Countdown to Filming
Prince's POV
The 4 had opened a bottle of Champagne when they arrived at home to celebrate that the casting had occurred just as they had hoped. Before they poured the first glass they took a moment and offered a prayer of thanks to the Creator for having guided them through the treacherous waters they had faced in the last two days and they also thanked him for graciously having brought the woman that Aza had killed home to Himself. They praised Him simply because He was God and deserving of their praise and for all of the blessings that He was allowing them to enjoy together. They asked for nothing other than that He help them to be pleasing to Him in all they did on this film and in their lives. They poured the Champagne and then toasted their success in gaining the roles in the film and to the future success of the movie. Elaine and Bella then heated up the rest of the Roast Chicken dinner and they ate the lovely meal. It was even better than it was yesterday!
After dinner, Frank and Larry took clean up while everyone else went into the family room. Prince put on some music which included the song he had recorded while they were on holiday. "What is the name of that" Elaine asked Prince? "I don't know yet, I just know that it is for the movie or the next album, he said. "It is quite beautiful", Elaine continued. "Yes, it is," Bella said. "Let's see what scenes we need to work on for next week," Prince said. The 4 read through the scene books they had been given. Prince noted that the scenes would include primarily dialogue. He needed to know when they would be filming the musical performances so he could schedule rehearsals to blend with their shooting schedule. Reaching into his pocket, he retrieved his phone and dialed Anthony Pacino. The phone was picked up on the third ring. "Pacino", he heard a voice say. "Hi, Anthony this is Royal". "Hey man", Anthony said. "Do you have a few minutes to speak on the phone", Prince asked? "Yes, my wife is grilling some goodies for dinner and I was just enjoying a beer. How can I help"? "I was reviewing the shooting schedule and noted that we are doing only dialogue next week". "Yes, that is the plan". "We are going to be shooting the Paradise scenes for two weeks. Then we will move to the Reincarnation scenes for the next 2 weeks and then will dedicate the next 6 weeks to the last section which begins when The Royal Prince plays for the first time at The Stork Club and sees Bella again and ends with the birth of their first child. We will shoot all of the dialogue for the final section weeks 5-7 except for that dialogue that is contained within a musical number. Weeks 8-10 Music Shoot". "Okay so that I can plan rehearsal time...how long per day do shoots last. Until we get them right, but as a general rule, I like to be done by 4:00 PM daily. The musical shoots will be done at the Stork Club in Detroit. (Christian had kept his word and got the musical setting for the film moved on location at The Stork where it had all begun for them at a price of $300K to shut the club down for 3 weeks. Needless to say Andy was thrilled.) All other shoots will be done on the Arista Film Production Lot". "Got it! Thank you Anthony". "You're welcome kiddo. Have a good night"! Anthony disconnected the call. He really liked this Royal Prince guy.
Prince had taken copious notes on paper that Bella had handed him. They had a 10-week shooting schedule and no music would be filmed until week 6. He would call the band and schedule rehearsals for Wednesday and Friday of this week and then for two hours every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday going forward through the filming schedule. To be on the safe side, he would schedule the rehearsals at 6 PM and they would quit at 8 PM. He knew that to run any longer would get a rise out of Bella as they would have already been working at least 11 hours each day when rehearsals began. He also knew she would be right. Prince excused himself and went into the study and pulling out his lyric notebook, he copied the schedule into it. Returning to the family room, he asked Carlos to turn down Cloud Stream and went over what he had been told and what that implied about the rehearsal schedule with everyone including Security. This was going to be an ambitious 10 weeks. They had to stay on schedule for more reasons than one. One of the major reasons had nothing to do with the studio. They still had a wedding to plan and 10 weeks out would be the week of November 14. He really wanted to wrap the film before Thanksgiving and enjoy the holidays with their families which would be an excellent time to work on the wedding because everyone would be together. "Lord...help us to stay on this time-line,"he thought. " I will", he heard Jesus say telepathically. Prince smiled and grabbing the remote off of the table turned up the sound on Cloud Stream and the excited group listened to the rest of the news before breaking up for the evening and heading to their rooms.
