That night was a difficult one for Caspian. Feeling stuck between his desire to make Iris happy and his need to be a good leader to the people of Aspiria, he tossed and turned for most of the hours before morning came, unable to calm down enough to get much sleep. What little rest he did get was plagued with stress-induced nightmares in which he was tormented by worst-case-scenarios of his imminent reign as king. Sometimes he was faced with situations he couldn’t handle, sometimes he was asked questions by dignitaries that he couldn’t answer and sometimes the Aspirian people turned against him and demanded that he step down from the throne. Once, he even dreamed briefly that the rebellion stormed the palace to kill him.

By the time a knock sounded on his door, followed by a masculine voice begging entrance, he was groggy and a little disoriented. He opened his eyes and mumbled a half-swallowed ‘come in’ to the visitor at his door before he dragged his duvet over his head to try to get more rest. Unfortunately, the visitor wasn’t going to let him get away with it.

“Your Highness,” one of the male servants bowed in the doorway before tentatively making his way further into the prince’s room. Along with his soft footfalls, Caspian could hear the shuffling of a few more pairs of feet. “I’m sorry to disturb you, but you should get up soon… Your coronation is in three hours, and we were sent here to help you prepare for it.”

“How early do I need to start?” Cas grumbled into his pillow. Three hours seemed like a long time, and he preferred to spend it catching up on the sleep he was sorely lacking. He wondered idly to himself why his bed was always the most warm and comfortable when someone wanted him to climb out of it.

The servant hesitated for half a second before he answered, “Right away if possible, my lord.”

‘My lord.’ That was a new one. Cas reluctantly pulled his covers down from his hairline to the bridge of his nose, so he could see the servants bustling around his room. The palace staff had always called his father by titles like that, but they’d never referred to him as anything other than ‘my prince’ or ‘your highness.’ It felt strange to be called by something that he’d only heard used in reference to Atlas, but he supposed he was going to have to start getting used to the change. After all, he was going to be king in three hours.

“Alright, I’ll get up, but only if one of you brings me a big mug of coffee,” he compromised, peeling himself off his mattress to sit upright and rub his eyes. Even that amount of effort was borderline exhausting, and he marveled that anyone thought he was going to make it to the end of the day without passing out. He felt like he was being weighed down by bags of sand. “Make it an espresso, please,” he added as an afterthought. “I didn’t get much sleep, so if you want me to be ready in time, I’m gonna need an energy boost.”

“Right away, your highness,” the same servant bowed and flagged down one of the maids to retrieve the coffee their future king requested. “Whenever you’re ready, we can begin.”

Cas nodded, bringing one hand up to his mouth to smother a yawn. It was going to be a long and stressful day, and he wasn’t sure what was going to happen on the other side of it. He just hoped he would be ready when the time came for him to step up and accept the crown that had once adorned his father’s head because at that moment, he still felt like an unprepared kid. I guess I’ll find out soon enough, he though with an uneasy exhale, tossing aside his sheets and swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

Iris did not have a good night herself, after saying her goodbyes to Cas the food had not long arrived after and even though she had promised she would eat it and look after herself she found it hard to stomach the food because the worry and guilt. The feeling of them both was starting to eat her alive, the promises she was making to him but couldn’t keep and then the fact their call hadn’t gone how she expected it too. Iris knew she was a bad liar when it came to herself especially now as he was catching onto her tells, but she would have more than enough time to eat something and say she had, she couldn’t contact Cas until after ten in the evening the next day anyway.

The night had felt long, even though she knew she was safe here it didn’t make sleeping any easier. It didn’t ease the loneliness that she felt as she rested beneath the silk sheets, it didn’t stop her mind from racing and thinking various different scenarios and what ifs when it came to hers and Cas’ future. It was depressing as she was just coming to the conclusion that Cas was just going to be so much better off without her, that the only solution she was seeing was her disappearing back into the districts which meant more than likely running into Ethan. Someone that she had betrayed, and she was certain he would waste no time in hurting her and repaying her for every bit of damage that she caused.

As she fell into an uneasy sleep by morning, she had no energy so didn’t even leave the bed, instead she let herself fall in and out of a slumber as her thoughts continued to whirl around in her head of what to do, but every fibre in her being was telling her to just run away and hide back in the districts where she would cause no more harm.

--

With news travelling fast about the demise of The King, Ethan had spent most of the night working towards a new plan, one that now focused on killing Caspian now. Previous plans to kill an ailing monarch was now thrown out the window, useless because they wouldn’t work on the new King. Caspian was in good health, he had to be after everything he had done to him as he was back behind the walls of the Capital. Protected. It would have been a surprise if they couldn’t fix the broken Prince with all the medical advancements and medicines, they had at there disposal. Heaving a sigh, he could feel the exhaustion catching up with him, but it meant nothing. Determination would see him through as he fixated on his plans.

“Ethan, you should eat something.” Thomas spoke softly as he entered the room holding a plate with a few slices of toast on it. He had managed to pull some more strings in getting a few bits of food for them all so they could at least eat something.

“This is personal Tom.”

“Look I know it’s personal, I know you need to see this through, but your father wouldn’t want you wasting away like this.” Thomas countered as he placed the few slices of toast onto the table covered with a thin piece of fabric.

“Don’t you dare speak of him.” Ethan spat as he snapped the pencil that he held between his fingers, eye darkened as all he wanted to forget was the fact the Capital had been the cause of his father’s death. That Prince Caspian was responsible for this and his harlot that had betrayed the rebellion.

“I’ve managed to get some more painkillers. For your eye.” Thomas moved inside the room as he sat down on one of the chairs watching Ethan carefully. No matter how much Ethan pushed him away or snapped at him he would stand by his childhood friend, keep him as sane as he could as even, he could see the cracks that were starting to form in Ethan.

“They will both pay. I know the easiest way to get to that Prince will be to get to that whore of his. The easiest way to get to her would be her best friend Maisie.” Ethan smiled to himself ignoring about the need for painkillers for his dead left eye that had been injured during the Prison fight. Gesturing over to Thomas so his friend could come look at the plans he had drawn up, vicious scribbles adorned the paper on his table and it was clear it was a jumble to look at without guidance.

Not long after he crawled out of bed, Caspian found out why the servants had woken him up three hours before his coronation. There was much more to do than just eat breakfast, get dressed and walk into the throne room to receive the crown. While he did have a small meal before leaving his bedroom, the rest of his morning was a bustle of tailoring ceremonial garb to fit his frame and going through pages and pages of legal documents that would make his transition to king official. None of it seemed to fit the theme of ‘celebration,’ but he supposed there was always busywork that went on behind the scenes of events like these.

Once he got his morning shower out of the way, he was met by a small team of seamsters who brought with them the outfit that every crown prince in Aspiria’s history wore to his coronation. The trousers and tunic-like top were a crisp white with a thick gold trim at the hems of the neckline and sleeves, and it was ornamented with a sash across the waist in the same aureate color. In past generations, the style of clothing was commonly worn among the royal family, but in more modern times, it was only used for special occasions.

While the seamsters took his measurements and marked the clothes where they would need to be taken in, Cas fingered the fabric in idle remembrance of his father. Atlas had been the last person to wear the garments, and it felt strange to know that the way they fit him now was the way they had fit the last monarch on his wedding day. He wasn’t sure if he felt more saddened by the fact that the uniform would be altered or honored that he was going to share the tradition of wearing it with the man who had raised him.

After the seamsters had what they needed, the prince changed back into a pair of joggers and a t-shirt and went with one of the servants to another room while the others took the clothes away to be adjusted. Caspian headed to the office that used to belong to Atlas, where he was met by a lawyer already waiting with a briefcase and a binder. They sat down across from each other at the executive desk, and the other man walked him through the contents of each page on the stack of documents that he’d brought along to finalize his legal right to the throne. It was all very bureaucratic, and after just a few pages, his head felt like it was swimming. Still, he signed the forms where he was told to, and when he was done, the lawyer smiled and stood up from the desk to shake his hand.

“Congratulations, your majesty,” he said, picking up his briefcase and offering a respectful bow of his head.

