Ella 

"Why are you crying?" I hear an unfamiliar voice say. 

I jump where I sit and scoot back into the cold stone well behind me, "Whose there?" I whisper, my voice barely audible. 

"Just me." I turn my head and my eyes fall on a little boy, he can't be much older then me, he is very good looking and his eyes are kind, he looks really familiar, as if I saw him in a dream. 

I wipe my tears away, "Who is you?' 

"Um, Will," He says in the voice Jack uses when he's hiding something. 

I smile tentatively, "I'm Ella, I thought I knew everyone from around here." 

"I'm, um, just passing through." He says scratching the back of his neck.

"Have you been walking awhile?" 

"Yes, I have." 

"Would you like some water?" He hesitates a minute and then nods. I gesture for him to come closer and dip the wooden cup tied to the side into the well. I hand it to him. The tips of his fingers gently brush against my knuckles for an instant. He drinks it down in one gulp. "You must have been very thirsty." I say. 

"I was; why were crying?" I sink down to the floor and cross my legs, he sits next to me. There's but a finger's length between us. 

"I-I'm sad, my mother died a few days ago and I miss her very much. I can't cry around my father because he's sadder then I am, and I can't cry around my brothers because I don't want them to know how sad I am. I don't want them to worry about me." 

"I see, so you came out here?" 

"Yes." 

"My mother died when I was very young. I don't really remember her." 

"I'm sorry," I whisper and look at my hands. 

"You have a very pretty necklace," He says, "I've never seen one like it." 

I look down at the diamond and my hair falls in front of my face, in this light it looks like a star on a chain. He brushes my hair back and tucks it behind my ear with his hand. I look back up at him and our eyes meet. His eyes are deep brown and seem to emanate warmth. His fingers linger on my ear for a moment and then slowly lower down to his side. 

Suddenly I realize why he is familiar, "What is the prince doing out in the woods?" 

He blinks and looks away, "How did you know?" 

"Well, how does every girl in the village know what you look like? Our one shot to meet the prince and marry into royalty, everyone's talking about it. They all want to be picked," I laugh a bit, "Even I made the trek out to see you parade into town in all your splendor, why are you here?" 

"I'm running away." 

"Why?" 

"I don't want to marry some girl whose trying to make a good impression on me so she can be queen. I want to fall in love, if that means that I give up my crown then so be it." 

I shake my head in disbelief. 

"What's wrong?" He asks. 

"I don't believe you," I say. 

"Excuse me?" 

"How could you step down from a position where you could do so much good for so many people?" 

"Well, it's hard you know? Cause what I want and what I have to do to be in my position are two entirely different things." 

"No, I don't know." 

"I'm sure you've shirked responsibilities at some point; you know when your will conflicts with everyone else's." He seems so unconcerned. 

I shake my head, "I don't really understand; my whole life I have spent in obedience to my mother, my father, to the needs of my younger siblings and my older brother. I care for the garden around my house and I clean my home; I serve my friends and visit the elderly who live nearby in the village-" 

"How do you manage all of that?" 

"It isn't very much. And honestly I don't understand how you manage not to do that. If you are given a dominion, any dominion; it is your job to be thankful for that blessing, and in being thankful for it you care for it. I was given a home so I must clean it, I was given a garden so I must care for it, I was blessed with siblings so I should help them, I was blessed with parents so I should serve them, I was blessed with a village and friends so I should do all in my power to help it thrive. I mean these are what I was given so these are what I am meant to care for." 

"You sound like my father's steward." 

I giggle, "But your highness, we are all stewards in our own right, a steward is meant to care for his dominions, and so are we. However small and however great." 

He looks at me for a long moment and then asks, "Will you be at the festival tomorrow?" 

His question startles me, "I wasn't going to be." 

"Oh," He says and his eyes fall to the floor. 

"But if you'd like me to go I will," I say slowly. 

He looks back up at me and his eyes sparkle in the starlight, "I would love to see you there, Ella," His smile warms his face and softens his features. 

"Then I'll see you again," I whisper. We stare at each other for much too long before he asks, 

"Have you ever wanted to be a princess?" 

"I confess the thought has crossed my mind, but I'd rather fall in love then compete for a prince in a beauty contest as if he is some trophy." 

He snorts, "Is it not your duty to offer yourself up to your prince as a potential bride." 

I smile, "Of course sire, but it is a new duty of mine." 

"New since when?" 

"Since I met a prince in the woods and he touched my heart." The words come out before I know to stop them and I blush and look quickly away. 

"Would you dance with me?" He asks. 

"Dance with you?" 

"Yes." 

“Why?”

“Practice for when I pick you to dance with me tomorrow.”

"I would love to." I say. 

He stands and offers me his hand. He helps me to my feet and takes my waste. His hand is firm and strong. His other arm brushes down my forearm and finds my hand. His hand is warm and intertwines with my fingers. Our hands fit perfectly like a lock and key. 

We look into each others eyes and spin around the clearing. One two three one two three one two three. The world fades away and for a moment all I do is feel his presence. I feel a joy bubbling up inside me-hope. A hope that I doubt will ever die. His eyes drink in my face one feature at a time and our dancing becomes slower and slower as our bodies inch closer together until we stand still holding each other in the middle of a clearing by a magical wishing well, barely a fingers width between us. 

We stare into each others eyes and a gust of wind blows my golden hair into my face. He lets go of my hand for a moment and his finger gently touches my forehead and runs down my temple caressing my cheek and finding the lock to tuck it softly behind my ear. His hand brushes against my ear and an excited shiver runs down my spine. We stare at each other for a long moment before we hear a distant yell, "Amphibious! Prince Amphibious!" 

He blinks and whispers, "I have to go...I will see you again?" 

"Tomorrow," I say, "At the festival." 

"At the festival," He echoes. "Here, take this," He says as if he just made a decision he'd been thinking about quite some time. He slips a ring with the royal seal off his finger. I know what it means, every girl does. It is said that when the prince finds his future queen he will slip his ring onto her finger and it will signify his choice. His hand finds mine and lifts it up. "Ella you spoke to me of duty and dominion and stewardship but you know what this ring means and I don't want you to take it simply for those reasons. Please stop me now if you believe it impossible to love me." 

"A day ago it would have been duty, but a moment ago it became my pleasure." I whisper. 

He smiles like a little boy and gently slips the ring onto my hand, it fits perfectly. I exhale and admire its beauty for a moment. "Amphibious! Where are you? Prince Amphibious!" 

"I must go," He whispers. 

"Yes," I say softly, "Until tomorrow." 

"Tomorrow," He whispers, and with his eyes on me for every moment he lifts my hand to his lips and kisses it. 

I smile and feel a red blush creeping into my cheeks. He lets my hand drop. He turns and runs into the woods. I find myself out of breath as I stare after where he disappeared. I am breathing so hard, is this a dream? I hope it is not. I feel the ring, it feels real. I cannot think, all I can do is smile. And then a quiet joyous whisper escapes me, "Tomorrow."