Chapter 16

sixteen

VALENTIA DAILY NEWS

ROYALS ARRIVE IN NEW YORK!

T heir Royal Highnesses Prince Alexander and Princess Rebecca arrived in New York City early this morning, and were greeted by Mayor Archer and their wife.

It was a day full of engagements, starting with Prince Alexander's appearance at the All Nations General Assembly meeting. While he did not give a speech, he met with several world leaders.

It was announced earlier this year that King Gabriel would abdicate and Prince Alexander would be ascending the throne. No doubt, these meetings were to ensure continued support from Vallerian allies ahead of that transition, set to take place later this year.

Princess Rebecca, meanwhile, attended a luncheon with other partners and spouses of world leaders, and paid a visit to Memorial Hospital where she met with several patients and staff and discussed healthcare issues, which are near to her heart.

Later that evening, the beloved couple attended a charity performance of Delirious , a play written by a famed 16th-century Vallerian playwright known for his quick wit. The play originally launched in Valentia, and has been sold out since launching on Broadway two months ago. The couple visited with the cast, crew, and musicians after the show.

There is no rest for the couple, however. Tomorrow, they head to Washington, D.C., for several days to meet with the president and the first husband, and complete an additional fifteen engagements. They will attend a state dinner in their honour, and a variety of musical performances, including the Flower Duet from the opera Lakmé , rumoured to be a favorite of Princess Rebecca's. The pair will then head to Los Angeles next weekend for more engagements, such as a charity ball.

Americans love a royal visit, and this has certainly been the case so far. The future king and queen have been met by throngs of supporters everywhere they go, and it shows no signs of stopping. Only time will tell if this support lasts through their visit.

ALEXANDER

"God, I'm so tired," Rebecca said on a yawn and mid-stretch.

Alex reached over to take her hand and kiss the back of it. "That's my fault, darling. I kept you up far too late."

She flushed and glanced at the drivers. Giving him a ‘shut-your-face' look, he merely smiled and kissed her hand again.

Then he leaned close to her ear. "I'd never made love to my wife in New York City before. I didn't want to miss the chance while I had it."

"Well, we have several days in D.C., so please pace yourself," she whispered.

He planned to. While in D.C., they'd be staying at the White House in the Queen's Bedroom…another fabulous place to fuck his wife.

She stopped whispering as she glanced through the schedule once more. "We have so many engagements to do. Today alone…"

"I know, darling." After an exceptionally long day yesterday in New York, they'd made love and fallen asleep for only a few hours before they had to wake.

They'd left New York City early that morning for Washington, D.C., though the flight was barely ninety minutes and any chance of sleep was moot. There were too many briefings on the day's upcoming events, protocol, and even lingering worries over the threat that had not gone away before they left, but which also didn't seem imminent. They seemed to be in some kind of holding pattern, waiting for the destructive threat to drop.

Maybe they'd be lucky. Maybe the threat would completely pass them by.

Yet that was a very big maybe.

As they maneuvered their way through D.C., large crowds lined the blocked streets, especially as they neared the White House. Though the windows were tinted, they still waved, amazed that so many people outside Valleria could support them.

Their motorcade slowed to a stop on the south side of the driveway outside the Diplomatic Room entrance. President Kihan Singh and his husband, Alejandro Ortiz-Singh (who legally changed his name after their wedding), were standing at the top of the stairs waiting.

Alex stepped out of the car once it opened, Rebecca doing the same on her side. With his diplomatic smile in place, he gave the leaders a small nod, then waited for his wife to round the car. He took her hand and together they stepped up to greet them. Nearby, there was a harsh symphony of clicks and flashes from the photographers, and murmurs from the crowd gathered to greet them.

"Your Royal Highness, welcome to our home," the president greeted him first and they shook hands.

"President Singh. We're honoured for the invitation, and the additional honour to remain here during our stay." The formalities would fall away behind closed doors—at least to a certain extent—but he'd admired Kihan and followed his rise through American politics for years. He was looking forward to spending time with the very charismatic South Asian and his equally charming husband.

