K, so, my Senpai corrected the last chapter for me, and I stare at pictures of Alfeegi-san almost all day; even if they are only in my head. I don't own Dragon Knights; this is a month after he tried to kill himself, it was summer last chapter, and Kai-Stern plays a part in this chapter. Which is a filler chapter, 'cause I had a good idea for it, but then kinda lost it, and this is then end result… Enjoy!

so, once again... i find myself wasteing space on my account for my sister's story... like that isn't anoying... i'll post my other chapter of my own fics up soon as i finish it... i'm haveing writer's block.

2

Sickness

Alfeegi walked over to the door, and sighed. Why did he have to come all the way over here? What did he do this time! Did he kill some one with a mound of paper! He chuckled and smiled at his faint attempt at humor, shrugged, and opened the door. Inside, he found Kai-Stern sitting in a chair in the far corner. His snow-white hair, and his large glasses hid his light-skinned face. He stared down at the floor, as though he was self-conscious or something. His tight black pants clung to his frame, and the black leather jacket was pulled tightly around his shoulders as though he were cold.

It was the middle of summer, and all the windows were open, so Alfeegi really doubted that he was cold. Annoyed, he walked over to the chair, his long teal hair flipped behind him sharply. No matter how hot it was, Alfeegi always wore gloves, long pants, long sleeves, and some form of jacket or robe over it all. Today was no exception. His long robes, white today, flayed out about his feet like wings. His slightly heeled, leather, knee-high boots clicked importantly over the stone floor, and his fingers tightened into fists around the half gloves that he had a habit of wearing. His blue shirt beneath his robes was loose on him, but still clung to his tense shoulders with the heat of the day. The white pants that he had were baggy, and were held to his frail waist by a blue leather belt.

Alfeegi reached the chair, and crossed his stick-like arms across his bony chest, and kicked the chair lightly. Kai-Stern woke with a start, fell out of the chair, and yelled something about how the aphrodisiac was not for him. Nervously, the blue officer looked over the frames of his glasses and up at the white officer; he shrugged.

"Sorry, it's too hot to stay awake for long."

"And yet, you wear leather jackets, black, and bother me. I fail to see the logic. If it's too hot to stay awake, then why bother my busy schedule when you know that I hate this kind of weather. The heat doesn't only affect you, you know." Alfeegi gave him a small, annoyed, clenched-tooth smirk, and glared harder at him.

Kai-Stern swallowed, hard, and stood. He was taller than Alfeegi by about five inches, but the smaller officer always seemed to frighten him. Kai-Stern had never seen Alfeegi actually fight before, not like Ruwalk or Tetheus, but something about the frail man scared even the Dragon Lord out of his mind. For that exact reason, Kai-Stern did not want to be any more on Alfeegi's bad side than he already was. So he changed the subject, even though he wanted to know that if the heat bothered Alfeegi, then why did he wear cold-weather clothing, but he let it drop.

"So, I called you here to give you something." He fished in his leather pockets while he talked. "You know that I've been gone for a while, and I know that you haven't had a day off in centuries. So, guess what I brought you back?" Alfeegi cocked an eyebrow, clearly not amused, nor interested. Kai-Stern swallowed again, and brought out a thin, stiff piece of paper.

"I got you a day at the Gotferd Palace! You know, the "pamper place" in town. They have this deal, right, and if you pre-order, they give you a ticket so that you can get an extra hour free. So, I grabbed you an All- Day pass, and you can go any time you want!" Kai-Stern finished with a million-dollar smile. Alfeegi was, to say the least, displeased.

"So, you spend more than you planned too, which shows up on the expense reports, on a pass for a 'Spa Day' that I'll never use. Smart Kai-Stern, reeeaaal smart. I'll never let you hear the end of this, never." Alfeegi turned on his heel, and walked away without the ticket.

"Come on 'Feegi!" Kai-Stern yelled at him. "You could really use it! I know that you could. Just go! Tomorrow, I'll pick you up at dawn, and take you down there so you have all day to enjoy yourself! What do you say?"

Alfeegi stopped, looked over his shoulder, and gave a look that could kill.

