Mutant

J'Zaki came out of his stupor when he heard the rest of the room cheer. The young prince realized that even if he wanted to resist the engagement, his parents had announced it at such a time that he could not say anything without making their family and the young princess lose face.

J'Zaki was still thinking about how to respond to the situation when his brother walked over and clapped him on the shoulder. Next to him was Nikia in a green dress.

"Congratulations, baby brother. I never would have thought that you would be the one who gets engaged before me."

J'Zaki looked at him out of the corner of his eyes and automatically responded with, "Well if you and Nakia would stop fooling around, you'd already be engaged."

The surroundings instantly froze. J'Zaki remembered where he was and knew that he had said the wrong thing. His parents said that they were forbidden from bringing up T'Challa's marriage status in front of the others since he would cause a large debate.

And just like they had expected, the elders of the 4 clans began trying to get their daughters or nieces engaged to T'Challa.

J'Zaki saw the anger on his father's face and wisely chose to use this as an opportunity to sneak out. Before anyone noticed him, he was already out of the room.

Shuri moved out of the way while the crowd surged toward their family. But before she could escape, she felt someone grab her wrist. The princess turned around to see her mother and Princess N'dare smiling at her.

"Before you escape like your brother, bring Ororo with you. You three can use this as a chance to bond without us adults being nearby."

Shuri nodded before taking Ororo's hand in her own and running out of the room, two of the Dora Milaje following close behind.

"Where are we going, Princess Shuri?"

"Don't bother calling me princess, just Shuri. I'll also call you Ororo. As for where we are going, my brother goes to the same spot every time he runs away."

The pair ran to Shuri's laboratory which was located on sub-floor 2. As soon as they entered, they saw J'Zaki sitting on the couch in front of a TV with a bottle of Snapple in his hands.

"Tsk. If you are going to keep using my place as your safe house, they will start intercepting you on the way here," Shuri while she brought Ororo over to the couch and sat down next to him.

The seating arrangement had Ororo in the middle with both of the siblings acting as her bodyguards on her sides. J'Zaki had put on some old war movie that was supposed to be about how the Wakandans were able to repel a powerful army of colonists.

Shuri soon got up to make some snacks in the room next door, leaving J'Zaki and Ororo alone.

J'Zaki looked at the girl next to him and felt like he needed to say something to her. He was planning to leave soon and didn't want to make the girl feel unwelcome.

"Ororo," the prince said to get her attention. When she turned to him, he continued, "I plan on leaving the city for a bit for training."

Ororo was surprised that he had admitted that to her. She was also royalty and knew just what it meant for him to say that he was leaving the city. He was obviously fleeing without his parents' permission.

"I see. When will you be back?" the girl asked, her bright blue eyes seemingly staring into J'Zaki's soul. The young teen felt like he couldn't lie to Ororo even if he wanted to.

"No idea. I shouldn't be gone more than a year though."

-- Outside the Room --

Shuri was about to walk back into the lab when she was grabbed from behind. She saw that it was her mother, Queen Ramonda who had stopped her.

"Come with me, child. We should let the pair bond with one another so they may get closer."

Shuri wanted to ask why she had to let them use her lab but when she saw her mother's smile that didn't reach her ears, she knew better than to say otherwise. So the young princess nodded and returned back to the banquet with her mother, curious about what was going on in her lab.

-- Back inside the lab --

"I see. Then you must be sure to come back. And since you shared a secret with me, I shall share one with you."

J'Zaki was about to say that it was unnecessary to do that but then he saw the girl's eyes go white. She held both of her hands in between them before creating a cloud within them. Even more surprising, the cloud started raining down on the couch. Ororo kept it up for a minute before she had to stop.

When she was done, Ororo was breathing roughly. It was obvious that it took a lot of concentration for her to maintain it.

"J'Zaki, I'm a mutant. The only ones who currently know are my mother and you. You and I are to be wed so I hope that we shall not keep any secrets between us."

The prince nodded and agreed. He also felt like if he was going to be wed to Ororo, then they should let the other person in on their secrets. And that's what the pair did.

For the rest of the night, Ororo and J'Zaki stayed in the lab with one another doing nothing but talking with movies playing in the background. They didn't even realize that Shuri had never come back because they were so engrossed in conversation with one another.

J'Zaki woke up around dawn out of habit but his body was exhausted.

'What time did I fall asleep?'

The prince looked at the sleeping princess next to him. She was covered in a black and gold blanket with made the young girl look even more regal. J'Zaki had to struggle to look away but his willpower allowed him to.

He then returned to his room to grab the bag he had prepared and met with General Linoh's contact in town. It was time for him to climb the mountain.