DISCLAIMER: None of this belongs to me. Characters, names, setting all belong to the fabulous Gail Carson Levine. Any recognizable phrases are not mine either.

"Now it was over. Ended forever. I was made anew. Ella. Just Ella. Not Ella, the slave. Not a scullery maid. Not Lela. Not Eleanor. Ella. Myself unto myself. One. Me.

I tore off the rag that covered my hair. Then I curtsied to Char.

'When you asked for my hand a few minutes ago, I was still too young to marry.' I looked up at him and saw a smile start. 'I'm older now, so much older that not only can I marry, but I can beg you to marry me.' I knelt and took his hand.

He didn't let me kneel before him. He pulled me up and kissed me again. I took that to signify his consent."

Gail Carson Levine, Ella Enchanted

I wrapped my arms around his neck, clinging to him like an anchor. He had freed me, saved me from Lucinda's horrid curse. Without him I would have no reason to continue to live. And for that I was forever in his debt.

He stroked my cheek, and his other hand snaked around my waist. "Ella," he murmured against my lips, so softly that only I could hear.

"ELLA!" This time, a shout of fury emerged from Hattie's lips. We broke apart, but Char held on to me, keeping me close. Her wig was askew; her face was twisted in rage. She stomped her feet in a very childish manner.

"Stop it! Get away from him!" She shrilled. Her last words echoed around the hall, leaving her breathless and heaving. Servants who had begun to drift away stopped in their tracks, looking at their mistress with wide-eyed fear. Char's softly whistling knights froze, surprised that a lady would behave in such a way. Mum Olga looked slightly embarrassed at her daughter's actions.

"Hattie, my sweet," she started, but then immediately stopped herself, preferring not to interfere.

"No." I whispered, angry. I'd had enough of it. I was done being bossed around; I was done waiting on her like a lowly peasant. I was finished with it all. With this life, this abuse, this nightmare.

Ignoring Char's protests, I gently removed his hands from me, and took a step towards Hattie.

"Ha-ha!" Hattie sneered in triumph, thinking herself successful. "You heard me Ella, go to your room this instant, and do not return."

"No." I repeated more firmly, taking another step closer. "Did you not hear me moments ago, or is your skull as thick as it appears? I shall not go to my room, Hattie. I shall not wait hand and foot on you any longer, and I shall most definitely not follow any more commands from you." Saying this made me feel stronger, prouder, and taller, like I could reach out and snatch Hattie's wig right off of her head.

I would throw it to the ground, and grind it under my heel with such ferocity that the mud tracks left in the hall would be forever encased in the shining tresses.

Her eyes widened in shock, and in an instant she had smacked me across the face. I felt the sharp sting of her nails digging into my cheek. "Stupid little wench!" she shrieked, "How dare you!"

I smirked at her.

Despite the pain, I watched with satisfaction as Hattie's temper blew past boiling point. Before my eyes, she transformed from a rabbit toothed stepsister to a true monster. An angry red blush started from the apples of her cheeks and consumed her face, leaving it the colour of an over-ripe tomato. Yet it didn't stop there. It traveled down her neck, leaving veins pulsing, and due to her many corsets, her bulging bosom, where it clashed horribly with the bright orange of her gown.

I could almost see her swell up; I worried her seams would not take it. She clenched her fists together. I hoped her nails would pierce her palms the way they did my skin.

"WHY," she screeched louder than ever as she lunged for me, "YOU DESPICABLE-" I jumped back before she could get her claws on me. At that moment Mum Olga decided she had best save her daughter from losing the little dignity she had left.

"Hattie!" Mum Olga pulled her back, restraining her. "Whatever do you think you're doing?"

Hattie struggled, pulling against her mother's iron grip. "Stop it mother! Let me go! She must be punished!" She shook her head in frenzy, and her wig fell to the floor.

I internally cheered.

At the sight, she clutched her shiny scalp with chubby fingers, and gave a great wail of despair.

I could hear little nervous titters and giggles from the remaining onlookers. Only Nancy, the serving maid dared laugh out loud.

"Hattie! Stop this at once! Can you not see you're embarrassing yourself?" Mum Olga hissed, picking up Hattie's wig up from the stone.

I saw my chance to leave the scene. With everyone distracted, no one would take notice.

"Come." I said to Char, and pulled him along to the kitchen. He followed me silently, and his hand found my waist again, tracing soothing circles on the side of my stomach with his thumb.

I pulled Char far enough along a dark corridor so that we could neither hear nor see the scene, and headed for the kitchen.

