An: Hi! K, I was really bored this weekend and so I wrote a pretty long chapter (compaired to the rest of the chapters) I hope you like it!


I stared at my self in the mirror. For the first time in months, I looked almost recognizable. The dirt smudges had been washed from my face and my hair wasn't in complete knots anymore. Mandy motioned for me to sit down on a small stool, in her hand a hairbrush. After a few minutes of her brushing my hair, which was painful, I begged her to use magic. But she replied with a no, and kept brushing my hair, listening closely as I began to tell her about everything that had happened while I was gone. She stayed quiet for the whole entire time, letting out sighs every once in a while. After I had finished giving Mandy the shortened version of my adventures, I stayed silent, listing to the whoosh of the hairbrush as it went through my hair. After a few minutes of silence, Mandy spoke breaking the silence,

"What about Char? After all he's going to be engaged-"

"Engaged" I screamed, almost falling out of the chair.

"I though you had known, my sweet. I hadn't wanted to break it to you like this. I thought that you might have all ready known, after all it's been the talk of all of Frell."

"To who?" I whispered, holding back a sob.

"No one knows. That's why the whole kingdom is so curious. It's been so secretive, that I don't know." Mandy gripped my shoulders and hugged me tight.

"You could still win him back, Ella. Go to see him. You never know." She said looking strait in to my eyes.

"But the curse-" Mandy cut me off "All you have to do is find the stone and destroy it."

She made it sound easy, and I knew that I didn't even know where to start. Mandy had opened a chest and began to ruffle through it. She pulled out a simple commoner's dress and tossed it towards me. I stared at it closely. It wasn't something that would impress Char, but if he still loved me after everything I, no Hattie, had said then clothing wouldn't matter to him. I slid on the dress, glad that it felt a whole lot better than what I was wearing before.

Mandy handed me a bit of money, and a hat to cover my face, and walked, mostly shoved, me to the door. I walked out of the building and in to the crowded street. Unlike before, I had to really push and shove to get through. A thought crossed my mind as I could see the castle in the distance. How would I get in, I wondered to myself. Then it came to me. There was a secret entrance on the side of the castle that Char and I had found when we were exploring. I hoped it wasn't covered or guarded.

It wasn't. I pushed my self through small opening, careful not to rip my dress. I ended up in the gardens. They were just as perfect and beautiful as they were before I left. I heard the sounds of footsteps and two people talking. I couldn't get noticed. A guard could be with them, and throw me out, or worse, I could be recognized. I hid behind one of the tall bushes right beside me, peeking over the edge to see who it was. It was a man and a woman, hand in hand. As they turned down the path in my direction, I recognized the man as Char. The woman next to him must be the one who he's marring, I thought, my heart sinking deep in to my chest. The woman raised her head up and I was able to catch a glimpse of her face.

What I saw made me want to scream. He's mine, I wanted to scream at the woman. I love him, I wanted to shout. But I couldn't. The curse was still strong. But I had to do something. I wanted to jump right out of the bushes, push the woman away, and hug and kiss Char.

But I stood there.
Too shocked to move. Too shocked to talk or to really even think.

I watched in silence as Char and the woman walked around another corner, blocking them from my view.

And I stood there, horrified by what I had seen. The one thing that I hadn't expected to happen had happened. I had expected Char to be engaged to some princess from some land far away.

But not this.

My body unfroze. And I fell to the ground panting for breath. Tears running down my cheeks, making long wet streaks across my face.

I could have been ready for and thing else. I still couldn't believe what I had seen.

I heard Char laugh some where off in the distance. I used to be able to make him laugh, I thought. But now that woman is making him laugh.

My pain and hurt turned to anger and hate. More tears ran down my face slowly soaking the top of my commoner's dress.

But right now I didn't care. Everytime I tried to think again, that woman's face appeared in my mind. And everytime I blinked. I knew that I should leave, that soon I would be caught. But right now the only thought that would come to my mind was, how could Char be with her? My fists were clenched in anger, and I leaned my back against the bush.

"How?" I whispered to myself aloud. "Why?"

More than anything, right now I wished that I could be that woman.

I half closed my eyes, and her face came in to my head again.

I had expected it to be a princess from some far away land. Not some one I knew. Definitely not someone I knew. I let out a strangled sob.

The woman was Hattie.


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