The Royal Contract

She cautiously moved around the house, wondering where she had ended up after hanging out with her friends last night. The last thing she remembered was drinking and laughing with them.

She also recalled drinking more than her regular alcoholic consumption. Therefore, she was not surprised if she had a terrible headache and a blank memory for the rest of the night.

"Did I go home with someone?" She foolishly asked herself, but obviously, she knew the answer to her question.

She would not have found herself in an unknown house.

Correction, not a house, but a mansion, if she did not willingly go along with him. Or it could be her. Truthfully, she had no idea since she woke up in an empty bed with all her clothes still on her body, except for her shoes.

Whatever happened last night, she was, without a doubt, sure that she did not have sex. Thankfully, her guardian angel must be looking after her.

"Where am I?" She asked as she walked along the corridor, trying to make sense of the place.

She could see expensive paintings and decorations around the area but nothing about the owner. She did not want to snoop around the rooms. The last thing she needed was someone accusing her of stealing something. She just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible without any problems.

Slowly, she descended the stairs, hoping to find human life or anything that moved. So far, she only saw a large empty living room at the base of the grand staircase. She could only scratch the back of her neck out of her frustration.

"Hello, anybody home?" She was not giving up. She did not want to leave without thanking the person who took pity on her on the street.

That was the only explanation for why she ended up sleeping in someone's bed, unharmed. If that person wanted to hurt her, he would have taken advantage of her while she was intoxicated.

Therefore, the least she could do was say thank you and be on her way. Fortunately, she had no work today. She did not need to hurry home. Still, she could not wait to get in a taxi, reach her apartment and sleep off her hangover in the comfort of her bed.

"Am I alone in this fucking house?" She finally asked as she reached the other end of the hallway. Then, she turned around and searched for anyone to answer her questions.

As she turned to the other corner and followed another long hallway, she finally heard some voices. They were unfamiliar as far as her brain could remember. She trod carefully on the carpeted floor until she reached a closed door.

She believed the voices were coming from behind the thick wooden door. She wanted to know, but she did not want to intrude. However, she could not stay, standing outside the door and waiting for them to finish. Could she?

"Go on, knock." She mumbled to herself as she stared at the imposing door.

Eventually, she decided to pry a little. She leaned over the door, hoping to hear bits and pieces of their conversation. She was not eavesdropping, like spying. She only wished to know if she was interrupting something important. She would gladly wait in the living room until they had finished if the meeting was crucial and essential.

As she eased and trained her ears on the wooden panel, she finally heard the voices much clearer. It seemed like they were arguing.

"You should not be here," She heard one of the voices say to whoever he was talking to. "I have company." He quickly added before someone could respond.

She concluded that the first voice was the one who took her home and the one who lived in this place. But who was with him? A guest probably that he wished to get rid of.

But that was beyond her concern as she listened to their conversation. She had no interest in the plan of this unknown man because she only had one thing on her mind.

She wanted to go home.

"Who? Are you seriously seeing anyone?" She continued snooping around, trying to understand her situation. She guessed she wanted to hear his answer to the question. Call it curiosity.

Of course, she would not call her brief encounter with this man serious. She could not even remember his name or his face.

"No, of course not." The man answered definitively. "I just pick her up at the club." He explained to the other man.

Based on their conversation, she surmised two people might be inside the room. One was the one who picked her up from the club as he claimed and another man who had just arrived.

"Oh, ok!" The other man seemed to accept his answer, confirming her suspicion that she was just another conquest for this man.

But she could not help but wonder why nothing had happened to them. She could only assume that she must have passed out.

And thankfully, this man was not into dead drunk chicks. Or she might have regretted going out last night with her friend. At least nothing happened that she did not want.

"Aren't you tired of going from one woman to another?" The other unfamiliar voice asked the other. "I mean, I know you can find someone who would genuinely love you for who you are."

She guessed she liked how the other man thought. That was some solid advice. But she could already tell the other man would probably reject it.

"I am happy that you find the love of your life, but I am not like you. I am not the same as you." The man responded with a sarcastic tone. "I don't do love."

Bingo!

She was right about him as she continued to listen to their conversation, forgetting that she was still eavesdropping on someone else's conversation.

"Ok. I will not meddle with your love life or the lack of it." The man said. "Where is she?"

She guessed the man was referring to her, probably wondering where she was at that moment. She knew she should stop listening and move on. But she could not move from her spot.

"She is still sleeping in my room." The man answered, sounding indifferent.

"Hmmm!" The other man seemed to be mocking him. "Wait for a second. Let me get this straight." Then, the other room went silent.

"You are telling me that you brought home an unknown girl, practically a stranger, and let her sleep in your room." The other man sounded surprised before he hysterically laughed. It was as if he was mocking his friend.

But what was so strange about that? She knew a lot of cases like this, although this was the first time she had experienced anything like this.

She would confess that she had experienced sleeping with a stranger. She called it her one-night stand. But that was by choice. Regrettably, she was young and ignorant at that time.

"I was in a hurry. I was not thinking." The man defensively answered the other man. "It was too late to dump her on the street when she passed out in the car."

The man explained, finally giving her an idea of what had happened. Based on his story, he only offered her a ride home when she was waiting on the pavement. But she passed out before she could give him an address.

She might vaguely remember looking for a taxi as she deeply thought about it, but her memory was still slightly fuzzy.

"So, you are now a good samaritan, offering beautiful girls a ride home." The man continued to question his motive.

Based on the interaction, she could surmise that this man was not someone she would wish to know. She could not thank her lucky star for not letting anything else happen to her. It was probably a blessing in disguise that she had passed out before something she could not take back occurred.

"Can we stop talking about her? Once she wakes up, I am sure she will want to leave." The man again said, putting a stop to their conversation about her.

"Tell me why you are here. You know it is dangerous for your enemies to see you with me. Maybe next time, they will ensure that nothing will be left of you to bury." The man said to whoever he was conversing with.

But she suddenly shifted in her position, straightening away from the door. She believed that was a conversation she should not be listening to.

Damn! What was she doing in this place?

Suddenly fear crept into her skin, traveling through her spine and throughout her body. These were not the kind of people she should be dealing with.

Instinctively she knew she had to get out of there before they discovered that she had been snooping around and listening to their conversation.

Who knew what would happen to her if they caught her? She could end up the same way as the man had described.

"Why aren't you running?" She asked herself as she remained rooted in her spot.

Were they bad people? She could not tell from that tiny piece of information, but she was not staying to find out. That man might have helped her last night. But he could also cause her demise.

Was she willing to wait and see what he would do to her? No, of course not. She could already tell he was not the nice guy she initially thought he was earlier.