A/N: Special thanks to BooksAreMedicine for one hundred percent of the reviews so far on this story! They make my day :)

"A palace ball, a palace ball, we're going to a palace ball!"

"Not just a palace ball, dummy, we're going to the Christmas Jubilee!"

"But we're going to the palace! For a ball! We're going to a palace ball!"

From her room at the end of the hall, Ella could hear Anastasia and Drizella quite clearly. Not that the content of their conversation came as any surprise – the two had talked of nothing else for weeks, ever since the invitations had arrived.

"They're certainly excited about tonight," remarked Mrs. Wollens dryly, working a comb through Ella's hair. "I hope they won't be disappointed."

"They won't be," said Ella confidently. "It's going to be wonderful, it always is. I wish you could see it, Mrs. Wollens. Everything at the palace sparkles for the Jubilee, and the dinner is always delicious, and last year Roger Fenworthy and I watched some of the grown-ups' ballroom from the balcony, and it's simply the most splendid sight on earth. Everyone dressed up, everyone happy for Christmas, it's such fun!"

"Yes, you've told me about it every year," said Mrs. Wollens with a smile.

"Because every year it's worth telling about! I'm glad Drizella and Anastasia get to come this year, it's such a shame they haven't before."

"Well, invitations go to titles, and they haven't been in a titled family until this year."

"Still, it's a shame. Everyone should be able to go and experience it at least once."

"Ah, if wishes were fishes we'd all swim in riches. It's not a fair world. But you know you're a very lucky little girl, don't you?"

"Yes Mrs. Wollens, and I am grateful for what I have, you and Papa, and Stepmother and the girls too, truly I am. But if I were in charge, I'd make it a fair world."

Mrs. Wollens laughed.

"You do that, Ella, and you'll be the most beloved leader this earth has ever seen."

"But really, why doesn't the king just make life fair for everyone? It seems the obvious thing to do."

"I'm sure it's not as easy as it sounds. And people are finicky creatures, they can lose sight of what's obvious pretty quickly."

"Not me," declared Ella. "I'm never going to forget what's right and good and fair. And besides, you haven't."

Mrs. Wollens laughed again.

"It's easier to keep your bearings when your life is simple. Mine's about as simple as they come, and I give thanks for that."

"As you should, Mrs. Wollens, as you should."

Both Ella and Mrs. Wollens jumped at the voice in the doorway. Ella's stepmother stood on the threshold with her arms crossed.

"Madam," said Mrs. Wollens, curtseying quickly.

"Mrs. Wollens, Drizella and Anastasia require your assistance getting dressed, and when you have finished getting them ready, please come to my room. This is an important day, we've no time to dawdle."

"Yes, Madam, as soon as I've finished Ella's hair here."

"It looks fine to me. On your way now, please, not a moment to waste."

"It won't take but a minute," protested Mrs. Wollens.

"It's okay, I can finish it from here," said Ella. "Thanks for helping me."

"All right then, of course, dear. You're very welcome."

Mrs. Wollens left, and Ella's stepmother swept out after her, leaving Ella to ponder power and justice on her own.

Ella felt her breath catch in her throat as she walked into the entrance hall. Every year the decorations were the same, and every year she found herself struck with awe and delight. A sixty-foot Christmas tree adorned with colorful silk garlands and thousands of tiny candles drew her eyes up to a glimmering angel on top, piously watching over the gathering guests below. On either side of the entrance hall, twin open staircases bedecked in deep green holly and sheer golden ribbons wound their way up to the second and third stories, where Ella knew the children would pass the evening together.

"Mademoiselles, may I take your cloaks?" asked a footman, bending down slightly to be on eye level with Ella and her stepsisters.

"Oh, this is so fancy!" exclaimed Drizella. "I can't believe we're actually in the actual palace!"

"He called me mademoiselle!" trilled Anastasia happily. "I'm a mademoiselle!"

"Yes please, thank you sir," said Ella, slipping off her cloak and handing it over to join her stepsisters'.

"My pleasure, miss," said the footman with a wink to Ella, before disappearing into the crowd. As soon as he was out of sight, Ella felt her ear tweaked from behind.

"Ella's got a beau!" sang Drizella. "Ella likes the footman!"

"Stop it Drizella, he was just being nice," protested Ella.

"He winked at you!" said Anastasia. "That means he likes you too! Ella and the footman! Ella and the footman!"

