[IC] Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

[sukikyoufu]

It was strange how things just changed in an instant, what was an innocent moment now filled with action. An attack had allegedly happened by some rebels and now they were going to travel by air, it all kind of felt surreal and she knew she had never experienced this before. Sure, maybe not many high borns had travelled by air but something was not sitting right with her, it felt like this was all a lie and that truly did not belong here.

“Does this happen often?” Unable to stop her question as it left her lips, she looked up at Caspain wondering if there had been other attempts on their family. Being threatened like this surely was not a nice feeling, no matter who you were to have the constant fear that someone could be out to kill you. There had to be a reason for it, there was always a reason and she just found herself questioning it more.

You have to kill him, for peace to return.

Another flash of something, a voice in her head speaking words that scared her. Kill who? She was not a killer? Or was she? Shaking her head slightly she followed him and looked towards the airborne vehicle that was approaching them, it was strange to see such a thing. It looked magnificent and there was a small part of her that was excited that she would get to ride in it, it wasn’t every day you got to ride in such a fantastic vehicle. Smiling at the fact his father had not been hurt that was a good thing, there was no point in bloodshed as that just led to wars. She didn’t feel that anything could be solved with bloodshed, but it only made her look back on those words she had heard earlier.

The pit in her stomach grew and she felt quite queasy at the idea she was here to kill someone. Moving with Caspain as he gestured, she listened to their protocol, security measures to ensure he was in the right hands. Frowning she went to open her mouth but shut it without speaking, who was she to question security measures? It seems silly, if someone had gone to all this trouble wouldn’t they just hack into the phones? Send a fake code? That would be easy to trap them. Although her own thoughts terrified her, how did she know such things? It felt natural but somehow it was foreign, probably due to the fact she was only remembering parts of herself.

Looking up as she felt a hand on her shoulder she smiled at Cas, it was hard to feel uneasy around him due to his kindhearted nature. Grateful for the help into the vehicle she sat herself down but as soon as the car began to lift off the ground her fingers due into the seats and her whole body tensed. The movement she did not like, she could only describe it as being seasick, but in the air. She had never flown in her life, that was something she could definitely remember as she clung to seat as it moved to the mansion. Colour had faded from her and she was using all her effort to not throw up, that would only make things worse.

[Rogue Sloth]

“No,” Cas shook his head when Iris asked if attacks happened often. “I mean, it isn’t the first time it’s happened, but it’s rare for the Scourge to get into the capital since all the security changes that were implemented last year. They must have either bypassed the vetting process somehow, or we didn’t have them logged in the system as members of the rebellion.” Pondering it silently, he wondered if he should ask Jacob to check their computers for viruses. If an enemy hacker had accessed classified files on the rebellion, they could have done more than just remove a few names from the list of known rebels.

Sitting close enough to Iris to feel her become tense when the hover car took off, the prince glanced at her in mild surprise. She looked pale, as if the ride was frightening her or making her ill. He had grown up flying to and from the Maydestone mansion, so the airborne vehicles didn’t bother him in the slightest. Gazing out the windows at the city down below had always felt exhilarating. However, the amnesiac clearly didn’t feel the same way. Hoping to put her at ease, he placed a hand on her knee, though he didn’t try to talk to her in case she needed to focus on keeping herself calm.

Instead, he leaned forward to speak with Harry in the front seat, “So, what did my dad decide to do with the terrorists?”

The guard exchanged a tentative look with the pilot before turning to the prince, “His Majesty is currently unable to make that decision. He’s on too many medications to comply with competency laws.”

“Oh,” Cas frowned. It wasn’t entirely surprising to find out that the bedridden king had been drugged to the point of delirium, but that didn’t change the fact that it pained him to know that his father was in such poor condition. It was a good thing the security team had stopped the terrorists before they had been able to reach him. He drummed his fingers restlessly against his leg, “Well, where are they now?”