Countdown to Filming
Bella's POV
Bella ran a bath and used some of Prince's lavender bath oil and bath beads. She sat on the edge of the tub enjoying the aroma as the hot water gushed into the tub causing it to foam. While she did, Prince who had gotten into a robe was sitting on one of the overstuffed chairs at the foot of their bed thinking about the weeks ahead. While he did not know for certain, he believed that Bella was thinking about that too as she had been relatively silent since they had come into their room. Bella turned off the water and returned to the bedroom to undress and get her robe. She put her dirty clothes into the hamper in their closet and slipping on her robe returned to the bedroom. "Mama, you have been very quiet. Whatcha thinking about"? Bella walked over to him and kissed him on the top of his head. "I was just thinking about the schedule that you shared with us. It is going to be brutal. 11 hour days of filming and then two more hours of musical rehearsals 3 days a week is crazy". Prince pulled her onto his lap and kissing her gently on her lips said, "I know Mama...but it has a beginning and an end. 10 weeks and we are done and then we can plan our wedding and the tour". She quickly thought that through. They had 6 months to plan their away wedding. Prince had already worked out that he would not work from May through the month of July once the film was in the can. But then they would start touring again which was guaranteed to push the numbers on both the film and the Album. He had shared with Bella the error he felt he made with the tour in his last incarnation for the film Purple Rain. He had only done 75 of the 100 shows that had been planned. He had felt like he was going crazy because he was doing the same things over and over every night. But he had moved into recording another album and then released it canceling the last of the tour. That move had slowed down the sales of the album considerably. He could do the shows if he built-in breaks to keep him sane. They could record during the breaks and have an album to release at the end of the tour and limit promotion to Cloud Stream both visual and audio-only for three months or so after if the Cloud Stream Blitz was planned well. With the amount of exposure they had just done, Album #2 should sell very well. He would run this idea by Andy and David he told Bella. Bella nodded her head yes and said..."come on Baby, let's take a bath". Prince noted her quiet tone and smiled and followed her into the bathroom. He took off his robe and climbed into the tub first and then Bella got in. She sighed deeply as the hot water began to comfort her muscles helping them to relax. She had not realized how tense she had been although she knew it was understandable with all that had happened in the last two days. She had pinned up her hair and now rested her head against Prince's chest. Neither of them said anything for a few moments, but then Prince said, "Bella, what's wrong Mama"? Bella sighed again and said "Nothing I guess...I don't really know baby. It just seems like things are moving so fast all of the time. We are always so busy with very little breathing room in between one project and the next. I guess I just want to be able to slow down and just be us when we want to at times". Prince rubbed her arms up and down gently. So are you finally wishing you had fallen in love with a doctor, lawyer, or Indian Chief instead of a performer", he asked? While he had asked the question in a joking manner, he was really feeling that anxiety in the pit of his belly that arose from his fear of losing his Bella. He had come a long way...but he wondered if that fear would ever truly be defeated. Bella turned around in the tub so that she was facing him. "Prince, while I may sometimes wish we could do nothing for several months except enjoy each other, I will never ever regret falling in love with you". You have always been and remain my reason for being. I love you more than all of the distance between here and heaven...what I feel cannot be measured as it is too vast in size and scope". She leaned forward and kissed his incredibly soft, warm lips. "Prince I would be totally lost without you and your presence as my leader and guide in this life. You are the only thing that really matters to me underneath the sun". (1) Her eyes were now filled with tears. "I am so sorry for how I am acting. I...". "Bella, no. Don't apologize because you have nothing to be sorry for. You are entitled to your feelings and they matter to me deeply. A lot has been thrown a lot at you in the last year or so. Intense study to graduate early, to begin with, so that you could remain with me and then performing with the band, touring not once but twice, the book and its promotion, helping with the screenplay, our engagement and now we are beginning to make a movie while we still have a wedding to plan and another tour to prepare for, this time worldwide. It is a lot for me Bella, much less for a 19-year-old girl who only wants to love this man she is pledged to marry. It may not help Mama, but I want you to know, I could not have done this...any of this and be in this good of condition