“Cid, d, you showed courage, I like it!” Benjamin said, giving the boy on the chair a slight hit on the shoulders, as he sat down.

  “…Thank you, Uncle.” Not sure if what he had done was wise or not, Cid felt like he was still losing, even though he had gotten what he had asked for. It wasn’t like he was asking for a lot to stay with Pauletta and Benjamin for a night, but it felt like he’ll be paying for it ter…

  “Honey, I’ve already set up the bed for you, go y down! You look exhausted!”

  Opening his eyes and smiling at Pauletta, Cid nodded, “Thank you, Auntie! I really appreciate…”Pauletta quickly interrupted him, “It is of no problem, child. It is something that I should do! Now go, we’ll check on you a bit ter.”

  Cid slowly made his way to a bed that he had used often before.

  He used to come over here a lot more but since his mother had died…The bed he was now on had hardly been used…

  Falling quickly into a deep, dreamless sleep, Cid didn’t know that both his aunt and uncle had checked up on him a few times during the night…

  ***

  Cid did as he said he would and went back to the jewellery factory shop early the next day. His head still hurt quite a lot, but he knew that he could only take his medicine and deal with it. The bandage around his head, when he checked, no longer showed that he was bleeding and so he removed it.

  Having had a nice, uninterrupted sleep, Cid did feel rested, but as he began to work just before lunch, his head didn’t help him concentrate.

  It seemed that he would be relying on medicine for longer than he originally thought…

  Normally, he’d deal with the pain a lot easier but for once, it was his head that hurt, not his arm or leg or stomach and so he wasn’t used to it at all.

  “We need these done by today!”

  Cid just nodded and blinked, trying to keep himself awake.

  He knew it though, the ‘job’ that needed to be done today was just made up. Most of the ‘sudden’ jobs were made up, Cid was sure of it but…If he didn’t do it, he would lose something or be punished.

  How could I keep living like this!? He thought.

  He didn’t mean to continue his angry feelings but as time went on and it was afternoon, Cid was getting more and more angrier.

  For all the times that he had been hurt, for all the times that he wasn’t accepted as a stepson. For all the times that he had worked for free, that his earned or precious things were stolen. From all the times that he had done nothing wrong but still got punished just because they weren’t happy! For all this time that he felt like a worker, even though he was really a part of the family…Wasn’t family something that he should be able to count on but…This family was the complete opposite and just making life hard for him!

  His emotions were sliding down a bck walkway and Cid couldn’t grasp them at all…He was just…So damned angry! The bck walkway was slowly showing less light as he got increasingly more upset to his current situation.

  “Cid, are you alright!”

  Looking up at David, seeing Princess Bethany hiding behind him, Cid looked back down, “I’m fine!”

  “Mother wanted me to tell you that she was going to stay while father and I go and trade.” David stated, picking up one of the bracelets that was nearly made.

  Cid took the bracelet from him and put it onto the table in front of him, “Tell her not to bother.”

  “…Cid?”

  Closing his eyes and clenching his hands, Cid looked up at David, “You were only leaving for a month this time, right? What can happen in a month?”

  After that being said, Cid tried to focus once again.

  “A lot…”

  Cid breathed out harshly and looked back at David, “I’ll be fine! Don’t worry about me!”

  David looked intensely at Cid for a moment and then nodded, “Understood, I’ll tell her.”

  Turning around and taking the Princess with him, David left the area.

  “What…Wait! I want to go to Cid!”

  Continuing to walk, David sighed, “Cid is only going to yell at you if you go there now. Didn’t you recognize what he was like? Don’t put him into a position where he might regret saying something!”

  The Princess forced her arm away and gred at David, “What are you talking about!”

  David looked at where Cid would be through the wall, then back at the Princess, “You know what he’s like when he’s angry, Princess!”

  “A…Angry…” Princess Bethany quickly looked towards where Cid would be and flinched.

  “Give him some space, let him calm down.” David stated, hoping that the Princess would understand.

  The Princess looked down and then nodded.

  Cid was one of those people that held a lot in.

  When he was angry, he was really angry!

