AN: Okay, I swear, NEXT chapter is going to be the end! I felt so bad for not updating that I decided to give you what I have here (after this part, I've been getting some serious writer's block, but I've been talking it out with some friends and hopefully it will get back on track soon!). Sorry for not updating for so long...this school year took forever to end! But as of yesterday I am officially a high school graduate, and totally recommitted to writing!

Thanks for the reviews/follows/favorites, it's always really nice to get those emails, because they remind me that people are actually reading this :)

I told him everything. It felt wonderful to get it all out, like I was breaking the curse all over again, but Char's face remained stolid and unmoving, making me wonder if my words had any impact on him at all. Did he believe me? More importantly, would he forgive me?

He was a good listener, and only interrupted a few times to ask questions or clarify something. When I recounted our morning at the menagerie, when the ogre had commanded me to come forward, I saw something shift in his face.

"That's why he didn't need to be persuasive," he said, half to me and half to himself. "It all makes sense now."

"I felt awful for lying to you," I said, knowing that this would not be the last apology I would make tonight.

"Then why did you?" he snapped. I was taken aback by his tone, and my heart began to pound with fear. He must have regretted his outburst, because he lowered his voice and said, "I'm sorry Ella, please forgive me. You must understand...I...this is all very new to me, and I still don't even know why you're here, or how you got here, or why I got that letter, or what any of this means for us... That is to say, what this means for you, and for me." He was stumbling over his words. I took some deep breaths, and the pounding of my heart faded slightly; he was very good at hiding it, but he was nervous too. I had hope. "I just...why didn't you tell me? I could have helped you. I...can still help you."

I should probably have mentioned that I had broken the curse, but now didn't seem right.

"I wish I could have told you, but my mother ordered me never to tell anyone about the curse. Even if I could, what could you have done?"

I meant it as a rhetorical question, but he put his chin in his hand and furrowed his brow. I didn't want him to spend too much time worrying about this, especially since there was nothing to worry about, so I interrupted his thoughts and whispered, "You couldn't have done anything, Char. No one could have done anything."

He raised his head and looked at me, and there was such pain in his eyes I thought I might cry.

"What about the fairy? Can't she take it back? Can't she, if I command her to?" I shook my head, but he kept going. "Surely she must! Why, I'll leave at once, and I will find her, and when I do I will make her take this horrible curse away from you! Then...then...why are you smiling, Ella?"

I laughed. It was probably wrong of me, to laugh at a prince, but he looked so confused and I was so happy that I couldn't hold it in.

"Char, it means a lot to me that you are so willing to help, but I can assure you that you do not need to go to such lengths on my behalf. I...I probably should have mentioned this earlier, but the reason I am here now is because I broke the curse myself several days ago."

It took him a moment to fully understand what my words meant, but then he broke out into the biggest grin I had ever seen, and words tumbled out of his mouth.

"You did? Why didn't you tell me that earlier? How did you do it? What happened?!"

"I told you it was a long story, and you interrupted me and now it's all out of order," I said in a mockingly chastising tone. "If you'll let me tell it in order-"

"But it's gone, truly?" he interrupted again. He couldn't help himself. I smiled and nodded. His hand found mine, our fingers intertwined. He went on, his voice getting louder and faster with each word."Ella, for the past hour I've been out of my mind trying to think of how to help you, and now...and now..." He trailed off, and for a moment he was silent. Suddenly he removed his hand and sat up straight, and just like that he was a prince again.

"Ella," he said, his voice hiding his emotions again, "why are you here?"

He didn't hate me, he had never hated me, but there was still a lot that remained unresolved. I saw it flash before my eyes: the letter from Hattie, the image in my magic book of Char burning it, the violent scribbles I had seen in his diary just hours ago. I had put him through so much pain. I had hurt the one person I loved more than anything.

But that was over now, and hopefully I would never hurt him again. For the rest of our lives, I would do nothing but love him with all my heart. I needed to tell him that. He needed to know. Why hadn't I told him as soon as he came in the room? It seemed like all my other thoughts had faded away, and all that remained was this uncontrollable need for him to know what I had been meaning to tell him all along.

As I prepared to say it, I closed my eyes and braced myself. I knew he didn't hate me, so why was I so afraid?

I knew that once I spoke the words, I couldn't take them back. I imagined what Char must have felt when he posted the letter in which he declared his love for me - and what he must have felt when he got my response. Surely that was worse than this; and if he could live through that, then I had no right to be afraid. And yet, I was.

I did my best to swallow my fear. I hadn't suffered so much at the hands of my stepfamily and broken the curse and come all this way just to be afraid. I had to do it. Not just for Char, but for me. He needed to know, but also I needed to tell him. I needed to tell him. I needed to tell him.

So I spoke the words that had been building inside me for the past hour, the past week, the past year.

"Because I am in love with you."