I don't know why, but this chapter took me forever to write. Usually I write a chapter in two or three sittings, but this I wrote basically one paragraph at a time.

Thank you Eikko for following.

TieDieTruth: Thanks! Yeah, it is slightly repetitive. But I'm glad you like my story so much :)

Elaine shakes me awake at 7:30 the next morning. I used to wake up at dawn at the orphanage, but I really don't want to get up right now. "Uhnghh!" I groan. "Do I have to get up?"

"Only if you want to eat breakfast," Lily jokes.

"Okay, okay, I'm up!" I exclaim. Lily looks at Elaine, like, See, I told you it would work. Elaine rolls her eyes and pulls me out of bed. Today, I'm going to meet Prince Foster, so I have to look nice. No pants today. I have half a dozen dresses to choose from. I pick the simplest one I see. It's pale green with sleeves that go to my elbows and an empire waistline. Elaine helps me get it on, Kiana braids my hair, and then Lily does my makeup. I glance in the mirror. I look like I've stepped out of a fairytale. And I feel like it, too. "Thank you guys so much," I say to my maids.

As I step out my door, I see November walking down the hallway a few feet in front of me. "Hey, wait up, November," I call after her. She stops and waits for me to catch up with her.

"You look amazing," she tells me.

"I feel like Rapunzel," I reply.

"You feel like someone who spent their entire life in isolation, confused a Prince with a witch, and then fell in love with the first stranger you met?" She raises her eyebrows at."Oh, and in some versions you have magical healing tears and give birth to twins in a desert."

I laugh. "I was thinking more like I have gorgeous hair and an amazing voice."She rolls her eyes, and we walk to the Woman's Room together. At first I'm not sure we're in the right place because it looks so different from yesterday. All the mirrors, stools, and maids are gone. Well, there are a few maids, but not nearly as many as yesterday. A huge table made of dark wood is set up in the center of the room. "How the heck did they get that thing in here?" I whisper to November. She giggles, drawing Gina's attention away from her table-setting and towards us.

"Oh, you ladies are early," she says. I glance up at the clock. It's 8:00 now. We don't have to be here for another 15 minutes. "Would you mind helping me set the table?"

"Well . . ." November hesitates, not wanting to be rude.

"We don't know how," I finish.

"You don't know how to set a table?" She looks at us.

"Not with 5 forks," I say.

"Well, luckily for you," Gina says, "We're only using 4 forks."

It takes us 10 minutes to set the table. When the rest of the girls arrive, we are given a crash course in eating etiquette, using the table and dishes, along with some plastic food, for practice. I thought I knew all the basics : don't chew with your mouth open, napkin in your lap, don't slurp. But there's apparently a lot more than that. We learn which forks to use, how to position our utensils to communicate that we're finished, and that you always stand when a member of the royal family arrives. By the time we're finished, it's 9:00 and I am so hungry I think I might gnaw November's arm off. Luckily for her, we are dismissed to the Dining Room to put our newly acquired etiquette skills to practice.

In the Dining Room, there is a table a lot like the one that was in the Woman's Room, only this one has a tablecloth and place cards. I find mine in between Zayley and Ember and across from Shiloh. At least I have a vague idea of who all of them are. Hopefully I'll be able to keep Ember from killing me. I sit down for 4 seconds until the royal family walks in. Starlene, the daughter of Prince Robin and Princess Rin, walks in first. I don't know if she counts as a princess or not. I'll have to ask Gina. After her come her parents, then King Armin and Queen Savannah and finally Price Foster. I mean, I think he's a Prince. He's the heir to the throne, anyway. Ugh, why do royal families have to be so complicated?

I'm so caught up in my thoughts that I almost forget to stand. But just almost. I remember before I make I complete fool out of myself.

Ember doesn't seem too bothered about looking like a fool. She stays seated, the look on her face saying that she doesn't care at all about anything. But judging by what I know of her already, she cares a lot. She's sending a message, and she wants to be sure that everyone hears it loud and clear.

