The Royal Contract

After the morning pampering, Dani made a quick dash to her room to change. Alex just texted her that they were on their way back from their hunt. He informed her that he would take a quick shower before meeting her at her room for their trip to the old castle.

"Where are you going?" Her mom followed her to her room. 

Since they arrived at this place, she never had a chance to talk to her daughter alone. She missed her and the way they confided in each other. She felt that many things were happening to her daughter that she had no clue about because she hardly told her anything anymore.

Usually, she would be the first to know her innermost secrets, but recently, she was the last one to get notified about her plans, especially about getting married. She could not understand why they were growing apart. She tried to think of an instant that she might have done something wrong to make her feel that she could not talk to her anymore.

"I am going out with Alex." She thought that was a perfect excuse to get away from her mom's inquisition. "Is there anything you need, Mom, because I still need to prepare, and he is already on his way." 

She did miss her mom and their long conversations. But recently, she knew that she could not face her for long, especially when they were alone like this. She was not used to lying to her. She never lied to her before. She was not confident that she could maintain a straight face to her mother as she told her more lies.

"Oh, I thought they went hunting." Her mother sounded disappointed. "I thought we could spend the rest of the afternoon together."

"I'm sorry, Mom." She felt so guilty for putting her mom in this situation. In her defense, she did not foresee that her parents would get involved in this charade. It was supposed to be a one-night thing, then the rest of her participation was occasional appearances.  She did not expect that it would end up this complicated.

"I understand. Don't worry. We can always go out together some other time." Laura said to her daughter as she moved towards her and hugged her. "But I do miss you, my Princess."

That almost broke her heart. "I miss you too, Mom. Promise, I will make it up to you." She wished there was a way out of this situation, but there was not. As of now, all she could do was to keep acting.

"Well, you better hurry up before he arrives." Laura moved out of her room to give her daughter her space. 

She could not blame her daughter if she did not have time with her. She was growing up and finding new things to do with her life. That would include being in love. It would seem. 

"Thanks, Mom. I love you." She told her.

"I love you too." Laura mouthed before leaving her alone.

She could still remember a time when she first fell in love. It was not with Ethan but a man in her childhood. She could hardly have time for other things. All she wanted to see was him. But it turned out that it was just some silly puppy love that she eventually outgrew.

However, Dani's case was different. True love could make you blind from other things. So, she could understand if her daughter only wanted to see and spend time with her future husband. Young love could be so sweet, she thought.

Dani hurriedly changed into something more comfortable. She wore a shirt, jeans, and a sneaker so that it would be easier to explore the castle or wherever he was taking her. 

Dani was already expecting that it would not be easy. She did not want to experience the same thing that happened to her earlier. So, Dani planned to come prepared this time. She even packed extra clothing just in case she met some accident in their exploration.

"Dani, are you ready?" A knock and a call behind the door alerted her of Alex's arrival.

"Yes, I'm coming out." She was glad that she did not need to do much since they just came out of the salon. They already styled her hair, so she did not mess with it anymore. She only applied a touch of powder on her face to protect it from the rays of the sun. Other than that, she was ready to go.

"I want to comment on your look, but I am afraid that you will call me a pig or a pervert," Alex whispered while they were walking in the hallway.

"I never called you a pig, but you were certainly a pervert earlier." She commented on his statement.

"I guess I deserved that. Can we call another truce?" Alex asked as he escorted her to the parking lot.

He thought that he should try to clean up his act if they were to keep up with their lie. He could not keep on riling Dani up, or she might quit on him. That would be a bigger problem, which he might not be able to solve.

"Fine. But if you do something like that again, you can kiss our arrangement goodbye." She warned him, although she was not sure if she was capable of acting on it.

He took the helmet on the front of the bike and tried to place it on her head. "What are you doing?" She asked when she realized what his intention was.

"Putting a helmet on you. Safety first." He said as he attempted to do it once again.

"Nope. I am not riding on that thing." She pointed to the small machine in front of her. She turned her head across the parking lot and saw several four-wheel vehicles. "Why don't we take a car or that jeep?" She asked, moving towards the other vehicle parked around them.

She had never ridden on a two-wheel before. She did not even know how to ride a bicycle. It was one of the few things she was not able to try in her youth. She believed that bikers always put their lives at risk. She constantly compared riding a bike to living on the edge.