  It would be like a years’ worth of anger coming out all at once and she remembers well…

  It had happened twice, twice Cid had raged out with hurting words and afterwards, it was like a mess of emotions.

  The first time it happened, Bethany had been told to ‘go away’ and then even scolded about how she had to nit-pick about everything, ‘just like his stepbrothers’.

  After Cid had calmed down, he apologized but…That was what David was telling her now.

  That if she were to go to him, while he was like this, he might say something that he didn’t mean. That…He wasn’t angry at her, but he could still sh out because she would be there and that might make things harder for him.

  She still wanted to go, as she wasn’t scared of Cid being like this, but she really didn’t want to bring extra pain to Cid. David’s words were taken pretty seriously by the Princess and so she could only wait.

  Perhaps she could help somehow?

  What could I do for him?

  If only she knew what else could she do, when they talked and fought, it still didn’t mean that he stated that he needed something.

  Cid was someone that didn’t ask for help, he was stubborn, and it was hard to get into his head!

  David had no extra feelings about this at all. He knew this Cid well and it was obvious to him why he was like this…Especially when it had started not long after Cid’s mother had died.

  To him it wasn’t a big deal, words were just words, but how could he show the bad side of Cid to the Princess like this!? As a friend, he could only shake the girl away for now and met up together ter.

  If they just give Cid some space, then it’ll be over and if he wants to talk, they’ll be there. So why bother worrying about it?

  What he will do though, is bring up his mother staying for him at another time, just in case.

  If he was angry, his real answer might mean for his mother to stay and so…David wanted to give his friend this chance to change his mind.

  Cid got lonely, David knew, even if he didn’t admit it, and sometimes it was hard to get Cid to smile again upon his family returning from having traveled away.

  “Just go back to the pace today, Princess.” David stated, putting a hand to her head, “He should be back to normal tomorrow!”

  And just as David had assumed, Cid calmed down and was feeling less emotional the next day.

  Sometimes…He just wasn’t able to keep his emotions at bay. They filled him up too much and he just had to let some of it out, but he felt gd that David had let him be the day before.

  He was not angry at Princess Bethany nor David, so it was good that his friends understood what was going on without even being told.

  Smiling to his best friend knowing him so well, Cid only felt better.

  His head still had a dull ache now, but he was able to tolerate this pain a lot better than the day before.

  It seemed that he was back to his usual routine once again and…With the Princess coming to sit next to him, Cid was gd that she seemed somewhat normal, considering that she was probably forced to leave the day before.

  Something was different this time though, as the Princess sat there more quietly then normal.

  What was wrong with her? Cid thought.

  “If you had a choice of a long coat or a short coat, for when you go outside, which one would you choose?”

  “Why are you asking me that Princess?” Cid raised his eyebrows but continued to work.

  Princess Bethany shrugged, honestly, she wished that she could just come out and just ask properly but this question, that wasn’t pointed specifically towards something in particur, had won out.

  “Long or short?”

  Cid took a breath and had a moment to think, “Considering that I am not a noble, a long coat would not suit the status of someone like myself.”

  “If you could choose?” Bethany asked, intently looking at him.

  “If I could choose, I’d prefer the long coat. Is it not someone’s dream to be well dressed? I also like the look of it too. It’s different…” Cid stated, then got back to his work.

  He was used to the dress of someone like a sve, so why wouldn’t he want to try out something that looked better and was different to what he usually wore?

  “What about top hats? Do you like the ft ones or ones that aren’t bck? They’re all bck! Why does everyone like bck top hats!?” Princess Bethany asked out loud.

  Cid ughed and looked at Princess Bethany, “It is called style and bck top hats represent authority…Power. Among other things…Why…Are you upset that you don’t wear a bck top hat?”

  The Princess frowned at him and folded her hands together, “I could wear one if I wanted too!”

  “Then wear one then, perhaps you will find yourself liking it!” Cid stated, smiling and getting back to his work.

  “I don’t want too!”

  And just like this, she did not really find out if Cid really did like a bck top hat or not…Does that mean she should get one…But what if he doesn’t like bck top hats!?