77. Results

                                    

                                          
I waited for Harvey and Muir but not patiently.  I sent one of my eagle guards to find them while I gave scratches to my wolf pups to calm down.  
	Shuu and Winston kept a tight guard around me.  No matter how unlikely it was for ferals or rootless beasts to reach this place, they were on guard.  Curtis stayed right outside in case he needed to defend, but Mitchell lounged on his throne looking deceptively unbothered.
	I didn't feel anything off with the bonds, so there was solace to be found in that. Maybe an hour or so later, my mates returned and a sigh of relief whooshed out of me.  
	They brought an injured Qingqing who was promptly treated.  I made sure Muir and Harvey really were okay before settling down by Qingqing's side.  
	Muir gazed sadly at his mate.  Did he do better this time?  Could he continue to do what she wanted him to do?  He could do anything as long as she didn't come to hate him.
	Winston pulled Muir aside and received his report along with the other guards. He found certain coincidences strange and asked for the bodies of the diseased to be brought for him.  His guards complied. 
	A short time later, Winston inspected the dead bodies away from the castle.  Some of the beasts he recognized, however faintly. 
	"You said they attacked Bai Qingqing?" Winston asked Muir.
	"Yes." Muir's gaze swept over the dead beasts in question.  
	Winston thought on it, but he needed to find out more.  Who took advantage of who here?  He thought it most likely that the city males took advantage of the ruckus caused by the attack to take care of their agendas.  But why?
	Grace made herself clear.  There wasn't a suitor of hers in the city who didn't know better than to attack her family.  'It shouldn't be Grace then...'
	Winston shifted his focus to Bai Qingqing.  It was more than likely that Harvey and Muir were swept into trouble because they happened to be near the young female at the time.   He wouldn't normally get involved in another female's business, but this now involved his family.
	The bodies were burned after the ape king did his own examinations.  Most of the females, excluding Bai Qingqing, were unaffected by the attack and went about their business.  The tiger castle and its occupants eventually relaxed and carried on normally. 
	The end of the season came and the contest judging started.  The tiger castle was abuzz with activity as entrants came to register their pieces.  Due to the sheer amount of participants, Judging was started immediately. 
	Each judge was allotted ten points per section.  As Winston was grading both safety and replicability, he was responsible for twenty points.  The leopard queen graded visual appeal, and the tiger queen graded creativity. 
	The judging took two days to complete.  There were some surprising entrants, but it was mainly the numbers that slowed them down. 
	I took a look at the ape king's entry and scrutinized it the same way as the rest.  The miniature was impressively accurate as far as 'to size' went.  It was a replica of the ape castle with a few tweaks to the design.  
	I liked that my section was so easy to grade.  Creativity was naturally subjected to opinion, just like appeal would be, but I still took it seriously. 
	"Five out of ten points."  I graded it and drew five tallies into the ground in front of the work. 
	Bard was disappointed that he scored so low.  "Can I ask what you considered when you graded it?"
	I didn't have the time to spare for an explanation for every contestant, but I could make time for the ape king. "My section is creativity.  You used the same design as your castle with only a couple of differences.  Therefore, as nice as I find the design, it lacks somewhat in creativity."