"What is wrong son?"The king asked his son who looked restless as the contestants neared the finish line.
Zeb's heart pounded wildly when he realised that Amira was in the sixth position. For the first time in his lifetime, Zeb held his breath as nervousness kicked in.
He was afraid to watch Amira lose, the girl he has been looking for since he was a ten-year boy. The girl he sees whenever he closes his eyes.
The crown prince recalled those brown hazel eyes which held warmth and that gentle smile on her lips.
He has been dreaming to see more of that smile each time he opens his eyes and closes them. Zeb couldn't believe that he had found her again.
It was like a sweet dream, the dream which he wasn't planning to wake up from.
Zeb had thought worse things concerning Amira. He thought that she had died years ago because he didn't hear anything about her again.
The crown prince sent his right-hand man to look for Amira so many times, however, he came back empty-handed. It broke Zeb's heart into a million pieces when he thought that he would never see her again.
That's why he never cared about a woman again. How could he care about another female when the only female he cared about disappeared into thin air?
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The crowd cheered, even more, when the contestants crossed the finish line. Amira fluttered her eyelashes softly to get rid of the blurry voice.
Lady Serena closed her eyes and heaved a slow sigh when she realised that her granddaughter had finished in the fourth position.
' I thought we had lost it.'A single tear dropped from the old woman's eyes when she gave it a thought. She couldn't believe that it would be that painful to think about the lose.
Lady Serena wiped the drop of tears from her eyes and her lips curved into a smile as she tried hard not to think about how it would feel when Amira couldn't make it to the qualified contestants.
Monalisa finished in the third position while Ravenna was in the fifth position since her horse was too tired from running at a high speed from the beginning.
Amira couldn't believe that she had made it to the qualified contestant. It looked like a miracle had happened all of a sudden because she was about to loose it.
All her efforts, training, sleepless nights and tears didn't go to waste.
"Attention! Attention! Attention!."Commander Williams called out and all eyes were turned to him.
Amira's eyes changed subtly from happiness into full of anger when she looked at the commander. Her grip on the reins tightened until her knuckles turned white.
"We have finally find the five qualifiers."He said as the corner of his lips curved into a mocking smile.
It was obvious that the commander was mocking the contestants who didn't qualify for the third round. Most of the unqualified contestants had sad faces while others were crying.
"This means that the five qualified contestants will face the next challenge, on Saturday." He paused and swallowed saliva to soothe his throat.
"Just like other challenges, it's going to be a surprise."The corner of his lips curved into a smile when those words escaped his lips.
Amira sucked in the tight air when she heard his words. Her skin crawled when she tried to think about what the third challenge held.
The crowd cheered for the qualified contestants when the Commander asked them to. Amira looked at the crowd and her lips curved into a sweet smile when she spotted her grandma who was cheering wildly for her.
Amira's heart melted into a puddle, she was so happy that her grandma has been a big part of her journey to her father's justice.
It felt so good to be surrounded by people who support you in everything and every step that she's taking.
Although each step that she's taking towards the royal family is dangerous, Amira feels like it's becoming less dangerous with each passing day because she's surrounded by people who love her.
Their love is enough to give Amira the strength that she needs to face all the struggles she's going to face on her journey to power.
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The crowd stood in respect and bowed their heads as the royal family walked out of the ancient stadium where the event took place.
"She's the third contestant from the right."Zeb talked to his right-hand man telepathically since he didn't want anyone to know about it.
Malachi turned his head to the qualified contestants to look at the girl that prince Zebulon had been talking about for the past week.
"I see the reason why you can't get her off of your mind."Malachi chuckled as he answered Zeb telepathically.
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"Amira, we did it once again."Ravenna wrapped her arms around Amira and hugged her tightly.
"Yes, we did it, "Amira whispered and hugged her back tightly. She closed her eyes slightly and all the memories clouded her mind.
"I can't believe that I qualified, it's like a dream to me. "Ravenna said with a slightly raised voice, running her fingers through her hair in disbelief.
There was a twinkle in her eyes and a trace of happiness in her voice. Someone could think that she had won a mega jackpot.
"You better believe it because it was one hell of a challenge,"Amira said with a composed voice and a small smile creeping on her lips.
"You're right, it was one hell of a challenge."Ravenna nodded her head, the idea sinking deep into her hard skull.
"All thanks to my brother for teaching me how to ride a horse, I couldn't make it without her training and scolding."Ravenna's lips curved into a sweet smile as she talked about her brother.
It didn't require a genius to know that Ravenna and her brother are close. It was evident in her eyes and how she praised him.
"It's sad because my brother isn't around anymore."Ravenna's eyes glistened with tears.
Amira looked at her with creased eyebrows. She was eager to know what happened to Ravenna's dear brother. Amira wanted to know if he's still alive or whether he is dead.
She wanted to know if that is the reason why Ravenna decided to join the bride-choosing competition.
"What happened to him?"Amira asked in a whisper because she knew it was dangerous to talk about such kinds of stories in a crowd.