𝐍𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥『↬』The Owl House fanfiction (𝗛𝗜𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗦)

𝐢𝐢: 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹, 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗳 𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗸 :𝟐

♪♫❝ ᴵ ᵈᵒⁿ'ᵗ ᵏⁿᵒʷ ʰᵒʷ ʸᵒᵘ ˢʷᵉʳᵛᵉ
ˢᵒ ᶠᵃʳ ᵒᵘᵗ, ᵒᵘᵗ ᵒᶠ ʸᵒᵘʳ ˡᵃⁿᵉ
ᴼʳ ʷʰʸ ʸᵒᵘ ˢʰᵒʷⁱⁿᵍ ᵘᵖ ᵘⁿᵃⁿⁿᵒᵘⁿᶜᵉᵈ
ⁱⁿ ᵗʰᵉ ᶠⁱʳˢᵗ ᵖˡᵃᶜᵉ ❞♪♫
— 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚁𝚘𝚘𝚖 ʙʏ 𝙴𝙻𝙸𝙾

━━━━ •┈••✦ 🖤 ✦••┈• ━━━━

˖⁺‧₊˚⚜️🎭⚜️˚₊‧⁺˖

𝐼𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 dead of night when Hunter reached the training arena; he breathed in the cold, peaceful air. Hunter was planning to train since he couldn't sleep that night, so he thought some activity wouldn't hurt.

He was now fighting the abomination used for training with the artificial staff Emperor Belos gifted him when he was officially crowned as the new Golden Guard. Once the training abomination fell to the ground in defeat, he breathed heavily from exhaustion. The boy had a lot on his mind.

Hunter remembered the day he woke up, knowing that that day was the day he'd be announced his new role. He recalled his anxiety beforehand as he put on the new uniform a waiting servant gave him. He could remember the moment he stepped up in front of the people of the Boiling Isles to face the Emperor and the heir who stood beside him.

Hunter recalled the moment he felt all the power the artificial staff had inside as his hands held it for the first time. And, of course, the boy could never forget the very moment he looked up at Annika with a smug look that they both knew he was wearing—Hunter waited to see an irritated or angry on her face.

However, the only reaction he got from her was a cold smile. The blonde wanted to wipe off that smug look on her face so very badly, but he knew he couldn't do anything about it, so he tightly clenched the staff in his hands.

This was how their exchanges went on ever since Annika was first announced as crown princess. Since Hunter saw her mocking face towards him, the boy would try anything and everything to wipe that annoying smirk or just the general look that said "I'm better than you" off her dumb face.

Hunter tried everything to impress his uncle and prove that he was better than Annika since he knew that her position was what filled most of her pride. But no matter how hard he tried, nothing seemed to get a different reaction except for that stupid smirk that formed her face.

You could add that Hunter was almost convinced that her only default was the smirk because he could never imagine her with any other expression—it concerned and pissed the boy off at the same time.

Somehow, it became his life mission to irritate Annika in any way, and he thought that getting an artificial staff would be the key—except he was wrong—again.

Aside from that, Hunter knew this obsession was unhealthy, so he turned to distractions, one of them being training.

When the blonde felt like he had enough exercise, he returned to his room, still surrounded by many thoughts that prevented him from sleeping. So, he studied from the books that occupied his desk for the rest of the night.

It was already a habit of his, but with each passing day, his insomnia grew more over time.

─── ⋆˖⁺‧₊⟡
〚 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 〛
⟡₊‧⁺˖⋆ ───
˖⁺‧₊˚⚜️♛⚜️˚₊‧⁺˖

Sometimes, Annika wished people wouldn't put as many expectations on her or act like she was some saint when all she wanted to do was ignore mostly everyone at the castle. She wanted to wander around the Boiling Isles as she tried to imagine having a normal teen life that didn't have people relying on, doubting, or attempting to use her for power.