The Royal Contract

Waking up very early was a part of her body clock. She wanted to sleep some more, but her eyes would not allow her to do so. She gradually pulled herself out of bed, with her muscles still protesting. 

She wanted to bang her head on the headboard because she believed it was its fault. Her brain would not stop thinking about things she needed to forget, especially when the said topic was just on the other side of that wall beside her room.

In the end, she decided to go into an early morning jog. She would rather run off her frustration instead of thinking about it all day. So, she changed back into her outfit last night.

She suddenly felt like she was doing a walk of shame, wearing the gown that she had worn last night, sneaking out of the house of her lover. It did sound familiar to her, remembering the last time she did it.

"Come on. You're going to be ok." She psyched herself up as she pushed her body out of her room, afraid that she would bump into him this early. When she looked at the hallway, she was glad that the place looked quiet and empty. 

She had to go back to the palace and into her room to change into her running outfit. She just hoped that she would not bump into someone she knew, especially her parents. She did not like to explain herself this early.

"Mental note, arrange to have my clothes transferred to this room." She mumbled to herself as she moved out and down the stairs. Then, she wondered if Alex was still asleep because he was nowhere in sight. 

She rather not disturb him as she sneaked out silently. She was glad that the locksmith of this house was conservative. No security lock would require her to code in a password for her to unlock the door.

"Where have you been? I have been looking for you since last night. You just vanished." Jacky asked as she bumped into her on her way back to her room at the palace.

"Please, let's go to my room. Let's talk there." She remembered what Alex said about the walls having eyes and ears. She did not want other people to hear their conversation and to see her in this condition.

"What happened to you?" Jacky questioned her condition, finally noticing the state of her dress and shoes.

"It is a long story." She said as she pulled Jacky away from the hallway and up the stairs.

They walked further into her assigned room. As soon as they were inside, Jacky looked at her and waited for her explanation.

"I run in the palace grounds on my way back here so no one would notice me, then I took a shortcut. Well, I think it was a shortcut, but the water sprinklers started spraying on the grass. So, I tried to avoid getting wet. But I ended up on the ditch." She quickly told her the story, indicating the state of her feet and dress. 

When she reached the palace, she wore the shoes, not wanting to put mud on the floors, and pulled her skirt high, not to let it slide on the white, clean floors. Luckily, she did not bump into anybody. She thought.

"Where have you been? Where did you sleep last night?" Jacky could still not figure out what she was doing outside in the first place with her dress from last night still on her.

"Alex took me to his grandmother's house. We slept there last night." She told her as she removed her clothes and shoes, ready to take a quick bath before she went for her jog.

"Don't tell me that you both already decided to make this real." Jacky was not sure if that was what was happening here, but she needed to ask.

"No. Nothing happened with us." She quickly answered her, contradicting her statement. "He just suggested that we stay in that house so that our parents would not suspect that we were not sleeping together." She explained to her friend.

"You mean to say that you are leaving me here." Jacky found no problem with that. She could take care of herself, but her concern was for her. She wondered if Dani could protect herself from herself if she found herself trapped in a house with Alex.

"I'm sure you can manage on your own. Besides, the house is not far from here." She pointed to the direction beyond her window. 

She believed it was there, although she could not see the house from her standpoint. The large trees were covering it.

"Can you manage to be on your own with Alex? Are you sure you are not falling for him?" Jacky had to point out her observation. She was not staying quiet while she let her friend find herself lost in this charade she was playing.

Jacky was already seeing the tell-tale sign that Dani was beginning to feel something for Alex. She was there when they kissed in front of everyone. Jacky was afraid that Dani had no idea of what she was doing. Her friend was in denial of her feelings.

"Of course, I am not. It is just a business deal. We are just acting for everyone's benefit." She pointed to her friend.

"Ok, but for your sake, I hope you are right." Jacky moved back to the door. "I need to go to my room. I need to change. I have a date today." She informed her friend.

"I'm glad that you and Marcus are doing great." She felt a bit guilty for leaving her last night. 

In truth, she had forgotten about Jacky with all the things that happened to her. But she was confident that Marcus would have made sure that she was ok.

"Don't you ever mention his name in front of me?" Jacky sounded like he was about to kill Marcus if she saw him.

"But I thought you were just about to go out with him." She was confused by her friend's reaction.

"He disappeared on me last night. Then, I saw him come out of that woman's room just now." She stated.

"Then, who are you going out with?" She asked, feeling a headache coming in a moment with the things that were happening to them.

"My prince charming," Jacky said as she walked out of her room.