“Apparently we’re not as good at rescue missions as we thought,” Cas said haplessly, grimacing at the churning in his belly as his body reprimanded him for swallowing the sickeningly strong liquor. He’d eaten dinner earlier in the evening, but it had been long enough ago that he didn’t have the benefit of drinking on a full stomach. “Why do your parents even have that stuff?” he asked Miles incredulously.

“It was a souvenir from my mom’s trip to Russia last year,” his friend replied, leaning with his back against the base of the sofa. “The cooks use it in some of their fancier dishes. We don’t drink it straight.”

“I can see why,” Cas shook his head. The back of his throat still hurt from the single shot he’d just taken. He wouldn’t have been surprised if he woke up the next day to find that the alcohol had burned him on its way down. For a moment, he was tempted to ask why Miles hadn’t recognized the bottle until after they’d drank the horrendous liquid, but he stopped himself when he thought about how oblivious the other high born was in general. It would have been more shocking if he’d caught it right away.

When Iris proposed that they play a drinking game, Cas turned toward her amusedly. He’d had no idea that she had such a wild side. Even after Jay had brought them the wrong bottle of vodka, she was still eager to keep drinking with them. Her spontaneity was exciting, and he smiled, liking the idea she’d come up with. “That sounds like fun,” he agreed. “Did you have anything in mind?”

“Ooh, I do!” Miles raised his hand eagerly. “Let’s play Most Likely. Or Truth or Dare.”

“What are we, high school girls at a slumber party?” Cas snorted.

“Oh, come on,” Miles rolled his eyes. “You don’t have to be a high schooler or a girl to enjoy humiliating your friends. I just want to make you do something embarrassing.”

“Oh, well now that you’ve revealed your master plan,” Cas said with a false note of enthusiasm before falling flat: “No.”

“Spoil sport,” Miles huffed, glancing at the door as Jay came back into the room with the more tolerate vodka for shots. For a moment, he drummed his fingers on his knee and then locked eyes with Iris as an idea came to him. “You know what? Let’s take a vote. I say we play one of my ‘slumber party’ games. What do you think, Iris?”

“This isn’t a democracy,” Cas drawled, fighting the urge to laugh at his friend’s ridiculous antics.

“It is now,” Miles asserted brazenly, throwing an arm around Iris’s shoulders. “We’re overthrowing the party king. Join us or be locked in the dungeon.” He pointed at the closet.

Cas stared at him briefly and then narrowed his eyes, “You wouldn’t.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t,” Miles smirked mischievously. “But he would.” This time he pointed at Jay, who caught on quickly and folded his arms over his chest in a tough stance.

Cas glanced at him over his shoulder and exhaled resignedly. “You should be given an award for the lengths you go to get your way.”

“It’s a gift,” Miles raised his hands in a shrug. “So are you in?”

“Fine.”

“Great,” he grinned and turned to Iris again. “So, what do you think, Lady Iris? What kind of game do you want to play with His Royal Tightass?”

“I don’t think that cooking it would even make it bearable.” Iris chuckled still quite shocked at the taste of the alcohol that had passed through her lips, never had anything burned like that before and she was certain that even an actual burn would have been far less painful. A part of her grimaced at the idea of the alcohol passing through as she was certain it wouldn’t be pleasant, but maybe there would be nicer drinks that would wash down that horrible taste. Listening to them chat about how it was a souvenir was interesting, the idea that their parents or even they had possible visited other countries. Iris wondered what it was like, visiting foreign lands and seeing how different it was to what she had grown up with.

Turning her attention back to the group she looked over at Cas who seemed to approve of the idea of some drinking games, it would definitely liven the mood and she hoped it would help her feel more comfortable in Miles’ home. Chuckling as Miles raised his hand eagerly, ready to offer his idea up to the table she listened wondering what the game most likely was, truth or dare was something she had heard before but most likely? That was a new one to her. It sounds like common sense, like drink if you’re the most likely person to do whatever… right?

“Well I don’t know about you, but I am definitely at a slumber party right now, so these games are fitting~” Iris teased Cas as she stuck her tongue out at him playfully. Though when Miles revealed how he wanted to embarrass his friends she couldn’t help but smile, reminded of the embarrassing stories they had shared with one another in the districts. Of course, she wanted to know more about Caspian, she didn’t care if it was around humiliating stories or sappy ones as it was just nice to know more about him. Though teasing him over something embarrassing was always a bonus.

“He has a point, spoiling the fun we could have had.” Iris smirked backing up Miles at the notion of Caspian being a spoil sport. “I would quite like to play one of these games. We all could use some fun and laughter right now.” Feeling her smile falter slightly, she wasn’t lying when she wanted to have fun, it would help her forget and make her feel normal like she wasn’t some traitor to the crown now on the run from the military. Right now, she could just be a normal girl enjoying a few drinks and having a laugh with people she wanted to feel comfortable around.

“I think you’re outnumbered here; I say we play a slumber party game.” Grinning as she watched Caspian give in to the idea of playing one of the games. Though when she heard Miles call her a lady it threw her off for a split second, but she pulled herself back together quickly especially with his last comment that made her laugh. Royal tightass… well. He isn’t wrong. Finding her eyes wandering back over to Cas, the smile still on her face as she agreed with Miles comment but for other reasons completely.

“So, I think truth or dare, I have never played most likely… I can hazard a guess at what it is and if I’m right I don’t think I have enough information to go on for that game.” Iris smiled as she tore her gaze away from Caspian.

Cas sighed when Iris agreed with Miles that they should play truth or dare. Having played games like this with his friends before, he knew exactly how it was going to go down. They were just going to end up trying to come up with questions and challenges that would make each other so uncomfortable that they would either be humiliated or get completely wasted as an alternative, since the only way to get out of the truth or the dare was to drink. No matter what, Miles won. However, if everyone else was voting against him, he couldn’t get out of it, so he reluctantly lifted his shoulders and casted Iris a half smile, “I say you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into, but if you really want to let Miles have his way, then I guess that’s what we’re doing.”

“Hell yeah,” Miles grinned, filling their shot glasses with the new bottle of vodka that Jay had brought out for them. “And we’ve got the good stuff this time.”

