Jacquelyn started slamming her head against the wall. 

"Jackie! Stop that!" Ella said. "You're hurting yourself!"

"I wasted so much time and effort on that spell and it didn't even achieve anything." Jacquelyn said while continuing to slam her head into the wall.

Ella grabbed the witch and pulled her back. "This is incredibly unprofessional!"

"I'm not a professional so I don't need to act professionally." Jacquelyn said.

With a sigh, Ella pulled her friend away from the wall. "So this is it? You did all of that work over the time we've known each othe for nothing?"

"I still have the dress and the means of transportation but it won't matter if they recognize you. You were told you can't go, if your stepmother sees you she'll punish you." Jacquelyn said while rubbing her temples.

"Aww~! You care about me!" Ella said.

"You're my friend." Jacquelyn responded before continuing her previous thought. "I could try to disguise you but it would look tacky and this ball does not encourage masks." She tapped her lip. "I suppose I could ask someone for help but I doubt she would assist all that much, if any."

"Who?" Ella asked.

"Your mom." Jacquelyn said with a dead serious expression.

Ella gasped. "I beg your pardon?"

"I don't know all the details but your mother has some kind of magic." 

"What!?" Ella exclaimed. "Since when!?"

Jacquelyn raised an eyebrow. " I literally just said I don't know all the details."

"Right, sorry."

"As I was saying, your mother has some sort of magic. We should pay her a visit."

Ella scoffed. "In case you haven't noticed, my mother is dead."

"You say that so incredibly casually." Jacquelyn said while furrowing her brows.

"Well, yeah. It was years ago. I'm over it." Ella said.

Jacquelyn slowly nodded. "Some people move on fast." She turned her back to Ella and said "c'mon. We don't have all day."

"Are we finding her grave or something?" Ella asked.

"Or something."

.

After a short trek through the woods the two came across a twisted tree. There was an intricately carved tombstone in front of it marking that spot as the resting place of a certain "Evangeline Carter". Ella's mother, Jacquelyn presumed.

"Is your surname "Carter"?" She asked.

"Yep." Ella answered simply.

Jacquelyn nodded before she knelt in front of the tombstone. Her fingers traced it as she looked for something and when she found it she sat back on her heels and pulled a small box out of her pocket.

"What are you doing?" Ella asked.

 Jacquelyn ignored her and continued her work. Inside the small box was a slimy substance which Jacquelyn removed from the box and pressed against the tombstone over some small markings along the right edge. The slime began to glow a light cream color and as steam billowed up from it Jacquelyn recited an incantation (which was unfortunately inaudible to Ella and Jacquelyn refused to tell us what she said) and placed her palm over the glowing goop. Jacquelyn whispered the words (this was revealed to us) "we need a disguise."

The ground started rumbling and Ella jumped back. "What are you doing!?"she asked agin.

"Shh!" Jacquelyn said with a finger to her lip. A porcelain colored hand reached out of the ground and held aloft a small hair comb. It was silver in color and had little green gems set into it. Jacquelyn reached forward and enclosed the porcelain hand in her own and said "thank you, we now allow you to sleep."

The hand released the comb and sunk back into the ground and the earth settled around it. The markings on the tombstone glowed faintly and the goop fell off and into Jacquelyn's outstretched hand. She returned the goop to it's box and stood up and backed away. 

Jacquelyn held the hair comb to her chest and flowers bloomed around the grave as she stood there.

After Ella was sure that the commotion was over she asked, "what in the world was that!?"

Snapping out of her trance, Jacquelyn turned towards Ella to give an explanation. "Your mother cast a spell on herself sometime before she died. It allowed her to come back one more time to help her family if asked. Unfortunately, I'm not her family so I had to cast a spell over her own to get her attention."

"What was the comb she gave you?" Ella asked.

Jacquelyn looked at her the comb in her hand. "I'm not entirely sure, I intend to find out."

"Why did you tell her to sleep?" Ella asked.

"Her soul has been residing in her body since she died, unable to do anything. Waiting. Withering. I allowed it to depart and move on to the afterlife. It's the least I can do for her." Jacquelyn said. "I would move mountains to give the same gift to my own mother."

Ella nodded slowly. "Thank you for helping her pass on. All this time I had thought she was already completely gone. I would never have known she was suffering..."

"Don't mention it." Jacquelyn patted Ella's hand and effortlessly moved on toward the topic they needed to discuss. "Moving on, I believe this comb should disguise you, as that is what I asked your mother for. Shall we see if it works?" Ella nodded eagerly. "Close your eyes."

Ella closed her eyes and Jacquelyn slipped the comb into her hair. Jacquelyn tapped Ella's hand as a sign for her to open her eyes, which she did. Ella jumped up and looked around in alarm before she turned her attention to Jacquelyn. "Who are you!?" She yelled. "What have you done with her!?"

Jacquelyn too leaped up but she put her hands up in front of her. "Ella! Ella, calm down!" She said with a soothing tone.

"How do you know my name!?" Ella yelled. Jacquelyn reached up and quickly removed the comb. Ella's eyes widened and she stepped back. "What the hell?" She said slowly. "What was that?"

"I think it's the power of the comb." Jacquelyn said with a grin. "You try." She handed Ella the comb and closed her eyes. Ella tapped her arm a moment later and Jacquelyn opened her eyes. The girl in front of her was unrecognizable. While she knew it was Ella, her brain kept trying to convince her it was a stranger. "That's amazing..." Jacquelyn said in awe.

"So it really work?" Ella (at least Jacquelyn assumed it was Ella) asked.

"It does!" Jacquelyn said happily. The comb was removed and the girl was revealed to actually be Ella. Jacquelyn hadn't been entirely sure. "You'll need to start getting ready, the ball probably starts soon!"

"Yes! I will!" Ella said with a big smile. 

Jacquelyn summoned the yellow dress and handed it to Ella. "I assume you don' need my help putting it on?" She asked. Ella went red and she shook her head. Jacquelyn laughed and shooed her away to get changed.