7 Chapter Seven

After much preparation, the painting day arrived and everybody was in a good mood except Prince Daniel though. He could paint and draw but his main focus was on Judy. He loved Judy but she never once looked his way. He was sad and heartbroken. He wished Judy could be the next queen after his mother.

Soon, everywhere turned into a celebrant mood at the great town hall. Everywhere was filled with people both young and old. The contestants were 10 in number and only one was to be the winner. People wore their best clothes and every wineries around was opened and people drank much because of the discounted prices offered by the shop owners.

Judy arrived first followed by other contestants until they were complete. The judges were also present and the kings and queens who sponsored the event were present.

Everywhere became quiet when the loud bell rang, which gave the MC the chance to talk. He greeted the kings and the queens and the royal ones available. He cheered every body up and introduced the contestants one by one. When he introduced Judy the whole assembly bursted into a frenzy but it quickly went down. Most of the people were people Judy grew up with. They came to cheer her as they know that she will definitely win.

The contest started after all participants were introduced. It was said that the best 7 will enter the next stage. They were given boards with sheets and paints (colours). They were ordered to draw and paint a rural area with huts and sun rising. This was easy for Judy because she had lived in the rural area before. Their backs was facing the audience and the judges. It was those in the high seats who couldn't see the paintings.

Judy was the fastest and her work neat, followed by daniel. Then 4 others. Anita was among the last. Her work was not ugly nor excellent but it was better than 3 others who failed miserably.

The next batch was ready and the previous paintings were set to dry. The 7 contestants were ordered to paint the portrait of the king, Judy's father, Charles. That was very simple for Judy to do because she had painted her father many times. In a twinkle of an eye, she painted her father who was sitting infront of her with a smile on his face. She finished first but pretended to keep painting and came third. Still nobody surpassed her in painting her father's picture. Two more contestants were dropped because they had painted a caricature of the king. 5 remained, Anita managed to pass.

They were told to paint a wild animal then the king of Ridgeland. On the 5th round, the remaining 3 contestants were Judy, Daniel and Anita.