DISCLAIMER: If I owned Ella Enchanted, then I would be rich! (Cackle) But, sadly, no.

ABBY'S NOTE: Feel free to yell at me or berate me. I deserve all accusations of laziness and sloth, since I have not written a chapter in almost four months. If you would like to throw tomatoes or other such squashy vegetables at me, I totally understand. I have an excuse, though you will most likely find it unsatisfactory, since it has nothing to do with me writing this chapter. I have been working on a new concept for me. I was inspired by "Finding Neverland." Johnny Depp, possibly the hottest actor ever, tells Peter that he should try to write a play because it was different from other kinds of writing. Well, I thought that that was a good idea. So, I have started to write a play called "Bound" about a character that is a lot like me. Maybe I will post it on my homepage or something so that y'all can edit it for me. That would be great!

But anyway, thank you all for bearing with me. I appreciate your patience. Here are your reviewer point opportunities, and I hope that you enjoy the chapter!

Poll of the Chapter:

If you were a Disney Princess, which one would you be?

Riddle of the Chapter:

Unscramble this sentence: I eikl to aekm my now acerssv hitw giiknntt deeelns.

Chapter 10

"I told you that if you believed, he would come."

It was the girl from the cell that had given them food... It was...

"Yes, it is me... Princess Cecilia."

But it didn't look like her. Ella could swear that Cecilia had looked a lot younger the last time that she had seen her. In the picture in her magic book, her face had been turned away from Ella. Now, looking at her love's little sister, she couldn't believe that the girl was younger than she was.

"Princess Cecilia!" Ella dropped to her knees in fealty to the daughter of the king. "I-- I didn't know that it was you!"

"Ella, stop this!" Cecilia grabbed Ella underneath the elbow and dragged her back up to a standing position. "Just because you are of a lower class and not as good as me, doesn't mean you have to get yourself dirtier than you already are."

"I really should explain a few things to you about what I did... You see... Well, I... It's hard to explain. Umm..." Ella trailed off. She wasn't exactly able to just come out and say that she had treated Prince Charmont like dirt because she loved him. That was a bit difficult.

Cecilia looked at Ella. "We will talk about this later, alright? Right now, we need to get as far away from here as possible. Those villagers want your head, and they will not hesitate to follow us in order to get it. Come now."

Cecilia turned to go, and Ella had to follow her, but she talked as she did so.

"Wait just a moment, Your Highness," she said. "Where did that horse that Gin rode up on come from? How did you know that he was coming? When did you get here, and why haven't their Majesties found you yet? How are we going to get away from here with so many people? We don't have that many horses, do we?"

Cecilia stopped and turned around so quickly that Ella ran right into her. "You are so full of questions, aren't you? But that is all right. I shall answer them later, as I said. As for the horses, you are right. However, I was able to... Let's say "commandeer" a few carriages from the townspeople. That is one of the reasons why they were so angry with you."

"I see. That makes quite a bit of sense."

And as Ella said this, they turned the corner to see five huge carriages and about twelve horses in the clearing. Many of the slaves that had been set free were now getting the stagecoaches ready. As soon as she saw Ella and the Princess, Marian came up to give them an update on what was happening.

"The carriages are almost ready, Your Highness," pronounced Marian, as she dropped a curtsy to the Princess. "We will be able to fit all of us into them, except for two, who will have to ride the other horses."

"Very good, Marian. I thank you for your service to the crown."

Marian bobbed another curtsy before returning to what she was doing. Very soon after, the party was on its way. Cecilia appointed Gin and Ella as the line leaders, so they rode the extra horses instead of riding in a carriage.

As the group progressed along a disused country road, Ella looked about. The freedom that she had earned from her oppressive stepfamily had not lasted very long. How long would this freedom from slavery last? Ella decided that this was not the time to worry about such things, so she turned to examine her surroundings instead.

The trees were greener here, and there were quite a few kinds of vegetation that she had never seen before. Light sparkled through the trees, and Ella couldn't help but remember her "Cinder Promenade" from her captivity. So much had changed since then, even though there had been so little time between that point and this travel.

She couldn't imagine why she was being graced with the luck of the ages as she rode through the woods, brambles catching at her horse's feet every once in a while. Normal people would not have been sold into slavery, only to escape it through the workings of the Princess only a short time later.

And now that she thought about it, there was something strange about the Princess. She knew that Ella had broken Char's heart, and, yet, she did not hate Ella. In fact, she seemed to like her. It was also confusing that the Princess had yet to mention her brother throughout the whole trip, though she often poked her head out of the leading carriage to ask about her well being. Wouldn't somebody that had run away from home in order to find her brother ask everyone that had once known him whether or not he or she had seen Char?

It seemed so strange to think that Cecilia might not care what had happened to her brother. That couldn't be so! She must know about his whereabouts, or have a good idea of where to look, right? Maybe she had come to terms with his death? That had to be the worst situation that Ella could imagine. If that was indeed the reason why Cecilia wasn't desperate in her search for Char, then Ella had no hope.

It did not matter that there was no chance that she would ever have a life with him. Ella did not care that she would probably be shunned by him if he ever saw her again. As long as he was alive, none of that would matter!

Every once in a while during their journey through the woods, Gin would strike up a conversation. Ella was pleased whenever he did this, since it seemed to take her mind off Char's probable death. They talked about the way that the road winded this way and that, how the sun filtered through the trees, and how nice the day was.

