After a lengthy, two-hour nap, Cas felt a little better than he had earlier, but he was still bothered by the visit with Dr. Foster. Every time he met with her, it was just another reminder that his father didn’t trust him. Climbing out of bed, he shuffled into the bathroom with a dull expression on his face. He couldn’t remember when he and the king had drifted so far apart, but it was clear that their relationship was rockier than it had ever been before. Atlas had always had unrealistically high expectations of him and had been stingy with compliments. The cold treatment had fostered insecurity inside of him, but it was the first time he felt like there was no way to redeem their small family. The king thought he was raving. He’d noticed that he hadn’t been given any responsibilities to take care of since he’d come back from the districts either. It was no doubt due to the fact that he’d defended Iris.

Standing at the sink, he turned on the faucet and bent over to splash warm water onto his face, trying to shake off the last of his weariness. As he did, he heard a distant knock on the door to his bedroom. “Come in,” he called to the visitor. Turning off the water, he grabbed a folded towel from the counter and dried his face off as he turned around to see who had stopped by.

By the door, a servant stood and bowed respectfully. “His majesty wishes to see you, your highness.”

Cas stiffened. “Why?” he asked, more defensively than he meant the question to come across.

The servant shifted his weight, “I wasn’t told anything else, your highness… Only that he asked me to send you to his room.”

That’s because he doesn’t want to go around telling everyone that his son is insane, he thought with a roll of his eyes. Given the time frame of the request, he was certain Atlas was summoning him to discuss the contents of his meeting with Dr. Foster. He was probably upset that no “progress” was being made in his therapy sessions. The thought made him taste bile. “Tell him I’ll talk to him tomorrow,” he said curtly, averting his gaze. “Sorry, but I have somewhere I need to be right now.”

“Y-Your highness?” the servant stammered, taken aback by his uncompliant response.

Cas said nothing. Heading out of the bathroom, he slipped on a pair of shoes, stuffed his phone in his pocket, and brushed past the other man to get out of the room. He felt a little bad for forcing the servant to deliver word to his father that he wouldn’t be stopping by, but he couldn’t handle seeing him right now. Not when the king was just going to accuse him of things that weren’t true again. He needed to get out of the house before his father sent one of the guards to make him come back.

With that thought in mind, he went straight to the garage and climbed into his car, driving off to the Kinders’ place in the hopes of avoiding Atlas for the rest of the day.

“I don’t think I would, you’d end up hating my outfit choice and faking you liked it to not hurt my feelings.” Iris jibed back glancing down noting how close he had edged towards her on the sofa inwardly cringing because it was either going to get really awkward or she was overthinking the movement. To Iris it was hard to think someone could possibly like her especially with her background and surely, he would be more interested in some upper-class woman with more to offer. It was also what something she worried about with Cas that the events of what they had gone through was the sole reason that pulled them together. The movement of Miles arm around the back of the chair subtly hinting towards placing his arm around her and she quickly looked at Miles seeing him lean forward towards her slightly.

“Iris… I think you’re beautiful.”

Within an instant Iris umped up from the sofa with both her hands outstretched in front of her as she shook her head red on her cheeks from how embarrassed she felt over this awkward situation, anxiety bubbling away in her stomach as she knew she had to approach this subject. “M-Miles… I. I’m sorry.” Words falling out of her mouth quickly as she stumbled over them unsure on what to say without hurting his feelings or make it even more awkward because she had to stay here. There was nowhere else for her to go and she didn’t want it being awkward between them. “There’s no easy way to put this.” Finding herself look at every inch of the room avoiding meeting his gaze because she found it difficult to look at him, especially as she didn’t want to see his reaction.

“It’s not you, you’ve been kind and a lovely friend... Wow this is all sounding so cliché and rubbish, but I eh. I’m not interested.” Fidgeting on the spot from where she stood, she found herself fiddling with the sleeves of her top feeling incredibly awkward already because she hoped to avoid something like this.

“Oh. No. Of course” Miles shook it off the sound of disappointment in his voice as he sat back on the sofa folding his arms looking over at Iris who had practically bolted from him. It was hard to mask the sound of disappointment in his voice because he had been interested in her, she was beautiful and spending time with her had been enjoyable and a part of him had thought that she might have felt the same. Now however, he knew he was wrong, but he wasn’t mad just feeling a little bummed out and slightly awkward because now he would have to share his room with her his failed attempt.

“I’m so sorry Miles, I hope this… eh. Doesn’t make it awkward, but I get it if you don’t want me staying here. I understand! I mean I should probably look at going home or finding some sort of permanent solution anyway so…” Unable to stop what she would call word vomit as Iris blabbered on needlessly feeling worse by the second as she knew she was not helping the situation.

With the car stereo turned up loud enough to drown out the sound of his phone’s ringtone, Cas drove himself to see his friends without looking back. He felt guilty for ignoring his father’s summons, but he couldn’t keep letting the king trod all over him anymore. For his entire life, he’d allowed Atlas to make almost all his decisions for him, always rolling over because he didn’t have the guts to stand up for himself. He’d justified it by telling himself that his father was just wiser than he was, trying to quell the frustration he felt about not having a voice of his own in the capital. However, now that his interests were directly opposed to the monarch’s, he had to take the leap and start asserting himself. If Atlas didn’t like it, it would only prove that he cared more about having a perfectly groomed successor than he did about having a son with his own free will.

The screen of his phone, which he’d set down in one of the cupholders in the center console, lit up once more as the number for the manor flashed across the top. Cas glanced at it fleetingly and looked forward again with a shake of his head. His father was probably furious with him, but he wasn’t going to pick up. “I’m not your damn puppet,” he grumbled to no one in particular, pressing down on the gas pedal with a little more force. The vehicle was equipped with GPS tracking, so Atlas could easily look it up and figure out where he was going, but he wasn’t in danger, so it would have been excessive for the king to send security to bring him back. If his father was determined to chew him out about the session with Dr. Foster, he would just have to wait to do it when he came home that night.

Making good time to Miles’ place, he pulled around to the front of the estate and climbed out of his car, veritably slamming the door behind him with simmering irritation. He hadn’t called ahead to let his friend know that he was on his way, but Miles was almost always welcoming when he showed up to visit. He didn’t expect anything different this time as he jogged up the steps to the front door and rang the doorbell to announce his presence.

Meanwhile, Miles, who had just unsuccessfully confessed his interest in Iris, tried to backpedal quickly. “God, no,” he held up his hands. “You don’t have to leave. I think you’re hot, but that doesn’t mean I’m in love with you or anything. You can still stay here. I’ll just back off a little now that I know you aren’t into me, okay?” He offered her an assuring smile. Inwardly, he was still discouraged by her swift rejection, but he was a spin doctor who could twist any painful situation into a positive one with a little effort. In this case, he told himself that now that he knew she wasn’t interested, he could move on from his crush. It was a good thing, ultimately. There was no reason to stay upset.

