"Well, one of you did it, and I'm going to find out who!" The king ranted as he had Gregory, Christophe, Thomas, Estella, and Philip all lined up with their backs to a wall as he paced in front of them. "Someone left the pantry door open, and things had been taken. I'd hate to think one of my advisors were foolish enough to do something like this. So, then, I would like if whoever did it to just plead their guilt now before everyone gets punished!" He snapped. Philip couldn't help but steal a glance at Christophe as these words were spoken, but he didn't make it obvious. Thomas and Estella shared confused glances. Gregory and Christophe were sweating bullets, but remained calm. "No one? For any thinking it as not being a big deal, I'll have you know that those desserts had been made the previous night for an important meeting over dinner following the arrival of a very important representative from overseas, and that is happening today!" All five winced at his tone. Christophe grew more nervous as Philip kept glancing at him. If he kept it up, the king would notice, and that would be it for him.

"How do you know it was any of us?" Estella spoke up. "Could it not have been one of the guards, or perhaps one of the other servants?" The king stopped in front of her and narrowed his eyes.

"One of the guards saw you and Thomas leave the mess hall. That is not a problem in itself because I trust the two of you. But you two are still suspect because you were there. Your servant, my son, and his servant all have a tendency to do what they're not supposed to do. That is why I am only questioning the lot of you." He then leaned closer to Estella. "Why say anything at all, though? Are you trying to shift blame?" Estella lowered her gaze to the ground in a submissive manner.

"No, sir...I merely thought it a possibility. I can say with certainty that not I, nor Thomas, took anything." She replied. The king stared at her for a moment as if gauging whether or not she was lying before moving on.

"Right, then. If no one comes forth, then I will have to raise the stakes. Since no one wants to admit, then you all shall receive lashes." He hissed. The five of them stiffened, and the advisors looked like they wanted to plead their innocence further, but they knew the king wanted a confession, not a plead. Christophe, having gained the basic gist of what was going on, and he certainly knew the word "lashes," he figured, perhaps, if he did confess, it would lessen the king's anger due to his honesty, and he wouldn't get a very punishable sentence. But he also knew the possibility existed that it could be very bad for him if the king knew it was him. Only one way to find out. He began to lift his hand to gain the attention of the king, Gregory giving him a horrified look as he did, but before he could gain the king's attention, a voice was heard.

"I did it!" Everyone looked over at little Philip, who had his hand raised. He cast a quick glance towards Christophe before looking back towards the king. Christophe's eyes widened. The man walked over to Philip and towered over him with a fierce expression. "I was...hungry...and so I snuck into the kitchen...and I stole the food..."

"Was it only you?" He asked.

"...Y-yes. Only me." The small boy said softly. Christophe was in utter shock at Pip's actions. What was that blonde idiot thinking?! The king's eyes darkened a bit, and he suddenly grabbed Philip by the arm quite tightly, one could assume, due to the sharp yelp that escaped the little blonde boy. Christophe moved to stop him, guilt driving his thought process, but he felt Gregory's hand on his shoulder, the young prince's silent way of telling him to keep quiet. How could he just sit here and do nothing while Philip took the blame for something he didn't do?

"Estella, your servant needs correcting. Take him outside. Ten lashes." He demanded.

"Yes, sir." Estella said without hesitation as the king held the boy out to her, and she grabbed his arm, dragging her poor servant behind her down the hall. He then looked to his other advisor.

"Thomas, rally all of the other servants and waitstaff and bring them out to watch so that an example can be made of him. That way, they may see I am not one to be trifled with."

"Yes, sir." Thomas responded as he looked towards Christophe, beckoning for him to follow. Christophe gave a worried look to Gregory, and Gregory shook his head subtly as if to tell him to say nothing and go along with it. "Come on!" Thomas said impatiently as he grabbed Christophe by his collar and yanked him away from Gregory, pulling him down the hall as well. All that was left standing there with his father was Gregory. He looked to his son with a cold gaze.

"Take that as a lesson, Gregory. Never give your servants an inch. If you treat them too well, or allow them too much leeway, they will act out or think they can do as they please, much like her servant did. Estella is too soft on him, and now look what happened."

"Yes, sir, I know." Gregory said.

"No, Gregory, you don't know. Don't think I don't see you hold hands with or embrace your servant from time to time."

"His name is Christophe." Gregory interjected, furrowing his brows.

"His name is unimportant, he is a servant. Now, listen to me, you can't let your servant think-"

"His name is Christophe."