Fortunately for Ella, her father and stepmother chose that moment to reappear.

"You girls all set?" asked her father jovially.

"Yes, papa," they replied.

"Ella, you remember where to go, don't you?"

"Yes, papa. We go up the stairs to the third floor, then down the hall to the right. But we can hardly miss it, everyone is on their way up now." Indeed, a thin line of children was already making its way up the stairs.

"Good, good. Keep an eye on your sisters, won't you, Colonel? Introduce them to some handsome devils, eh?"

Ella giggled. "Yes, papa. The handsomest devils in all the land."

"Oh please," interrupted Ella's stepmother. "Their first Christmas ball is no joking matter."

"Of course not," agreed Ella's father. "I only—"

"Girls," continued her stepmother, "Behave yourselves tonight. Remember everything I've told you, and be the enchanting young ladies I know you are."

"Yes, mama," said Ella's stepsisters.

And with one final squeeze to Ella's hand, Ella's father and stepmother turned away towards the Great Hall.

"I don't know if I trust you to find me my handsome devil," said Drizella. "After all, it may do for you, but I can't end up with some footman, now can I?"

Anastasia started laughing, but though she felt her ears turning pink, Ella chose to ignore the remark, in the name of Christmas peace.

"Come on," she said instead, leading the way to the foot of the nearest side of the winding staircase.

"Not that way, come with us!"

Ella felt a hand grab her elbow as she entered the make shift theater.

"Roger!" she exclaimed happily, seeing who had pulled her aside into the back row of chairs. "I looked for you earlier, where have you been?"

"Oh you know, missing cufflinks, stained trousers, a bloody nose, the usual late start for the Fenworthy clan. We got here halfway through the soup, so they sat us all together by the door. We haven't even made bob to Prince Christopher yet. Not sure we'll bother, honestly, at this point."

"Roger, you must!" scolded Ella. "What would your father say?"

"Not half of what you will now, I bet," said Roger, grinning.

"I'll go with you after the panto, how about that? And in the meantime you can catch me up on the Fenworthy latest. How are Clarice and the others? And the new baby, what was her name? Analeisa?"

"Annabella, going by Lulu now," said Roger. "Not so much of a baby anymore really, she started walking a few weeks ago."

"Oh gosh, really? I think the last time I saw you all was her baptism, and she couldn't stay awake through the ceremony then."

"Sounds about right. We missed having you come stay this summer, you know."

"I wish I could have, I always have such a wonderful time, but the wedding was right at the beginning of summer, and then Papa felt that we should let my stepmother and stepsisters settle in properly for a few months."

"That's right, your father remarried! How do you like having real siblings of your own now?"

Ella paused before answering.

"I suppose I'm still getting used to it. They're Drizella and Anastasia, Drizella's a year older than me, and Anastasia's a year younger. It doesn't really feel like the way being an honorary summer Fenworthy did, but I guess we're still getting to know each other."

"Are they here tonight?"

"Yes, they're up in the second row. Over there, near Christopher," she directed as Roger stood up to see over the assembling crowd. "Drizella's in the light green dress with the big bow, black hair, and Anastasia's in the magenta dress, red hair. They were so excited to come, they've been talking about it for weeks."

"Golly, that is a big bow," said Roger, sitting back down.

The lights began to dim and a man walked onto the stage.

"Boys and girls, may I have your attention please? Our pantomime is about to begin."

As he began introducing the story, Roger leaned over to whisper in Ella's ear.

"Let me know when you're ready, and we'll slip out to the balcony again."

"Deal," Ella whispered back.

"It's not that it wasn't lovely," said Ella as the two lay on their stomachs on the balcony overlooking the Grand Ballroom an hour later. "It's just that it kept going and going with no signs of stopping."

"I liked the first bit," said Roger, "when the soldier came to life and started fighting the mouse. But then when they got on the sleigh ride, and made stop after stop, it felt more like a cultures of the world study than a plot."

"Oh well, we're out now. Have you found your parents down there yet? What color is your mother wearing?"

"Dark green, I think, and so is my father, but his jacket's got silver trim. My mother usually likes to be near the orchestra, but I don't see her there now."

"I think I see them with Papa, at the far wall. That's stepmother with them, in the gold dress."

"Bold choice for her first Jubilee."

Ella laughed.