Taking a deep breath, he went on, “Just forget I said anything. We’re still cool, I swear.” In the next moment, the doorbell rang, and he glanced over his shoulder, secretly thankful for the excuse to get away from the awkwardness of their conversation. Standing up from the sofa, he cleared his throat, “I’ll go see who that is. Be right back.” Without waiting for a reply, he turned and trotted out of the room, heading down the hallway to find out who had showed up to his house when it was barely noon.

Iris felt herself ease up a little as Miles assured her, backing off in a nice way and not making it into a big deal that she had turned him down. Letting out a shaky sigh she felt a rush of relief as it hopefully meant that they could still be friends and nothing had to change, it seemed that way with his words so she was happier in that fact. Oh, thank god, he doesn’t hate me. He just thought I was hot it was nothing more than that. What a relief. Finding herself smiling alongside his assuring one just glad that it didn’t get worse. “Yeah no, that’s fine. I’m glad we’re still cool though.”

It was a compliment that he thought she was hot, she never would have thought that people inside the Capital could have been interested in her as she didn’t think herself as any sort of contender against how beautiful people were here. Should I say I’m flattered? No, that would just make it worse. Pushing away the thoughts as she felt her body relax and not tensed, stopping herself from fidgeting with the sleeves she was glad that he had such a lax attitude and somehow turned it into some sort of positive.

“Thanks Miles. We can still be friends. If of course you want a former rebel as a friend, very dangerous of course.” Finding herself laughing nervously feeling loads better that they had cleared the air over something she had never considered until last night when Cas had mentioned it. Least he had mentioned it because she would have been totally oblivious to it all and at least she had been prepared for it. Not that it made it any easier for how awkward it had been. The jokes however did make it seem less bad and of course she knew she wasn’t going to be dangerous, but considering that she was part of the rebellion and they were considered a threat to the Capital it was an easy joke to make.

Before she could make anymore jokes or somehow make it even more awkward the doorbell had gone, and she couldn’t help but sigh thankful for the distraction. “Oh no of course, It’s probably important this early.” Waving it off with a smile as she watched him leave, she moved herself over to the sofa now he wasn’t there. Not that she was against sitting next to him, but she didn’t want to sit down after rejecting him, next to him. Hearing the door shut behind him she sunk into the sofa shaking her head with a grimace, that had not been her proudest moment because she had been so awkward at the scene. I hope I’m not here for much longer.

Raising her hand to her forehead letting it drop to in front of her eyes mulling over her thoughts, hoping that whoever was at the door would be a good enough distraction for them both to not bring up the awkward subject of rejection.

Waiting outside the door for what felt like twenty minutes, Cas shifted his weight from his left foot to his right. While he felt like it was unlikely that his father would send the royal security to bring him home, there was still a chance that he’d been followed. He wanted to get inside quickly, so he wouldn’t be standing in plain sight if the guards showed up at the Kinders’ house. It would be far easier to tell them that he wasn’t returning until midnight from the foyer, where they couldn’t drag him back against his will.

Fortunately, even though time seemed to pass much slower than it actually was, he didn’t have to wait long before a maid opened the door from the inside and stared at him in surprise. “Your highness, I wasn’t aware you would be stopping by today,” she said bemusedly, leaning forward in a polite bow.

“I didn’t call ahead,” he said vaguely, stepping past her to escape from the open perron. As soon as he passed through the doorway, he relaxed a little and glanced down the hallway that led toward Miles’ room. His friend was already approaching and raised his hand in a casual wave, though he seemed just as surprised by his unannounced appearance as the maid had been.

“Hey, Cas,” the other high born greeted him, stopping a couple meters away and raising a brow. “What are you doing here?”

“I had to get out of the house for a while,” Cas shrugged.

At that, Miles cracked an amused smirk, “Geez. You really have something against being in the palace, don’t you?”

“You could say that,” Cas agreed without elaborating. Truthfully, it was his father that he had issues with, but he didn’t feel like sharing that with Miles. He’d come to visit because he needed a distraction from the ongoing fight with the king, so talking about it was the last thing he wanted to do.

Walking over to head down the corridor to his friend’s room, he noticed belatedly that something seemed off about the other high born. He studied him with a subtle glance. On the surface, Miles was acting like his usual, carefree self, but there was something melancholic about him today. His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Are you doing okay?” he asked curiously. It hadn’t been more than twelve hours since they’d last seen each other, so he couldn’t help but wonder what could have happened during that span of time that would make his friend look so crestfallen. Or, well, as crestfallen as the excitable man could be.

At his question, Miles rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Uh, yeah. I’m fine… I sort of told Iris that I was into her, and she rejected me.” He waved a hand dismissively. “It’s cool though. Now I know where she stands, so I can move on.”

“Oh,” Cas blinked. “I’m… sorry to hear that.” A boldfaced lie. He was ecstatic that the flirting between Miles and Iris was over. Watching his friend try to hit on her had been endlessly frustrating. Still, he had to keep up appearances, so he rested a hand on his shoulder. “Once we get the mess with her sorted out, I’ll take you out to the club, and we’ll find someone else for you. How does that sound?”

“Can’t wait,” Miles grinned.

They chatted more lightheartedly the rest of the way to the bedroom. When they got there, Miles opened the door and stepped inside. “Guess who came to see us?” he said to Iris with a flourish of his hand toward Cas. “We’re getting so many royal visits lately that I’m starting to feel special.”

Cas rolled his eyes as he followed his friend into the room. “You didn’t need me around to feel that way. I’m pretty sure you’ve always thought you’re better than everyone else.” As his gaze landed on Iris, his lips curved upward in an involuntary smile, and he greeted her warmly, “Hey, how are you doing today?”

Removing her hand from her face as she looked up from the sofa she caught sight of Miles walking inside accompanied by Cas, finding herself sit up a little straighter on the sofa she grinned unable to stop herself at the sight of him. “You just can’t stay away lately.” Briefly glancing at Miles watching the flourish of his hand as he claimed he felt special with all the visits, “I’m starting to believe it myself, perhaps we are special with all these visits lately. Though I am not complaining, it’s a nice distraction.” Thankful that he had come at the right time because it would make things so much easier especially when it came to the awkwardness.

“Pfft, you both probably think you’re better than everyone else let’s be honest.” Iris snorted at Caspians comment looking back over at him still smiling as he greeted her warmly. It was definitely good to see him again even if it had only been yesterday when she had last saw him, though time was feeling a bit strange to her cooped up in Miles bedroom and the lack of sleep wasn’t helping. That was something she knew she needed to get better with, but there was nothing she could do about it now plus she had neglected to tell anyone because she didn’t want to cause a fuss.

“I’m doing alright, though I am getting a little restless being cooped up here. I know it’s for good reason, but… I guess I miss going outside and just being able to do whatever I wanted too I suppose.” Trailing off slightly she knew she shouldn’t be bitter over it as after all it was for her benefit, but she couldn’t help how she felt about being stuck in his bedroom without being able to fully feel comfortable.

