"Ella? Are you even listening to me?" Annie whined. She'd taken up her normal position at Ella's elbow while the older girl worked at the balls of dough arranged along the wide counter. Annie's cheeks were still red from the biting cold that had pushed its way in through the window. They were no match for her thick red hair that she kept piled on her head in a mess of curls.

"There's only so many ways you can hint at me about what kind of cake you'd like," Ella teased. Sweat dripped down the back of her neck. They went cold before they even had a chance to be absorbed by her thin dress's collar. No matter how many times she'd done it, the rolling and kneading never failed to tire her out. She'd gotten up especially early today to put together the loaves for the next few days. It was one of the rare weeks where that particular chore overlapped with her trip to town.

A second heat blossomed in her chest. Over the week, the daydreams she escaped to had featured the strange man more and more. In her wildest fantasies he arrived in a gilded carriage to take her away to somewhere beautiful. They were silly dreams and normally she was able to push them away for a cold slap of reality. Maybe it was the anticipation of seeing him again that was warping her perception.

Annie sighed and brushed her pale pink dress free of flour. "I just want it to be better that Drizella's. She always has the best of everything," she grumbled.

"Not everything," Ella whispered as she leaned in closer to Annie. "You have the better heart by far." For all the hardships her stepfamily had brought her, Ella could never hold anger towards Annie for long if at all. She'd only been seven when their parents had married, younger when her father had died. Ella still saw her as the shy girl who'd stumbled into her room in the middle of a thunderstorm looking for a safe harbor.

The door to the kitchen swung open to crash against the wall. Marchioness Vivienne Fletcher, Ella's stepmother, stood in the doorway framed by the early morning sunlight streaming in through the door. Unlike her daughter, she would never lower herself enough to step into the kitchen. She didn't even have the key to unlock the door. That had gone to Ella when she'd suspected the servants had been stealing from them. When they'd still had servants.

"Anastasia, what have I told you about interrupting Ella when she's meant to be working?" The frost in her tone could have sent them back into the depths of winter.

"Sorry mama," Annie mumbled. She scurried out without so much as a parting glance at Ella.

"You'll be leaving soon?" Vivienne asked.

"Yes. Was there anything I needed to add to the list? I've collected the eggs and the dresses to be altered," Ella rattled off her list of tasks. She made sure to stress the mention of altering the dresses.

For the last two years, the Fletcher household had resorted to altering their clothes rather than buying anything new. Annie's birthday gown was the only exception to the rule. They weren't the only family to do the same thing but it bothered Vivienne more than anyone. Ella was particularly aware of this and mentioned it whenever she could to get under her stepmother's skin.

"No, that will be all. Be sure to see me before you leave," she all but hissed at Ella. Her departure was like a storm rolling out. The air immediately felt lighter.

That was their standard for every trip Ella made. Rather than warnings to be safe and hurry home, it was reminders to know her place and do as she was told. The goods were checked along with her pockets and off she went.

Less than a mile away, Ella paused to unearth a small cairn. She'd been there just the night before to hide away a small basket of her own goods to sell. Four delicately embroidered handkerchiefs lined the bottom and cushioned the two goose eggs. Her heart sang seeing them in tact. There was always a risk in keeping them out like this but it was the only way to keep them out of Vivienne's sight.

With every secret trip she made, it was a couple more coins in her pocket and a step closer to freedom.

Madame Coffey was delighted to sell the handkerchiefs. The rates were low but Ella didn't have room to complain. The cost of supplies would be covered and demand would grow.

"If only you'd come work for me," Madame Coffey said. It was a common discussion between them.

"You know I can't just leave them," Ella answered, as always. Besides her ingrained loyalty to her family home, she was in no rush to indenture herself to someone new. The cost to live in the city would put her on the streets in days. At least at the chateau there was a roof over her head and food when she needed it.

Ella said her goodbyes and stepped back out into the hustle and bustle. Her nerves had been frayed since the moment she'd arrived. The men weren't in sight but that was somehow worse than seeing them waiting for her. At least then she could watch them and keep a distance.

"You came." It was him, grubby clothes and tangled hair in tow. A worn bag hung over his back. "I was starting to think you'd call the guards on me for being a nuisance. Glad you haven't yet." He dug into the bag and pulled out a bag of pastries.

"Were you expecting a picnic?" Ella asked, eyebrows raised.

"I just thought you'd like something to eat in all of your running around," he said. "And maybe, I thought I could barter for your name with them." His smile was wide and demanded a response, even if all she managed was one half as big.

"My name is a little more expensive than that," she joked. "Especially when you haven't told me yours."

"Ricky," he said before she had even finished her sentence. "I knew you were desperate to have my name."

A commotion started from a raised platform and everyone gathered around to listen to the man standing there. A scroll unfurled from his hand and he began to read aloud in a booming voice. "By order of the King, a royal ball is to be held. Our Prince is searching for his bride. Every eligible maiden in our fair kingdom is required to attend this momentous occasion."

Ricky continued on through his prepared speech while Ella's new companion passed her another pastry. "Ridiculous, isn't it?"

Ella shrugged. "I have to tend chickens, the prince has to continue the royal line. We all have our jobs," she said. Personally, she might have preferred being pampered day in and day out with the expectation that one day she'd push out a child. It would be magical to spend just one day not covered in filth and sweat. "Surely you have your own job to hate."

"I suppose I do," he admitted. The smile was returning to his face. "Will you be attending the ball to win the prince's hand?"

The laugh that tore itself out of her throat startled not only the people around her, but Ella herself as well. She had little to laugh about most days aside from one of the animals doing something outlandish. Just last week, the duck chased the cow around the yard as if she was a dog. That had been funny, but it hadn't made her laugh like this. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes.

Ella regained her composure and shook her head. "I don't think I fit the requirements." Marquis' daughters turned maids weren't the things princesses were made of. They would want someone soft and compliant to mold into a proper queen. The distant palace clocktower chimed, three deafening peals. "Besides, they would never let me go."

Ricky grabbed her hand to stop her before she could run off. "You are an eligible maiden, aren't you? That means you have to go," he reasoned.

"If I'm caught there they'll never let it go." The last time she'd raised a fuss they hadn't done much aside from searching her room for things to take. They'd been so much worse when she was younger. Lately they'd seemed almost too busy to deal with her small slights against them. Maybe they knew on some level that she was planning to leave and that they wouldn't be able to stop her.

"It's a royal decree, they can't say no," Ricky pleaded. His hand was warm on hers and a little sticky from the mango puree that had dripped out of the pastries.

After a moment she sighed, trying not to look at his triumphant smile. "Alright, but you have to stay with me the entire time. I'm not going to stay trapped and surrounded by the stuffy nobility."

Ricky shifted his hand so he could shake hers firmly. "We have a deal, as soon as you tell me your name."

"El-" she stopped herself by biting down on her tongue. It was bad enough that her step family had taken her name and shortened it to erase her existence by giving Drizella the same name. If this could be her chance to be free, even for a night, she wanted it for herself. "Gabby, my name is Gabby."

Their smiles were perfectly matched in intensity now. "I will find you at the ball, Gabby. Wait for me."