“I also brought beer chasers,” Jay added, indicating the three cans he’d set down along with the liquor bottle.

“Thanks,” Cas said as he took one and opened it. Disliking the taste of vodka by itself, he planned to take full advantage of the lighter drink in between shots.

“I think I’ll play too,” Jay decided, taking a seat next to Caspian. “I’ll just take shots of water.”

“That’s cheap,” Miles scoffed. “If you play, you have to answer all the questions and do every dare, because water isn’t a real penalty.”

“Fine,” Jay agreed easily with a wry glance at the prince. “Unlike someone, I don’t care if I look like a jackass.”

“Excuse me for having a sense of dignity,” Cas rolled his eyes.

“For now,” Miles objected with a snicker. “Two more shots, and you won’t even know what dignity is.”

“I bet I can kick that off,” Jay volunteered, turning toward the prince with a conniving glint in his eyes. “Cas, truth or dare? Choose wisely.”

Of course, they’re making me start the game, he thought dryly, unsurprised. At least they were playing in the privacy of Miles’ bedroom, where the only people who would see him make a fool of himself were his closest friends and Iris. His dark eyes flicked to her face briefly. Thoroughly smitten with her, he was hesitant to let go of the image he’d crafted of himself when she was around, but he supposed she was going to see this side of him sooner or later. He’d already told her that he enjoyed the night life in the capital, so hopefully it wouldn’t be too shocking to her that he and the other high borns did stupid things like this.

Meeting Jay’s gaze, he picked the option that would hopefully be safer: “Truth.”

Jay grinned, “What’s your biggest kink?”

“Yeah, nope,” Cas shook his head, immediately downing the contents of his shot glass. He knew his friends would be ruthless right from the start of the game. The taste of the liquor made him wrinkle his nose, and he chased it with beer to get rid of the bitter flavor. Already, he was starting to feel warmth spread through his body as the strong alcohol began to take effect. He turned to Miles, “You’re up.”

“Dare,” his friend answered without hesitation. “Hit me. I’ll do anything.”

Cas thought for a moment and then smiled as an idea came to him, “Really? Then go shave Jay’s pits.”

“Shit,” Jay groaned.

“Alright, come on, big guy,” Miles hopped to his feet, waving a hand for his friend to follow him to the bathroom. “I’ll get the razor.”

“I’m going to get you back for this,” Jay hissed to Cas as he reluctantly got up and walked off with Miles, pulling his shirt over his head as they disappeared around the corner.

Once they were gone, Cas leaned back on the palm of his left hand and turned to Iris, “What did I tell you? They’re crazy.”

“Probably not.” Iris agreed to when Cas had mentioned how she didn’t know what she was getting herself in for, but something told her it would be fun and that there would be a lot of laughter between them all. Iris was glad Cas had agreed, she was sure the boys would be ruthless but that would be the point. It would loosen them all up and hopefully set themselves up for a good night because they all needed it, her and Caspian especially.

“Good stuff?” Questioning as she glanced down at the beer chasers that had been supplied along with a less dangerous liquor for the shots. It was hard to contain her excitement, from what she could remember she hadn’t had an evening like this in a long time. In fact, the only time she had done something like this had to have been with Maisie. I wonder how she is doing. I bet she is worried.

Relaxing in the chair she grinned as Jay piped up on how he would join in, the option of water shots wasn’t exactly fair but before she could even question it Miles had already called him out on it. What was interesting was the way Jay had agreed that he would have to do everything, “That’s gotta be dangerous, agreeing to do anything~” Though she couldn’t help but laugh at the banter between them all and snorted when Cas had claimed he had a sense of dignity.

Though as she took one of the beers to wash away the burning sensation of the previous shot, she listened to the conversation grinning as they picked on Cas first. Excited to see what he would pick she watched him taking a sip of the beer choking immediately at the truth option that Jay had stated. His biggest kink? Feeling her own heart race her cheeks tinged pink as she took a few more sips of the beer hoping to hide behind the drink so no one would notice the embarrassment she felt for Cas. Though now she was curious, did he have one? Should she even ask something like that? Mulling over as Cas already took the punishment as he didn’t answer the question she felt the nerves build up in her own stomach, excited to potentially do a dare or truth as she hadn’t made up her mind on what would be safer around these guys.

It seemed Cas had a great idea to hit back with, with Miles cock attitude stating he would do anything she couldn’t help but laugh at the suggestion Cas had come up with. “Oh my, what a dare. Good one Cas.” Feeling much more relaxed she couldn’t stop the smile that was spread across her face, things already seemed better and it was becoming easier to forget that only just a few days ago she had gone through intense interrogations.

“I must admit I’m a little nervous at what you guys get me to do. Might have to stick to some truths.” Iris laughed shaking her head in amusement. “They are pretty crazy, but I can see why you are friends with them, they seem like a really good bunch.”

“If I don’t get them back, they’ll just walk all over me,” Cas justified with a laugh. His friends still walked on eggshells around him when there were other people around who could overhear them, but when they were alone, they usually treated him more like a regular high born. He suspected that part of the reason why they picked on him was because of his status though. He wouldn’t have put it past them to secretly take pride in the fact that they could make a fool out of their future king with cheesy party games like this. They certainly milked every opportunity they had to do so.

Taking another small sip of his beer, he nodded when Iris said she understood why he was friends with them. Jay and Miles were wild characters, but they were honest, and they usually had good intentions. Out of all the people he’d been friends with over the years, they were by far the best of the bunch. Though they didn’t seem like it, they were a good influence on him. He had always enjoyed letting loose and pulling ridiculous stunts with other guys, but they helped him relax in a different way, setting aside his concern for his image and forgetting about all of the responsibilities that constantly weighed on him. He always had a good time when he was with them.

“As you just saw, even truths aren’t always safe,” he pointed out with a shake of his head, still a little annoyed that Jay had decided to ask him such a personal question right off the bat. If he’d been alone with only his two friends, he would have been less reluctant to step up to their challenges, but he was still getting to know Iris. The thought of discussing anything in the realm of relationships made him cringe, since the two of them hadn’t really talked about what they were doing yet. He still wanted to find a time to speak with her one on one to express his desire to be with her in spite of all the new barriers they would have to overcome if they tried.

