As the season changed and weeks passed it was finally summer. This meant that Drisella and Anastasia now had an excuse to go shopping for new, lighter dresses, which was surprisingly good news for Ella. A day where the lady Tremaine and her daughters went shopping was a day where Ella had time to herself, which was a very good day indeed. On the morning in which the Tremaines had to go dress shopping, Ella woke extra early do to her numerous chores. The dress shop where the daughters wished to go to was three towns over, resulting in a long trip. Ella planned to finish her chores as early as possible to spend the rest of the day at her leisure.
"Now Ella," her stepmother scolded as she was stepping into the carriage to leave with her daughters. "I want this house spick and span when we return, you hear? All your work must be done at sublime quality; I don't want you lazing around all day." Her words were ice and her face was sharp as she looked down at Ella with a judgmental eye.
"No worries, Madam." Ella assured her. "All the work will be done and the house will look perfect, I promise!"
With one last sneering eye, the Tremaines were gone, leaving Ella to finish her work.
Ella worked diligently, not allowing herself any breaks in promise of later free time. She cleaned every dish and every tub and every room. She tended to all of the animals and gathered the fresh eggs from her hens. She even made sure that the hole in the basement where her mice friends resided looked as tidy and neat as it possibly could. Within a few hours, she had finished her labor.
The luxury of such a large amount of free time excited Ella. It was an opportunity to do whatever she pleased. She could spend the entire day with Greyson and her stepmother would be none the wiser.
So, Ella went into town and was delighted to see a large flock of customers just leaving the bakery. This meant that Greyson would have time to see her. She walked in to see him at the counter, deeply focused on frosting a cake. It looked to be for a wedding of sorts, with delicate frosting swirls and pristine sugar rosebuds. Greyson looked totally entranced in his work. Ella decided to let him finish before she spoke to him, in fear of distracting him from his work. She waited for about ten minutes and Greyson worked steadily, making sure there wasn't a pedal out of place. When he was finally done, he put his frosting tool down on the counter and smiled proudly at his creation.
"It's a lovely cake." Ella said softly, causing the baker to jump about five feet into the air. When he looked up to see who startled him, his mind eased and he smiled at the sight of his friend, who was alarmed at his surprised reaction.
"Ella!" He laughed, "I didn't know you were here. You poor thing! How long did you wait there?" He grinned, a little embarrassed.
Ella smiled softly. "Not terribly long at all! I could see that you were working very hard and didn't want to distract you. It's such a beautiful cake! I'm sure your client will love it!"
Greyson scratched the back of his neck bashfully. "Aw, thanks Ella. I sure hope so. They were very picky." He said, gesturing to the dessert. "Everything had to be just so."
"Well I think it's lovely." Ella said. "It looks perfect. You ought to do my own wedding cake."
Greyson's face fell as he misunderstood the message. "You...you're engaged?" He asked, trying to hide his disappointment. On one hand, he was flattered that Ella thought so highly of his cakes that she would wish for him to cater her big day. However, he was saddened at the thought of her getting married. He knew she was allowed to see whoever she desired, and he knew that he rightfully had no say in her affairs, and he was very unwilling to admit to himself that he may have harbored feeling for her, but he couldn't help but feel uneasy. He was confused to see Ella burst into a loud fit of laughter.
Ella found the baker's misunderstanding hilarious. "No!" She managed through the laughter. "No, no, no! I'm not engaged in the slightest. I just meant that when the occasion arises, I would love a cake like this for my wedding, if I get married someday."
Greyson's face turned a bright red. He smacked his hand on his face in shame. "Oh my goodness..." He groaned, making Ella laugh harder. He was so embarrassed at his mistake. But why was he so upset about it anyway? He and Ella were simply friends. She was free to marry whomever she wanted. He decided it would be best to change the subject. "So, Ella, did you stop by to get some bread?"
Ella shook her head. "Nope!" She said happily. "My stepmother and stepsisters are out dress shopping. My chores are done, so I have a free day all to myself. "
"And you chose to spend it with ME?" Greyson put his hand over his heart in mock honor. "Goodness, I am flattered!" He joked.
Ella laughed softly. "Well I would hope so. Now that you have finished your cake, what shall we do?"
Greyson shrugged honestly, "It's your big day, what would you like to do?"
Ella thought long and hard. What would she like to do? It was so rare for her to have options. Then, she suddenly got an idea. She looked at Greyson, whose brown eyes were filled with patience as he waited for the verdict. His smile was soft. "Could we..." She asked shyly, "could you...teach me how to bake?" She gripped her apron and twisted it in anticipation.
Greyson smiled wide as this beautiful young woman waited for response. "Of course!" He answered. "I'd love to teach you! We can start with a simple loaf." He gestured to the kitchen. "Let's go!" Ella excitedly trotted in after him.
They started off very progressively. Ella's prior kitchen experience came in handy, as she already knew the basics of baking. She could work an oven and crack an egg and perform all the simple instructions with top quality proficiency. Greyson helped her gather the ingredients, showing her which tools he preferred for which recipe. Occasionally he had to leave to serve a customer, but he knew he could trust Ella in his kitchen. The only element that was foreign to Ella was kneading. She tried and tried, but she could not get the proper motions for such a large, overwhelming pile of dough. Greyson attempted to explain it to her.
