"I don't know..." Damek said as he slumped over a paper filled with questions for math. He hated math. He scratched something out angrily and sighed.

"Well, don't worry yourself about it. You're young, you should just be able to have fun." Kaden paced the room, picking up random pieces of clothing and folding them. They were in Damek's room, and it seemed to Kaden that squires didn't have time to clean up after themselves. Or else they were too lazy to.

"You're forgetting that you're young too." He said with a smirk on his face. "And it's no fun being a squire. They make us do things we don't want to do. Like math."

"Math is useful, you know, for future things. It's necessary."

"I guess." He finally wrote something down on the paper, put it on the table and leaned back in his chair. Kaden was just starting to make his tousled bed. "Thanks for helping me out. I really was beginning to turn into a-"

"Pig?" She said as she fluffed a pillow, grinning.

"Well, I was going to say a slob, or a mess... but pig seems to fit the description." He said as part of the joke.

"I didn't know that squires could be so messy. I guess you must be busy, the days that you aren't with me." Ever since that summer, Damek seemed to become friends with Kaden, and they hung out every time he wasn't busy. It was nice to have the company, Kaden thought one day, after being alone for a while. Ambrose had gotten married and her and Edvard were living with his parents at the time. It was lonely when no one was around to talk to, and now that she had Damek, she didn't have to worry.

"You're right about that. I am way too busy. I need some time off or something... some time to rest." He sighed and closed his eyes.

"I wish I could help you out, but unless there is some way that your training master wouldn't notice if I went instead of you, you're stuck doing what you've always done." Kaden sat down on the made bed and collapsed. She stared at the ceiling, white and boring.

"Thanks anyways. You've done enough to help me, Kaden."

"And you haven't done the same for me?" Kaden said, sitting up and staring at him bluntly. "I feel like I still haven't payed you back for what you did for me; like I'll never be able to do anything to repay you."

"Kaden, you don't need to repay me." He said, looking deep into her eyes. "Anyways, lets not think about that." He said, knowing how much Kaden didn't like thinking about her past. He walked over to the bed, lending her a hand to help her up. "Come on." He said. "Lets go somewhere else. I can't stand being cooped up in this room all day."

"Me neither." She said, taking his hand. "Where are we going to go?"

"Anywhere but here."

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They walked through the woods, laughing and joking. Kaden somehow felt younger around him, whenever she was around him. They were walking on a path through the thick, heavily wooded forest next to the palace, one of the places Damek said was his favorite to walk and think and be in.

They were silent for a bit and Kaden enjoyed it, seeing the setting sun disappear behind the horizon. The sky was turning orangy-pinks and reds, the large trees sheltering most of the light from her eyes. Soon the light was almost gone, the sky turning a navy color, stars appearing here and there.

"This is my favorite part of the day." Damek said, interrupting the serene silence. "The stars come out and everything is so still and peaceful. I love just looking at the stars and watching and thinking about how they were made. It's so amazing that someone so strong and powerful made them and put every single one there with a purpose and a task."

"And what task is that?" Kaden asked, rubbing her arms as the cold crept up on her.

"The task of lighting up the rest of the sky that the moon doesn't." He got really silent as he watched the sky, hopeful for stars to appear. Then, he looked around the forest like he was looking for something important. "Wait a second, come with me." Kaden grabbed his hand and followed him, or rather was dragged, at a running pace.

"Where are we going?" She asked him, almost laughing because she couldn't keep up. She stopped herself. She couldn't laugh at a time like this.

"Just follow me. It's a surprise."

She followed him through bushes and over fallen logs. She didn't know why they had to run so, but she didn't want to question him again. Soon, she was slowing down, and then Damek stopped. He stopped and stared. She stared too.

It was just a clearing, with grass and a rock. A flat rock.

She tried to figure out what was so special and important about a rock, but she couldn't figure it out.

"What...?" Kaden said, looking into his ocean eyes. "It's a rock."

"Yes," Replied Damek. "We can watch the stars from here. It's one of my favorite things to do." He smiled at her, and then she suddenly remembered that she was still attached to his hand. She shyed away from it, and walked over to the rock, finding a comfortable place, and laying on her back. The cold of the rock on her back made her shiver, and she smiled as he lay down beside her.

They lay there for the longest time, watching, waiting. Kaden gasped when finally, after a long and patient wait, a shooting star flew across the opening in the trees. She looked at Damek who looked right back. They smiled at each other.

"No one has ever taken me star watching before. I guess it's not something people do anymore."

"Not really." He said, preoccupied by looking at the sky. "Look, there's another one." Kaden missed it by a hair, and blamed herself for it.

She looked back up at the sky, but when she looked at Damek, all she could think about was how much he'd become when she'd gotten to know him. How much he'd become a man and not a boy, and how much they had become friends. He looked back at her.

"Are you cold?" He asked.

"Yes, actually, but I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"What, you don't believe me when I answer first?" He laughed and looked back up at the sky.

"No, I believe you, I was just making sure."

Suddenly, a drop of rain interrupted everything.

"I think it's going to --" It started downpouring and Damek and Kaden gave each other an amusing look. They both jumped off the rock and ran for their lives back to the palace.

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A/N: Hope you liked it!! YAY. First chapter of a new book. I feel fresh. And exciting. But I am NOT going to start singing that song. HA.

Give me some awesome reviews now!! YOU BETTER. HA.