From the bathroom, he suddenly heard a hiss followed by Jay’s loud complaint: “God damn it, that’s cold!”

“Stop squirming!” Miles yelled at him in return. “I hate this just as much as you do.”

At the sound of their bickering, Caspian laughed again, pleased that he’d been able to get back at them for making him play the ridiculous game in the first place. After a few minutes, the two returned, and Jay raised both of his arms to prove that he was now hairless. The prince applauded them exaggeratedly. “Looking good, Jay,” he whistled.

“I hate you,” his friend muttered, plopping back down on the floor where he’d been sitting before and putting his shirt back on.

“I told you I would do anything,” Miles shrugged, obviously proud that he’d gone through with the dare. “Anyway, it’s my turn now.” He brought a hand to his chin and looked at each of the others in turn until his gaze landed on Iris. He smirked slyly, “Alright, new girl. Truth or dare?”

“Well, I guess there is the option of a shot should I not want to partake.” Iris found herself laughing nervously because she didn’t honestly know what to expect with these bunch of people. It was nice though, to be able to relax and have fun at the same time and she found herself laughing even more when she heard the complaint of it being too cold. “They bicker like an old married couple.” Snorting as she heard the quips of the pair complaining about having to shave Jay’s pits. An idea already springing to mind on if Jay chose a dare, shaved legs to match the new clean-shaven arms.

“Thank you, Cas for coming to my rescue. I’m glad I have someone in my life that I know I can count on.” Taking the opportunity to thank him for the rescue before the boys had come back, of course they had played a part in it but ultimately had it not been for Cas she never would have been saved and would probably be dead.

Turning her attention to Miles and Jay when they both walked in she grinned fanning herself with her hand dramatically, “Oh my, looking ever so good there~” Making a joke as she couldn’t help bu laugh, she had never laughed so much in a short period but she knew it was because if she didn’t laugh she would end up crying. At least this way she could be enjoying herself and trying to keep herself distracted and hopefully positive, that’s what she had to keep doing was reminding herself to stay positive. It was the times when she didn’t that her mind would start to play tricks on her, it would taunt her and torment her in the long run and it was already disturbing her sleep. Stop it, no. Positive. Fun night.

“Well you shouldn’t have agreed to the game especially when you can’t take a punishment shot.” Iris snickered glancing over at Jay who mumbled his distaste over the shaving incident, but it was fun all the less and she couldn’t wait to see if he would take a dare from her. Especially with how fun things were going already.

Glancing up at Miles it was like a deer caught in headlights, she knew it would happen that she would have to take a dare or truth but she felt caught out by it and a little bit nervous. “Oh… eh.” Flustered as she pondered the choices, she glanced at Cas as she bit her lip, should she just throw herself in the deep end and go for a dare? Or a truth, they were just as bad it seemed. “What the hell, dare. Let’s see if I can have the guts to go with whatever crazy idea you have.” Exhaling as she was surprised with her own decision that she was willing to take a dare from him, well maybe he would take pity and be kind? Unlikely she thought to herself knowing he would probably use the opportunity to make her do something embarrassing.

Cas turned to Iris again when she thanked him, not expecting her to say anything about the rescue at that moment. A warm smile spread over his lips, and he nodded, “Of course. You can always count on me, Iris.” At least, he wanted to be there for here whenever she needed him. So far, he hadn’t done the best job of keeping her safe—Ethan had nearly strangled her in the streets, and the soldiers had used their most horrific instrument of torture on her—but he was striving to do better. She was the first person who had ever supported him the way she did, and he loved her for it. From here on out, he planned to do everything in his power to make sure nothing else happened to her, even if it meant going behind his father’s back to do so.

When Jay and Miles got back, and Iris joined in teasing Jay about the dare he’d been forced to take part in, Cas laughed along with them. He was glad that she was already starting to feel comfortable with them. His friends could be a lot to handle sometimes because they were so wild, but she seemed to be adapting to their manic energy well enough. He glanced at her furtively, happy to see that her spirits were lifted too. She’d been struggling so much on the inside lately that it had been a while since he’d seen her smile so much. He couldn’t help but find the bright expression on her face attractive.

Turning back to Miles as his friend chose Iris to be his next victim, he subtly rolled his eyes. Judging by the tone of his voice, it sounded like he wasn’t going to go easy on her just because she was new. He hoped the other high born wouldn’t be too ruthless on her, but as she chose to do a dare instead of answer a question, he glanced back at her bemusedly. Yet again, he hadn’t expected her to be so bold around his friends. Even though he’d warned her that they were crazy, she had chosen to test the waters. An amused smile tugged at his lip.

“Oh, I like you,” Miles grinned ferally. “Cas, you found a great addition for our group.”

“I know,” Cas agreed, seeking Iris’s gaze again. He was glad that his friends had warmed up to her so quickly too. When he eventually told them that he was interested in her as more than a friend—and that the same was true vice versa—he hoped that meant they would be supportive even though she wasn’t a high born. Knowing that his father would never approve, it would be nice to have at least a couple people in his corner when the word got out.

As Miles thought over the kind of dare he wanted to choose for Iris, he fell quiet for a few seconds and then raised his hand in the air. “Okay, I’ve got it,” he declared. “You have to eat the spiciest pepper I can find in the cooks’ supply. Whole. Nothing to drink for ten seconds afterwards. Think you can handle it?”

Already her heart was racing at the option she had dared to choose, excitement bubbling away alongside a dose of nerves because she knew they were quite wild especially with all the warnings Cas had given her. Even before the time in the districts Cas had mentioned his wild friends and how he had wanted to introduce her, but that had never happened due to circumstances that she didn’t want to think about because it was it was a slippery slope with her emotions. As she sipped her drink she glanced down at her leg looking over the scaring of the bear trap that had landed her in the mess in the first place, it was a wound that was becoming easy to forget about and it was only until she looked at the scaring that it reminded her of that fateful day especially as it was on show with the loose fitting shorts she was wearing.

Chuckling to herself as Iris heard how Miles approved of her choice to go for the dare, she felt elated, happy that his friends seemingly approved of her for the moment. There was a part of her that had been worried they’d reject her because she wanted to make a good impression, Cas was someone that was clearly important to her and becoming someone in her life she couldn’t do without so she wanted to be someone his friends would like.

