JillAndTheGenestalk by Viola Grace Read Free Book Online

Jill watched the hairdresser in the mirror. Everyone in the room was delighted with the events taking place except the bride.
    Being traded like a used skimmer triggered a sense of outrage in Jill, but she couldn’t show it. She had to sit as she was brushed, dressed and coifed for her wedding. She fiddled with her necklace, waiting for the hour of calm that would enable her to make her move.
    Until today, she had always considered the hour of calm a ridiculous custom, but as of this day, it was a blessing that she was going to embrace. Her private shuttle could make it to her in seven minutes, but what would happen after that was anyone’s guess.
    “What do you think, Jill? You look lovely.” Her hairdresser smiled and fiddled with the loops of braids.
    Jill stared at the reflection and nodded. “I do look lovely. Thank you, Cera. Your help has been most appreciated.”
    Jill slipped her hand along the table and pressed a small pouch into the hand of the woman who had worked so hard to make this a special day for her. It was endearing how sincere she was about the art that she practiced.
    “Thank you, Jill. It was an honour to work for your family in this matter.” Cera bowed and left Jill with her mother and her soon-to-be mother-in-law.
    The gong shimmered in the distance, and Jill looked to the older women. “I believe I am entitled to my time of silence, my hour of calm.”
    Her mother looked at her with calculating eyes. “We will remain.”
    Jill got to her feet in her gauzy gown. “You will not. Today is the last day I am myself. It ends in one hour. I plan to grieve for my lost state alone.”
    Her mother flipped her skirts, but her soon-to-be mother-in-law grabbed Jeela’s hand and hauled her out of the room.
    Jill quickly pressed the code that would bring her shuttle into the courtyard. Now, it was a matter of time that was swiftly running out.
    She paced, her gown fluttering around her legs. The man she was supposed to marry was nothing better than a thug, and it was probably a gambling debt that was being settled with her as the final payment. No one had explained the precise urgency to the matter, but all parties involved had no issue in rushing her to the altar without asking her opinion.
    She stepped to the window and stared out in the direction of her shuttle pad. When she saw the small speck, a frisson of hope mingled with excitement in her belly. She was getting out of here, and no one was going to stop her.
    Jill watched the approaching shuttle with hope rising in her. It was time to test her escape route. She went to the glass doors and tried the lock. They were locked. It was going to take more effort than she anticipated getting through, but there was a reason to test these things before the shuttle landed. When that shuttle came down, all the thugs would stream out of the ceremony centre. She had to move fast.
    Her shuttle was coming in tight and low to the tree line. She had three minutes until her escape was as close as she could get it. It was time to make sure that she didn’t blow her honeymoon for one.
    She paced nervously, and she lifted one of the ornamental vases as her ship cleared the trees and settled in for a landing.
    It took three strikes to smash her way through the glass, but she was out in the morning air and running for her life a moment later.
    Her shuttle opened at her approach, and she sealed the hatch as the security forces started to move. Jill stumbled to the cockpit and lifted off. She hauled at the controls in an effort to get away from the formal gardens before pursuit could be engaged.
    A burning ache in her foot let her know that the glass had managed to slice her skin as she ran.
    “Stupid. Why don’t we get married in shoes?” She hissed and shifted slightly as she pulled herself from the atmosphere and headed into parts unknown.
    The moment she found a likely direction and throttled her shuttle to full power, she put it on automatic and hobbled to the back