Chapter 13 up! This is one of my longer chapters- it's over 2000 words! –beams at readers- Yey, now one more night to go- and it's really interesting- see what happens when I upload next, cos there's a twist!

Unfortunately, I must say that after about 5 more chapters, this fanfic is going to end- or might end. I considered adding another complication, but I'm not sure yet…still thinking…anyway!

Quiz answer: Arielle is the "lovely blonde-haired wench." She is the one who keeps on making Char laugh at the ball- this is from the book, remember! XD

Congrats to CATSfanatic, AliensRockMyWorld, and Wolfheart Dragonwing, who got it right!

Disclaimer: Hehe, haven't done this for ages, but you shud know that I don't own Ella or Char, though I really want Char…seriously, he's such a cool character…okays, maybe not cool…hmm…courteous and handsome, there.

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Chapter 13- Tidepool for the Second Night

Frell

"You owe me seven KJ's," Olive said to Hattie, who scowled at her.

"How many times did you dance with the Prince?" Hattie demanded. Olive thought for a second or two.

"Four times," she said finally. "And you said you would give me two KJ's every time the Prince danced with me."

Hattie smiled.

"Very well," she said. "I will give you your seven KJ's. You know, the Prince is simply enchanted with me. He only had to leave my side because he was forced to attend to the rest of his guests. Only his courtesy prevented from him spending the whole night by my side."

Dame Olga smiled, her much too white teeth gleaming with appreciation and sly pride for her daughter.

"Of course he would have been, my precious," she cooed airily.

"Well I saw the Prince stay with this other girl in the pretty green dress," Olive said loudly, and Hattie glowered at her.

"Stop talking nonsense, she snapped, "I didn't see the prince with any other lady for longer than he spent with me."

"He spent nearly half the nigh-" Olive began, but Dame Olga cut her off.

"Hush, stop talking lies, Olive." She smiled beautifully at Hattie, who seemed a little disgruntled. "Don't worry about Olive. The Prince loves you perfectly well, my dear."

"But of course," Hattie said, as if it were perfectly plain to see.

Char spent nearly the whole of the next day outdoors- in the morning, he strolled down on of his childhood rambles down in the gardens, enjoying himself immensely, though he couldn't help thinking how much more pleasant it would be if he had Ella by his side, chatting amiably together a they walked. Or even Arielle, Lela or his own dear mother- Char only wanted company.

Whilst rambling down the path among the large flowerbeds, Char noticed some pink rosebuds, which seemed exactly like the ones Lela had worn in her hair the night before. Char sincerely wished to see Lela's face. He wondered why she never took her mask off, even when the other guests did once they were inside for a spell. Perhaps she is hiding an infirmity, he thought, or maybe it's just because she thought it an amusing game to play. Maybe she is recognisable…

Char wondered if the latter were true, whom she would appear to be. Perhaps a notorious criminal? No, that would be much too risky a game for a criminal to play. Char thought that it was most likely an infirmative. Perhaps she possessed a scar down a cheek, or had a black eye. Never mind what it was, Char was glad that he had a few friends for company during the masquerade, which still had two nights left. He wished Ella would come, he was sure she must have received an invitation- they were sent to nearly everyone in Frell and even beyond to places like Ayortha and Bast. Maybe Ella wasn't there, though. No, she's not with Lucinda anymore, she's with Mandy, so she must have received the invitation. Surely she would have come? Perhaps she still hasn't forgiven me, and refuses to come?

He sighed, and turned back towards the castle. Instead of heading back up to his quarters, he left through the front door, walking out to the streets, down in the city. It was far, but not too far to walk- it must have taken around twenty minutes for Char to reach the city, He considered calling on Arielle and Katie for company, but in the end, decided not to disturb them with his presence. There weren't too many people in the city markets today, only a few people. Char didn't guess the reason for that, but it was, of course, that the majority of the villagers were preparing for the ball. Char didn't see why it had to take all day to prepare for a ball, but then, he was the Prince, not a commoner like most of the villagers in Frell.