And they do. Reactions vary. Gina, of course, is furious. Starlene looks annoyed, but the rest of the royal family just look curious. Princess Rin tries to hide a half-smile. A couple girls try to get Ember to stand, but she shrugs them off.

"Thank you, ladies," King Armin says. "Please be seated." We sit, and breakfast begins. I think Sarah's a good cook, but she never made anything close to this. Even the simple things, like eggs and scones, taste like heaven. And I'm pretty sure these cherry tarts are the best things I've ever tasted. The cooks have even managed to make fresh fruit taste better than usual. I look up to see if the other girls love the food as much as I do. They do. Even Ember is enjoying it, even though she tries to hide it. I nudge her side.

"It's okay to like the food, you know," I tell her.

"Shut up," she mumbles, but her heart isn't really in it.

"Seriously," I say, pressing forward when I really should just leave her alone, "You obviously don't want to be here, so why not just enjoy the food until you leave?" She gives me a look I can't really read, but she seems to be more open about her feelings on the food after that. I figure I've bothered her enough and I probably shouldn't push it, so I turn to Zayley. "I like the ears," I say.

She smiles, her hand fluttering up to them. "Thanks. You wouldn't believe how many times the makeup people yesterday tried to convince me to take them off." She rolls her eyes. "And will people ever stop asking me why I wear them?"

"Well, why do you wear them?" I ask her, not to be annoying, but because I really want to know.

"Ugh, not you, too!" She groans. "They just feel so . . . me. I'm a quirky person, they're a quirky accessory, why shouldn't I wear them?"

"That sounds like a very rehearsed answer," I say.

"Well, if you were asked the same question 50 times a day, wouldn't you have an answer prepared?" she challenges.

"Okay, fair enough," I shrug and decide to change the topic. "Isn't this food just amazing?"

"I know, right?" she says. "I mean, this stuff makes everything else I've ever eaten taste like dirt in comparison."

"Yeah, I'm not sure I'll be able to go back to normal-people food if I get sent home," I say.

Too soon, the meal is over, and Gina leads us back to the Woman's Room for (you guessed it) more etiquette lessons. But we are interrupted after only a few minutes by Prince Foster. He knocks, and Queen Savannah gives him permission to enter. He stands there awkwardly for a minute, then Ember calls, "Yeah, what do you want?"

Prince Foster blushes and says, "Right. Ladies, I would like an opportunity to get to know each of you. Since you're already sitting in rows, perhaps we could start here," he points at the left front corner, at a girl whose name I don't know, "with Miss Emilie," Oh, okay. Her name is Emilie, "and move down the rows from there. Emilie, please join me . . ." he looks around, searching for a place for two people to sit, "on that couch over there." Emilie hops up, an excited smile on her face, and follows him across the room.

I'm pretty much right in the middle of all the girls, so I have a while to wait. Might as well use the time to get to know some other girls. I turn to the girl on my left. (Ember is on my right, and a conversation with her seems dangerous, so . . .) "I'm Allysa," I say, extending my hand.

"Sydney." She accepts my hand and shakes it. She looks across the room at the Prince. "Isn't he so cute?"

"Yeah," I say.

"Oh, come on!" she gives me a look. "His looks deserve more than just 'yeah'."

"Fine, how's this then: oh my gosh, he's like, so totally the hottest guy on earth, right?" I say with a fake giggle.

She laughs. "He is, though!"

"He looks good, yeah," I say. "But he's not really my type."

"Why are you here, then?" she challenges.

"Well, just because he's not my type physically, that doesn't mean he's not my type personality-wise. I don't really know much about him. Maybe I'll really like him once I get to know him." I shrug.

"I want to get to know him, too," Sydney says. "I'm just saying that it doesn't hurt that he's insanely attractive." I laugh and spend the next 30 minutes talking to the girls around me. I even manage to have a conversation with Ember that doesn't leave me with a black eye. Admittedly, the whole conversation was about the food and only about 15 words total, but I'm considering it a success.

Sydney pokes me in the side. "Your turn."

