The Royal Contract

"What took you so long? I have been waiting for you for hours." He said as he lay on the sandy beach, gazing at the beautiful sunset.

He had waited for this for a long time. He planned to make the most of their vacation together, with no work, families, friends, and other things to worry about except making each other happy.

"I was not that long." She defended herself, punching him lightly on his arms as she sat beside him on the reclining chair, staring at the retreating sun.

It was a daily battle between day and night. The ray of light tried to overcome the darkness at the break of dawn. While the shadows crawled up at dusk to cover everything in a pitch-black cloak. 

However, not everything was enveloped in darkness. Some nights glowed when the moon decided to display its magnificence. Together with the stars, they shone brightly in the heavens above.

"Well, it felt that way." He spoke softly, shifting his gaze to her face. "You are so beautiful." He took her hand and grazed it with his lips.

He could not help but wonder about the beauty of nature and how anyone would opt not to see it every day. He could stare at the view before him and marvel at its beauty, 

But he would prefer to stare at his wife and her brilliance. She was indeed beautiful not only in the physical aspect but deep inside.

For him, she was the most beautiful thing to see in the morning and the last he would enjoy looking at before closing his eyes.

"Not as beautiful as this." She gestured her hands to the scenery in front of them. "I can look at it all day." She turned her back on him. 

She gazed at the waters as they glided softly on the sands before returning to the deep end. They moved back and forth as if enticing her to join the coolness and allure of the calmness of the blue sea.

"What about me? Am I not also beautiful?" He teased her, sitting up on the chair and showing off his muscular arms and chest.

He wanted her full attention on him. He wanted them to focus on making this moment last forever. It was rare that they had an opportunity to be alone like this, so he was taking complete advantage of it.

"Of course you are." She turned around, giving him a reassuring smile. It was like she was looking at a child, comforting him. "You are my everything." 

She patted him softly on the cheeks, caressing her gently on the side of his eyes, down to his nose, cheeks, and jawline. It was as if she was memorizing each line on his face, committing it to her memory.

"What is wrong?" He suddenly asked, wondering why her face suddenly changed. It was as if she was about to cry.

He did not want her to cry. This vacation was supposed to make her happy. He tried to think of a reason why she would feel that way. Did he do something wrong or say something that made her sad?

"Alex, stay with me. I do not want to live without you." With trembling lips, she kissed him as if she was afraid to lose him. 

It was a short kiss, but it felt so sweet and bitter at the same time. It was like a kiss that was saying I love you but at the same time bidding farewell.

He wanted to kiss her again, but she abruptly stood up. She pulled away from his touch and stepped a couple of feet away from him.

"Where are you going? You just got here." He said when she saw him turned around and started walking away. "Wait."

He tried to stand up and run after her, but his body would not respond to his command. He could only look at her, desperately pleading with her not to go.

"What is wrong? I will stay with you, but you should also stay here with me." He shouted, but his voice was lost in the wind as she continued to walk without looking back.

He did not understand as he struggled in his position. But the pain of not seeing her anymore was too much to bear. He could feel tears dropping at the side of his eyes as he laid his back on the lounge chair again.

He wiped his eyes and felt the moisture in his fingertips. He suddenly became aware of his surroundings when he gazed at the darkness. 

The noise of the waves was gone, replaced by an eerie silence. The moon was missing, and the stars were absent tonight. Only shadows played around him, creating some weird images.

Suddenly, he was confused as to whether he was in a dream. He tried to shift his body, but he barely moved an inch when he felt an unbearable pain on his side. 

"Uhmmm." He made a guttural sound as he moved back into his former position, closing his eyes as he waited for the pain to lessen.

Judging from the experience, he could safely say that this was not a dream. All of a sudden, all his memories came rushing back. He remembered the abduction, waking up in a warehouse, and the man who took them.

"Dani," Alex uttered, concerned about her condition. He tried to slowly move his body again, but it was still too painful, leaving him with no choice but to lay back again.

He vaguely remembered his dream, remembering her face. The way she looked at him with despair. He was worried about her, thinking that she might be in danger.

Without warning, the room was flooded with a bright light, blinding his sight. He had to move his hands to cover his eyes, preventing him from seeing whoever turned it on.

"Hey, you are finally awake." A man in a suit walked closer to his bed, carrying what seemed to be a bag. "Prince Alexander, right?" He stopped just in front of his bed, looking directly at him as if he was checking his condition.

"Who are you?" Alex squinted his eyes, adjusting to the brightness that finally revealed the entire room. "Where am I?" He asked, and then he continued asking more questions. "Where is my wife?"

He had never seen the man before, as far as his memory would recall. He did not seem to fit the criteria of the men who took them. Based on the bag he was carrying, he would assume that he might be a physician of some sort.

"One question at a time." The unknown man said as he extended his hand to take his risk. "Let me just check on your vitals." He pulled his hand closer to him and placed his fingers on his wrist, checking on his heartbeat.

"What is wrong with me?" He asked, seeing that his assumption was correct. "What are you planning to do with me? How is Dani?" He kept asking, hoping that he would at least answer some of them.

"First, who I am doesn't matter." He let go of his hands and grabbed the bag he was holding earlier, sitting on the side of the bed.

"Second, it seems that your heartbeat is going back to normal. That is a good sign that you might still survive for another round." He stated as he took a medicine bottle out of his bag, together with an injection needle.

"Don't worry." The man said as he looked into his fiery eyes. 

He could see that he still had a lot of fights in him. The men had not broken him yet, but they were not done with him. "This will just sting a little."

"When I get out of here, I will make sure to make all of you pay." He shouted at the man, struggling to get away from his grip. But his efforts were futile before he felt the prick on his skin.

He would have fought him if his body was not too weak and in so much pain. But he was not ready to give up. He still hoped to save Dani from Nick. 

He could feel in his heart that she was just nearby, waiting for him. This gave him hope and a reason to live.. For Dani, he would continue to fight to live another day.