mentally, emotionally, or even physically without you. I know because I did a lousy job of pacing myself and caring for myself the last time around and died all too early because of it. I never knew happiness before you Bella and I promise, I will work hard and be focused so that we can have the luxury of dropping off the grid whenever we want to in the years to come...us and our babies. I promise that I will work to give you that gift if you will just...", Bella put her fingers to his lips as his eyes were now filled with tears too. "Prince, she whispered, I will live and die by your side. I will always be with you until God takes one of us home and even then my heart will be where ever you are until we join eternally. I know you will get us to the point of being able to have greater control over our lives. I just get a little weird now and then. But please baby, do not confuse that with my having lost faith in you or my love for you having changed. It has not and it never will. I trust you just like I trust God because in you I see the hand of God at work every day". He couldn't help it...tears were running down his face. He silently thanked God for the love of this beautiful, strong, resilient woman. Bella picked up a washcloth off of one of the towel racks on the wall and wetting it wiped his face. She said nothing else, she did not need to. She simply bathed her man and with every stroke of the washcloth and its lavender suds, his confidence in himself and in their union grew. How is it that he could be so amazed at the partnership they had every day? He didn't know...it would seem it would have sunk in by now, nor did he care. He was just grateful that it was real! He stood up and washed his private parts while Bella gently bathed his legs. He then did the same ritual of bathing her. When they had thoroughly rinsed off. He climbed out of the tub and quickly dried himself. He then helped her out of the tub and dried off her gorgeous, feminine body with a plush gray towel and then moisturized her and she did the same for him. Pulling on their robes they returned to the bedroom. " I am going to make us some tea," Prince said as he pulled on a pair of purple silk boxers. "Thank you, baby," she said.
While she waited, she returned to the bathroom and cleaned out the tub, and then put on a pale silver gown with purple accents under her robe. Prince brought two mugs of Jasmine tea into the bedroom shortly. They sat in silence sipping the tea. When they were finished Prince took Bella's hand and led her to the bed. As soon as he touched her hand he felt that familiar pull in his balls as his member started to unfurl. By the time he had pulled the covers back, removed her robe, and lifted her off of the ground placing her in the bed, his member was hard and fully extended. He removed his robe and shorts allowing Bella to see the condition he was in. "Oh baby," she said..."come let Mama take care of you". She felt her Venus cavity start to tighten and felt the wetness collecting therein before he had even touched her. He laid down beside her and pulling her gown down began to suckle on her right nipple. "You look so wonderful in that gown Mama" he mumbled. She pulled him toward her and kissed him deeply and opening her mouth asked permission with her tongue to enter his. Her tongue was always such a great persuader (2)...he opened his mouth and began the journey to their private paradise. He sucked her nipples and licked her abdomen. He tarried at her navel increasing the height of her desire. He rubbed his huge member on the silky soft hair that hid the entryway into his heaven...the one he would enter when they were wed and as he did, he let go of an abundant amount of pre-cum. He then rubbed that engorged dick on her clit. " Holy God Bella", I need you he said. Bella began to stroke his dick with deliberate up and down and then around strokes. She had him ready to come and then she stopped and said lay down Prince. She climbed on top of him and dragging her wet pussy down his tummy to his abdomen and then along his dick...she elicited a moan from him that told her how good she felt to him. She continued to rub her dripping wet slit forward and back over his dick. His breathing became erratic as she upped the pace. She moved forward and back and as she did she reached behind her and caressed his balls that were also wet from her dripping pussy. He growled and said something that she could not understand and then she felt the warm life-giving liquid spurt out of him all over her slit and her hair and her thighs as he said her name...Bellla. He had come hard and she knew she had pleased him. He came back to himself and quickly flipped her over onto her back and went down on her. He could taste her flavor mixed in with his own as he began to lick and nip and suck her clit and her slit. She was so hot that she could not hold back and came and came and came until she did not think she could breathe. How she loved this man. " I love you Prince" she whispered. " And I am so grateful" he whispered back. He crawled up next to her and cradled her in his arms. He began to sing Dreamin' About U to her. Finishing the song, they fell asleep in each others arms.
