Amira looked away almost immediately, her heart pounded as if it would explode into flames the next second.
"Oh my goodness! I can't believe the crown prince has been looking at me."Amira heard a girl's voice, she was giggling in excitement.
Amira swallowed hard,she was thankful that no one noticed that prince Zebulon was looking at her.
"Hey miss,We're running out of time, you need to register or you will be left out."
Her mind was jolted back to the present when she heard the soldier's masculine voice. Amira scribbled her name instantly because she didn't want to lose it.
Amira looked around to take in the surroundings. The castle was still the same, not much had changed even though it has been many years.
The only thing that she noticed had changed was that more flowers were planted compared to a long time ago.
A small sigh escaped from Amira's lips when she gave it a thought.
"I always talk to Prince Zebulon whenever I come here on occasion."Amira heard the same feminine voice. She turned her head slowly to look at whoever was bragging.
The girl wore fancy clothes and gold jewels.
"She comes from the royal family."The thought made Amira more nervous.
"What do you think would be the first challenge?"Amira was still looking at the girl from the royal family when she heard someone asking from behind.
She looked around and found that it was a girl who was dressed in a simple gown but she looked so beautiful. The girl was talking to herself, she was trying to figure out what the challenge might be all about.
"Hello."The girl smiled at Amira who smiled back at her."I think I talked too loud, sorry about that."The girl apologised shyly.
"It's okay."Amira nodded her head in understanding.
"Amira."She stretched her hand for a handshake."Ravenna."The girl shook Amira's hand gently.
It was silent for a moment because they didn't know what to say to each other. That was expected since Ravenna is not used to crowds.
"Hmm.."Amira hummed, "What..."They both talked at the same time. They looked at each other and smiled.
Amira felt comfortable around Ravenna. She was certain that she didn't come from a royal family because she was polite and she seemed to be a good girl.
Girls who come from rich families like bragging. They have pride and think that they're more important than anyone else.They think that they own the entire universe and all creatures that live in it.
"Go first."Amira said with a smile on her lips."Okay."Ravenna nodded her head.
"Do you have any idea what might be the first challenge?"The girl asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I have no idea."Amira shook her head in denial.
She didn't think about what the challenge might be all about. Amira hoped that she would make it to the next round no matter the challenge.
"What if it's fighting?"Ravenna asked nervously.
"Huh? I don't think they would go for such a challenge because it's too early."Amira reasoned out. She knows that they will start with simple things so that they can eliminate contestants who don't know how to do some simple things.
"Really? Why do you think so?"Ravenna asked with creased eyebrows.
"Attention! Attention! attention!"
Amira was about to answer the new friend she had met when the high-pitched voice erupted in the air.
Everybody's attention shifted towards the woman. She was slightly shorter and dressed in a red gown with gold jewels.
"There's a total of hundred contestants."She said, "The contestants are divided into ten groups consisting of ten contestants."
Amira listened carefully since she didn't want to miss even a single word. She heard people gasping around her, probably nervous.
"Every group has been assigned to someone who will watch over their performance. In the group of ten contestants, only five will be chosen."
Amira's heart pounded wildly when she heard the lady's words. She realised that everyone was equally tensed when they heard how the judgement would be done.
Amira hoped that she would be among the five contestants that would be chosen in her group. That was her only wish at the moment, to survive the first round.
It meant that out of one hundred contestants, only fifty would be left. The girl sucked in the tight air when she gave it a thought.
"The first challenge will be dancing. The crown prince needs a bride who knows how to dance so that he won't be embarrassed when he attends any occasion."The lady explained briefly.
Amira's eyes widened briefly when she heard the challenge. She closed her eyes and tried to recall all the dancing styles that her grandma has ever taught her.
"You were right when you said that the first challenge wouldn't be that difficult."Ravenna smiled at Amira.
"Although the challenge seems to be easy, it's somehow challenging."A heavy sigh escaped from Amira's lips.
It was silence once again when ten women walked towards the contestants, holding a book and a pen in their hands.
The woman called the contestants names according to their registration. The contestants from number one to ten were the first to head towards the big hall where the kingdom's events always takes place.
Amira waited patiently since she was the last contestant to register.
