And here's the next chapter! Sorry it took so long, I'm in two AP classes and my teachers are obsessed with big projects and lots of homework. And I have Algebra homework almost every day, so often I'm working from about 4 o'clock until 8 or 9. I'm really sorry that it takes me so long to update. And, on top of that, the story that I've been wanting to update isn't this one, it's my HP fic. So I've been kind of prejudice in which stories to update. I'm sorry! Anywayz, I have spring break this week, and hopefully I'll be able to update at least one more time on each of my three stories.

I've been getting such wonderful reviews, and I feel guilty for not updating sooner. Thank you to all who reviewed! This chapter is for all of you, but it's especially for Midnight Diamond, who just happens to be my very best friend. Right now, I'm typing this on a laptop with no internet connection, so she's the only person who's name I actually remember on recent reviews, so she's the only person I can do a shout-out to right now.

Midnight Diamond, thank you for all of your support. I really appreciate it, you're always encouraging me and helping me along. Hmmm, I wonder who Lenora reminds you of? *pretends to be confused* Tell me anyway, just in case I'm wrong.

I just now decided to change Lenora's sister's name to Catherine. It's easier to spell and pronounce and everything, and I like Catherine better. I'm not going to go back and change everything, at least not for a while, all that is different is that her name is now Catherine. I didn't change anything in the previous chapters.

Enough babbling! Now for the story! Wow, just my little intro is 319 words. I'll quit talking and give you the story now, ok?

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Ella and Lenora didn't enter the castle through the back doors. Instead, they creeped inside through the kitchen door, giggling and shushing each other. Mandy looked up from the dishes she was working on and dried her hands on the apron tied around her waist.

"You two aren't too conspicuous," Mandy said, walking over and looking with curiosity at the basket. "What are you hiding in there? You didn't have that when you left."

"We can't hide anything from you, Mandy," Ella sighed exaggeratedly.

"That's right, Lady, you can't," Mandy said, acting as if she was going to grab the basket away from Ella. "Tell me, I want to know. And are the things I sent you to get in there?"

Lenora laughed. The sight of Mandy, good old Mandy with her double chins, pretending to fight with Ella over the contents of a basket was just too much to bear.

"All right, we'll tell you," Ella said, giving in and letting Mandy take the basket. "It's a surprise for Catherine. And yes, they are."

Mandy removed her items from the basket and returned it to Ella, then turned back to the dishes. "Thank you, Lady," she said.

Ella and Lenora knew when they had been dismissed. So, they linked arms and skipped out of the kitchen, singing a silly little song about having been dismissed. It went something like,

"Yes, oh, yes, we've been dismissed, Out of Mandy's kitchen Yes, oh, yes, we've been dismissed. She needs us for nothing else. Yes, oh, yes, we've been dismissed. We know when we're not wanted Yes, oh, yes, we've been dismissed. No longer will we hang around, Yes, oh, yes, we've been dismissed."

It was a stupid song with no real melody. They made it up as they went along, they alternated lines to make up and then sing, and singing "Yes, oh, yes, we've been dismissed" together loudly. They knew it was stupid, and that was what made it so much fun to sing.

They put the basket in Lenora's room, then together they skipped to the throne room, where Char was listening to the complaints of people and trying to solve them. Some people had to be sent away to return the next day, so that he would have time to think about the best solution to their problems.

Ella and Lenora slipped quietly inside the throne room, still with arms linked, then walked around to the back of Char's throne and stood together, nodding solemnly at each of his decisions.

"Remind me again why we stand here and nod?" Lenora whispered to her mother.

"We stand here, or sometimes sit next to him, and nod, because it shows that we support his decisions and support him. Also, it lends him an air of majesty and makes people more willing to talk to him because he has a family," Ella whispered back solemnly, nodding at the crowd in the room as Char solved another problem.

Lenora nodded and whispered, "Okay," and tried to be quiet and somber and support her father. She glanced at her mother, which may have been a mistake. They simultaneously burst out giggling, and caused the farmer who was complaining about his neighbor who, apparently, had no respect for his cabbages to stop and frown at them.

"I assure you, it isn't really funny," the farmer tried to explain.

"Oh," Ella said. "I'm sorry, my daughter said something funny to me. I wasn't laughing at you. Please continue."

The farmer blinked at her, then shook his head slightly and continued his story as instructed.

Lenora kept noticing funny things and giggling about them until her father asked the farmer to pause in his story. Char turned around and looked at Lenora.

"Lenora," he hissed. "I am trying to help this man, and you are not taking anything seriously and you are disrupting the entire court. If you cannot be silent and take things seriously, please leave." He turned around again and begged the man to continue, appologizing for the interruption.

Lenora quietly left, ducking under some curtains behind the throne. There was a door concealed by the curtains, a servants' door. It led to the passages through the castle used mainly by servants. There were tears threatening to fill her eyes because of her father's sharp rebuke, but she pushed them back, savagely reminding herself that it was her own fault and therefore she shouldn't cry.

