Chapter 2: The Bachelor's Fortune
Row after row of shark-tooth trees surrounded the worn, beat path, trembling with the pounding of horses' hooves. Their long, withered branches cast eerie shadows into her carriage, filtering the racing rays of light into hand chosen survivors that stopped, at last, when they met her sunkissed skin. With her chin in her hand, a lonely girl looked out from the curtained windows. The carriage was mostly made of wood--old, dark, wood; the kind of wood only found in the center of forests--and was drawn by a pair of well-groomed, chestnut brown steeds. Silver Crown Academy, she thought, in tandem with the feared announcement of the driver:
"Young Miss--you have reached your destination."
The carriage came to a slow halt, alongside the welcomed whinnies of the tired horses. The driver stepped down to open the door to the carriage, facing the front of the enormous, academic premises. As he pulled on the door, he immediately found resistance. A tense moment ensued, a drop of sweat falling from his forehead, as the stress of navigating the complex social situation took hold.
"Y-young Miss.. I would ask, if you would be so kind, that you unhand the handle."
No response. Whomever the carriage's occupant was, she didn't seem to be a very willing participant in the proceedings. The grand spires of Silver Crown towered above; thick, stone pillars of safety--or, perhaps, imprisonment.
The driver sighed heavily, caught between a rock and a hard place, powerless to force the occupant out without assaulting his decorum. Perhaps, with the right encouragement, the defiant female could be convinced..