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

Chapter Sixteen: Ella

When I went into my step-father's office, he had me shut the door before he began speaking.

“I have treated you like my own daughter… I have given you shelter, food, and clothing. And how do you repay me?!? You go traipsing off with the prince, of all people! And not only do you never tell anyone, but you then accept a marriage proposal from him, without even asking my permission first!” my step-father had started out by talking quietly, and had slowly raised his voice until he was shouting. I sat further back in my chair in his office.

“How do you know all this?” I asked quietly. He grinned a malicious smile, before walking over to the safe that sat in the wall behind a portrait.

“Do you recognize this handwriting?” He asked me. He held out the letter that I had been looking all over for. “Where. Did. You. Get That?” I demanded of him.

“Your mother gave it to me on her deathbed, telling me to give it to you when I felt you were ready. Except, you never will be, so I never gave it.” He said,

“You are lying!” I almost shouted.

“Maybe, or maybe not. Either way, if you ever want to know what she wrote in this letter, then you will have to do something for me.” He said. I had to work hard not to roll my eyes.

“What do you want?” I asked. He laughed.

“Well, you really have two choices. Either you get the prince, and never see this letter again, or you do as I say. I want you to write a letter to your dear prince, and tell him that not only can you not marry him but that you want him to marry your sister, Alexandra. When you have done this, then you may have this letter. And only then.” He told me. I considered my two choices, and the consequences to both.

Which should I choose? On the one hand, if I chose to go ahead and marry Caspian, I would never get to find out what my mother knew about A. But if I wrote the letter to Caspian, then I would have the letter from my mother but would have to live the rest of my life knowing that I would never find true love again. I thought hard on this.

“Well, what do you choose? Are you with me… Or that prince?” He asked me. Suddenly, another choice opened up to me.

“I choose to make my own path, no matter what you say,” I stated primly.

“What?” he asked. In his confusion, his grip on the letter loosened up slightly, and I took the chance to jump out of my chair and snatch the letter out of his hand before running out the door of his office and all the way back to the clearing in the woods. When I arrived, I sat down and held the letter in my hands.

The seal isn’t broken yet!  I thought in surprise. Because my step-father had spoken as though he knew what the contents of the letter said, I had assumed that he had already read through it. But he hadn’t! That thought alone gave me great hope. I gently slipped my finger beneath the edge of the flap that was sealed down and tore it open. And then, with shaking hands, I finally read the letter that should have been mine two years ago.

To my dearest Ella,

I want you to know that I didn’t keep everything quiet because I didn’t trust, or didn’t want you to know, but rather to protect you from your step-father. You may have guessed that something wasn’t quite right, when I suddenly told you that I was getting married, and you are correct. The fact is, my name is Antoinette Darcy Covington, Princess of Aestoria. Your father was indeed carve many things, and it is true that I met your father in the market one day, when I was escaping castle life. And all this really means that you are a real princess. Your step-father, Alfred, knew me before I married your real father, and ever since I came of age to marry, Alfred has been after me, because in our kingdom, both men and women are allowed to rule, whether or not they marry, but if you were not in direct lineage with the king and queen, then you had no chance. When I married your father, it was against the wishes of your grandparents, my parents. My father wished to disinherit me, because of my ‘rebellious’ act, but was stopped by my mother. After we were married, your father moved us to where we lived up until Alfred. Now, when Alfred heard that I had married your father, he disappeared, and I thought that I had heard and see the last of him. The day that I asked you if you would mind having a new father, I had seen Alfred in town. He convinced me that in my desperate state, that he could help us, especially with the bills to the doctor. I unfortunately fell prey to his lies, hoping that he might act as a father figure to you. When I finally realized that he wanted nothing more than another chance at the throne, it was already too late. He obviously didn’t realize that I would pass so soon, or else he might have tried a different tactic after I had died, rather than marrying me.  I wrote this letter to you in hopes that you would be able to go to your grandparents, as they have no other children besides myself. I know that you may never be able to rule a kingdom on your own, but I believe that you may be the person to convince my parents to change their ways, and nominate a new law, where the king and/ or queen may choose for themselves the person to follow in their footsteps. Please forgive me for not telling you all of this earlier. I truly love you very much, my dear, sweet Ella

  

                        With much love,

                                               Mother

After reading this letter from my mother, I burst into tears. She had known all along and had never told me. She had never lied to me, but she had kept tight-lipped, never saying anything. When I finally mopped up my tears, I had come up with a plan. I would stay away from my step-father at all cost’. I knew that Caspian would be more than willing to let me stay at the castle, but I had no idea how his parents would react. I also knew that whatever Caspian’s parent’s reaction was, it would be nothing compared to how my step-father would act if he ever saw me again. I picked up my letter, and set out for the castle, hoping that a brighter future awaited me there.