Singh smiled. "Of course. We're looking forward to getting to know both you and your wife."

"Speaking of…allow me to introduce my wife, Rebecca."

As Rebecca greeted the president, he shifted to greet Alejandro. Once Rebecca also greeted Alejandro, the president led them inside to be greeted by the official United States Welcoming Committee for the visit.

Alex had seen a version of this welcome in the various countries he'd visited over the years when he accompanied his father. Now, he felt the burden of leadership on his shoulders once more. His father would likely never make a state visit ever again, yet this was only the beginning for him and Rebecca. There were years of these ahead of them.

Years of politics and preening and precarious maneuvering.

Years of feeling like he could absolutely fuck everything up by saying the wrong thing, yet knowing deep down that he wouldn't. His father had taught him well, after all, and Alex would never let him down. He'd never let himself down either.

After some staged photos on the Blue Room Balcony, they were given a brief tour of the White House, including the residence and guest rooms where they'd be staying, down the hall from the rooms used by the first family's two teenagers.

Then he and Rebecca parted ways to begin discussions. He sat down with Kihan in his private dining room off the Oval Office, while Rebecca went to have lunch with Alejandro in the Solarium. Alex had been eager to get talks started, so he'd requested the private lunch in advance.

Once they'd settled in, and after some more small talk, Kihan began. He'd been born in the U.S.—as all presidents must be—but he'd spent time abroad in England and Asia as a child and his voice was slightly accented because of it. "Since it's just the two of us for this meeting, I think we can…dispense with some of the political pleasantries and get more to the point. Do you agree?"

Alex finished a bite of his steak salad. "I agree."

Kihan nodded, as he finished up a bite of his contrasting vegetarian falafel salad. "Things are shifting in Europe, as I'm sure you know very well."

"They are, in a variety of ways. But change occurs every day, in small ways. Larger change takes time. I'm sure you see that with America as well."

Kihan took a sip of water and nodded. "We discuss change a lot on the world stage, as evidenced by the All Nations meeting. Then, it's mostly the larger change we want to make—economically, environmentally, etc. In fact, now we're shifting focus to work on the agenda for the next G20."

Alex's body started tingling. He and his father had discussed applying for membership—Valleria nearly fit the qualifications as far as GDP and other factors were concerned—but the G20 in and of itself was controversial for a variety of reasons. Some felt it wasn't inclusive enough—nations in Africa were essentially excluded, for example. There was also controversy around certain member nations that should be removed due to their human rights violations, but weren't. Member nations were also criticized due to the lack of progress holding larger financial institutions liable for their role in the recent worldwide recession. It was a tricky line.

Alex believed that becoming an Invited Guest instead of a full member, or like Spain becoming a Permanent Invited Guest, could be the best path forward for them to make a mark on the world stage while treading that line.

Still, Alex kept his face neutral. "I'm sure you are. I spoke to several people yesterday who mentioned it. Looks like food scarcity and supply chain issues may top the list again. "

Kihan merely smiled. "Amongst other things. Wars are still going on, as we all know."

"There's always a war, famine, and even a genocide somewhere, even if most aren't paying attention to it or denying it exists."

Kihan looked at him for a few moments. "Yes, that's true. You are right about the other topics as well. Agriculture always tops the list. We're always discussing new technologies to better improve things like farm yields."

Alex finished off his salad and took a drink before responding. "Technology only gets you so far. We've made some great strides in Valleria, but ensuring that all the food you grow gets to everyone who needs it is the real challenge."

"Valleria's technological advancements are the talk of the industry. We've been keeping an eye on them."

Alex smiled slightly. "That sounds almost ominous how you said that."

Kihan chuckled. "I didn't mean it like that." More seriously, he continued, "You've managed to feed your country, get smarter doing it, sent food to nations that are struggling with it, and still grow your GDP. It's admirable."

"I don't believe people should starve. There's more than enough food to go around. And GDP is dependent on a number of different factors."