“I know I shouldn’t complain, I have it easy here. It’s just the uncertainty of not knowing what is happening next. Plus, I can’t live on this sofa forever, I’m sure Miles wants his room back and his own personal space.” Iris smiled softly as she opened up just a small bit to how she was feeling, in all honesty she couldn’t wait to have her own personal space because then she didn’t have to keep acting like everything was okay when deep down it wasn’t.

“How are you anyway? What brings you over this way?” Glancing at the clock it was still quite early in the day and usually he would visit in the afternoon, a part of her thought that something had to have happened and she knew she couldn’t just outright ask it. Not if he didn’t want to talk about it in-front of his friends. That and Iris was certain that showing so much concern could bring to light her feelings for him, Miles wasn’t stupid he would catch on and as soon as she thought about that she averted her gaze from Caspian looking at the hands folded neatly in her lap to stop herself from fidgeting.

Cas lifted his hands in a hapless shrug when Iris said he couldn’t stay away. It was true, but probably not for the reason she was imagining. While his affection for her played a major factor in his newfound obsession with Miles’ house, his father was the one pushing him into their arms every day. He wouldn’t have felt the urge to get away from Atlas if they’d been on better terms. Instead, he couldn’t even stand to be in the same building as the king. Not until something changed, at least. He wasn’t unwilling to reconcile, but it was going to take effort on both their parts in order for the relationship to heal. As long as his father continued to brush off his feelings as the result of being “brainwashed,” he was going to keep avoiding him.

“Hey, I do not,” he defended himself with an incredulous smile when she lumped him in with Miles. He was definitely expected to think he was better than everyone else because of his royal status, but only his father was that conceited. By contrast, he still wished he had been born as a regular citizen of the capital with no crown looming in his future. He also felt ill-equipped to take over as the next king after his father passed, and he certainly didn’t feel like a better fit for the job than most other people in the city.

“Speak for yourself,” Miles grinned. “I’m fucking awesome.” With that, he strode over to the chair across from the sofa and took a seat, leaving a little distance between himself and Iris. After she had told him she wasn’t interested, he planned to put more space between them, so she would see that he was true to his word about backing off and also so he could move on from his crush without torturing himself.

For Caspian, the distance was a welcomed change of pace because it meant he could sit right next to her on the sofa without making it obvious that he wanted to be in close proximity to her. He stepped over to do just that as she explained how she had been feeling lately. Settling down next to her, he offered her a sympathetic frown when she described how difficult it was to be cooped up. He wished he could offer her better accommodations, but at the moment, this was the best they could do.

“Don’t say that,” he shook his head. “Your feelings are valid. I know it must be tough not being allowed to go outside, and I’m sorry we’ve pretty much turned you into our prisoner.” He drummed his fingers on his knee. “If I think of a way to bring you outside without getting caught, I’ll let you know.”

When she asked about why he’d come back, he stiffened involuntarily. It was an innocent question, but thinking about the answer just reignited all the emotions that had been stirring around inside of him when he’d left home. “I, uh, I just needed to get out for a while,” he replied, giving her the same vague response that he’d sold to Miles. If they had been alone, he might have been willing to tell her more, especially since his fight with his father had everything to do with her, but for now, he changed the subject. “So, what were you guys watching?” he asked, gesturing to the TV that was still playing. “Anything good on?”

“Yeah alright awesome.” Iris rolled her eyes as Miles happily chimed in with his own thoughts, happy that he was choosing to sit elsewhere as it meant Cas could sit next to her. Though it wasn’t something of great importance it was just nice to know she was closer to him, it was nice that Miles respected the decision and she was glad they had cleared the air at least.

Smiling as Cas sat next to her, she looked over as he spoke about how her feelings were valid and a part of her wished she could tell him how she truly felt. The truth was they had not been able to talk about all the events openly as the minute they landed in the Capital she had been arrested, then the escape and now sat amongst friends she couldn’t just talk about it. Not without giving away her feelings, or what had happened in the prison. The thought sent a shudder through her because she wasn’t over it, the interrogation had scared her and as much as she was putting on a brave face and ignoring it somehow it would find a way to come back and haunt her. They had never truly been safe in the districts so there never had been an opportunity to discuss things like a normal couple would, they were no where near what anyone would consider a normal relationship as things had happened in such an odd order.

“Thank you, I appreciate that. As much as being your prisoner is far better than that penitentiary it still sucks to be locked away.” It was nice to know that Cas would try, and she didn’t doubt that he would, but it wasn’t going to be easy though nothing had when it came to them. “The food is much better here too, though I have to be honest. I don’t think my taste buds are quite the same as you guys.” Hinting towards the fact she didn’t really like the pizza last night, but it was okay as she didn’t mind her night had been enjoyable regardless.

“I can understand.” Not prying too much into why he had left home she was glad he was here none the less, “Oh! Well.” Rubbing the back of her head sheepishly as she remembered admitting to her slight distaste of the reality TV, “I guess well, alright you caught me I didn’t think I’d enjoy it but this dress to impress show kind of got me hooked.” Sheepishly she looked back over at the TV which by now was at the stage of contestants running around trying to get an outfit together within budget and the briefing of the one vying for the date. “As I said to Miles if I were to ever go on here, I’d get it so wrong, I know the outfits I’d choose would be horrendous.” Finding herself chuckling as she admitted to Cas that she had somehow enjoyed a bit of reality TV which was none other than a dating show at that.

Cas smiled when Iris told him that being their prisoner was much better than being locked up in the penitentiary. He was glad that she was comfortable staying with Miles, but he still wished he could do something to make her feel like she wasn’t a fugitive running from the law. He couldn’t bring her into the streets with him when there was a warrant out for her arrest, but maybe he could think of some other secluded place where they could go, just so she could get out of the house? He chewed on his lip as he mulled it over. However, before he could think of any ideas, he was distracted when she told him she’d gotten invested in a reality show.

Hearing her say that made him eye her with amusement. He hadn’t forgotten how she’d gone on and on about thinking reality shows were stupid the day before. Apparently she wasn’t as immune to the addictive charm of the shows as she’d thought she was. The show they were watching wasn’t one of his personal favorites, since he wasn’t interested in fashion, but he was glad that she had found something on TV to watch with Miles. His friend was a sucker for any kind of show that had competition built into it. “I don’t think you’re giving yourself enough credit,” he disagreed. “Remember when I took you shopping a couple weeks ago? I think everything you picked out looked really good on you.”

“This is the show where the contestants have to dress up the other person,” Miles corrected. “But I agree with you. I think she’d do better than she thinks she would.” He casted her a waggish grin.

“Oh,” Cas blinked and then shrugged. “I don’t really watch this one, so I don’t know how it’s supposed to go,” he explained, turning back to Iris. “I’m glad you like it though.”