“Well, almost,” Cas shrugged, tucking his hands into his pockets as he watched the paperwork disappear into the binder. “I still have to get through the coronation.”

The lawyer stared at him for a moment, then smiled again and waved his hand, “The ceremony is just a formality. The moment you signed these papers, you legally took on the title of king. It’s the same procedure as with a wedding. When you sign the marriage license, you’re married, but you still go through with the ceremony and proclaim ‘I do’ in front of a crowd. You’re our king now, my lord. The rest is just tradition.”

Caspian blinked, surprised by that news. He would have thought that becoming king would feel like a major step in his life, but instead, he’d just signed up for the job in his lazy day clothes. Somehow, he felt a little cheated out of the experience by finding out afterwards, but it may have been a good thing. By not knowing what he was doing, the anxiety that he’d expected to feel about the transition hadn’t had a chance to hit him. “That was easier than I thought it would be,” he mused aloud.

In the next moment, there was a knock on the door, and a servant stepped inside and bowed, “Your highness, the tailors are ready for you to try on the uniform again.”

“I’ll be right there,” Cas told him. With one last glance at the lawyer, he took a breath and walked back out of the room. There was only about half an hour left before the ceremony, so he didn’t have time to process the fact that he was the new ruler of Aspiria. He still needed to finish getting ready to stand before his people and let it be known to them that he was ready to take over. There was no turning back now.

“I don’t really understand what I am looking at Eth.” Thomas mused as he glanced over the various papers each with an array of scribbles, but nothing looked concrete and he wasn’t even sure how the man had created a plan. Frowning as he picked up some of the papers in his hand, brows furrowing as he tried to make sense of it. Glancing at some drawings at the bottom corner of the paper he raised his eyebrows meeting Ethans gaze who just shrugged at him. “I’m… a little concerned. Do you not think this is borderline obsessive?” Although Thomas knew that Ethan had a temper, he did not fear questioning the man, he was there to support him but at the same time he would still make sure that Ethan was okay.

“Or is this part of your master plan?” Tapping his fingers to the little drawing of what he could assumed was the Princes body without a head he raised his eyebrows waiting for Ethan to respond to him.

“It helped.” Mumbling as he shrugged yet again not wanting to go into to much detail, amongst making his plan he had spent a little time making little drawings of how he would like to kill the Prince as well as the payback he would enact on Iris.

“Well let’s hope this plan doesn’t rely on your creative ability.” Thomas offered a lopsided smile as he passed the papers over to Ethan, “I can’t make sense of this. Fancy telling me your big plan so I can actually help? You mentioned Maisie, I doubt she would look to help you.”

“She will if I threaten her father.”

“Ethan come on man; her father isn’t in the best of health! You can’t put that on her” Thomas sighed heavily but was quickly turned down the minute Ethan threw a glare his way. Holding his hands up in defence he just backed off the subject nodding and he let the man continue. “Sorry…”

“Fathers die.”

“I know that… I just. We could surely get her to comply without it.”

“Maisie is her best friend, that woman would not betray her. She helped them get away I just know it!” Ethan slammed his fist down on the table forcing Thomas to look at him again, “The plan will be to use her, she has to have a number for Iris. I know she does. We get her to call Iris, beg her to come home and if that doesn’t work, I’ll pull my trump card up because Iris would want to hear the deal, I’ll make with her.” A sadistic grin spread across his face as he beckoned Thomas closer, a glint in his eye because he was sure of his plan working. “You see I will tell her that I won’t kill the King if she comes home back to the districts. Of course, I’ll be lying, but I know I can scare her. I can force her back here. She tries to keep her heart in the right place, and I know she wouldn’t want to be blamed for his death if she could do something to help it.”

“It could work, but what makes you so sure she’d come home without saying anything? Surely, she’d mention it to the Prince? They have an army and we barely have a rebellion.” Thomas sighed as he rubbed his temples trying to piece together this plan, it seemed like it could work but would Ethan be patient enough for this?

“Oh, it will, she’s got to feel so out of place there. A King with someone like her? Yeah okay. All it will take is a few choice words and she will be begging me to help her back home.” Grinning triumphantly to himself as he was rather proud of his little plan, “It will take time, so I think if we all rest up, start putting the plans in motion and we will be ready to strike. We have to work on getting Maisie on board first.”

Thomas nodded at that, somehow, he felt that could go one of two ways. Maisie wouldn’t just ask her friend home without good reason and Ethan had to know that fact. “I just think Maisie wouldn’t help us, that’s the biggest problem I see with this and the idea that Iris would say something making it all for nothing.”

“I’ve thought of all the possibilities, Iris wouldn’t say as long as I threaten the right things. Look at how easily it was to get her to betray the Prince in the first place. I can do it again.” Ethan found his voice lowering, a growl leaving his lips as he thought about the very woman, he thought he had loved. The same woman who had tried to continue the plan only to have a conscious and break the Prince out.

The half hour between the moment Caspian had signed his life away and the moment he stood in wait to take his oath as king came and went in a blur. Surrounded by a small team of bodyguards in the hall leading into the throne room, the newly fledged monarch fiddled nervously with the sleeve of his tunic. Just fifteen minutes prior, the minister who would be officiating the coronation had walked him through the words he would need to say in front of the Aspirian people. He was good at memorizing speeches and had plenty of experience with public speaking, so remembering a few simple phrases was child’s play by now, but he still repeated his part in his head and under his breath, worried that he would forget a line in spite of all evidence to the contrary.

With his eyes fixed on the floor and the words whispered softly on his lips, he startled when Jacob spoke up at his side. “They are ready for you inside, your majesty,” the taller man announced, studying him with a frown. “We can move forward with the ceremony on your mark… Should I request a few more minutes?” He could see the nerves written plainly on the former prince’s face and didn’t want to push him to stand before the people until he was mentally prepared to do so.

“No,” Cas shook his head, taking a slow breath to steady himself. “I’m ready. Tell them they can open the doors.” The longer he waited, the more time he had to psyche himself out, and that wouldn’t be productive for anyone. He had already signed his name on the papers that had legally given him the title anyway, so he was most of the way there already. He just had to confirm his intentions with the people, and then he could enjoy the festivities to follow. The hardest part would be over in less than an hour. Then he just had to focus on actually leading the kingdom. No pressure, right?

Jacob nodded and murmured into his radio. A pregnant pause followed before the double doors eased open, and the hallway was suddenly filled with the thunderous sound of applause from the high borns waiting on the other side. Caspian blinked in mild surprise as he walked with his guards into the room. He didn’t know what he’d been expecting when he thought about a coronation—especially since he’d never seen one, himself—but for some reason, the excitement of the occasion came as a shock. His father had just passed away, and he was an unknown stepping in to fill the role as ruler, yet the men and women who watched him stride across the aisle all looked happy about the transition. Each one well-dressed in every vibrant color one could imagine, the invited high borns wore smiles on their faces and whispered amongst one another eagerly. The mood in the air was infectiously enthusiastic, and it didn’t take long for Cas to start getting swept up in its sweet effects.

A smile pulled at his own lips as he stepped up to the ceremonial throne. The enormous chair was gilded in gold leaf, its legs and backrest spiraling outward and upward with organic texture. It was stationed in the center of a raised pedestal with a delicate side table decorated with more gold leaf and glass. Both pieces of furniture were eye-catching works of art, but they had the misfortune of sharing the spotlight with the Aspirian crown itself.

The latter was what Cas had fixed his gaze on as he approached. Among past generations, crowns were used more often to designate royalty in Aspiria, but in modern times, they were worn only as often as the tunic the next king was sporting now. He could count on one hand the number of times he’d seen his father wear it, but it still looked just as intimidatingly regal as he remembered. The sweeping, solid gold was inlaid with precious stones that glittered as they caught the light. It looked like it had been given a fresh polish too, so that even the cameras in the far back end of the room could pick up its luster.

