I Want my mate

Aria's pov

I blinked to make sure that my eyes were not deceiving me. He was still sitting on the throne, his eyes roaming between us to see the maidens.

He looked uninterested in whatever it was his adviser was telling him. His gaze flitted around the maidens who looked equally eager to be here.

I willed him to look at me but he just kept staring ahead. I thought there wouldn't be any need to compete anymore since my mate is the king but rules are rules.

I had to compete if I wanted to be queen, I looked at him again wondering if this is what he meant by, 'we will see again?'

I frowned when I realized my mate was not a kind man who saved me but the one who ruled this patriarchal kingdom.

I deflated, I was no longer excited to be with my mate but I had a mission to do, one that entailed him.

I looked at the other five maidens and grimaced when I saw the excitement on their faces. They each had smiles on their faces while I stood there looking gobsmacked.

Three out of five were dressed modestly just like me but they were still interested in the games while the other two were just, ugh.

I don't know how to describe them but they were showing off their assets, I wondered who let them in.

They were twirling their hair and giggling to one another as they whispered, probably about the king. He was a sight to behold.

I chided myself on having those thoughts about him when I was mad that he wasn't who he turned out to be.

I scoffed when I caught snippets of their conversation, they were so sure that they would win and beat the rest of us.

My scoff was heard by them and both of them gave me a dirty look, "What is up with her?" One asked as she glared at me.

I didn't deem them worthy enough for any answer so I just stared ahead as the elders perused us for their satisfaction.

The minister in charge of the games stepped forward with a grin on his face.

"Your highness," he acknowledged the king before he turned to the rest of the people, "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the chosen ladies, handpicked by the moon goddess herself to partake in the games,"

Cheers and Applause erupted as he announced it, I smiled slightly knowing that people are watching.

The minister turned back to us, "Now ladies, you know why you are here. There are a lot of games here that would used to vet you to see if you are worthy or strong enough to be the queen of this great kingdom,"

He handed us a paper each and I looked at the top of it, it was a training schedule. The games are also scheduled there too and I sighed.

This is what my life has come to, from a training ground to another training ground. The girls giggled and I sighed again.

"That is your schedule, please go through it and obey the rules. You will be punished if you are caught breaking the palace rules," the minister warned.

I nodded my head.

He dismissed us and I waited for my mate to look at me but he didn't spare me a glance. He just stared straight ahead like I didn't even matter

It hurt but I had to remind myself that it is a normal behavior for men. It was nothing new.

The guards gestured for us to move forward and my feet started moving, I just wanted to get out of there.

They led us to some kind of quarters with other guards in front of it, the girls giggled again as they talked in hushed voices about how exciting this is.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes for the umpteenth time since I got here, what is so exciting about being locked in a place and judged by men to see if you will fit for their king.

"You are not to wander," a guard warned before he left us.

"I wonder what he meant," one of that girls said.

I didn't bother to wait for them to decode that simply statement when I walked into my room.

It took about ten minutes before I became bored, I was tired of staring at my ceiling and counting how many lines are on it.

I got up from the bed and peered out the window, I saw no one so I tried the door and there was only one guard standing in front of it.

If I am to guess then there is one of each In front of the other rooms. I needed to train or I was going to go crazy before the games start.

At least I can tell them that I want to complete my daily self - set training goal. I put one leg out the window before I could change my mind and slipped out of it.

I was led to another hallway, I started walking towards it hoping that I would see a door of some sort,

I was about to turn the corner when I heard hushed voices. My ears perked up and I peered around to find a noble talking to someone dressed in black.

My brows furrowed in confusion as I wondered what that was about, I didn't have a good feeling about it either.

Their voices reached me so I could hear their conversation.

"So you will get it done?" The person in black asked.

The noble nodded, "Yes, I will. Consider it done,"

The man in black turned to look and I backed away quickly from the edge, hoping the pillar was enough to hide my body so it didn't look like I was spying on them.

I put one foot In front of the door to enable me leave quietly