Disclaimer: I do not own Ella Enchanted.

Goodness, it's been months since I've updated and I bet everyone thought that I had simply abandoned this story. Not true, though. I am terribly sorry for not updating sooner but I've been so incredibly busy with school that I've had no time to devote to my story - but I promise that I'll do my best to update as often as possible :-)

Something Magical

Suddenly in the night a loud roar streaked through the peaceful silence, sending Char's gaze immediately up toward the heavens. In the distance the low rumbling sound of thunder could be heard, growing louder and louder every few moments. Furrowing his brow, Char took a few dancing steps backward, knowing what would be coming soon.

And then it hit.

Out of nowhere, rain poured down in heavy sheets from the black sky, seeping into Char's clothing effortlessly, drenching him to his very core. Char stood still for a moment, allowing his body to adjust to the sudden change of weather. As he stood silently in the rain he felt a smile slowly start to tug at his lips; after all, he hadn't stood in the rain like this since he was a little boy and now that he was doing so once again had a strange, almost drugging effect on him. He felt free, innocent, rejuvenated.

As the rain continued to pound against the stone path, Char, always perceptive, vaguely wondered how it could possibly be raining in the winter. Snow, he expected, but rain . . . rain only came to Kyrria in the spring and summer. Never, not once in his life, did he remember having rain in Kyrria during the winter season.

Lena gathered the sides of her full ball gown into her hands, making sure that the fine material did not trail behind her on the ground. It wasn't that it would make such a difference if the dress did happen to dirty, but Lena had always appreciated beauty and refinement and if there was one thing that she hated it was seeing people be flippant about how they treated their belongings. As far as Lena was concerned, if she, well, technically her father, had spent the money on this gown, the least she could do was to respect it. Elegance. Life was about elegance.

Lena frowned, a slight shadow crossing her face. She knew very well that she often came across as pretentious or assuming, but to the extent that she understood herself, arrogant was the last thing she was. Simply because she refused to lower herself into the midst of shameless debauchery that the Kyrrian elite had dissolved into did not mean that she considered herself better or more worthy than those who had. Yes, she was conservative in comparison to the younger set of the Kyrrian court, but she didn't behave so to highlight the moral shortcomings in them; she simply behaved in accordance with what she believed to be true. As far as she could see, there was no sense in being anyone other than who one was.

Nearing one of the castle's ceiling-to-floor length glass windows, Lena's thoughts stopped abruptly as she noticed the rain deluging the outside. Feeling her fingers tingle, Lena had the childish urge to run outside and dance, arms flailing, head tossed back, hair loose, in the rain. And more than that, something, some almost magical force, seemed to be beckoning her to come out and play.

Pressing her fingers against the cool glass, Lena bit her lip as she gently leaned her cheek against the pane, peering out of the corner of her eye into the night. It was such a rare instance that it would be raining, not snowing, in the winter that she couldn't bear to watch this opportunity to let loose slip through her fingers.

Surreptitiously, Lena cast a glance around the room at the crowd. Certainly she wouldn't be missed . . . by now most of the guests were plum drunk off of wine and other equally drugging beverages. No, they wouldn't notice if she disappeared . . .

Forgetting that eventually she would have to re-enter the castle in a wet gown, Lena decided that rain wouldn't harm the delicate material. After all, rain was water, and water was what was used to normally clean the garment. It wasn't as if she was going to tramp around in mud, so technically, she wouldn't be dirtying her dress . . .

Suddenly, the orchestra began to play an uplifting tune that caused a drunken cheer to arise in the crowd, the people all turning immediately to the sound of the bows dancing across the strings of violins and cellos. Seeing her opportunity to flee the stifling crowd, Lena slipped through the closest door, out into the cool night.