The Royal Scandal | Prince William |

Around and Around We Go

May 5, 2007

Opening night was possibly the most nerve wracking but exhilarating night of any show run.

That first roar of the crowd rings backstage, stepping on stage and seeing the full audience rekindles your drive for the performance, and the thrilling anxiety hoping they like it.

It's an adrenaline rush that feels like a rollercoaster, and Jaclyn lives for the build up.

She can hear soft clapping all the way in her dressing room as the overture music starts, meaning it must be thunderous on stage.

With that plus all the dancing that happens before her first entrance she won't be on for another twenty minutes. Her hair however is already done, and she's already dressed and stretching.

A stage hand will be down soon to get her, but she always manages to meet them in the hallway halfway. That's why she jumps when there's a knock on the heavy wooden door.

It cracks and Chelsy peaks her head in. Her blonde is straightened and gleaming falling on the sleeves of her black dress.

"I know I'm supposed to be watching," she quickly interjects before Jaclyn can jump her with questions, "but I have to leave right after and I had to be the one to give you these." Chelsy holds out a bouquet of blue hydrangeas, Jaclyn's favorite

"Plus, I haven't seen you since movie night, and I wanted to see how you're holding up." Jaclyn accepts the flowers, and pulls on her stage smile. Chelsy see through it immediately.

"I'm well, the hard part is supporting Will without showing how delighted I am he's not going. How are you doing?" Her fingers dance over the paper thin petals, admiring the tiny flowers that form individual spheres. When Chelsy doesn't speak though she looks up, worry clear as day in her blue eyes.

Chelsy grabs her elbows slouching down as she whispers. "Not well, I know it's not over for Harry. He's going to go eventually, and I don't know if I can go through that." Her lips pout as she tries to bite down everything she feels.

Jaclyn's always thought of Chelsy as vibrant, a sign of her youth, but she no longer looks young with exuberance. Instead unease decays her features until she is nothing but scared.

It's like staring down a portal to the past. If Jaclyn saw herself all those years ago, in that hotel room where her heart shattered to the point she thought there was no recovery, then this is what she would've looked like. The difference was Jaclyn was weighted down by the road blocks, and wanted to break through them. Chelsy looked torn to the point she could no longer fight everything that stood in her way.

"God, how awful I sound. It's not like I'm the one going into active service." Finally she looks up giving way to red blotched face, the anxiety pulling the strings as she tries to hide her shaking.

"True," Jaclyn soothes, going slowly forward to put her hand on the smaller girls shoulder. "but it's a lot for us waiting here as well. No matter what we do we can't keep them safe, we can do nothing but wait. Not to mention you can't tell anyone, so you're kind of suffering alone while everyone wonders why you're so high strung."

"Fair, but I think it's the fear that I'll know nothing when he goes." Jaclyn stilled, confusion pushing her brow up into a questioning look.

"What do you mean?"

Chelsy sobered quickly, her own still blotchy expression confused as well. "William didn't tell you?"

Tell her what? Jaclyn shrugged, her head whirling. Chelsy's meltdown mixed with what seemed to be anger, and hesitation. As if she was tempted not to reveal anything to Jaclyn at all.