“In a secure holding cell,” Harry replied, looking forward again. “Interrogators are on standby until they receive the order to question the prisoners.”

Cas bit the tip of his tongue. He knew more than he cared to about the soldiers’ interrogation techniques. Most of them were veritable torture, using physical and psychological pain to coerce an enemy to give up their valuable secrets. Usually the king personally took charge of such drastic measures, but if he was unable to legally call the shots, then the heir to the throne was next in line to give them the greenlight. The thought of sentencing anyone to such brutal treatment made him squirm, but they were killers who had just tried to assassinate his father. He took a steeling breath and tuned into the security team’s frequency.

“Jacob?” he spoke the name and then paused as he waited for a response.

I’m here, Your Highness, the guard’s voice transmitted through the earpiece a second later.

Cas swallowed, “Tell the soldiers to go ahead with the interrogation.”

Of course. I’ll send the word now.

With a sigh, the prince turned off his receiver, and Harry glanced at him over his shoulder. “It was the right call,” he assured him.

“I know,” Cas muttered, leaning into the side door of the car to watch the city buildings roll by as they flew overhead. It might have been the right call, but that didn’t mean he had to like it.

[sukikyoufu]

Flying was definitely not something she wanted to get used too, but maybe it was also partly to do with the flash of memory stating she had to kill someone. Closing her eyes as she tried to calm herself, she listened to the conversation between Cas and Harry, something about the King not being well enough to make an order. Interrogators were on standby for the now prisoners and it just made her feel uncomfortable.

Opening her eyes, she glanced over at Cas when he spoke the name Jacob, pausing before his next words.

“Tell the soldiers to go ahead with the interrogation”

Looking back down at her hands as she kept herself quiet, she felt her stomach churn, those words ringing in her ears and then she remembered something. Something even more unsettling than the flash of being told to kill someone.

“You have to be careful, be sneaky. They will not spare you if you make a mistake.” The sound of what she had come to assume was her fathers voice. “These soldiers do not hold back on interrogation. You will not leave the same if you are caught.” Another bottle was thrown, smashing against the wall in ager. “I’ve lost my best friend to them. They beat him, broken him down not just physically but mentally. Imagine what they’d do to a girl.” She could not escape the bitterness of the voice she remembered. “I can’t lose my only child, but I only trust you with this.”

Whatever uneasiness in her stomach she had before had nearly double with the memory, what was she trusted with? Why did it have to do with soldiers and interrogation if she failed? It was all so confusing but a part of her knew it was not good. The day had gone from a lovely excursion, to the almost kiss and now to this. Reality was hitting hard that she may not be a part of this world, but she was in quite deep. Can I just leave without them noticing? Should I? A pang of guilt hit her as she looked back at Cas, the fact he had been so kind. So helpful and she didn’t just want to leave. Plus, it didn’t help the crush she had on him, wanting more from it which in in itself was pretty stupid.

“Sorry! I didn’t realise I suffered with motion sickness.” Smiling slightly at Cas as she tried to shake off the memory she had just seen, her hand moved from under his and she placed it on top giving it a gentle squeeze. “It’s not easy is it?” As much as he had made the decision it didn’t sound like he enjoyed it at all. “I’m always here to listen. If you need it.” She wouldn’t say more than that, regardless of her own thoughts and feelings she still wanted to help him.

Her other hand moved to her stomach soothing it from the feeling of wanting to empty its contents, biting her lip she looked out of the window wanting to at least see the site of the buildings roll by. Even though the idea of being in the air made her feel ill she couldn’t deny it was a beautiful view. Sighing with relief as she felt the aircraft descend, she could only hope it meant they were nearly back, being back on ground was something she was excited to do.