Smiling over at Cas as he agreed that she was a great addition to the group she felt great in herself, although it was hard to see how they would find a way to be together she was happy at least she was going to live another day. Grinning to herself as she had chosen the dare option she looked at Miles who was contemplating on what he would have her do, the words that left his mouth was not something she expected and she found herself faltering. “Oh gosh… spiciest pepper?” Already her stomach still burned from the unpleasant taste of high content alcohol they had tasted first, but what worried her was that she had not eaten today.

Cautiously her hand went to her stomach rubbing it as she weighed up the options, what if she ate it and threw up? Especially with nothing to drink for ten seconds. It could mix badly with the alcohol and who knew what kind of trouble she’d have the next day after trying to digest this all. “You know what, I think I’m gonna have to be a coward on this one. There is no way I’m eating something like that and risking hurling my guts up in front of you all.” Smiling as she took a shot of alcohol instead as the punishment not wanting to risk it when she was still getting to know the guys. “Sorry Miles, between that first drink and an empty stomach I am not adding to that kind of danger.” Laughing to herself as she backed out of the dare, as much as she wanted to test the waters, she still had a little bit of dignity in not making an ass of herself in front of them all. Plus, she didn’t want Cas to see her in a state, he’d seen it plenty enough she would rather him get to see her happier and having fun like she was.

After downing the shot, she turned her own gaze towards Jay with a sly grin on her face, “How about you? Truth or dare?”

Of course Miles just had to give Iris a difficult challenge. Caspian shook his head, to which his friend shrugged, brushing off his condescending look. He glanced at Iris in wait for her reply, unsurprised when she chose to take a shot rather than complete the dare. Eating something super hot on top of dinking liquor straight could make anyone sick to their stomach. He would have been hesitant to accept a challenge like that too. Apparently, Jay was more brazen than both of them though.

“Actually, I think I’m gonna do a double dare,” the other high born announced, shooting the prince a smug grin.

“Damn it,” Cas groaned. Knowing that Iris wouldn’t know what they were talking about, he leaned over to her to explain. “We’ve got a house rule that if someone chooses not to do their dare, the next person to play can do the dare they’re assigned and the one right before them and make someone else take two shots.” He narrowed his eyes at his friend accusatively. “I feel like you’re trying to make me sick.”

“Maybe,” Jay lifted his hands in a shrug, feigning an air of mystery. “We’re supposed to make the king think you were out clubbing all night. I’m just trying to speed the process along.”

“Sure you are,” Cas drawled. He looked down at his glass with a wince. Having already downed the equivalent of three shots, two more would put him up to five, which was a lot to keep down in just the span of a few minutes. He had a feeling that he was going to be very hungover the next day if he kept up at this rate. Not to mention he would have to be especially careful about picking which rounds to skip by taking another shot, since he didn’t want to get blackout drunk before he went home. There was a line between coming up with a realistic cover and making himself unnecessarily miserable.

“Jay can’t pass on dares,” Miles reminded them with a snicker. “Give him a good one, Iris. He’ll have to do it and eat whatever I find in the kitchen.” He clapped his hands together. “This is gonna be fun.”

“Double dare?” Iris couldn’t quite believe it that the one who wasn’t drinking was more than happy to just throw himself into it, eat some hot pepper and do the dare that she would suggest especially as he wasn’t drinking. “Jeez, I never thought people would want to embarrass themselves without some liquid courage.” Looking towards Cas as he groaned explaining the house rule to her, trying not to laugh because they all knew that Jay would make Caspian drink the shots. Already Jay had stated that it was just to speed up the plan of getting the Prince drunk, but she was soon learning how they liked to tease him rotten.

Pondering the dare, she had thought of earlier she found herself grinning as she swirled her drink around in her hands glancing at the liquid. Making Jay wait just a little bit longer before she would reveal her plan of the dare. Hopefully they would all approve; it was certainly nerve wracking playing with such wild people that clearly enjoyed parties and the high life. Taking another sip of her drink she smirked looking over at Cas before settling her gaze back on Jay a mischievous look on her face and glint in her eye. “Well seeing as Miles did such a great job with shaving those… pits of yours. I feel the rest of your body needs to match it. Smooth skin and all~” Finding herself giggling as her words hinted towards where she was going with this dare.

“I dare you to shave your legs, all the way up to the thigh. I want no hairs remaining. Smooth legs to match that wonderful job Miles did earlier. What do you day?” Iris couldn’t help but smirk, clearly enjoying herself with everyone as she didn’t hold back on her own dare. A part of her had considered doing something tame, like prank calling someone or even putting on girls’ clothes but they all seemed boring and bland. The guys would have teased her rotten for doing something so lame, especially as they didn’t hold back on her with the pepper dare that she declined by taking a shot.

Already she was two shots in and was feeling warm as the alcohol settled in her system, not to mention the beer chaser she was drinking normally in between rounds to wash down the strong-tasting shots. That and having an empty stomach she already knew this was spelling out trouble for her, especially as she was quite a light weight as it was. Though as she looked over at Cas, she had a feeling he would feel it worse than her, he had to be the one that looked wasted after all as it was his alibi. “I think next round I might opt for truth; these dares are quite brutal. Cas wasn’t kidding when he said you were a wild bunch” Smiling as she felt the warmth flood her cheeks tinging them a light shade of pink as she continued to drink. “Go on then Jay, show us those clean-shaven legs. We are all waiting”

“You’ve never met anyone like these idiots,” Cas told Iris with a laugh when she admitted to being surprised that the only one among them who hadn’t been drinking was the one to take on two dares at once. Knowing Jay and Miles well, he’d expected nothing less from his friends. They never passed up the opportunity to make fools of each other, careless about what anyone else thought of them. It was one of the reasons why he’d been drawn to them. Compared to the image-conscious people among his family and those they associated with, the other high borns were like a breath of fresh air. He liked how carefree they were.

“Shit,” Jay ran a hand over his head when Iris told him the dare she wanted him to do. “By the end of this game, I’m gonna be fucking hairless.”

