The tension in the bathroom was thick enough that the air felt almost physically heavy with each breath Caspian took. Standing with his back against the door and his arms folded uncomfortably over his chest, he chewed the inside of his cheek as his mind turned, trying to come up with some way to explain himself. He didn’t want to lie to Raine. He was done with that now. However, the true story was long, complicated, and definitely not acceptable to someone of the princess’s pedigree. After all, he’d pretty much just dumped her for a commoner—and a rebel, at that. As understanding as he knew her to be, he expected no leniency once he admitted who Iris was. He just needed to tell her and get it over with before—

“Someone needs to change that bulb.”

The mumbled complaint jarred Cas abruptly out of his thoughts. With a blink, he focused his gaze on her, then on the flickering, orange light in the sconce above the sink. Caught up in his head, he hadn’t noticed the way Raine had been glaring at it, her eyes slightly squinted against its irregular winking. “Yeah,” he cleared his throat with a wince, turning to her again. It wasn’t the segue he’d been looking for, but now that she’d broken the silence between them, he supposed he might as well take the plunge. “Raine… I—”

“I’m not blaming you, Caspian.” Before he could finish the sentence, the princess cut him off with a frown. Leaning against the side of the vanity, her own arms folded stiffly, she pursed her lips, then sighed. “I saw everything. Heard everything you said. I may not know who that girl is or what your history is with her, but I understand where this is going.”

Cas shrank at the dejection in her voice. This was going to be painful. “I’m sorry,” he murmured, glancing down at the tile floor. “I swear, I wasn’t trying to lead you on or waste your time. I really had no idea she was still alive, but now that I do… I can’t let her go again.”

“Even though she’s a commoner?” Raine asked, judgement lacking even though he could hear the skepticism behind her question. “You told me you’re the last surviving member of Aspiria’s royal line. I know you can’t control who your heart wants, but are you certain this is what’s best for your country?”

“No,” Cas smiled haplessly, his dark eyes flitting up to meet hers again. “But I know I’ve made up my mind.”

“Fine,” Raine intoned softly. “Then I wish you both all the best.”

The king took a shuddered breath. Somehow, her acceptance almost stung worse than it would have to hear her rant and rage at him for choosing Iris. “For what it’s worth, I enjoyed your company while we were together, even if it was short,” he ventured, taking a small step away from the door. “You’re going to be a great queen someday, and whoever marries you will be a lucky guy.”

The princess breathed an incredulous laugh, shaking her head. “I just couldn’t be that for you?” This time, her cool facade splintered with the question, and he caught a flicker of hurt behind her eyes that took him by surprise. When he just stared at her in response, she turned away again. “At least tell me this,” she went on lowly. “If Iris hadn’t come back, do you think you could have loved me?”

Cas’s eyes widened. He and Raine had been friends since they were children, and they’d gotten along well the few times they’d run into each other as adults, but he’d never thought she saw him as anything more than that. He shifted his weight. Honestly, he hadn’t let himself go there either, even when he’d thought Iris was dead. He liked Raine. He knew he did, and their compatibility as individuals was what had led him to give her a chance when he’d believed marrying a princess was his only option. Things were different now, but…

“I think so,” he answered after a pause, studying her thoughtfully. “I don’t right now, and I am sorry for that, but if we’d gone through with everything… I think you would’ve been the only other person I’d want to be with. You really are special, Raine. I mean that.”

This time, it was the princess’s turn to stare at him. Her eyes lingered on his, glistening with emotion in the low light, before she slowly stepped forward and pulled him into a kiss. When they parted, she flashed a half-smile at him. “What could have been,” she murmured with a small shake of her head. “I hope she makes you happy.”

“She does,” he nodded, returning the expression in kind.

Letting her hands fall away from his shirt, Raine smoothed down her own dress and distanced herself from him again, inclining her head at the door. “You should get back to her then. She’s probably nervous, alone around all those capital guards.”

“Are you staying here?” Cas frowned.

Raine nodded. “I need some more time to myself… to think. I’ll be fine, though. I promise.”

The king hesitated for a moment, but the sincerity in her eyes convinced him to reach for the handle. Obliging her wish to be alone, he turned the knob and stepped back out, closing the door quietly behind him.

