Villainess Loves

Part 63

We ran through the entrance and pass the hallways to quickly reach the north gardens. Behind us, stampedes of guests and servants are rushing in the same direction. Since we were so close to the entrance, I was able to avoid being trampled on and safely reached the area without messing up my makeup or dress. Close save!

Already there are many servants who are busily preparing for the guests and some have already brought out horses that were reserved in advance. I spot Bella standing next to her horse, ready to start the race. She waves at me but doesn't come up as she sees the horde of people stumbling up to get their horses and riding gear.

"Hi! One horse and gear for-" "HEy! Move it!" "Hey! One for here!" "One for me!" "What horses are there?" "How do we sign up?" Hey! Watch it! You're stepping on my foot!" A flurry of voices and faces enter my vision as the first batch of contestants reaches the sign-up booth.

Luckily, due to our rehearsing, the process is smooth and the servants attending are able to easily and effectively assign and record all participants as they rush in. I take a set of servants to greet the nonparticipants and direct them to the viewing areas. Just as practiced, some of the servants branch off to send snacks and fans for all the viewers, while others lead and set up the viewing platforms.

I breathe a sigh of relief. Everything seems to be moving successfully and we were able to get enough servants and stableboys to handle the abundant amount of participants.

I guess the invitations were a success as people were able to naturally pair off for the couples races and we only had to help assign partners for a few participants. Maybe a little surprising is that Prince Caelum and Princess Echina have decided to sign up for the couple's race. Hmm. I wonder who's going to win now? Princess Echina and Prince Caelum or Prince Orion and Bella?

"Looking good, Lady Annelise. A successful trial passed." Queen Solana walks up to the sign-up booth. She is tagged along with her personal maid, Bella's mother, and King Drayden.

"You all have outdone yourself. Even with the assistance of the Queen, this event is much more elaborate than I thought." King Drayden praises.

"Ah, thank you your majesties." I bow.

"It was a combined effort of all of us and the helpfulness of the many servants." I gestured to show Bella and Prince Orion helping the contestants practice in the area.

"So how much time do participants have before the first race starts?" King Drayden strokes his beard.

"Ah, about thirty minutes. As the amount of participants is higher than a single race can hold, we will have a total of three batches, decided randomly, with the final winners competing against each other at the end." I explain. Three times more than we thought! That means we'll even have to split up the couple's race too! Even with the extra colored flags and staggering stands, the races would have been way too crowded if everyone went at the same time. I just hope everyone doesn't get too bored waiting for every race to finish. I'm just glad that we decided to create extra courses so we can hold multiple races at the same time.

"Excellent! Plenty of content! We were worried that there weren't going to be many participants and it would be a simple sweep for our two boys. Luckily that wasn't the case." King Drayden chuckles.

"I did make sure to put that anyone can participate since we are having races for different skill levels." Queen Solana recalls.

"Ahh, thank you for your help." I'm crying inside, this is too many participants! If we didn't plan for the worst case scenario, this competition would have lasted all day instead of a few hours!

"Lady Annelise, thirty minutes have been allotted. The first batch of races is starting soon." A servant comes over and notifies me. I nod.

"Okay, let me go over and start the race." I wave goodbye to King Drayden and Queen Solana.

We head to the announcement stand, where a few servants are already using it to direct participants and viewers.

"Lady Annelise! We're ready!" A servant comes up and hands me a mic. I take it and take a deep breath. Whooo. I'm a little nervous.

"Ahem, ahem." My voice crackles through the speakers as the noises of the crowd quiet down.

"Hi everyone. I am Lady Annelise Thornweather, and I am one of the main organizers of this brand new event. I want to thank everyone for coming and participating, and I want to thank all of our helpers and Queen Solana and her help in making this event possible." I gesture to Queen Solana, who waves to the crowd.

"As the time for warm-ups has passed, we will now commence the first round of races. After the races have concluded, we will hold another thirty minute period for resting and practicing before starting the next round of races. Refreshments and other items are being passed by servants, but you may also request specifics as well. We hope everyone enjoys this event! Let's Start!"

As my final words set, the whistles blows for each of the races, and the racers head off in a flurry.

The skilled race area has the most viewers but surprisingly there are a decent amount of people watching the beginners and intermediate races as well. It certainly isn't as fast-paced, but the intensity and passion of the racers are the same throughout. Everyone is gunning for that first place.

To accommodate everyone, we've decided to only reward the first and runner-ups for every race. The final winners of each skill level will receive an additional prize for their efforts. So there are more people rewarded and some people may receive multiple rewards if they win their bracket and get either runner-up or win the whole thing.

"Let's get a better view of the races!" I turn to address Mary and Henry. The announcement stand can view all of the races, but it's always better to see these kinds of things up close!

Mmm, this is so exciting!