Chapter 1
As soon as Mandy left with the letter, I collapsed to the ground sobbing. When she returned an hour later, I was still in tears.
"What's the matter, dear?" she asked, embracing me in her arms. I told her.
"Did I do the right thing?" I asked.
Mandy sighed.
"Sweet," she said sadly. "You did the right thing. Just like Lady, always hurting herself for others." I heard her voice quiver. I fell into harder sobs when she mentioned Mother. Mandy reached into her pocket.
"Lady, a letter for you."
She handed me a yellow envelope, and I opened it. It was from Father.
Ella,
How you faring? I will be home soon to see you and my beloved Olga. My debts have almost been paid back, and we may be wealthy again. However, I have found a suitor for you. He is extremely wealthy and owns many large estates. He would like to meet you and will be coming with me when I return from my trip. He's promised a handsome dowry. Send my love to dear Olga and her daughters.
Your loving Father
I laughed bitterly after reading Father's message. My letter to Char would come true after all. I would get married to a rich old man and be a wealthy maiden. Then, realization sunk in. Angrily, I tore the paper into tattered bits and threw it to the floor. I ground it under my heel. I would never marry. I would be certain of that.
"What did it say, love?" Mandy had been watching me silently.
"Father found me another suitor," I managed to say, my voice shaking.
"Oh, that Father. You don't deserve to be used by him," Mandy said angrily. I said nothing. Instead, I lay my head on her shoulder as she stroked my rumpled hair soothingly.
--
Father came home the next day. I was in the kitchen helping Mandy prepare lunch. The suitor, Sir Daniel, had come with him.
"Eleanor," Father called out to me when he arrived home.
"My dear Peter!" I heard Mum Olga squeal. I felt ill to the stomach.
Father came into the kitchen. "Eleanor, get out of the kitchen," he whispered anxiously. "What are you wearing, rags?"
Before I could answer yes, he continued.
"Sir Daniel is here to see you in the living room." I stared at him with open defiance.
"I'm not here to see him." I snapped. He stared at me with an expression I couldn't read.
"Eleanor, just get changed. Make yourself presentable."
I was about to reply, but he left. I could hear him speaking to Sir Daniel, praising his accomplishments and bragging about how beautiful I was. Up in my room, I contemplated over wearing a horridly ugly purple dress that Hattie had outgrown and given to me to wear as servants' wear, or a bright yellow dress that was too short for me. I slipped on the purple dress. Without bothering to arrange my hair, I went downstairs.
Father came out of the living room when he heard me coming.
"What in the world are you wearing?" he growled. "Didn't I tell you to make yourself presentable?"
"I did, Father," I said, smiling sweetly.
"Such disobedience," he muttered under his breath as he led me into the living room.
--
"This must be your lovely daughter, Ella," Sir Daniel said, standing up as I walked in with Father. He was not as old as I expected. In fact, he was quite young, around 25 years old. He had a clean face and short brown hair. However, he had an arrogant air to him, and he looked at me smugly. He reached his hand out to mine.
"Pleasure to meet you, Lady Eleanor," he said, with a lofty voice. I nodded at him, but didn't take his hand. His hand hovered between us for a moment, and then he put it down. I had to suppress my smirk. Remembering last time I was under a love spell, I was determined that I would get back at Father for putting the elvish mushrooms in my food.
"Why don't I leave you two here to get acquainted for a while? I'll be right back," said Father. I knew Father was trying to get Sir Daniel and me alone. Daniel nodded at him and glanced in my direction.
"Of course." As soon as Father stepped out, I headed out of the living room.
"Please excuse me," I said. "I have some other matters to attend."
As I neared the door, he stood up.
"Stop right there," he ordered. My feet glued to the ground.
"Is this how you treat your guests? Is this why you haven't been betrothed yet?"
I tried to turn around so I could defend myself, but my feet were glued.
"You don't know the least of it," I said, facing the door, wishing I could move.
"Then come back and apologize" he commanded. I could hear the anger in his voice. Slowly and reluctantly, I walked back to where I had been sitting.
I sat.
"Apologize for your rudeness."
"I apologize," I muttered.
"For?"
"For having you as a guest," I said without thinking.
"Eleanor," he said. "Your father invited me here to discuss our betrothal. I didn't come to be treated with such rudeness. No one has dared to speak to me in this way. Except for a child like you!"
I didn't say anything, and my blood boiled at his sharp words.
--
Sir Daniel spent the next hour talking about himself and his achievements. He had started his business at an extremely early age, and he was one of the richest men in Kyrria. He's only interested in himself, I thought. Nothing like Char. Char was kind. By the end of the next several hours, he had already listed off all the ladies he had rejected and all of the cities he had visited. I sat back dully, not bothering to hide my boredom. However, Sir Daniel kept talking.
Finally, he started to ask me questions, and I worked to answer his questions with the shortest answers possible. Sir Daniel became exasperated.
"Eleanor-"
"Ella," I corrected.
He ignored what I said.
"Eleanor, you seem to dislike me," he said. At least he was smart enough to realize it. I felt pleased.
"But I'll be back tomorrow," he said.
I moaned inwardly, and I didn't reply.
"Then I'll see you tomorrow," Sir Daniel said, and he left.
--
"How was your meeting with Sir Daniel, sweet?" Mandy asked, as we washed dishes together. I was still wearing the purple dress.
"Awful," I moaned. "He's coming back tomorrow."
"Ella, if you are really unhappy about all these suitors, we can go talk to your father about it. I'll be there with you." I didn't want Mandy involved in my problems.
"No, Mandy, I'm alright," I said, scrubbing my dish forcefully when Sir Daniel's face appeared in my head. "I'll handle this myself." After we finished the dishes, I went up to my room. I opened up my magic book, hoping for something to ease my feelings.
The first several pages contained fairy tales. Then, I found an angrily-written letter. Upon closer inspection, I saw that it was written by Char. The handwriting was still neat, but the letter was extremely hastily written. I could sense his fury.
I've lost nothing. She never was what I thought her, so I've lost nothing. I'm only fortunate, and Kyrria is blessed, that she eloped before my letter reached her.
The letter continued angrily for two pages, and I was in tears again. He had called himself a fool, a dopfe for falling in love with me. He even said an ogre looked kind compared to me. She is a devilish monster, he wrote, disguised as a girl but completely black inside, with a black heart.
My tears flowed down freely. The words bit me, but I knew that it was my fault. He probably felt just as much pain when he read my letter.
"Char, you don't know how much pain I'm in," I whispered. "Please forgive me," I begged to him silently. I turned to the next page, and there were more angry words from him. However, I did not have the heart to read it. I closed the book and threw it to the ground.