Chapter 2

Ella strolled about town with a sad smile on her face. It was a beautiful summer's day, with a bright sun in the sky. Despite her inner turmoil, Ella held kindness in her heart. She would wave at her fellow townsfolk, stopping here and there to make small talk. At one point, she ran into a kindly old woman who used to be the tailor for Ella's family before the financial ruin had caused Ella's father to lay off all of the house staff. The woman was delighted to see Ella, but she held a quizzical look on her face when she noted Ella's raggish attire and dusty face. She politely questioned Ella on the subject, which erased the young girl's previous smile at seeing an old friend. She told the tale of her father's passing and her new servant-like role to her step-mothers and step-sisters. The old tailor was aghast at the news.

"Oh Ella!" She said in a soft, sympathetic voice, "My dear, why don't you leave those awful people?"

Ella smiled softly at the woman's concern, for it was the first time in a long while that she felt concern from anyone but the household mice. "It is my family's home." She replied, "I could never leave the place my father and mother put so much love into."

The old woman gave a knowing nod. She reached out to touch Ella's shoulder. "Just be sure to take care of yourself, dear." She said meaningfully. The two later parted and Ella was on her way.

The Lady Tremaine had given Ella an awful long list of things to purchase in the town. She was to fetch some baking ingredients, new flowers for the table, a few yards of fine cloth, a dozen eggs (because the hens had not laid any that week), and several loaves of fresh bread. Ella carefully placed her purchases in her woven handled basket, being extra careful of the fragile eggs. It had been at least an hour, and though it was quite the load of labor, Ella was pleased. Any time she was out and about was time that she was not with the Tremains, and that was good time. It was time without nagging or yelling or condescending looks. Ella felt like an actual person when she was in town, and that was a beautiful feeling.

Ella's final chore was to purchase a few loaves of bread. When she walked into the town bakery, she was hit with a warm aroma. The scent of fresh bread made her mouth water as she closed her eyes to take it in. She had unfortunate timing however, as suddenly, a small child ran past her in an attempt to reunite with his mother outside the small shop. He ran so fast and so sudden that he accidentally bumped into Ella on his way out, causing all of her purchases to fly out of her basket as she hit the floor of the bakery. Ella sat up and was horrified to see that each one of her dozen eggs smashed upon the floor, leaving behind a murky yellow residue and scattered eggshells. Her heart sank. How foolish she must look, a mess on the floor! She will look so childish, retiring to the grocer and having to explain to him why she needed to purchase another dozen eggs. Ella hung her head in despair.

Just then, a figure rushed from the kitchen to Ella's side. He had seen the young woman tumble and was worried that she was injured after such a fall.

"Excuse me, miss," the figure spoke timidly. Ella looked up to see a man with his hand reached out toward her. He was of medium height and had a stocky build. His hair was the color of fresh mud and though it was short, it still had enough length to look unkempt. It was peppered with baking flour. Around his waist was an apron, also dusty with flour, as were his hands and face. "Miss," he continued, "are you alright?"

Ella had to clear her head to process what was going on here. Someone was offering to help her, a stranger! She awkwardly took his outstretched hand and got up off the floor. She began to fumble around, collecting her things which had departed from her basket during the tumble. "I'm so sorry about the mess." She apologized in a shaky voice. "I, I can clean up the eggs. I'm so sorry!"

The man smiled at her kind gesture. "Don't worry about it," he insisted.
He pulled out a scrappy rag from his apron and began to clean up the yellow residue. "I'm a baker," he laughed, "I've had my fair share of these messes."

Ella watched him, a bit of color in her cheeks. How nice this man was, to clean up after her blunder when he could have just left her to deal with it alone. She figured that he must've been the town's baker, responsible for the delicious aroma that still hung softly in the air.

When the baker was finished, he stood up and smiled at Ella. "See?" He said gesturing to the floor. "It was no trouble at all." He stood there for a moment, lost in thought. Then, his brown eyes lit up with an idea. "Wait here!" He told Ella as he rushed behind the counter. Ella watched him go, a puzzled look on her face. What was he doing now? She stood by the counter and eyed the breads and pastries, taking a moment to marvel at the finely decorated cakes.

After a few minutes the baker returned. In his hands was a box, a box of a dozen eggs. He held them out to Ella with a big smile on his face. "Here," he offered tenderly. "These should replace the ones that fell."

Ella's cheeks turned bright red at his offer. "Oh no, sir!" She said in a fluster, " I couldn't take your eggs!"

The man shook his head. "It's nothing." He said. "Please, have them. I've got plenty enough to share." Ella was beside herself. It had been a long while since she had experienced such kindness with nothing of her expected in return. She nodded her head softly and took the eggs. With great care, she tucked them securely into her basket. These eggs would not escape her.

"Thank you, sir." Ella said with great sincerity.

The man blushed slightly and looked away from her. A small smile on his face. "Aw shucks, miss." He said. "You don't have to call me sir, I'm just a baker."

Ella raised her eyebrows as the smile on her face grew. "Oh?" She questioned, "Then what might I call you?"

The baker reached his hand toward her for shaking. "My name is Greyson." He said "Greyson Fitz"

Ella laughed as she shook his hand. "Well it had been a pleasure to meet you, Greyson Fitz!"

The two soon broke apart and Ella purchased her bread as she had originally intended to. She had to head back to her home, for the last thing she wanted was for her step-sisters to question why she took so long with the groceries. As she left the small shop, Greyson called out to her from behind the counter. "Miss Ella!" He called.

Ella turn to face the man who was covered in flour. "Yes, Greyson?"

Greyson shyly looked down at his hands. "Will you be needing any more bread in the future?"

Ella grinned. "Yes, I believe I will."