An Excerpt from Competition for Queen

The sun shined bright on the land as the people gathered for the celebration of prince Brandon’s eighteenth birthday. There was much entertainment going on around the square, from different performing dancers to different stands selling all sorts of food.

In the middle of the square stood a stage with stairs on either side of them. Eve wondered what it was for.

“It reminds me of when Isaiah had Kathleen and Danielle on the stake all those years ago,” her mother told her. Eve had heard that story many times before. She hoped that she would never wind up in that type of situation. If she did, she hoped to be as strong as those two women were at that time.

Eve and her mother walked around the square, watching all the entertainment going on around then when a horn sounded. The entire square fell silent as they followed the sound of the horn. It was coming from the direction of the castle.

The crowd began to cheer, but still, Eve couldn’t see what they were cheering about. Her mother then tapped on her shoulder and pointed upward. It was then she saw King Anthony and Queen Kathleen standing high above them, about halfway up the castle, looking down at the people of the land from a lookout from one of the towers.

Seeing her potential future in-laws made Eve smile big and applaud loudly along with the rest of the crowd. The king and queen smiled and waved at the crowd until the sound of the horns and music die down. The crowd followed suit.

“Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of Queen Kathleen and myself, we present to you, Prince Brandon!” Anthony exclaimed. Confetti flew into the air then following the sound of gunfire, and the castle doors opened as Prince Brandon came out, walking down the aisle from the door to the stage.

The crowd cheered and applauded as Brandon ascended a small flight of stairs, walking up on to the stage. Once he got to the center of the stage, he took a bow and more confetti flew around the sky.

He was as handsome as Eve had imagined he would be. He had long blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes. He wore a long red blanket over his shoulders and a crown atop his head.

“Happy birthday, Prince!” some people began to shout to him as he continued to wave to the people of the land. Eve couldn’t help but stare at him. She was taken back by his beauty and hoped that he would meet her glance.

“Happy birthday to you…” the crowd began to sing happy birthday to him, and Eve joined in to not look foolish. Once the song was over, the crowd cheered once more.

“Thank you! Thank you very much!” he yelled out to the crowd as they continued to cheer. “Thank you all for coming out to celebrate this milestone birthday with me.” The crowd began to cheer his name repeatedly then. Brandon waited for them to halt their cheer before he spoke again.

“Now that I am eighteen, the time has come for me to assume the throne from my parents, King Anthony and Queen Kathleen. In order to do so, however, I must choose my next queen,” he said. “We will have a competition to see who will become the next queen, based on the women I will be choosing right now.”

The women in the crowd began to scream and wave their arms in the air, hoping Brandon would choose them. Eve didn’t do any of that, however. She just stood there, her eyes locked on the soon-to-be-king.

This was the moment she had dreamt of her entire life. This was the first step to becoming the next queen, the only thing she ever wanted to do. Why wasn’t she trying to get his attention?

Over the next minute, Brandon chose three girls to join him up on the stage. After choosing his fourth, it was then he met her gaze.
She was the most beautiful woman he had lay eyes on. Her long black hair blew slightly in the wind, her brown eyes locked on him. She had a very serious look on her face and her mouth was slightly open. Brandon was starstruck.

Eve’s heart beat faster now. Her and Brandon were locking eyes for the first time. He seemed to be struck by her beauty as much as she was his. The only noise she heard was her own heartbeat.

He then pointed to her, everything moving in slow motion. Eve pointed at herself then.

“Me?” she asked. Brandon nodded his head. She couldn’t believe it. He had chosen her to try her hand at the throne. People in the crowd had to push her to the stage, cheering her on as they did.

Eve slowly climbed the stage and stood alongside the other women, looking down at the crowd surrounding the stage now. She always knew this moment would be coming, but now that it was here, she was still in disbelief.

She put a hand on her mouth, tears beginning to fall from her eyes. She looked out until she saw her mother, who was waving to her and applauding. She waved to her.

“These five women will be competing to see who will be named the next queen, spending time with my family and I until I can determine who will be the perfect queen not just for me, but also for you, the people of the land!” Brandon said. The crowd cheered loudly again for the prince and the five women who would compete for the throne.

“For now, we celebrate!” Brandon added. The birthday celebration continued all throughout the day until the sun had gone down.