"You expect me to leave a whole day's worth of work on my desk, untouched, just so I can go on one of your wild ideas of how I need a vacation. Well, let me tell you." Alfeegi turned, and stormed up to Kai-Stern. "Unlike how you, and the rest of the castle thinks; I am in perfect health, I get more than enough sleep, I don't need a day off; and if you ever bring up that idea again, so help me God, I will smash your face in and I don't care if you have glasses on or not." With that final snarl, he turned again, and heel-toed away.

"Calm down Alfeegi, I just thought that you might die from stress one of these days if you didn't get at least one break is all." Kai-Stern barley had the sentence leave his lips when Alfeegi's fist collided with his jaw, he fell, his head hit the chair, and he blacked out instantly.

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Kai-Stern awoke some hours later in the hospital wing, with the entire left side of his face throbbing, and his left eye swollen shut. Cernozura giggled as she walked over to him.

"I see that you found just how touchy Alfeegi is about his health." She said, unwrapping the bandage that was around his head. "You not only found his fist, but the chair as well. But I guess that you're worse off then it is. How's your head?"

"Head? You mean that thing that found out just what hell Alfeegi's right hook could bring? O- it's alright I guess. Just about to kill me I think."

Cernozura giggled again, and sifted through the silvery hair to see the extent of the damage. "Well, now you know to leave Alfeegi alone when it comes to how he feels. He's been a bit touchy about that since he attempted suicide last month, and just so you feel better, you're not the first one to find out just how Alfeegi feels about being fondled. I found it first. I examined him a few days after, and I mentioned that he really needed to eat. So what did he do? He summoned his sword, and I ducked just in time to get a new hair cut from him!

"Rune asked him how he slept, and if he got enough. Alfeegi simply kicked Rune's feet out from under him! Gave him a mild concussion from the head-meets-floor scene that he was provided. He gave Rath a good back-hand across the cheek for asking if Alfeegi needed anything, and after he left the room you and he were talking in, he struck Lord Lykouleon's hand when Lykouleon tried to stop him to see if he need help. There's more, but I'd bore you with the details."

Kai-Stern stared one-eyed at her for a moment. Alfeegi hit Lykouleon, and had tried to kill himself. Twice! This was so unlike him that it wasn't funny any more! The White officer really needed a day off, and soon. So, as soon as Kai-Stern was cleared to leave the infirmary, (four in the morning the next day), he went over to Alfeegi's room, and knocked. No answer. Opening the door a tad, and looked in. Alfeegi was standing in front of his window, just, standing there; in his boxers that he slept in, and his hair a mess. Kai-Stern walked in, and stood next to him by the window. Alfeegi turned his head to look at him, and Kai-Stern saw just how failing Alfeegi's health really was.

Alfeegi had always been pale to the point of close to pure white; but now he looked almost translucent. He was so thin, there was no fat or muscle visible anywhere on his body; not even his face. It made Kai-Stern wonder how Alfeegi could hit so hard. Especially with shoulders that looked as though they would snap if a butterfly landed on them. Alfeegi also had thick black rings under his eyes that made him look like a raccoon, and his skin was drawn so tightly, his fragile veins stood out like a road map across his skin. With circulation as bad as Alfeegi had, it there was no second guessing why he wore things to keep him warm, even in the sweltering heat of summer.

The bruise that was on his neck, now fading, still stood out amazingly strong, and the ragged scar covering his wrist looked painful. The signs that Alfeegi was close to death were very torturing to see, and it made Kai-Stern want to put him down right then and there so that he didn't have to suffer any more. Alfeegi looked back out the window, and heaved a small, shuddering sigh that shook his whole frame. Swaying, he addressed Kai-Stern quietly, with a voice just above a whisper.

"What do you want, Kai-Stern?" he asked half-heartedly.

"I said that I'd take you for that 'Spa Day', you need it." He answered softly, shifting so that he was out of reach.