"Ella, wait." Char stopped me suddenly, pulling me under a nearby wall torch that provided adequate light.

He didn't say a word, but held my face as he caressed my cheeks with his thumbs, taking care not touch the scratches Hattie had made. My eyes met his warm ones; they were shining with something I couldn't quite put my finger on.

"Did they do this always?" He whispered, the pain evident in his voice.

I looked down, breaking his gaze. "I-" I stopped myself. I couldn't. I couldn't tell him just yet. He'd been on the receiving end of pain from me for far too long.

"Ella." he cupped his hand under my chin, bringing my face up so I couldn't hide. "Look at me. Look me in the eyes and tell me that this isn't true."

"Wh-what isn't true?" I closed my eyes; I couldn't bear the look in his. It was filled with self-hate, and I would not allow Char to hate himself. Not after all of this.

"Tell me that I didn't fall for that rubbish trick. Tell me that I never hated you. Tell me that for six months I did not think only about how you'd deceived me, played with my heartstrings, while you were being succumbed to this-this torture. Tell me that I am not the biggest fool Kyrria has ever seen!" His voice grew into a shout.

I couldn't tell him, I wouldn't hurt him any longer, but I couldn't lie to him again. I'd done enough of that recently.

"Char, don't be upset with yourself. You had every right under the sky to hate me. I-I wrote that letter, not Hattie."

He drew a sharp intake of breath."I-" CRASH. The sound of a thousand suits of armor falling apart reached us from the front hall.

"NO! I will not let that infuriating tart get away with this! She will LEAVE HIM! AND I SHALL BE QUEEN!" I wondered what she had broken to create such a disturbance. I could picture it in my head: pounding her fists on to the floor, kicking and screaming while an army of servants attempted to calm their deranged mistress. On any other day it would have been purely comical.

Char stiffened in anger, his hands tightening on my face. I hissed in pain; he had pressed upon my scratches. The blazing fury evaporated from his eyes immediately, and for a moment he looked more in distress than I.

"Mandy can help." I rushed. I continued my way down the corridor; he followed me numbly.

Mandy rushed to her cabinet as soon as she saw us. "Seat her on the stool Highness, if you please."

Char nodded stiffly. He took me and gently seated me on the familiar low stool next to the stove.

He stared at me intently as Mandy dabbed away some of the blood on my face with a wet cloth.

"That vile, nasty excuse for a human being…." she muttered under her breath as she used ointment to help the rapid swelling, "You had best tell him the entire truth Lady, before things get far too complicated." She said louder.

I nodded. But I yearned for privacy. As much as I loved Mandy, I knew Char wasn't nearly as comfortable with her as was I.

Mandy seemed to notice this. "I'll be in your room, sweet." With a final sweep of her magic, she kissed my cheek and left.

Char was staring at a fixed point above my head, his jaw trembling. "You sent that letter," he whispered.

"Yes." I replied just as quietly.

"You wanted me to hate you."

"Yes." I repeated.

"But you say you love me."

"I do."

He took my hand with his trembling one. "I don't understand," he said, not looking at me, "Why would you send that letter? Why, if you love me?"

"Char," I said, "You have to believe me. I sent it because I love you."

"I do. I really, truly do. I'm just…so confused." He was speaking so softly, I almost felt his words rather than heard them.

"Understandable." I took a deep breath. "When I got your last letter, you have no idea how happy I was. I hadn't felt that way in the longest time, and reading that-I just…it made me feel like the luckiest maiden alive." I felt a small smile slowly creeping its way unto my face as I fingered a lock of his tawny curls.

Char gave me a small smile. When he didn't say anything, I took it as a sign to continue.

"But- like I said before, I was under a curse." I looked down, playing with the tattered remains of my hemline, "When I was born, Lucinda, a fairy-the same fairy you saw at my Father's wedding- gave me a gift, a gift of obedience. Naturally, the fool refused to admit that it was really a horrid enchantment. And, in a simple form, I had to obey any direct order."

"Any order? All because of a foolish fairy?" He breathed, tightening his hold on my hand.

"Any. I tried my whole life to break it. I thought that I could do it by refusing simple commands. But I could never do it. So then I realized I had to find Lucinda herself and make her remove it."

"The giants' wedding," he said, realization decorating his deep voice, "That's why you went. My Father says hardly a wedding or a birth takes place without a fairy present."

"Yes."

"I knew you had reasons to risk your life other than just to see a wedding." He grinned at me.

I smiled back.

