The next day is the first round of the competition, the beauty contest. Al A. Baster prefaces the contest with an announcement that since the winner will marry The Prince of Hearts, all contestants are to be referred to as “Princess” from now on. Backstage, Gold is getting the girls ready, dressing them in their signature colors: Diamond in black, Pearl in white, Ruby in red, Sapphire in blue, Emerald in green, and Jade in teal. While Gold’s back is turned, Pearl switches Diamond’s outfit with a much smaller dress and much higher heels. When Gold tries to help Diamond into her outfit, the dress rips, but resourceful Diamond uses the other dresses on the rack to fix the ripped one. Faced with a patched together dress and shoes that are too high for her to walk in, Diamond starts down the runway. The others whisper and titter at the sight of her dress and laugh outright when she trips at the end of the runway. Despite her fall, Diamond earns high marks from Al A. Baster who admires her spirit. The scores are tallied, and (big surprise!) Pearl Strand wins round 1.

Round 2 of the competition is a dancing contest, which Emerald, as the only dancer, is favored to win. The competition starts off uneventfully with Diamond falling in perfect step with the others until Silvers tampers with the speed on the record player, causing the song to play faster and faster. By the time the song finally ends, Diamond is flushed and sweaty, and her dress and hair are a mess. When Pearl Strand is announced to be the winner of the dance contest, the others are shocked. Emerald loses gracefully, congratulating Pearl, and nothing more is said of it. The next round is a singing contest in which Ruby and Sapphire are considered the frontrunners. Pearl distracts Diamond just before it is her turn to go on, and Silvers switches her throat spray with lemon juice. When Diamond tries to sing, she is surprised when her voice comes out rough and scratchy, but not wanting to forfeit the round, she sings the song in a funny voice, which becomes a huge hit with the judges. Pearl Strand once again carries the round, causing Ruby and Sapphire to fight. Each blames the other for her loss.

At the midpoint in the competition, Al A. Baster conducts interviews with each of the six contestants, asking each one, “Why do you want to be Princess of Hearts?” each one has her own reasons: Pearl wants the notoriety. Ruby admires Zeb for his looks. Sapphire sees the contest as an opportunity to further her singing career. Jade wants a protector, and Emerald likes the idea of a grand romance. When Al poses the same question to Diamond, her answer is, “I don’t.” Al is shocked, and Diamond elaborates, “I don’t want to be Princess of Hearts. Being Mrs. Zeb Zircon is good enough for me.” As she goes on to tout Zeb’s admirable qualities (his caring, kindness, devotion to his craft and fans), the camera pans away to reveal Zeb standing nearby. Listening to her answer makes him feel terrible. She is the only one to see the man behind the glitz while he only saw her for her size. She believes him to be a kind person when he’s plotted against her all along. He is beginning to have a change of heart about Diamond.

The fourth round tests how well the girls interact with the fans. “The Princess of Hearts must be able to build a rapport with the public,” Al explains. This round is an absolute disaster! Pearl jostles her way through the mob without a word to anyone while Sapphire comes across as cold and standoffish. Ruby accidentally insults one of the fans, and Emerald makes them feel awkward by cracking jokes no one understands. Jade cracks under the pressure and runs away crying. Al and the other judges are beginning to think this round is a lost cause until Diamond proves them wrong. Because she’s spent so much time watching Zeb from afar, she is the only one who can relate to the fans. She’s still talking to them and signing autographs when Al taps her on the shoulder and informs her that the contest is over; she won. But Diamond refuses to leave until she’s talked to everyone in the crowd. This is the turning point in the contest for Diamond.

Round 5 is the acting competition; each contestant will perform a love scene with Zeb Zircon to test their onscreen chemistry. This is the only round Pearl Strand feels confident she’ll win without cheating, and early on, that appears to be the case. After five performances, she is the clear frontrunner with only Diamond, who has absolutely no acting experience, left to compete. Diamond speaks from her heart in her performance, not just delivering lines. Zeb realizes this scene is no longer an act, and he kisses Diamond to thunderous applause. Emerald squeals out loud as Diamond is declared winner of the acting competition, and Jade gives her an encouraging smile. Even Ruby and Sapphire who have doubted Diamond all along congratulate her on her come-from-behind victory. Pearl is furious, but everyone is too busy praising Diamond to notice her storm out.