When he reached the throne, the minister, who was standing behind the table and crown, beckoned for him to take a seat. Cas followed the wordless instructions, turning around to face his audience as he reclined in the gilded chair. It wasn’t the most ergonomically comfortable piece of furniture, but he could practically feel the weight of its importance as his fingers brushed the edge of the golden armrests. In that moment, he’d made a tangible gesture to symbolize that he was going to fill the vacancy his father had imparted with his death. He swallowed nervously, trying not to focus on the loftiness of his decision.

“Your Majesty, are you willing to take the oath that your forefathers vowed before you?” the minister’s question rang out over the room, jarring Cas back into the present moment. The coronation was starting. The needed to give his attention to his part of the ceremony.

“I am willing,” he responded, glancing at the news station cameras that hovered near the rear doors. The minister had been clear in their rehearsal that even though they would be doing all the talking, he needed to treat the oath as something he was saying to his people, so he looked out over the crowd instead of at the other man.

“Will you solemnly swear to govern the people of Aspiria according to the laws and customs of each district, committing yourself to the betterment of all those who live in this kingdom?”

“I swear to do so,” Cas answered honestly. Even if he hadn’t been made to promise it in front of everyone in the nation, he would have striven for that goal. His father and the earlier kings who had come before him hadn’t held up their end of the deal, as he’d seen with his own eyes in the outer regions of Aspiria, but he wasn’t like them. During his reign, he planned to do everything he could to make the country a place where everyone prospered, not just the people who lived in the capital city.

The minister continued: “Will you, to your power, execute all your judgments in the name of law and justice and demonstrate wisdom when you pass judgment on those who are deserving?”

“I swear to lead justly,” Cas said, though he wasn’t quite as thrilled about the idea of passing judgment on anyone.

They went back and forth a few more times as the minister had him swear other things before the people. Some of the promises were easy, and some he wondered if he would be able to keep. The entire process lasted no more than ten minutes, and at the end of it, the minister picked up the crown from the table and poised it over the young king’s head. “You have sworn to uphold the legacy of every king who came before you. For that, I deem you worthy of this crown. Wear it proudly, as it grants you the divine authority to command this kingdom as its people’s ruler, protector and advocate.” As he spoke, he lowered the crown so that it rested at the crest of the royal’s hairline. “I dub thee Caspian Maydestone, eleventh King of Aspiria. Long live the king.”

“Long live the king!” the audience echoed resoundingly.

A smile alighted on Cas’s face as he looked out over the small crowd. The coronation wasn’t so bad after all. As they chanted in support of his reign, he sat up straighter in the throne, making a silent vow to himself that he would do his best to live up to their expectations. The lives of the Aspirian people were in his hands now, and that wasn’t a responsibility he took lightly. Now that he was officially king, he would do everything he could to leave the nation better off than it had been when Atlas was in control.

“It’s not going to be that easy Ethan. I know you think you have it all worked out but come on think about it. If Iris is stuck in the Capital what makes you think that Maisie would get a number for her?” Thomas sighed heavily clearly not understanding on how the plan would work.

“You think she’d just forget her best friend? Especially when I’m certain Maisie helped them. I just need a number that’s it.” Ethan growled as he tried to reason with Thomas and why this plan would work. “Honestly when I get on the phone to her, she’ll come running back. Especially if I promise not to hurt the Prince, well now King. I bet she would do anything for him and if I threaten his life she’ll come running.”

“But what good will it do? This seems more like a personal cause than the rebellion we worked so hard for.” Thomas sighed heavily dragging a hand through his hair, a frown clear on his face as he wanted to help Ethan after everything, but this was taking a step too far as nothing would be gained from the rebellion like this. “Ethan… do you even remember what the rebellion stands for? It was to help everyone! To rid the monarchy and give back to the people. This isn’t about some girl that fucked you over.”

“No no. Listen Tom. I get Iris. I use her as leverage against the new King. That idiot loves her, I don’t know why, but she isn’t dead, and she had to have gone back to the Capital as the Prince now King whatever is there.” Ethan reasoned with Thomas trying to get him to understand, “He would try to get her back, it would leave him exposed and I can end the monarchy with something so simple.”

Thomas’s features began to soften as he took it in, the plan seemed absurd but yet also held some brilliance to it. If this King had an affliction with Iris as Ethan claimed then taking hold of her would be leverage, “But whose to say he wouldn’t just cut her off. The boys gonna be King, one life compared to keeping his own and a Kingdom. He could have any lady throw themselves at him, he’s young and would get over it.”

“You see I don’t think that would happen and well, if he throws her to the side, we will come up with something else, but I have a really good feeling about this. Trust me.” Ethan smirked as he began to scribble something new down on his piece of paper. “We need to get a hold of Maisie. Think you can do that for me? She’ll trust talking to you more than me,”

“Yeah sure.” Thomas shrugged as he shoved his hands in his pockets before moving out of the room still having some doubts about this whole plan of his. If it paid off then it was going to work, but there was this nagging voice in the back of his head telling him to just get out of this rebellion. Thomas knew he would stick by Ethan until the end even it was going to end badly, the guy had been through enough, they all had in the districts so what was another thing?

--

‘You are nothing, what a disappointment you turned out to be.’

‘You’d be better off dead.’

‘All this pain and suffering is down to you.’

Iris woke with a start sitting bolt up in the bed clutching at her chest as she panted clearly panicked, looking down she placed her hands in front of her seeing red. It was like she could still see the blood on her fingers, she could still feel the sickly warmth it left behind. It was hard to come to terms with the fact this was reality, and she was in fact safe, but the nightmares were always there to remind her of what terrible things she had done. The bed felt cold without Cas and she realised that being alone was not best for her, at least if someone was around it motivated her to act like everything was fine when really it wasn’t. Somehow, she had fallen into a nap this morning, but it was no surprise with the lack of sleep throughout the night she kept falling in and out of these uneasy dreams. The sheets on the bed were ruffled which signalled the fact she had tossed and turned consistently.

Sighing to herself she moved from the bed and slowly started to rearrange the sheets making it, so it looked presentable. Not that anyone would be visiting, but still it gave her something to do with her hands other than looked at the imaginary blood she had seen. Chewing the inside of her cheek she started to pace about the hotel room still feeling uneasy after remembering the last few voices from the horrid nightmare that decided to plague her this morning. Trying to push it back she thought about Cas and how his day must be going, selfishly she wished he was here because the silence and being alone wasn’t something she could handle.

When the coronation had ended, the crowd of high borns in the throne room slowly tricked out to the hallway, making their way to the ballroom, where the remainder of the celebrations would take place. Caspian was led through a door in the back by his team of guards, all of whom congratulated him on his title in hushed tones as they escorted him down a separate corridor to the same room. The former prince’s head was still swimming with the knowledge that he was now the sole ruler of Aspiria, but most of his nervousness had eased when the cameras and eyes were no longer fixated on him.

With a moment to catch his breath, his mind wandered to Iris for the first time in a while, and he wondered how she was doing all alone in their hotel room at the Sunset Veil. He still felt guilty for practically abandoning her there, but at least she was safe. As long as the resort was under strict instructions to keep their suite private, the capital’s security wouldn’t be able to find her. He just hoped she wouldn’t get too impatient or upset with him about the fact that it had been two days now, and he hadn’t been by to visit her. If he could have ditched the banquet, he would have done it in a heartbeat, but since it was a party in his honor, he knew he would never get away without someone noticing within five seconds of his absence.

So, he walked with Jacob and the rest of his guards to the ballroom, where he waited behind a set of double doors for a few minutes until the security team on the inside announced that they were ready for his second grand entrance of the day. The guards arranged themselves in an array behind him while the doors were opened from the inside, and the new king was greeted with the sound of applause once more. This time, it was easier to relax in the presence of all the other high borns in the room. He’d been to balls and gallas before, and some had even been held in his honor on past birthdays, so it wasn’t a new experience. This event was much more relaxed than the coronation.

Still donning the Aspirian crown on his head, Cas strode into the room and made his way to the back, where a long table had been arranged with a decorative golden cloth and a place for one individual had been set up behind the tallest chair in the center. It was almost comical how such a wide space had been reserved for just him, but it had been that way since the rest of the royal family had been banned from the palace. Before his father had passed, they had shared the entire thing between just the two of them, with Atlas in the center and his son seated at his right.

