Agreement 318 (Niall Horan)

part 4

Avery

Who would be knocking on the door?

The knock came again, this time much louder. I yelled, "Coming!" and got out of the extremely comfortable bed. Yawning, I walked across the hardwood floor and to the door to open it. I cracked it opened and saw a boy with brownish blonde hair.

"Avery? I thought I heard someone but I didn't know you were here yet." He chuckled, leaning against the door frame.

"I'm sorry - who are you?" Something about his blue eyes was extremely familiar but I hadn't the slightest idea why.

His facial expression changed. He stood up straight, "I'm um, Dan. A servant here."

I nodded, still tired, "Okay. Well it's nice to meet you, Dan."

"You hungry?"

"Yeah, actually," I laughed.

He smiled, "Thought so. Follow me. I know a secret route to the kitchen."

I stepped out of my room, closing the door behind me and followed Dan towards the elevator. As we walked down the hall I noticed it no longer smelt like pizza or was full of the sound of girls' giggling.

We got on the elevator and a part of me started rethinking going with Dan to the kitchen. Cam told me that Royals had strict schedules for everything. It wasn't a home where you waltzed in the kitchen whenever you wanted. The last thing I wanted to do was get caught doing anything "unmannerly" on my first day.

"I think there's still pizza downstairs." Dan said.

"Was that you eating pizza upstairs?" I asked.

He froze, "No! I mean- yeah... It was. But I-"

I held up my hand, "It's okay, I get it. Like my mom would say, 'When the cat's away, the mice will play.'"

He laughed. "My mom says that too."

"Do you see her often?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, frequently."

I sighed, thinking of a few nights before when I said goodbye to my own, "That must be nice..."

He must of noticed my change in mood. "I'm sorry. I know you might not see yours again for a while."

I shrugged, "I'm afraid if I would of stayed, it might have made the King very angry."

"Wait. You were forced here? Your parents aren't nobles?"

I shook my head as the elevators opened, "Afraid not. I mean, my family does well. Apparently I came recommended by someone who knew my mother. But my dad seemed like it was an insult or something."

As we stepped off, Dan turned around and looked at me, frowning, "God, I had no idea. I thought- I mean, the Castle thought that you were, you know, like, this was something your family considered a honor."

I laughed, "I've probably never seen my father more upset when I had to pack."

"Well I hope you- shit." He stopped dead in his tracks as we turned the corner of a hallway.

"What's wrong?"

"Um," He scratched the back of his head, "I almost forgot about the secret passage I told you about."

He took my hand and lead me in a different direction. We walked up to an old door at the end of a hall and he slowly opened it. Still grasping his hand, we walked through a dark hallway and to another, much smaller, door. He opened it and we walked through, straight into the kitchen.