He found it peaceful in the city, for once, and Char enjoyed the quietness and the emptiness of the streets, surrounded by little shops and stores, which sold a variety of things- fruit, dresses, trinkets and jewellery, as well as many other things, even a parchment shop, where many different types of parchment were sold, from ice-thin sheets to corrugated thick parchment to bordered, shaped, curled and muddied parchment in all sorts of colours like bronze, purple and pink, and even silver. Char found, however, that most of the shops were closed. The old lady who ran the fruit stall had told him why.

"Nobody's going to come here today," she croaked. "It's the second night of the ball, everyone's getting ready for that ball of yours, your highness. You won't see many people here for the next day or so."

Char looked surprised, but didn't comment. He headed back towards the castle. He put his hands in his pockets, and suddenly felt something cold and hard. Char pulled it out, and suddenly remembered. It was the jade bracelet that Ella had left behind last time she had come with Lucinda. Char frowned. The carvings on the bracelet were different today. When Char had first examined the bracelet, he had recalled that the jade stones were carvings of flowers and leaves of all shades of green. Now, they were all a clear translucent green, and seemed to be in bumpy and odd shapes, which strangely fitted together perfectly. He knew that it was the same bracelet, because it still had the same pale blue tie which strung the jade pieces all together in a tight circle. It proved that it was elven-made, then, Char thought. He put the bracelet carefully back into his pocket.

"Come on, dearie," Mandy said, pulling the tired, but perfectly alert and bright-eyed girl into the bathroom. Ella rubbed her eyes, and Mandy filled the bath, tossing in a few herbs and oils in the steaming water. Ella stepped into the bath, and sighed with pleasure as she blissfully sank into the warm water. Ella's usual washes were in the servants shower, where there were cement floors, and the water was never so hot, and often ran out of heat when too much water was used. Mandy helped scrub Ella clean again from her day of hard work of beautifying Hattie and Olive, as well as the usual housework. The water was a grey-brown colour when Ella was finished, the herbs lying dead; floating over the muddy water, and Ella was spotless and sparkling clean. She wore a pale pink and blue dress this time with a mauve-coloured thin over-layer.

Mandy brushed Ella's long wavy auburn hair till it gleamed, and when she was presentable enough, Ella called upon Lucinda again, who had agreed to help in any way she could. Lucinda arrived with a crack almost instantly when Ella had called her summons. This time, Lucinda magicked a beautiful necklace with a silver lily, matching earrings and hair band. Ella looked beautiful, in an innocent and natural way, and Mandy gave her the pale blue mask, this time the shape of a flat heart. Lucinda conjured up the carriages and horsemen, and Ella kissed both of them goodbye before she left, leaving the two fairies which were more like her mothers, watching as the carriage drove away out of sight.

When Ella left, Mandy glowered hotly at Lucinda, who have a shrug, and put on a pale orange mask. Mandy looked at her in surprise, to which Lucinda responded,

"I simply have to be at the place and time of excitement, my dear Mandy. Don't expect me not to go."

Mandy grunted, and muttered something, which Lucinda ignored. Instead of the pale blue robes Lucinda usually wore, she slipped into a pale orange robe, matching her mask. The colour deeply contrasted with her long raven-coloured hair, which was very swirly that night, and when she appeared in front of Mandy, Mandy looked astonished.

"Y- you look like you're going to a Halloween party," she said, staring, unaccustomed to the sudden orange, instead of the usual pale blue. Lucinda sniffed

"Last time I was recognised, so I decided to try a different colour. It is a masquerade after all, what's wrong with orange anyway?"

Mandy didn't reply, but continued to scrub the kitchen bench clean. Lucinda smiled.

"Well, tata for now, I'll be off now."

The second night of the ball was just as splendid as the first, with all the guests in breath-taking costumes. Char found it very amusing to observe his guests from a corner, whereas he really should have been welcoming them and making acquaintances. Char noticed specially a woman with long black hair, wearing orange robes. He frowned. She seemed familiar, but he couldn't place her anywhere. Char moved on to the next guest, who was coming towards him. Char smiled.

