Gabrielle scrambled out of the carriage. She hurriedly thanked the driver and rushed as fast as could, with only one shoe, to Miss Goose's shop. Aaron was curled up by the window, half-asleep, but woke-up when the bell ,above the door, rang. Miss Goose came from the back and greeted her,

"My dear how was the ball?"

Gabrielle needed a moment to catch herself, before she could get out.

"The prince...he recognized me."

Miss Goose's eyes widened and so did Aaron's. The little boy looked down and the back up again. He was clearly worried.

"What did the prince do?" Miss Goose asked,

"He made me dance with him, several times." She added the last part quietly. If possible, Miss Goose's eyes widened even more. Aaron looked a bit confused. Of course, he had no idea of court customs.

"That's..that's unheard of for a girl to dance with a prince so much and our prince is known for not having attachment to ladies." Miss Goose scratched her chin.

"It's worse." cried Gabrielle, "He knows who I am. He knows my name!"

"What! How on earth..."

"I swear I didn't tell him. He figured it out on his own." Gabrielle tore the butterfly masked off her face and she was near tears.

"If this gets back to my family...I don't even want to think of what my stepmother would do to me."

Miss Goose pulled her in for a hug.

"There, there dear, let's not think like that. Now, you go change. If the prince is that clever, he would realize not to tell your step-family about you." Gabrielle gave a weak nod and wondered to the backroom, followed by Miss Goose. She was helped out of the dress. Then Miss Goose saw it.

"My dear, you only have one shoe." The blonde girl blushed

"I lost it...I was in such a panic to get out...that it slipped off and I didn't dare go back to fetch it. I am so sorry, I lost it."

"That's all right dear. You must have been scared, very scared." She said sympathetically. They finished undressing her and she slipped into her old rags. She went back out to the front, where Aaron was still waiting.

"Thank you, both." She said, as she rushed to the door, and gave a wave as she left. She rushed home as fast as she could. Her mind racing over the events with Prince Adrian. He had recognized her and figured who she was, so quickly. He truly was intelligent, but what would his next move be. Would he leave her alone now? Perhaps, he found her to be some curiosity. And now that curiosity had been settled? She liked that idea, but something told her that was not the case. She passed the crossroads and came to the woods. She was giving out of breathe now, but she was too frightened to give up her pace. What if her actions had sent them home early? She huffed and puffed her way to the manor. When she finally reached it she saw to her great relief that there was no sign of her step-family's arrival. She hurried to the kitchen door and when she got in, immediately locked it. She slouched against the door and went all the way to the ground.

As she was catching her breathe, she heard a shy meow. She looked to see Astrid coming toward her.

"Hello, sweetie...did you have fun while I was at the ball?" She gave a half-smile. The cat just gave her a look. She laughed, "You can tell my evening wasn't good, can't you? Oh, that prince. Princes, nothing but trouble I tell you." She got up and tiredly made her way to her straw bed. She closed her eyes and soon fell asleep there. Her rest did not last long. Soon she heard the sounds of her name being called. She reluctantly got up and exited the kitchen. Wiping her tired eyes, in the dimness of the room. She could make out the three feminine figures of her step-family.

"Well, it looks like you haven't been up to anything useful." Lady Isodara scorned at her. Relief swelled in Gabrielle's chest. So they didn't know, she had been to the ball.

"Well, at least her evening was better than ours." grumbled Rosella. She plopped onto a chair, her skirts bellowing out over the armrests. Rosella crossed her arms and bit her lip.

"I can't believe that prince. How can he only pay attention to that one girl! Who ran off from him and how can any girl run from the prince?" She threw up her hands, "It's madness I tell you, madness!" Gabrielle was taking their shawls and hats, as she nodded.

"I actually found it rather amusing to see the Prince not getting what he wanted for once." remarked Estelle with a rare glint of amusement in her eyes. Rosella gave a huff at that and turned up her nose. Estelle then looked at Gabrielle and Estelle's eyes narrowed for a moment. Gabrielle's heart nearly stopped. Had Estelle recognized her? Damn it all! She had made sure not to be seen by her.

"You look...cleaner." Stated Estelle, "And smell better."

"Uuuhhhh." Gabrielle was not sure of what excuse to make up on such a short notice. She had hoped that none of her family would have paid enough attention to her to notice such. She felt tongue tied and her stomach noted.

"Of course, she does!" blasted Isodara, "Everything seems more grander and better after being in the presence of royalty and that ball!"