Prince had not known it, but when he had written that song. Dreamin' About U so many years ago...he had done so as a promise to his Bella of complete love for her, who would come to him finally in the years ahead. He would do anything to make her happy...to bring her contentment...to keep her safe...to keep her as his own. He knew it now though and he would remain focused on that until his dying day.
Bella's eyes opened as the new day dawned. Her head was resting on Prince's shoulder and she was still wrapped in his embrace. If she lived to be a million years old, she would never tire of the comfort that being in his arms gave her. No man ever born would ever be as tender as this one...the one that belonged to her...her Prince. Of this, she was absolutely sure. She lay there for a few more moments savoring the feel of him next to her. His complete maleness, the scent of him, the muscular arms around her. The flat 6 pack abs that had been part of her pleasure last night....last night! Every time Bella thought she had experienced Prince at his most tender...he would bring to her a night of pleasure that proved her wrong. Last night had been a mountain top experience. While another would surely come...this night she had shared with him would never be forgotten. Bella nuzzled his neck and got up and went into the bathroom. Prince had stirred, but his even breathing had told her he was still sleeping. Coming back into the bedroom, Bella noted it was 7:40 AM and she put on her robe and went into the kitchen to make the coffee. As she did she decided to make something special for Prince for breakfast that would appeal to his sweet tooth, just to show him she appreciated him. She pulled out one of her cookbooks and thumbed through the biscuit and muffin pages. She settled on some Blackberry Lemon Drop Biscuits since Ross had picked up some fresh blackberries on Tuesday from the market. She quickly scanned the ingredients for both the biscuits and the lemon drizzle and determined she had everything that was needed except the chia seeds. They were a powerful nutrient containing food that was especially high in omega 3 fatty acids and helped with sustaining energy. Bella decided she would run to the Health Food Store which opened at 8:30 AM to get some. As she was setting the ingredients out on the sideboard, Ross came into the kitchen dressed in sweats. " Morning Bella. I thought I smelled coffee." Looking at the sideboard, he said wow...that looks interesting. "What are you making". She told him and then said she had everything necessary but the Chia seeds and was going to dress and go get some since the Health Food Store opened at 8:30 AM. He said, "for a cup of your delicious coffee... I will run and get them". She laughed and said, "one cup of coffee coming up". She was going to double the recipe so that they would have enough for tomorrow too. She would simply put tomorrow's portion in the refrigerator. They only took 8-10 minutes to cook. She would serve them with Spinach and Cheese Omelettes today. She pulled out the Omelette pans and all the ingredients for the Omelettes and then began mixing up the ingredients for the biscuits. Ross arrived right as she was ready for the Chia seeds. Thanking him, she set the dough in a covered bowl in the refrigerator and then went to work on the Omelettes. Ross asked "may I help" and she smiled and said, "of course. Thank you"! They went to work and had the Spinach washed and the Cheese shredded in no time. Bella then pulled the biscuit dough out of the refrigerator and shaped it into biscuits. Ross was working two Omelette pans at a time. Once the biscuits were in the oven Bella decided to knock on Elaine and Carlos's door to let them know if they wanted hot biscuits and Omelettes they would be ready in a few minutes. "Thanks, I am starved," Carlos said. Bella then went and told security the same. Prince was wandering toward the kitchen as she returned to it. "Good morning Bella. Something smells good in here". "I am trying out a new Blackberry Lemon drop biscuit recipe. Ross helped with the Omelettes", Bella said. He pulled her into an embrace and she kissed him on the tip of his nose. Pouring him a cup of coffee and dressing it, she then checked on the biscuits. She made the drizzle and cut a lemon in half for presentation purposes. By the time all had gathered in the kitchen, breakfast was ready. It was a true feast and was beautiful to boot!
