Lately, I'm obsessed with "Ella." I should really get my hands on the book and just READ it again, or I might never get it out of my system.
Just a drabble, this time. This is what I could imagine happening after Char meets Ella for the first time at the funeral.
A Brief Conversation
A clap of thunder sounded over my head as I jogged up the castle stairs. The huge, heavy door in the center of the front wall was only opened for special occasions—I entered through a smaller door to the side.
My mother was in the hall when I came in. She spun around, and I sensed a feeling of relief from her expression.
"Char!" she said, rushing to me. "Where on earth have you been? We looked everywhere for you!"
"I apologize," I said. "I went to look for the girl, the young Eleanor."
"Ah." Mother nodded approvingly. "And you found her?"
"Yes."
"Was she alright?"
I grimaced. "She has just lost her mother."
She nodded. "It is not easy."
"No," I agreed.
"So you were with young Eleanor," she said. I witnessed the hint of a smile on her lips. "And you were…?" She nodded pointedly at me.
I was quick to deny her assumptions. "Oh, no," I said. "No, no. That is, it is far too soon for me to know whether I feel anything for her—let alone what she might think of me! I'm quite sure she won't remember our conversation as anything more than a polite gesture from someone whose job it is to offer polite gestures. In any case, it is hardly likely that we ever see each other again. After all, now that Sir Peter is—well, alone, they can't be considered… they are no longer… um…" I trailed off as I registered the strange look she was giving me. "What is it?"
"I was only going to ask whether you were caught in the rain," said Mother. "You're soaked through."
"Oh." I looked down and felt my tunic, as if I hadn't realized it was sopping wet. "Oh, yes. I did. It started to rain, and I was, ah… I was caught in it. In the rain."
She had a different sort of half-smile about her, now. I felt the color rising in my cheeks.
"I'll just… go and change," I muttered.
"Of course," said Mother. As I hurried up the staircase, I heard her say over my shoulder, "So it was something more than a polite gesture?"
I lowered my head and fairly ran the rest of the way, while my mother's laughter echoed through the hall below.