"Good luck!"Ravenna smiled at Amira when she was called.Ravenna was number eighty."Good luck to you too."Amira smiled back at her.
Number ninety-one was called after Ravenna's group was gone, ninety-two, three…and finally it was Amira's turn.
Amira closed her eyes slightly and a small sigh escaped her lips, that is the moment she has been waiting for.
They followed behind the lady as she led them towards the event hall. Amira almost turned around and ran away when she stood at the door of the hall.
The hall was so big. It was decorated with different types of flowers and it was illuminated brightly by the light from the chandelier.
The crowd cheered when the last group arrived inside the hall. The loud noise made Amira want to press her hands on her ear since she wasn't used to all of this.
However, she maintained a gentle look on her face and pretended that she was not afraid of the crowd even though her heart was pounding wildly.
The crown prince was lazily sitting on the highly backed chair on the right hand of the king since he'll be the one replacing him.
Prince Zebulon is the only child to the king.Normally, vampires don't give birth to many children.
Vampires usually give birth to one child,lucky vampires manage to have only two kids.That's why human are highly populated in Wylan kingdom compared to Vampire because humans can have as many kids as they want.
Prince Zebulon seemed uninterested in whatever was happening. He was lost in his own world of thoughts.
The contestants were arranged according to the groups so that it would be easy for group judges to monitor the contestants closely.
It was silent in the hall when the arrangement of contestants and everything was done. Most of the contestants were nervous even though they pretended to be bold.
The music was turned on after a few minutes. The contestants began to move to the beats of the soothing music which was loud enough for the crowd to hear.
All eyes were on the contestants, the judges monitored every movement of the contestants as they scribbled something on the notebook.
The prince looked down at the contestants lazily from the third floor which was occupied by the royal family and Nobles.
It was hard for Prince Zebulon to see the contestants' faces. All he could see was their hair and swaying bodies, it made him more bored.
Amira swayed to the music slowly, her hands, legs and general body moved with the beat of the song. It was slow music which didn't need that much energy.
However, it required more dancing skills. The judges knew exactly what they were looking for, and that's why they chose that kind of song.
Amira almost panicked when she realised many contestants had good dancing skills. She decided to close her eyes and sway to the beats of the soothing music.
The song was about love and heartbreak. Since Amira was so good at showing emotions on her face, she decided to use both her dancing skills and emotions.
She got lost in her own world. Amira felt like she was out of the real world, away from all the worries and struggles.
It was a good thing that Amira was familiar with the song. She had danced the same song with her grandma, maybe once or twice.
Amira slowed down as the music neared the end, and finally, the music was over. The crowd cheered loudly.
"Can you at least smile."The king whispered to his son who didn't clap or do anything. All he did was stare down at the contestants blankly.
Prince Zebulon looked at his father as if he was some creature from another universe.
--------
"It's time for judges to read the names of the contestants who qualify for the next round."
Amira heard her fellow contestants gasping nervously. The main judge nodded to group one judge, silently telling him to go ahead.
"Monalisa."That was the first name of the contestant who qualified for the next round. The crowd cheered and shouted Monalisa's name.
"Monalisa, Monalisa."Amira tried to recall where she heard the name because it rang a bell in her head.
"The Duke's daughter " Amira recalled the two women who were gossiping in the carriage when she was coming from the market.
The result didn't surprise Amira.Monalisa comes from a royal family, she may have good dancing skills because she has attended many events, obviously, there's dancing almost every event.
"Group two-judge called the names, group three, group four...."Amira didn't pay much attention because she didn't know the other contestants.
"Group nine!"Her mind jolted back to the present upon the mention of Ravenna's group.
"Sarah, Isabella..."Amira's heart pounded wildly, she crossed her fingers and hoped that Ravenna would make it.
"Ravenna!"She was the last one on the list. Amira smiled at the girl, "Congratulations!"She mouthed, tears of joy flowed from Ravenna's eyes.
"Group 10."Amira's heart pounded wildly when they mentioned her group. She held onto her pink gown tightly.
"Eve, Rebecca, Mia..."Amira became more nervous as the judges continued to call qualified contestants.
"Alyssa MacDonald."Amira closed her eyes as the grip on her gown tightened. Contestant number forty-nine was called, meaning one spot was left.
"Will I make it to the next round?"Amira wandered.