The Royal Contract

A minute after Dani went to the dance floor and left her on her own, Jacky found herself staring at the crowd with nothing to do. Then, in the distance, she saw a man walking towards her with a friendly smile plastered on his face. 

She was supposed to go to Marcus but seeing that he was still busy conversing with the other guests, she changed her mind. She decided to look for something else she could do with her time. She was about to go to the bar to refill her glass when the man stopped her.

"A lovely evening, I'm Lance, and you are?" The man slightly bowed in front of her, then raised his head. With his eyes fixed on her, he asked about her name.

"It is indeed a nice evening. Everybody calls me Jacky." She smiled at the man, trying to be polite to the stranger. 

Stretching her hand, she offered it to his extended hand and allowed him to kiss her hand. She found the gesture quite different from what she got accustomed to, and shaking hands seemed so barbarian compared to this.

It was a rare experience to feel like she was a princess in a fairy tale story. She knew that none of this was true for her. She was just here because of Dani, but it would not stop her from taking advantage of simply enjoying her present situation. 

Acting like royalty for the night was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. She was enjoying the attention she was getting, especially coming from a very handsome man. 

"Can I offer you my services?" Lance snapped his finger to a nearby waiter, beckoning him to come over. He replaced the glass in her hands with a fresh glass of champagne and took one also for himself.

"Thanks." She raised her glass to him, slightly impressed with his gentlemanly action. She found him amusing and decided that she could use his company in the meantime. 

"Why is such a beautiful lady like you, standing here all alone, without a date?" He asked as he sipped on his champagne. 

"I am not alone. I have a date. Marcus is just a bit preoccupied at the moment." She looked again at Marcus, who still seemed to be in a deep conversation with two men.

"Then, his lost, and hopefully my gain," Lance announced as he finished the drink in his hand. "Care to dance?" He asked her, offering his hand to her. 

She had nothing to do. She was not looking forward to standing still, with no one to talk to while she waited for her companions to come back. After a few seconds of contemplation, she convinced herself that there was no harm with a few minutes of dancing with him. 

She was sure that Marcus would not mind. Besides, they were not even exclusively in a relationship. She was not about to mope around while everybody was having fun.

"Why not?" She accepted his hand and let him lead her to the dance floor. 

She looked at the man that was guiding her through their dance. He was above average based on her standard. He looked like he had been working out, but he did not seem too muscular from the outline of his body in his clothes. Compared to Marcus, he came close to second, but only by a minuscule margin.

She was not a good dancer, so she was glad that he was far better than her. He was able to guide her to the slow beat of the music.

"I am assuming that you are not from around here, basing on your accent," Lance stated his observation as he swayed her to the music. 

"Yes, I am not. I assumed that you are." She could see from the way he acted that he belonged to this group. He fit perfectly with the criteria of nobility. She wondered what his role was in all of this. But she could dream that he was a prince sweeping her off her feet, even for just a minute.

"I am. I could not escape my fate and landed in this place." Lance told her with a teasing smile.

"Are you a member of the royal family? Are you related to Alex? I meant Prince Alexander." She could not stop the question from slipping out of her tongue as her curiosity got the best of her.

"Unfortunately, yes. I hope that is not a problem." He asked her, not being able to decipher what her expression was trying to say.

Lance was amused at the way she was looking at him. It was as if she was studying him under a microscope as she focused on his face. Jacky was not shy at all, staring at him openly. He could see that she was studying him thoroughly under her gaze.

"I'm sorry. I did not mean to stare." She suddenly realized what she was doing. She temporarily lost herself when she looked at him. She was not attracted to him. It was more of curiosity on her part and the fact that she was dancing with royalty. 

She tried to make excuses in her mind as he continued to dance with her, slightly embarrassed with the way she had behaved.

"Don't be sorry. I am flattered that you find me interesting." He smiled at him, quite intrigued with this girl in his arms. He had not met someone like her before. "I think I am enjoying your company."

Just like her, he was also curious about the foreign beauty that was dancing with him. When he saw her earlier, alone, he felt drawn to her. He just had to meet her. There was something about her that he found interesting. Her beauty alone stood out from the crowd.

"Then, good for you. Good company is hard to find." She accepted it as a compliment and smiled at him. 

"How about I show you around? Tomorrow if you are available." He offered, wanting to spend more time with this lady in his arms.

"I don't know. Maybe some other time." She was not about to go around the place with some random stranger in this foreign land. Besides, she was here with Marcus.

"Then, it is a shame not to be able to show you the beauty of my hometown." Lance acted forlorn as she declined his offer. 

But he was not ready to give up just yet as he tried to devise a way to convince her to go out with him. However, his thought was interrupted when she suddenly spoke.

"On second thought. Why not?" She accepted Lance's offer.

Her mind suddenly changed when her eyes landed on Marcus, who seemed to be enjoying himself as he dances provocatively with another woman not far from her. The way he was holding her close to his body spoke volumes of his intentions. It appeared that he had forgotten all about her. 

She suddenly realized that she was focusing her attention too much on Marcus lately. She had forgotten that what they had was just temporary. She quickly reminded herself that she did not commit to anyone. She was here to enjoy her life. It was time that she explored the land and its many possibilities.