Prince's eyes lit up and he grinned when he saw his breakfast and for a moment Bella saw in his face exactly what their sons would look like when they were little. She couldn't help but smile herself. They all sat and held hands and Prince said the blessing. As they began to try the biscuits there were oohs and ahhs and yummy sounds made in appreciation. Bella said, "good...because I made enough dough for tomorrow too". "Good plan," Prince said as he reached for his second biscuit. The Omelettes were a huge hit too.
Elaine and Carlos took clean up duty and all of the others went to dress for the day. Bella and Prince walked hand in hand to their room and once inside, he pulled her to him and kissed her warmly, gently, and deeply. "Thank you for the special breakfast this morning Bella". "You are welcome baby", she said. "I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate you". His taste buds had received that message loud and clear. He had figured out long ago that one of the first places Bella's being pleased with him showed up was on his plate...but he would never tell her that. He would just let her do what she did, as it made her very happy to do it! Bella changed the sheets on the bed and then they showered. Once dressed, Bella made lemonade and the 4 sat out on the terrace and ran lines for the scenes they would begin to film on Monday. So went the rest of the week until Monday arrived and they were up and dressed and at the lot at 5:00 AM for makeup.
Filming Begins
Prince's POV
Prince could not believe how long it took to do full makeup. He used to do his for performances in his previous life and could be ready in about 30 minutes. They had to arrive for make-up and costuming by 5:00 AM. After make-up daily, costumes were discussed or measured or tried on depending on where they were in the process and they were called to roll film at 7:00 AM straight up. Anthony would give some setup comments on the scene and because they were dealing with so many first time actors, they would do a walk through and then they would run film. The first couple of days were tough, nerve-wracking, and produced little forward momentum overall but Prince was a standout as were both of the Actors that played Michael and Sandalphon. On day three things changed. Bella had started running her lines in front of a mirror at home. She noted when her facial expressions were not in line with what her voice was conveying and she worked hard on bringing them into accord with each other. After shooting on day three, Anthony told her that her performance had been remarkable. Bella hit her marks every day of the shoot and at the end of week 2, when they had completed shooting the Paradise scenes Anthony asked her if she had ever considered a career in film. She was, he told her, a natural. If he thought that was true, wait until he got a look at Elaine's skill set she thought to herself. He was going to be blown away. It was Friday night and all of the Paradise scenes were in the can. They were going to a dinner break and then to band rehearsal in Rehearsal Hall 3 at Arista headquarters. Christian and Anthony would watch the rushes from the Paradise scenes on Monday at lunchtime and they would invite the 4 performers to see them as well. Bella looked at her watch. It was 4:35 PM. Band rehearsal was at 6:00 PM and finished at 8:00 PM and she was tired. They had been in rehearsals after a day of shooting 3 times a week for the last two weeks. They got up at 4 AM, were at the studio at 5 AM worked until 4 to 5: 00 PM, and then 3 days a week put in two more hours with the band working on the Music and the Dance. On those three days, they were totally focused on the work for 15 hours each day and then typically showered, ate, and fell into bed exhausted. Thank God for Ross who helped them extensively with meals. For example, this evening he had packed a dinner for all involved including the band and would warm it in one of the Arista kitchens. It was a curried lamb dish with all of the fixings. Bella was so thankful for his help as he was not only a great cook but really knew nutrition too from some of his classroom studies and so he kept them eating the right fuel so they could remain healthy while following this crazy schedule. Only eight more weeks she thought and after praying for strength, energy and a good band rehearsal grabbed her practice bag and she and Elaine left the dressing room to be walked to the SUV by Prince, Carlos, and their security team. They would finish right at 8:00 PM go home, shower, and fall out for the night. Thank God tomorrow was Saturday. They slept in on Saturdays and after this last week, both Bella and Prince as well as Elaine and Carlos were looking forward to that. Somehow the world always looked brighter when she woke up, after enough sleep next, to her Prince. That smile of his, first thing in the morning always righted her world and her first kiss of the day always righted his!
(1) Line from The One by Prince
(2) Line from I Dream About U by Prince