Thump! Thump! Thump!

A large mechanical hovercar gradually approached from the horizon and landed at the edge of a seemingly barren field.

Sophie nervously leapt to her feet and hurriedly powered on her communicator. She opened the camera function and checked her appearance multiple times.

No.. no… her hair was a mess! The dress that she was wearing… it really was too plain! 

God… she looked terrible!

Sophie began to hyperventilate as negative thoughts began to surface in her mind. Fortunately, her father was right there by her side to place a warm hand on her shoulder.

"Take in a deep breath and remember what we talked about," Duke Peterlor whispered gently.

"You look absolutely beautiful."

His calming words helped Sophie to relax and those painful doubts faded away to dull hums in the background.

Sophie took in a few deep breaths and then gently exhaled. There was no need to panic. Those nasty thoughts were just the self-doubt talking.