“That’s the idea,” Miles raised his beer in agreement.

“Well, my mama didn’t raise no chicken,” Jay declared, getting up from his spot on the floor. “Miles, I’m gonna borrow some shorts.”

“My god,” Cas snorted. Even though his friend wasn’t allowed to get out of the dare, he was amused by how eager he was to go through with it. Between his challenge and Iris’s, he suspected that jay was right and that any time he took on a dare, he was going to have to shave another body part. It was turning out to be an interesting night.

“Go for it,” Miles waved his hand in permission.

Jay headed into the closet to exchange his jeans for a pair of basketball shorts and headed into the bathroom, while Miles got up to go look for something to feed him from the kitchen. On his way out, he assured Cas and Iris that he would find something brutally spicy, because his dad had recently been on a trip to South America and had brought back some exotic dried peppers that were tear-inducingly hot. With that, he skipped out of the room excitedly, leaving the two alone for a few minutes to go raid his family’s cooks’ supplies.

Once he was gone, Caspian turned back to Iris with a smirk, “Okay, I feel a little better about getting hammered now that I know Jay is going to look like an Olympic swimmer. That was a good one.” Glancing over his shoulder at the bathroom door to make sure his friend was still occupied, he leaned over to touch a swift kiss to her cheek. “I thought these two were gonna be too much for you, but I see now that I was completely wrong about that. You hold your own against them a lot better than I expected.”

Iris couldn’t help but laugh at how Jay declared he wasn’t a chicken and moved to get himself some shorts so he could prove to them all that he had shaved his legs. It was certainly turning out to be quite the fun evening and had certainly perked her mood up. “Hey Jay! If you find some lotion put that on your legs it will keep them smoother for longer~” Calling out teasingly behind her giggles finding herself quite relaxed in the company of everyone, a part of her had forgotten about being in the hospital recovering from what the interrogators had done to her.

Feeling relaxed as she finished off the beer, she placed the empty drink down on the table telling herself that whatever happened going forward she would have to do. Taking anymore punishment shots would tip her over and she felt she was at a good level of being a little tipsy. Iris knew she was, the fact she would giggle over the little things signalled to her that the alcohol was affecting her. It wasn’t so bad though; she hadn’t drunk too much but the empty stomach had just sped up the effects of the alcohol and she just didn’t want to risk another shot.

“I almost feel sorry Jay, having to eat whatever spicy food Miles will bring out. I can imagine tears.” Watching as Miles left the room to get the other part of the dare Jay had decided to finish. Watching the two and how they acted around Cas she could understand why he was friends with them, even though they were high born and he was a Prince they still included him like he was just a normal high born friend. They were so carefree, and she could only imagine coming from the background Cas had been drawn to them. Iris had been drawn to Maisie for similar reasons, her carefree and gentle nature and standing up for what she believed in not that she remembered that part herself yet.

Being alone for a few minutes with Cas was just another feeling of bliss, feeling the swift kiss against her cheek and the compliments of how she was holding her own against the boys. Not wasting a moment of time, she left her chair moving to Cas before leaning down and pressing her lips against him in a quick haste kiss, using the precious minutes to add another moment of affection for him. Pulling back, she touched his cheek gently with the palm of her hand, glancing around making sure no one had walked in before she pulled away returning to her seat. “Well you gave me the idea with your first dare, I thought it was just a nice added bonus.” Grinning to herself as she settled herself back in the chair making sure it didn’t look as if she had left it, “I was a little nervous meeting them… and well... After everything I know I’m still a little touchy, but it’s hard not to laugh when they have such positive energy. It’s nice, being able to forget if even for a moment.”

Cas nodded in agreement when Iris said she felt sorry for Jay. While he knew he was going to enjoy watching his friend try to keep down the spiciest food in the Kinder household, he didn’t envy the other high born’s stomach in the slightest. He was probably going to be chugging water for the rest of the night to get rid of the burning sensation and quell the nausea that would come with ingesting something so strong. Apparently Jay felt like the consequences were worth making him take two more shots though, so he was doing it to himself.

When she got up from where she’d been sitting, he blinked, briefly confused by what she was doing until she leaned over him and pressed her lips against his. Immediately, the quizzical expression melted from his features and he closed his eyes, tilting his head back as he sank into the kiss. It didn’t last nearly long enough, and he had to stop himself from chasing another when she pulled back and returned to her spot. A rosy hue lingered on his cheeks, both because of the alcohol in his system and the effect she had on him whenever she closed the distance between them. She’s so hot, the thought passed through his head, and his lip curved upward in a smile as he marveled how he had gotten so lucky that a woman like her wanted to be with him.

Clearing his throat, he forced himself to pay attention to the conversation. “Yeah, they’re good for that,” he nodded. “It’s hard to be upset about anything when they’re around.” As he spoke, he couldn’t help the way his eyes drifted to her lips, and he jumped at the sound of a door opening.

“Jay’s so going to regret taking me up on this dare,” Miles announced with a wicked laugh, holding up a bright red, wrinkled pepper as he walked back over to the table and plopped on the floor. “This is a Trinidad Scorpion. He’s gonna puke his guts out.”

Cas stared at the dangerous looking pepper and whistled. “Good choice taking the shot for that dare, Iris.”

“Alright, you punks. One down, one to go,” Jay declared as he stepped out of the bathroom and gestured to his freshly shaven legs. Sauntering back over to the table, he held out his hand toward Miles. “Give me that god damn pepper.”

“As you wish, O Bald One,” Miles flourished a hand dramatically and dropped it into his palm. “Remember, no water for ten seconds.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jay took the stem between his fingers and held it up, turning to Cas and jabbing a finger at him. “Drink up, bitch. If I’m going down, I’m taking you with me.”

“Gladly,” Cas grinned, refilling his shot glass. He knew that between the two of them, he was getting the better end of the tradeoff, so he was no longer upset about being forced to drink more vodka. After all, he wasn’t the one who had to eat something with ‘scorpion’ in its name.

Jay waited for him to down the first shot and fill up the second. “We’ll do this together on three, okay?” he said, lifting the pepper in front of his face.

“Sure,” Cas agreed, doing the same with his glass.