The memory dug unexpectedly at his heart, and he swallowed, forcing the emotions down as he took the place that was designated for the king.

Over the next few hours, he ate a meal alone and then left the table to mingle with the other high borns. Live cameras tracked his every move for the rest of the kingdom to watch, just as they had when he’d received his crown, and he stopped to talk with men and women whom he recognized as members of his father’s council—now his council, he supposed—high ranking families with influence in the capital, foreign dignitaries and generally wealthy people who had been invited to the event. Every once in a while, a news reporter would approach him in an attempt to get answers to questions that the public wanted to know, but he dodged them more often than he indulged them.

Everyone in the room had questions that they wanted him to answer, but he didn’t have replies ready on the tip of his tongue when he’d only found out the day before that he would be taking over as the new monarch. They asked him about the state of the kingdom, plans he had for new legislature, whether or not he intended to pardon any of his father’s criminals, and, most often, interrogated him to find out if he had any prospective partners on the horizon. He was introduced to the daughters of influential families throughout the entire afternoon, the parents of whom tried to stoke his interest by telling him about their talents or experience with delegation.

Each time, he managed to excuse himself by latching onto another conversation partner, but the repeated questioning about his bachelor status made him realize that the Aspirian people expected him to choose someone to be his queen, and they expected him to do it quickly. He had to wonder what they would do when he finally revealed that he was with the girl who had been made out to be a terrorist by his father’s administration.

By the time the festivities rolled to a steady close, Caspian was thoroughly exhausted from all the running around he had done to speak with as many people as he could before they all left. The high born guests filtered out of the ballroom until the only ones left were the king and the palace staff, who either stood guard around the perimeter or cleaned the aftermath of the banquet. It was about eight o’ clock, so he still had a couple hours left before he expected Iris to call. Taking a nap to recover from the long day sounded like a great idea, so he started to make his way back to his bedroom. However, before he got very far, Jacob stopped him.

“Your Majesty, the servants have taken the liberty of moving your things into your new room while you were here,” he announced, standing at the ballroom door to intercept the fledgling monarch.

Cas faltered. “New room?” he asked, though inside, he already knew which one the security guard was referring to. Now that he was king, it was expected that he would move into the room his parents had previous occupied. Deciding against making Jacob explain it to him, he went on before the other man could reply, “I didn’t realize that would happen so fast.”

“You don’t have to sleep there if it’s too soon,” Jacob pointed out, but the former prince shook his head.

“No, it’s fine. I’ll go up to start settling in,” he said with an exhale. It was too late and he was too weary to put up a fight. Even though it felt strange to take over a space that was so thickly layered with memories of his father, it was going to happen sooner or later. With a couple hours to kill and no clear picture of what his free time was going to look like going forward, he figured he might as well take advantage of the time he did have that evening.

He uttered a curt goodnight to the guard and headed to the stairs, taking off his crown as he walked and quietly studying the intricate details as he held it distantly in his hands.

Get a hold of yourself. You can’t keep thinking like this, worrying about everything that I out of your control.

Glancing to the door of the hotel room as she began to chew the inside of her lip debating on just leaving, perhaps she would just have to make her own way back to the Districts and let Caspian be happy. Cas deserved that much especially with everything she had put him through, maybe the there was truth to the fact that Cas had Stockholm syndrome and now with inheriting the country he would undoubtedly come to terms with it. Though he wasn’t exactly like his father and she doubted he would haul her back off to prison she still wondered if he would now just toss her aside, it wasn’t good to think like this but when she didn’t feel like she was worthy of him it was hard to stop the thoughts. Especially whilst she was alone in this hotel room.

He wouldn’t do that to me, stop thinking like it.

Trying to force herself to think positive, a difficult feat when she gravitated towards the negative, she headed towards the hotel phone picking it up as she looked at the numbers. Instinctively she went to type in his number but stopped herself knowing it wasn’t the right time, plus what if he was in the middle of something important? She couldn’t just interrupt him because she couldn’t keep herself together. Shaking her head, she typed in a different number, one that seemed like muscle memory as she touched the numbered keys and waited to hear a voice she knew would help pull her out of her current slump.

“Hello?”

“M-Masie… it’s me.”

“Iris! Oh my god I thought the worst! You left for days, what happened? Tell me everything! Are you hurt? Do you need any more help? Did… he hurt you?” Maisie practically blurted out all the important questions the minute she heard her best friends voice, an undertone of panic could be heard beneath it, but it was clear how upset she had been over not knowing what had happened to her friend. “The news reports say the prince was found… I. I didn’t know what to think and now, his dad is dead. Well, the King. Can’t say I’m too unhappy about it.”

“No, he didn’t hurt me, it was pretty crazy and a lot to go through. I’m not sure I even want to voice it again; I can’t relive it right now. I can’t… but. I’m safe currently. I’m in a hotel room by myself because he had to go back and well inherit the throne.” Iris sighed softly flinching at the idea of going through everything that had happened from leaving Maisie to now, a part of her craved to see her again and just be in her home knowing she was safe. Right now she was in the hotel room, but it didn’t feel safe, she still felt like she was looking over her shoulder waiting for security to throw her to jail or Ethan to finish what he had started.

“Iris… I wish I was there to take your mind off of things.” Maisie sighed softly just relieved to know for now her friend was physically okay, the other stuff she wasn’t too sure on, but she knew when to push and when not too. “So, tell me about the hotel room? I bet its super fancy… and what about you and him hmm? Life of adventure can surely create bonds.” She wasn’t stupid and even though she had said specifically to the Prince not to hurt her friend, she knew that the both of them had some sort of attraction to one another.

“Oh, you would not believe it!” A nervous chuckle left her lips as she glanced back at the room happy to latch onto the subject and not her wellbeing, “And well… things did kind of happen and…”

“Did you sleep together?”

“M-Maisie! Well… yeah but…” Iris felt her face flush sighing slightly as she shook her head, “The morning after was when he found out about his dad, it happened the same night. It’s surely not something he would want to remember; he must feel so guilty about it being with me instead of him.”

“Iris don’t you dare, I’m sure he wouldn’t blame you and don’t tell me that’s not where your thought process goes. Who has been your friend for all this time? Hmm?”

“I’ve made a decision.”

“Iris…”

“No, he is going to become a King Maisie, who was I kidding? I need to come home let him move on and enjoy his life. Better everything for the people because that’s more important than my feelings for him.”

“Ethan… has been a bit difficult… but. You know he is all too obsessed with the rebellion, you’re safer staying there.” Maisie sighed shaking her head on the other side of the phone, but it was then Iris cut her off and the subject altogether had been dropped. Opting for a more positive route Iris diverted the conversation to needless things, catching up with Masie on what had happened and just keeping well away from herself. It had been a great way to pass the time and Iris knew she had been on the phone for a good few hours with Maisie chasing away the emptiness and lonely feeling from her as she distracted herself with the phone, right up until she could make a call to Cas. Her resolve however had not changed, she fully planned to return to the districts, and she hoped she could maybe convince Jacob to take her. If he felt it was in the best interest of Caspian then she was certain he would do it.

The sovereign’s quarters felt cold. Caspian stood in the doorway, the Aspirian crown dangling carelessly between his fingers as his eyes roamed over the oversized bedroom that his parents had once occupied and that now belonged to him by rite. Somewhere in the back of his subconscious, he’d known that the day would come when he took over everything that had belonged to his father, but to actually take the first small steps toward that life was surreal. This room in particular held so many memories that his head felt like it was swimming as they flooded back to him at once. Distant childhood recollections of running to his mother when he’d had nightmares, days when he’d used the space to hide from the servants, early morning meetings with his father to study skills he would need to become king… and more recently, visits to Atlas when his father had been on his deathbed.

His throat tightened, and he took a shuddering breath to steady himself. He hadn’t expected this to be so difficult. It was just a room, but since all of his memories were either painful or nostalgic, it was hard for him to bring himself to step further inside. He glanced over his shoulder with a wince, wondering if it was too late to change his mind about going back to his old bedroom. He could just pick up a change of clothes and some toiletries and sleep in a place that was more comfortable, but deep down he knew that putting it off wouldn’t make it any easier for him to move into the new room later. Now that he was king, he needed to toughen up.

