Damien's face fell when Derek said he was disappointed in him. And he was upset that he called him 'sir' again. He shook his head. "I wasn't lying. I really don't feel well." he told him. It made him feel ill that the Knight didn't want to be his friend. And it hurt so bad that he couldn't deal with anything. He instantly turned and went back into his room, closing the door behind him, but not locking it.

Derek sighed as the door closed on him. "Fine then your highness... I will let your teacher know that you are...ill. I suppose that I shall see you tonight at dinner." At the mention of dinner, Derek's stomach acted up, reminding him how he had given up his meal simply because he was upset that the prince hadn't thought to wait for him.

"Maybe.. Have a good day, Derek." Damien said, laying back down on his bed and curling up under his covers. Though he wasn't sure if he would be going to dinner. Not yet anyway. His eyes and it didn't take him to long before he fell back asleep.

Derek didn't bother replying to the prince as he went to tell the teacher. As the boy had predicted, he had ended up in the stocks for a few hours as punishment for not having the prince ready and for letting him catch an ailment as well as he had to help the teacher with preperation for other lessons.

Damien slept for a couple of hours. When he woke, he wasn't sure what time it was. Not until a servant had come to tell him it was time for dinner. He told him he wasn't coming before sending the servant off and rolling over. He was still exhausted. But he had a hard time falling back asleep.

When Damien didn't show up for dinner, Derek declined his meal again, against the protests of his stomach and made his way to the prince's room. "Damien...this needs to stop!" Derek hissed out against the door. "You need to grow up and stop acting this way...stop making yourself feel ill just to get out of things that you don't want...You don't see it, but it hurts other people alright! It makes other people suffer because they live their life around you so when you pull away, they get nothing or they get hurt!"

Damien was surprised when he heard Derek at the door. And he was even more surprised that he called him by his name. He forced himself to get out of bed and go to the door, even though his body felt weak. He was going to make the Knight leave him alone so that he could rest. It wasn't like he really cared about him, right. He opened the door and forced his hands not to shake. "Why can't you just leave me alone, Derek?" he asked, leaning against the doorway.

"Fine...your highness, I'll leave you alone as you ask." Derek's stomach acted up again, but he pushed the thought of food away. Don't eat unless your prince eats, don't eat without him there with you, that had always been the way Derek lived, still the way he lived. "Pleasant...dreams." Derek hissed otu before turning away from the young man.

Damien could hear Derek's stomach growl. "You don't have to skip meals because of me." he told him, his voice sounding weak in his ears. He knew the Knight liked eating with him, but there was no way he was going to eat anything. If anything went down, he was sure that it would come right back up. And he hated that Derek was mad at him. But he really wasn't feeling well and needed to rest.

"I don't eat unless you do, you know that...sir. Now then, you asked for me to leave you alone, so I shall do as I was ordered to do. After all, that's my life, following your every order without question right?" Derek sighed softly then shook his head before bowing towards Damien and turning away.

Damien automatically grabbed Derek's arm without thinking. "Please don't leave." he muttered. He can't stand seeing him walking away from him. And he hated how he didn't question him. He always questioned his orders before. So what changed? Because he was older? He didn't see why that should have ruined their friendship.

Derek pulled his arm away. "You asked me to leave you alone sir, so I am only following what you're telling me to do! I have given you my life Damien, all my younger years...and I gladly would give my life if it meant saving yours, but the way you treat me...it isn't right! You let me go and take the fall for you today...again. Instead of facing your teacher yourself, you made yourself feel ill and left me to clean up the mess. I..I'm tired of being your friend. From now on, I'm your guard, nothing more."

Damien could feel his heart breaking at Derek's words. Tears came to his eyes but he refused to let them fall. Not in front of the Knight. "Fine...If that's the way you feel." he said, turning back into his room and slamming the door shut and locking it. Only when he was back in his bed did he let the tears fall down his face. He didn't care if Derek heard him crying or not. It wasn't like he cared anymore. But then again, he probably never cared anyway. He had just convinced himself that the other was his friend.

Derek hadn't thought the boy would really cry, though he gasped softly when he heard Damien crying inside the room. "Your highness..." Derek almost knocked on the door but decided against it and pulled away. "Goodbye...Damien." The blonde whispered softly before leaving the boy to his own emotions.

Damien ended up crying himself to sleep. When morning came, he felt worse than he had last night. He sent away the servant that came to get him for breakfast. Which led to his mother coming to check on him. And then the family physician. He examined him and told him to get some rest and to have some soup sometime during the day. Then he and his mother left while the prince rolled over in his bed.

When Derek heard that the prince hadn't accepted his breakfast that morning, he frowned and made his way to Damien's bedroom. "Your highness...if you are doing this because of me...well then I beg of you to stop this. I didn't realize that it would affect you this way and it worries me to see you like this. I never wanted you to pull yourself away from the world, you can't do that your highness! Please, come out and speak to me."

"Can't. The physician told me to stay in bed for today. If you want to talk, you need to come in here." Damien told him, his voice not very loud and sounded rough. He coughed as he sat up. He didn't really want to see Derek. He knew that he was just going to get hurt more than he already was if he did this. But he couldn't not see him. A part of him still considered the Knight his friend.

"Yes sir." Derek opened the door then sighed at the sight of the other boy in the bed. "What is wrong sir? Why are you...why is this happening? Are you still that distressed about what I said that it has caused your body to shut down this way? The kingdom doesn't want a sickly prince, nor do they want one that is so easily depressed by common words..."

"The physician said that it was the flu. So, it has nothing to do with you, Derek. I couldn't care less about what you said. You are nothing but a knight. Why should I care?" Damien asked, not really wanting an answer as he started coughing again. He moved so that he was laying down again, tired already.

"That's good to hear sir...that I didn't cause this illness within you. It was starting to worry me sir, a lot. You were starting to worry me. I really don't want to lose you at such a young age. You're far too young to get really ill sir." Derek smiled softly then. "Get better soon, your highness."

"I'll try.. But I'm not sure how quickly I could get through the flu virus." Damien said. It shouldn't take to long for it to pass through him though. So he wasn't to worried. He was silent for a while, thinking. ".. Could you stay in here with me, Derek?" he asked, wanting to spend time with him. Even if they weren't friends anymore.

"Yes sir, of course I can." Derek smiled down at the boy before taking Damien's hand into his own. "Your highness...I'm sorry about what I said. I know that...sure some of things you do get me into trouble, but I choose to let myself take the blame for you. I could have easily told your teacher that you were the one not wishing to come and other things way before that, but I didn't."

Damien couldn't help but smile slightly when Derek took his head. "I don't need for you to take the blame for me. I've never needed that. And you were right. I do act like a child. But that is because I am still a child and I am not ready to grow up yet. There is still so much I want to do before that happens."

"Sir...you're seventeen years old. You're hardly a child any longer. Soon they will be parading brides before your eyes in hopes that you see the future queen before you. I would hardly call that a child in royal lineage..."

"I know I'm seventeen years old. And I know that I will have to marry soon. But until then, I would like to act like myself, no matter what anybody thinks." Damien stated, coughing roughly. He felt so sick, but he didn't want for Derek to leave.