Shut Up, Cinderella

A Crowded Workshop

It was quite a merry gathering that had amassed inside the workshop, and Cinder wasn't sure he liked any of it.

The knight, at least, wasn't too bad. She was leaning against the doorframe with her hands in her pockets, sharing the occasional exasperated glance with him but otherwise minding her business. He wished the same could be said about his step-family. The girls were all jitters and nerves, rustling and bustling back and forth, constantly adjusting their clothes and offering food or drinks or other favors to the guests. Even Hestia had turned up, and though she was a bit more subtle, Cinder could still tell she was just as eager to please as her daughters.

And then...

"I'm bored," Prince Gemstone complained, sitting the wrong way on a chair that was sizes too small for him. "What's taking you so long? Stop scribbling and help me already!"

...there was him.

"For the fifteenth time," Cinder snapped, looking up from his notes, "I am helping you. You said to ask the local shoemakers. I'm listing all of them off for you, with their exact addresses, so Your Royal Cluelessness doesn't get lost on the way."

"I wouldn't get lost, you bastard! How hard can it be to find a bunch of shoe shops?"

"There are many! If you have a list, you can cross them off one by one!" Cinder clicked his tongue. "What else do you want me to do, go out and drag your beloved out of the nearest cupboard?"

The prince scoffed. "You wouldn't even recognize him!"

"You don't say," Cinder lied. "I haven't seen him. So maybe you could kill your boredom by describing him to me."

The prince pursed his lips, pondering the idea. Then his eyes lit up with wistful reminiscence. "He was..."

"Yes?" Cinder asked impatiently. The look in the prince's eyes was making him uncomfortable.

"...beautiful."

Cinder's head nearly hit the desk. "Care to be more precise?"

"You're so unromantic!"

"I'm trying to find a person here! Someone I've never met!" Cinder double-checked with the old map in front of him, then pushed aside the finished list. "So maybe go into a little more detail. How old was he?"

"About my age," the prince answered, then paused, eyeing Cinder closely. "Our age," he corrected himself.

"Height?"

The prince thought for a moment, then indicated something in the general vicinity of Cinder's height. "Like this?"

"So, average. Hair?"

"How dare you call him average!"

"If someone's height is average, then that's what it is!" Cinder shot back. "I asked you something, Your Highness! What do you remember about his hair?"

Prince Gemstone sobered up. "Black," he answered. "About down to here," he continued, indicating shoulder-length. "Slicked back...very shiny and silky and—"

"Skin tone?" Cinder cut him off before he could start gushing any more.

The prince flushed with indignation. "Don't interrupt me! How dare you?"

"Who was complaining about me taking too long just a moment ago, huh?"

"I can take however long I want! I'm the prince! And you're just a stupid, stupid peasant who's lucky I asked him for help!" The prince stuck out his tongue. "I could ruin your life with a snap of my fingers! So there!"