*******this is ella telling her story! i don't want to put quotation marks everywhere*********

Just after Char proposed to me, he left to the castle to announce it at the ball. I went with him, but was shown my new room in the castle instead. I began wearing gowns and beautiful jewelry and having my hair glamorous.

I wasn't used to it and I tried to stop my maids from making me wear them, but they said it was the prince's orders.

In the middle of the night, I ran away, back to my father's manor. He wasn't there, of course, but I found my old friend, Berret there.

Berret and I have been friends since my friend Pamela moved away when I was younger. Pamela's mother was a servant and she was replaced with Berret's father.

I opened the door to the manor, knowing that no one lived there, and saw Berret sleeping on a rug in the ront hall.

I woke him up, and he pulled out a knife, not recognizing me in my gowns and jewelry.

"Berret," I said quietly as he held the knife to my throat. "It's Ella."

He dropped the knife and turned me around to face him. He stared into my eyes for a moment, then said, "It IS you!" and pulled me into a hug.