A/N: Lady Emma, Sour Jelly Beans and Adreena Nightingale, thank you so much for your reviews!!!!!
If I miss anything from the book, or if anyone seems out of character, please let me know! Thank you very much again!
Disclaimer: Don't own anything from the book Ella Enchanted.
Chapter Two:
We reached the nearest town, Blast, by nightfall and stopped at an inn for the night. Madame insisted that I act as her lady-in-waiting, so I was allowed to help her inside. I'm not sure if I was that much better off than the servants who had to sleep inside the carriage house. The pile of trunks Madame had me carry in were so heavy that I almost collapsed under the weight. And it is no wonder they were so heavy. While I was unpacking I discovered Madame's extensive jewelry collection hidden inside dozens of secret compartments. Which, to tell the truth, were not so secret at all. I found them when I had just begun pulling Madame's dresses out of the trunks and hanging them in the closet. I had barely started before Madame rushed in and quickly shooed me out to do the job herself.
I wandered down to Eleanor's room, reasoning that she wouldn't mind my help since she didn't care for jewelry and expensive things like Madame. But her door was locked shut. From the sound of it, Eleanor was too busy quietly sobbing over her Peter to worry about trivial things such as unpacking. So instead I headed down to the kitchens where there was always work to be done.
Or at least I fully intended to get down to the kitchens.
I followed one of the inn's maids to the servant's stairway and had just opened the door when I collided with someone coming down from the third story rooms.
"Oh...excuse me...I didn't see you...terribly sorry," I stuttered, involuntarily stepping backward in an attempt to get out of the person's path. Unfortunately for me, the steps went down behind me and so I was left with nothing but air to stand on. Naturally, I fell, pulling the door closed and the poor servant with me. We tumbled down the flight of stairs until the other, who I now realized was a boy, hit the wall and I collapsed on top of him. Before I realized what had happened, the boy pushed me off him and onto the stairs. Regaining his dignity, the boy stood up tall and straight. His shoulders were thrown back and head held up high.
"You will tell no one about this," He commanded in a haughty voice, looking down on me disdainfully.
"No one," I muttered, nodding dumbly. I stared up at him in a sort of shock, without really seeing him. Then he was gone, leaving the door to the stairwell open.
I don't know how long I sat there. Thankfully no one decided to come up or down the stairs and so I was not seen in my surprised, and rather hurt, state. My right arm was terribly bruised from hitting it against the stair railing. And my left leg had gotten a rather large scrape from the knee to halfway down my calf.
It hurt something awful.
By the time the pain had ebbed slightly, I had decided that Madame was probably finished unpacking. So I limped back up the stairs, favoring my right leg.
"What happened to you?" Eleanor asked, raising an eyebrow as I passed her in the hallway. I grimaced at her as an answer and knocked softly on Madame's door.
"Daria, where have you been?" She exclaimed, pulling me into the room by my dress collar. Wincing, I suppressed a yelp of pain as I stuck my left leg out to keep from falling.
"As you surely know, the King and Queen are on their way back to Frell after a long visit in Ayuortha. They are stopping to rest at this inn. The Royal Family is to dine with us and I must look my best," She informed me.
"Of course, Milady," I answered quietly, "Which dress would you choose to wear tonight? If I may...I would suggest the midnight blue. It would compliment your dark hair, Lady, and it is not so fancy that it would outdo anything the Queen might wear."
"Yes, yes," Madame said, half heartedly considering what I had just said.
"The midnight blue gown, Daria," She said after a moment of thought, "That is what I shall wear to dinner."
"Yes, Milady," I said and swept a curtsy before going to the closet to pull out the deep blue dress. Taking it back to Madame, I waited until her usual lady-in-waiting, Olga, had finished lacing the corset. Then the two of us slipped the royal blue satin over Madame's head and patted the train and long, trailing sleeves in place.
"It looks beautiful on you, Lady," Olga said, leading Madame over to the dressing table. Leaving the makeup and hair to Olga, I slipped quietly out of Madame's room and into Eleanor's to help her.
"Eleanor!" I cried upon entering the room, "Have you not even begun to get ready yet?"
Eleanor sat on her bed in her underclothes, her head held in her hands. Her shoulders were shaking from repressed sobs.
"Daria, what shall I do! I promised Peter I would meet him tonight!" Eleanor moaned, looking up at me, "But if I don't show up at dinner..." A fresh wave of tears came over Eleanor and she put her head down again, weeping. I looked at Eleanor's distraught form and couldn't help but pity her. But what could we do? To miss a dinner with the Royal Family...why...it was simply not done.
Wiping her face with a blanket, Eleanor looked up at me again, almost pleadingly.
"This will be our last time together," She said softly.
I knew she expected me to think of a plan that would allow her to see Peter and attend the dinner.
"I'm sorry," I whispered, looking down at my feet. Tears sprang to my own eyes.
