To Be His Queen 👑

7

The dense trees were blocking the sunlight from entering in the forest, but still some stubborn rays found their way in forest through it, lighting it enough for participants to see everything ahead of them.

The participants along with their chaperones were agressively looking for the red flag, even Anika was helping her sister much to Radhika's suprise "I found it, I found it" Kadambari shouted waving a red flag and gaining everyone's attention, and after this the search were more aggressive, "I don't want to go back home today, I want the flag" Radhika whispered to herself but it was audible enough for her sister, looking around, Anika saw a flag on top of the tree and didn't hesitate in holding the bark of tree before climbing up on it slowly, the tree was only ten feet tall so it didn't take much time for Anika to climb it,She untied the string holding the flag and gave it to her sister who yelled out excitedly before running out of forest, Tara had also found one flag so she took followed Radhika out.

Instead of climbing down the tree and heading back Anika just sat there with her legs hanging down, she saw some remaining participants talking, taunting, pushing and fighting each other for flag,and on finding the flag, they yell excitedly waving the flag and running out of forest, and like this one by one there were only four girls remained in the forest including her.
"My mother forced me to come here, King Shivay is very handsome and kind person but I don't find it enough to fight for it, I only want to go back home and marry Chandan, Deena" a girl around 19 whispered to the woman standing behind her "Why Maa, Baba isn't understanding that I will never be happy with anyone else not even with the King"The girl had Anika's whole attention now, for a minute Anika saw glimpse of her foolish and mad self in thr girl, a tear slowly travelled down from her cheeks before falling on the ground below "Here is the flag" the same 19 year old offered her flag to the only remaining girl in forest "Take this" the same girl added when the other participant looked hesitant.

"But what about you?" The another girl asked "Don't you want it as well?" She added when the 19 year old just shrugged her shoulder in response.

"If I had wanted it why would I have offered it to you, Take it" thrusting the flag on hand of the another girl, they both with their chaperones too headed out of the forest, now leaving only Anika alone in forest.

Anika knew that staying here is a suicidal thing to do, but the calmness and peace the nature was offering her at the moment was enough for her to die for, she closed her eyes and focussed on her surrounding, the sounds of crickets were loud, it felt as if the cricket family somewhere in forest was having an argument, Anika chuckled at her own thought and then heard the hiss of snake coming from somewhere in forest, she heard the chirps of birds dying as it slowly turned from loud to low before completely fading and so she heard the sound of water coming from somewhere in her back.

A person with sane mind would have run back from the direction but Anika, she climbed down from.forest and started to head towards the sound, the working part of her brain warned her, telling her how wrong this move is, but the irrational and foolish part of her which wanted nothing but freedom and solace at the moment overpowered those working cells, after walking around 200 steps Anika found herself on an entrance of clearing, there in middle of forest was a pond, a beautiful pond, surrounded by large trees, unlike the remaining forest this particular part wasn't shadowed by the dense trees giving a clear access to both daylight and moonlight, looking up at sky she saw the sun disappearing somewhere in cloud.

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"We made it on time, Almost thirty girls came after us" Radhika said happily to Tara who nodded her head in excitement as well, both girls were happy that they will not be sent back to their home today.