Shut Up, Cinderella

Disguises Over Disguises

Cinder was woken the next morning by the sound of Oliver barging into his room.

"What," he snapped, shooting upright and glaring at him, sleepy and startled. "Is the house on fire?"

"Not that," Oliver answered, "but we have an emergency on our hands. I'll explain after I wake up Gem." And he was off again.

Very reassuring, Cinder thought, rubbing his eyes and searching for something proper to throw on. Oliver wasn't exactly the type to start a panic over nothing. And he wasn't the type to barge into people's rooms and not immediately say what was going on either.

Thankfully, moments later, Oliver returned with a sleepy Gem in tow. He shut the door behind them, then locked it, and closed all the curtains to make sure they were cut off from everyone outside.

Yawning, Gem plopped down on the nearest suitable surface, which happened to be Cinder's bed. "What's wrong, Olly?" he groaned.

"Father hasn't given up yet." Oliver furrowed his brow, leaning against the door, his voice urgent and cautiously low. "I bumped into a messenger from the palace this morning, but he didn't recognize me. Do you know what that means?" His face darkened. "We're wanted men now. If we set foot outside that door, we'll be caught and dragged to the palace in no time."

Cinder frowned. He should be glad their adventure was cut short, but what he felt was the opposite. And not because of the very real possibility that he might be executed for his behavior towards Gem.

"Are you sure they're here for us?" he asked. "They could be here for anything."

Oliver shook his head. "I took a look at the poster the messenger was putting up," he said. "It was basically a wanted poster. They're offering a huge reward to anyone who lets the king know where we are."

Cinder's eyes flitted over to Gem, wondering what he was thinking of his father's actions. But if the prince felt betrayed, he didn't let it show; he only looked wide awake all of a sudden. "But we can't let them take us!"

Oliver sighed. "I don't know what they're thinking," he said. "I told them it was a bad idea."

"Anyway, what do we do now?" Cinder piped in. "I take it we can't leave like this."

"No...no, we can't," Oliver answered, shaking his head. "But staying isn't safe either. The guards will know where we're staying."

"So we have to leave unrecognized," Cinder concluded, "and shake off the guards." He crossed his arms. "Like it's nothing."

Gem looked up. "You have any ideas, Olly?"

A smirk grew all over Oliver's face.

"You could say that," he said. "After all, right here you've got an expert in makeup and costuming with you."

Cinder sensed the danger, but didn't yet protest. Oliver eyed him closely. "You and I are almost the same size," he said. "It'll be easy enough to disguise you. That just leaves Gem."

"What are you up to?" Cinder asked.

Oliver smirked.

"We're switching roles," he said. "Gem and I, we're turning into servants. And you..." He took a step towards Cinder. "You're turning into a nobleman."

~ ~ ~

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Cinder asked as he sat in Oliver's room a moment later, feeling extremely like an intruder. "If anyone finds out I'm a fake, I'm as good as dead."

"Nobody will notice," Oliver said flippantly, searching through his pack, glancing back and forth between clothes, makeup, and Cinder on his chair. "The good thing about being noble is that you can act however you want and no one can stop you. At least, almost no one."