The Royal Contract

"This is Dani. My friend, and of course, Alex's fiancé." Jacky introduced her friend to Lance. "Dani, this is Lance. My new friend."

"Oh, it is nice to put a face on a name." Dani extended her hand to Lance.

"Yes, I already saw you on the engagement but did not have the chance to get introduced." Lance picked up her hand and gave it a gentle kiss.

From his viewpoint at the party, she was lovelier now with the morning light and at close up. Alex was lucky to have her if her face matched a wonderful personality. But if she was the same as her friend, Jacky, he believed that Alex found a good match for him.

"Things were a bit chaotic that day. I'm sorry that we did not have time to talk. But I'm happy that the two of you met," Alex stated, glad that Jacky landed with his cousin and not the other guests who were more or less like Marcus.

Marcus was his bestfriend, but he would never approve of his ways when it came to his relationship with a woman or lack of it. But if Marcus wanted Jacky, he would have a competition with Lance. He believed that Lance was a better man than him.

"Shall we go?" Lance pointed to the chopper not far from them.

"I think we should. The others might be wondering what is taking us too long." Alex was directing his words to Marcus, who kept looking in their direction.

They walked towards the rest of the party that was going with them on this trip. Alex decided that the other six guests of his parents would be riding the other chopper, while the five of them would take the other one.

"Marcus, have you met my cousin, Lance." Alex introduced the two, assessing how Marcus would react to his cousin's presence.

He could see the hostility in his gaze, but he hid it very well that very few might even notice it. But as his long-time friend, he was used to reading him.

"We have met earlier." Marcus gave the group a friendly smile as if they were his clients that he needed to please. 

If he needed to act civil to get through the remaining days of their vacation, he would do that. He moved further away from them for a moment. He just needed time to be alone. 

However, he planned to watch Jacky and Lance like a hawk. He did not trust this new guy around Jacky. He was not letting them out of his sight.

"Oh, shit!" He suddenly had a realization. What was he thinking? He was suddenly confused with the way his mind was working. He was confused about what to think of his behavior. 

But his mind was insisting on something. He could not let Jacky go, not yet. It kept on insisting not to leave her without a fight. He was not sure if he was going insane or it was this place that making him think crazily.

When they reached the chopper, Alex went to talk to the uniformed men, checking the engines. Lance and Marcus placed all their things in the luggage compartment. 

When Alex returned to them, the two uniformed men started moving away from the chopper. "Aren't we leaving yet?" Dani asked as Alex assisted her into the helicopter. "Where are they going?" Pointing to the two men.

"We are, so better buckle up." He helped her in her seat just behind the pilot side. "Wear this." He placed a headset on her head. Then, securing the seatbelt around her.

At the other side of Dani, Lance was helping Jacky in her seat and with her belt. Just like what Alex did with Dani, he also assisted Jacky with the headset. "We can talk using this during the flight. So, you have nothing to worry about." He assured Jacky.

Marcus had no choice but to sit at the rear area of the chopper, located just behind Jacky's seat.

"Anybody wants to buckle me up." He jokingly said to Alex, who only smirked at his friend. 

"By the way, who is flying this thing?" Dani finally asked, seeing that the pilots were nowhere in sight.

Alex and Lance started positioning themselves in the front seats of the chopper, which made the two girls looked at them in terror. Marcus was not surprised anymore since he had known about Alex's ability to fly a plane and a chopper.

"Please tell me that you two are joking." Dani partially yelled out of fright. 

"This is not a nice joke." Jacky also seconded Dani's statement. Her fear of flying doubled, seeing that the two were starting to operate the machine.

"Don't worry, girls. Trust us. We know what we are doing." Alex looked behind her to assure Dani that she was safe in his hands.

"Are you sure? Maybe we can call back the two pilots to take over." Dani insisted as her hands started to shake in fright.

"Don't you remember that I do not do things without carefully considering everything? I will never put your life in danger. Remember that." Alex assured her as he started the engine.

The machine roared to life, and the blades started rotating in a steady rhythm, increasing every second. Same as the anxiety of the two passengers who could not believe what they were witnessing.

It was different to play with their lives on the ground but up in the air. It was not just the same. They were not sure if they were ready to risk their lives and put them in the hands of these two men.

"I told you that two best pilots would be flying this chopper. Don't you remember?" Lance talked to his mouthpiece so that Jacky would hear him clearly over the noise of the blades.

"We assure you that we do this all the time." Alex turned around and took Dani's hand, and kissed it. He was not sure if that would help, but he wanted to do it.

"Don't worry. Alex is a certified pilot." Marcus assured the two, verifying his friend's credentials. He was just not sure about Lance. He was not about to vouch for the man.

"Ok." The two girls finally acknowledged, but in their minds, one thing was forming. They were about to die.