Shut Up, Cinderella

What Matters More

The days crept by.

Gem stayed in his chambers, frustrated and lonely. He had lessons to attend, of course, work to deal with, his usual princely duties, but his days felt empty, completely identical. Olive still wasn't allowed to contact him. He couldn't go out without getting his father's special permission. There were guards set around his living-quarters, watching day and night, making sure he couldn't even sneak out in secret.

He saw more of his parents, but they were no fun company. His tutors, too, were boring and strict at best and Sir Hector at worst. And now that he had had a taste of freedom, a taste of friendship and pleasant company, the loneliness inside the palace seemed all the more bitter.

And, more than anything, Gem suddenly had a lot of time to think about all the people he wasn't able to see.

He missed Olive. He missed her whole family, and he missed the servants of the palace that his father had strictly banned him from visiting. He missed the villagers and townspeople of the countryside, missed the familiarity and laughter that they had brought into his life.

But most of all he missed Cinder.

Gem had tried to deny it. He had kept telling himself that he didn't care about Cinder anymore, that he didn't need him in his life, that he had said such hurtful things to him that he was better off without friends like him. Except, the more time passed, the less he believed his own words. The more time passed, the more he began to doubt himself and wonder if being right had truly been worth it.

Of course he wouldn't give up on the masked stranger from the ball. True love was true love, and he wouldn't drop it without doing anything. That part he wouldn't back down on, but...

But had their fight really been necessary? Did the masked stranger matter enough to be worth sacrificing his friendship with Cinder?

It was a weird thought, and Gem tried to ignore it. To no avail. The question kept swirling around and around in his mind, and every time he dismissed it it only seemed to get stronger.

He hadn't seen the masked stranger since the ball...but had he ever missed him the way he now missed Cinder?

Not once, he realized. Not in all those weeks had he felt like this about his beloved, not on all his journeys, not during all that time of separation. He had never missed him the way he missed Cinder right now. He had never missed anyone the way he missed Cinder right now. Not even Olive, and she had always been the person closest to him.

But if he didn't miss that masked stranger—if his absence didn't give him that sense of longing and crushing loneliness—was it truly love?

What you're feeling is infatuation, not love.

Had Cinder been right? Should he have listened?

Gem tried to push down the thought. It was only natural that he didn't miss the masked stranger like that, he told himself. They had only seen each other for an evening. They had never journeyed through the lands together, never played around together, never laughed together. Cinder was someone he knew on a deep, personal level. The stranger from the ball, meanwhile, was someone he knew next to nothing about.

And you're still choosing him over your friend?

But it should only be natural, right? Everyone chose their beloved over their friends. A person could have many friends, but a lover was special. He had done the right thing.

...Right?

In all the stories he had read, it was always like this. Brave knights and dashing heroes fell in love at first sight, ditched the entire world for their love, got married and lived happily ever after. So obviously the same had to apply for the real world, right? Friends were replaceable. Lovers were unique.