Kalistan

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At Home with the Crown Prince and Lady Jennifer Connor
Crown Prince to begin second year of College
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
September 5, 5666


Crown Prince Fredrick and Lady Jennifer Connor at their home in Kaliburg

His Highness The Crown Prince Fredrick Ananto-Collins and fiancé, Lady Jennifer Connor sat down with La Moda Crown writer Kathy Torrence to discuss their first year together, relations with Her Imperial Majesty, and preparations for Imperial Duties.

(La Moda's) K(athy) T(orrence): Thank you Your Highness and Lady Connor for meeting with me today.

(His Highness, the Crown Prince) F(redrick) A(nanto-Collins): It is our pleasure to meet with you today.

(Her Ladyship, Baroness) J(ennifer) C(onnor-Zappa): Its nice to see you as always, Ms. Torrence.

KT: First question is for your, Lady Connor. I see you've been made a peer. Congratulations to you.

JC: Yes, Her Imperial Majesty created a barony for me just outside of Kaliburg. I am the 1st Baroness of Zappa, which requires me, more or less to oversee a subdivision exclave and about ten square miles of the Zappa River Valley. My job is to make sure the river is clear of debris, and make sure the roads are repaired. It doesn't seem like too big a job.

KT: Congratulations, will your Peer responsibilities affect your modelling?

JC: No, ha ha. I'll probably be in my demesne far more often than most Barons, living right here in Lolla.

KT: So you two have found a nice home here in Lolla. Your home is very pretty. Certainly not one you would expect the future Emperor to live in.

FA: It does the job. We have a couple bedrooms, its close to the subway so I can get to school and to Cliff House as I need to, and Jenn can get to her various shows, her studios and so forth. Its perfect for what we need, and its right near all the conveniences.

KT: How is your highness finding your Imperial Apprenticeship?

FA: It's going quite well. I feel like I am having a lot of things coming at me all the time. Between school and working with my mom, I leave here about 7:30am and come home at about 8pm. These are long days, and even when classes are out, I'm still going for more than 12 hours a day. I kind of knew what my mother did: I started this transition process when I was 14, but as you know, I spent a lot of time surfing, so, I'm having to catch up a bit.

KT: What sorts of things are you learning from the Empress.

FA: Well, she has a lot of, shall I say, unofficial duties besides her official ones. And I think its those that are pretty hard to master. She's been doing this for more than 40 years; a lot of things just come natural to her. A lot of times she doesn't think to talk about me about something until it happens and I ask her, you know, what is this, what happened here? And then if she has time, she will discuss how this is part of this job or this is part of that role.

KT: Has Your Highness seen her exercise her legislative fiat?

FA: It's kind of strange. She is talking to her government, or members of her government daily, and they're carrying on some conversation about something, and the next thing we know, we are in the National Assembly, and the Chancellor is scheduling that thing for a vote. If the Empress is in attendance, it passes, almost always without debate, but if not, they will debate it sometimes among themselves. Most of the debate has to do with how that thing will be implemented. But if the Chancellor says it, you know it will eventually become a law.

KT: Lady Connor, have you had the opportunity to sit in with the Crown Prince and the Empress during the days?

JC: Of course. It is just like Fred says: She is just having a conversation and the next thing you know, you are reading about it in the paper. I'm not entirely sure how they know what she wants, but they seem to be on her wavelength, and I suppose that is a thing Fred will have to master.

KT: How are your school studies going, Your Highness?

FA: Accounting and finance is comparatively easy compared to Imperial Administration, haha. I got through my first year with great grades. The course load is not too difficult.

KT: Do you get any time in to surf?

FA: No, I don't I surfed a little when I got out of the NSP, but haven't competed since I was younger. I'd be kind of out of practice by now, and don't have a lot of time to get back into it.

KT: So tell me what life is like as a couple.

FA: Hahaha, I will let you handle this one, Jenn.

JC: Let's see: When we both have a free night, we may go out to dinner and then maybe a show. We do occasionally get to use the box at the National Opera. But for the most part, we stay at home, we order some Indralan, we snuggle up under the blanket together, and watch some movies or something. We aren't together every night unfortunately: Sometimes, I'm in Sulari, sometimes he's in Athosia. When we do get our schedules aligned, we are together.

KT: Is the wedding still set for two years for now?

JC and FA (together): Yes

FA: I would do it sooner if it wouldn't take her away from her job. But I don't think I could do that to her: She's got a contract and everything, but I would feel terrible if she had to leave what she loves to do for me and for this life. I know it's really difficult becoming the Empress. When we marry, she's still going to be a public person But she won't be the face of a product or a fashion line. I mean, let's be honest: She a lot better to look at than I am. And she's way more outgoing than I am. So, I want her to have the opportunity to still live her life as long as possible.

KT: Does Your Highness need to be married by the time you are crowned?

FA: There's no rule on that, for real. I think my mother would prefer I be married now, but... She can't have everything she wants.

KT: Does Your Highness plan to stick to avoiding the Hulanevek Diamond when you are Emperor?

FA: Yes. It might be nice to let Jenn wear it, but I think it might just be better to leave it alone. She can choose whatever stone she wants to wear out of thousands of stones. The more the better, you know? Why test fate with that one?

KT: Do you believe the stone is genuinely cursed?

FA: I do.

KT: How about you, Lady Connor?

JC: I honestly don't have an opinion. I don't know if I believe in curses, but the way Fredrick and Her Imperial Majesty talk about that stone-- It gives a person pause, you know? These are two intelligent people, and if they say its cursed and genuinely believe it, you know? I trust them. It kind of makes me think there is something to it, to the belief that its cursed.

KT: Would you ever wear it in public?

JC: No, I don't think so. I mean: The way The Empress wears it: Who could even match that elegance and class? I could never outdo her, so I don't think I would try.

KT: Last Question for you both: the next GanJam has been announced for next summer. Will you both attend?

JC: We are both very excited for the festival, and I have already planned to work my schedule around it, and I know by then Fred will need a break too. So I'm pretty sure we'll both go.

FA: I think (Her Highness Princess) Nicolette is also planning to take some time off from NSP around then so she can go too. It will be a lot of fun for all of us I think.

KT: Who are you hoping to see there?

JC: I just love live music. I think there is a rock band from I think Yoshimi named Azules Electricos who I want to see in concert sometime, maybe they will get to play. I think they're kind of up and coming though. I really also kind of want to see Limelight. I think they're a great reggae band. There's a lot of music in the underground right now. I'm sure they'll have a great program.

KT: And how about Your Highness?

FA: I am not partial. I want to go more for the experience. People who know Kalistani music history know the cultural importance of the GanJam festivals. And I am just happy that I will get to experience one in my lifetime. We've waited too long as a country, I think.

KT: Well, I really thank you both for your time and for speaking with me today. I just can't get over how pretty your home is.

JC: Thank you Kathy. You're so kind to say so.

KT: My pleasure!

@LaModa