The Royal Contract

Pop!

Bang!

A series of what seemed to be mild explosions resonated around the vicinity, causing a slight panic among the crowd. Many would have run, but the organizers quickly tried to calm everybody down.

Alex immediately pulled her to his side and protected her with his body. While the rest also scooted down or took cover under the tables or chairs. Many guests wore confusion, fear, and anxiety on their faces.

“Are you ok?” Alex immediately asked, checking her for any injuries. It was probably his instinct working, fretting over her safety.

Her hands trembled while her heart almost skipped a beat from the terrifying experience. But she began to relax after seeing that everyone was ok.

.....

“Yes, I am good.” Dani immediately responded, smiling at him for reassurance. “What about you?” Turning her attention to him, worried about his condition.

The loud noise also quickly disappeared, making everybody wonder what it was. Then, a loud voice called out from somewhere in the back where the delivery vans were parked.

A few seconds later, the host was back on stage, announcing on the microphone that it was nothing but some balloons popping backstage.

“We are sorry for the inconvenience. It was just an accident.” The host continued, trying to calm the people around the lawn area.

She could see that many had their smiles back on their faces while still clutching their chests. However, panic had toned down after realizing that there was no threat.

Kids were back to running around as if nothing had happened. Only proved that children were more resilient than adults who were still slightly shaken by the unusual accident.

“That was a great way to wake everybody up after the last speech.” Her father laughed, unfazed by the incident. According to him, it would take a louder blast, compared to that, for him to be scared.

The last speech by one of the guests was a bit boring that almost made the kids sleep from their seats. Luckily, they had candies to hyper them up.

“Dad, that is not a nice thing to say.” Dani patted her father gently, sashing him to silence. Others might hear him.

The host cut their conversation, calling everybody’s attention, directing them to proceed to the other side of the construction site for the groundbreaking ceremony.

“That explosion was the only highlight of his speech.” His dad continued, not caring if someone else heard him, causing Alex and her mom to laugh at his statement.

Dani could not help it, so she ended up laughing too. As they say, if you could not beat them, join them. It was kind of true anyway.

“Come on. It is my wife’s time to shine.” Alex pulled her toward the next activity. Soon, all of them, including the guests, gathered around the construction area for the culmination of her dreams.

After the ceremony and some picture taking, they gathered again on the front lawn for other activities, another main event. Alex guided her to a long table where she saw the cake baked for her.

It was indeed a lovely cake, but she was more excited to see the kids, around thirty of various ages, smiling with awe displayed on their faces as they stared at the cakes before them.

“I hope I did a good job throwing this party for you,” Alex whispered behind her as she aligned herself at the center with the other kids, ready to blow the candles in their cakes.

The twins stood beside her, excited to see the cakes they wished were theirs. Jacky made sure to grant their wishes even before they could even blow the candle.

“Ok. Let us sing all of our celebrants a happy birthday song and allow them to make their wishes come true.” The host announced on his microphone.

“But it is not our birthday,” Aries said, slightly complaining while standing at her side, scratching his nape as if he could not figure out why he had a cake.

“Because we did not have a cake on our birthday.” Aira finally answered his brother, explaining why they had to blow the cake.

Then, the place echoed with voices singing them the happy song. The kids started clapping, so she also clapped with them. She had never experienced a birthday like this before. Not with her family and friends with her to join her on this momentous occasion.

After the song ended, the host asked them to blow out the candles, but after making their wishes. She wondered what else she could wish for when everything she wanted was standing just a few feet away from her.

Then, a thought came to her mind. There was still something that she had been dreaming of lately. She would be the happiest person alive if that would become true.

“Come on. Kids. Blow your candles.” Aira and Aries deeply breathed and exhaled it forcefully on top of their cakes, hoping to extinguish the fire on the tip of the candle.

Aries accomplished it on his first try, but Aira had to repeat it several times before she could put the fire away. “Ms. Dani, you still have not blown your cake?” Aries pointed out, patting her on her hands.

“Don’t forget to wish, Ms. Dani.” Aria also added.

Now that she knew what to wish. She closed her eyes and mumbled something in her mind. Then, once she opened them again, she quickly blew the candle, making the kids shriek in delight.

“What did you wish for?” The boy asked, but her sister slapped him on his back.

“You don’t tell anybody about your wish, or it will not come true.” She told her brother. Then, she tilted her cute face to her, waiting for her acknowledgment.

“Yes, you have to wait for it to come true before you can tell a soul about it.” Dani looked at Aries first before Aira, who nodded in approval.

“Then, I will not tell you. I want my wish to come true.” Aries said to his sister.

She figured that maybe the two never kept secrets from each other. She heard that twins had that impossible bond that many did not understand.

“Come on. I think it is time to eat the cakes.” Jacky interrupted their little conversation, helping her to distribute the cake to their guests.

“I love it.” She answered Alex, who looked at her, puzzled by her declaration. “I love my surprise party.” She elaborated, making Alex smile.

“I am glad.” Alex wrapped her up in his arms while she took a fork full of the cake and placed it on his lips.

With his mouth wide open, he devoured the cake with gusto. But he also returned the favor, both ending up with cakes on the sides of their mouths.

As she was wiping her lips, a voice greeted her, wishing her a happy birthday. She turned around at the familiar voice, finding one of her guests late for the party.

“Gerald, I am happy that you made it. I believe there are still cakes serving around.” She offered, always the gracious host. “Let me get one for you.”

Fortunately, a waiter passed in their direction and gave him a piece as they talked about the party and the foundation. “You are doing a great job here,” Gerald commented, pledging his help to the project.

As part of his cover-up, many foundations had known him as a philanthropies for some charitable programs. He promoted awareness and donated for the good of the community. It did not hurt to be known as a good samaritan.