"Amira..."The crowd cheered upon the mention of her name, which made it difficult to pronounce her surname because the noise was too loud.
She fluttered her eyelashes softly to get rid of the blurry vision. The knot that was in the tip of her stomach faded away.
Amira was so scared,she had thought that she won't make it in the next round.That's why she chose to close her eyes and prepare her mind for disappointments.
"Congratulations."Ravenna mouthed, just the same way Amira had congratulated her earlier.
"Amira!"She heard a familiar voice cheering her up, the girl raised her head slowly and looked where the voice came from, and there she was, Lady Serena had come to back up her granddaughter.
A bright smile crept on Amira's lips, she was so happy that her grandma had made an effort to come and give her the shoulder to lean on.
"I liked Amira's performance, so much."She heard feminine voices whispering.
"Me too. She knows how to dance and she's so beautiful."Another feminine voice complimented. Amira was happy that there were people who enjoyed her performance and they believed that she was the best among all contestants.
"I didn't even recognise her. I think Monalisa is the best dancer among all contestants."Amira heard someone whispering from the other side.
Amira didn't have any problem with all the gossip and everything. It was expected since not everyone will like whatever you're doing.
She closed her eyes momentarily and heaved a sigh to calm down her nerves. She was content with those few people who believed in her.
Amira swore to herself that she would give her best. Maybe she was just lucky in this competition since she was the last qualifier on the list.
She'll prove to everyone that she deserves the position, that she deserves to be the crown Prince's chosen bride.
"Attention please."The main judge attracted everyone's attention.
"I would like to thank all the participants who took part in the competition."She paused and took in a few breaths.
Qualified contestants were all over the moon while the ones who didn't qualify had sad faces. Some contestants were even crying.
Amira pitied the girls who were crying, she wished she could tell them that it was not the end of the world.However, all she could do at the moment was watch them cry.
"I believe that every contestant tried their best."The judge pressed her lips into a thin line."The competition will continue until we're left with one contestant who will be the crown Prince's bride."
She explained briefly. The qualified contestants looked around the big hall nervously, wondering if they'll go all the way to the last round.
However, one thing was certain. It was clear that among the fifty qualified contestants, there will be only one contestant who will stand a chance to be the crown prince's bride.
The question was, who will be the bride? That was the question that flashed in every contestant's mind, every contestant hoping that she would be the one.
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"The competition will be taking place every Saturday of the week."The judge continued to explain.
"We're not going to give any hint about competition because every challenge is going to be a surprise."Amira's heart pounded wildly when she heard the judge's rules.
"That's tough, thanks to the heavens I didn't take part in the competition."Amira heard people whispering amongst themselves.
Amira had already thought about how tough it is going to be. She just hoped that the challenge would be in her favour.
"As the future queen of Wylan, you need to be tough and brave."The lady continued to explain to the contestants the reason why the challenge was a secret.
Amira heaved a sigh, she raised her face to look at her grandma who smiled at her. Lady Serena was certain that her daughter could do it.
"Congratulations to all the contestants who qualified for the second round, see you in the next round, on Saturday."The lady judge closed the notebook that she was reading from.
She didn't have much to say since the competition was over.
The royal family and Nobles were the first people to leave the hall while commoners stood in respect.No one was allowed to get out of the hall before the royal family.
That was a sign of respect. Amira stared at the royal family with hostile eyes. However, her face changed subtly into gentleness because she didn't want anyone to suspect anything.
Prince Zebulon looked at the contestants who stood on the front row of the ground floor, he looked from one contestant to the other quickly as he walked out of the hall.
The contestants smiled at him as they tried to attract his attention. The prince's face was emotionless like always.
His eyes stopped on a girl who was dressed in a pink gown. For a split second, an explainable emotion flashed on prince Zebulon's face which faded away in a twinkle of an eye.
Amira looked away almond immediately when she locked eyes with Zebulon.
"It's hard for me to believe that we made it through the first round."Amira pretended to be talking to Ravenna who stood beside her.
"I can't believe it either,"Ravenna answered with a smile in her voice.
Amira peeked at the royal family from the corners of her eyes. A sigh of relief escaped her lips when she saw them stepping out of the hall.
People began to walk out of the hall.
"I hope the next round's challenge won't be that difficult," Ravenna said with a worried voice,not entirely sure if she would survive the next round.
"We don't know anything about the challenge. All we need to do is try out some different things."Amira tilted her head thoughtfully.
"Who knows? You might be lucky."Amira shrugged her shoulders. She turned around when someone tugged her on the shoulder.
"We need to get going."Lady Serena informed her granddaughter and she nodded her head in understanding.
"Goodbye Ravenna, see you in the next round."A small smile flashed on Amira's lips lips.
"Okay, goodbye."Ravenna nodded her head as a deep frown settled on her face. She watched Amira leave with her grandma.
Ravenna didn't know anyone else in the hall apart from Amira. She closed her eyes and a long sigh escaped from her lips.
___
"Amira!"She heard a masculine voice call her name. Before Amira could do anything, a strong arm grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the crowd.