Ella And The Prince (The Diary series, Book 1)

Prologue

Once upon a time, in a land called Eboneway, there was a young girl about the age of fourteen, whose name was Ella. That’s me! I had grown up with no father, nor any siblings. It had always been just my mother and myself. Well, that is, as far back as I can remember. Mother often told me stories of when my father was alive, and about his wonderful craftsmanship with wooden carvings, and through her stories, he came alive for me in my imagination, even though I have no real memories of him.

Well, I lived with my mother in a one-bedroom rickety old house, that had barely enough room to sleep in, let alone live in. The front door was in the middle of the front wall, so if you were standing against the back wall facing the front door, then in the far right corner to the right of the door, you would see a small stove, and on occasion, a small amount of firewood. But because of how poor we were, having firewood was considered a luxury seldom afforded. In the far left corner to the left of the door was a very small table that sat close to the ground, and on either side were two very worn pillows that we used as chairs. If you then walked to the front door and stood looking into the room, facing the back wall, you would see in the right corner a double bed that my mother and I shared, with several thin blankets, and one long pillow.

In the left corner, you would see a screen set up. Behind that screen was a small chest that we kept our few changes of clothes, and also a small amount of what we consider our most cherished belongings. Outside, you would see that our little house was set back away from the road, and was surrounded by trees of many shapes and sizes. It is a very beautiful place to live. Anyways, I had to work in a cotton factory twelve hours a day, for my mother was a weak and frail woman, and has not been able to work since I was twelve when she became very sick with pneumonia. Ever since then, she has been prone to getting sick quite often, and because of that, is not offered even miniscule work from other people, because very many people are afraid of illness.

And although I worked from sunup to sundown with very little to eat, I still grew up strong, (beautiful), and very happy. On the days that I had off, my mother gave me lessons on how to be a proper lady, teaching me to be kind and considerate to everyone around me, even if they, in turn, were rude to me. We had so much fun together, and I always did my best to please her. Little did I know that life as I knew it was about to change forever.