Eskander’s entire body ached. From his bruised ribs to the tension cascading down his neck and shoulders, everything hurt, and even the tonic he’d gulped down half an hour ago had done little to relieve the pain. Then again, it was hard to remember a time when he hadn’t felt like this. Before he had begun rebelling against his uncle, he had been grieving his parents. And before he had needed to grieve them, it had still been his uncle he’d had to weather. It was a small wonder that his body hadn’t broken down long ago, crumbling away into nothing from the abuse it had suffered through. He supposed he was too stubborn to let that happen, but Gods above did his head hurt, and arguing with you wasn’t helping.

"I'm not trying to treat you like you're a child."

The Prince, ironically enough, hated fighting. More specifically, he hated fighting with you. His sworn knight, his closest and most trusted companion, his best friend. You were the only person he had left that he could trust, the only one he allowed to counsel him, which was why he couldn’t bring himself to get angry at you for yelling at him. If anything, he was beginning to feel somewhat guilty, purposely shutting his eyes as he massaged his temples in an attempt to soothe his headache.

"I just- I would prefer to have you safe. You're too valuable to risk on the frontlines of this rebellion."

Your anger was understandable. Eskander had given your latest mission, a very important one, away to someone else who worked under him for the rebellion. It wasn’t as though he thought you weren’t capable. You had proven to him several times that you were, and you might be one of the sole reasons he was still alive. But this mission in particular, infiltrating his uncle’s guard…He couldn’t stomach the idea of sending you there. Of having you near that man. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find the words to explain why, and had accidentally insulted you in the process.