"Arielle," he greeted, pleased to have seen her. Arielle grinned. She was wearing a bright red dress and gold-coloured mask, with flat gold ribbon-tied slippers. Arielle pointed at herself, and Char grinned too.

"Nice dress," he said, and Arielle smiled brightly. "Very fiery."

"Agreed," Arielle said heartily. "You waiting for Lela?"

"Yes," Char said, and Arielle smiled dazzlingly.

"I'll keep an eye on her, don't worry," she said, and then left before Char could ask for a dance.

Arielle had her suspicions, and soon saw Lela, as she approached the castle steps to the ballroom entrance. She stopped her.

"Lela," she said, and the woman stopped, watching her, waiting for her to say something next.

"Or Ella, should I say," Arielle added. "I am right, aren't I?"

Silence. Then-

"Please don't tell Char. I just wanted to see him these few last times."

Arielle nodded sympathetically as Ella explained everything briefly to her.

"It's alright," she comforted the near trembling girl. "I'll help you."

Char noticed Lela almost as soon as she walked through the entrance door. Char made his way towards her, and when Lela saw, she smiled. Char glanced outside, and saw an orange carriage drive away.

"Your carriage is a strange colour," he remarked. Lela nodded, and said unblushingly,

"It's not strange in Bast," she said, and Char smiled, offering his hand, which she accepted.

It was Lela, whom Char had introduced to his parents, and though she was well liked; all of the royal family couldn't help thinking why she always wore her mask inside, never taking it off, almost refusing to take it off. A few maidens already had taken their masks off, but Lela kept hers firmly attached. They walked around the gardens for a while, and at first, they exchanged pleasantries, but then moved on to more interesting topics.

"You remind me of someone I know in Bast," Lela said abruptly. Char glanced at her in surprise. He paused.

"Y- you remind me of someone I know in Frell," he said softly, so softly that Lela could only just manage to hear him.

Is that person Ella? she thought, her heart pounding as she thought. You're not Ella, she reminded herself. Tonight and the night after that, you are Lela. Lela and Ella are two different people, two different girls.

"Really?" Lela raised an eyebrow. "Tell me about her."

Char hesitated, but then did tell her. After all, he hadn't lost her yet. He formed a genuine smile on his lips, as Lela waited for an answer. She was about to say, "It doesn't matter, you don't have to say," when he said,

"She's…beautiful, innocent, young, funny, and good. So good, a heart beyond description. She made me laugh, and she isn't afraid of making me angry or upset. She's helpful, cheering, and doesn't deserve the life she has, because so many people have wronged her so terribly. Including me," he whispered. Lela felt that Char was more talking to himself than to her. She listened, and a tear slid down a cheek. Lucky it was dark, and that she was wearing a mask, because Char didn't notice. Not that he would have noticed anyway. He seemed so pained, so lost, that her heart cried out for him. I'm Ella, it cried. I am she, I am right here!

She wanted to comfort him, to console him, to forgive him, which she'd already did, only she couldn't. Because in doing so, her own heart would break to pieces again, and she couldn't bear to have it broken then slowly and painfully mend again.

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"What about yours?" Char asked suddenly. "Will you tell me about the person I remind you of?"

"Oh!" Lela hesitated, then said,

"The same, Char, the same."

Quiz: How is Lela really Ella, but really isn't at the same time?

A sort of confusing quiz…but oh well. Can I ask you ALL a favour? Can you please, please, please review this chapter? I'm pleading you very beseechingly, seriously. I really want to know what you think of this story.

Also, if you have any inputs about whether this story should end in 5 chapters or not, please tell me, because otherwise my writing knack would just lead me to which ever one it is. If you tell me earlier, I might be able to fix…please, please review? Will that help?

Happy and Cheeringful Wishes from your writer who really is imploring you to review,

Evalia