For the final round of the competition, each contestant is sent on an individual date with Zeb Zircon. Diamond’s date is the last to occur, and Zeb takes her for a walk in a romantic garden. When he asks her about her life before the contest, Diamond fears he’ll think less of her if he knows her humble backstory, but she respects him too much to lie. Zeb surprises her by saying, “I think I’d prefer small town life.” He warns her that his glamorous life comes with a downside. The media and fans never give him any privacy, and no one sees him as anything other than a handsome face… until Diamond came along. He apologizes to Diamond for being too blinded by her size to see her for the person she is and confesses his growing love for her. The date ends with a goodnight kiss, and the two part ways. (Song: Against All Odds)

Diamond’s happiness is short-lived, however. When she return to her room, she is stopped by a man who hands her a telegram. Her father has died. She sits at the edge of her bed, just staring at the telegram, and Jasper, sensing something is wrong, crawls into her lap with a sad meow. That night, Diamond cries herself to sleep, but the next day, the final day of the contest, she’s faced with a decision: rush home and forfeit or stay until that night when the Princess of Hearts will be crowned before a live audience. She decides she’s come too far to turn back now, and her father wouldn’t want her to quit.

As Diamond heads to the wardrobe department to get ready, she overhears a conversation taking place behind closed doors. The camera cuts to the scene taking place in Sterling Silvers’s office where Pearl is fuming over Diamond’s comeback. Now the two of them are tied with three wins each, and either one could be crowned Princess of Hearts. Silvers is genuine worried that Diamond could win, but Pearl assures him she has one more trick up her sleeve. She turns to Zeb, who has been standing silently in the background, and asks if he’s switched out the results envelopes. He shrugs her off. Unbeknownst to Pearl, he has no intention of helping her cheat anymore. Pearl puts her arms around him, reminding him how horrible a plus-sized girl like Diamond would be for his reputation, and Silvers nods in agreement.

Zeb pulls away from Pearl and walks out of the room… only to find Diamond. One look at her, and he knows she’s heard everything. When she confront him, he tries to explain that he had a change of heart, but Diamond doesn’t believe him. She gave up her last days with her father for Zeb, and it was all for nothing; the kind man she believed in is gone. “I gave my life away for you!” she shouts. She reminds Zeb that his fans give of themselves because they believe in him, and although she’s no longer one of them, there are still five women left who deserve to have their sacrifices acknowledged. Diamond runs away in tears, leaving Zeb to stare after her. He notices Diamond has dropped something and picks up the telegram she left behind. Now he understands the full extent of Diamond’s sacrifice. His hand clenches around the telegram; he knows what he has to do. (Song: The Prince of Hearts [reprise])

Diamond is still crying as she waits outside Al A. Baster studios for a cab. Opal appears out of nowhere, barking and growling at Jasper. The cat jumps out of Diamond’s arms and runs back inside the building just as the cab pulls up. Jasper was Diamond’s last gift from her father; she can’t leave him behind, so she has no choice but to run after him. Opal chases Jasper through a stage door there the crowing of the Princess of Hearts is taking place. Jasper darts onstage, hiding behind a table. Diamond tries to coax him back but to no avail; she knows she can’t rush onstage to grab him without being seen so she has no choice but to watch the ceremony from backstage.

Al A. Baster announces the sudden departure of Diamond and confused whispers rise. The audience and the other contestants are shocked. Only Zeb knows why she is gone. Al steps back to allow Zeb to speak before the winner is crowned. He begins by thanking the audience for their time and attention before going on to compliment the remaining contestants: Pearl for her beauty, Ruby for her honesty, Sapphire for her determination, Jade for her sweetness, and Emerald for her sense of humor. “You have all proven yourselves worthy of my respect and loyalty,” he says. Diamond is at first touched to hear his speech but reminds herself that it’s all an act, just like his feelings for her turned out to be. Silvers, growing bored, interrupts Zeb’s speech, prompting him, “But only one can become the Princess of Hearts.”

Before Zeb can announce the winner, Opal rushes onstage after Jasper. In the ensuing chase, the dog and cat knock over the mic, which picks up the voices of Pearl Strand and Sterling Silvers congratulating themselves on successfully rigging the competition. The audience gasps, and they realize too late that they’ve been caught. Ruby calls them out, and the others – Gold, Sapphire, Emerald, and even shy Jade – join in rebuking. Al A. Baster, having no prior knowledge of the plot, is beside himself and fires Pearl and Silvers on the spot. They retreat in a chorus of boos to live the rest of their lives in obscurity.

Al puts the mic back upright and turns to Zeb. “Mr. Zircon, the public is dying to know: Who will become Princess of Hearts?” he sets up the announcement of the winner’s name. Zeb takes the mic and reveals, “There is no winner.” The audience watches in shock as he rips up the envelope containing the results and does the only thing he can to prove his love for Diamond: he renounces his stardom in favor of a life with her. As Zeb turns away, he notices Diamond standing backstage. He offers her his hand, but she backs away, still unsure of his feelings for her. Zeb smiles as he reminds her, “I gave my life away for you.” Diamond takes Zeb’s hand as he leads her onstage. Several cameras flash as Zeb and Diamond kiss, and the crowd goes wild as the Prince and Princess of Hearts appear in public for the first and final time.

*I had ideas for songs, but i didn't include them because I wasn't sure I'd have time to write the lyrics before the 2/27 deadline.*