The Forgotten Tale of a former lady named Ella

~Chapter 2: Crowded Market, feisty redhead and a grouchy Spainard~

I take a deep breath as I stroll down the well-traveled forest towards the marketplace. The sweet cool air is quickly being replaced by hot and sticky heat that marks the emergence of the summer months. Buds that were shyly peeking out their heads last week are now fearlessly opening themselves up to soak in the sun's embrace. Barely nine o'clock in the morning and already the boiling inferno above was making its presence known. It will not be long before even the heavily shadowed forest will have steaming sunlight sneaking its way through the leaves.

"Ella!"

I lift my head to see a woman with hair the color of fire and eyes that put the brightest sapphires to shame. She jogs towards me with an unusual frown etched across her face.

"Sophie, what is wrong?"

"What is wrong? What. Is. Wrong? Well, I'll tell you what is wrong dear Eleanora. For exactly one hour everyday I am able to escape my household and my boutique to shop in the market as well as converse with a dear old friend of mine while my darling, but slightly incompetentable, husband sacrifices his sanity during that hour with our troublesome twins."

Sophie finishes her rant and places both hands on her hips.

"Now tell me Elenora, do you know what occurs when that friend is late during this most sacred of hours?"

I bite my bottom lip to hide my smile.

"No, Sophie, I do not know. What does occur when this darling friend of yours is late?"

"Well it means that I have to haggle for lousy bruised fruit on my own, plow through idiotic girls for decent looking fabric and miss out on the current gossip. Now, what do you have to say for yourself miss Eleanora?"

One glance at her attempt of a stern face is enough for me to lose control and erupt in laughter.

"Oh Sophie," I say while wiping tears from my eyes "you do understand that you are no longer my governess, correct?"

Sophie gives a dramatic eye roll.

"Well, the lack of pay was a rather large clue at that. Nonetheless, does the fact that I am no longer your governess mean that I am not allowed to worry or reprimand you every once in a while, Ella?"

"No, but-"

"Good. Now since that is settled," Sophie links her arm to mine and steers us both in the direction of the market "I will forgive your tardiness if you will kindly provide me with the current scandals regarding the step-horrors."

Despite her previous position with my family, Sophie has always appeared and acted more in the role of an elder sister than an authority figure. With only a six year age difference between us 'twas rather difficult to see her as anything but. 

After my father passed, my step-mother dismissed the household as an 'absolutely necessary decision if we were to ever show our faces again in high society' in order to salvage our finances. When the announcement was made, Sophie volunteered (rather forcefully) to work without pay. She argued with Lady Tremaine that I had much left to learn in my education, despite the fact that I finished the year prior. At age sixteen, it was clear that I no longer needed a governess, nor a tutor. After losing the ongoing battle with Sophie (it is quite impossible to win any sort of argument with her) an agreement was made that Sophie would pertain a temporary unpaid position of managing the household work as well as tutoring myself until a flow of income was reintroduced into the family. After three months with no steady income and a rising fear of a financial ruin scandal, Sophie had left Marchand manor for good. 

Despite being a young single woman, Sophie managed to purchase a run-down cottage in the midst of town and opened her own clothing boutique. At thirty-two years old, she became the most successful seamstress in all of Europe. The norm for her is nearly one-thousand international orders per week and hundreds more in local demands. Not to mention having a minimum of thirty employees under her care. She also has only become a wife and a mother a measly two and a half years ago, thereby maintaining her status as a main source of local gossip. Sophie Couture has unapologetically shattered the traditional image and role of a woman in our society. I would not want her any other way.