Suddenly she jumped up and grabbed my arms, "You can take my place," she said. I could hear desperation and urgency in her voice.
"Lady, its only one night, surely you could meet him again..." I said, squirming in her firm grasp on my arms.
"Exactly!" She cried in excitement, all worry gone from her face, "No one will ever know,"
"Yes, no one will ever..." I trailed off in bewilderment, "Know...what...Milady?"
"That you're not me!" Eleanor exclaimed, as if this was obvious.
"Not you?" I asked, disbelieving what I was hearing, "You are not seriously considering to...to..."
"Of course! We look so much alike anyway."
It was true. We could have been sisters. If I wasn't a servant, that is.
"Put this on" She shoved an emerald gown into my hands and went to the vanity to unpin her hair.
"No..." I said, laying it onto the bed, "My eyes are not green like yours. This dress would draw attention to them. I'll wear the white one."
Eleanor beamed at me from across the room.
"I knew I could count on you, Daria," She said.
"I'm not to be blamed when Madame finds out," I countered.
"She wont," Eleanor replied. I pulled off my servants garb and tossed it at her. She slipped into it, tying the apron tightly around her slim waist. I stepped into the white gown and fastened it in the back. Walking over to where Eleanor stood, I gathered her hair up into a scarf, leaving a few tendrils to hang in front of her face.
She swatted my hands away.
"Sit," she commanded, pointing to a chair. And I sat. Eleanor began to expertly arrange the top part of my hair so that it was held back, away from my face.
"There," she said, pronouncing me finished. She pulled me to my feet and walked me over to the floor length mirror. "Now go! Before you are late!"
I had barely time to nod at her before she pushed me out the door and into the hallway. I lifted the full skirts of my gown and twirled; whatever pain left in my limbs was gone. Oh how lovely it felt to wear a dress like this. I smiled to myself, sashaying down the hall. Closing my eyes, I could still see how I had looked in that mirror.
Like a princess.
Like Eleanor.
So this was what it felt like to be a rich noble's daughter. Needless to say, I was already enjoying it. Reaching the end of the hall, I picked up my skirts and floated down the first flight of stairs. When I reached the landing and turned to face the dinning room, whatever confidence I had in the hall disappeared entirely. It took me a moment to realize that the entire room was silent, their eyes on me. Forcing a pleasant smile on my face, I descended the last few steps. As soon as my foot touched the floor, Madame was upon me, glaring.
"Where have you been?" Madame hissed quietly so that the others could not hear.
I looked up at her, speechless. Madame snorted in disgust and took my hand. She pulled me towards the center of the dining room; directly to the Royal Family's table.
"This is my darling daughter," Madame announced, smiling at the King and Queen, "Eleanor." I smiled again and swept a small curtsey. Sitting down next to Madame, I chanced a glance at Eleanor's father. He was looking at me curiously, but said nothing. Relieved that my disguise had not been discovered, I was able to relax.
"Eleanor," Madame said again, "This is Prince Jerrold. I know you have been anxiously awaiting your chance to meet him." I opened my mouth to say that the real Eleanor would not have cared at all for some prince, thought better of it, and instead said, "It is a pleasure to meet you, your highness." I nodded at him, gracefully. Everything was going well. But I recognized the Prince from somewhere. Where had I seen that vague, arrogant expression before?
"The pleasure is all mine," The Prince Jerrold said calmly, giving me a smile that did not reach his eyes.
It was all I could do to keep my mouth from hanging open in shock.
Prince Jerrold, the Prince, was the boy I had run into on the stairs. I'd recognize that haughty voice anywhere. Did he recognize me? Suddenly I was on my nerves all over again.
Now that I got a good look at him I could tell that he was not a young boy. Probably around sixteen or seventeen, only a year older than I was. He was quite handsome as well, with dark hair and a strong jaw. The King and Queen went back to their original conversation with Madame, leaving Jerrold and I alone.
"How have you faired so far on your trip to Frell?" He asked kindly.
"Very well, but we have not gotten very far yet. I am, however, quite tired of bumping around in a carriage," I replied, hoping Eleanor saw it that way. His eyebrows rose in surprise. I could tell he was trying to keep from laughing out loud.
"Usually ladies do not complain about carriages to their Prince," He commented.
I could feel my face turn a faint shade of red. Cursing myself for saying the wrong thing, I attempting to make light of it,
"When you find yourself riding in a carriage all day, you really can't think about much else," I said, forcing a giggle.
"Except getting out of it," he added.
"Exactly," I said. This time I didn't need to force a laugh.
Dinner passed by quick enough and without any problems. Jerrold and I talked of trivial things. After we finished our conversation on carriages we moved onto topics such as court matters and social events. I knew very little about either, so I listened mostly while he talked. When everyone was getting up from the table, Jerrold walked swiftly around to my side and took my hand.