"You're also training other nations on your technology. How is that going?"

Valleria had given grants to several organizations in other countries to improve their farming practices, and provided them with new equipment they'd created. "It's still early days, but we believe the harvests will go well. Climate change is a factor, of course, that will affect things. It's been a very hot and dry summer in some places, and that will be reflected in the yield."

"Some countries wouldn't have done that. They would have kept the technology for themselves and licensed it, making money off it first."

"It's smart to give it away. As I mentioned, I don't believe people should starve. We should be helping each other."

"The operative word being ‘should' in that statement. Not everyone believes in ‘should'. I'm sure you saw that at the A.N. meeting."

"I can't deny that." Not all world leaders wanted to help in the same way he did, or even help their own country, much less another. Some were more interested in power and control.

"I think it would be helpful if you could be involved in some of these discussions at the next G20. You could be on some of the working groups and steering committees."

"Would this be as an Invited Guest?"

Kihan took a beat before responding. "No, not for the upcoming meeting. But there is the potential to be one in a future year."

Hmmm. This would be a route similar to what Norway had taken then. Still, it was progress. "Are the other nations aware of your invitation?"

Kihan nodded. "Yes. Most think your contributions would be valuable. I hope to see you there myself, but I'll understand if you send some of your people instead. I am giving you fairly short notice."

That was true; the meeting would be held in just two months, and there was the timing of the coronation to worry about. Still, it was being held in Europe, so the travel wouldn't be onerous. "I'll have to check with my people and, of course, our King, but we are honoured by the invitation."

"You are welcome." He paused, as if deciding whether or not to share something. "It's not a coincidence that we're holding a state dinner for you. Valleria is our ally, but state dinners are typically reserved for certain nations. Valleria traditionally wouldn't qualify."

Alex already knew that, as he'd learned it as part of the prep for the visit. His staff had been surprised when the state dinner had been offered during the planning and negotiations in the lead up to the trip.

Kihan continued. "Yet, I felt that in holding such a dinner for you, we could further cement our relationship. I'm not interested in only doing the status quo to appease political rivals. I want to make real change, and I think we need new—or perhaps overlooked—voices to do it."

Alex had to speak very carefully here. "First, I'll say that Valleria would be interested in furthering our relationship, in a variety of different ways. Second, I commend your ideals, though I'm not sure how realistic they are. Even the G20 is exclusionary to a certain extent."

"I know, and I agree. Yet I think the best way forward is one step at a time."

"And our relationship is one of those steps?"

"Yes, along with your participation in the G20."

Alex took a long drink to buy some time. "I'm very interested in becoming more involved on the world stage, and I'm looking for potential partners for Valleria. But I won't be a pawn in someone else's game. My country deserves better than that."

Kihan smiled. "Then I look forward to working with you in the future." He leaned in slightly and Alex did the same. "Any chance for an invitation to the coronation? My husband's dying to go, though he wouldn't say it."

Alex laughed. "I'll see what I can do. While we would love to have all our allies there, we're keeping it small. I do want to express my thanks again to you for coming to the previous queen's funeral. I'm sorry we didn't get to speak more then, but I'm glad for the chance now."

From there, the conversation moved to his Nonna and stayed lighter. There would be more negotiations over the coming days, but they'd made a good start.

The next day, he and Rebecca—along with Ethan and Anda, who had flown in from L.A.—visited Arlington National Cemetery to lay wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. They also visited two hospitals, the National Children's Hospital and the National Veteran's Hospital .

They then had lunch with leaders from healthcare—pharma companies, hospital administrators, insurance companies, and patient advocates—along with those in government managing veteran's issues to discuss broader challenges in healthcare and potential solutions.

Rebecca led many of the conversations and Alex was so fucking proud of her. The partners of a country's leader were so often asked to diminish themselves. Yet, both she and Alejandro took over the rooms they walked into in different ways.

Alex knew Rebecca had worried prior to this trip—it was a big political test for them both—but she had passed with flying colours as far as he was concerned and the public agreed.

So far, at least.