So, taking one more steeling breath, he forced himself to close the door behind him and walked slowly up to the four-post bed. Even from a glance, he could see that the sheets had been recently changed, but his skin still crawled with the knowledge that this was where his father had breathed some of his final breaths before he’d been rushed to the hospital. Gingerly, he ran his fingers over the crisp duvet and set the crown down on the nightstand. When he was alone, it was easier to let the weight of his new role ease from his shoulders, but the stress of becoming a monarch was replaced with a messy tangle of emotions that were just as heavy in their own way.

He stood by the bed for a few minutes before he peeled himself away from it to take off the ceremonial garb he’d been wearing all day. The staff had moved all of his clothes into his father’s wardrobe while he’d been at the banquet, so he dug through the options until he found an old set of pajamas tucked away near the back. The top and bottom were soft cotton printed with the logo of his favorite football team, a gift from his mother that she’d given him about a year before she’d died. Leaning into his nostalgia, he untied the sash around his waist and slipped out of his tunic and trousers, replacing them with the old clothes and ambling back over to the bed.

His cell phone had been moved into the new room as well, left on a wireless charger on the nightstand. Leaning back against the edge of the mattress, Cas picked it up to find hundreds of missed notifications from every social media account he had. People he’d never met or even chatted with online were congratulating him on his new status as if they knew him personally, undoubtedly trying to bolster their own followings by pretending to buddy up with the new king. He rolled his eyes to himself and turned off his notifications altogether, uninterested in reading the comments at the moment. Instead, he turned to his texts, where he found a string from a group chat with Jay and Miles spread out over a few days’ time:


He smiled to himself. In spite of everything that had happened, he was glad that his friends had continued to reach out to him. He wished he’d seen their messages earlier though, because he hadn’t even thought about making sure they would be able to attend his coronation. Having not seen them there at all, he guessed they hadn’t been able to secure invitations on their own. Too tired to call them, he tapped out a reply on his keypad:


He paused, then added:


Setting his phone down on the nightstand again he let out a sigh and laid back on the bed, sinking heavily into the plush, memory foam mattress. Although the room didn’t feel like home to him yet, the bed was enticingly comfortable. With plenty of time left before he expected Iris to call him, he pulled the duvet out from below his body and crawled underneath it, hoping to get a little shut-eye first to decompress after yet another hectic day.

Mulling over the conversation she had just had with her best friend Iris felt relieved with her choice, but she knew it would also be difficult. After all they had been through together was she really just about to up and leave him? Is that the kind of thank you she was willing to give him and his friends that had stuck their necks out for her breaking her out of prison and narrowly avoiding her death sentence. Iris found herself glancing towards the hotel room door, she was free to leave whenever it wasn’t like she was locked inside, but yet she didn’t have the courage to even dare leaving the safety of this bedroom.

It's not too far from the district borders though? Cas said it was quite far out enough that we could slip away past the borders.

Shaking her head, she knew just leaving now would be the worst decision, her thoughts had been right earlier in that the best chance for her would be to talk to Jacob. There was bound to be a chance in the future, it may take a few days or weeks before Cas even dared to visit or come get her, but she knew he trusted Jacob. On top of that she knew Jacob was somewhat close to the new King, he would look out for what was best for Cas regardless on feelings involved. Cas wouldn’t directly order him to not take her back to the districts, right? So perhaps she could sway the guard and keep it quiet from Cas. It was for his benefit after all, and she could deal with the drama back home even if she was wary about having to see Ethan again.

I’m such a terrible liar, I’ll just have to deflect better. Musing over the idea of that as she began to pace through the hotel room already restless and she knew it wasn’t even the worst of it yet. To distract herself she went and grabbed one of the menus from the kitchen and began to glance through figuring it was best to try and make an effort to look interested in the food. Eating had become somewhat of a bad habit, any sort of stress or emotional turmoil and she found herself not really wanting to eat. Even when she had been at his friends house it had been the same, but she tried when there were others around and she wondered if it was just because it was easier than having to face it because denial was much easier to live with.

With time passing painfully slow Iris had at least ordered some food, opting for the simple tomato soup but the tray was left in the kitchen untouched as she had settled on the sofa curling up under one of the blankets whilst waiting for the minute, she could call him. It had been a step in the right direction at least and she had opted to watch a movie on the TV finding the mindless action movie a good mind-numbing thing to watch. It had soon reached ten and the moment it had she reached for the phone punching in his number she had learnt off by heart waiting for it to connect, a sense of excitement and nerves bubbling away as she waited to finally talk to him again.

“Hey Cas… or should I now say your majesty?” Starting off with a joke, but even with her voice light and playful she felt the weight behind her words. He was now a King, too good for her who had come from the districts not even to mention daughter of the rebellion who had come to assassinate him at first.

How can I truly say I love him when I started this? When I had nearly got him killed.

Cas didn’t get as much rest as he’d been hoping for when he’d laid his head down on the pillow. For about two hours, he tossed and turned in the king sized bed, dipping in and out of shallow sleep that left him feeling even more tired than he had been when he’d first started trying to relax. The mattress was too big. Like the bedroom he’d moved into, it just reminded him of how alone he was now that he’d been crowned the new ruler of Aspiria. His immediate family were all either dead or banished, and his friends, while supportive, couldn’t understand what he was going through. They lived the life he wished he could have: one in which their biggest responsibilities were deciding which parties they wanted to attend on the weekends.

Already, he missed the freedom he’d taken for granted when he’d only been a prince. Just a week ago, he’d felt constricted by his duty to his father, but compared to what was coming, the tasks that had daunted him before were like a teenager’s household chore list. He wasn’t ready to lead an entire country by himself, and he’d never felt more alone than he did buried under the covers in his parents’ old bed. Thoughts and worries about all the new ways he could fail swirled around inside his head, and sleep eluded him no matter how hard he tried to give in to his exhaustion.

Above all else, he found himself missing Iris like a limb. Even though he knew she wouldn’t be able to understand his struggle much more than Jay or Miles, she had a way of comforting him that he needed at that moment. He craved her warmth and her touch and her smile and her constant reassurances that he would be a good king. Pining for her presence, he rolled over and curled his fingers wistfully against the bedsheets, wishing she were there beside him. Even though they hadn’t been doing long distance for more than a couple days, he was already feeling the strain of it twisting his heart. It wasn’t easy to wait for a single, short phone call once a night after he’d gotten used to having her with him to hold in his arms.

The clock on the wall seemed to tick slower than ever as he continued to grapple with sleep and bide his time until the little hand struck ten. At long last though, his patience paid off when his phone vibrated on the nightstand in a siren song that he’d been looking forward to all day. He rolled back over on the bed and sat upright, the sheets sliding down into a heap at his hips as he reached for the device and smiled at the increasingly familiar number on the screen.

“Hey, Iris,” he said softly, bringing it to his ear in eager anticipation of hearing her voice again. Twenty-four hours felt like a small eternity to wait between conversations with her. However, when she called him ‘your majesty’ over the other end of the line, he wrinkled his nose in distaste. Out of everyone, he didn’t want her to call him by the stuffy title he’d inherited from his father. “Well, you’re not wrong,” he conceded. “But I always have and always will prefer ‘Cas.’”

Laying back down on the bed, he folded his free arm over his chest and fixed his brown eyes on the ceiling. “How have you been today? Did you watch the ceremony?” he asked, starting down the list of questions he’d been waiting for far too long to voice to her. Another one, even more important than the first two, popped into his head, so he tacked it on as an afterthought: “Have you eaten since yesterday?”

Iris felt the smile on her face as she spoke to Cas on the phone, hearing his voice on the other end and just knowing he was fine. Well, as fine as he could be considering everything that had happened but just knowing his was alive and well physically was a comfort to her when she had feared for his death weeks ago. “Good, because I’m not about to address you with titles. Cas sounds better to me anyway.” Chuckling softly to herself as she pulled her knees to her chest on the sofa she was lazing on, her fingers idly tracing the plush soft blanket that was draped around her.

