Disclaimer: Characters and places that you recognize from Ella Enchanted are Gail Carson Levine's. The rest are mine!
Prologue
She ran down the field, laughing as her dark hair streamed behind her. The sun shone down, making her eyes sparkle brighter than usual, the mirth apparent in the chocolatey depths.
"Caelys! Where do you plan to run to?" A boy raced after her, both exasperation and amusement in his voice.
Caelys' only answer was another laugh, and she halted to turn around and watch as Vance ran towards her down the rows of corn, the stalks golden and calmly waving in the breeze. She turned and began to run again, loving the wind blowing against her cheeks.
"Cael!"
"What? Too fast for you, Vance?" The girl teased. "I bet you can't catch me!"
Vance speeded up. "Oh really? I bet I can!"
Caelys quickened her steps also, turning at the corner of the plot of corn and proceeding to run down the row, curls of hair flying around her face. She reached the end and turned, and ran right into Vance who had run down the neighboring row.
The two leaned against one another for a moment, breathless from the game. Vance's nose touched the tip of Caelys' lightly freckled one.
"I caught you." He smiled, his hand reaching down to clasp hers tightly.
Caelys smiled back. "Only by a touch of luck." She wrinkled her nose. "Scratch that. A large collision of luck."
"Luck! Ha!" Vance puffed out his chest. "Only the weak and helpless need luck."
"I guess that means you need a lot—"
Caelys broke off as Vance kissed her suddenly on the lips, her soft ones cushioning against his and causing Caelys' stomach to take a deep dive to the bottom of her toes.
Vance smiled against her lips. "So was that luck?"
Caelys nodded. "That was so luck."
They leaned against one another, Vance's hands each grasping one of Caelys'.
"So tell me, Cael, why do you always run like that?"
Caelys looked up at Vance. "You already know."
"Tell me again."
"The feeling. It's like you're flying, soaring… Maybe if I run fast enough one day, the wind will carry me up—"
"But then I'd have to go up and catch you—"
"I'd take you with me." Caelys looked at his boyish smile, before letting her gaze go to his hair.
Vance's hair was in disarray. The wind had blown his already messy blonde curls into something indescribable and utterly unique.
Caelys pointed at it and watched laughing as he attempted to sort them out, a hopeless task for even a whole band of barbers.
"It looks like Kitser's furball." Caelys' cat was notorious in the small village of Rochelle for the numerous furballs it bestowed people with daily.
"Thank you." Vance gave an exaggerated scowl. "I have always thought, however, that fur hats were quite fashionable."
Caelys rolled her eyes. "Not on your head."
A/N: Hope you guys liked that! (especially you annie:) ) Caelys is pronounced "Kyle-lis" and Cael is pronounced "Ky-el".
