Aurora. How did you choose your Lady-in-Waiting? That too, such a talented one, beloved to the people as a movie star?" Grigori asked.
"Lady Adelaide Summers and I are great friends, and her name was one of the few that flashed in my head when the King asked me to choose my Lady-in-Waiting," Aurora said.
"And it's been an absolute pleasure," Adelaide continued. "We keep each other sane, to be honest, and I feel happier working under one of my best friends than on set".
"So does that mean this is the end of your film career?" Grigori asked.
"No, of course not. I will be focusing back on my career once the Selection ends," she said.
"I think I can express the collective relief of everyone in the audience, Lady Adelaide. But speaking of the Selection - how's it going, Prince Eric?" Grigori asked, looking at Eric.
"It's been going a bit slowly. We have a lot of things going on, and I'm focusing on getting to know my sister. A lot of the Selected girls were shocked when they realized I wouldn't be inheriting the throne from my parents, and have left, leaving less than ten of them behind," Eric said.
"Did any of the girls you had an eye on leave?" Grigori asked slyly.
"There's only one girl I have my eye on, and she's still here," Eric said, laughing.
"No more questions on that matter, Grigori," Elena said sharply before joking, "We have a bad history of proposing to girls in the family. Just look at this big oaf over here".
"Of course! Prince Lucian! How does it feel to be tied down to a single girl?" Grigori asked, shifting his attention to Luke.
"It feels great! Katie and I get along famously with each other, and we're totally in love," Lucian said, and crowd gave out a collective Awwww.
"It's amazing," Katherine added, looping her hand around Lucian's, the engagement ring flashing in the bright light.
"Lady Katherine. You are to become the next Queen Consort of Italy. How do you feel about that? And how do you feel being engaged to a Prince, who wasn't the one you were Selected for?" Grigori asked.
"Those are a lot of questions, Grigori," Katherine said, laughing breathlessly. "But it feels good. I have a lot to learn from Queen Elena, and I'm looking forward to it".
Damn, this girl could speak well.
On stage, she looked perfectly innocent, the match made in heaven for Lucian - with her straight brunette hair in fringes, her lovestruck expression.
Elena had told Elora that she had a conversation with the girl, though she didn't know how well it had changed her.
"So, Queen Elora. Can you tell us about the ceremony that is to take place in about a week?" Grigori asked, looking neutrally between Elora and Elena.
"Well, the ceremony will take place on Christmas, with all our allies in attendance. I will be placing Princess Ella's first circlet on her forehead as the Dukes read the holy oath out," Elora said.
"Will the King be present?" Grigori asked.
"The King will not be present as he is still weak from his injury, though he is recovering nicely. He asked me to convey his thanks to the media for their concern and also to tell them that it was time for them to move on and write about something more interesting," Elora said, laughing along with the crowd, lying through her nose.
Edward hadn't woken up from the coma - he still laid on the bed, his pallor becoming paler and paler as the days passed.
Aurora kept raising everyone's spirits whenever they felt low, keeping impromptu slumber parties, and movie binge runs.
Grigori nodded at Elora and faced her identical twin.
"Queen Elena. Do you approve of Prince Lucian's new post as the Royal Head of Security?" he asked her.
"Approve?" Elena asked. "Of course. He needs this experience, and I believe it will help him when he eventually ascends the throne of Italy. I've also threatened him that I'll start a prank war with him if he messes up".
The crowd hooted with laughter, hearing Elena's words.
She had a different way of answering questions, Elora brooded. She would give curt answers before adding a joke, making the person asking the question to move on.
"She doesn't realize that I'm just as good as her when it comes to pranking people," Lucian said, winking at the crowd.
"Was that a challenge, son?" Elena asked.
Lucian nodded.
"Oh, it's on," Elena said, rubbing her palms together.
"Somehow I think you're going to regret it, Lucian," Aurora joked.
Grigori laughed. "Well, it was a pleasure meeting with the royal family. Thank you so much for your time, Your Majesties and Your Highnesses".
They all nodded at him, and Grigori wrapped up the interview with a few more phrases.
Once the curtains closed and the microphones switched off, Elena told him nonchalantly, "I guess you get to keep your job".
The family hooted with laughter as they saw Grigori splutter and walked off the stage.