“One… two… three!” Jay said, biting down on the pepper while the prince finished his next round at the same time. As soon as he swallowed the shot, Cas picked up his beer and took a swig to wash out the harsh flavor and turned toward his friend, eager to see his reaction.

At first Jay didn’t do much. He chewed a couple times and swallowed the pepper. However, in the next second, his expression changed, and he exhaled strongly. “Holy shit,” he gasped, already starting to sweat from the heat. “I was gonna say it’s not that bad, but it keeps getting worse.”

Miles cracked up, “Yeah, it does that. You have a few more seconds before you can get water.”

A string of expletives left Jay’s mouth as he pounded his fist on the ground repeatedly. As soon as Miles gave the OK for him to drink, he scrambled to his feet and made a dash for the bathroom, dunking his head under the sink faucet to chug straight from the tap.

Cas and Miles both doubled over laughing. “I think it’s gonna be a while before he can keep playing,” the prince noticed, wiping the tears from his eyes. “That’s gotta hurt.”

“They are, it’s nice feeling like I’m having a normal evening.” Iris smiled softly glancing down at her hands to stop herself from looking at Cas, she didn’t want to give it away to his friends about them. If Cas hadn’t told them there was a pretty good reason as to why, plus it was safer for the both of them for no one to know. Their little secret. Shifting her gaze to Miles as he walked back in a laugh that made her shudder because it sounded maniacal, he was clearly pleased with whatever bright red pepper he was holding ready for Jay to eat. “I definitely dodged a bullet.” Iris felt her words coming out in a whisper as she looked at the wrinkled pepper that would have had her holding onto the toilet whilst all the boys laughed at the dare.

Unable to contain her giggles as she looked at the freshly shaven legs of Jay she shook her head in amusement, the idea that he had not only just had his armpits shaved, his legs shaved and now he had to eat that dreaded pepper. Iris was certain he was going to puke from it, that kind of pepper not even cooked could set anyone’s stomach on fire. “Let’s see who runs to the toilet first. Cas or Jay.” Chuckling as she looked between them watching as one ate the pepper and the other down the shots. The initial reaction wasn’t the best, but then as the time went on, she could see Jay react to the pepper and she could only laugh thankful she did not choose that dare.

“I am so glad I didn’t choose that!”

The laughs kept on coming and time soon passed as they all enjoyed a good evening together. More dares, more truths and even though Iris had told herself that she couldn’t take anymore shots she had ended up taking another because the game was still just as brutal. Even the truths were just as bad and left Iris blushing on some of them. It was easy to forget that they had another part of the plan to do and when the time had come Iris felt a bit cautious because it wasn’t over. Even though they had enjoyed a pleasant evening, now they had to get the Prince back to his own home convincing everyone that he had been out clubbing. It would be easy enough to do, it was clear he was highly intoxicated because the boys had picked on him to her amusement.

Feeling quite tipsy herself from the drinks she looked over at Cas and the others smiling, “Before you do go, could I trouble you for some water? I do not want a hangover tomorrow.” Though the water couldn’t prevent it she felt dehydrated and it would be a lot better for her to have some in her system, she could still remember the taste of the burning first shot they had all taken at the beginning of the night.

“Only if that’s okay!” Iris didn’t want to be a burden to Miles now she was going to be staying here, but she knew that Cas would only tell her she was being stupid if she didn’t ask for things she needed so she was trying to be better at it.

“Wow,” Cas rolled his eyes, stifling a smile when Iris joked about seeing whether he or Jay would run to the toilet first. At the moment, he wasn’t that drunk. While he was definitely feeling the effects of all the liquor he’d downed, his stomach had yet to revolt against his poor decisions. Meanwhile, he could hear his friend retching in the adjoining room. To him, it was no contest. If Jay hadn’t already dived for the porcelain throne, he would be losing his dinner soon enough.

As the night went on, he and the others enjoyed themselves with more rounds of truth or dare. The alcohol he’d consumed so quickly hit Cas harder, and he lost some of his inhibitions, caring far less about looking like an idiot in front of his friends and Iris. He accepted every dare, no matter how outlandish it was, and every truth, no matter how humiliating. Trying not to make himself sick on the strong vodka, he was avoiding drinking any more, but Miles still managed to trap him into taking two more shots when Iris passed on a dare, and Jay hit him with two more when Miles passed once. By the time he needed to get back to his family’s mansion, he was red-faced and dizzyingly intoxicated on nine shots of liquor.

“I’ll grab some for you from the kitchen,” Jay offered when Iris asked for water. He glanced at Caspian and Miles, who were both thoroughly drunk and lying on the floor. “I think those two are too far gone to be trusted with touching anything made out of glass.”

“Fuck off,” Miles slurred obstinately. “I can do anythin’ you can do, and I’ll do it better.”

“Stay on the floor, dumbass,” Jay chuckled, waving his hand dismissively and stepping out of the room to fetch the water.

While they bickered, Cas closed his eyes and pressed a hand to his forehead. By now his stomach was churning, and he could barely think straight. The last two shots he’d taken had really pushed him over the edge. “Oh god, I’m gonna be sick…” he groaned. “Someone make the room stop spinning.”

“Don’t you dare throw up,” Miles shoved his shoulder with his foot. “No one can know we were here, so I can’t call the maids, and I am not cleaning up your nasty vomit.”

“Push me again, and I’ll throw up on you,” Cas warned him, making a sloppy attempt to sit upright so he could move closer to where his friend was laying. As he did, the room seemed to tilt, and he dropped back down to the floor. “Nevermind, ‘s not worth it. I’m just gonna stay here and die.”

Iris wasn’t as drunk as the two on the floor, but even she felt like throwing up. The downside to refusing to eat at the hospital, but how was she to know in the night she’d be drinking and playing silly truth or dare games. Though her vision blurred, and the room span it wasn’t too bad, in fact this was a damn better than that drug she had been given that nearly killed her. “Thanks Jay.” Calling out to the man who had already stepped out of the room to grab her some water, it was probably better he did it as looking at the two boys heavily drunk on the floor they were incapable of doing anything.

