Billy and Ella had been walking down the mountain path for quite some time. As they watched the sky continue to darken and its first stars shone brightly, they decided that it would be a fit time to stop and rest for the night. It wouldn't do them any good to search for the princess in the dark, and with the threat of the trolls being nearby, they knew that walking in the dark would make for a dangerous idea.

Billy and Ella stopped in a small clearing in the middle of the trail. They sat down and started to snack on the fresh goods that the villagers had given Billy.

Billy wrinkled his nose in minor disgust after biting into an apple. The food in this story didn't really taste good. What kind of apples were these?

Ella didn't seem to mind though, eating the apples as if they were cake. It

was probably because she was so hungry, which Billy was too. Still, he wished that the food they were eating could be both filling and delicious at the same time.

"This has been quite a successful quest so far, hasn't it, Sir Edward?" Ella asked him after finishing her share of the food, sighing contently as she stared out at the beautiful nighttime mountain view.

"It has," Billy agreed, truly meaning what he had said. He had done things today that he once believed he never could do. Facing goblins, crossing a high bridge, climbing a mountain to its trail...He started to wonder if the things he had been so scared of back at home were even worth being afraid of anymore. After all he had been through in that day, he realized that maybe riding in the car wasn't so scary after all. Having his mother push him up the stairs in his wheelchair shouldn't be a big deal either. And those neighborhood kids that always roughhoused outside, were they no different than the goblins he had just encountered?

Billy almost didn't want to leave. He was enjoying the adventures that he was experiencing, and being friends with Ella was pretty fun as well. Having villagers and even the high and regal Queen admire his bravery and strength gave him more confidence than he had ever had in his life. But it was then that he started to remember his family back at home. He wondered if they knew that he was gone, or what time of day it was, or if time was even going on at all, as if he were in some sort of alternate universe.

Billy sighed. He missed his mother and his sister. He wanted to go home and try to make things better with them, especially Clara. He remembered the times prior to his disappearance where he would yell at Clara and get angry with her when she begged for him to play princesses with him. He hadn't meant to upset her so badly, and now he couldn't even be there to apologize to her.

"Sir Edward, what's wrong?" Ella asked him with a concerned look, noticing his expressions as he thought.

Billy paused before answering, wanting to express his feelings to her, but not knowing quite how to explain his situation. He was Sir Edward, not Billy. All of his personal problems and the longing to see a family that wasn't even apart of this world would sadly make not a lick of sense to a book character like Ella.

"Its nothing. I just um...feel homesick, I guess," Billy said, deciding that was the closest he could get to describing his dilemma.

"You do?" Ella almost seemed surprised. Billy only felt embarrassed after he had seen the look on her face and wondered if he should have said anything at all. He was supposed to be a brave knight, not a homesick boy.

"It's fine, it's nothing. I was just...I don't know. I'm fine," Billy stammered awkwardly, not sure what to say and searching for words.

"I feel like that too, Sir Edward. I didn't know you were feeling the same way," Ella replied sadly. "It's comforting to know that there is someone who can understand."

Billy looked over at her, his awkwardness fading as he realized how sad Ella looked.

"It's not fun...having to endure the villagers' harsh treatment of me. I know that I am a peasant, and that I'm from the River Village, but they don't know me..." Ella explained further, looking down sorrowfully.

Billy felt sympathy for Ella. Having heard all the harsh remarks to Ella from critical villagers, he knew that Ella had been going through a hard time ever since walking into the Royal Village. He wondered what was supposedly so bad about the village that Ella was from.

"Um...Ella, how come they seem to hate your home village so much?" Billy inquired curiously.

"My village is poor, and those who live there are of a lower class than the villagers in the Queen's territory," Ella explained sadly.

"That's it?" Billy asked in shock. Ella nodded in response, still looking down.

"But they don't even know you, and you're a nice person!" Billy exclaimed. He didn't like how the villagers had judged Ella by her social status before getting to know her and her personality. It just seemed so unfair to her.

"But it's okay, Sir Edward. I know that I have you as a friend. It is comforting to know that at least the greatest knight in all of the land sees me as such," Ella smiled reassuringly, not wanting Billy to be too upset about the treatment she had received back at the Royal Village. Even so, it was still hard for Billy to just let go.

"Well, it is getting late. We should rest for tomorrow," Ella advised, looking up at the darkened sky. She then laid down and tried to get comfortable on the gravelly land the mountain path was.

Billy followed, laying down in his armor. Even thought it was quite uncomfortable, he didn't want to have to deal with taking it off and putting it back on again once morning would arrive.

"Goodnight, Sir Edward," Ella said, yawning and closing her eyes.

"Goodnight, Ella," Billy said in return, closing his eyes as well and falling into a blissful sleep.