"Come outside with me," He said in a softer, commanding tone. I nodded and followed him as he pulled me towards the back door. The King and Queen looked on approvingly along with Madame. Eleanor's father, however, looked as if he was about to stop us from leaving. But the prospect of going against a Prince's orders kept him back.
"You are the girl I ran into in the stairwell, are you not?" He asked, the dark night hiding his expression.
I sucked in my breath. I was to be found out!
"I can explain!" I blurted out, panic rising in my voice.
"No need, no need!" the prince said, laughing. It was a kind, caring laugh. Not the haughty laugh he had used at dinner. The moonlight shone on his face and I could see he was laughing with his eyes as well. He began to stroll down the narrow path through the garden.
"I understand completely," he added. Perhaps he hadn't figured it out.
"You...do?" I asked carefully, trying to catch up with him without tripping over my skirts. How was it that Eleanor managed these gowns.
"Yes," He said, sighing, "I know how it feels to be constantly fretted over and watched. I was hiding from my dearest parents as well. Although they mean well, sometimes I just want to get outside and go riding, instead of meeting some dreadfully boring court flower at dinner."
It took me a minute to realize that I was the boring courtier.
"Not to say, that my assumptions about you turned out to be correct," He amended, recognizing his mistake, "Quite the opposite actually. Perhaps I should send all my courtiers out to live in the country."
"They wouldn't survive a week," I said seriously, imagining Madame working on the fields around our house. He laughed again, louder this time.
"You'll love Frell," he said, "I will take you to my home. We have dozens of secret passageways that are rather fun to explore. That's how I spend my days when I'm not off training to become the future monarch."
"So you don't enjoy the...training?" I asked.
"It bores me considerably," he confessed, "I'd rather be off hunting ogres than learning political intrigue."
I laughed, "You should come to the country. The only court intrigue is the love triangles and competitions the servants get into."
"Is it true every one of your serving girls is in love with that manservant?" he asked, laughing along with me.
"Almost true, the one maid he's taken fancy to absolutely hates him," I told the Prince, "How did you find out about the servant?"
"I met the lad myself while sneaking out of the inn. He's rather arrogant isn't he?"
"Quite," I said laughing. I left out the fact that I had thought the Prince was just as arrogant when I first met him. Now I was not so sure.
"Promise me one thing," the Prince started.
"Yes?"
"When you come to the city of Frell, don't change. Trust me; you don't want to be like those courtly ladies. They're insufferable bores."
"I'm afraid, my Prince, that I cannot promise not to change. What if I grow a few inches over the years?" I said jokingly, trying to dance around the question.
"Call me Jerrold," he replied. He stopped and turned to face me, taking my hand in his.
"W..what?" I stuttered, unsure of what to say.
"None of my friends bother with titles. Just call my by my name,"
"Yes, My prince," I said quietly. "Jerrold," I corrected.
"Eleanor," He said, smiling down at me.
Eleanor.
Eleanor.
Oh Eleanor! What was I doing...I had forgotten my place. I couldn't call the Prince by his name. I'm a servant; a servant acting above their station. Oh Eleanor!
"I must go," I said quickly, pulling away from him.
"Eleanor, what's wrong? I can call you that...can't I?" he asked, worry in his voice.
"Yes," I said, "No...oh...I must go. I'm sorry..." I fled the garden and back into the warm, welcoming dining room. Thankfully everyone had already gone up to their rooms, so only an old woman tending the fire was there to see my distressed state. I tore up the stairs, as silently as I could. Pulling open the door I crept into Eleanor's room. It was completely dark. I felt my way around for a candle.
Knowing there was one by Eleanor's bed I made my way over there.
"Daria?" a voice said softly.
"Eleanor!" I breathed in relief. My hands found the candle and matches and I lit it. Bending over the fireplace, I started up a small fire there as well. The room glowed with a warm light.
"Oh Daria, the night was magical!" Eleanor said dreamily, getting up from her bed where she had been hidden.
"We spent only a short time talking. And then glorious music began to play. I dare say it was the fairies!" she continued, "Peter took my hand in his and pulled me close. Slipping his other hand around my waist, he began to lead me in a waltz." Eleanor began to dance with herself around the room, humming a tune I had never heard before. An enchanting, haunting sound that first made me shudder. But as I listened I soon found myself humming along with her.
Shaking myself free of the song, I placed a hand on Eleanor's shoulder, "My lady I should tell you," I started to say.
"Tell me what? I already know how handsome, amazing, kind Peter is," Eleanor said, shrugging off my hand and continued twirling.
"My lady it is not about Peter," I whispered urgency in my voice. I had to tell her what happened.
"Then what else could it be about?" She said, her head still in caught in some fantasy.
"My lady!" I cried louder. I strode towards her and grabbed hold of her arms, pulling her down to the floor.
"My lady," I whispered again, "My lady...the Prince is in love with you."