Chapter 2!!! Finally. Sorry for the wait; even thought test week is over, I still had heaps of stuff to do…sorry! Onto the story…-x-

Quiz Answer: Count and Countess Fenwick were the two guests at Lord Anton, in Ayortha. Countess Fenwick was Lady Emerith, the lady whom Char thought was Ella.

Please! Read on!!

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Chapter 2- Falling Deep

"You're name is?" Char paused, waiting for the beautiful lady before him to answer. Ella, he thought predictably.

The woman lifted her head to gaze evenly at him.

"Lela, Your Highness."

He frowned, then his face relaxed into a smile. Lela. Ella. They were all the same; Lela was an anagram of Ella. She was playing a game. Well, he grinned. I'll play long.

"Are you from Frell?" he asked politely.

She shook her head.

"No, I am from Bast, Your Highness. I have longed to see Frell all my life."

"Oh really?" Char arched an eyebrow at her questioningly. He expected a playful grin and a confession of the real self. Lela smiled.

"Well, my Lady, will you favour me with a dance?"

"Gladly. I mean, of course."

They danced perfectly together, each step and twirl in time and beat. Char thought quickly of ways for Lela to admit that she was Ella. So far, none of his ploys had worked at all. Lela would merely smile and nod, or frown in confusion.

"Er- Lady Ell- I mean Lela," Char tried again. "Ha- Have we met before? I find you rather familiar."

"I've always stayed in Bast, You Highness. This is the only time I have ever left my hometown. Perhaps you may have seen me there, during your travels?" She smiled, and suddenly winked. Char grinned. Definitely Ella.

"No, I don't think so," he said; the only thing he could do, was to continue to play along. He smiled intently at her, and leaned closer.

"You're eyes are so beautiful. Such a wild-green…"

She smiled again. It was a familiar smile- the ultimate Ella-smile.

"Yes, a friend of mine often told me exactly the same thing. They're the same colour as my mother's, you know. She was a beautiful woman."

"As are you," Char murmured. Lela suddenly blushed.

Char's heart was pounding fast, and he was losing it just as fast. The woman before him depicted everything he loved in his life. She was his Ella, and though she was appeared as "Lela," Char knew that whether she was Ella or not, she was still the same person. The same person he fell in love with, and was falling in love with again, since he had seen her last. And Lela was right. Her eyes were exactly the same as her mothers, the late Lady Eleanor.

"So what do you like doing?" Char asked, for conversation as well as to satisfy his growing curiosity.

"Hmm…you mean like hobbies?" Lela asked, looking down thoughtfully.

"Yes."

"Well," she said slowly. "I…I enjoy walking around by myself, meeting nice people, playing Hide and Seek, reading…um…playing my piano," she concluded. "What about you, Your Highness?"

"Call me Char," Char said by way of ease. He paused.

"I like to…I like to read as well, er…I like to ride, stroll down the gardens, and slide down stair banisters."

Lela laughed, and Char smiled at her. It was a lilting, musical laugh, and would have made even King Jerrold to stare, and then laugh heartily aloud.

"Believe it or not, I used to do that as well. I ruined my best frock from sliding down the main stair rail from my bedroom countless times; mother got so angry at me." She stopped to take a breath. "What do you write about?"

Char shrugged.

"I write about myself, about my friends. I write in my diary, I write stories, and so on."

"Wow! That must be so fun! To be able to create something so powerful with words."

"What do you mean by that?" Char asked. He couldn't fully grasp the meaning of what she had said last.

"You know; the characters you can create, the atmosphere and setting. It all belongs to you, and that feels so special. It makes me feel like a God." She smiled, and Char found himself wondering about himself, and congratulating himself of ever making the acquaintance of the young lady. I love her, he thought, and smiled at himself. He caught her hand between them.

"I like this song," he said, not knowing at all what music was playing about. "Let's dance."

As Char learned more about "Lela," he fell in love with her more deeply, and he was amazed at the limits he was prepared to set concerning the woman beside him. After the dance, they took a stroll down the palace gardens, to which Lela had recalled, was a favourite past time of the Prince's.

"You have a good memory," Char remarked, when Lela stated the phrase. She tilted her head.

"Why, thank you. Believe it or not, I can have a terrible memory. Plus, I'm a walking, talking disaster."

"Oh really?" Char stopped, and leaned lazily against a large tree. "You talk fine to me. Unless you'd rather not talk," he added, grinning.

"What fun is there in that?" she demanded. "I'd probably get lost- it's getting dark, and if we're not talking, how am I suppose to find my way back? I'd stay here forever."

"Sure you won't get lost." Char took her hand into his own.

"There," he said. "If we get lost, we can get lost together."

Lela smiled in the dark, and together, they began to head deeper into the grove of trees.

"This place is beautiful," she murmured silently. Char nodded in assent.

"I love it," he declared. "I used to play here when I was a young boy." He stretched out a hand towards a deep groove in the woods; rathe pointless, as no one could see.

"How wonderful. I would have loved the same in your place, had I been you."

They were silent for a few minutes, and Char felt Lela shift uncomfortably.

"We'd better head back," she suddenly said. "If we stay any longer, we'll definitely get lost in this forest of a garden. A beautiful forest. And…then I'll trip or something, and fall ov-"

"Do you always babble on so much?" Char asked, half teasingly. Lela blushed.

"I told you I was a talking disaster," she muttered.

"I'd rather we not talk."

"Then what shall we do?"

Char didn't answer for a while, but all of a sudden, he slipped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer. He brushed his lips softy over hers, and not wanting to take it any further, he smiled.

"See? We don't have to talk. We can do other things."

Lela was sincerely glad that he could not see her face through the dark.

"Come," Char said easily, as though nothing had happened. "Tomorrow, I would like you to meet my parents."

:x:

"Got it! Tomorrow, we can both go to the ball, Ella, promise."

"Really?" Ella blinked at her friend, then sighed. "I do love you, Areida dear."

"Hush. You need sleep. We'll get out of here in no time- I've got it all planned."

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There you go. The next chapter, is the most plot-unfolding bit, so please don't miss!!! I will update soon!! Promise!!! Early next week!!

Please review because I will love you all so much that I will HUG you!! –grins as others run away in terror- kids, please review!

Quiz: How many days are there in the ball?

Meh, such an easy one! I expect one hundred percent correct answers!!! Mua haha…

-Evalia

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