To Bewitch a Devil

“The painting contest was an intense one, as the judges had a hard time deciding the winner. The Princesses had impressed us greatly as we had not expected such expertise from them;” he paused as he turned to the Princesses who were seated;

“It was sad that a Princess was disqualified, but rules are rules and they must be followed. The rest of the paintings were scored and we now have our winner.”

The crowd cheered after the old man spoke; they were excited to know who came first. Although they guessed it was Princess Zelda, they didn’t want to conclude so fast.

“Princess Kitana, please come out.” All eyes turned to Princess Kitana in shock;

Did she come first place? The Princesses asked themselves in surprise.

How? Wasn’t it Princess Zelda?

Princess Kitana was as surprised as the rest. She was not very good at drawing, but maybe Zelda’s was too complicated. That was why she did not win.

Smiling to herself, she walked forward, swaying her hips from left to right. The crowd cheered as they watched in surprise. They had thought it was Zelda who had come first.

.....

“Congratulations, your painting portrayed the winter night perfectly. You came third place.”

The smile on Kitana’s face drained as she stared at the old man. It took her a few seconds before she came to herself and smiled and waved at the crowd. They clapped for her as she stood by the side. Kitana was mortified. Why did he call her first when she did not come first place? Why did he raise her hopes high only to bash them to the ground?

Third place? She did not even come second!

Kitana gritted her teeth as she stood with a smile so fake that it was easily detectable.

Emma chuckled when she saw Kitana’s expression;

“Oh my, I even thought she had come first place. This is bad; ,” She said with a burst of mocking laughter.

“Princess Jasmine;”

The chief called and Princess Jasmine stepped out;

“You did so well, especially loved your art. You came second place.” The crowd clapped, and she went to stand beside Kitana, waving at them..

“Princess Zelda!” At his call, the crowd erupted in cheers and shoutings.” Zelda walked out elegantly, with a sweet smile on her chin. She waved to the crowd before going to stand in front of the podium.

“Your drawing was excellent. There was nothing compared to it. I must commend you, the art of your brush strokes was second to none. You easily won over the judges. You came first place.”

At his announcement, the crowd erupted in louder cheers and clappings. The Princesses joined and Kitana had to clap reluctantly.

“The art academy gifts you this award and wishes you success in your following contests.”

As he spoke, the boy standing by his side opened the wooden box in his hand and the old man took out a carved brush made of gold.

The crowd cheered as Zelda took the award and waved it in front of them. Kitana’s eyes stared at her; even though she didn’t want to accept it, Zelda’s smile was contagious. She easily won over the crowd and even though she was fat, it didn’t seem like they noticed.

She was sure if they told them to choose, they would easily choose her as queen. After today, her name would be on everyone’s lips. They would talk about how she won two times in a row and might become queen.

She had really underestimated her. She did not deem her to be a competition, but it seemed she was the one she should be most worried about.

After the old man gave her the award, he went on the announce the places of the other Princesses, without calling them out.

“Princess Lyra came fourth place. Princess Emma came fifth place and Princess Alicia came sixth place.”

After the names were called, the crowd cheered and the old man announced the end of the painting contest. The Princesses went back to their tables to pick their personal effects and Jasmine looked at Alicia;

“You had the time to laugh when you came last. You sure have a lot of spare time on your hands. Maybe try using it to learn about your next contest properly. Maybe then you can come at least fourth place.

She said, and she squinted her eyes with a smile before walking away.

Alicia stood in shock as she stared at Jasmine walk away. Her lips opened, but no words could come out of them.

Although she hated Jasmine’s guts, she was right. At this rate, she was clearly not going to be queen.

...

Kitana’s chambers were dead cold when she returned. Not a single sound could be heard. She paced about the room quietly, and suddenly she walked to a tall porcelain vase sitting at the end of the room and pushed it to the ground and it shattered into a thousand pieces. Her maids stood by the door, fidgeting and afraid for their lives.

Kitana turned and continued pacing about the room, not saying a word, as though nothing had happened. Suddenly, as though she remembered something, she smiled. Turning to her maids, she spoke with a tinge of excitement;

“Get my bath water ready now. Make it a little warm.”

The girls looked at her in surprise as they wondered what made her become happy suddenly.

Just a minute ago, she was incredibly mad, but now she was smiling as though nothing had happened. Without wasting a second, they hurriedly prepared her bath water.

Kitana sat in her bath as she closed her eyes, humming a song. The day didn’t go well, but she was sure the night would end well if everything went according to her plans. She soaked for a long while before stepping out and drying herself.

Kitana let her hair pour down her back as she sat with the princesses over dinner, humming a song as she ate.

The Princesses watched her in surprise, wondering what had come over her. She was a very competitive person, so they thought she would bemoan what happened earlier that day, but it didn’t seem like that was the case. She looked rather happy as she ate joyfully, a sweet smile on her chin.