“Maybe I should sign up for one of those dating shows,” Miles mused aloud, resting his cheek in his hand as he watched the episode playing on the TV. “I’ve had shitty lucky in the romance department for a while, and it always looks like the bachelor has fun being surrounded by beautiful women. Think I should submit an audition?”

“I think it would be way more dramatic than you’re expecting, but if that’s what you really want to do, then why not?” Cas replied noncommittally.

“Easy for you to say,” Miles rolled his eyes. “You’re already surrounded by beautiful women all the time. If you weren’t such a prude in the sheets, you could have anyone you want. It’s not fair that the rest of us guys have to work so much harder and still might be rejected.”

“It isn’t as great as you think,” Cas told him dryly. “Most of the time, I can’t tell if a woman likes me for me or if she’s only interested in my status. I’m not going to be with someone unless I know she doesn’t see me as just a steppingstone to be queen.” Subtly, his eyes flicked to Iris, and an affectionate smile pulled at his lip. “Honestly, I don’t care who she is or where she comes from. I just want to be with someone who lets me be myself and who loves me even when I’m not easy to love… because I’ll do the same for her.”

Although a day ago Iris had spoken of her distaste to reality TV and how she didn’t get it after watching a bit more their charms had grown on her. The way people would try to impress someone else, the editing which threw in some funny comments and then the element of the competition it was hard not get invested in the show. Plus, there really wasn’t much else she could do in his bedroom, though she figured she might ask to start borrowing some books so she could read a bit more as that was something she had been interested in.

“Oh no no, as Miles said not me. I would be worried if I couldn’t dress myself. Though again there isn’t much colour in the districts or choice, so it has been nice to see more fancier clothes.” Scoffing as Miles continued on agreeing with Cas that she would do an alright job she couldn’t help but shake her head, “Oh no trust me. I know nothing of guys clothes. You would honestly both look like clowns if I were to dress you... It has been nice though to watch it, I never thought I’d be interested in this reality TV after I dismissed it yesterday.”

As Miles proclaimed he should go on the show she felt a twinge of guilt knowing she had rejected him moments ago she tried to smile playing along, “Maybe you should, I’m sure the women would be interested. I guess sometimes you have to wait for the right person. I could definitely see you on one of these shows though, especially with your confidence.” From what she had seen on the TV shows everyone had some sort of confidence about them and Miles was not different, as she had always seen him so carefree happy and confident so it was easy to see him on there.

Sitting back in the chair Iris felt her gaze drift over to Cas as they spoke about how he was a prude in the sheets she couldn’t help but disagree to that, not when they had experienced a few close encounters together. It was true, he was probably surrounded by beautiful women vying for his attention and somehow, he had bonded with her. Though he had made a point, a lot of people had probably seen him as a steppingstone to be queen and most times she had forgotten about his heritage as it didn’t matter to her. Sure, his lifestyle was grand and full of luxuries, but they had spent a lot of time together struggling in the districts and still feeling the same for one another. If she was totally honest with herself, she knew she was scared to become something serious with him as she didn’t think she was worthy.

“I’m sure you will find someone like that, who accepts you for who you are beyond the crown.” Iris couldn’t help but smile as she spoke to Cas, eyes full of care and she knew he would understand her words that she did deeply care for him and not because he was an easy ticket to an easy life. Iris had never seen him like that, and she hoped he knew that.

“I knew you’d come around,” Miles grinned when Iris said that the reality shows were growing on her. “No one can fight it forever. These shows are just too good.”

“Except for Jay,” Caspian reminded him. Though he and Miles found some of the shows entertaining, their friend always slouched with his nose in his phone if they put one on the TV. The other high born was more of a fan of shows that were more action-packed and thrilling.

“I don’t buy it,” Miles folded his arms skeptically. “He says he doesn’t like them, but I’m pretty sure that’s just because he’s trying to look like he’s too manly for dating shows. I’d bet money that he watches them when he’s alone.”

“I doubt that,” Cas disagreed. “If he’s watching any reality TV in his free time, I’m sure it’s shows about random trades like metalsmithing or glassblowing or something.” That was where he’d put money down in a bet. Knowing his friend was fascinated with trades that weren’t taught at the capital university, he was sure he’d win.

When Iris smiled at him, discreetly confirming that she did care about him for who he was, Cas returned the expression affectionately. He’d already known that she wasn’t after him because of his status. When they’d met, she hadn’t even known her own last name, yet her feelings had formed and persisted all the same. It was why he loved her and was determined to fight as hard as he could to be with her. He still didn’t have a plan as to how he would get his father to accept that he was in love with a former member of the rebellion, but even if it took time, he wasn’t going to give up. He cared about her too much for that.

“You know, you’re a lot cheesier in real life than the gossip writers make you out to be,” Miles snickered, referring to all the articles that came out about Aspiria’s “playboy prince.” The writers were so far off their mark, it was comical.

“I don’t tell them what to say,” Cas rolled his eyes. “They just know what gets them more readers. Girls in the capital are way more interested in reading about a hard-to-get guy who drips with sexuality than they are in hearing about the real me, who spends most of his time with two idiots and has never been in a long term relationship. Since the lies they put out aren’t slandering, I just don’t do anything about them. It’s not worth my time.”

“And it gets you lots of attention from hotties around the city, right?” Miles added, waggling his brows suggestively. “Don’t try to deny it. It’s nice to have gorgeous women fawning over you.”

Cas shook his head exasperatedly, wishing his friend wouldn’t keep pushing the subject while Iris was around. It would have been a lie to say that he never liked the attention. It was a nice stroke to his ego to know that there were so many people who were interested in him. However, he didn’t actually want to date any of them. The amnesiac rebel girl was the only woman he wanted to be with. So, trying to move on from the uncomfortable conversation, he turned back to the TV and changed the subject, “Do either of you have any favorites this season? The couple onscreen now look good together.”

“Yeah he doesn’t seem the type to even enjoy these shows slightly. I’m with Cas on that bet.” Iris chuckled as she glanced over at Cas who had made it clear about Jay’s distaste for the reality shows. To a degree she understood as she thought she felt the same, but somehow, they started to grow on her. Though there wasn’t much else on the TV and watching film after film was becoming quite boring especially keeping up with it and understanding some of the plots. Reality TV was easy watching and didn’t require much brainpower which was another reason why she probably enjoyed watching the shows.

“Oh, please we all know those articles are rubbish, tabloids never get it right. I bet they depict me as some sort of monstrous killer.” Iris teased making a joke about how articles never had it right, “Plus they always read into things way too much, it’s easier to just ignore them than correct them as I’m sure they’d find a way to twist whatever words you say to them so they can get the readers in.” It was common sense and she had seen some of the ridiculous articles in the magazines and could probably guess at others, often old copies had floated about into the districts and all the girls used to flock over all to read their horoscopes. It was absolute rubbish to her.