“I doubt I’d ever even called you Caspian if I’m honest. It feels so formal.” Rambling on slightly as she knew just idle chat was preferable to tackling whatever demons they currently faced. “Maybe if you’ve annoyed me.” Teasing softly as she continued to trace her fingers over the blanket as she spoke just happy to hear his voice.

“I’m…” Iris felt herself hesitate for a moment, she had a roof over her head and food and important amenities that she could need. Physically she was okay, apart from the nightmares keeping her awake and maybe she could tell him that, but again she didn’t want him to worry about her. Though if she didn’t tell him he would worry about her keeping secrets from him, it wasn’t good either way so for once she decided to be a little honest with him. “I’m alright… mostly. Just tired, it’s hard to sleep at the moment, but I’ll be okay.”

Iris knew it was selfish for him to come to the hotel and see her, she knew he had more important things to worry about and if she could give him the peace of not having to worry about her then she would do as such. “I’d rather know how you are; everything must be going so fast for you.” Changing the subject back to him because she wanted to know how he was fairing, losing a father was bad enough but to then inherit a Country straight away that was an awful amount of pressure. It was a cruel twist of fate that they had both ended up orphans.

“Of course, I watched the ceremony, I’ve never seen such an event before. You must have been so nervous. I was cheering you on from here though and I know you will hold those words you spoke dearly. As I always tell you, you will be a great King.” Iris spoke softly down the phone just keeping positive about it all because she knew neither of them were ready to talk about the more serious issues they were facing, it was hard when they couldn’t be there to comfort one another so if they didn’t talk about it hopefully it meant neither was too troubled, but in reality, that was not the case and she knew he faced demons as much as she did. Difference was she didn’t have the eyes of a Country looking to her waiting to see if she would fail.

“I ordered some tomato soup.” Adding on the fact she had ordered food knowing he wanted to hear about it rather than skirting the subject of course, not after their last conversation when she hadn’t even done that. “I know you’re thinking how bland of me… but well.” Chuckling slightly as she glanced towards the tray of untouched food that he didn’t need to know about. “I’m sure you had something much better than me this evening, though right? An event like that, what did you have?”

Cas laughed softly, “I’ll do my best not to annoy you then.” He was glad that Iris was feeling well enough to joke with him over the phone. Even though he spent most of his day aching for that late evening phone call from her, there was a part of him that worried she would sound upset with him when she rang. She had every right to be mad. He’d up and left her stranded at a hotel with no company and not much to keep her entertained aside from the TV. The suite was little more than a glorified jail cell too, since she couldn’t even leave the room while his father’s warrant was still in effect. He still needed to figure out how to undo it, so she would no longer have to stay hidden from the guards that patrolled the capital.

Despite her quip about his name, the way she hesitated when he asked how she was doing raised a red flag in the back of the prince’s mind. He frowned at the silence that reached him almost palpably across the line. Maybe she wasn’t doing as well as he’d thought. She even seemed to confirm his suspicion when she finally told him that she was ‘alright’ and brushed off her answer as merely exhaustion. He didn’t buy it. “I’m sorry,” he sighed, leaning his head back into his pillow. For a moment, he debated if he should let her know that he didn’t believe her excuse, but they didn’t have much time to talk lately. Arguing about it wouldn’t change the fact that her situation was less than ideal, so he reluctantly let the subject drop.

“It really is,” he shook his head even though he knew she couldn’t see him. “I feel like I barely have time to breathe. Everyone wants something from me all the time, so I’m just running back and forth trying to get to all of their requests, while Jacob sends guys to make sure I don’t fall behind on the itinerary the PR team has set up every day. It’s a lot more stressful than it was when I was just lined up to take over as king.” Even though his father had done his best to prepare him for the inevitable power shift, he didn’t feel ready at all now that he was actually here. He hadn’t realized just how busy he would be when he was crowned as Aspiria’s next leader. He even had a little newfound respect for Atlas for dealing with everything while he was on bedrest. Monarchs had a lot of expectations on their shoulders.

A smile crossed his lips when Iris told him that she’d watched the coronation. He’d expected it, since there wasn’t anything else for her to do while she was locked up at the Sunset Veil. However, hearing her confirm it and tell him that she thought he would do a good job of keeping to his word stirred a warm feeling inside his chest. “I hope you’re right,” he said, bringing his free hand up to rest behind his head. They would find out soon enough anyway. He was ill-equipped to take over, but he was smart enough to realize that his new duties as king would start the next morning. A shiver trickled up his spine at the thought. He wondered what kind of tasks he’d have to dip his feet into first. Some of the things he’d sworn to do didn’t settle well inside of him.

“I don’t care as long as you ate something,” he insisted with another pointless shake of his head. “I just need to know that you’re taking care of yourself and that the next time we see each other, you won’t be rail thin.” When she asked him about his own dinner, he thought back to the banquet. “I had a lot more to eat than you did. That’s for sure,” he mused. “Lobster frittata, roasted brussels sprouts, orzo pasta, and some other stuff that I don’t know the name of. It was all good though… The orzo was a simpler dish than I usually eat. You might like it. If you want, I could see if any restaurants around here make it and have it delivered to your room, so you can try it.”

“Does this mean I can’t call you a stuffy old Prince anymore? Will it now be… a stuffy old King?" Iris felt the smile spread across her face eager to feel it once more, their light-hearted jokes and humour when they had first met. Remembering how she had teased him at being a stuffy prince back in their first days of meeting, after she had found out who he was. The ease of their banter at that time but then nothing had been wrong at that point, they were both blissfully unaware of what she was about to cause and how it had all come crashing down with a few wrong choices. Yet, he forgives me. For lying to him, luring him away from his home like I did. None of this would have happened if I had just disappeared, said no.

Finding those thoughts hard to keep at bay, the reason she would hesitate when answering on if she was okay not wanting to cause him worry. In reality she wasn’t okay, but her problems were far less important than what he had on his plate and she never wanted to worry him. “There’s no need to apologise, you can’t fix my sleep schedule.” Hearing the sigh on the other end of the phone made her wince, he didn’t have to be sorry for anything it was not his fault. It would never be his fault.

“I know I’m right, and it will become easier to manage. It’s going to be hard at first, but just think when you were a child it was difficult to learn. To walk and talk, but it becomes easier. Second nature and it will for you too. I believe that.” Smiling as she continued to endorse him, she knew in her heart he would do a great job. Mistakes will happen, it wasn’t going to be easy and there would be hard decisions she knew that, but at the end of it all with what he had been through too she was sure he would be fair and just in her eyes at least.

Rolling her eyes as his insistence on her eating her eyes flicked towards the untouched soup she had ordered, regardless he was right. Eating was important, but if she was to follow through with her plan of making it back to the districts limiting the portions and getting used to the hunger would be easier to deal with now than it being a shock to her system at returning. Thankfully he had dropped it, but his words did strike a chord with her. The next time they saw each other he didn’t want her to be rail thin. For that kind of drastic change, it would make it weeks before he laid eyes on her, to see a notable difference with food intake and she had to steel herself from not panicking at the thought. Deep down she knew it would be a while, but to feel that realisation was a whole new level of emotion he didn’t want to touch.

“It sounds like you ate like a King.” Trying to steady her voice a hint of amusement to it as she latched onto their conversation once more to stop herself from falling into a void she didn’t want to touch. “I’m glad you at least enjoyed yourself somewhat, maybe I would like that dish. If you’re not too busy perhaps you can look tomorrow. It could be like some surprise food distance date night.” Chuckling softly at how silly it sounded, but laughter was better than the silence of the empty room.

“Very funny,” Cas drawled when Iris went on about his title. Despite his tone, though, a smile played on his lips. Her sense of humor was one of the things that had endeared him to her when they’d first gotten to know each other. Plus, he couldn’t really complain about hearing her make jokes in her current situation. It was better than answering the phone to a voice that sounded depressed. He wanted her to be happy even though he knew she had every reason to be upset with him and with the fact that she was basically isolated against her will.

