Violoncello: Love, Adore, and Cherish (A Gay Cinderella Sequel)

Adam: A Different Day

Adam was lost. He was angry, he was confused, he was different, but he was free. Moving heavy crates along the docks day in and day out was tough work, but he was free. He made just enough money to get by and with the extra he had, he drank, but he was free.

His father blamed him for their downfall. They were almost thrown into the dungeons and then cast out of their home, well, Cello's home. His father couldn't fathom that they deserved all of the bad things that were happening to them.

His stepmother, Cello's mother, wasn't the first woman his father courted for her money. There were numerous women before her. She ended up being the last since their father grew too old for courting. It then fell to Adam and his brother, Draven, to follow in his footsteps.

When Adam finally stood up to his father by telling him that he wouldn't do it, his father struck him across the face. Adam walked into his room of the small, decrepit home they occupied and packed a bag. He said goodbye to his brother and walked out of the house. He never looked back.

He managed to find work as a dockhand, helping the incoming ships with their deliveries. He was exhausted every evening, but it was honest work. He was keeping himself out of trouble. The enormous Royal Castle would sometimes cast shade over his body when he worked. It always made him gaze upon the beautiful structure. His mind would then think about Cello and how much he missed him.

Sure, he treated Cello like scum when they lived together and he regretted it every single day. He was more focused on his own survival at the hands of his father than thinking about their mistreatment of Cello. He knew that he could have, should have, done more to protect him. Now, he simply hoped that Cello was happy and safe. It would absolutely devastate him if anything harmful were to happen to Cello.

He remembered writing Cello a letter and waiting patiently for a response. After a few weeks of hearing nothing from him, he assumed Cello didn't want anything to do with him. He didn't blame Cello at all, but it still made him sad. He was overjoyed when a letter arrived to the room he was renting at the inn. A Royal Courier handed him the letter and bid him a good day. His heart did leaps and bounds when Cello signed the letter as "your little brother".

On this day, Adam began to pick up a particularly heavy crate to place it on a wagon with the others. The ship he was helping unload was delivering goods for the upcoming Royal Wedding. The foreman of the dock was particular about everyone handling the crates with care. He was being extra cautious since all of this was for his brother.

As he got a good handle on the crate and made a beeline for the wagon, someone bumped into him hard causing him to lose his balance and drop the crate. The contents inside the crate shattered as the crate split open down the middle.

"Oy!" A voice yelled. "Watch where you're going!" The man who bumped into Adam was extremely unapologetic. Fury rose behind Adam's green eyes.

"Me?" Adam asked. "You slammed into me!" Adam walked up to the rude man and looked him right in his light brown eyes. The sweat on the man's rich, ebony skin gave him an almost ethereal look in the sunlight.

"Then you should watch where I'm going," the man enunciated every word while smirking at Adam. Adam stared the man down and was about to punch him in the face when the foreman interrupted him.

"Back to your post, Adam," the foreman called. Adam shut his eyes, still mere inches away from his assailant. He sighed and walked away.

"Hm," the man simply said, tilting his head as he watched Adam walk back to the ship.

"Kayn, please stop making trouble for my men," the foreman said to the man. "Get what you need from town and leave. We are extremely busy here."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," the man named Kayn said as he waved off the foreman. No one had ever looked at Kayn so intensely with so much passion and rage. It intrigued him nonetheless. He turned around and headed into town with an entourage of other men.

"I should have warned you about Kayn, Adam," the foreman told him as he was still cooling off from their altercation. "He can be a nuisance, but he's the best sea captain Arcadia has. His ego is as large as his ship." The foreman looked at the ship they were unloading which belonged to Kayn. It was a massive craft with the Arcadian flag flying proudly above the crow's nest. "The Hurricane" was painted in calligraphy on both sides of it.

"If I never see him again, it'll be too soon," Adam said through gritted teeth. "But that's not what's bothering me."

"Then what is?" The foreman asked.

"That crate had to have been important," Adam explained. "What if I ruined the wedding?" Adam's heart was breaking. He was beginning to mend his fragile relationship with Cello. He was doing everything he could to stay in Cello's good graces.

"Adam, one crate of broken cutlery isn't going to ruin someone's wedding." The foreman laughed. "The royals will make do. Take a few minutes and get back to it." Adam nodded at his foreman and sighed again. He rubbed the back of his neck as he looked out to the sea. Maybe it would do him some good to get away for a bit.