The room was far too hot, but Iris put that down to the amount of alcohol in her system. It had a way of making you feel warm, but it would soon pass, and she hoped this meant she could just sleep without a worry. Thinking about it where was she going to be sleeping? The house she was in was of course big enough, but she couldn’t just assume. Maybe she was to hide in his closet, so the maids didn’t find out? This part of the plan she didn’t know what was going to happen and all the boys bar Jay were pretty intoxicated to probably think straight.

“Stop talking about vomit, jeez.” Frowning as the other two bickered on the floor, she touched her own stomach feeling it gurgle away signalling she hadn’t exactly made the right decisions today. Bemused by the way they bickered she shook her head but groaned as a swimming sensation happened and a small pounding followed making her remember that fast movement was not the best. Steadying herself she kept on the chair not daring to move, for one if she stood up everything would just come rushing and she’d no doubt stumble. Two she didn’t want to trip over the boys on the floor and cause them to vomit from impact.

“How the hell is Jay gonna get the both of you back in this state?” Snorting as she watched Cas’ sloppy attempts at sitting up and failing, watching as he gave up and complained how he would just stay there and die. Smiling at his words he had been through a lot and it was nice to see him have a little fun and regret it afterwards.

Rubbing her eyes, she felt exhausted, tired from the day’s events and lack of decent sleep. A part of her would just be happy to curl up on the floor and sleep right there, but she knew she couldn’t as it wasn’t her home. Closing her eyes in the chair she just listened to the sounds around her, there was no need to keep them open the light was starting to burn anyway. “If I had any money, I’d bet one of you hurls in the car on the way home.” Chuckling at her statement as she opened her eyes briefly to look at the two heaps on the floor going back on her previous statement earlier when she had said to stop talking on the subject.

“I’m protecting my kingdom from the interloper,” Miles declared exaggeratedly in his own defense when Iris told them to stop talking about vomit. “Have to make sure he doesn’t destroy it on his way out.” As he spoke, he sat up and leaned back heavily against the bottom edge of the sofa. While he was still very drunk, he hadn’t had as many shots as Caspian, so he was still semi-mobile. He just had to move a little more carefully to keep from losing his balance and falling back to the ground.

“Shut up,” Cas slurred. “I can hold my damn liquor… Just have to do it from th’ floor.” Even though he wouldn’t be able to get up again without stumbling, he’d convinced himself that he was fine. Being intoxicated usually made him overly confident and somewhat aggressive. Fortunately, he’d never gotten himself into a bar fight, but he’d come close once or twice when he’d overindulged, and his friends had had to drag him away from whomever he believed had “wronged” him. Despite the arrogant persona he tended to take on, he’d never fought anyone—well, before he’d been abducted—and would have learned quickly that he wasn’t innately good at it. He probably would have also accidentally landed his opponent in prison for treason—if speaking poorly about the royal family was illegal, throwing a punch at one of them was a serious crime—and felt horribly guilty after he sobered up the next day.

“If you can’t get off the floor, you’re not holding your liquor,” Miles snorted and then glanced at Iris when she asked how Jay would get them back to the palace. “Very carefully,” he answered with a snicker, amused by his own cheesy joke, then followed it with a more practical response: “He’ll pro’ly have to carry Cas, but I can walk. Just can’t do it in a straight line anymore.” He shrugged. “Jay’s the one who’ll be driving, so I don’t have to pass a sobriety test, so we’re good.”

“That’s right, and if you try to grab the steering wheel again, I swear to god I’m gonna knock you out,” Jay, who had just returned with a glass of water, threatened his drunk friend dryly. He stepped over to hand it to Iris and then bent down to take Cas by the arm and lift him up into a sitting position. “Come on, Your Highness,” he said, using the title in jest. “Get up. You have to be home before midnight, or the king is going to think someone else kidnapped you.”

“Stupid curfew,” the prince mumbled, carefully pulling his knees closer to his body to get his feet underneath him as his friend hauled him off the floor. “I’m a grown ass man. I can stay out as long as I want.”

“You can see how that goes when we’re not around to take the blame for it,” Jay shook his head, supporting the inebriated royal by the waist.

Miles stood up to join them and turned to Iris once more before following them out the door, “Make yourself comfortable wherever you want. Jus’ don’t leave the room, okay? I’ll be back later… Hopefully sobered up at least a little.”

“Miles, come on,” Jay called, ushering the other high born along. “We’ve gotta go.”

“Coming!” he called back. “See you later, Iris.” He added to her before turning to hurry after his friends as they exited the room.

It was nice to see how relaxed everyone was, and she adored watching the way Cas interacted with his friends and vice versa, it was just nice after the whole kidnapping and watching them brutally hurt Caspian. It was a nice change of pace and she felt like she had enjoyed her evening even if some of the dares and truths had been quite outrageous. Smiling as Cas defended on how he could hold his liquor she held her tongue not wanting to tease him, knowing that in his state she would only find it funny watching him argue his point. Though she was pleased when Miles didn’t hold back and make his own comment before discussing how Jay would be fine at getting him home.

“Thank you.” Looking up as Jay walked in with her water, taking the cup from him happy that she had something to wash down all the drinks she had earlier and hopefully get rid of her dry mouth. “Hang on, steering wheel? I feel like this is a story I need to know another day.” Wondering just what had happened, curious on the story behind it but she could ask them for it another day. Right now, it wasn’t important.

Grinning to herself she tilted her head as Cas grumbled about his curfew and being home before midnight, “I feel like this is a real life Cinderella here, or should I say Cinderfella~” Chuckling at her own joke as she watched them haul Cas up ready to take him home, a part of her saddened by the fact she couldn’t say goodbye to Cas privately. Though she was sure they would have moments going forward, it may take a while especially with her own disappearance now, but she was hoping they could work it out. Even though deep down she had her doubts on being able to be together.

“No worries, I have a drink I should be okay. Thank you, Miles, for letting me stay.” Taking a sip of her water she waved the boys out, calling out a goodbye of her own before she settled in the chair glancing around the now empty room. Now they were gone the lively carefree spirit felt like it went with them and she was left alone with her thoughts yet again, thoughts that she knew would start to pick away at her and knock at her happiness. Sighing to herself as she downed the glass of water knowing that she would need every drop to combat any sort of headache tomorrow she bit her lip wondering what to do now.

