Dissident

She crossed the room to the window. She was high above the city, a south facing view. Had there ever been mountains here? A river? Animals?

Of all the things she'd imagined missing, green space was not on the list. There was someone in the room with her. Kali gasped and turned.

He'd made his presence known in the reflection of the window she'd been peering through. Jaxon held up his hands, "I'm not here to harm you. I'm here to ask you if you want to run away with me."

Kali blinked. She recognized his face from the profiles she'd studied. He was quite handsome in person, but had she heard that right? "You're the prince I'm supposed to marry."

Jaxon lowered his hands to his sides and said, "Yes."

"And you want me to run away with you."

"I'm asking if you want to run away with me," he corrected.

Her brow knit as she peered at him. "Are you mental?"

"What's mental about it?"

"What isn't mental about it?"

"Look, I'm not ready to be married yet, and I don't think you are either. And I think if we escape together, right now, we might just be able to escape the worst of what's about to go down. And maybe along the way we'll find out whether we truly belong together."

"What do you mean by 'worst of what's about to go down'?"

"I'll tell you when we've reached the transport." He held his hand out, "Are you with me?"

"You're insane."

"I'm really not. You need to decide now. I'm leaving either way. A maid's coming to fetch you for breakfast with my mother, and you'll have missed your window."

Kali glanced around the room, a metal and glass forest outside the walls, a bed that wasn't hers, uncomfortable clothes and shoes, rules and etiquette that grated. A young man she'd just met. A choice. She took his hand.