Sitting back in the chair she smiled as she watched the boys continue to talk, Cas trying to push away from how it was nice to have all the attention from the girls in the Capital. Of course it would, to anyone it was a compliment knowing that people thought you looked great, but she was happy in knowing that he knew that she thought he looked great as that’s all that mattered. Relaxing in the chair she leaned on her arms chiming into the conversation here and there as different shows came up, they started to get invested in the various couples that competed in the shows but all in all it had become a great night for everyone with food being ordered and this time Iris enjoyed the taste. Hours seemed to go by so fast especially when Cas was around and she wished that there were more hours of the day she could spend with him, but he had curfew and she was a fugitive.

Iris would never complain at time she did get to spend with Cas and this time she got to sit next to him on the sofa which was an added bonus for the evening. It was hard not to openly show her disappointment as he had to leave, but it was nice they still got to spend some time together even if it did include Miles. A part of her hoped that soon they could just take some time to themselves because keeping all her emotions bottled up without being able to speak freely was becoming difficult, that and she could think of a few things she’d enjoy spending her time with Cas without anyone around.

“Same time again tomorrow maybe?” Iris smiled as she looked over at Cas hoping he would come by again tomorrow to hang out, “Maybe we can play cards tomorrow. I need to show off those skills I learnt.”

For the rest of the day, Caspian managed to forget about his psychiatric appointment and the impromptu meeting to which his father had summoned him. Being with Iris and Miles had been the distraction he’d so desperately needed. Caring little about what was on the TV, he watched whatever shows they chose to put on, ordered lunch at one point so they could eat, and talked about random, mindless topics that didn’t have much purpose other than keeping them all entertained. By the time the clock passed eleven pm and his curfew was approaching, he was in a much better mood. He wished he didn’t have to go home though.

Putting his shoes back on to leave, he nodded when Iris asked if he would come by at the same time tomorrow. “As long as I don’t have any plans thrusted on me at the last second, I’ll be here as soon as I can in the morning,” he assured her with a smile, righting his posture. Anything to stay away from the king. “I like card games, so I’d be happy to play with you. I’ll put up more of a fight than Miles, that’s for sure.” He casted a competitive grin at his friend, who snorted in response.

“You’re all talk,” the other high born asserted brashly, crossing his arms over his chest. “We both know I’m the best at card games, and I taught Iris everything she knows. We’ll wipe the floor with you.”

“You do know those games are mostly luck, right?” Cas pointed out dryly. “You literally can’t be ‘the best’ at a game that relies almost entirely on chance.”

“That’s what you think,” Miles grinned back at him.

Cas shook his head amusedly and turned back to Iris, “Anyway, I should get going. It was good to see you again. I’ll text Miles when I’m on my way back over, okay?”

With a few more parting words among the three of them, he turned and headed back to his car in front of the estate with a tired yawn. Though they had lounged around for most of the day, it had still felt busy, and he looked forward to laying down in his soft bed to get some sleep. Hopefully the next morning would be better than the last one had been. Spurred by the thought, he settled in behind the wheel and drove back to the Maydestone mansion, turning the stereo up and rolling the windows down to keep himself alert on the highway.

“Well I hope you don’t!” Iris smiled knowing it could be more than likely he would be given some plans, as future ruler of a country she wouldn’t be surprised if the King had already thought on lessons and plans for Caspian to do keeping him busy and away from any of the district propaganda. Especially now he was back in the Capital after the kidnap from the rebellion and the threat of his life and of the monarchy ending, it would be enough to send anyone into some sort of paranoia and focus on getting them ready to rule. That’s what she thought anyway and she could be wrong, even so she hoped he would be able to come over and not have to deal with whatever plans were thrown at him as she was worried all this time he was spending with them would come to a stop. There would be a time when he would have to start doing other things that were more important that coming round for a visit.

“You’ll both lose to me so be prepared for the card games, both of you.” Iris smirked even as Miles and Cas began to make jibes at one another and claim how card games were luck based which where true of course. It was still fun none the less and she was glad she was in good company with his friends, they had seemingly taken to her and were just as kind as Cas had been when they first met. It was one less worry from her mind that Miles and Jay didn’t seem to hate her.

“Yeah! Hopefully see you tomorrow. It will be fun having a game day!” Having to stop herself from saying stupid in front of Miles that could hint at a thing between them. As much as she’d prefer to give him a hug or a kiss, or even say she couldn’t wait to see him again tomorrow she knew she couldn’t, so she decided to hold it in. At least when they were alone, she could tell him and hopefully without any interruptions, but she knew it wouldn’t be that simple. “I hope you get some good rest Cas. See you later!”

Sighing to herself as she settled on the couch, she looked over at Miles saddened now that Caspian was gone, but she tried to keep the smile on her face. “Want to watch a movie or something? I’m feeling pretty tired so I might just fall asleep to it if I’m honest.” Finding herself rub her eyes as she mentioned at how tired she was, and then she couldn’t stop herself from yawning feeling the fatigue wash over her. Rummaging around under the sofa she grabbed the blanket she would often use to keep herself warm at night and wrapped it around her, she was in comfortable enough clothes that she could sleep in them so she wasn’t fussed about getting changed. The blanket was still just as soft as the first evening he had given it to her and she knew that if she could ever afford to buy one thing it would be one of these blankets first.

By the time Caspian pulled his car into the garage, the clock on his dashboard displayed that it was exactly midnight. He climbed out from the driver’s seat and closed the door behind him, yawning once again as his body beckoned him to lay down. He’d nearly missed his deadline to come home, but at least his father couldn’t send any of the royal guards to retrieve him in what would have been a humiliating escort back to the mansion. He shook his head at the thought, envious of all the mid-twenty-year-olds who didn’t have to abide by a curfew like a naughty teenager. It was frustrating to still be treated like a child.

Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it as long as his father continued to insist that he was safely tucked away inside the manor overnight, so he ambled inside to go to his room and get some much-needed sleep.

The lights in the hallways were almost always turned off by the time he came home. Making his way up the stairs to the second floor, he trailed his fingers along the handrail and slipped his phone from his pocket to check idly for anything interesting in the news or on social media. The blue glow reflected off his face in the dark as he tapped through different pages, sufficiently distracted enough that he didn’t notice the thin line of yellow light coming from beneath his bedroom door.

Pushing the panel open, he nearly jumped out of his skin at the sight of a figure sitting on his bed. He fumbled with the phone in his hand and looked up with a start, shocked to find his father waiting for him with a dour expression on his face. He was sitting rigidly with his walking stick resting across his lap. “Dad, what are you doing here?” the prince blurted out, too confused by the monarch’s unexpected appearance to say anything else.

Atlas studied his son with a frown. He had been waiting for him to return to the palace for almost an hour. It hadn’t been his intention to seek Caspian out this way, but since his heir seemed intent on avoiding him, he’d had no other choice—barring having him arrested for his insubordination, of course. He was still withholding that card though, hopeful that he could reason with the prince before he had to resort to extreme measures. After all, what he had to say would be best received if his son was open-minded.