She quickly made her way up to her room. She often used the servants' passages, they were much more direct and easy to navigate than the others. She didn't throw herself on her bed this time, instead she carefully sat on it. She picked up the pillow and sobbed into it, holding it up to her face rather than lying on top of it. She was soon done crying, and was careful to set the pillow down so that the side wet with tears was facing down.

Lenora stood and walked over her vanity, which had a chair that she sat on. She examined her eyes in the mirror. They were only a little red, luckily, and that would soon pass.

She toyed with the charm bracelet that she had been given at birth. She loved the story, how it had fitted her perfectly when she was born, how it had been given to her by the fairy Lucinda, and how their were only three charms at the time, a pony, a feather, and a box. It still fit perfectly around her wrist. It was not that she hadn't grown, she had, the bracelet had simply grown with her. It had more charms now, too. It now had nine charms. Every year or two, Lucinda arrived and presented her with a new charm. As well as the pony, feather, and box, there were now a little bag, a dog, a mouse, a tiny blanket, a pillow, and a dress. All were made out of gold, and the little dog and mouse had tiny sapphire eyes.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Lenora called, hurriedly wiping her eyes on her sleeve.

The door opened and someone came in and shut the door behind them. Lenora turned around and jumped up, running to throw her arms around the person, shrieking, "Lucinda!"

The person was, in fact, the fairy Lucinda. She hugged Lenora tightly, then stepped back a little to look at her.

"Lenora," Lucinda said warmly. "You look so grown up. How old are you now?"

"Fifteen," Lenora said. "I was just thinking about you. How are you doing?"

"Isn't that funny? Well, I'm fine, but," Lucinda looked closely at Lenora. "are you all right? You look like you've been crying."

"Well, I have," Lenora confessed. "I'm having a good-bad day, and I don't know what to think about it." When Lucinda seemed confused, she explained, starting with getting scolded for the horses, then about going shopping with her mother, and finally getting scolded again for laughing when her father was trying to help the farmer with his cabbage problem. "So he made me leave the Court," she finished, eyes threatening to fill with tears again. "Then I came back in here. I don't know what to think about today."

Lucinda nodded and looked sympathetic. "Show me the surprise you got for Catherine," she urged, trying to change the subject.

Lenora jumped over the her bed where the basket was resting. She carefully pulled the beautiful, soft shawl off the top and removed the brown paper package. Unwrapping it, she set the brown paper on her bed and painstakingly unfolded the dress within it. Someone who was very clever with dye had died the bottom red, and it faded to pure white up at the top. The dress had long, flowing sleeves and a scoop neck. The bodice was tight and the skirt long and full. It was beautiful, just right for Catherine's coloring.

Lucinda drew in her breath sharply and carefully touched the dress. "It's so pretty," she murmured. "And it's just right for Catherine, too."

"That's what Mother and I thought," Lenora said proudly. She folded it carefully again and laid it on the bed.

"I have something for you," Lucinda said. "Another charm, for your bracelet, and I think that you're old enough now for me to explain how it works."

"Another charm?" Lenora asked excitedly. Then the other thing Lucinda had said sank in. "What do you mean, how it works? It's just a bracelet, isn't it?"

Lucinda chuckled. "Yes, another charm. And no, it's not just a bracelet. It's fairy made, so it has magical properties," she explained. "First, the charm." Lucinda handed Lenora a tiny flame charm, which Lenora squealed over and attatched to her bracelet lovingly. "Now, I will try to explain what each charm will do. The pony, will, of course, change into a real horse, which you can ride or use to carry things. The feather will prevent you from falling and allow you to fly for a short time. The box, well, it's like the box I gave your mother and father on their wedding day. It will hold whatever it is called upon to hold. The bag will always have coins in it. The dog turns into a real dog, obviously. The mouse will become a real mouse. The blanket will turn into a large blanket. The pillow turns into a real feather pillow. The dress will become a dress, should you ever need a change of clothing. The flame will become a fire that can't be put out with water and won't spread from the place you put it. To use them, you have to say the name of the charm and "I have need of you." To put them away, say the name of the charm and "I thank you for your help." They will turn into the things I have described and back into charms, but only if you use those exact words. Try one now, to practice," Lucinda instructed, watching Lenora.

Lenora studied the charm bracelet and said, "Blanket, I have need of you." The charm seemed to morph into a large, woolen blanket. Lenora looked almost surprised. Then she said, "Blanket, I thank you for your help." The blanket morphed back into the golden charm. It shone innocently. Lenora threw her arms around Lucinda again. "Thank you, thank you! That's the best present I have ever received!" she cried.

Lucinda looked rather pleased with herself.

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That is all for this chapter. I would write more, but my shoulder hurts from the weird position I am forced to type in. I type all of my stories on a laptop in my room, but the laptop sits on a shelf that's only about 2 and a half feet tall, and I don't have a chair to sit on, so I sit on a yellow ball. It's made of really sturdy plastic, and is supposed to be able to support up to 600 pounds. I like it, but it puts me at a weird angle for typing. This should be up on Saturday, but I really have to stop typing now because my shoulder hurts. Please review even though I won't be able to read your reviews for a while! Reviews really make my day, I love them. TTFN, Ta-Ta For Now!!!