"Except we weren't in the presence of a prince." whined Rosella, "We didn't even get close!" The curly blonde gave a growl of pure frustrated. Isodara went to her eldest daughter's side, immediately. Lady Isodara petted her daughter's blonde curls.

"There, there, dear. The prince's heart was just confused this night. After, that girl ran off from him so coldly, he will probably never let her in any balls anymore." Rosella looked at her mother,

"You really think so, mother?" She asked, quietly

"Of course, dear." Isodara kissed Rosella's forehead. Gabrielle was relieved to realize the attention at had been diverted from her rather easily and thanked Hestia for that.

"I am tired." announced Estelle, picking up her green skirts. "Gabrielle, come help me to bed." Gabrielle nodded and followed her stepsister up the stairs. She was slightly worried that Estelle would ask her more questions, but to her luck, she did not. Estelle remained silent as she helped her out of the jewelry and dress. Soon Estelle was in bed and Gabrielle went off to help the other members of her step-family.

Isodara was silent, but that was usual for her. Rosella whined the whole time about the "mysterious girl" and how she didn't deserve the attention from the prince and "if" Gabrielle had been there she would have been just as angry at the "unworthy" girl. Gabrielle just nodded and brushed her fellow blonde's hair. Finally, she was all done and made her way back to the kitchen. She soon fell back to sleep.

.The next morning, Gabrielle was hanging laundry. It had been a quiet morning. Rosella had gone to town for dancing lessons and Estelle had left early for a walk. It was quite until Isodara came out to her holding a basket.

"Finish hanging that up." Her stepmother ordered and handed her the basket, "And after you are done with that, I want you to go into the wood and fell the basket with raspberries. I am having guests over tomorrow and I want you to make pastries. I would just send you to the market, but those merchants are such cheats." Isodara claimed, "their princes are ridiculous and I refuse to pay them."

The blonde just nodded, but inside she knew the real reason. Isodara had already spent her allowance for the month, again, and they were cutting corners when needed. Isodara went back into the house. Gabrielle set the basket down and finished hanging up the laundry. She made a lunch for her in the kitchen; then picked back up the basket and made her way into the wood.

Truth be told she was happy for the chore. She enjoyed anything that got her away from the house and the wood was so peaceful. She could spy rabbits, deer, robins, and all sorts of life in the wood. The blonde knew where to go for the berries. She was glad it was in the morning, because it would take a good portion of the day to fill the basket. She started picking as soon as she reached the bushes. She worked the morning and into midday heat. She tried to stay in the shade, while the sun was high. A bit after lunch, she had the basket about halfway field.

She decided to take a break for food and rest. Gabrielle went to where the river bank was and sat under the shade of a tree. She took out her lunch and began to eat in peace. As she ate, she started to hear feminine giggles down the river. The blonde at first ignored it, but then she heard voices.

"Does your mother know?" came a voice, that sparked a memory in Gabrielle.

"Of course, not!" The second voice made Gabrielle's eyes widened. That was Estelle! Estelle was hiding something from her mother. In truth, that wasn't too surprising. Estelle always seemed to be the type. The voices got quieter and returned to giggles, another surprise. Was Estelle giggling? It seemed so out of character. Gabrielle was now feeling the strong urge to see Estelle, but at the same time fighting the fact it was none of her business. She tried to ignore it, as she finished her meal.

When she finished eating, she cleaned up and picked up her basket. She stood their for a few more moments, listening to the giggles and hushed voices of Estelle and her mysterious friend. She closed her eyes, as if to focus her willpower. However, it became to much, soon she found her feet walking in the direction of the sounds. She walked down the bank, and walked up a small hill. She reached the top she finally spotted them. Their was Estelle and it took Gabrielle a moment to recognize the girl she was with. It was that ginger baker! The girl that had asked Gabrielle to deliver the note to Estelle. What where the doing. Gabrielle looked closer.

Estelle was laying down, her head in the ginger baker's lap. The baker was running her hands through Estelle's loose chocolate locks. Gabrielle looked at the expression on her stepsister's face and it was...joy, just pure joy. Estelle never looked happy. However, this mysterious baker girl was making her giggle like a little girl. Gabrielle's curiosity was worse than a cat's now; nothing could have made her stop watching now. However, what would happen next would be unexpected.

The ginger girl knelt her face to Estelle's and that's when it happened. Estelle kissed that girl! Gabrielle gave a sharp gasp and moved a step back, breaking a branch. She had created enough noise to grave the lover's attention. The ginger girl looked up in complete shock and Estelle scrambled out of her lap. Estelle stared up at Gabrielle. Their eyes meeting. Whatever Gabrielle's expression might be, she was sure it looked something like how Estelle was looking now; wide mouth and shock.

