Chapter 1
The messenger took her by surprise. And Ella was rarely taken by surprise these days. Even by her stepmother’s or stepbrother’s crazy last-minute demands.
“Ummm….” She didn’t know how to say it without embarrassing the messenger. “Is it by chance you have the wrong house?”
The messenger blushed and then looked at his list. “Is this the Bellafleurs?”
Ella nodded. The messenger puffed his chest in pride. “Then I have the right house to invite to the prince’s ball.”
Ella couldn’t help but raise her eyebrow at this. “You mean the prince’s ball where He picks his bride?”
“The very same.”
Ella looked at him for a beat. “You do know that Madam Bellafleur only has a son, right?”
Of course, they knew, everyone knew. They also knew that Madam Bellafleur had that son out of wedlock but he was her heir.
And an heir of the Bellafleurs since he was a boy, and she, unfortunately, was a girl. Sigh ever since Papa’s death she was reduced to a servant.
She racked her head wondering why the prince would invite the Bellafleurs and then…
“Does the prince by chance like men?”
At this, the wrinkly little messenger puffed in anger, “No the prince does not like men, he is as straight as an arrow.”
“Look there’s nothing wrong with liking men…” Ella began.
“Look Madam Bellafleur has a stepdaughter does she not?”
“Yes…” Ella began. She was the stepdaughter. Though you wouldn’t know it from looking at her. Dressed in rags, she looked more like a maid than anything else.
Never mind the fact that they didn’t need an extra maid, Madam Bellafleur was handy with money. She had enough servants, AND she was flourishing with her own business. She was a savvy businesswoman.
She may not have been mother-like to Ella, God’s know why, But Ella had to admit Madam Bellafleur was self-sufficient. Rich as god sufficient. She had money to burn and was wise As a penny. Even If Ella hated to admit it, Ella admired that woman.
Heck, the reason She married Ella’s father? Everyone knew that Madam Bellafleur didn’t marry for cash, but because she saw a business opportunity and so did her father. Loveless marriage? Pretty much.
And it wasn’t that Ella was treated badly by Madam Bellafleur either. Ariadne Bellafleur wasn’t a bad person. No. She just didn’t believe girls should be spoiled in life.
As the youngest daughter of the family, Ariadne was treated more or less like a servant while her two elder sisters married rich men.
“And what had happened to them?” Her stepmother would say, Ella would sigh as repeated the sentence, whenever she’d beg her stepmother to at least let her not have to earn her dinner. “They went penniless when their husbands died because they were only brought up to be pretty and they didn’t know how to earn for themselves.” (Ella looked this up, it turned out to be true.)
And Ariadne didn’t exactly beat her more than any of the other servants. She let her keep her mouse friends. And she was paid wages, as much as she paid the other maids. Ella wasn’t exactly doing the chores for free. So this wasn’t exactly a bad gig. The thing was it still sucked, considering Ariadne if Ella made any stupid, stupid by her accounts, would not pay her for a week and instead force her to attend lectures on her day-offs.
Hence the rags. (Ok maybe she wanted to impress Ariadne a little bit.)
“Hey,” the messenger stated. And Ella saw she had been lost in her thoughts. “Oh sorry.”
The messenger just sighed. “Look just give this to the Madam and say the family is invited to the prince’s bride search ball. And you should know many women want him.”
“Kind of overcompensating there…” Ella began.
