The Royal Contract

"I thought that Edward would be your only apprentice. I did not expect to see Lance, too." Dani walked away from the sink after finishing up the cleaning.

She was indeed surprised to see Lance with Alex earlier. Well, better him than his other cousin, she thought, cringing at the thought of seeing Edward again.

But she knew that it was unavoidable. One of these days, there was every possibility that their paths might cross again one way or another. She just hoped that he would behave more appropriately the next time they met.

"I decided to make some adjustment on the arrangement with my father," Alex stated as he sat on the chair by the counter, sipping on his remaining wine as he watched her moved around the kitchen.

She insisted that she should clean up since he finished her cooking. So, he was left to sit and entertain her with things that happened at work. He welcomed the chance to relax for a change. 

The entire day had been exhausting, especially when he had to deal with Edward. The last thing he wanted was to train someone who did not wish to be in the same room with him, not now or ever. But both of them were left with no other option.

"Do you think Edward would take it seriously this time? From the way you talked about him, he seems to be too much trouble." She stated her observation as she also sat down on the chair beside Alex and grabbed another glass.

In the short time that she had the displeasure of talking to Edward, she already knew that he was not the kind of man she would like to deal with. Edward reminded her so much of Nick in a way. So, it never felt right when she was talking to him.

"He had no choice but to work on improving himself. It is his right to the throne that is at stake." Alex shook his head, thinking if he was only wasting his time with this endeavor.

Could he make Edward a better person in a month, when he had his entire life to build who he was today? Did he only set himself up to fail? But he knew he had to try because his future was also at stake in this.

"But what made you believe that he would actually change and not just pretend to follow the rules? For all we know, he might be doing this only to please his father and the Council. Then afterward, he will revert to his old ways." Dani could not help but voice out her opinion on the matter.

She knew that Alex had already thought of his plans thoroughly before he had agreed to this arrangement. But she did not see a problem of pointing out some things. 

Sometimes, it helped to brainstorms some ideas that could shed some light on his plans. Maybe it would further improve his current situation.

"Honestly, I don't know. There is no guarantee that Edward will suddenly find himself a reformed man. But you know I have to try, or my father and the rest of my family will never stop hounding me to take the throne." He knew that it was a tremendous risk, but it was a worthy one.

His mind had not changed between the time he left that palace and the time he had returned. Until now, he still had no plan to take the throne and the responsibility attached to it.

"Will it be that bad if you become King?" She knew she should not be asking him about this, but she wanted to learn more about the man sitting beside her. She had to learn all his secrets and all the things that made him who he was today.

"Yes and no." He answered her question, unable to give her a definite one. He contemplated on how to better explain to her his situation.

"What does that mean?" Once again, his answers created more riddles than answers.

"I know that taking over the Empire would be a piece of cake. I already trained my entire life in the ins and out of it even before I went to college here." He began with a few insights into his younger life back in his hometown.

"So, what is stopping you from taking over the kingdom?" She felt like digging into his life would lead her to more understanding of how his mind works.

"Because it is not mine. Not by birthright or my hard work to take. It felt like I am stealing it from the people who deserved it more than I do." He knew that Dani would not understand what he was talking about since she had never gone through the same thing.

"But you are not taking it from anyone. The people are giving it to you to keep it safe." She felt that was how she would interpret his situation.

"Anyway, why would I want that when I already have something here that I built with the use of my mind and my two hands." He pointed out as she automatically gazed down at his callous hands.

"Ok, if that is how you feel about it. I don't like to see you stressing yourself on a person who never deserves it in the first place." Dani could feel the tension in his movements. As if he was tired of dealing with the same issue over and over again.

"And I am glad that you are here to remind me of what is important to me." He pulled her into his lap and cradled her body with his. With her back on his front, he wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her shoulders.

At this point, he wanted to say that she was the most important person in his life right now. But he feared that saying it might scare her away. He still needed to figure out how he truly felt about her.

"I'm sorry if you feel pressured by my constant questions." She softly spoke as she felt his steady breathing by her neck.

She knew that this business of his father and the Council considering him as a replacement for Edward weighed heavily on him. She wished only to find some way to be there for him, to give him support.

"Don't be. I like it when..." A loud bang by the door cut short his words as someone abruptly entered the room.

They immediately stood up and rushed to the source of the noise and found Jacky staring into space, leaning her weight on the door behind her, with her bag clutched on her chest.

"Jacky, what is wrong?" She asked her as Alex also moved to her side. 

But Jacky failed to respond as she continued to stare at the space in front of her. She appeared to be thinking deeply of something, but she was unaware of what was happening around her.

Dani stood in front of her friend, wondering what happened to her. But she seemed to be elsewhere as her eyes glazed with her internal thoughts. Jacky appeared to be in a trance.