“Sit,” he ordered curtly, gesturing with one shaky hand at the chair near the window.

Cas swallowed, briefly toying with the idea of turning back around and walking away. He was sure this was about his last meeting with Dr. Foster, and he really didn’t want to talk about that. However, looking at the face of his only remaining close family member, he couldn’t bring himself to ignore the request so callously. Despite his halfhearted grudge against the king, he took a steeling breath and tentatively stepped over to the seat. Hopefully their conversation would be quick.

Once the prince had planted himself in the chair, Atlas nodded affirmingly. A short moment of silence lingered between them before he broke it with a statement, “I’ve been concerned about your wayward beliefs since you returned to me, Caspian.”

Immediately, Cas’s mood soured, knowing they were about to have the same fight all over again. “I know, but I’ve told you already. There’s nothing wrong with my beliefs,” he insisted, crossing his arms defensively. “I’m not doing anything wrong. All I did was defend one person who used to be part of the Scourge. I never once took their side or betrayed our country. I didn’t tell you to show mercy to the other rebels either. The only one I asked you to let go was Iris because she saved my life.” He shook his head exasperatedly. “I don’t know why we’re still on this anyway. She got away from the hospital, so she’s long gone by now.”

“But that’s just it,” Atlas rebutted, causing the prince to furrow his brows confusedly. “She was rescued by the Scourge. If she was no longer part of their ranks, then why would they send a team to save her?”

“They probably just didn’t want our military to learn any secrets from her,” Cas shrugged, employing the lie he’d come up with to explain away Iris’s disappearance a while ago.

“I don’t believe that,” the king said firmly, further surprising his son. “If she was a traitor to them, it would have been more efficient for them to merely assassinate her in the hospital rather than go through the effort of smuggling her out of the capital. Because she’s gone, I’m convinced she’s been working with them all along.” He sat up slightly straighter with an air of confidence as he went on: “Caspian, I understand that you believe she’s on your side, but you must accept that she is an enemy. Now that she’s with them again, your loyalty to her is a liability. I cannot allow you to continue asserting that she ‘isn’t a bad person’ because it’s highly likely that the rebellion will use that belief against you in the near future. You need to understand that as the next king of Aspiria, you can show mercy to no one. Kindness is a weakness, and as your father, I have no choice but to make sure you aren’t a danger to yourself.”

“Where are you going with this?” Cas eyes him cagily, feeling his hackles rise at the direction of the king’s thought process.

Atlas exhaled heavily, “Since you’re unwilling to cooperate with Dr. Foster, I’ve made arrangements for you to be admitted to Eternity Meadows Psychiatric Institution on Thursday. She thinks it would do you good to have round-the-clock therapy without any distractions, so you can properly recover from your Stockholm Syndrome and let go of your attachment to that girl.”

Cas stared at him, stunned into silence. He couldn’t believe it. For a while, he’d known that his father was determined to “fix” him, but he’d never thought the king would go so far as to ship him off to an asylum. It was insane, and as his initial shock faded, it gave way to white rage. “You can’t be serious!” he snapped, standing up abruptly from his chair. “You’re sending me to a fucking mental institution? What the hell, dad? I’m not a lunatic, and I don’t have fucking Stockholm Syndrome! If you can’t tell the difference between basic human decency and a mental disorder, you’re the one who should be admitted! Only sociopaths are that fucked up in the head.”

Atlas’s features hardened dangerously, “You watch your tongue.”

“I will not,” Cas snarled, trembling with fury. In the back of his mind, he knew he should lower his voice and that any passing guards or servants would be able to hear their conversation, but he was too angry to calm down. “I’m done with this shit. You know, I’ve tried for years to live up to your impossibly high standards—to earn your approval—but I can see now that I’ve been wasting my time. You’ve never cared about me. You just care about protecting your goddamn legacy. No loving father would ever lock his only son up in an asylum! It’s borderline abusive!”

“I’m trying to protect you!” Atlas yelled back at him, rising unsteadily to his feet.

“Shut up!” Caspian tangled his hands in his hair. “I don’t want to hear your excuses anymore! You’re always telling me that you want what’s best for me, but if that was true, then why do you only ever criticize me and treat me like an incompetent kid? If I ever have an original thought, you try to crush it to ‘keep me safe.’ Well, guess what? I don’t need your fucking protection!” He pressed a hand to his chest. “I’m done. Done trying to be your ‘perfect heir’ and done letting you control every little part of my life. I will never be the heartless leader you want me to be, and if you don’t like that, then you can just go find somebody else to be king after you’re gone because I’m done with that too.”

Atlas stared at him, taken aback, before his eyes darkened and he limped forward on his cane, closing the distance between them. “You ungrateful wretch,” he growled. “Everything I have ever done for you has been to make your transition to power as fluid as possible. How dare you, an inexperienced boy, presume to know better than me, your father and your king?” When Cas said nothing, Atlas ground his teeth and, without warning, raised his hand and struck his son across the cheek. “You will obey me,” he ordered in a diminished tone as he turned to walk away again, made weary by their fight. “I’ll send a servant by your room tomorrow afternoon to help you pack whatever you’d like to bring with you to Eternity Meadows.”

The door closed decidedly behind him as he exited, leaving Caspian alone with nothing but his thoughts and the sting of hot tears in his eyes. He stood silently, staring at the ghost of where his father had just been, unable to bring himself even to move. The blow from Atlas’s feeble hand had been weak, but it had broken something inside of him. With it, he had been shown the certainty he’d feared all along that his father would never accept or love him for who he was. All the monarch could see was a ‘boy’ who didn’t do what he was told. He bit down on his lip until he tasted blood, battling the urge to let loose the despair that welled up inside of him. He wasn’t going to yield to his father the victory of making him cry.

Taking a shuddering breath, he stepped over to his bed and laid down, pulling the duvet all the way over his head to block out the sight of the room and squeezing his eyes shut. He didn’t even bother taking off his shoes or turning out the lights as he curled up, drowning in the misery of knowing that in two days’ time, his father was going to ship him away to an asylum for refusing to obey his every command.

Securely wrapped up in the blanket Iris glanced towards the TV noticing how Miles had placed a film on at her request, smiling at the gesture she shifted her weight into a more comfortable position on the couch and tried to follow along to the film. In reality she couldn’t care about what was on the screen, it was just noise to fill in the silence of the room as she had realised, she found it difficult sleeping when there was silence. The silence reminded her of the rebel prison, the penitentiary and the hospital which all gave her bad memories and flashbacks. Something she had been trying to avoid dealing with for quite some time as in her mind if she just ignored it, then surely it wasn’t real, and she could carry on as normal. If only it worked like that.

Closing her eyes, she listened to the movie playing in the background as she tried to settle, the blanket wrapped around her giving her some sort of comfort as if she was protected. The soft fabric wrapped around her skin as she tried to get some rest, sleep had been very hit and miss lately. Some nights it would be smooth, she’d get a good few hour’s rest and other nights she just couldn’t shut her mind off, focusing on various scenarios and what ifs. Then there were the times she’d see flashes of the past, horrible things that still were imprinted on her mind. The photos of her dead father for one, something that had truly unsettled her back when she was being interrogated and she didn’t know how she kept composure in the prison.

