Shut Up, Cinderella

The Wrong Time

Should I have said something?

The question remained on Cinder's mind in the days to come. Over and over he wondered what would have happened if he hadn't kept his feelings to himself, if he had spoken them out. He wondered about it at night when he went to sleep alone, in the morning when he woke up without anyone beside him on the pillow. It had never bothered him before, but now that he had experienced it once...he suddenly missed it.

He was probably just lonely, he told himself. That was fine. He could deal with it. It wasn't worth hurting Gem over.

And hurt Gem he would, unless he got himself to abandon the workshop his father had worked so hard to pass onto him, make all the hard work go to waste. And that he couldn't do. If he left, there would be no one to continue it, and he couldn't do that to his father. He had died from overwork. The least Cinder could do now was make sure all that work hadn't been in vain.

I'm sorry, Gem. But if I have to choose between you and my father, I know where I stand.

Gem kept visiting, but he didn't stay the night again. They didn't fall asleep in each other's arms or wake up on the same pillow. Of course they didn't. Any more of this, and Cinder's resolve might waver for real.

He should pull back. Withdraw, distance himself, until both their feelings had cooled off and they could just be friends without risk of heartbreak. Even if it made Gem sad now, it still wasn't as bad as breaking his heart for real.

Right?

But with every attempt to put some distance between them the look on Gem's face hurt more.

It'll be over soon, he told himself. He'll give up in time. Even he has to take the hint eventually.

Maybe that was the reason why, when Gem barged into his workshop at sunrise one morning, Cinder didn't suspect what was coming.

It was early. The sun had barely crossed over the horizon, the sky bright and pink behind the windows. Pink, too, were Gem's cheeks as he stumbled inside, flushed and hectic, as if something was chasing him. No...as if he was being driven here by something Cinder didn't understand.

"Good morning," Cinder said, unsure what else to say. "You're early."

"I realized something."

Gem's voice was breathless, a little unstable. Had he been running? It almost seemed like he had, even though he must have traveled at least on horseback.

"What's got into you?" Cinder asked, frowning. "Are you in a hurry?"

"I realized I forgot something." Gem reached under his cloak. "Something important."

With that he pulled out a great pouch and placed it heavily on Cinder's work bench. It was large, many times as large as his usual wallet, and from the way it bulged Cinder could tell it was stuffed to the brim with coins.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Your pay."

Cinder stopped in his tracks.

"For helping me find my beloved," Gem explained. "Remember?"

Cinder's insides turned cold. "I can't accept this."

"Why not?"

I scammed you. Cinder swallowed down that sentence. "It didn't work, remember?" he said out loud. "I made you travel the country for days and days and nothing came out of it."

"You still worked for me, right?" Gem was growing agitated. "It's not your fault we couldn't find that guy!"

Yes, it was. From beginning to end, it was solely Cinder's fault.