Scarlet in Glezentine

Chapter 6 - Questions

"There will be four questions total that you need to answer yourself. Just write it down. Everyone ready? Alright. The first question is: If the Princess was trapped, how would you save her? I know this question is vague, but just answer it the way you see fit." He says when they look ready to ask a lot of questions. Once they had enough time to answer, the man continued. "Alright. That's time. Next question. Are you more of a Charming person or a handsome one or something else? This one is a one-word answer. You should already have it down. Moving on. Number three: What's the first thing you'd do if you became prince?" Lots of them instantly write down an answer, while others think.  

After most had finished he went on. "Okay then. The last one is: If you could help anyone, including yourself, who would it be? This one is also vague, but it should be done soon. You have two minutes to finish up your answers."

To my surprise, I see Caroline go through a side door with another piece of paper and hands it to the speaker, then comes to stand next to me.

"What's that say?" I ask curiously.

"You'll see." Caroline answers.

The man on the stage clears his throat for attention. That's when I notice it's the king! He starts talking. "Excuse me, everyone. We have one last question. She says: answer this truthfully and it'll serve you well. The question is: Do you actually want to compete in this competition? Wait what?" The king says shocked. But it's too late. Many of the boys look surprised. Some even have tears in their eyes. I watch a person write NO!!!! on his piece of paper, and tears of joy ran down his cheeks. The boy looks about 10, but I know he has to be about 12. He mouths the words Thank you princess to the mirror. I look over and see Caroline smile.

A timer rings and I jump. Then, I see several men go through and stick names on the prices of paper and put them all in a pile.

Caroline sighs. "I guess I have a lot of marking to do."

"Marking?" I ask.

"Yeah." She says. " I have to mark each of them and put them on a list in order. It won't take as much time as it did before though. I think most of the boys will either respect me more or less for that last question, but I had to add it. Some guys in there looked miserable, and I couldn't have that. They shouldn't be here if they didn't want to be. It's a dumb rule to make them participate."  

"Yeah," I say. But before I can continue, everyone on both sides gets pushed out the doors.

Once there isn't anyone left inside, the king says, "The reports will be back soon." He then pulls Caroline along with him and the stack of papers, and they make their way towards the castle. A hand lands on my arm, making me jump.

Then a voice with a British accent says "Relax. It's just us." I turn to see James and Adam standing before me.

"How'd it go?" I ask. Adam gives a thumbs up and smiles.

"We'll be fine." Says James, not sounding worried at all. "We should do fine, but not good enough that people start hating us."

Loud bells interrupt me again, so I go towards the sound. 

"What now?" I complain.

"I assume it's the first challenge for Prince Christopher." Says James. "The marathon test." 

We make it to the square to find the king on a stage, nailing up a list to a bulletin board.

"That was fast!" I comment. We get to the front of the crowd and see that there are multiple lists posted all around the square. They are all in clumps of three pieces of paper. One says ACCEPTED at the top. Another says HONORABLY DISCHARGED (which is the biggest list), and the last one says DISQUALIFIED.

Since I don't know anyone, I only look for James and Adam. I quickly scan through DISQUALIFIED and am glad to see nothing. Next is HONORABLY DISCHARGED. Again, nothing. Then I scanned ACCEPTED.

1. Sam W.

2. Charles N.

3. Ted S.

4. James N. Yes! James got fourth! I look further down to see where Adam got.

5. James W. 

6. Adam N. 

"Which James are you?" I ask.

"Which do you think? James W. Duh." He answers.

"Sorry. I didn't know." I mumble, annoyed. I resist the urge to add yeesh.

A man clears his throat. I look up to see the king standing on the stage with a list in his hands. He announces the ranking of the top five people, and then there's applause, but mainly from the proud parents and those who did well.

"I am also here to announce the next challenge." When the king says that, everyone goes silent. The clapping stops, and people even try to not move around as much. "The next challenge is for Prince Christopher. His challenge is the marathon test." The parents cheer, knowing their daughters will do well, and the children groan, not wanting to.

Then, everything goes silent once more when the prince himself stands on the stage. They stay silent as he makes eye contact with every girl, including me.

I get self-conscious about my wild hair and bring my hands up to fix it, when I feel fabric under my fingers. Right. The hat.

I have to keep it on. I can't let them see my hair. Both James and Caroline think I should, so I will.

A melodic voice brings me out of my thoughts. "I have thought about it, talked with my father, and consulted a few friends, and I have come to the decision that if you're all willing to risk your life for me, I should be willing to do the same." Everyone looks at each other, confused, until the prince continues talking. "That means I'll run the race with you." Ooh. That makes sense. Except it doesn't. Why would he do that? "The challenge takes place in half an hour, near the edge of the forest. I'll see you there." And with that, he walks off the stage.

There are murmurs of excitement and anxiety, but most people just start moving to go get ready. James pulls me along with them.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"To see my sister." He says nothing else the entire way there. 

I wanna know what you think his sister looks like, and what her name is. I'll give you a hint: It starts with a C. Please tell me what you thought of this chapter! Vote and comment!