It hasn’t even been a long time so why does it feel like it’s been ages? Their smiles, their touch, everything is vividly coming back. “_____-ah stop spacing out.”

“Oh sorry. What did you say?”
 

“What happened after you left?”

I hummed. There was so much I wanted to say and so much I’ve bottled up. And they do say actions speak louder than words so… I buttoned up my shirt and threw it on the ground. It was pretty funny how they obviously didn’t know where to keep their eyes on me, but it ended fast once I turned around and revealed my back.

“What the fu-“ someone stopped midsentence.

The red marks I got from the whip weren’t fully healed alongside some old wounds. Sometimes I was lucky enough to treat it, and sometimes not.

“What is this…” Jessica voiced out her concern as she traced down her fingers on my back. “Why are you hurt again… Who did this to you?”

“It was someone from work.”

“Work? You call this work? If you ask me then this is clearly abuse…”

“Mm,” I sigh, “but I wasn’t in a position to decide so I just put up with it. And after some point, I didn’t care anymore.” Jessica's hands fell to her side as I put on the shirt again. The words came out rather nonchalantly. “Didn’t it hurt when I hit you before?” Tiffany said guilty. “Noo it’s okay. It wasn’t your fault to begin with, and it didn’t hurt at all. And besides, how could you have known.”  

“But still… I feel bad.” 

Sunny was watching patiently and tried her hardest to respect this unexpected reunion. But it was itching her to ask. Or probably most of them did. “_____?”
 

“Yeah?”

“Did you get yourself a girlfriend?”

“Wh-what? No! She’s not! She is- ughh she’s my new client I’m taking care of. I was assigned to a new mission.”

“Ohhh reeally huh?” The short girl crossed her legs, “she’s very pretty. I wouldn’t be surprised if something already happened between you two.”

I mentally facepalmed just imagining if I had an affectionate relationship with a royalty. The stress level sure would be high. “Please some help?” I looked over to the blond girl knowing they wouldn’t buy my explanation either way. Rachel, who sat quietly, couldn’t help but find the situation funny. “Come over here,” the princess signaled as I obeyed. “Do you want to stay the night or return to the hotel with me?”

“HOTEL???” the girls couldn’t help but scream, “WH-What d-do you plan to do with her?”

“Pleaseee don’t say anything that could be misunderstood,” I pleaded.  

“Whom do you think you are talking to? Watch your manners,” Rachel warned. “You shall refer me like how you usually do. Am I clear?”

“Hey! Why are talking so rudely to _____! She didn’t do anything wrong-“

“My apologies, I got ahead of myself. I’m already grateful enough to be here. Let’s return together, Your Highness. I’ll make sure this will never happen again.”

The room suddenly went quiet. The members didn’t know how to react. First of all, you were accepting the ridiculous treatment so easily, and secondly, what did you just call her? On the other hand, Rachel was having a hard time holding up the poker face. Manners? Pfft she didn’t give a damn about that. She was just used to hearing those formal speeches since birth, so it was kind of nice to have a change for once.

The princess broke out in laughter upon seeing the tense situation. And it was the first time you’ve seen her laugh. She usually doesn’t show much emotion. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she wiped the tears away that were forming in the corner of her eye. “Let me officially introduce myself,” Rachel stood up, taking a stand beside you.

“Hello everyone, it’s a pleasure to meet all of you. My name is Rachel, the first princess of England and heir to the throne. As _____ explained earlier, I am indeed her new client. I thought it would be good to have a bodyguard during my stay here. I understand that this is a sudden visit, and I would like to apologize for not sending a prior meeting request. I hope we can get along accordingly.”  

~~~

Long story short, we decided to stay the night and I was very grateful for her consideration. It was a mess after the revealing, but they accepted it shortly. Today sure has been a roller coaster of emotion, so it feels nice to be able to lie down on the same bed again. The only thing that was missing was…

Jessica walked in after finishing the shower. It still feels surreal, but I couldn’t be happier. I patted on the empt