I want to thank everyone who followed, reviewed, or favorited this story! Now, on to chapter 3!
Disclaimer:
My best friend: Watch'a doin' this weekend?
Me: Well, I have to babysit, take care of my neighbor's dog, and I have a book signing at Barnes & Nobles.
BF: You wrote a book?
Me: Yeah, I wrote Ella Enchanted.
BF: No you didn't, Gail Carson Levine did. You could never write something that good!
Me: Thanks...(-_-')
So, as my best friend so kindly pointed out, I do not own Ella Enchanted. I only play with the characters.
Ella POV
The first thing I noticed when I gained consciousness was a piercing headache, like tiny ogres had been stomping on my head. The second was the little person staring at me. I sat up quickly, groaning as my muscles protested. "You must rest," the creature in the corner said. "You hit your head on the rocks when my cousin startled you." I immediately lied down, and the curse began to force my body to relax.
"You speak Kyrrian?" I asked, a bit surprised. The creature smiled.
"Just enough to have a conversation with a lovely human maid." I blushed at his complement.
"Thank you. What is your native tongue? And I don't mean to be rude or to pry, but what are you? I can see you are neither an elf nor a dwarf, and you are certainly no gnome or ogre." The little fellow chuckled.
" I am a member of the noble race of Delvera. We are not quite elves, and not quite dwarves. I suppose we are somewhere in between. As for my
language, I speak in the ancient language, allowing me to converse with almost any object."
"I've never heard of Delvera," I blurted out. I hadn't ever seen one before either. He came up to about my waist, and had long, skinny features with pale green skin. Two horns and bat like ears were balanced on his head, with a tuft of white hair perched on top. He wore clothes made of a cloth I had never seen before, but they were as grand as nobles'. When I asked about the material, I was told they were made of silver. I smirked as I thought of Hattie. She probably would have fainted upon finding the material the cloth was spun from. Thinking about Hattie reminded me of Lafaria, and I voiced my concern for her.
"You have nothing to fear. Your beautiful mare is currently resting in our stables." I nodded, and smiled thanks. I then began to pepper Idjnoir, the Delvera, about his culture. The Delvera lived in a series of underground tunnels and chambers. The cave I had stopped in had actually been the entrance to their underground society, and the guard had panicked, and grabbed me, and I had ended up here. Idjnoir told me about their way of life, their magic, everything. When he finished, he turned to me and said, " I hope I have satisfied your thirst for knowledge. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like some answers as well. Through my magic, I've senses several things that I would like for you to explain to me. Why are you running? And more importantly...what is your curse?"
Char POV
We were a bit over halfway to Bast when it began to rain. The rain continued to get thicker and thicker, and by the time we reached Bast, one could barely see the hand in front of their face! We stopped at the first inn we found. As we were led to our rooms, I noticed something glinting on the ground. I quickly bent and scooped it up before continuing down the hall. Once I was in the privacy of my own room. I opened my hand to see my prize. I gasped as I identified it-it was one of the flowers from Ella's tiara at the ball! She had been here, and it must have been recently, seeing as it was still on the floor. We were close, I was sure. She couldn't have gone far in this weather.
Ella POV
I gaped at Idjnoir. "My...my what?"
"Your curse, lady. Please tell me." I stared at him.
"How did you know I have a curse?" He smiled at me.
" I sensed it with my magic, and you just admitted it to me. Tell me what it is." With that order, Mother's order shattered. I struggled to go against the curse, and honor her last request. My usual symptoms began to arise-my head began to pound, and I struggled to breathe. The words were on the tip of my tongue, and I tried to pull them back down, until I began to feel faint.
"I am cursed with obedience," I blurted out, and immediately felt better.
"Obedience?" He asked. " How could that be a curse?"
"Well, if someone ordered me to chop off my head…"
"Oh. I see. May I presume that you are journeying to break this curse?" I smiled at him.
"You may."
"In that case, I suggest that you go to the Cave of Dreams. In it resides a phoenix. If you are deemed worthy, it will take your curse from you." My eyes widened. I could have my curse lifted that easily?
"Where is it?" I asked eagerly.
"Ayortha. I will have my grandson, Noirin, accompany you there, if you would like." I nodded.
"That would be wonderful."
Sorry that there wasn't much Char in this chapter. I wasn't going to put him in at all, but I decided to for the sake of any fangirls he may have .