She took a deep breath. She didn't like this. Her dress wasn't hers. It didn't feel like hers. It fit on her perfectly, yet she felt so distant from the entire parade. Her earrings were too heavy, pulling her head down. Her green cloak, her father's cloak, had been taken away from her. Her dress was too transparent. She felt exposed. The flowy strips around her dress kept getting tangled. She felt like she was going to trip on the ones tied to her feet. She shoes made her too tall. She could barely walk. They had curled her hair and dyed some of it white. She didn't feel like herself. She didn't want to do this. Letting out her breath, she sighed. "It's gotta be done," She whispered to herself. But she was so nervous, and so unsure, and so small and vulnerable. "Just go out there and look your best. Then it will be over," she told herself aloud. She shook her head. "I can do this." Striding out with large steps, one foot in front of the other, the silver-grey cat tried to find her confidence. Failing to find it, she had to fake it. "One step in front of the other..." she whispered to herself, close to tears, despite her head held high and her smile. She placed her foot in front of the other. Then the other. Suddenly, disaster! Her fear had come true. She tripped on the laces tied around her feet. Stumbling, she fell forward onto her nose. /Oh no, nonono!/ She quickly got up again and regained her posture, patting down her dress and untangling the pieces of fabric around her feet. /How many people saw that?/ On the verge of tears, she turned and fled, stumbling multiple times in her haste. "Why me?" She sobbed. /I've blown it/. She thought. /I've failed/.
