My dress was olive green with long sleeves and buttons in the front. It had a white ruffle in the middle and I wore black military boots with long green socks. Maybe it wasn't the most glamorous attire, but at least I felt more comfortable. The servers came around the long white table and offered a dainy plate with a tiny puff pastry goat cheese tart. 

The scent wafted into my nostrils. A bit of drool escaped my lips and the girl next to me wrinkled her nose. The prince bit back a grin and turned away. I nibbled on my tart, missing the feeling of rough leather guards and the scratch of my wooden bow beneath my palms. Next they served pea soup and watery green salad with a big poached egg. The clanking of silverware grated against my nerves. The girl who'd wrinkled her nose at me before giggled and whispered as I shoveled soup down my throat. A blazing anger burned in my stomach. I slammed my fist against the table, spilling my soup all over her wretched little face. Squeals echoed across the room. "Oops." I said, grinning from ear to ear. The queen looked sternly at me and I couldn't help wishing the pudgy soup was dripping from her face.

"How dare you!" The king bellowed. My heart stopped, but he looked at another girl. "I-" She said, her face wobbling with tears ready to burst. Bren smirked next to her. The Kings pants were soaked with spilt wine, which had no doubt been a very conniving attempt for Bren to rid herself of a contestant. The crying girl was escorted out, eliminated at one small accident, or one vile act.

The table was visibly tense, no one daring to speak. Luckily, the servers popped out again, piling the tables with turkey, steak, potatoes and soft fish with white wine sauce. The prince started small talk with the girls next to him and slowly they all returned to polite laughter and eager chatter. "That's the girl, from the rag." Someone hissed, pointing at me. A cool sweat coated my body, they knew about me leaving the fence, and they knew about my father. 

"A Lady, or a Barbarian"

The Shocking Story of Jayden Zjhoren

Charming? You may think. Lady Jayden has been caught many times leaving the gate for suspicious activity, and is a possible suspect for the death of her father. Is this the kind of girl we want socializing with royalty? Let's leave it up to vote. 

The vote is not ever in her favor. Lady Jayden is a public nuisance and a horrible role model for girls who look up to the ladies in the selection. As seen in this pole, the public is not pleased. What is the next step? We're not sure. But it's not looking too good for Zuni's sweetheart Jayden.

- Garden Venge; Writer for the "Weekly Gossiper"

My palms felt wet and slick. Now everyone's perception of me was the girl who hunted behind the gate. And as the cherry on top, I'm a suspect for the "mysterious" disappearance of my father. I carefully took a bite of my fish, savoring the melting piece in my mouth for as long as I could. A waitress came around asking my order for a drink and for the life of me I couldn't pronounce the fancy names. I decided on a random drink that the girl next to me ordered, praying it wasn't something disgusting. As I waited, I feasted on turkey legs and roasted duck, slurping up the fancy wine sauce. I got more than one disgusted glance. Finally, my waitress reappeared holding a fancy glass filled with bright red liquid and floating ice cubes. After taking a slurp I found it tingled on my tongue. Dessert was soon passed out and I plucked a pink macaron filled with strawberry cream and some sort of pastry. 

As I bit into the pastry, cream oozed out into my mouth, filling me in battery creamy heaven. I released a sigh and smiled, chomping it up. I placed the pastry down and bit into the macaron, closing my eyes and slurping up the cream. After dinner ended, every lady was led back to the dressing room to touch up their hair and makeup. My stylist bronzed up my face and allowed me to re-weave my hair. I stared into the mirror, seeing a stranger with an overly bronzed face staring back. What was the selection turning me into?