Salvation

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Chapter 11

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Taking a peek out of the wall once more, he saw Cinder happily sitting on the bench by herself, humming a melody that Seth didn't recognize. As the young girl is engrossed in whatever she's doing, the boy decided to observe her actions from his hiding spot in the hope of figuring out what the girl is even doing alone.

Is this what she does all the time in the morning? He pondered while trying to comprehend her reasons for being outside of her room at such an early hour, especially when everyone was preparing to wake up. It appeared unusual, considering that there wasn't anyone else around, as far as he could tell, other than them.

Then her eyes moved in his direction, widening in surprise at seeing Seth hiding in the corner of the wall. "Uhh?" She paused for a few seconds, unsure what to make of this: "Are you stalking me?" The girl asked, staring back at him with a confused look.

Blinking in disbelief, Seth went out of his hiding spot and frantically moved his hands around in an effort to deny the allegations: "n-n-n-o, t-thats not what I-I meant," stammering it out, feeling embarrassed by his actions. "I swear! I heard someone humming, and—" His sentence was immediately interrupted when he heard her giggle at his mess, smiling playfully.

"I was just teasing you, silly," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "I'm glad that you found me," she spoke with a warm tone, turning down to her held hands. "I never have the chance to make friends." The girl smiled brightly.

A little surprised at how positive she is being, the boy hesitates to approach the blond kid and says, "Well, uh...I...uh..." His attempt to form words failed as he struggled to find something to say to her, trying his hardest not to appear rude or weird. "It's nothing special, really," he managed to force his words out.

Her lips curled into an amused smile. "Why don't you sit with me?" Looking at the boy expectantly, Seth scratched his cheek awkwardly while looking away in silence. Cinder waited patiently for his answer but quickly grew bored with it.

"Oh," she nodded solemnly, sighing sadly from this rejection. "I guess you don't want to hang out with me then." The princess then crossed her arms in disappointment, pouting with an unsatisfied expression, resulting in Seth standing there in shock at what he heard.

"W-what? No?! I mean, I'd love to." He quickly tried to correct himself so as not to upset her. "Really, its not that I don't want to," stuttering his sentence, "It just feels weird, you know, being near to complete stranger." Seth told her in a low voice.

Sighing in relief, a grin formed on the blonde's lips: "Well, if we introduce ourselves properly, then we won't be strangers anymore." Motioning him to the bench beside her, Cinder stared back at him intently with innocent eyes, waiting for his response: "We will get to know each other, just the two of us."

Nodding in defeat, he went towards her before sitting, leaving only the two of them in this quiet area of the hall alone. "Um, so..."Feeling self-conscious about this situation, he looked away from the princess's gaze while attempting to hide his burning blush of embarrassment. "I'm...Seth..." He awkwardly introduced himself to her.

Giggling, the blond girl said, "Hi Seth, my name is Cinder." Her voice was playful. "It's very nice to meet you," she said, extending her hand towards him as she waited for the nervous boy to do the same, patiently remaining in her seat no matter what.

Slowly, he raised his hand and lightly touched hers, not saying other than gazing at the held hands in confusion, "Don't be nervous, just give me a firm squeeze," she told, grasping tightly his fingers and palm without realizing that the boy's eyes were darting everywhere else aside from her.

He quickly shook the hand before retreating it, expressing how self-effacing he is: "I'm not really good with introductions or stuff like this, so please forgive me if I do anything bad or weird." His face heated up from having to embarrass himself further.

Still maintaining her smile, Cinder spoke to him with a sympathetic tone, "That's okay, Seth." Her cheerful attitude never changed once throughout the whole duration. "You don't have to pretend in being someone else to like you." The words were almost like a lightning rod that shocked him.

Her sentence reminded me of Muriel's lecture about growing into a man, or rather, a person, something that the boy couldn't completely fathom how to comprehend in himself because of the inner issues he has with others and the world that has thrown at him.

She then gazed at him directly in the eye with compassion and understanding on her face. "When someone likes you for who you are, it proves that they truly care for you, but if someone doesn't, then they never were worth being close friends with in the first place." The princess finished her sentence, looking down at the floor remorsefully.

That is a thing that Seth hadn't considered before, in nearly all his life; he wanted others to accept him and hear their praises and compliments so he could feel like his worth was more than just a worthless freak, but he never actually got to experience what it's like to be cared for by someone rather than wanting to be the person's expectation.

Silence fell over them; neither of them talked nor looked at each other's faces, as though the silence was making them feel awkward for being around each other. "Seth..." The boy blinked when hearing her call out his name, turning around to meet her eyes and saying, "I hope that we become friends."

Before the boy could respond, the words hit him unexpectedly like a heavy blow; shame and guilt overcame him in realizing his earlier action of refusing to be friends with this princess, who's seemingly lonely like him. If there was any possibility of reconciliation between the two, then he might as well take it as an opportunity to redeem himself.

With that in mind, Seth looked down with shame while pursing his lips before whispering, "I'm sorry, Cinder..." His voice cracked in between the words, "I was rude to you; I should've given you a chance," apologizing sincerely to her.

The girl tilted her head, blinking in confusion, until realization dawned upon her: "Oh!" Her voice rose as she brought a hand to cover her mouth in surprise. "Your...accepting my offer of friendship?" Excitement crept its way into her face, mixed with surprise and joy.