But his grin promptly faded. "But the fairy didn't remove the curse."

I shook my head "But- that's why I wrote that letter. I really am sorry. I can't imagine how much pain you went through to read that. I can only think that it was a thousand times greater than what I went through to write it, to send it. And yet, I had to.

"Because I knew that as long as I was still under the curse, I couldn't be your wife, no matter how much I wanted to, no matter how much I loved you. The danger you would be put in if you married a cursed woman Char, the danger!"

"You could have told me." He whispered.

I smiled bitterly. "My mother once ordered me to never tell anyone about the curse. And even if I could have told you, what could you have done? We wouldn't have been able to hide it forever; after all, you and I can both admit that no matter how hard you try, there will always be prying eyes in court, looking for signs of weaknesses in the monarchs, ready to pounce at any moment.

"And if someone were to found out, I could've been forced to pass on secrets, secrets that would ruin everything. I could be forced to even kill you, and it pains me so that I can think of ten different ways to end your life at this moment. Don't you see, Char? If I'd said what I'd truly wanted to in that letter, I would've have ruined both you and the country! And if it meant having to break both my heart and yours to save you and the land, then so be it."

I paused, waiting for his response.

Nothing.

Then, he gently put his hands on my cheeks, holding my face. His bright blue irises were glassed over, darkening them a shade. "You-you would do that? Sacrifice your own happiness to save both me and the kingdom?" he choked, a single tear running down his cheek as his eyes searched mine for answers.

I wiped away his tear with my thumb as I nodded wordlessly.

"Oh, Ella." He kissed me fiercely, desperately, longingly. As if I were oxygen and he a drowning man. He tangled his fingers in my hair, pulled me off of my stool and onto his lap as he sank to the floor. My hands wound their way around his neck as he moved from my lips to my ear. "You selfless, brave creature, you make me hate myself." He said, breathing hard.

I pulled back. "Don't hate yourself Char." I traced the contours of his handsome face with the back of my hand.

He shook his head. "For the past six months, I thought you didn't love me, and I cursed at the world, for making me fall in love in the first place. Then I find you, and I assume it was a trick of Hattie. But then you tell me it was you all along. And now, to realize that you did it all solely because you loved me; it makes me feel like I'm the most selfish man in this world, because I never had a right to be angry with you. If anything, you should be angry with me. I wouldn't mind if you never forgave me, for I deserve it."

"No," I whispered, touching my forehead to his. "There is nothing to forgive. It was my intention to make you hate me, forget me, so that even if I was never able to break the curse, you would be able to move on."

A smile grew on his face. "And yet you're here now. There is no need for me to move on." He swooped down to kiss me again, gently this time, softly, as if we had all the time left in the world to enjoy each other's company.

"I have you to thank for that." I tapped his freckled nose lightly as I settled into his lap, leaning back against his chest.

He wrapped his arms around me. "How so?"

"You ordered me to marry you." I said simply, tracing the veins on the inside of his wrist.

"I'd thought you didn't have to follow orders anymore." He wrinkled his nose, looking adorably confused.

I nodded. "My ultimate refusal; that was what broke my curse. If you had never ordered me to marry you, I would've never felt the need to disobey an order, and we would not have been here."

"Hmm," he murmured, tapping his chin in mock consideration. "Well, in that case, you're very welcome." He joked, fingering my hair.

I rolled my eyes playfully as I turned around to kiss his cheek. He sighed happily as I rested my head on his shoulder, fingering the lapel of his doublet.

"Ella?"

"Mmmmm?"

"You know you always manage to surprise me," he said to me, playing with my hair.

"How so?"

"Being cursed with obedience was the last thing I'd ever thought you'd be." He laughed lightly.

"It was the first, actually."

"And then you appear at the balls dress as Lela. I should have realized the similarity between the two of you couldn't have been a coincidence." His laughter got louder. "And here I thought it was your clever Hattie who schemed the whole thing," he gasped between chuckles.

"Hattie's not clever," I bolted up, mildly insulted.

He grinned at me, twiddling his thumbs, "I'm only playing with you, heart." His eyes sparkled with the laughter I loved.

I narrowed my eyes, but smiled at him anyways.

I looked down and took one of his hands into mine, marveling at the large, square shape. How I'd missed those hands.

"Ella?" he repeated, bending down so that his lips were almost pressed against my ear.

"Yes?" I traced a line from his thumb to his wrist to his pinkie and back again with my forefinger.

"Come with me to the castle, we have plenty of extra rooms."