[Rogue Sloth]

As a silence fell over the car, Caspian’s thoughts wandered to what he was going to do if his father didn’t come out of his stupor in time to handle the aftermath of the crisis. First and foremost, he knew he wanted to have Jacob assemble a task force to comb through the files they had on the Scourge. If a rebel hacker had infiltrated the system, they needed to remove the threat as quickly as possible. There was also the chance that they could trace the hacker’s source, although he wasn’t as confident about that. From what he knew about computers, it wasn’t hard for a tech savvy individual to throw their location as far away as another continent, so he planned to tell the security team to prioritize forcing them out rather than investing precious time into tracking them down.

He was drawn from his thoughts when Iris placed her hand over his. He’d been so caught up in everything that was going on that he’d forgotten that he had rested his hand on her leg. The realization that he’d left it there the whole time made him flush scarlet with embarrassment. “It’s fine,” he murmured, shaking his head. “There’s no way you could have known you get motion sick.” Her upset stomach was the least of his concerns. Leather seats could be cleaned if she became ill, but members of the rebellion could do quite a bit of damage if they were left unchecked for too long.

However, her following words made him feel even more chagrined. He knew she was just trying to empathize with him, but he hated how obvious his discomfort was to her. This was exactly why he wished he wasn’t the crown prince. Being next in line for the throne meant making hard decisions confidently and without faltering. If he couldn’t even send arrested terrorists to the interrogators without wincing, how was he supposed to handle the care of an entire country? He didn’t feel like he had what it took to step into his father’s shoes, and he wished the king was coherent, so he wouldn’t have to try.

“Thanks, but you shouldn’t have to do that,” he sighed, turning to Iris with a solemn frown. “It’s my duty to take care of these things. I’m sorry you even got wrapped up in it.”

“We’re landing now, Your Highness,” the pilot spoke up from the front seat.

Cas glanced at him and then fixed his gaze on the window again as the force of gravity shifted on the hover car with their descent. He could feel the change in the pit of his stomach, and the buildings outside seemed to grow larger as they neared the ground. The vehicle touched down gently behind the mansion—the royal family employed the best pilots in the nation—and everyone began unbuckling their seatbelts.

Once his was off, the prince climbed out of the car and circled around to help Iris, but Harry beat him to it. The bodyguard assisted her with her crutches, and he turned away from them both as two more security members approached the newly arrived group from the house. One of them was Jacob.

“Your Highness,” the guard bowed respectfully and righted himself again. “The other members of the council are gathering now to discuss the situation. The king will be unable to participate for another three hours, so they need you to attend as his proxy.”

“I’ll head over now,” Cas nodded to him and peered back at Iris with a helpless shrug. “Sorry, but I have to deal with this. If you’re still hungry for dinner, Harry can walk you to the dining room from the tarmac. I’ll meet up with you later.”

[sukikyoufu]

Hearing his words, she wished she could help him more, assist him with something but again this was something he had to do. These were his decisions to make and she knew better than to speak out of turn at this time. Prince or not this was his responsibility. “Don’t apologise, you didn’t force me here.” Offering a bright smile in hopes it would cheer him up just a little even if it was a fleeting moment, “Kind of my fault really.” Glancing down at her leg before meeting his gaze once more, “What kind of idiot steps in a bear trap? This one.”

It was such a relief to feel them land and she couldn’t help but let out a sigh, she did not want to experience one of these again in a hurry. Smiling as the bodyguard Harry helped her out of the vehicle, she politely thanked him taking the crutches to steady her walks. Although she was a little shaky at first after being airborne. The memory was haunting her, something didn’t seem right but for now this wasn’t about her. A part of her worried for Caspain, the idea of all this weight on his shoulders. Having to make the difficult decisions, she could not imagine doing anything like that and she didn’t blame him. It reminded her of how he had not told her his identity at first, keeping it a secret so it all seemed normal.

That’s so sad. I wish I could help you more.

Keeping the bright smile on her face as Caspain turned to look at her she understood this was something she could not be a part of. Probably for good reason. Although the smile did not reach her eyes, she hoped he did not notice, he had a lot more to worry about than her own problems. Like her memories. “Oh no! Don’t worry about it, I may go lie down. The whole air…” Shaking her head as she glanced back at the vehicle, “Did not agree with me, definitely no appetite right now. Thank you though.”

