The Rebel (#Wattys2016)

7. Castles and Kings

But when she saw him the next day, Adeen immediately knew Prince Skander was a bad looser. Surrounded by two guards and Crystal, Adeen knew she'd have no other option but to call him Your Majesty. Crystal might have fainted otherwise.

So she sat down and dared a few glances at him. While he talked with the girls, sitting on the couches, Prince Skander did the same. Whenever his incredible blue eyes settled on Adeen, he looked amused. As if the conversations with the other girls were nothing but dull talk. The other girls, with their love-antennas, noticed. Adeen tried not to notice their stares.

One by one, the girls were called to the Prince. Some were nervous, others complete ladylike and confident. Regina obviously belonged to the latter category. It looked as if she was born to be Queen, and Adeen wondered if, while she was training to kill, Regina was training to take a man down.

When he finally made his way to Adeen, Prince Skander's eyes contained nothing but amusement.

"Adeen." For the first time, he hadn't struggled with someone's name -didn't even need to look at her name plate. Adeen didn't hesitate to believe the other girls had noticed, and were looking at them.

"Prince Skander." When he narrowed his eyes, she smiled. He chuckled and began leading her to the couches.

"I believe I just won our little bet, Adeen."

"You said I couldn't call you Majesty or Highness, you never mentioned anything about calling you Prince."

At that, Skander threw his head back and laughed. "How did you sleep, Adeen?"

"Once I had wondered what I'd show to Liz once she came here, I slept very well, thank you."

Adeen said with a smile on her face while they sat. She observed his grace, as if he had been born with it, but she knew it came from years of hard training.

"You are very competitive." Skander's eyes roamed over her entire frame. Adeen might have had to resist the urge to cover herself more, had she not been looked that way before by Officials, older rebels, older men. So she simply looked down. "Why are you here, Adeen? You keep acting like another one of them," his eyes drifted quickly to the other Selected, who were looking at them and failed at hiding their eavesdropping, "but when it's just you and me, you're so different. Some want my crown. Some want me. Some just want the title. What do you want?"

Adeen looked at him. She looked out the window, to where her house was, to where her family was probably struggling to survive. When she looked back at Skander, Adeen did it with a shrug.

"Why do you think I'm here?" Adeen was as surprised as Skander at her teasing.

Once again, Skander's eyes roamed every inch of her. This time, she forced herself to look straight at him.

"You don't seem to be interested in ruling. You don't seem to be interested in me. You don't want to be Queen Adeen. So, that leaves two options: one, you are here as a hidden rebel who is planning my downfall." Oh, boy, Adeen thought, was he right. "Two, you are here because you are escaping."

"Escaping?"

"Home. Your friends, or the people that are there once you go back."

Adeen couldn't keep Zed out of her mind, she shook her head. "Option two is right."

"Really?" Skander leaned forward, as if it was a secret between the two of them. Maybe it was.

"No," Adeen deadpanned, "I am a rebel who is here because the rebels needed some inside information, and they simply chose me."