Prince Foster's POV:

I sigh and try to hide a yawn as the next girl walks over. I thought this would be a fun opportunity to get to know each of the girls' unique personalities, but so far, Zayley has been the only interesting one. The rest might as well be clones. This girl (I think her name is Allysa) nearly falls over when she attempts a curtsy. "You know what?" she says. "Screw curtsies. Let's just shake hands." I give a small smile and accept her hand.

"You're Allysa, right?" I say.

"Did you memorize the names of all of the Selected, or did you read my nametag?" she asks.

"A little of both, I suppose," I say. "I tried to learn everyone's names, but the pins help."

"Tell me about yourself, Prince Foster," Allysa says, settling onto the couch next to me.

I'm surprised. "I thought I was supposed to ask the questions."

"You have 34 other girls right here to fall in love with," she points out. "I only have you. Shouldn't I know what I'm getting into?"

"Well, what would you like to know?" I ask. I have no clue where to start with this.

Her eyes light up. "Everything."

"I don't think we have quite enough time for everything," I say. "Do you have anything more specific?"

"Okay." She pauses to think. "What do you like to do for fun?"

"Fun," I repeat. "I wish I had more time for that."

There is a brief moment of silence before she presses, "Well, what about when you do have time?"

"Don't laugh," I warn her. "I like . . . fixing things."

"Fixing things?"

"Cars, clothes, buildings, problems, et cetera," I explain.

She looks at me like I'm crazy. Dang it. I knew I shouldn't have said that. "Why would I laugh at that?"Oh. So that's what she thought was crazy. Thank goodness.

"I don't know. It's not really an ordinary hobby."

"I'm not really an ordinary person," she says. I smile.

"Well, it's been lovely meeting you," I tell her. "But I'm afraid I have to meet with the next lady now. Would you send her over, please?"

"Yeah, sure," she says. "Be careful, though," she warns.

"What? Why?" How dangerous can a teenage girl really be? Then I see that the next girl is Ember Storme. This could be interesting.

Allysa walks away, calling "Good luck!" over her shoulder. Ember walks towards me briskly, her mouth set in a firm line, eyebrows knit together. I have a feeling I'm going to need that luck.

Ember's POV:

I sit down on the couch and cross my arms, not bothering with curtsies, handshakes, or words. What's the point? He doesn't want me, I don't want him, he's just going to send me home and marry November or some other perfect girl with a perfect life and a perfect family and they can start their own perfect family with their own perfect children who can have their own perfect lives. Did I mention that it's going to be perfect?

Anyway, I know he's sending me home, so what's the point? I don't want to be here. Sure, the food's good, and that Allysa girl is alright, but is there really anything else keeping me here?

But it's not like I want to be at home, either. This seems to be a lose-lose situation. Just like the rest of my life.

"Hello, Lady Ember," says the Prince, who looks like he's scared I'll bite his head off. I might.

"Hi," I say, trying to make it clear that I'm not going to give him much more than that.

"How are you today?" he asks. I guess I didn't make it clear enough.

"I think it's pretty obvious how I feel right now."

"Okay, let me try another question: why are you today?"

"Do you mean why do I exist?" I say. "Because I have no idea."

"No, I meant why are you angry," he says.

"Hmm, let me think," I say. "Maybe it's because my parents forced me to enter the most superficial contest in the world."

"Your family made you come here?" He looks concerned. Great. The last thing I need is sympathy from some pretty-boy who hasn't ever experienced even a second of the real world.

"I wouldn't necessarily call them my family," I say. "They just happen to be the people who gave birth to me. But yeah. They forced me to come here so they could get the money."

"That's . . . it's-" he struggles to come up with the right word. Look at that. I rendered the future leader of our entire country speechless just by telling him about my family.

"Yeah," I say.

"I could send you home, if you'd like," he offers.

"You think I want to go back there?"

"Well, I could stop the payments," he says, desperate to find a solution.

"Thanks," I say, "But my family problems run deep. It's going to take more than a canceled check to fix it." I stand up. This meeting is over. "Bye." I walk back across the room, leaving him confused and disappointed that he couldn't fix this, couldn't fix me. Nobody can fix me. I've been broken too many times. How many times can a heart be shattered before it's unfixable?