Not once did they talk about their pasts or that he had saved her from certain death. Ella didn't even thank him, she was so wound up in her thoughts about her Prince Char.

Gin didn't push too hard, even though he wanted to. He wanted her to know that he was glad that she was alive. He wasn't even angry that she hadn't thanked him. He was just happy that she hadn't broken her neck when the villagers had tried to hang her. She was different from the way that he had remembered her, but he couldn't change that.

They finally stopped when the sun reached its lowest point in the sky before dipping below the horizon. The group was lucky to find a river nearby, and that was where they set up camp.

Princess Cecilia had brought a huge tent for herself. She was the only one that had such shelter, but she didn't seem to notice. After a fire had been started, and food parceled out, she called Ella into her tent.

When Ella entered, Cecilia motioned for her to sit down.

"Where did you get all of this?" Ella asked, after noticing the pile of pillows and a beautifully embroidered blanket. "Surely you did not steal these from the Cralitch, as well?"

"Of course not. I brought these with me from home. Just because I left the palace doesn't mean that I can't bring a few of its conveniences with me. But that isn't the point, now is it?" Cecilia sat herself upon an extravagantly decorated pillow next to Ella's. "You had questions for me earlier. Now, I will try to answer them."

Cecilia settled deeper into the pillow as she began her story.

"As you probably already know by now, I ran away from home in order to find my brother, Prince Charmont. We were told that he was killed by ogres and that all that was left of him was a bloody cloak. I could not believe it. The shock of the whole think put me off for a few days, but once I got myself under control, I knew that I had to find him.

"So, I gathered a few provisions, told the servants not to tell my parents that I had left until the next day, and set out. I went to Ayortha first, thinking that I could find his trail from there, since that is where he was supposedly killed. Well, I was right to start there.

"It seems that the ogres that had apparently eaten him were now camped not too far from where I was. I was given their exact location by a man who was smitten with me."

Cecilia suddenly seemed pleased with herself.

"I used my girlish charms to convince him and his comrades to bring me to the ogres. Together, we managed to capture them all. We unfortunately lost a few men, but that couldn't be helped. I interrogated the head of the clan. He claimed that he had never eaten the Prince, but how can you trust an ogre? I sure didn't, especially when he said that in the singsong voice of the evil beasts. So, I figured out a way to be sure about whether or not they had eaten my brother."

She leaned forward, conspiratorially.

"You know that ogres digest things very slowly, right? Well, if they had eaten my brother, he would still be in one of their stomachs. I won't go into any details, but we soon discovered that he wasn't. Sure, we found one or two other people, but they were of no consequence to me.

"So, I continued on my trek with the remaining farm boys in tow. They were good men until they were killed."

Cecilia sighed. She didn't look too sorry. Ella began liking her less and less. There was little reason to have liked her in the first place, except that she was the Princess and Char's sister.

"Well, to make a long story short, I found Char. He was alive but in a horrible condition. I saw you talking with him, so I knew that I could trust you. That girl Tempest was a possible confidante, but she is too much of a dirty wench. I don't know what your history is, but... you seem to be of a more refined nature."

Ella looked up. "What do you mean? Of course you know what my history is."

"Why would I, silly girl? No matter. I suppose that you would like to know which one of your little friends is the true Prince? Well, you don't have to wait any longer."

Ella just stared at her.

"He's alive?"

"Of course! Would I have wasted all of this time on you if you didn't know him?" Cecilia sneered. "I wasn't positive that I had found him, at first, mind you. But I was able to convince the villagers that hanging you would be an excellent idea. If he came to save you, like I thought he would, then he was definitely the Prince."

"So you're saying that Gin is Char?" Ella was happy and surprised at the same moment. Then, however, her mind switched back to what Cecilia had said. "Wait just a minute. Did I just hear you say that you convinced the villagers to hang me? What if Gin, I mean Char, hadn't come to save me?"

"That was a risk that I was willing to take."

"But--"

"Let's not waste any more time on this squabble. I expect that you will want to pay your respects to your Prince?"

And before Ella could say anything, Gin/Char walked in to the tent.

He looked different from the Gin that she had known for the past couple of weeks. He did look more like Char, since he had cleaned up, but he looked... weathered. Older.

"Char? Is it really you? Are you sure that you aren't Gin?"

He stood stiffly away from her. He seemed to not actually want anything to do with her.

"Yes," he said. "It really is me, Ella. Perhaps, though, you would be so kind as to call me Prince Charmont, as that is my name."

"But, Char--"

He looked at her sharply. "Do you not obey an order from your future king? I am pleased that you are still alive after the debacle at the village, but perhaps you took my rescue of you in the wrong way. I have only known you for a few weeks, and that does not facilitate the familiarity that you are so keen on expressing."

Ella was horrified. What was going on? She had known Char for a lot longer than a couple of weeks!

"Now, I would ask you to leave," he continued, without looking at Ella. "I cannot be in the presence of the lower class before I start to be irritated. I am allergic to you all."

Ella stood up. Her confusion had passed and was now replaced by unbound fury. "Excuse me, Your 'Highness'," she spat at him in her most sarcastic manner. "I was not aware that we were such a burden on you. One day, perhaps, you will realize your mistakes in thinking badly about us 'lower class' people."

And with that, she stormed out of the tent, confused and angry.

ABBY'S NOTE: Please, if you write a review (and you better!), don't just say how you want me to write another chapter. Say something about the actual story! Thanks! Hope you enjoyed this nice looong chappie!