Already she was feeling like this night was going to be like the others, finding it hard to just ignore her own thoughts and pay attention to the sounds and voices from the movie. Clutching the blanket tighter she repeated the same words in her head, it’s not going to happen. I’m fine. I’m safe. The three phrases she found a slither of comfort in. Forcing the three phrases over and over, repeating them in her head she tried to get some rest for the night telling herself to just breathe in and out.

It was as if something clicked, somehow, she had started to doze off into her dreams and a part of her didn’t comprehend that she had actually fallen asleep because her imagination had started to take over. Scenarios started to play out and even though she was asleep she didn’t know it, all she could see right now was the scene unfolding in her dreams a scenario that she still feared in the back of her mind.

As if it was any other normal day Iris was curled up on the sofa with the blanket in tow, someone was shaking her awake and she groaned opening her eyes looking to see who it was. Half asleep she pushed at the figure before she finally came to realisation on who it was, Ethan. “W-What!?” Chocking out as she tried to jump to her feet, but everything felt slow, he didn’t have a crazed look in his eye like she had seen before.

“Iris! We need to leave. They’ve sold you out here. They never had your back. The guards are coming right now to kill you. Come on!”

“Ethan, you hate me.” Iris couldn’t help but whisper, but her mind was frantic at the idea she was finally going to be killed.

“Come on!”

Then just as Iris was about to take his hand from the sofa it disappeared into thin air, smoke rising, and the room went black leaving her stood in utter confusion as to what had just happened. Touching her hand to her chest she could feel it was racing, the dread rising as she could only feel like something was majorly wrong right now. I don’t understand. Thinking to herself as she looked down at her hands only to see her usual pale complexion covered in blood, gasping she held out her hands in front of her and tried to shake it off but nothing was working.

“That’s my blood on your hands.”

Hearing the cool composed voice of her father ring out in the darkness as she stared at the blood on her hands shaking as all these insecurities started to ebb away at her. Telling her that she wasn’t good enough, that she was worthless and that nothing she could ever do would make up for everything she had done. Betraying her father, betraying Caspian and betraying the rebellion when it was for a good cause. That her mother would hate her if she was alive and could see what a disgrace to the family she had become.

“What did I say. Disgrace, I should kill you right now.”

Looking up from her bloodstained hands she could see her father stood there, a mangled corpse as that lasting image of him was burned into her memory. Eyes caught sight of a silver knife and before she could say anything it plunged into her.

Gasping for air as Iris woke with a start on the sofa before she could even fathom the feeling of being stabbed, chest heaving from whatever dreams well nightmares had plagued her that evening. Frowning to herself she glanced around seeing a slither of sunlight brighten the room and she let out a sigh realising it had to be morning and she had just made it all up in her head. I really need to see if there is something I can do for that. Iris grimaced rubbing her eyes sleepily from her rude awakening, at least it was a new day and she could hopefully see Cas again.

That night, Caspian didn’t get much sleep, but the hours he spent lying awake under the covers gave him all the time he needed to mull over his dismal fate and hatch a plan to avoid it. Until now, he had never refused to follow his father’s orders, even when the tasks he fulfilled left a bitter taste in his mouth. This time, though, the king had pushed him too far. He would never willingly walk through the doors of an asylum to be locked up and veritably brainwashed into believing that he needed psychiatric treatment.

He’d never visited Eternity Meadows before, but he’d heard a few vague stories and rumors about the place over the years. If the whispers were to be believed, the doctors there would prescribe him strong drugs that would leave him in a stupor while they “corrected” his mental ailment, so he wouldn’t be a “danger” to himself, and he wouldn’t be allowed to leave until they deemed him cured. It was cruel and unusual to do to anyone, but it was especially so for someone who was being admitted because of a disagreement with his father. Just thinking about it made him seethe with resentment, and before dawn broke, he decided.

It was time for him to shed his chains and disappear.

The following morning, he was woken up around eight by a maid who stopped by his room to let him know that he had a lesson scheduled with his economics tutor at nine. He was quietly polite with her and climbed out of bed to take a shower and eat breakfast, hiding his roiling emotions underneath a docile mask. For now, he would let Atlas think he’d won. He’d go along with whatever plans the king had for him: attend his lessons, pack his duffle bag for the asylum, do any odd jobs that would keep from rousing anyone’s suspicions that he had a plan of his own. However, as he slid a shirt over his head to head down to the kitchen, he sent Miles a quick text:


With that done, he tucked his phone away in his pocket and made his way downstairs, his heart pounding with adrenaline in his chest. A part of him was nervous that he was making the wrong decision, but his father had given him no other choice. If his options were between being locked up in a mental institution and running, he was going to choose the latter. It wasn’t even a question. He just hoped the scheme he’d come up with overnight would be enough for him and Iris to get away without being caught.

Moving from the sofa Iris found herself walking towards the window with the tiny bit of light that was seeping through, troubled from her dreams she touched the fabric of the curtain so she could look outside, somewhere she had been for a while. The sun was dawning across the land and the Kinders did own quite a lot, it wasn’t as huge as the palace Caspian lived in, but it was more than enough for anyone. Listening out to the birds chirping away she watched trees blow in what she could assume was a morning breeze enjoying the serene morning as Miles seemed undisturbed for now.

I’m not over his death yet, that has to be why he keeps haunting my dreams of a night. Am I still guilty over it? Furrowing her brow as she touched her forehead contemplating why she could still picture her father calling her a disappointment. Iris knew the truth deep down, that it was because she still blamed his death on her as if she had pulled the trigger and killed him herself. It wasn’t the case, far from it, but so far she couldn’t convince herself otherwise and she knew it would continue to eat away at her until she accepted it. That was something she couldn’t see herself doing for a long time.

Let’s just get ready for the day. Diverting her thoughts as she looked away from the window she calmly walked over to where her borrowed clothes were placed being careful not to wake Miles up unnecessarily as he would rouse on his own soon. Debating on the few choices left she could see both options had to be considered quite fashionable, they were both dresses one in a black colour and the other a jade green. Bold choices for her, but she didn’t want to disturb Miles and ask for more clothes when there were still a few options left. Iris had come to realise his sister never seemed to wear just simple clothes, there was always some element of elegance to the outfit.

Grabbing the black dress, she moved confidently over to the bathroom enjoying the fact she felt more comfortable here than she had when she first arrived. Locking the door behind her she wasted no time in getting herself ready for the day by hopping into the shower letting the strong pressure of the water hit against her skin. It was like she was washing away her worries alongside as she focused on thinking positive thoughts, twisting them to something happy and not depressing like past events in which she had no control in changing.

