1

I lay my head down on the glass window of the carriage and gaze up at the clumps of gray clouds forming above. Light droplets of rain slide down the panels of the window and I glide my finger alongside a droplet, competing with other drops sliding down the glass. As the Princess of Gardenia, I am on duty to visit another palace far away from home - the Kingdom of Arulia - to report back problems of misconduct in their monarchy. The only reason why the responsibility came to my hands was because my father insisted I made use of myself by doing 'extra credit' in hopes of looking more presentable to eligible Prince - or even King - bachelors. Except I do not care about my fathers wishes or his deliberate actions of trying to make me seem better for the sake of marriage; the only reason I accepted such a duty was to escape the torment of boredom in the Palace and instead enjoy the wonders of a day ride in a carriage, except that might change. I observe the darkening shades of gray looming over the lighter gray clouds, the drizzle of rain now downpouring all over the carriage.

"Thomas, can you see? Will you be alright?" I tense as rain gushes over the front glass, noticeably stressing my carriage driver out.

"Stay calm Princess, I'll be fine!" He exclaims back as he squints through the heavy downpour.

Lightning and thunder rumble amidst the rainfall and the horses begin to go ballistic in fear.

"I think we should stop", I plead to Thomas, who continues to quicken the pace regardless of the frightened horses.

"We'll be fine Princess, just settle down now, the horses have been through it all, it's just a little noise."

I squint through the miniature glass window dividing Thomas and I to see the horses drenched in rainwater and neighing uncontrollably as currents of thunder rip through the sky. Panicking, I bang at the carriage walls in hopes that my stress goes through, yet the gushes of rain splashing amongst the wheels and the consistent cries of the horses block out my actions.

"Thomas, I order you to stop this carriage at once!" I yell whilst banging the walls, but because the downpour is so heavy, my voice and thuds barely reach him.

The movements of the carriage slip and sway from side to side, the rainwater beneath liquefying the soil into slippery muck.

"THOMAS!" I continue to yell from the top of my lungs, banging the walls with pressure harder than ever as the carriage continues to slip and slide.

I grab for the door handles in an attempt to jump out in time to alert Thomas in some way, only to be locked in from the immense pressure of wind and water. I look around for something strong enough to break open the little glass window and slip off my heel as that resort, increasing the pressure of blows every hit until it cracks open enough to create a hole.

"Thomas, can you hear me!" I scream through the hole, finally getting his attention as he swivels his head back for a split second before looking ahead again.

"I can hear you Princess but I can't stop the carriage, the horses are slipping with the mud and the carriage is going its own way. I'm trying my hardest!" He shouts back, pulling at the ropes hard in an attempt to halt the horses so the carriage stops moving.

A bolt of lightning shoots through the trees, frightening the horses into galloping towards the edge of the cliff away from the noise.

"Are you fucking kidding me!" I cry in frustration, kicking hard at the doors while Thomas makes the effort of tugging the ropes. More water rushes upon the windows, completely blinding our vision of the road ahead. Stones from the ground hit at the glass windows as we accelerate onwards, creating all sorts of cracks big enough for the rainwater to gush inside at full speed.

"THOMAS!" I yell for the last time, before my body floats and hits the ceiling and all turns black.