Ribiye Village

            The racecourse was ten miles in length. It would start and end at the center of the Ribiye village. The riders and their horses would ride for five miles into the desert and get the flags assigned to them, before riding back another five miles to the village. Prince Ahmed's champion was assigned to get three blue flags. Sandara had to get the red flags. The rider who'd get back to the village first with all three flags would be declared the winner of the competition.

            The center of the village was already filled with people even before the sun had risen. Despite the sun being high up in the sky and sending searing heat down to the people, the town center remained crowded. Everyone was there to watch the competition and join in the succeeding celebration. They were obviously more interested in the free food and wine that would follow the wedding ceremony. An open makeshift tent was put up for Prince Ahmed and the members of his family. Beside it was another similar tent where all the women from the harem were brought to watch the race. Jennie and Jisoo were with them.

            Hyori had positioned herself near the women's tent. She was prepared to execute either of Sandara's plans. Sandara meanwhile was already astride her horse on the starting line. She glanced at Jennie and Jisoo in their tents. The young women stood up and began waving their scarves at Sandara to show their support.

            Sandara felt nervous but never once had she allowed herself to think that she would lose in this competition. She remembered what Jaejoong had told her, that only those who believed they would win ever won. There was no room for any doubt.

            She glanced at Mr. Wolf. The jockey was sitting calmly on the horse he had chosen. His horse was a bay colored stallion. Sandara's horse was a chestnut-brown mare. She had chosen the mare because she and the mare quickly understood each other. The mare also proved easy to command.

            Mr. Sharifa stood before Sandara and Mr. Wolf. He began reading the rules of the competition. He followed it up by thanking and praising Prince Ahmed who sat on his tent, comfortably shaded from the heat of the sun as two palace staff continued to fan him. Mr. Sharifa finally took out a gun and pointed it upward.

            "The race will begin the moment I fire this gun!" he said in a loud voice so everyone could hear.

            Mr. Sharifa shot the gun into the sky. Sandara and Mr. Wolf let their horses run toward the desert. The audience screamed and shouted. Most of the screams were clearly in favor of Prince Ahmed's champion. Sandara also overheard some curses directed to Kim Jejoong. She was after all pretending to be him.

            Sandara dismissed such shouts and concentrated on the race. Although she and Mr. Wolf left the starting line at the same time, the latter began to widen the gap between them. Sandara and her horse were being left behind. She was expecting this. Hyori was able to get information from one of the cleaners in the stable regarding the horses. And according to the cleaner, Mr. Wolf's chosen steed was a sprinter. That meant the horse was indeed a fast runner.

            When Sandara finally saw the first flags planted on the desert, Mr. Wolf was already meters before her. She saw the jockey leaned sideways to grab the flag as his horse raced past it.

            Sandara copied Mr. Wolf's move as she got near her first red flag. She then urged her horse to pursue their opponent.

            If the cleaner was telling the truth, Sandara was confident that she would soon overtake the prince's champion. The cleaner had also revealed that the chestnut-brown mare was a chaser. And a chaser was the kind of horse that could increase its speed while in the middle of a race. The mare was the kind of horse that usually started last in any race but as the race continued, would slowly but surely increased its speed to finally reach and even overtake the forerunners.

            Sandara shouted with delight as the mare began to prove her worth. Her speed increased and they soon found themselves neck and neck with Mr. Wolf and his horse! Despite the scarves covering their faces, Sandara still saw the look of shock in the man's eyes as she began to overtake him.

            This time around, Sandara was the first to reach her second red flag. She grabbed the flag, but her elation made her unaware of the incoming danger.

            Mr. Wolf, instead of going after his second blue flag, came after Sandara! She screamed when she felt the sharp pain on her left shoulder caused by Mr. Wolf's riding whip. She lost her balance and fell off her horse! Her keffiyeh fell off her head.

            Hyori felt like she was about to have a heart attack as she waited nervously for the return of the riders. Aside from her, only her daughters, Jennie and Jisoo, were rooting for Sandara to win. Everyone else was against them!

            She found herself questioning her decisions. Sandara was just a girl. Though a very brave girl, she was no Kim Jaejoong who was almost invincible. Hyori had put the fate of her daughters in the hands of a young woman who had no experience in such harsh realities! What had gotten into her? Because of her concern for her daughters, she had forgotten to think of the consequences of her plans!

            Loud shouts broke through her dark musings. A rider was coming into view. But Hyori couldn't recognize the rider. Both riders wore white clothes, and they covered their faces with a scarf to protect them from the sand and wind. The only way she could recognize the rider was through the color of their keffiyeh. Sandara was wearing a red keffiyeh. But the approaching rider wasn't wearing any keffiyeh! And both riders had dark short hair.

            Hyori wasn't even able to distinguish the color of the horse from where she was standing. From afar, a chestnut-brown horse looked no different from a bay-colored horse! She would only be able to know who the rider was after he or she had reached the finish line and taken off the protective scarf.

            She glanced at her daughters. Both were standing on tiptoe and like everyone else, they were also trying to see who the incoming rider was. She knew that if Sandara lost this race, the victory celebration would turn into a wedding ceremony for her daughters and that e prince!

            Hyori craned her neck to see if another rider was coming. But all she could see was the desert. Fear gripped her chest. If the rider coming toward the finish line wasn't Sandara, that could only mean that something bad had happened to her! Their back up plan to save her daughters even if Sandara lost the race wouldn't be possible because she needed Sandara to ran her horse through the tents to create panic and chaos. She clutched at her chest. She would never forgive herself if Sandara died. Everything was her plan, her fault! She brought the young woman here to help her.

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