For a moment she wanted to reach out, touch his hand gently to reassure him but she held her composure and just offered a smile. It wasn’t appropriate and she didn’t think it would be received well. “I’ll be in my room, if you still want to hang out with your friends later come find me? I’ll rest up for now.” I hope it goes well. Not voicing her last part, she used the crutches to head back inside, following Harry as she had yet to enter from this way and she was a little unsteady on her feet still.

It hadn’t taken long but she had moved into her room that she was staying in and happy that she was alone she moved to the bathroom. A part of her still felt sick and she looked up at the mirror back at her reflection, she looked pale. Haunted. However today seemed like the day of memories as something else returned.

She was watching from the bathroom, eyes looking at her father that was stood in front of the mirror proudly pinning something to his chest.

Hand went to her head as she tried to focus more on that imagine, what was her father pinning to his chest? What was that? Looking back at her reflection she felt her heart drop, the badge had something engraved on it. Hope. That was it, that was when her stomach went full circle and she dived towards the toilet as she emptied her guts, body shaking from all the emotions surging through her.

What did hope mean? Why was she here? Could these be fake memories? Thoughts swarmed as she felt her head spinning as she sat beside the toilet, tears left her eyes. Doctor Emmett had said something about how her memories could twist and not be the truth, maybe she was just worried about this attack Maybe she was just freaking herself out about it all. She began convincing herself that she was a high born. She was found in the city, granted edge of the woods but she had to be a high born.

Stop it, you are a high born. Meant to be here. Caspain has been a great help… Caspain. Dammit! She liked him, no matter what she said or did she liked him. There was no escaping it. Letting out a shaky breath she moved to the sink again and began to freshen herself up after everything, she would clean herself up then just go rest on the sofa and not think on any of her stupid memories anymore.

[Rogue Sloth]

“I understand,” Cas nodded sympathetically when Iris said she didn’t have an appetite anymore. He didn’t have much of one either, but for different reasons. While the hover car didn’t make him motion sick, knowing that he was going to have to act as his father’s proxy for the evening did. Stepping in for the king during important meetings wasn’t new to him in and of itself. He’d done it before to meet with foreign dignitaries and make minor changes to plans that the council came up with. This was the first time that he’d been put in charge of handling the fates of criminals though, and that was nerve wracking.

“Sure,” he offered her a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. He hoped she wouldn’t be disappointed, but after everything that had happened, he wasn’t in the mood to hang out with anyone anymore. Besides that, he wasn’t sure Jay and Miles would be allowed on the property, even if they tried. The whole estate was going to be on lockdown until the soldiers in the capital gave the all-clear that there were no other rebels who could attempt a second strike on the royal family. Before then, no one would be allowed in our out of the mansion, and he would have to focus on handling the prisoners the security team had succeeded in capturing.

Walking with Jacob and the other guard—it was another man whom didn’t know well enough to name—Cas made his way across the grounds to the exterior entrance of a different wing in the building. He did his best to wear a stoical expression, knowing that all the people he was about to meet with expected him to be a phlegmatic leader in the face of unrest. It was what his father would have done. He focused on a mental image of the king, healthy and commanding, dictating orders to his people, as he stepped into the meeting room.

Everyone on the council was at least twice his age. Men and women in their fifties and sixties all looked up from their hushed conversations as the young prince strode over to the empty seat at the head of the ovoid table and sat down. His two bodyguards took up positions on either side of the door, passively observing the meeting in wait of orders to delegate to the security team, if needed.

