To Bewitch a Devil

84 Let no one get in her way

The boy took the painting to the judges as the chief walked to the next table. Princess Zelda looked at her drawing as she wondered if she did it right.

Everyone had painted something entirely different, and it seemed the chief was pleased, but hers; at first glance, you would not know what it was except if you think deeper, or she explains it.

She could paint well. It was the next best thing she knew how to do after eating. She spent most of her time in her art room back in her kingdom, and when they announced what the next test was, she couldn’t be more excited. But now, seeing that everyone had painted something entirely different from hers, she grew uneasy. Maybe she should have just gone with what was unambiguous.

The Old man’s smile eased when he saw the painting on the brown paper placed on the sketching board. He blinked in awe as he stood for a few seconds, admiring the intense work of art.

It was not usual to see such incredibly clean brush strokes and perfect illustrations. For a moment, he forgot what the theme was and admired the drawing. When he came to himself, he smiled and turned to the Princess;

“What season have you painted, Princess?”

Even though the painting was fantastic, he did not understand how it related to the theme of the day. If she couldn’t explain properly, she would as well lose out completely. It was sad to see such a painting go to waste; he thought as he faced the girl;

Zelda turned to her painting and then she spoke;

“I painted the season autumn.” She said.

.....

The old man frowned as he stared at the brown paper; “How does this represent autumn?” He asked,

Zelda had painted an old couple sitting down outside a crumbling old house watching the sunset. Their eyes were sunken and their face cracked with wrinkles as their lips stretched into a warm smile.

The hair on their head was gray, and they were staring into the distance as though lost in thought.

“The autumn season symbolizes plenty, ripening, harvest, but it also symbolizes decay, decline, old age, and even death. This old couple can be said to be in their autumn season, the twilight of their years.

They are old and feeble, which symbolizes decline, like turning leaves in autumn, which hang onto the threads of the tree branch until it can no longer hold them up, and let them fall to the ground; they have accomplished their work here and they are just waiting for death to come for them.”

The old man was puzzled as he listened to the Princess. A part of him had guessed the autumn season because of the mild yellow colors, but he had not thought of such deep meaning. He stared at the Princess, speechless.

When she finished talking, the audience stood up and clapped. Zelda turned in surprise as she did not know that they were listening to her.

The old man nodded impressively as he ordered the boy to take the painting to the judges.

“This is one of the most impressive paintings I have seen in my life. It is wonderful, I must commend.”

The crowd cheered again. Zelda smiled as she squinted her eyes, relief coursing through her. She had thought she did not do well, but that was not the case.

The chief left her table and went to Emma. She was the last Princess to be checked, and she wished she had come before Zelda. She had painted a bright sun and a rainbow, and a few trees on a terrain signifying summer.

She had forgotten to draw a few children to make it look more real before the time was up. She hated she was the last person because her work was a full contrast to Zelda’s.

The old man smiled when he saw her drawing. He did not leave any snide comments and only told the boy to take it to the judges.

After the old man left them, the Princesses were quiet for a moment before Emma spoke;

“I guess Zelda is winning this round again. Who could have thought?” She spoke, laughing lightly.

Her drawing was nothing to write home about, so she knew she was getting last place or the second to last place if she was lucky.

“Have you all noticed that Zelda doesn’t engage in fights or talk back when we insult her? While you waste your time insulting her, she’s busy winning the contests, and before our very eyes, the fat Princess will become queen!”

Emma added, and the Princesses grew quiet as the thoughts rang in their head. Since it was not a love marriage, Zavian was going to choose from the Princesses that emerged first and second place.

Zelda was currently topping the chart and although she wasn’t the prettiest physically, Zavian did not seem like one that cared about her size. He was still mourning his dead wife and might never touch her for pleasure. The marriage was one of convenience, so her size did not really matter.

It was at that moment the Princesses realized they might actually lose to Zelda. Kitana bit her inner lip as she imagined losing to the fat princesses.

She was better physically, and in everything, she was just not good enough in these damned competitions!

Her eyes turned to Zelda, and she saw her smiling. Kitana scoffed silently; she must be quite delusional to think she would let her be queen.

No matter what it took, she must be queen. She couldn’t go back to her kingdom. She had little to no powers there. Kitana knew she had the charisma to rule, but she had four elder brothers and did not stand a chance. The only way she could gain influence and become powerful was by being queen. She had no other option, and she would let no one get in her way.

They sat down as they waited for the judges to score their paintings. A few boys in uniforms took the paintings away after they finished scoring them and putting down their scores on a paper.

After about thirty minutes, the chief stood up with the paper and walked up to the podium.