Princess Kiia

By the end of Ozean Horizon’s set, I could tell we were all ready for bed. The hour and fifteen minutes I played were becoming a routine. Despite my misgivings about performing, the muscle memory of it being a job above all else helped me shed my exhaustion. I was joining OH earlier in their set for Invisible on this tour, so I had the luxury of watching the rest of the show from the side of the stage.

They were tight, but the weight of back-to-back major tours was creating an obvious strain on them. Once I compartmentalized the show, I knew my biggest demons came from the loneliness of the road. With that solved, I was more reliable than ever, and I could tell that Kiia, and the rest of her band was going to need whatever support they could get.

In the dressing room, I helped Kiia change into her street clothes. This hadn’t happened before, but it was obvious her body didn’t want to do anything else tonight.

“Do you need me to carry you back to the hotel?” I asked, once she was settled.

“Maybe,” she pouted, much to my surprise.

“Okay,” I said, lifting her out of her chair in a princess carry.

“I didn’t think you were actually going to do it,” she said, wrapping her arms around my chest.

“Why wouldn’t I? We’re two short elevator rides and like a thousand feet from the room right now.”

“Okay,” she mumbled, accepting that this was happening.

I walked out of the dressing room and straight to the elevator down to the walkway to the hotel. The two security guards got a good chuckle out of it.

“Man, it’s a shame we aren’t allowed to take pictures,” the taller one said.

“Yeah, I can’t believe that’s the same woman who was dominating the stage like twenty minutes ago,” the shorter one volleyed.

“Cy, you’re a really lucky dude that she trusts you like that,” the taller one continued.

“Thanks,” I said, wondering when we got on a first name basis. “She’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me.”

I saw her blushing from embarrassment, but she stopped herself from talking, knowing it would only make her situation more embarrassing.

“Man, we see so many celebrity couples come through here, but I’ve never seen a dude actually carry his tired partner back… I can’t wait to tell my crew how much of a real one you are,” the shorter one continued.

“Thanks man, I really appreciate the kind words.”

I was happy that these two were accompanying us to the hotel entrance. From the small interaction, I knew that once we reached the walkway, we didn’t have to worry about anything.

The short walk to the hotel was quick, but blinding. Eager fans and the local media were snapping all of the pictures they could, trying to find the best angle. I already knew the headlines were going to read: Princess Kiia… Which would make for a great inside joke, but she’ll be mad that they don’t say queen.

As we made it to the floor of our hotel room, she was more out of it than I expected. I picked up the pace and tapped my pocket to the lock to get access to our room. I placed her gently, but slightly upright on the bed. I stepped to the refrigerator to grab her a sports drink, removing the cap and bringing it to her mouth.

“Thank you,” she said, having finished half the bottle. “But I feel like such a spoiled brat right now.”

“It’s fine, you’re not spoiled if you didn’t ask for it,” I laughed, handing the bottle to her. “Besides, I could tell you needed all of this.”

“Yeah,” she looked down. “I just don’t want to be a burden, but this is all so new and difficult…I didn’t expect to be so tired.”

“I remember my first stadium tour… I’m just trying to make sure I do everything I would have wanted someone else to do for me back then.”

She pulled me closer to her for a quick kiss.

“Cy, just having you to talk to is more than enough, but I appreciate you going the extra mile,” she smiled. “Thank you.”

We sat in silence as she rehydrated and rested for a while. At some point, I remembered we were supposed to meet Rome downstairs, but that probably wasn’t going to happen.

I shot him a quick text letting him know that we weren’t going to make it, but we would catch up the next time he was in town.

Rome

Good looks. Thanks for the head’s up. I saw the Princess pics, so I figured.

I got a good laugh at that. I wasn’t going to tell Kiia that he said it though. She wasn’t going to be happy about the lines of questioning that come from those pictures, but seeing how relieved she looked in bed, it was the right decision.

I hopped on social media to see how many good pictures of her there were, and Wow, there were hundreds of great shots. At first I thought the “Princess” thing was a bit over blown, but with how beautiful she looked in her drowsy state, she had a strong sleeping beauty vibe going for her.

The headlines and blurbs were all over the place as usual. I hated the more feminine journals digging into her for letting herself be seen like that. However, most people were quick to defend her.

My favorite was the initial feedback of Jack Willis, “People who are crying about this just wished they had someone who would carry them home after work.”

After the press adventure earlier, he was going to make a liar out of me when he leaks that my EP is dropping in September, and I loved how that let him still appear to be a Hater.

As Kiia fell asleep, I couldn’t help but admire her. This tour was going to be the hardest thing she’s ever done, but I was so happy to be able to support her through it. I just hoped that she wouldn’t be too jaded by the media on the other side.