Midnight

Prolouge

*Picture attached is of Ella when she was a little girl.*

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"Papa! Papa!"
The little girl's bare feet quickly ran through the thick green grass in order to get to her father. Her father smiled when he saw his daughter running towards him. He knelt down and caught the little girl as she ran into him, giving her a tight, yet gentle, hug.
"Why do you have to go?"
Her small voice shook with sadness at the thought of her father leaving again. He had only just gotten back a week ago. The man gave a sigh and kissed his daughter on the forehead.
"Well Ella, I have trade to do. I'll only be gone a few days, I promise. What would you like me to bring back for you this time?"

He always did this, he always made sure to ask his little Ella what she desired from the distant lands. Ella and her small family lived on the edge of the kingdom, close to the forest and the lake nearby. This made it easier for her father to travel throughout their land.

The little girl twisted in her father's arms, thinking.
"A ring." She said finally.
"A ring?" Her father smiled. "Like your mother's?"
Ella laughed at his joke and turned around to see her mother smiling as well. She shook her head and looked back at her father.
"There can't be another one that is that pretty, can there?"
Her father laughed and kissed her head again.
"Then I will find the second prettiest ring for you, how does that sound?"
"Thank you, thank you!"
Ella wrapped her arms around her father's neck and gave him a tight hug.

Her mother walked over and held Ella's hand as her father get ready to leave. Before he mounted his cart, he gave his wife a peck on the lips and patted Ella's head one last time. Then he was on the cart and leaving for what seemed to be the hundredth time this year.
Ella's father was a merchant, you see, and that meant leaving for sometimes months on end. But he never forgot to write to his wife or his daughter.

Ella looked forward to his return, as did her mother, as the days slowly turned into a week, and the week got longer.

But, true to his promise, Ella's father was not gone for that long. She heard him one day still off in the distance, but he was shouting.
"Ella! Where are my girls? Where are my beautiful girls?"
Ella laughed and ran outside, her mother following closely. She saw him after a while, atop his cart that was now full of goods from the lands abroad.

"Papa!"
She ran forwards, meeting him before he was down from his cart.
"Ella, my love!"
He hopped down and picked his daughter up, swinging her in the air. She giggled and hugged her father. He set her down and moved to kiss her mother. Then he bent down and looked at Ella eye-level.
"I have something for you."
Ella hadn't forgotten her request for a ring, and neither did her father it would seem. She smiled and twirled excitedly on the spot. Her father reached into his jacket and pulled out a small package wrapped in brown cloth. He handed it to his daughter, who took it carefully.

When she lifted the cloth from around the gift, a small ring fell into the palm of her hand. She gave a little gasp and smiled up at her father.
"It's beautiful!" She examined, making her father smile. It was beautiful, although quite simple. It was a silver band that crossed over itself twice in the very center.
"It might be a little big for you, but you will grow into it."
Ella smiled and turned to show her mother her first piece of jewelry. Her mother held out her own hand and showed Ella the one she wore. The two resembled each other a little bit, which made Ella even the more happy.

Later that night, her mother and father gently tucked her in to her bed. Her father kissed her and promised that he wouldn't have to leave for a few more months. Her mother lovingly stroked her hair and started singing a familiar lullaby.