"No, you use big presses." He said, using hand gestures in the air. Ella tried to mimicking him, but to no avail. She never got frustrated, however, Greyson noted. She just kept trying. She had determination as great as her kindness the baker admired so.
Eventually, however, Greyson felt he had to help. "May I assist?" He asked softly? Ella nodded, knowing it was alright to accept a little help. Very slowly, Greyson stood behind Ella and reached out his arms so that he could cover her hands with his. He moved at a speed where his student could object at any time if she so wished to. But Ella approved the action and urged him to continue teaching. "You see..." He said softly. Ella could feel his voice vibrate through his chest that was lightly against her back. She could feel his voice softly kiss her neck and she tried to prevent a shiver from running through her. "You see...you use big motions, moving the dough in various directions to allow it to fold over itself." He softly took command of her hands, moving them with the dough. She moved with him, moving the bread dough every which way. The two moved as a cohesive unit, not noticing that they were slowly moving closer toward each other, similar to Ella's first long visit when the two danced in the moonlight. When they were finished, not only had they crafted perfect dough, but they were very much intertwined.
Ella's back was fully against the baker's chest, and his arms had wrapped around hers to allow his hands to cover hers. His head now rested in the space above her shoulder, which allowed for their ears to barely touch as they resided side-by-side.
Neither of them seemed to mind this closeness, however. In fact, they almost seemed to enjoy it. Ella looked down and compared their hands. Her hands were now covered with flour to the degree that Greyson's usually were. She slowly flipped their hands around to examine his. Her fingers lightly traced along the flour crusted lines of his hand, smiling softly to herself as she examined every detail. She had always been fascinated with his ever-worn hands ever since he had reached out to he'd to help her on their first meeting. Before that day, she never would've imagined herself in this situation, learning to bake in the arms of a very kind man who was perpetually covered in flour. "Mr. Fitz, do you suppose there will ever be a time where I will see you and you will not be dusted with your ingredients?" She murmured to him in a hushed voice, unsure if he could even hear her.
Greyson, whose chin now rested on Ella's shoulder as he watched her study his hands smiled lightly at her pondering. "I'm not sure," he hummed quietly. "I am so often made to be the result of my work. However I do clean up occasionally."
Ella's thoughts wandered back to the night she had snuck out to see him. He had tried to tame his hair and tidy himself for their meeting. "I suppose you do clean up rather nice." She sighed absentmindedly. Greyson smiled at her carelessly kind words. The two remained locked in this moment, the both of them secretly wishing for it to be endless. However, there was still a loaf to finish, though neither of them really was focused on bread at the time.
Eventually, they had to break apart, their cheeks a light blush from the unexpected intimacy. Greyson showed her how to adjust the oven to prepare the bread and they two chatted as their creation baked. In the end they had a perfect loaf.
Ella was elated. "Look at it!" She cheered, "It's wonderful!" She grinned from ear to ear. Greyson shared her excitement.
"It's perfect!" He applauded. "You've done a tremendous job!" He gestured to the light brown thing of beauty. His eyes however, were focused in another beauty.
As Ella gazed upon the result of her work, Greyson studied her face. Her brilliant blue eyes sparkled with pride and even though her hair was a tad bit disheveled, it still shone with a golden shine. He could see her warm personality reflected in her smile and he had to admit that his heart swelled just a bit when he noticed that her hands were covered in a similar layer of flour that he often sported. He hated to admit it, and he tried to hold it back as much as possible, but the baker knew that he was utterly falling for this woman.
The two ate the bread together. To their delight, it tasted ad good as it looked.
As the pair understood, all things must come to an end. Ella soon had to depart in order to arrive home before her family did. "Thank you for teaching me how to bake." She told Greyson as she left the bakery. Her teacher smiled fondly back at her. "Anytime." He said truthfully. Because he would always have time for Ella.
Ella returned to her home gleefully to see that she had beaten the Tremaine's arrival time. However, her face fell when she opened the door.
While she was gone, the lady Tremaine's cat, Lucifer. Had demolished all of Ella's hard work while attempting to capture her mice friends. The house was in ruins, as if all her work she had woken up so early to accomplish had been reversed. As she stood in front of the mess, her face in a state of horror, the door opened. In walked Anastasia and Drisella, their arms loaded with new bright frocks and dresses. Following them was the lady Tremaine, whose collected face twisted once she saw the state of the home. She shrieked.
"You foolish girl!" She screamed. "You foolish, lazy girl! Look at this house! Look at it!" She pointed at the disaster. Ella's face welled up with tears.
"Madam!" She replied anxiously, "the cat-"
"Silence!" Tremaine bellowed. "I've had enough of your laziness! You're unreliable and a misery upon this household!" As Ella silently wept, the lady thought up a suitable punishment. "You shall be placed on a suspension in order to focus on your chores. There will be no going into town, and no leaving the household except for outdoor work." The lady spoke crisply. She pointed upstairs. "Now leave. Go to you attic and think about improving your work ethics. Later you will fix this mess, but for now I don't want you in my sight, you understand?"
Ella nodded and ran up to her room, rough sobs escaped her mouth. She ran up to her attic and collapsed on her bed in a fit of distress. Not going into town for a month? She won't get to see her only friend! She won't get to see the baker. He will feel as if she has abandoned him! He will be hurt after such a wonderful day, to be completely ignored. Ella wept long and hard. What would she do?
What would she do?