– Kashion –
Kashion practically stormed into his parents' room. They were sitting at a table. His mother was busy with some kind of needlework, while his father was eating and reading a book at the same time.
"How could you do this?" he demanded angrily—he was almost shouting.
His father looked up and narrowed his eyes at him.
"Kashion, you cannot speak to your father so disrespectfully," his mother said.
Kashion let out a dry laugh. "Today, I've lost all respect."
"Kashion!" his mother said again.
"How could you dare do this, Father?"
His father set the book aside and replied calmly, "It is for the best, and someday you will be grateful to me."
Kashion shook his head. "You're insane…"
"Kashion! You cannot speak to your father like that! What do you think you're doing?" his mother interrupted.
"Do you actually think what he did is okay?"
Kashion was simply shocked. He would never have thought his parents capable of something like this.
His mother looked at him, confused. "What are you talking about?"
"I've ended the matter with the little scientist," his father explained.
Kashion clenched his fists. "Stop talking about her like that. Her name is Prior."
"That's irrelevant now," his father said.
"Will someone finally tell me what happened?"
At least his mother knew nothing.
"Father had Prior abducted and put into a transporter that was supposed to bring her back to Saturn."
"What?" At these words, his mother stood up and stared at his father. "Tell me that's not true."
His father sighed. "It's the best thing for everyone."
"You had the woman who means the most to me taken against her will—against my will—put into a transporter, and you calmly say it's the best thing for everyone? Don't you have a shred of conscience left?" Kashion's voice broke. There were tears in his eyes.
His mother looked from father to son. "That's not possible. Tyron?" She looked at Tyron, but when he simply raised his hands, she suddenly began to cry. "Tyron! You've gone too far!"
Then she went to Kashion and said through tears, "Oh, Kashion."
She tried to hug him, but Kashion pushed her away. "But it didn't work, Father. Prior will be back here tomorrow."
"Impossible," Tyron said, frowning. "I waited at the hangar until the transporter took off and gave the pilot clear orders. Accept it."
"Prior jumped out of the transporter," Kashion said.
"Jumped?" his mother almost screamed, her voice high-pitched.
Tyron stared at him, agitated. "What?"
"Jumped out of a transporter?" Ada asked more quietly now. "That would be madness."
And in that moment, Kashion truly grasped what it meant. This hadn't been a normal parachute jump. His parents stared at him in horror. Prior had jumped—surely from a very great height. That explained the protective suit. What must she have gone through? How brave was she? Suddenly, he started breathing faster. And she had done it because she wanted to be with him!
"Kashion!" his mother said, placing her hand on his cheek to comfort him. "Is everything alright, my boy?"
Kashion shook his head and removed her hand from his face. "Is everything alright? How can you even ask that?" He paused briefly. "You can take everything from me if you want. The regency, my possessions—anything. But I won't let you take Prior from me."
His mother stared at him wide-eyed and cried even more.
"And I will no longer allow anyone to treat her disrespectfully. Not even my own parents. She has been through so much in her life."
He looked at his father. He was very calm, but also seemed slightly shaken. He looked like he wanted to say something, but nothing came out. He glanced at Ada, then back at Kashion, then again at Ada. He exhaled deeply. Would he feel remorse now?
When he said nothing, Kashion continued, "The men you used to abduct her are dismissed. Prior will return tomorrow, and I will make sure everyone treats her with respect."
"Is she alright?" his mother asked. "Why isn't she coming back today?"
Kashion sighed. "Who could blame her for not wanting to return immediately to the place where she was treated like that?"
"If she jumped from that height… then she truly means it," Ada said, closing her eyes. "Tyron, say something! That couldn't have been your intention, could it?"
But Tyron only said, "I just wanted Kashion to think clearly again. It's not too late—the princess…"
"For the last time!" Kashion snapped. "I will never marry the princess. And I will make sure we achieve the goals of the agreement without that."
Kashion let out a bitter laugh. "And don't think you can do whatever you want just because you're king. Your actions will have consequences. You abducted someone from Saturn, from the princess's entourage. Do you think the princess will be pleased about that?"
"Kashion… I…" his father began. He looked shaken now. "I don't know what to say."
