The Royal Contract

"I'm sorry again about this." Alex seemed to be asking for Dani's forgiveness a lot today. But he knew that his apology was never enough for what he had put her through.

He needed to clean up his act if he was to make up with her. He could not keep messing it up, especially now that he was facing another drama within his family. He had sensed that his father had something to what happened last night. He was, after all, a member of the Council. His father was aware of their plans.

He hoped that it was not his father's idea to consider him on the throne. He hated to think that his father was forcing him to do what he did not want. Now, he was more determined to find a solution to his problem. Being a king of this land was not what he had signed when he agreed to celebrate his birthday.

"What for?" She asked him as they walked back together to the other house to prepare for their day.

She felt something was different about him. Gone was the playful Alex she was dealing with earlier. His face looked too serious that she almost saw the man she had met more than a year ago. The man that fascinated her because he seemed so aloof, unfriendly, and untouchable. He looked like a man who was carrying a heavy burden over his shoulder.

"For this morning and then my family's plans," Alex said with a smile that did not touch his eyes. 

He was feeling guilty for putting Dani in this situation. What he thought would be a simple charade to appease his parent was becoming a full-blown circus. It now included the entire kingdom.

He would not blame her if she found herself backing out of their contract anytime soon. He knew that she did not sign up for this. He did not want to force her into something that was not part of their agreement.

"Did you plan this to happen?" When she saw his face, she knew that he was also just a victim of their doing and the circumstance around them. 

"I did not know that this would come to this." He admitted as he stared at her face.

If he had known about his current situation, he wondered if he would have gone through with the celebration. Although he had always known that he also was in line with the throne, he never once considered taking it seriously. 

He always believed as long as Edward was around, he did not need to step up to the plate. But circumstances changed now that he knew what The Council members were planning. He was still unsure of what to do with this new development.

"Then, don't sweat it. Let us finished what we started and hope that you find the solution to our situation before the six months is through." She said, not wanting to make things harder for him. She reminded herself that the only thing that mattered to her was to fulfill the contract she had signed without getting caught.

She wanted to ask him about what happened last night. How his current situation would affect their agreement? But she guessed she could ask that later when they had more time to discuss.

She left him as she went to her separate room. When she entered, she finally saw her things arranged the way it was in her previous room. At least this time, she knew that it was not Alex who handled her things. She was still embarrassed to remember that he went through her private things.

After thirty minutes, a knock on her door alerted her that it was time to leave. "Wait, I'll be out in a minute."

"Do you have any idea of what your mom is planning for us?" She asked him as soon as they were walking down the stairs.

"Don't worry. I'm sure it will be nothing worse than the duck hunt we are going to." He smiled at her to reassure her.

He was glad that she seemed to have calmed down and forgiven him for the earlier incident. He reminded himself to avoid doing that to her ever again.

"Ok. I'm glad to hear that." Even if her mom was also a part of the activity, she was still apprehensive about going out with them. She was not exactly a great liar, so she was afraid that they would find out the truth. "What about you? Can you handle my dad?" She asked.

"Don't worry. I can deal with our dads." Well, if he could face his uncle, he was sure he could handle another king.

"Ok." She was relieved. She needed to be sure that both of them were capable of getting away with their lies before they faced their parents.

"Wait." He stopped her when they were about to exit the door, pulling her gently back inside.

"What?" She asked, suddenly anxious that something was wrong.

"Since I already said that I would take you to the old castle, I was wondering if you like to go there later, after lunch." He assumed that the hunt would only take the morning, so he still had time to take her out when he came back.

"Oh! If you think that would help our situation." She wanted to think of this logically. He was asking her out so that they could continue to play their act. It was not a date.

"Yeah, I think we need to do this." He insisted as he held the door open for her. His mind kept thinking that he had to continue playing the doting boyfriend and fiance to her for their parents to believe that their relationship was real. Nobody could know about them except their friends who were helping them.

"Ok. Then, I'll see you later." She answered him, convinced that this was necessary for their charade.

They separated when they reached the lawn. Dani went further inside the palace, where she would meet their mothers. Alex went to the firing range to meet the men.

"There you are, my dear." Her mother pulled her inside the living room where Katherine was waiting for them. "We are going with Katherine to this famous spa that she was telling me about earlier. We all deserved some time to relax and enjoy the day."

"Oh, that would be lovely." She knew she did not need it, but she did not want to turn down her mother. She also did not want to be rude. Alex's mother did make an effort to do this for them.

Outside, the men were converging in the middle of a large lawn. It was an open firing range used by his father or his guests to practice shooting.

On a table were several rifles that they were going to use to hunt the ducks. Alex's father and Ethan were already choosing their weapon while his friends were busily talking on the other side. Probably complaining that he had included them in this activity, he thought.

Both of them were going on different paths, but both thought of one thing, their agreement to meet later on. But it was not a date.