The Royal Contract

Alex guided Dani out of the car. With her eyes still closed, he walked her to the villa he had reserved for them for the weekend. He only hoped that she would love the place.

He planned for them to have a relaxing moment under the hot sun, compared to the almost cold weather they left behind. At the same time, away from the stress of their everyday lives.

"Don't peek." He reminded her. "You need to keep closing your eyes." He kept assisting her until they reached the patio at the back of the villa.

He was sure that Dani would like this place, remembering how she had enjoyed their mini adventures together. He did not plan any strenuous activities, knowing that their bodies were still recovering from a tiring week.

Therefore, he only designed a relaxing weekend for them. A time where they both could unwind and enjoy while conserving much of their energies. It was a time to procrastinate.

"Aren't we there yet?" She asked, already feeling eager and excited to see the place. 

She could already feel the breeze on her skin. Her hair blew from side to side. She also heard the soft waves, but she had expected it since she already knew they were going to the beach.

All she wanted presently was to look at the beauty of her surrounding, to enjoy the serenity of nature. She could not wait for the start of his surprise.

"Ok. You can open your eyes." He told her, revealing to her the magnificent scenery in front of them.

He had visited this place when he was young. One of the many places he had learned to love. He had fond memories of his grandparents when they took him here for a vacation.

Sometimes with his family, but most of the time, just the three of them. It was a place where he could be himself and be young without the pressure of being a prince.

"Wow, I already love this place." She could not take her eyes away from the beauty of the blue ocean that stretched to the horizon. 

She could see the end of the water as it spread on the sandy shore. It was only one of the wonders of nature that fascinated her. She loved the city, but places like this still had a special place in her heart.

"I'm glad you love it. This place is also very special to me." He admitted, gazing at the view. "But now, it has become more special because I am sharing it with you."

He turned his head to look at her. He found her more beautiful than ever, feeling he was the luckiest man in the world, finding the woman with who he would be spending the rest of his life, forever.

He ushered her to the lounge chair at the veranda, overlooking the ocean, then a woman appeared behind them. She would be assisting with all their needs while they were staying at the villa.

"Do you need anything else?" She just served them some refreshing lemonades, produced by the local farmers, and some muffins, freshly baked by the resident chef.

"We'll just call if we will need anything else," Dani said to the young woman, who quickly made her excuses, leaving them alone again.

"I can get used to this." She warned him as she sipped on her refreshing drink. She lay on the lounge chair and gazed at the clear sky, amazed at the few clouds that scattered sparingly above her.

"I hope so because I plan to do this every opportunity we have." He promised her, wanting to spend more time with her if possible.

"When did you have the time to plan this?" She asked, not expecting that he would take her away on an island.

"I only thought of it last night, after seeing you so stressed with work. I gathered a weekend away from our job was what the doctor recommended." He also sipped on his drink, finding it relieving the heat of the ocean breeze.

He would not wait for them to get burned out before he would do something about it. They had earned to make use of their resources in exchange for the hard work they had put into their responsibilities.

"I truly appreciate this." She waved her hand in the air, indicating her surroundings. She would kiss him, but she was too lazy to stand up and move from her current position.

She loved the comfort the chair was providing to her tired muscles. She loved the ambiance that the view also contributed to making the entire experience relaxing.

Then suddenly, she remembered that she had not checked in with Jacky yet. From the haste of packing and excitement early that morning, she forgot about her phone and to notify her friend.

"By the way, have you seen my phone? I need to call Jacky and inform her that we went away." She shifted her position so that she could look at him.

"That is the problem. Our phones are in our bags. We can't use them to communicate outside." He closed his eyes, not seeming to worry at all.

"What do you mean?" She questioned him with a bit of curiosity. 

She was not panicking because she was sure that Alex would have informed Marcus of their whereabouts. In turn, Marcus would tell Jacky.

But she still needed her phone just in case of emergencies. Jacky might need something from her. She might also need to call to follow up on some of her works.

"That is the problem. We can't use our phones, so I left them in the bags. The island was having some technical issues with its communication systems. They are still working on it." He explained.

"Oh! So, how can we call home?" She asked, suddenly finding herself sitting down and staring at him. As if he would have the answer to her questions.

"We can't call as of the moment." He confided with her. "But give them a few hours, and communication would be back online. In the meantime, let us enjoy the few hours without the distraction of our work."

He did not want to put too much thought into their situation, not wanting her to panic. He did forget to inform Marcus or his other staff of his plans. It was a quick decision on his part to leave.

But he was not expecting that communication on the island would be out of service. There was no way for them to call the outside world, but that was only for a few hours. He believed they could survive without modern technology for a while.

"I guess a few hours will not hurt." She acknowledged, thinking that she could always call her later.

Unaware that people were already panicking with their whereabouts.  She thought that Alex was able to inform somebody that they had run off on the island. 

But since both of them failed to inform anyone, their friends were left wondering where they went. Marcus and Jacky were worried about their safety while their enemies were rejoicing for their possible demise.

"Yeah, I think fate already intervened for the two of us, providing us an opportunity to enjoy our time together without the disturbance of our normal lives.." He concluded, not caring if they were off the grid.