Daylight

95. AfterGlow-Part 8

THIRD POV

Watching every room be covered in flowers and multi-colored pastel ribbon, Hope couldn't believe her first wedding was hours away. The very thought of it brought a smile to her face as her blue eyes lit up with every hallway she wandered in. Ducking carefully under a banner as smiles were displayed on servants' faces as she did so, Hope waved with confidence and calmness as she looked for someone special to her. As her blue eyes wandered the corridors, she didn't see anyone that resembled him. Sensing him through the force, Hope could feel him near, while she felt her mom somewhere in the castle, two floors up from the main one. Nodding her head slightly, she was easily able to find one parent, but not the one she needed at the moment. Turning a corner, she almost ran into Monroe Clarke as he stopped her from slamming into him, a smirk on his face. Watching him with a curious look and a smile to match it, Monroe raised a brow with interest as both waited for the other to speak. 

"Shouldn't you be with your mom?"

"Shouldn't you be with my mom?" Hope asked while tilting her head for a dramatic effect.

"I'm the best friend, kid, not the lover." Monroe laughed as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"That doesn't mean you can't stop being around my mom. You're comrades."

"Your mom worries less when I'm being reserved. Which makes me wonder why you're not with her?" His expression fell from something happy to a frown. 

"She's with Sara and Bellamy. He was crying an hour ago, so I let her have some peace. Besides, I'm looking for someone else." Hope spoke before looking around Monroe to see if he was hiding someone in the room he came from. 

"Let me guess: Ben Solo." 

"Was I that obvious?" Hope darted back up to a standing position as her face showed something of a shock. 

"No, but you're thinking of him, so I guess this is perfect timing." With raised brows now, Hope wondered where this conversation was going. She looked confused to Monroe, and he looked amused to Hope. 

"Why's that?"

"Because he's down by the docks near the lake." 

Hope's eyes went wide as she didn't sense him down there and wondered how Monroe did. Giving her the silent treatment, he smiled wide before tapping his head. Rolling her eyes, the gesture must've reminded Monroe of Amara as he smirked. Aiding Hope away from the bustling hallways, he led her down secret tunnels under the castle grounds, her hand in his. Tunnel systems filled with cobwebs and dust were the lease of Hope's worries the closer they got to where Ben was. She could feel a mixture of emotions, and only a few were negative. She understood why he still felt them.

"He's been forgiven if you're curious." Monroe's face shook Hope's body like an earthquake as she didn't expect to hear him talk at all. 

"I see. Has my mom forgiven him too?"

"Well, if you did, I'm more than sure she did. It's not like her to keep a grudge for more than a week or so." Monroe said he held a hand out for Hope to assist her down a steep terrain that led outside. With just the touch of her hand, Monroe could feel everything radiating from Hope. 

"If I ask a question, will you be completely honest with me?" Monroe asked as he slightly bent his knees to be at eye level with Hope. She nodded, believing she had no reason to lie to someone who would soon become her teacher. 

"How long have you been connecting with Ben and Amara?" 

Hope thought long and hard about his question. Thinking back to their first force connection, it was a physical sight for Amara and Hope a year ago in Sylas. But it wasn't their first connection. No, Hope had tried to feel for her mother and father more than once a year ago. To Hope, the first time her mother lost control of the power, she siphoned within the force. She was near Ben Solo. The second time, again, was near Ben Solo. Hope thought back to the time she felt this second connection, and all she saw in her head were colors of blue, red, grey, and white. A battle perhaps or maybe a death of some kind? Hope couldn't remember the exact details, but she knew each time her mom and dad were near the other, that's when she connected to them. Or, tried to. Allowing Monroe to see her memories go as far back as she could see them, he nodded his head before letting go of her hand gently. Nodding his head down to the docks, both saw Ben Solo standing there, the water around him calm and blue.