"No thank you." Alfeegi responded. "It took me a lot just to stand here, now you want me to ride a Darna, or even walk to town. I don't think that's possible Kai-Stern. Sorry." He responded weakly. Now Kai-Stern was worried that Alfeegi would collapse any second. And, sure enough, just as he said "sorry", he slipped into darkness.

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As the breakable frame hit the floor, Kai-Stern found himself praying that it would be over for Alfeegi, then the poor officer wouldn't have everyone worrying over him. But he still panicked, and knelt beside Alfeegi. Lifting the head from the floor, Kai-Stern found the sea-foam hair stained with blood. Some was dry, and some was fresh from the new fall; it was clear that this was not the first time that Alfeegi had collapsed. But he was breathing, even if it was forced and the rhythm was non existent. Kai-Stern scooped him up, found him to weigh next to nothing, and laid him on the bed.

He didn't understand. Two month ago, Alfeegi had at least looked human, but now, a month after an attempted suicide, he looked like a corpse. From what Kai-Stern had seen in Alfeegi just moments ago, he came to the conclusion that Alfeegi hadn't been eating food on a regular bases, that sleep seemed to have become a "four-letter word" to him - and yet - he claimed that he wouldn't try suicide again! Kai-Stern suddenly found that hard to believe, after seeing the state of Alfeegi's body.

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Half hour later, Lykouleon, Ruwalk, Tetheus, Cernozura, and Kai-Stern stood silently beside Alfeegi's bed, and stared at their unconscious friend; unmoving, and half-dead in the bed. The sheets had been pulled up around his chest, and the pillow firmly under his head. The bed seemed to swallow him, and Alfeegi seemed to be perfectly camouflaged into the white sheets.

"So, this is the big secret that he's been hiding. I thought that he was fine. He looked like he had color when he was in his office, but that must have just been a spell so that none of us would worry." Commented Ruwalk. He was kneeling beside the bed, and searching for the pulse on Alfeegi's neck.

"Has he awoken yet?" Lykouleon asked Kai-Stern, who shook his head.

"I tried to wake him, but his breathing rate wouldn't even change. Not that it has a steady rate in the first place. I tried anyway; called his name, shook him, slapped him; I even threw cold water on his face. Nothing. When I first came in, he acted as if he knew this would happened. He didn't answer the door; he was quiet, and even told me that he didn't have enough strength to stand anymore. He looked like he's die standing there." Saying that actually unnerved Kai-Stern a little. He shuddered, and looked over at the inert officer.

Cernozura was now trying to rouse him with Ruwalk's help. After a while, he came too, and sat up. Dizzy, dehydrated, and starved, he looked around at the surrounding audience. Realizing that they were all worried about him, he felt as though he had betrayed their trust. He remembered everything he had done in the past month, and how he had kept them in the dark about his well being. Knowing that his friends were there to take care of him, his eyes started to fill with tears. He pulled his knees to his chest, and buried his face in his hands.

"Alfeegi," Lykouleon started. "What's wrong, is there anyway we can help?"

"Please, Alfeegi, you need to tell us what happened." Purred Cernozura. Now in complete hysterics, everything tumbled from Alfeegi's parched lips.

"I, I didn't want to bother you with little things, so I stayed quiet. There's been so much work lately, I couldn't bring myself to stop for something as small as food or rest. That was at first, but then it went on for so long that when I did stop for such things, I just couldn't keep the food or water down, and I was too tired to actually get any sleep… I'd just toss around all night, and think that I was wasting time in bed when I could be getting so much more done! So I just put on a few spells each day, and did my job as usual. I just wanted to make up for what I had done last month, please, forgive me."

Tetheus crossed to the hysterical man in the bed, sat beside him, and took Alfeegi in his arms. Pressing Alfeegi's head to his chest with one hand, and wrapping the other arm around the heaving shoulders, Tetheus stroked the mess of aqua hair, and tried to calm him.

"It's all right Alfeegi," he whispered into the nest of hair under his chin. "That's why we're here now- to help. Calm down Alfeegi. Everything's going to be okay. Trust me." Tetheus continued to coo in Alfeegi's ear for a moment more. Alfeegi was biting his own knuckles so hard that he drew blood from them with his long K-9's. Soon, the small officer relaxed in the strong arms of the Black Dragon Officer. After a few more minutes, he slipped into an uneasy sleep, and Tetheus laid him back in the bed.