Looking at her expression, he felt the corners of his lips curl upwards as the boy nodded slightly before meeting her eyes once more. "Yes, I'd love to become friends with someone like you," he agreed with slight reluctance. "If you don't mind," Seth added. His smile faded after noticing how uncertain he sounded.

However, the smile never left her face. "Of course! We'll be the best of friends!" Embracing him in a sudden hug that took him by surprise, he stiffened but then slowly hugged back, his lips curving into a smile. "Forever and ever!" Her cheerful voice rang out, filling the area around them as the words echoed across the open space.

"Forever and ever," Seth repeated in return, almost on the brink of tears, as this is his first time having a friend who treats him with understanding, even though he hasn't known her for too long. Yet he still appreciates how polite she is to someone like him as they let go of their hug. "What now?" As he is unsure of what to do now.

Cinder giggled before standing up from the bench, stretching her arms in the process. "I have lots of ideas, but I'm afraid you may not like them," she said, turning and moving towards his direction. "Let's head outside!" Her energetic voice filled the air, much to his surprise.

Outside? Does he really want to go out there where people will just continue hurting him again and again? It's not like he wasn't used to being hurt by others, but rather the memories of the abuse were so painful that he couldn't forget them no matter what. "Are you sure? What if someone wants to hurt us? What about your father? Doesn't he forbid you from going outside?"

Just like that, the girl stopped herself when she heard what Seth told her: "I..." She began, her voice soft but then turned stern. "He never wanted me to go outside because it was dangerous, but I always desire to see beyond the walls of the castle, the forest, the villages, the city, and the mountains." Her body trembled from sadness. "I was sick of being cooped up inside of these four walls."

Understanding, he sympathized with her plight. "Then, um, maybe it's for your own good?" Answering in doubt of her father's true intention, "He does it because, well, he cares for you." The boy wasn't sure of what to say or what he believed in this instance.

Laughter filled the air from the girl. "My father is always busy with work," she explained, explaining with disbelief and disappointment, "if he really cares about me, then he should focus more on his daughter than the empire itself." Crossing her arms, she huffed before adding, "Besides, you're there to protect me, right?"

"Protect...you?"

He's not a fighter, much less an adventurer who goes on quests to slay monsters and stop evildoers. "I'm not even that strong or wielded sword before. How can I protect you?" Not sure of himself since the boy knows how weak he is.

A bright grin grew on the girl's lips. "Because you have to since I'm going outside whether you and my father like it or not," she declared loudly with a confident look upon her face. "Come on, Seth, as long as you're there to protect me, everything will be fine!" The girl reassured him cheerfully, much to her friend's horror.

He didn't sign up for this! Is what Seth thought, but seeing her excitement and determination despite having known him for merely over an couple of minutes; the boy realized there wasn't any reason for him to argue or decline the princess's request.

There's no point in even trying to dissuade her from wanting to leave the castle grounds; it's hopeless to even bother reasoning with her. "okay fine," looking down in defeat as he sighed deeply in exhaustion, "just promise that we won't go to far okay?" Hoping that his words will get through her head.

Joyously, the young girl squealed in happiness while jumping repeatedly up and down in euphoria that almost made him feel nausea from how energetic she is. "We can explore the town, go on adventures together, get lost in forests, or climb trees!" She exclaimed loudly with overflowing excitement.

"The last part isn't what I had in mind," he said, sighing heavily with utter defeat. "where do you want to start first?" Knowing that there's no turning back now as her eyes shined brighter than ever from this question, making her her smile widened more than he anticipated.

"Great!"

Grabbing him by his arm before dragging him through the hallway, she said, "Onto our adventure, my new best friend!" Raising her available fist upwards in the air, excitement plastered across her expression, "Isn't that right, Seth?" She asked with eagerness while still dragging him alongside.

"What did I get myself into...?" The boy quietly said under his breath, wincing when accidentally tripping over his foot and falling flat onto the ground while she still held Seth's arm, surprised by his sudden fall that made her stop her tracks altogether.

"Are you okay?" Quickly, she crouched down to help pick him back up to his feet. "Please tell me that you didn't get hurt," worried for him in case he got seriously injured. "It's my fault for being too excited." She is remorseful for being a little rough with her best friend, who is still adjusting himself back to a standing position.

"I'm fine. I just slipped, that is all," he said, groaning painfully from the bruise he gained during the collision. "But thanks for being concerned," repaying her with a grateful expression, "at least there's one person who is worried for my well-being."

Noticing the grim look in his eyes, Cinder frowned with pity at his last sentence: "Am I...the only person in your life that was ever nice to you?" The princess asked in a sad tone, glancing at Seth with sympathy etched across her features.

Feeling slightly ashamed of himself, the young boy avoided eye contact by facing sideways. "I don't want to talk about it," he muttered bitterly. "Let's just get going," and walked ahead, leaving behind the concerned blonde as she stood there in thought for a couple moments before resuming to follow him, a frown upon her lips in trying to understand her friend.

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by 3 Armored Kittens · Prodromos v.1.1 - World Anvil 0.9.15.043 © 2017-2024 [en] | Anvil Time: 16:07, Dec 20 2024