𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐃 | ❝Hope is good, Hope will never disgrace, but make no mistake, Hope will hit you in the face!❞
In which the Just King becomes betrothed to a princess from a neighboring kingdom, only to fall in love with the prin...
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HOPE REFUSED TO MOVE. She was still, her feet glued to the smooth pavement that was slowly becoming saturated with droplets of water. Clouds gathered across the darkened skies, unifying into a blur of gray. One by one, drops of rain fell faster and faster as though they were racing each other. She squeezed her eyes tight when one nearly fell into her eyes.
"I can barely remember to brush my hair. I can't run a kingdom! I'm nowhere near qualified. You'd have better luck coronating a cloud."
"Maybe, but—Hold on, a cloud? This again?"
"Yes, Edmund, a cloud!"
Hope jumped when a hand clamped down on her shoulder and squeezed her tightly. Rubbing the rainwater out of her eyes, she snapped her head toward a slightly annoyed Odette.
"Hellooo? Earth to Hope?"
"Hm, what? I was listening, I swear."
Odette's scowl quickly faded, a small smile replacing it. "Very funny. The taxi's here," she said, nodding to the small car sitting in the road. The man in the driver's seat wore a cap over his head, though it wasn't large enough to conceal his grumpy exterior. Hope wanted to blame it on the unfortunate weather, but Odette had a feeling that might just be his normal resting face.
"Oh, right."
"Honestly, what's gotten into you?" asked Odette as they approached the taxi. "Still dreaming?"
"You could say that," Hope dismissed, stepping into the taxi after the blonde. Odette quickly greeted the driver and stated their desired destination before getting settled. Meanwhile, Hope stared out the window as the drizzle continued. "God, I'm glad we agreed to take a taxi this time. Looks like it's gonna storm."
Odette hummed. "Walking's not that bad."
"You only say that because I'm the one always carrying the groceries."
Odette chuckled. Hope's gaze settled on the gloomy world behind the glass. The wind slowly picked up as the rain pitter-pattered on the rooftop of the car. Umbrellas emerged one after another across the streets. Odette made small-talk with the driver for a while before he decided he'd rather listen to the staticky music coming from the radio in silence. As they drove further and further into the city, they could see numerous teenagers in school uniforms with bulky trunks heading toward the train station.
Hope raised an eyebrow as she locked eyes with two girls standing across the street, waiting for an opening to cross to the other side. She could tell they were sisters because they were holding hands, with the smaller one (whose brown hair was tied into two neat braids) tugging on the bigger one's arm. Though the smaller one seemed to pause when she saw Hope staring at her from inside the taxi.