“I know I can’t, but I’m still sorry you aren’t sleeping well,” he insisted with a frown when she corrected him about the apology. “I wish I could go over there and sleep with you… In the literal sense.” He amended quickly, realizing how his words could have come across. “Not that I don’t want to sleep with you too. It was fun when we did… but I also miss having you next to me when I’m actually sleeping.” Absently, he brushed a hand over the empty sheets beside him in the oversized bed and sighed. “Hopefully I can bring you here soon, so we don’t have to be apart like this for too much longer.”

Appreciative of Iris’s reassurance, Cas felt his smile return, and he nodded to himself. She was right. Everything had a learning curve, and just because this one was steeper than most didn’t mean it was impossible to overcome. He was still only halfway through his twenties. He had plenty of time left to learn how to lead the country and leave a positive mark on it as the next king. He would just have to try not to be too hard on himself in the beginning, when he knew he was going to make the most mistakes. Hopefully he wouldn’t mess anything up that had a lasting effect on Aspiria or her relationship with the surrounding nations.

“I’m sure you’re right, but I still want you here to listen to me vent when things don’t work out,” he joked. “It’s either you or a bottle of whiskey, and I’d rather avoid the hangover.” Not to mention the latter didn’t actually solve anything. The most it could do was take the edge off his stress until he sobered up and had to go back to square one. By contrast, he appreciated Iris’s input and trusted her to give him good advice when he was drowning in his own insecurities. Alcohol could never do that.

He laughed when she said that he’d eaten like a king. “I think it’s safe to say that was the point,” he quipped in return. His dietician was going to have her work cut out for her when the kitchen seemed to insist on stuffing him with the richest foods they could offer. He was pretty sure his father had only stayed thin because of his illness. As a healthy adult, he would have a harder time balancing the hearty meals with the limited time he had available to exercise. His physical wellbeing was yet another thing he would have to juggle amongst all the other responsibilities that had been thrust upon his shoulders.

Iris’s idea of a long distance date night piqued his interest though. “I don’t think it’ll be much of a surprise, but that sounds like fun,” he brightened. “I’ll try to special order some food to your room tomorrow around the time you call me, and I’ll have the cooks here whip up something for me to eat. Maybe we can even find a movie to watch on TV while we have dinner. I’ll have to check the broadcasting schedule and see if there’s anything good playing.”

“It’s good to know I haven’t lost my humour.” Iris tried to chuckle, trying ever so hard to keep it light and enjoyable as she knew how easy it was for her to slip back into her mood. Iris didn’t want to worry him, he had enough on his plate with a whole Kingdom now on his shoulders that she was just one person compared to thousands that now looked to him. There was no way she could be selfish so all she had to do was just keep it light and reassure Cas that she was fine, at least until she had figured out what to do.

“Oh, it was fun, was it?” Iris mused, her eyebrows quirking as Cas began to fumble over his words, but she knew he didn’t mean anything by it and that it had been completely innocent. In truth she missed the idea of both, having someone to sleep beside and hold. The comfort it provided, and she knew that having him at her side she’d probably be able to get a few hours of sleep in as his presence would soothe her. Then there was the other activity that they had only just delved into together, briefly touched upon and even just thinking about it made her cheeks redden because she wanted to be intimate with him.

“I wish I was there with you, or vice versa, in regard to both options of sleeping with you.” Iris smiled trying not to get herself flustered like he had, but she was warmed to know that he clearly missed her just like she did him. “I hope it’s soon too…” Trailing off as she didn’t dare to finish her sentence, to admit that being so isolated was driving her insane. Opening up wounds that were barely healing and thoughts she wished she could outrun. “There is only so much mindless telly I can watch.” Deciding to add that on to her sentence rather than the truth.

Finding her gaze sweep the empty room her fingers casually brushing against the fabric of the plush sofa she was curled up on. “You know I’ll always be there to listen, I’m sure your friends would too.” Knowing that the boys would be there for him, well she hoped especially as she didn’t quite believe her own words of always being there to listen. In an ideal world she would of course not hesitate at being there, but with them being from two completely different worlds it would be better for everyone if she slipped away. Her mindset now firmly believed that to be the case, that she was not good for him.

Well, if it wasn’t for me, he wouldn’t have nearly died.

“I’d like that a lot. You’ll have to tell me what movie we’ll be watching and what channel.” Iris smiled once more, there was no harm in enjoying the time they did have together before everything would undoubtedly change between them. “I’m interested to see what you order for me.” Glancing towards the untouched soup once more as she made a promise to herself to eat tomorrow, to give it a go when Caspian would be ordering for her and going out of his way to do so. “Maybe it will inspire me to start being adventurous.”

Shifting her weight on the sofa the blanket slipped from her legs as she glanced to the time already knowing that it was getting late and that their conversation would have to come to an end. Sighing at the thought of it she just hoped he would find a way out of this soon, or some sort of resolution because the days were becoming harder as time went on. “I’ll try to get some sleep tonight, who knows maybe tonight will be the night.”

“Oh, if you want to be more adventurous, I’ll be ordering you more than just plain cheese pizza,” Cas laughed. “I’ll let you know what we’ll be watching tomorrow too. That part will be the surprise.” He just hoped there would be something good on TV, so they wouldn’t be stuck watching a re-run of a bad Rom Com. After a long day of learning how to lead the country, the last thing he wanted to do was sit through two hours of cringey, fake love stories and awful jokes.

When Iris said she would try to get some sleep, he nodded. It wasn’t too late yet, but knowing how little rest she’d gotten recently, he didn’t want to keep her awake much longer. As much as he would have liked to keep their conversation going, it was better for him to let her go, so she could at least attempt to get some shut eye before the sun came up. “I hope you do,” he smiled softly as he looked up at the ceiling. “And on that note, I should do the same thing. I’ve got a feeling that tomorrow is gonna be a long day… I’ll talk to at the end of it, Iris. I love you.”

After they said their goodbyes, the prince hung up the phone and did his best to recover from the busy day. Unfortunately, his mind was still racing, and his anxiety about what was yet to come didn’t allow him to get much sleep that night. He tossed and turned in his father’s oversized bed until light seeped in through the window the next morning, and he had to drag himself to his feet to find out what his new life was going to look like as the king of Aspiria.

And no amount of grooming could have prepared him for the sheer weight of the expectations that had suddenly been thrust upon his shoulders.

For the rest of that day and the two weeks following, Caspian found himself up to his neck in meetings with the heads of every department he’d known existed in the kingdom—and a few that he’d never heard of in his life. Everyone seemed to have an agenda to fill him in on the latest news and reports and discoveries, pick apart his opinions, and teach him to take over the roles that his father had carried when he’d still been alive. The influx of information was overwhelming, and at the end of every evening, he felt like his head was pounding as his brain struggled to absorb it all.

His over-the-phone talks with Iris were the only solace from the workload, but even though he loved hearing her voice, it was becoming harder for him to keep his eyes open by the time she called him during the nights. Once after the first week, he dozed off while he was still on the line with her, and one time after that, he passed out in his bed before he could even pick up the phone. He desperately missed her, but with so many people competing for his attention, he didn’t find the time to speak with the security team about removing the bounty his father had placed on her head.

Though he tried to ignore it, he could feel that they were drifting apart. It was impossible for the distance not to affect them when they only had, at most, an hour or two to catch up every day and never had the time to see each other in person. His new responsibilities were also taking over his every waking thought until he found himself thinking about her far less than he used to. By the end of his second week as king, he felt disconcerted enough about the change—and about the fact that he’d slept through her last phone call—that he swiped a canned coffee from the kitchen before he retired to his room for the night, hoping the caffeine boost would propel him through to the end of their conversation.

With a plan set and ready, the former prince changed out of his day clothes and settled into his bed, sipping idly at the drink while he returned a few texts with Jay and Miles, both of whom had also been put on the backburner while he adjusted to the monarchy. He still had a little time left before the clock would strike ten, so he wanted to check in with his friends before Iris called him and he talked with her until he was too tired to keep his eyes open anymore.