"Do not interrupt me, boy, unless you'd like to go to your room without dinner again." The king hissed. After a moment of silence from Gregory, the man continued. "Good. Now, you can't let him think that he is equal to you, and if you are hugging him, holding his hand, or talking to him in a neutral manner instead of down to him, he will think he is like you, and he isn't. You are a prince. He is a servant. You need to remember that, and you need to consistently remind him of that. Do you understand?" He asked. Gregory furrowed his brows defiantly as he remained silent, which only angered the king. He suddenly brought a hand sharply across Gregory's face. "You will answer when I ask you something! Now, do you understand?!" He snapped. Normally, Gregory would have snapped back and made the situation worse, but he had promised his mother that he would try not to exacerbate altercations with his father anymore. So, placing a hand on his cheek, he exhaled deeply, looking down towards the ground submissively.

"Yes, sir..." He mumbled. His father huffed in satisfaction.

"Good. Now, go to your room, and don't come out until dinner has been prepared." He said. Gregory didn't reply as, while still holding his cheek, he turned and wordlessly made his way back to his room.

~o~O~o~

It hadn't been long before the sound of his bedroom door opening could be heard. Gregory sat up from his bed and looked to see Christophe stalk in, sniffling and wiping at his eyes. It was rare for Christophe to show much emotion at all, and Gregory had certainly never seen him cry before. Yet, here he was, tears in his eyes. Gregory, concern riddling his expression, slid from his bed and walked over, closing the door and taking Christophe into his arms.

"Hey, hey, hey, it's okay..." He said softly. "What's wrong...?" Christophe whimpered as he actually leaned entirely into Gregory, desperate for comfort as he cried lightly into his shoulder.

"Comment pourraient-ils faire ça...? Comment peuvent-ils le traiter si horriblement...? J'étais censé avoir des ennuis, pas lui...Il n'a rien fait de mal...Comment je pu rester sans rien dire...? Pourquoi ne les ai-je pas arrêtés...? Pourquoi n'ai-je rien dit...? J'ai entendu ses cris alors qu'il était fouetté...Aucun son ne m'a a déjà autant hanté..." Christophe just continued to whimper and mumble things Gregory couldn't even begin to translate, but he still comforted him, rubbing his back and shushing him in an attempt to calm him down.

"It was having to watch Philip get whipped, wasn't it...?" He asked softly. He sighed, leaning away from Christophe as he brought a hand to the other boy's cheek, brushing some of the tears away with his thumb. "It's okay...It's okay..." He said softly. Christophe was trembling slightly as he just let Gregory wipe his tears away. He'd never seen Christophe in such a state. Was it witnessing an innocent young boy get brutally whipped that did him in? Or had it been the overwhelming guilt of it having been his actions that led this to happen, made even worse by the fact that he didn't speak up that it had actually been him? Perhaps it was both. Christophe was always so stoic and never let anything affect him, so seeing him like this was almost unnatural. It was a reminder to him that, no matter how brave of a face Christophe put on, he was still just a little kid like him, and things could still get to him.

"Guilty..." Christophe whimpered, shaking his head. "Guilty...guilty...guilty..." Was all he seemed to be able to string together in his emotional state. Gregory offered him a soft look as he lightly stroked the foreign boy's cheek in a comforting manner.

"Hey, it's okay...Philip volunteered himself to protect you...He probably knew the consequences he would receive, but he still did it to make sure you don't get in trouble..."

"Stupide..." Christophe hissed softly.

"Stupid? You or Philip?"

"Both...Philip stupid...et I stupid for stay quiet..."

"Don't say that..." Gregory said softly. "This is how Philip preferred it to go...You can't feel guilty for a decision he made..." Christophe sniffled.

"Can't 'elp..." The brunette boy said softly as he shook his head again. Gregory sighed. It seemed there was no comforting Christophe in the state he was in. He probably just needed to rest, and he'd likely be better once he did.

"Come on, Christophe, you'll feel better if you lie down." He said softly as he slid his hand down Christophe's arm and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards his bed. He clambered up onto it before pulling the other boy up with him. The blonde offered him a smile, but Christophe simply looked away with a defeated expression. "Come on, Christophe, relax." Gregory said, lying down and patting the spot beside him. Christophe didn't move for a moment, as if he were lost in thought. But after a bit, he sighed softly and allowed himself to lie beside Gregory, facing towards him. "There you go. Now, get some sleep. You'll feel better once you're rested up." He said as he wrapped his arms around the boy, pulling him close. Christophe gave him a bit of a skeptical look, but with a final sniffle and wipe of his eyes, the boy finally closed his eyes to attempt to fall asleep. Gregory kept close to him the entire time, watching over him and serving as a source of comfort. It wasn't long before the worry lines on Christophe's face ceased, and his expression relaxed, letting Gregory know he had finally fallen asleep. He smiled a bit and brought a hand up to the back of Christophe's head, gently running his fingers through his messy, brown locks. And, to think, such a big deal over some pastries.