"Well Char, I'd really hate for you to force me to leave my loving stepfamily behind-"

"-Really, Ella-"

"-And I can't say that I believe that it's very gentlemanly of you to do so because-"

I stopped. He wasn't listening. He was laughing again.

"Char?" I asked when his fits faded, my face close to his.

"Yes?" a flash of fire danced around his irises.

"Truly?" my lips brushed the corner of his mouth.

"Well, I can't have you stay here with these monsters, can I? What kind of a man would I be?" he asked softly, traveling the line of my nose with his.

"A man with no sense of chivalry." I traced his jaw and neck, dipping my fingers beneath his collar.

"You would have to kill me," he played along, pressing his large hand to the small of my back, so that I was pressed flush against his body

"Immediately and without hesitation." I whispered with mock seriousness.

His eyes bore into mine, and the tension was great.

We stared at each other for a second, a minute, an hour, I couldn't tell.

Then he kissed me.

My hands immediately buried themselves in his hair and he cupped my cheek in his hand, pulling me even closer, if that was still a possibility.

I tugged on his bottom lip and my fingers played with the baby curls at the nape of his neck, teasing the soft skin there.

One of us moaned, but I wouldn't be able to tell who if asked.

I broke away, gasping, but his lips didn't leave my skin.

"I know I can't order you to do anything any longer," he said between kisses along my jaw, "But will you come with me?"

I smiled at him teasingly, "You'll realize how drastically horrible I am and will be sick of me within the week." I warned him.

"Never," he said, standing and pulling me up with him, "If I do, then that would mean that there is something drastically wrong with me."

He really had an answer to everything I could come up with. I imagined humourous battles of wit at the castle in the future.

"Well then, by all means, escort me to your castle my dashing prince." I fluttered my eyelashes obnoxiously, mocking Hattie.

He laughed lightly. "Not castle my dear, humble home." He corrected.

"Humble home then."

"Highness," Sir Bertram appeared in the hallway, "We had best hurry, the King and Queen will be worried. You never did tell them where you were running off to."

"Yes," his attention snapped to the knight, "Collect the others, Sir Bert. We'll leave as soon as the Lady Ella is ready."

Sir Bert nodded with a small smile, recognizing me as the ogre tamer.

Char kissed my cheek. "Go," he murmured against my ear. "But don't be too long, my knights aren't the most patient lot."

I was startled. So soon? What about Mandy? Nancy?

Char read my thoughts. "We'll collect Mandy in the morning. Tell her to be ready at first light. But for now, my priority is cleaning up the mess of a ball I made." He said matter-of-a-factly, looking amused at his own antics.

I nodded, and hurried to my room as soon as Char left with Sir Bert, comparing the effectiveness of a stallion to a mare in an ogre raid.

"Mandy! Mandy?" I shouted as soon as I stepped into the doorway.

She was standing at the window, her back to me. She turned around at my voice. "Oh, hello Lady." Her eyes were red and her face was blotchy.

"What's the matter?" I ran into her arms when I realized she had been crying.

"Oh, Lady," she soothed, brushing my hair, "Nothing's the matter. I'm only so happy for you. I always get sentimental at times like these."

I looked at her. "Mandy, I'm going to go with Char to the castle. He said he won't let me stay under the same roof as Hattie for another minute, and wants me to stay with him until we get married." I whispered, smiling.

"Then what are you standing here for?" She pushed me towards my wardrobe. "Hurry, put on your last ball gown, the King won't want to see you in that."

"But, all this soot, the gown will surely get filthy!"

"What soot?" She smirked.

I looked down. My hands and face were clean again, no trace of the filth left. I subconsciously sniffed myself. Except for the stink of my current gown, I smelt fresh again.

"Oh," I breathed. This was the biggest magic I had ever seen Mandy do. I wondered if it went against her morals.

I quickly donned the same white dress, and slipped on my other slipper. But I left the tiara and necklace off, for I had something else in mind. I picked up my carpetbag, which was already packed, and slung the strap over my shoulder.

"Hurry." Mandy said, holding out the necklace and tiara, expecting me to take them.

I shook my head. "I'm going to get Mother's necklace back from Hattie."

A smile broke out on her face. "At least take these with you, Ella. You might need them."

I paused, but reluctantly took them anyways, and stuffed them into my bag.

I rushed to her for one last hug. "Good luck, my sweet." She squeezed me tight as another tear leaked out of her eye.

I froze. She thought I was going to leave her here. "Mandy, we'll send for you in the morning, after we clean up this mess." I said, my voice muffled by her gown.

