Shut Up, Cinderella

What It Means

Cinder didn't see Gem that day, or for most of the day after. Not that he worried or anything; he knew that, as a crown prince, Gem had other duties to attend to and couldn't simply drop in here all the time. He did miss him a little, but for the time being he was content with simply looking forward to the next time they met.

All the same, in the evening, he didn't retreat to his room after dinner. He had made it a habit to sit in his workshop a little longer, working for another hour or two without being disturbed by customers. Hestia and his stepsisters were giving him odd looks for it, but he liked the quiet, and it allowed him to let Gem in when he chose to visit for the evening.

That evening he didn't have to wait long. After half an hour a knock startled him out of his work, and he dropped everything to jump up and open the door.

Gem stumbled in, looking tired—no, exhausted. His skin was paler than ever, his eyes dull, dark circles sitting underneath like shadows of doom. He didn't say anything. He just sat down on the ground, pulling up his knees and burying his face between them.

Cinder waited for him to say something, then walked over to sit down beside him. "You all right?"

Gem didn't answer. He just sat there, unmoving, his shoulders rising and falling with strangely heavy breaths.

Cinder inched closer. "Something bad happen?"

Gem's breaths slowed down. Little by little his posture relaxed until finally he leaned his back against the wall, closing his eyes.

"It's peaceful here," he whispered.

Cinder didn't ask again. He simply sat there, beside him, and waited for an explanation.

"So peaceful," Gem said at length, stretching out his legs. "Can I just stay here? Forever?"

Angling himself towards him, Cinder watched him closely, but he barely seemed to notice his gaze. "I'm so tired," he rasped out. "Can I have a hug?"

Cinder nodded, then carefully wrapped his arms around him. Gem returned the gesture with all the fervor he had in his body, squeezing him so tightly it felt like he was holding on to a lifeline.

"Bad day?" Cinder asked quietly. "If you feel like telling me."

"I spent almost the whole day with my parents," Gem answered without letting go. "Both of them."

"Ah," Cinder murmured.

"It's like handling explosives," Gem continued. Now that he had started talking, the words seemed to come more freely. "You can't go anywhere near them without safety gear 'cause you know they can blow up at any second. Why do they even still spend time together? Spend time with me?" His voice took on a bitter edge. "All they do is fight with each other. And then they both try to convince me they're the good guy and the other's so evil...like there's not two of them and one of me."

His voice cracked. Pulling away from Cinder, Gem wiped a hand over his eyes. "It's like getting dragged in opposite directions at the same time," he said. "Maybe someday they can just cut me in pieces! And then each one of them takes a half and then I won't care about them fighting anymore because...because I'll be dead!"

His shoulders were shaking suspiciously. Cinder placed a hand on his arm, trying to comfort him, but he didn't know what to say.

"So...yeah." Gem wiped his eyes again. "I don't wanna go back to the palace tonight. Can I just sleep here?"

Cinder was all too willing to agree, but he hesitated. "Won't you be in trouble if you do?"

Gem shook his head. "I told them I'm not coming home tonight. And all the guards are on my side," he added, some of his smugness returning. "And the servants."