Gabrielle was not sure what to do. Her heart was beating fast. She then did the only thing she knew how to do. She turned tail and ran back. She might have spilled a few berries, but she didn't care. She had to get away, what if they followed her? She didn't know how long she ran until; she finally looked back to see neither where following her. She took a breathe, and slumped against a tree. Her mind finally settling down to process what she had just seen.

Estelle was a woman lover.

She had always knew her younger stepsister was different; but never how until now. She had heard of the concept of love between the same sex before. Their were groups of male lovers who were dedicated to Zeus and were suppose to be incarnations of Ganymede. The Artemis hunters were groups of women lovers dedicated to the Goddess Artemis and hunted and guarded the forest in her glory. It was rumored their was often love between the hunteresses.

However, it was still far from except. Gabrielle knew that Isodara would never let her Estelle run off and become a hunter; no she needed her to stay and be her pawn. At that moment, she felt a wave of pity for her younger stepsister. She was caught in a trap, she was in a forbidden love; that would be viewed among the world as disgusting, even by her own family. The blonde was now regretting having ran, but what would she have said?

Gabrielle just sighed and went back to berry picking. She tried to get her mind off Estelle, but she couldn't. She sent a prayer to Hestia and Artemis to on her stepsister's behalf. Surely, goddesses who spured male attention would understand the heart of a woman lover. She had her basket almost full when the sun began to set. She was dreading coming home, and facing Estelle, after how she ran away, like a coward.

However, she knew she had to get home in time to make dinner; so with a heavy heart, she started home. She was greeted by Lady Isodara complaining of her lateness. She gave a few apologies, before rustling to the kitchen, in case Estelle was near. She busied herself in making dinner and was soon lost in the process.

Finally, it was time. She brought dinner out to the dinning room and to her surprise, only Rosella and her stepmother were there. She set the places for all three. Gabrielle couldn't help her curiousity.

"Is Estelle not feeling well?" She asked her stepmother. As an unspoken rule, Gabrielle never talked while serving meals. Isodara gave an annoyed look, but answered.

"No, she just hasn't returned from her walk. You know it's not strange for her to be back until almost dusk" Gabrielle nodded, it was true. Estelle often took hours for her walks, but she never knew why until now

"Oh, well it's her fault if she gets a cold supper." Causally remarked, Rosella as she dug into her plate. Gabrielle went to her corner, as she waited on her stepfamily, as usual. Everything was quiet except for the gosssip between Isodara and her daughter. Gabrielle mostly ignored it, numbing herself. She didn't react till she heard a door open and she gave a little jump. She turned to see Estelle entering the room. Their eyes meet automatically, before Estelle turned away and walked to the table, taking her place.

"Look what the cat dragged in!" cheerfully remarked, Rosella, but Estelle didn't answer. Isodara then started to chasited her younger daughter for being late. Estelle had an expression that Gabrielle wasn't expecting. She looked relieved. Why was she relieved, wondered Gabrielle? Then Estelle placed another glace into her direction. That's when she realized what Estelle was so scared of. Estelle must have thought that she would tell Isodara what she saw.

Why would she ever think that? She was no ally of her stepmother or a tattelle. Then she thought some more, come to think of it; Estelle didn't know her well at all. They hardly ever spoke to each other at all. They saw each other everyday, but were virtual strangers. Estelle was not nearly as cruel as her mother and older sister were to her, yet she had avoided her as well. Maybe running away that afternoon, wasn't the only mistake she had made with her younger stepsiter.

"I am full." announced Estelle, suddenly. Isodara gave her a look,

"You barely ate and have been walking all day."

"I am full." Repeated Estelle.

"Very well then, I don't feel like arguing; go hungry." Estelle said nothing more and left. Gabrielle would wait until the others were done and in bed before going to Estelle's room. When she reached Estelle's door; she said another prayer of strength to Hestia; before knocking. The door hestiantly creaked open, to reveal Estelle. Before Estelle could get a word in; Gabrielle blurted out

"I didn't tell anyone, anything." She stated strongly, "And I won't." She felt a bit stronger, "What you do in your private is none of my concern." Estelle stood silent for a few moments, looking over her. Almost like she was checking for honesty

"I see." She finally said,

"Good night," whispered Gabrielle.

"Good night." repeated Estelle in a hushed tone and she closed the door. Gabrielle gave a sigh of relief and walked away, feeling better. The door creaked.

"Thank you, Gabrielle."

"You are welcome." She said, softly.