It hadn’t taken her long to finally get ready and she wasn’t surprised at seeing Miles awake on the bed browsing through his phone when she left the bathroom dressed for the day. The black number she had chosen was a fitted dress though it did hang loosely in places as she was not the exact same size as his sister, thankfully though it did fit. “Morning Miles! Honestly does your sister not own anything… simple? Or boring should I put it.” Making a joke as she walked over grabbing the remote for the TV that was on his bedside table turning it on to let the noise drown out the silence of the room. “Hey Miles?” Frowning as she just realised, he was focused on something on his phone as he hadn’t reacted to her joke.

Edging closer she glanced over at the phone seeing Caspians name in the corner and she felt her heart stop, worried that something had happened as Miles had been focused on the text. Unable to stop herself she read the message biting her lip as it mentioned how something had come up, for a minute she had thought on his father finding out he had been a part of her escape. Thoughts ran wild, but she shook her head telling herself that couldn’t be the case as it said he would be over in the evening, so it meant nothing really bad had to have happened. “Maybe it’s just lessons again?”

“Hah! Yeah! Just threw me off, I guess. I’m sure he’s alright. Just me and you for the day then. What do you wanna do?” Miles grinned throwing his phone to one side still feeling a slight concern for his friend, but as Iris had said it was more than likely lessons had come up again. Or maybe his father had experienced another episode and was quite sickly today.

Cas didn’t pay close attention to his lesson that day. While his tutor reviewed complex principles of microeconomics, his thoughts were on his plan to get away from his father. He still hadn’t decided if he would be running for good or if he would just leave long enough to get the point across to the king that he was his own man who would no longer allow anyone else to control him, but either way, he needed a short-term plan to hide out until he could think through the steps he wanted to take next. That plan turned into the idea to book a private suite at a hotel near the edge of the city.

As soon as his lesson ended, he went back to his room and made the call to arrange it under the alias ‘Daniel Smith’—he didn’t have time to be creative—and offered to pay quite a bit extra to make the stay as anonymous as possible. All payments were to be made over the phone, he would be let in and out of the building through a back entrance, housekeeping was to wait until after he checked out before they tended to the room, no calls could go through to the suite while he was staying, and the only people who could know he was there were the hotel manager and a few trusted members of the resort’s security. With the promise of a generous wire in exchange for the accommodations, the manager agreed to his requests without question, and the suite was booked. One of the security guards would be waiting to receive him at seven o’ clock at the northeast entrance, but other than that, he was assured that he would enjoy his stay without any interruptions.

With a place to go now, all that was left was to make sure he would have everything he needed to hide out at the hotel comfortably for a few days. The servant his father sent to help him pack for the asylum was the solution to that. Just after lunch, the young man arrived with a small duffle bag to stuff full of any clothes, toiletries, and other necessities that he would need while he was away. Cas thanked him for the bag and then sent him off, assuring him that he didn’t need help choosing what to bring with him. Once he was alone, he tossed a few essentials into the duffle bag, including a reusable bottle of water and his passport—just in case. He hid the latter inside a pair of boxers for safe keeping, so it would be unlikely for anyone to notice it if his father had the bag searched for some reason before the end of the day.

Zipping up the duffle, he set it down in front of the door and then went to work on the last important precaution he needed to take before he left: making sure no one could find him.

He removed his comm device from its place on his waistband and slipped it underneath his mattress. There was no way to turn it off without triggering an alarm, so it was safer to leave it behind completely. From there, he took out his phone and manually disabled the GPS tracking on the device. There was a slim chance that the guards would notice the signal was gone before he left, but unless anyone was actively looking at it, it was more likely that the change would go unnoticed.

Leaning against the edge of his bed, he exhaled restlessly and checked the time. It was still only about three in the afternoon, so he had about three hours left before he needed to leave for Miles’ place. For a while, he’d gone back and forth about whether he should get Iris involved in his plan or not. He didn’t want to put her in any more danger than she already was. However, as he’d considered it further, he’d realized that it was safer for him to bring her with him to the hotel. If his father deployed the royal security to find him, Miles’ place would be one of the first buildings they searched, since they were close friends. He couldn’t leave her there even if he’d wanted to. She would be arrested on sight.

So, when the clock eventually struck six, he made his move. Slipping on his shoes and heading downstairs with the duffle bag slung over his shoulder—he used the excuse that he was going to put it in the car in preparation for tomorrow since he was already going out—he made his way out to the garage, tossed the bag into the trunk, and climbed into the driver’s seat. Already, his heart was racing anxiously as he felt around underneath the steering wheel for the GPS tracker that was plugged into the vehicle’s OBD. His fingers brushed against the little plastic piece and he hesitated for just a second before he pulled it out and dropped it onto the carpet. With that, there was no way for the security team to keep tabs on him. He was free to go anywhere he wanted and not be found.

Jittery with adrenaline and slightly fraying nerves, Cas steered the car out of the garage and took off down the private road that led away from the manor where he’d grown up, not knowing when or if he would be coming back at all.

Limited with options on what to do for the day it was easy to watch TV, but at the same time it just made her feel lazy that they couldn’t just go and do something. Though being stuck in the bedroom hidden away from prying eyes that could sell her out was by far the safest option albeit it boring. Between watching TV and on occasion playing the odd card game Iris felt an odd feeling of guilt thinking that she was forcing him to keep her company rather than going out and doing whatever he usually did. It was nice to have the company at least because she would have been bored and probably would have felt awkward without having someone around.

On a positive note it seemed that Miles had caught on to the fact she was feeling bored with their usual tasks to pass time and introduced her to something else they could do. It was only a games system, but he had a collection of various different titles to play and it was something new for her to do other than watch the television or play card games like they had done for the past week if not longer than that, but time seemed to drag out especially when she still felt like a prisoner of some sorts.

The video games however had been a nice change of pace, she had not noticed that time had gone by quickly as she had been drawn into the titles she had been playing. At first, she had played some shooting game which had zombies in, and she was shockingly bad at first which caused some teasing and laughter from the pair, but it was overall funny. It was easy to get frustrated as she was learning, but it proved to be a good way to spend their time today. After a while of playing the shooting game they began to explore other titles, another was a racing title that proved to be a lot of fun.

The racing title was a barrel of laughs and Iris began to realise she was quite competitive and once she began to feel comfortable with the controls and the playstyle she even tried to push Miles off of the race track and the edge in some of their games. The day itself had turned into something more fun and pleasant and Iris was glad for that as they continued to play the video games together not even noticing how much time had passed and how late afternoon coming into evening was soon upon them.

“I can understand why people lose their time so easily in these things! I can’t believe how quickly it went!” Iris chuckled as she placed the controller down on the edge of the sofa grinning at Miles, “It was a lot of fun, I never knew I could be so competitive” Shaking her head in amusement glad they had spent the day playing video games as it had been a lot of fun and it also made the time pass quickly. “We should probably think about food, maybe text Cas and see if he is still coming over as he said evening time?”