"What do you know of ballgown fashions?"

"A ballroom's just like going on a hunt," protested Roger. "You calculate the degree to which you want to be noticed. And gold stands out, it says 'Here I am, notice me and don't forget what you see'."

"And what does my dress tonight say?" asked Ella doubtfully.

Roger turned over, sitting up to consider.

"Stand up and let me get a proper look then."

Ella complied, stepping back from the railing and giving a quick twirl.

"Well?"

"Ah yes, let's see now. The wrinkled skirt tells me that you've been rolling around on the floor, too impatient to sit through the Christmas panto, most unbefitting behavior for a young lady. And the pastry crumbles in the lacework tell me you've been a careless eater as well, though that's not entirely bad, as it often indicates an engaging conversationalist."

"Come off it, you're making that up. That's nothing to do with the dress choice, and besides, I don't have any pastry in the lace, I didn't even try the pastry tonight."

"Sure you do, just there—" Roger started to point, but then both were distracted by a commotion in the ballroom below.

All attention below had turned to the royal dais, where the king and queen presided. But now the queen was slumped on the floor and the king was on his feet shouting to the guards, some of which were rushing to the queen's side and others of which were trying to hold back the crowd. Someone shouted for a physician, and one quickly appeared, and knelt by the queen's side, opening a bag of instruments.

"I hope she's alright," said Ella worriedly.

"How did it happen?" wondered Roger. "She looked fine a minute ago."

It was clear that the queen wasn't fine now. After several minutes without a response to any of his administrations, the physician rose slowly and whispered in the king's ear. As he spoke, the king's face turned redder and redder. When the physician stepped back, Ella saw the king take several deep breaths before speaking to the suddenly silent crowd.

"The Jubilee is over," he said. "Goodnight."

And the king turned away from the crowd, and away from his wife on the dais, and left the room.

Excited chatter immediately broke out in the crowd, until another man took the stage and shouted for silence.

"That's the Lord Chancellor," whispered Roger to Ella.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he said, "It is with great regret that we must adjourn the Jubilee. We wish you all safe journeys home. Would the cabinet please follow me?"

He left the room, and one by one around a dozen men separated from the crowd to follow him. The guards had formed a wall of bodies surrounding the queen, but Ella could see her still form perfectly well from the balcony above.

"Oh Roger, this is dreadful."

"We should be getting back," he said numbly. "They'll be ending the panto and calling for us."

Ella nodded, and they made their way back to the theater to find the performance stopped and the children milling around aimlessly, bored and confused at the abrupt halt.

"Too late to pay respects to Prince Christopher now," murmured Roger. Indeed, the young prince was nowhere to be seen.

"He's got the most awful night ahead of him," said Ella sadly. "I'd better find Drizella and Anastasia. And I'm sure Clarice is looking for you."

"You're probably right. Well, merry Christmas," he said with a grimace.

"Merry Christmas," she replied, equally cheerless.

"I don't understand," said Ella. "Where's Papa?"

"He's been asked to stay behind for a bit," replied her stepmother curtly, handing Ella her cloak. "We're to return home without him, and he'll follow when he can."

"But I just want to say goodbye and wish him a merry Christmas!" protested Ella. "Where is he?"

"He'll be along when he can. Put on your cloak, we're leaving."

"Can't I just see him? I'll be quick, I promise."

"Ella!" snapped her stepmother. "We are leaving! Stop making a scene."

"I'm not making a scene! I just want to know where he is!" Ella felt panic bubbling from deep within. Something had happened to the queen, she needed Papa to tell her everything was all right.

Her stepmother bent down and grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her slightly, and spoke quickly in a low, tight voice.

"Your father needs to stay here. You don't like it, I don't like it, and believe me, he doesn't like it, but it is out of our hands. Now come."

She tried to drag Ella away by force, but Ella dug in her heels.

"Why does he have to stay? He can't help the queen any more than the physician."

Her stepmother froze and gripped Ella's arm even tighter.

"I don't know who told you about what happened to Her Highness," she hissed, "but do not breathe another word on the subject. If knowing is the only way to get you home, then know this – know it well and for heaven's sake know it quietly. Your father has been arrested on pending charges of treason and conspiracy to commit murder."

Her mouth open and her mind in shock, Ella followed her stepmother and stepsisters through freshly falling snow to the carriage without further protest.