“Come on, you have to throw me a bone here.” Harry rolled his eyes, sighing at the fact she gave him nothing in terms of how she had survived and why the hell she was standing here in a safe house. With the king and... realisation began to hit because he knew the King was hauled up here with Princess Raine. Oh boy, things were certainly going to get a little bit intense here. Nervously he glanced around but he couldn’t see the king or the princess for that matter, but what he could see were eyes focused on Iris. Curious as to who she was and how she was special to the king.

“Girl was caught stealing, was brought here before the king.” One of the security guards stated, arms folded with a sour look on his face clearly not impressed by this common rabble here. Eyes narrowed towards Iris as he decided to take the opportunity to fill in some blanks for Harry, already rumours were being spread between those that were working here. Some just shocked by her appearance, others not so impressed.

“I... eh.” Iris tried not to grimace but she felt the embarrassment creep in. All she could think about was how this would look on Cas. That he had chosen her, a thief, commoner and soon people would remember her links to the scourge. She had even been accused of abducting the king when he was a prince, which was entirely true. She had lured him into that forest after all. Glancing down she couldn’t meet their eyes, she was ashamed and she didn’t know how this would affect Cas choosing her over that princess.

“The king said she was a guest, so I guess she’s been pardoned of her crimes.” The security spoke with a clear distaste in his voice for the fact she was in this room. To him this was all kinds of wrong, but they couldn’t do anything because it would be going against the orders of the king himself.

“And speaking about her like that probably won’t earn you any favours with the king now, will it?” Harry stated, as much as he was shocked and he had known about her past he wasn’t stupid enough to be voicing it so loud. Already he could feel the tension, the whispers and looks that were exchanged throughout the small safe house. However, he felt like it wasn’t needed. If the king said she was a guest, they’d just have to deal with it.

Placing a hand on her back Harry led Iris away from the disgruntled guard and back towards the living room. It was safer to just walk away from that situation, but he was curious as to what was going on. All he had been doing was coming back to inform them that it shouldn’t be much longer in this safe house, and yet he’d walked into some sort of soap drama.

“Sorry...” Iris sighed as she glanced at Harry, not sure why he had even stuck up for her but she was thankful at least. As much as she knew Cas needed to have this talk with Raine she felt like she was a sitting duck surrounded by people that hated her. Then there was the worry that Jacob would now hate her for being so stupid, they had come to an agreement back in the hotel both knowing Cas should have and would have been better off without her in his life. Yet somehow, she was back in it and she was certain he wouldn’t let her go again this time, and truthfully, she didn’t want him too either. It had been difficult trying to deal with the idea of him with another woman, she was jealous of that fact. Jealous that she couldn’t have him like she had wanted too, everything had been much simpler when they were hiding away in the hotel together.

Cas could feel the weight of exhaustion setting in as he trudged back to the main room of the bunker. Between each of his conversations with Jacob, Iris, and Raine in turn, he was spent. There was still more to process, more unanswered questions and things left unsaid that needed to be addressed, but right now, all he wanted was to find Iris and finally take a moment to stop and breathe. The rest could wait. He was done running around in circles, trying to take care of everything at once. Now that the urgent parts had been dealt with, he was ready to collapse.

He spotted Iris right away when he rounded the hallway corner, still in the living room where he’d left her a few minutes before. Pausing at the edge of the room, his eyes flicked from her to the man at her side. Harry. The sight of them together earned a bemused look from the king, although he was glad to see that someone had offered her company while he’d stepped out of the room. Jacob had made his thoughts on her appearance perfectly clear, and he was sure the other guards were of a similar mind as their security head. Somehow, knowing that not everyone was opposed to Iris’s return relieved a stress he hadn’t realized was there.

Crossing the rest of the way into the room, he offered Iris a tired half-smile. “Hey,” he greeted, first her and then the guard with a nod. “Raine said she wants some time to herself, but she’s alright,” he said as he turned back to Iris. ‘Alright’ was probably a bit of an overstatement, but it was close enough. The conversation was over with, and they could move forward without any loose ends to tie up. It was the best they could do, given the circumstances.

“Did you ever get anything to eat?” he added as an afterthought, studying her with a frown.