Violoncello (A Gay Cinderella Story)

Surprise!

Cello walked into his home from the kitchen door and shut it behind him. A leather boot struck him in the face and caused him to fall backwards to the floor.

"Why aren't my boots shined?!" an angry voice bellowed. It was Adam who had thrown the shoe.

"I only just got home." Cello answered softly huddling into a ball to make himself small. He sat in a fetal position with his back against the door.

"From his walk," Draven said to Adam. He was sitting on a kitchen stool spreading strawberry jam on a biscuit.

"Where do you go on these walks?" Adam asked stepping towards Cello, who was still on the floor. He wore no shoes and his socks were holey. "Are these walks more important than shining my boots?" Cello said nothing. "What do you do on these walks?"

"Meeting someone, perhaps?" Draven teased with a mouth full of biscuit.

"Who could it be?" Adam kicked at one of Cello's legs. "Could it have been a man? Was father right about you?"

"What, that he's a fairy?" Draven laughed. Tears ran down Cello's cheeks as he looked away from both of them. He didn't dare look at them right now.

"Your silence says it all," Adam said to him. He kneeled in front of Cello, inches away from his face. "Now what will you do for me in order to keep your secret?"

"What are you on about?" Draven asked confused.

"Nothing." Adam told him, standing back up. "Just scaring him." Cello could feel Adam's gaze on him. His green eyes showed nothing but hatred. "My boots better be clean in five minutes or there will be hell to pay." Both brothers walked out of the kitchen leaving Cello a sobbing mess on the floor.

//

Prince Gabriel felt completely confused. Who was that man he ran into today? Why did he rush off at the sight of his guardsman? Why couldn't he get him out of his head? He had numerous questions dancing around in his brain that he didn't pay any attention to the conversations surrounding him. He was heading back to the castle by carriage. He decided to do some exploring today in nature just to get his mind off of recent events.

He shared the carriage with Jonathen and Patrick, his cousins from the island of Illium. They were visiting before they both headed off to university. It would be a while longer before they would be able to meet up again.

"Where'd you run off to?" Jonathen asked, referring to Gabriel's earlier disappearance. Gabriel was pulled from his trance when he noticed both of his cousins waiting for a response from him.

"Uh... I saw a family of deer and wanted to get a better look at them." He finally said. "They were... exquisite." He couldn't tell if he was referring to the deer or the man and his dog who he seemed completely enthralled by.

"A whole family?" Patrick asked. "I bet that was something. You don't see them too often on the island."

"It's the one thing I miss about living on the mainland." Jonathen added. Gabriel gave a sad smile at that. Not only were these two his cousins, but they were his best friends. They grew up together, trained and studied together. Now they were going off to university and leaving him behind. Since they were younger than he, they were able to continue their education before being thrust into married life and fathering children.

Gabriel had already attended university at an early age due to his overwhelming intelligence. Now he spent his early thirties defying his parents at every turn. They wanted him married and they wanted him married now. Not only was it his duty as a prince to wed, but he had an obligation to the crown to produce an heir. Luckily, he had plenty of time to run away from this responsibility, but he couldn't outrun it forever.