The Life of Victoria

3.9

22 May 2017  

Dressed in a white turtle-neck tucked into a red flowy skirt, Victoria stepped out of the Royal Train, usually reserved for her grandmother, but since she's not using it, Victoria used it for the day trip to Manchester. Her hair, curled to perfection, flowed in the winds as she made it down the steps.

Her blue heels tapped lightly on the ground as she made her way to the Vice Lord-lieutenant of Greater Manchester, Paul Griffith.

"Your Royal Highness," Paul bowed his head slightly. "Welcome to Manchester."

"Good morning," Tori smiled as she held her hand out for him to shake. "Thank you, Vice Lord-Lieutenant."

Tori spent about a minute talking to Paul before he introduced some people waiting at the station for her. Once that was done, Tori went off to the side, greeting the well-wishers who were waiting to see her. Some of them even brought her flowers and gifts of her growing baby.

"These are for you Princess," said a woman who passed her a bouquet of flowers as well as a card made by her children.

"Oh thank you so much! These are so pretty! Did your children made these?" Tori flipped open the card, wishing her endless happiness and for a healthy baby.

"Yes, my son, who's 4 years old and my daughter, who is 1 years old," the lady blushed. "They were very excited that I get to meet a princess today. They asked me as well if I was going to meet superman."

"Well, unfortunately Superman is in Paris filming a new movie," Tori laughed. "But I am here though. Thank you again!"

By the time Tori is finished with the crowd, her hands were filled with more flowers, cards, and presents for both the baby and Tori.

She gave another wave to the crowd before getting in her car and heading to the Manchester Town hall to have lunch and a private meeting with the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham. Joining them would be Andy's wife Marie-France van Heel.

Handing the gifts to Lindsay, her and Henry's joint Private Secretary, Tori took a deep breath as they make their way to the town hall.

After her lunch and talk at the Town hall, Tori and her team made their way to the Horsfall at 42nd Street. It is a mental health and arts charity. There she will meet the team behind the art centre as well as the younger generation who have benefited with the programs held there.

Tori spent about an hour and a half at the centre, which started with a tour around the compound. She then had a round table discussion with some of the therapists who offer group support as well as some one on one supports as well. She then joined in on a session with the Creative Agents, a group of young people who are involved in the creative projects, often showcased around the compound.

With only Lancaster House photographer and no press around, Tori really relaxed with the group. Michael, their photographer, only stayed in the room and took some pictures about five minutes when Tori entered and 5 minutes before Tori left. He left the room during the sessions and discussions where Tori revealed quite a lot about herself to the therapists as well as the younger ones.

Tori then made her way to a small hotel, where they housed their change of clothes and other equipments. Tori changed into a more comfortable outfit, suited for a walk. She's wearing an oversized hoodie, most likely belonging to Henry, paired with a pair of maternity tights and sneakers. She donned on her head a pair of sunglasses as well.

Tori spent the next few hours on a walk through Fletcher Moss Park and Botanical Gardens, breathing in the cool air before heading back to the hotel for a few hours of rest.

When it reached 5:30 in the evening, Tori once again got herself ready. This time wearing a Saint Laurent sweatshirt, jeans and knee-high boots. Tori's hair, now in a wavy mess, was pulled into a high ponytail. Tori topped off her look with silver hoops as earring and a silver watch.

She now is about to meet a pop-star to talk about mental health and the importance of music as a tool to help before her concert.

When Tori was ready, surrounded by her team, they made their way to Manchester Arena. Since this somehow counts as an informal yet formal visit, she was taken to the entrance of backstage and was greeted by the Arena's general manager as well as Ariana's manager, Scooter Braun.

Tori stepped down from her car, with the rest of her team surrounding her.

"Your Royal Highness," Scooter nodded to the royal which Tori smiled at before shaking his hand. "This way please. Thank you so much for coming out here tonight."

"It's no problem," Tori smiled as they started their journey backstage to Ariana's green room. "I listen to quite a lot of her songs so when the opportunity arises, I couldn't stop myself. Especially if the topics we're discussing tonight is one that I hold very close to my heart."

They continued their walk to the green room where Ariana is waiting for them. When Tori entered the room, Ariana stood up and went over to greet the princess.

"Hello, it's so wonderful to see you tonight," Tori reached out to shake Ariana's hand which she did.

"Hi! Thank you so much for coming to my show," Ariana returned the handshake and gestured for Tori to come and sit down by the couch.

The two talked for a while, the conversations ranges from mental health, Tori's pregnancy, how Ariana is finding Tour and performing and so on. The two continued to talk until it was time for Tori to head towards her seats and for Ariana to start getting prepped to go on stage.

The two hugged and exchanged numbers, each promising to keep in touch with each other and to talk more about mental health. Ariana assured Tori that whatever she is doing, if she were to start an initiative, that she would help.

Tori smiled one last time to Ari before being escorted to her seat in the box. With this being a concert, there are a lot of people present, therefore Tori had to be seated in a place with easy exit access in case of emergencies.

The concert went by in a flash, Tori had asked Ashley, one of her security personnel who is there with her to take videos on her phone. Mostly some of Tori's favourite Ariana Grande song so that he can rub in Henry's face that she get to see Ariana in person while he was busy in Paris filming Mission Impossible.

It's true that Tori was jealous of him being around Tom Cruise all the time, but both Tori and Henry listen to Ariana Grande quite a lot while they're at home.

During the encore of One Last Time, Adam, another one of Tori's protection detail whispered to Tori.

"Ma'am, we should start making a move towards the car right now to avoid the crowd."

"Can we leave through the front please? There's less people since we're leaving early but I want to make a stop at the merch stall." Tori told Adam.

"Of course Ma'am, I will let the team know." Adam nodded his head before taking his phone out to let the driver as well as the police escorts to stand by at the front.

As per protocol of a Royal during a visit, each protection detail are equipped with an ear piece that is connected to both the local police, medical and firefighter channel, in case of any emergency. All three teams are on standby as well as a team of doctors in the hospital until said royal have left the premise and are safely back in their residence.

Tori and her team move forwards towards the main foyer and stayed for a while at the march store to buy some hoodies, t-shirts and other things Tori thought she could give her family members. Tori passed the things to Lindsey before they make their way across the foyer towards the entrance.

As they were only a few steps away from the door, there was a large blast and the group were thrown forwards.

Tori's ears start ringing and it wasn't long until her vision went black.