"Oh, sweet. You needn't worry about me. I'm only a cook."

"No." I shook my head, "You're coming with us. You're my fairy godmother Mandy, you're supposed to stay with me."

"Alright, you little mink." She kissed my cheek. "Go now."

I took one last look at her before running out of the room.

I paused in front of Hattie's chambers, and then ran in without checking to see who might see me.

Her dressing table was covered in the usual face paints, scented oils, and various jewels.

I paid little attention to any of it. Instead, my eyes zoomed in on a hint of gnomic pearls peaking out under a jeweled container of face paint and several extravagantly hideous brooches.

I pulled Mother's beautiful necklace out from under the heap, sending the brooches, some rings and the face paint crashing to the floor, where the box split and covered the rug with Hattie's white face powder.

I should have been more careful, but I couldn't bring myself to waste any nimbleness on the belongings of such a person as Hattie.

I also had no intention for my intrusion to remain secret.

I could only hope to dream the look on Hattie's face when she discovered that I countermanded every order that she had ever bestowed upon me.

I grinned.

I gently fingered the silver threads of Mother's necklace, smiling at the beloved jewel. Despite having being left untouched except for the chilly air, the tiny pearls still felt warm to the touch, as if Mother's spirit had remained in them somehow.

I did the clasp around my neck, and stole a peek in Hattie's mirror.

Mandy was right. I had grown into it.

Looking down at it, I made my way out of Hattie's chambers, down the hall, and almost flew down the staircase.

I ran to the front hall, where Char was conversing with Sir Stephan.

Hattie stood in the corner, arms crossed, fuming.

When Char saw me, he opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when he saw that I wasn't looking at him. Instead, I paused on the bottom step, looking at Hattie with an even gaze.

I approached her cautiously, in case she decided to attack again.

She narrowed her eyes at me.

I stopped a few feet away from her, quite ready to bid farewell to the worst chapter of my life. I wouldn't mourn if I never saw her again.

I thought of words that I might say, but she started open her mouth first.

"I never understood why you hated me, Ella. I never mistreated you; never a harsh word, never a scolding." She hissed, eyes blazing.

"If turning me into a scullery maid under my father's nose is not considered mistreatment Hattie, then I'd hate to see your version of abuse." I said coldly, before turning around.

I stopped mid-step to take one look at my stepsister, hopefully for the last time. "You never gave me a reason to like you Hattie." I said in parting as I made my way to Char.

Sir Stephan breathed a sigh of relief. "I worried you would bring three trunks with you. I didn't think the horses could take it." He wiped imaginary sweat from his brow.

I shrugged ruefully. "I don't have many things that I find valuable."

"Most maidens would die in a house fire, running after their valuables. But you, ogre tamer, you would be the first one out if the castle were to catch flame."

I couldn't help but laugh at his humor.

Char joined in. "Stephan, you worry me. Always thinking of the worst possible situation, no?" He took my hand, leading us both outside the front doors.

"Why not? You are always quite the optimist; one of us has to take precautions."

"It wouldn't hurt to look on the bright side of things for a change." Char took the reins of a magnificently white stallion, leading him towards me. "Go on, try it."

"Alright, let me think for a moment." Stephan tapped his chin, "Very well. I've got one. I'm glad that none of my daughters are old enough to worry about gowns and face paint, and in return leaving me penniless."

Char gave a shout of laughter that echoed in the night. "Good."

"How old are your daughters?" I asked curiously.

"Twelve, eleven, nine, and six."

I smiled. "You sir, will surely be penniless come five years time."

He cringed. "That is exactly the sort of nightmare that plagues my dreams." He then promptly launched into a story about in which in a dream, his daughters sent him all over Frell to buy any valuable trinket that eyes could fall upon.

I tuned him out as I turned to Char, who was quietly talking to his horse. "Remember the girl I told you about? Ella? We're going to take her to meet Mother and Father. I'm going to marry her soon, you know." He murmured.

The horse nudged his neck lovingly; I doubted he understood anything he said.

He turned to me. "Ella, come." He smiled, holding out his hand.

I took it, but before he set me on the horse, I took one last look at the manor.

I didn't understand why I was feeling sentimental. I hated that house, and it's people. I had never belonged.

Char seemed to know what I was thinking, and he pulled me into his arms. "I know," he whispered, "But the only place you belong now is with me."

And he was right.

This is where I belonged.

Right there in his arms.

A/N: This is originally a one-shot. But, I may continue it if I am convinced. Tell me what you think!