He said to make myself comfortable wherever… but. I just. This isn’t my home; this isn’t even a spare room it’s his space. I can’t just go wherever. Finding herself grimace at not knowing on what she could really do, even though he had said it was alright she didn’t feel like it was. Placing the empty glass on the table she moved from the chair and to the sofa that was in the room, she could just sit comfortably on there and maybe even get in some rest?

When Iris made a teasing remark before he left the room, the color in Caspian’s cheeks deepened slightly. It hadn’t been the first time that he’d heard someone compare him to the fairytale princess—he’d even made some jokes about their obvious similarity, himself—but hearing that she had caught on made him feel a little chagrined. He wanted to make a witty comment in return, but his muddled, drunken brain wasn’t quick enough to comply, and he headed out to the garage with Jay and Miles without time to come up with a response.

Fortunately, the last phase of their plan went as well as any of them could have hoped. After they changed back into their original clothes in the car, Jay drove Cas and Miles back to the club, parking at the rear entrance near the employees’ vehicles. They got out and snuck inside—Jay keeping an eye on the prince to make sure he didn’t get lost or say something he shouldn’t while he was inebriated. Once they felt sure they had gotten away with their reappearance, the three headed over to the bar counter, where Miles closed out his open tab as if they had been there the entire time. Of course, the receipt only showed that they had purchased a couple drinks in total, but Miles tossed the paper in the bin on their way out. Since there was no reason for the military or the police to suspect that they were involved, they weren’t concerned about any investigators questioning the bartender about exactly how many drinks they’d had while they were there. Just the fact that they had been seen at the beginning and end of the night would be enough.

From there, they headed back to Jay’s Oracle and climbed inside, talking and laughing brashly for the cameras in the parking lot for good measure. He drove them back to the palace and pulled up to the front entrance, where Cas said his goodbyes and got out. By that point, he still hadn’t sobered up in the slightest, so it was apparent to the security guards at the door that he was drunk. They jogged down the steps to escort him into the building, ensuring that he didn’t stumble and injure himself on his way through the halls and up the stairs to his room.

As soon as he got there in one piece, he was left alone and closed the door behind him, letting out his breath in a heavy exhale. Somewhat impressively, he had managed to survive the whole trip without losing his dinner, but that streak ended the moment he had a second to wind down from the eventful night. Feeling the forewarning flex of his abdomen and build-up of saliva in his mouth, he sprinted for the toilet and dropped to his knees as his stomach purged itself of its contents.

Meanwhile, Jay drove Miles back to his manor and dropped him off. Their plan was to go back to the alley to get the other car in the early morning, before most people would be out of their homes. Having finished everything they needed to do for the night, they parted ways, and Miles returned to his bedroom to check on Iris and get ready for bed. He was still tipsy from the five shots of vodka he’d had, so he wanted to get as much sleep as possible before he had to wake up at the crack of dawn and leave again with the other high born.

When he got to his room, he knocked somewhat quietly on the door a couple times to announce his presence before he stepped inside. “Iris? You still doing okay?” he asked, closing the panel and wandering further into the space. As his eyes landed on her petite figure on the sofa, he found it difficult not to stare. When he and the others had discussed hiding places for her, he’d been more than happy to volunteer his home as her refuge from the military, but that had been before he’d seen how shockingly attractive she was. He marveled that Caspian hadn’t ever taken interest in someone as pretty as her. It also didn’t help that he liked the way she looked wearing his clothes.

Not wanting to make her uncomfortable—they barely knew each other, and she was on the run, after all—he coughed into the crook of his elbow and gestured to his bed, “You can sleep up here if you want… I’m sorry I don’t have anything more private. The maids clean up all the other rooms, so this is the safest place.” Suddenly, he blinked as he realized how his offer might have come across. “Um, I didn’t mean you could sleep on the bed with me. I’ll take the sofa,” he clarified, holding up his hands innocently. “I promise I won’t do anything. I really only offered to let you hide here because I wanted to help. You can trust me.”

Iris wasn’t sure how long it had been, it didn’t feel like a while had passed when she heard the knock of the door and his voice. Jumping a little because it had startled her, but it was all new sounds and a new surrounding that she wasn’t used too. “O-Oh, hey. Yeah. I’m doing alright.” Forcing a smile on her face as she looked over at Miles not catching on to the stare because she was too concerned for her own thoughts. Iris was feeling a little cautious now as she didn’t know what would happen to her going forward, she had no future set in stone and every moment of her life now would be on the run.

What will happen to me? Will they smuggle me back into the districts? I can live a life with Maisie. That seems like the only option, but Cas. Rubbing her arm as she watched Miles gesture to the bed she felt her features soften at the offer of using his bed thinking it was kind, but then as he clarified what he meant she felt the reddening of her face finding herself at a loss of words because she didn’t think that. “A-Ah… N-No, of course of not. I didn’t think that.” Finding herself quite flustered at the thought of that because not for a minute would she have ever assumed, plus there was only one person she would want to share a bed with, and Miles wasn’t it. Not to say he wasn’t attractive, nor seemed like a nice person but she didn’t see him like that.

“Sorry… Thank you though, for the offer, but honestly I am fine on the sofa.” Iris smiled feeling her embarrassment ease off from the statement before. “I couldn’t do that to you anyway, this is your home. I don’t mind one bit sleeping here.” Patting the sofa with her hand, it was very comfortable, and she knew she would be fine. There was one worry in the back of her head around sleeping and she feared having a nightmare, she knew at times her sleep was disturbed. It had happened for years, but never had she stayed in someone else’s company like she had been recently. There had been Cas whilst on the run, but then she couldn’t remember having issues whilst being with him and in his company.

“Thank you for agreeing to help me though, even though you don’t know me you took part in saving my life. Thanks Miles, and for putting me up. I promise I’ll be alright on the sofa and I won’t break anything! It will be like I’m not even here.” Pulling up her legs on the sofa she made herself comfortable before looking over at Miles, “If possible, could I trouble you for a blanket though? And maybe some more water. It’s fine if not! I can survive. I don’t want to trouble you.” Finding herself back track on her requests to him because she didn’t want to trouble him more than she already was with staying here.