The letter was still clutched in my fingers when I caught sight of Ella standing next to a man. He was a man I’d never seen before. Our town was always busy with traders, travelers, and locals, but now it was buzzing. The cobblestone streets were packed end to end with early-rising wives and peddlers all repeating the same words. Cicadas... It reminded me of cicadas screaming in the summer. 

The corner by the bakery was where Ella and I always met in the morning. It was a little out of the way, but anyone heading to the well or bakery would pass by it. Sometimes, she’d come a little earlier to sell hair ribbons she braided in her spare time or the occasional bouquet of flowers she collected. I don’t think anyone was overly interested in that today though. 

“A ball,” The baker said to the cobbler’s son. It was all anyone was saying. Those two words spun around my head so fast they made me dizzy. They had festered in my heart with something worse than fear. I didn’t know the word for this feeling. It felt inevitable, deep even, like I was the pebble someone dropped into a well. I knew there was water and I knew I was going to hit it. Then, I would keep sinking down into the dark until I couldn’t see the top anymore. 

And who cared about pebbles at the bottom of wells? 

“Esther?” I didn’t realize I’d walked all the way up to Ella. There was concern knitted between her eyebrows and her lips were pressed together. The strange man stood much taller in comparison to Ella’s side, but he took a polite step backward at my approach. An eye-catching orange feather sat tucked into the buckle of his hat. He wasn’t unpleasant to look at; he had the sort of face that made trading easier. His eyes, however, were brown as bark and held none of Ella’s concern. “Are you alright?” She reached a hand out towards mine and I realized I was still clenching the letter. I quickly yanked my hand backward, away from her, and nodded towards the ground. 

“Yeah,” I said to the dirt. “I’m just out of breath.” If she could feel the ache in my chest, she likely would have believed me. I felt like I’d run across the entire town three times over.

 

When I looked up, there was something in her eyes. It was a murky expression that didn’t belong on her face. But when our eyes fully met, it was gone and I wondered if I’d really seen it at all. Maybe I was just projecting my own unease onto her. 

The orange feather man lifted his gloved fist towards his mouth and cleared his throat. It didn’t sound overly annoyed but a wave of awkwardness rushed through me nonetheless. When I met his gaze, there was a sparkle of something that felt deliberate in his eyes that was soon matched by the crease of a smile. I gave him an apologetic nod of my head and looked back towards Ella. He hovered at just the edge of what was our space; he seemed to neither want to directly interrupt nor simply walk off. They must have been talking. 

“Morning,” I said politely. As I’d never seen him before, so, he must be another trader or merchant passing through. Our town was one of several within quick vicinity of the castle; it meant many traders stopped either to or from. 

“Miss,” He replied with equal courtesy. Then he tipped his hat towards the two of us. “It was nice talking to you, Elanora. Please just let me know if you’re interested. It seems as though I’ll be here for a time longer than I thought, with the upcoming festivities.” The final smile he gave was friendly as he turned towards the main street.

It wasn’t unusual for men to wonder if Ella was married and become very interested in the knowledge she wasn’t. We were, after all, at the age where most girls were finding husbands or preparing to marry their sweethearts. But Ella’s stepmother wouldn’t let men court her. And I just wasn’t seen as worth the dowry.

“Esther?” Ella’s arm slipped through mine with a firm insistence. I couldn’t wiggle her off if I tried. I didn’t bother trying. “Are you tired? You look pale.” I felt pale, if that was possible. “I hope you’re not getting sick.” 

I was tired to the bone. And there were so many things I was sick of. 

“Who was that?” 

The smile that question brought to her face only made me feel sicker still. 

“A trader stopping here. Come on, I have to pick up the morning bread.” The arm looped through mine pulled me along towards the bakery. “He’s visiting family on his way back from bartering at the castle.” Ella continued. She’d always been far more social than I was. I wondered if she took my silence now for my usual inclination towards her chattering or if it felt different. “He was telling me about the trip back to his village and what’s sold already. He travels with a small caravan. He’s from the coast.” Everyone was talking about it and everyone had gotten letters. There was no way her family, with three daughters, hadn’t gotten one. “Esther.” My name was followed by a persistent shake of my arm. 

“What?” I’d been listening. A trader from the coast. 

“The coast, the ocean. He lives on the ocean. You’ve always wanted to see the ocean, right?”

It took a moment for me to catch up to what she was referencing. 

“Oh.” My silly dream. The ocean may as well be as far away from us as the stars in the sky. Neither of us had the money to travel to somewhere like that. If I left for a trip, my mother would lose half of her workforce. Ella’s stepmother didn’t even let her leave the town. There wasn’t really anything her stepmother let her do. That knowledge was suffocating for me, so what did it feel like for her? 

As usual, flour marked the cheek of the baker as he turned to greet us. His clothes were equally covered in flour and crumbs. There was always a ruddy hospitality in the wrinkles around his eyes and mouth. They creased even deeper as he rubbed the back of his hand against his cheek and only succeeded in smearing more flour. 

“Good morning Elanora, Esther, it’s a nice day. Don’t you girls think so?” The baker’s voice was as bounteous as his wares. Ella had still been looking at me when he greeted us and this time I knew I didn’t imagine the look on her face. She was, at the least, perplexed. I was acting strange. I heard her return the baker’s greeting, and it was the same pleasantries they had always shared. Always. 

The brown bread my mother always bought sat in the stall. The fresh white bread Ella’s stepmother always bought still had steam coming from it. This was our usual morning. We’d go get the water together then Ella would go get the rest of the food for the household. I’d break off and check the new fabrics for my mother. Then we’d work the rest of the day. Over and over again. How was anything ever going to change? The cobbler’s son was still there, and he smiled at us, but it didn’t mean anything. We were just the poor seamstress’ daughter and the pretty girl with the abusive family. 

Had that man in the hat had such a knowing twinkle in his eye because he knew we were just another pair of village girls with no future? The same as hundreds of other girls in other villages he passed through and none of us meant a damn. 

What had my mother said? That this may be her chance? Was the bitter feeling in my heart, that fear, selfish? 

“The ball,” I spluttered the words out. Ella didn’t look any less confused as I motioned emphatically with the crushed letter. “The royal ball,” I repeated the words as I tried to wrap my mind around what I was thinking. I knew I let my mouth hang open, I probably looked like an idiot, as I struggled to vocalize everything racing through my head. 

“Oh, the ball…” Ella’s words dragged with a disinterest I wasn’t surprised by. She’d never left the town and maybe even lost the drive to long ago. “Is that why you’re acting like this? I’m not--” I didn’t let her finish as I held her arm tighter to me. 

“I’ll make you a dress.” That was it. That was what I could do. I didn’t care as something raw and authentic filled Ella’s eyes; I just kept forward with this one thought in mind. I may never see the ocean but Ella could at least find a better life. Her stepmother, after all, couldn’t turn down the royal family. “I’m going to make you a beautiful dress. We’re going to make you the crown princess.”