Iris couldn’t tell you how long it had been, but she could easily tell you how time seemed to drag and how each day became harder to deal with. As much as she tried to remain optimistic her spiral only grew as the distance between her, and Cas seemed to become a bigger problem each day even though she hated to admit it to herself. No matter how many times she told herself this was a temporary situation, that soon he would walk through those doors it was becoming exceedingly hard to believe that hope as it began to slip away alongside the time passing.

The promises to eat, to make an effort were long gone and lying to the new King became second nature to her around it. Especially as she had caught on to just ordering for the sake of it knowing he could check what was billed to the room, but lately his attention was so focused on running a country she doubted he would have noticed. Selfishly she wished he would, that he’d put everything down to visit and tell her it would be okay, but she knew that was something she could never ask. Nor did she want too as she kept telling herself that what he was going through was worse, that he now had a whole Kingdom to run, and they looked up to him. She was minuscule compared to everything else right now and her thoughts would just lead to her feeling guilty for even wishing he could drop it all for her.

Sleep still evaded her and she was finding herself feeling lethargic everyday with barely enough effort to get out of the bed if only to go call Cas of an evening, even then her excitement dwindled finding it hard to talk to him everyday knowing she was probably going to be stuck here longer. The silence of the hotel room felt like a roaring voice in her head, pounding away taunting her as each hour passed. Iris knew she couldn’t be selfish, that she shouldn’t be wallowing because she was alive at least but her mental state was fluctuating with motivation at such a low point and her darkest fears coming for her.

Suffocating by feeling so isolated the nightmares consumed her on a regular basis, inner thoughts and the darkness she felt in her heart creeping over her keeping her at her low point. The urge to leave had been increasing each day and there were days she sat on the sofa staring at the door of her room, fixating on the same spot as she battled against herself between leaving and not. Iris couldn’t tell Cas how bad it had gotten, that she had considered doing something very bad just to feel something again.

Today had been no different from the other days, time dragged, and she knew it was nearly time to call Cas but a part of her didn’t even want too. Hearing his voice, feeling a brief flicker of happiness to only settle on the realisation that no, nothing had changed she was still a rebel with a death warrant on her head that Cas had yet to remove. “Is there any point? He will probably fall asleep on me again.” Muttering bitterly to herself as she toyed with the phone, shaking her head she decided she would take the chance to call Masie. Yesterday she had spoken to her friend to find it improved her mood, her friend had a way about her enticing a smile and she had said she would call again today. For some reason her friend had made her promise, so she opted to dial that number instead of Cas.

“Hey Maisie…” Trying to sound somewhat happy as she leaned against the kitchen counter, but the next voice she heard was not her friends. No, it was a voice that often haunted her dreams of a night and she swallowed hard as he spoke.

“Hello, Iris dear.”

It took all of five seconds for Caspian’s friends to shoot back replies to the text he’d sent. He smiled as their messages lit up the screen of his phone, always happy to hear from them when it seemed like their lives were headed in such opposite directions lately. Like Iris, he missed the days when he could see them in person pretty much whenever he wanted to. Even after only two weeks, he was feeling nostalgic, and whenever he had a rare moment alone, he found himself thinking about the parties they used to attend together and the games they used to watch in his in-home sports bar. Now, the best company he had around were the stoic guards that patrolled the palace.


Sending the text back to them, he laid back on his bed with his cell phone resting on his stomach and his hands propped behind his head. The coffee had kicked in at least, so he wasn’t as dog tired as he had been the last two nights. When Iris called him later, he was hopeful that he’d be able to get through their entire conversation without passing out—or missing it completely like he had the night before. He winced at the memory. Waking up the next morning with the realization that he’d basically ghosted her had felt terrible.

After that humiliating performance, he had to wonder if there was any way for him to get away from the palace long enough to see her at the resort again. He wanted to make it up to her in a better way than just apologizing over the phone, but with a schedule packed from morning until night, he didn’t know how he would be able to pull it off. Just as he was mulling it over, he felt his phone vibrate, and he picked it up again to read the incoming texts:


Cas blinked in surprise. In the years he’d known Jay, his friend hadn’t been the type to seriously date a girl. He always seemed to prefer one night stands over girlfriends. However, he was happy that the playboy had met someone he liked enough to see again, so he replied:


Setting the phone aside again, he frowned up at his ceiling. While he was rooting for his friend’s potential new relationship, talking about girls only reminded him of his own trouble in paradise. Restlessly, he checked the time on his nightstand clock, only to see that it was five minutes until ten. Iris would be calling at any moment. He was just as nervous as he was excited to hear from her, and he hoped she wouldn’t be too mad at him for sleeping through their call the night before. He also hoped she didn’t take it to mean that he’d lost interest in talking with her every day. With a sigh to himself, he closed his eyes and tossed an arm over his face. Long distance was even harder than he’d expected it to be.

“E-Ethan!?”

“I’m glad you still remember my name. It’s been a while. In fact, I’m rather glad you called.”

“What have you done with Maisie?” Panic started to settle in that he had answered the phone instead of her friend, her heart began to race because this was not the phone call she had been expecting to have today.

“Oh, she’s fine. Well… it entirely depends on you my dear and what kind of choices you plan to make. Currently, Maisie is fine, and I doubt I will need her for leverage. Not when I know where your current weakness lies. With the Prince, now King of course can’t say I’m upset about his predecessor.” The sadist tone could be heard through the phone, there was a glee in his eye even as he sat miles away from her threatening over the phone.

“No, you wouldn’t dare. You can’t… I. The rebellion is over Ethan, there isn’t anything else you can do.”

“Isn’t there? I have access to kill the new King; I still have people for my cause. I’m more than happy to spike that pretty little head of his and place it for all to see.”

Iris could feel herself shaking as she held the phone to her ear, eyes wide at the idea of him killing Caspian. “N-No. There’s no way you can. Ethan just stop… please.”

“You remember Az, right? My wonderful little spy could hack into absolutely everything. The reason we got into Aspiria in the first place. He’s still very much alive, feeding me movements on the new King. I could list you all the meetings he’s been in, I could name the very heads of departments that he has been speaking with. In fact, I could name the very hotel you are currently staying at all thanks to Az who has been working tirelessly behind the scenes.”

Her tremors began to increase, gripping the phone until her knuckles were white as she tried to steady herself and not let herself fall into his trap. There was no way he could know all of it, Az was skilled but surely the security here was far tighter since everything had happened. Jacob wouldn’t let anything harm the newly made King. “You’re lying.” Whispering out as she tried to sound strong, but even she could here the quiver in her own voice. “You won’t hurt him. You can’t. This is all trickery.”

“Is it?” Ethan remained calm even as the anger seeped through, the malice in his voice as a wicked chuckle was heard down the phone. “Oh, you must want proof. Let me see, right now you are currently in the Sunset Veil hotel, right?”

Iris fell silent, her heart stopped for a moment as he knew her location and she recalled her conversations with Maisie wondering if she had mentioned this place at all. In her heart she knew she hadn’t, she knew Ethan was telling the truth. The fact he had access to information like this, that he still had Az feeding this to him meant he very well could be a threat to Caspian. The rebellion wasn’t as over.

“I take that silence as a yes, but you know what I’m feeling generous. I’ll give you three days to return home to me. I’ll be there ready to forgive you, maybe even rekindle things. In return I’ll gift you something. A promise that I’ll drop the rebellion and that I won’t harm the new King, I’ll give him a chance.” Ethan smirked down the phone, empty promises of course as he was still going ahead with his own plans, but right now he needed her back to get to the King. “Three days Iris, you uphold your bargain no one gets hurt. I’ll put a stop to the rebellion and my plans to kill the King, I’ll end it all upon your return.” Pausing for a moment knowing that she’d desperately do anything to keep him alive, but just in case he dangled yet another piece in front of his ex-girlfriend knowing that it would help secure her return. “This bargain also includes Maisie, but I can assure you she is well looked after and can’t wait to see you.”

“E-Ethan! Wait! No…” Iris was wide eyed as the line went dead, in a panic she keyed the number in quickly again whispering to herself please over and over wanting to hear her friends voice. Shaking her head as the sound of a deadline could be heard she threw the phone to the floor before leaning against the wall sliding down to her feet as she placed her head in her hands feeling completely out of her depth right now.