The Princess moved closer to Cid, and then asked, “What are you working on?”

  Cid tried to stay calm and moved slightly away from her, “The same one as st time.”

  “Oh, still? How boring!” She said, sighing and losing her posture into a slump.

  “If it’s so boring, find something to do.” Cid stated.

  “What if what I find what to do is also boring?” The Princess humphed.

  Smirking to her being her normal self and fighting everything said to her, Cid stated back, “Then perhaps you should reconsider the word bored because maybe you are just using that word wrong.”

  “I am not!” She rebutted back.

  “Then what is your definition of being bored, Princess?” Cid asked, trying very hard to keep a still hand to handle very small and delicate items.

  “When you have nothing to do!” The Princess earnestly answered his question.

  “Are you telling me that you can’t draw, paint, sing…” Cid went silent as the Princess took in his words.

  “…Shut up! You’re saying that in this case then I should never be bored!”

  “Correct!” Cid replied, making a nice small hole into one of the shells that he had on his table.

  Cid was still new at knowing his feelings for this girl, so he still felt strange sitting next to her so closely. Yet, one thing that had not changed though, were their fights.

  Usually, they fought all the time, they were like siblings that never had peace!

  The strange thing was, she sometimes would get him things that he needed, like socks, or a warmer jacket and then he would gift to her some ‘broken’ jewellery as a thank you and now…Now that he had found that he liked fighting with her and seeing her sweet sincerity, things have been slightly awkward for him! How was it that nothing had changed with what she did and how close she sat to him but now he is the one that feels awkward!?

  “Hey! Let’s go and try find some gems or something! Isn’t David still in town?”

  Looking at the pretty Princess, even though she was in male attire, Cid smiled, “…He’s still here for another two weeks.”

  “Great! Let’s go!” The Princess stood up and grabbed his hand and Cid frowned, he just ruined a shell completely… There was no way he was going to be able to use the shell when it was broken into two!

  …Or could he?

  Could he do something with broken shells too?

  Another pull of his hand diverted his attention…With the reason to leave, because of the Princess, he would be fine to get away with it but, it didn’t mean that he wouldn’t get beaten slightly because of it. “I’m too busy, you go!”

  Sitting right back down, Cid let go of his worries and already started to get into making his newest ‘special’ trick. Shells!

  And perhaps while doing so he may even come up with something that could use the broken ones!

  The idea of using shells at all only came to him when the Princess…

  “No! I’m not going alone!” Princess Bethany said firmly, folding her arms to her chest.

  Cid didn’t look up, not wanting to loss his attention, “Then don’t go.”

  “But I want to go!” The Princess compined.

  “Then go…” Cid said back, now in monotone and in a busy like manner. He had already started to do another hole in another shell. The strange, new contraption that he made to make these holes in the shells was working splendidly!

  “Fine!”

  Cid wasn’t surprised when Princess Bethany sat back down right beside him…Still too close…

  Having done this so many times now, he put in front of the pretty Princess the same things as himself and they both made jewellery together.

  The Princess would not be a part of any of the hard and careful creative bits of jewellery making, nor where it may have to go into any type of heat, but she still liked to py with some small pieces of gold and small pieces of silver. Well, that is what Cid thought, but the Princess more so just gave herself something to do while sitting next to him…Not really wanting to be anywhere else…It was as simple as that…

  Now she saw the shells and giggled, “I still like the fact that you got another idea from me, isn’t it about time that I be compensated!?”

  “If I break one, it’s yours.” Cid stated, then blew through the new hole of another shell.

  At first, Cid had worried when she had started to py with his jewellery bits and pieces without asking! His stepfather was not someone easily satisfied and when unsatisfied…

  What if she lost it!?

  But…She was quite the girl and always made sure that she didn’t lose anything, surprising Cid greatly!

  Everything was a surprise to him with her!

  How she dressed, how she talked to him, how she treated him like a friend and how they fought. How sincere she was and how clean she was.

  And just like every other time, they sat together for about an hour, annoying each other yet happily ‘tolerating’ the others presence.

  This is a time in Cid’s life that he cherished. He knew through bad times that there were also good times as well…

  ***

  They had first met at a quite dramatic time for the Princess. She had been a little girl of near fifteen and upset that her parents didn't pay attention to her. At the time, she was near marriageable age, and they were wondering on the best candidate to be her husband.

  She had not wanted to get married at all, she felt herself way too young and half of the men that she discreetly saw them looking at were all old!

  She ran away because they weren’t putting her into account at all, they only wanted the best man to give them something in return!

  ‘Miles, Robert Miles. Your Majesty, he is a nobleman whom has…’ Her mother had said about one of them.

  ‘Their money isn’t new…But it is bound to run out, I want someone to rely on!’ Her father, the King, had stated firmly back to her mother…

  Not once did they ask the Princess, not once had they thought to ask her or tell her anything!

  No, she had been in the dark and only knew so much because she had courage to find out all of this on her own!

  Having wanted attention, she went out of the pace and ran away!

  She never expected that she wasn't found straight away, and in her depressive state, she had started to cry. She had been so alone, in that pace, now she was alone on the outside too.

  If she were to go back, she will no doubt marry someone twice her age or more…If, instead, she was to stay on the outside, she will have no idea on how to live!

  She felt like she was losing no matter what she chooses to do!

  Having looked around, through wet eyes, she found that she had no money to buy food or shelter…She had no idea on how to make bread or to get some water!

  Being in the pace, she had to just ask for it, out here…It was a whole other story!

  But…Was it worth being served when she never saw her parents anyway? Was it really worth being a Princess when she felt so below that, that she might as well just be here, outside of the pace, instead!?

  All her parents ever cared about where themselves and her eldest brother. Why couldn’t she do what her brother did and leave the pace once in a while and go out to see the world!?

  So many wants, questions and reasons to be upset, led the Princess to not go anywhere and stay put where she was and cry a bit more.

  Upon being near a popur tavern, on a popur street, a drunken man saw the princess like this and had hugged her because she was crying. Cid had seen this himself and saw that the drunken man was quite innocent and just wanted to help the poor girl who was crying but...The King's rage upon what had happened had ended the poor man's life and it was already too te for the Princess's reputation.

  From then, marriage had not been talked about, even though she was nearly eighteen now, and even the gossip about her had practically disappeared.

  Cid had been there for her when she had cried like a little baby and out of the blue told her that since it had come to this, that her reputation was somewhat ruined, then she could get away with things.

  Never did he think that she had taken it so literally! He had only tried to come up with something positive out of everything that had been bad!

  Well, it’s what he did in his life…Well, it’s what he tried to do…

  At the time he found Bethany like this Cid was trying his best to be positive about his forced, long hours of bor and how very little he got in return…It wasn’t easy to be positive though! Cid was just like any other, he had days that he was hardly able to endure through too…