Kashion shook his head again. His mother was crying, his father staring at the table. Kashion left the room and slammed the door shut.
The conversation hadn't gone the way he had hoped. He could only hope now that his parents understood. And not just understood—but accepted it. But would his father apologize? Would Prior even be able to accept that?
– Prior –
Zho and Prior had arrived at the sea. Zho had parked the hover, and now they were walking along the beach toward the water.
Prior looked up at the sky. Had she really been up there earlier? Beyond the blue sky?
"That was crazy, wasn't it?" Prior asked.
"Hm?"
"The jump from the transporter. That was really crazy… but also kind of cool," Prior laughed.
Zho laughed as well.
"I think I've never felt so scared in my life. And yet also so free," Prior continued.
Zho grinned. "If you ever want someone to jump with again, let me know. I'll join you."
That made Prior laugh even more.
She spotted a lonely wooden pier stretching out over the water. "I'm going over there, okay? I want to be by myself for a bit," she said to Zho.
Zho nodded. "I'll stay here. If anything happens, let me know."
Prior walked along the pier to the edge and sat down. She looked out over the water, watching the waves shimmer in the sunlight as they rolled steadily toward the shore. There was something calming about it. She looked back up at the sky. Everything felt so unreal. She pulled her legs up and started to cry. She let her tears flow freely. Tears for Queen Ada's reaction. For how Tyron and the men had treated her, the fear they had caused. And at the same time, anger at the king and the queen. Then the helplessness she had felt when she thought she would have to return to Saturn. The fear when she had been about to jump from the transporter. And because she now wanted to be with Kashion—or call him—but also needed to be alone. She wiped her nose with her hand but couldn't stop crying.
Suddenly, she felt a shadow behind her. Zho stood there and silently handed her a tissue. She took it and gave him a faint smile. He patted her shoulder and walked away again.
She wanted to go back to Kashion so badly, but she was also afraid of what the future with his parents would look like. And she was worried she had hurt him. It all felt wrong, no matter what she did. She looked up at the sky again and took a deep breath. Then she smiled. She had managed to jump from 50,000 meters. Then she would be able to handle everything else too.
– Kashion –
Kashion ran into Oren in the hallway. He told him everything that had happened, and Oren seemed quite shocked.
Kashion stood there with the messenger in his hand.
"I need to write to Zho for a moment," he explained. He hated that he couldn't message Prior directly.
Oren waited patiently.
"Is everything alright?" Kashion wrote to Zho.
A reply came shortly after. "Everything is fine, Your Highness. We've reached the sea. I'll send you the hotel address. I'll look after her, don't worry."
The address followed shortly after. Kashion immediately looked it up in Ting-Maps and checked the area. It wasn't far at all. He wouldn't even need an hour to get there. His fingers practically itched. He wanted to leave immediately. But Prior had asked him not to come. It was so hard not to.
"What exactly happened?" he asked Zho.
The reply came quickly.
"The king, your father, and two men gagged Prior and forced her into the transporter. They tied her up there."
Kashion couldn't continue reading for a moment. He closed his eyes. Tied up and gagged. It was even worse than he had imagined. Then he read on:
"I got in and thought the best option was to jump. We managed it at around 50,000 meters. Landing went well. But as you already know, Prior wanted some quiet time now."
50,000 meters. That was truly insane. He took his tablet and searched for information. He read about cold, air pressure, tumbling. She could have died. He was just relieved that Prior had survived it unharmed.
Kashion wanted Prior to feel as comfortable as possible when she returned. He would show everyone what she meant to him. He had considered speaking directly with Princess Evlina, but decided it was better to leave it up to Prior whether she wanted to take any steps. She was the victim, and if she wanted to hold his father accountable, he would support her—no matter the consequences for his father or the agreement. After all, his father had attacked a citizen of Saturn. Of course, Kashion hoped they could resolve everything internally, but he wouldn't sweep Prior's feelings and rights under the rug for the sake of his family.
For now, though, he wanted to make sure everything was prepared for Prior's return.
"See which rooms are still available. Maybe near Kassia or Lina, and then get Prior's things from her old room and bring them there," he told Oren.
Oren nodded and left.
Kashion himself set off to see Kassia.