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Kai-Stern opened Alfeegi's door a week later. He had just returned from his trip, and wanted to see how he was doing. Cernozura placed a large bowl of pale, steaming liquid on the bedside table, and shook her head in disapproval. Alfeegi, on the other hand, was propped up against his pillow, sheets covered in ink and paper work, his hair was messy, stained black in some places, and swept back from the many times he ran his fingers through it. He had some color in his face, and the circles under his eyes were now replaced with ink smudges from the times his black stained hands had rubbed them. He glanced at the bowl, and pulled a face.

"Do I really have to drink that?" he complained. Cernozura glared at him, handing him an ink-stained towel, which he wiped his hands on and he blushed. "I mean, really. I've had nothing but that horrible broth for the past week. I can eat solid food too you know."

"Not until you can walk around with out problems you won't." she snarled at him. He groaned, and put the papers that he was shuffling through to the side, and picked up the bowl. With a final face of regret, he downed it as fast as he could. Gagging, he put the empty wooden bowl aside, glared at Cernozura through one eye.

"You're going to kill me with that." He growled.

"No, if you want food that can kill, eat some of Rath's porridge. That'll knock you off your feet for sure." Commented Kai-Stern, coming in just in time to hold Cernozura away from Alfeegi, who she was about to kill.

"So you came back. With, or with out an expense report?" asked Alfeegi, a small smile and a head cock at Kai-Stern.

"Looks like you already have your hands full, why should I give you more? What is this stuff? Smells horrible." He commented dryly as another bowl appeared on the table with a dirty look from the head handmaid. "Oh! Before I forget! Cernozura, Lord Lykouleon wants to see you. I think that he went to the library, but he might have gone down to the garden instead. I passed him in the hall, so I'm not quite sure." He smiled, and she hurried off with out a backward glance.

"You made that up, didn't you." Alfeegi sighed.

"YEP!" Said Kai-Stern easily, snatching the bowl from the table in one hand, and stuffing his other hand in his pocket. "Thought that you could use a break from her. Looks like I was right." He sipped the liquid inside without thinking, and spat it right back out the open window. "You've been living off this for a whole week! What is this shit?"

Alfeegi chuckled dryly. "Vitamin supplements and chicken tablets dissolved in water, boiled, then brought to a simmer for two hours. Then put in a bowl, and shoved down my throat 'til I can keep it down. Horrid, isn't it!"

"You could say that." Kai-Stern tossed the broth- bowl 'n all- out the window. "Where's the stash?" Alfeegi pointed, and Kai-Stern tossed the entire kettle full down the drain in the bathtub.

"I got you something, and now I'm glad I did." He took a chocolate bar out of his pocket, and handed it to Alfeegi, who tore it open and ate it with out hesitation.

"Thanks Kai-Stern! I haven't had anything but that damn 'broth' for a week. She wouldn't even put carrots in it for me!" Alfeegi said, gratefully after he finished the bar.

"So, how've you been holding up? Still can't sleep?"

"Can't sleep! I've done nothing but! I was only allowed to look at reports this morning. And I'm still not allowed out of bed. This is hell for me, and you know it!" Kai-Stern chuckled.

Just at that moment, Rath stormed into the room.

"Kai-Stern! You didn't come to me when you came back! Why not! Didn't you miss me?" he yelled.

"Calm down Rath: I asked for you, but no one knew where you were. So, while I waited for you, I came to see Alfeegi, that's all. Don't take it so hard Rath." Kai-Stern countered.

"Right, like Alfeegi wants any one around, right? Why does he get all the attention!"

"Calm down Rath, Alfeegi's not feeling well, that's all."

With that, Rath dragged Kai-Stern out of the room. Kai-Stern looked apologetically at Alfeegi, who shrugged and couldn't help but feel that Rath was going to be a handful.

vxr

good? she didn't like this one too much. she thinks that it's a filler chapter... o well.