Cas could feel the weight of their gazes on him as a quiet fell over the room. He knew most of the members of his father’s council didn’t take him seriously because of his age and inexperience. They would have preferred to be looking at Atlas himself when discussing something as serious as a terrorist attack. However, there was little room for choice when the king was in no condition to oversee the proceedings, so he straightened his shoulders and pushed through the discomfort. “I’m sure you’ve already heard that my father is unable to attend this meeting,” he started, reiterating the reason for his presence just in case the guards hadn’t filled them in. “I’ll be heading the discussion in his place. To start, I’d like to go over what we know about the prisoners; who they are, and how they got in…”

--

For the next three hours, the council went back and forth covering matters regarding the prisoners, the security of the capital, possible changes that needed to be made, and anything else that could potentially prevent the Scourge from getting this far again. They combed through documents while Cas directed Jacob’s team to search their computers for foreign malware that could have been planted by a rebel hacker. Everyone worked diligently on their assignments, and as progress was made, the crown prince began to feel more confident in his ability to lead. He didn’t stumble over his words as often as he thought he would, and he remembered enough from all the lessons with his tutors to keep up with every detailed topic they covered. Overall, his mood improved as the meeting went on—just enough for him to be caught off guard when Jacob lifted a hand to his ear and took on a concerned expression.

“Your Highness,” the guard spoke up, drawing the council’s attention to him. He had been silent for the majority of the meeting, so his voice jarred them all from their conversation. “I just received word from the soldiers in the holding cell. The prisoners have escaped.”

“What?” Cas blanched. “How is that possible?” He’d seen the cell before. It was incredibly secure. As far as he was aware, no one had ever escaped from it before.

“The tech team found the hacker, but before they could remove him from the system, he deactivated the lock on the cell,” Jacob explained clinically. “The prisoners took advantage of the situation and have made it into the city.”

“Damn it,” Cas groaned, dragging his fingers through his coarse hair. “Tell the soldiers to lock down the capital. No one gets in or out of any public building without proof of ID. If the guards took mug shots, tell them to air the photos on every screen in the city. We’ll flush the rebels out before they can try to hurt anyone else.”

“Of course, Your Highness,” Jacob bowed and stepped outside the room to give the orders.

“If the prisoners are gone, what do you want us to do?” an elderly man named Edward turned to his prince with a frown. They had been discussing appropriate punishments for the captured rebels when Jacob had received the alert.

“I guess that’s all we can do,” Cas shrugged in response, rising to his feet from the table. “We can reconvene after the soldiers recover our missing rebels.”

With nothing left to go over, he and the rest of the council members dispersed. Caspian yawned tiredly as he walked down the long halls that carried him to the residential part of the mansion, glad that his job was done for now. It was distressing that the terrorists were loose in the city, but he trusted the soldiers to capture them before they caused any damage. The Scourge had never succeeded in getting a foothold in their war against the Aspirian army before, and they wouldn’t start now. He was sure that everything would work out for the better.

Deciding to stay optimistic about the situation, he made his way to Iris’s room to see how she had been doing since he’d left her with Harry on the tarmac. He felt a little guilty for abandoning her so suddenly, but it wasn’t like he’d had a choice. He just hoped she had found something to keep herself occupied since they had parted. He also hoped enough time had passed for her to forget about his stupid idea to try and kiss her at the park. Just the thought of it brought an awkward blush to his cheeks.

When he reached the right door, he lifted his fist to knock and then stepped back, waiting for her to answer.

[sukikyoufu]

The interrogation had been rough, the soldiers weren’t exactly accommodating but again he had rushed into the capital with no real plan. Ethan and a few other close friends of his had decided to break into the capital because it had been a few days without word from Iris. Her father was beside himself and making some outlandish suggestions and his rage was becoming quite the problem. It didn’t help he with his drinking habits but only Ethan knew about that. He and Iris had always ensured that at speeches, rallies and any talks he was always presentable. No hint of what happened behind closed doors but with Iris gone Ethan was becoming worried.

Ethan and the boys had split after the escape to make it easy to slip into the shadows, pulling out his phone he sent a text to Regis to keep him updated. They were in, no sign of his daughter yet. “Iris, where the hell are you? I swear to god if you’ve been caught.” Moving into the shadows he made sure no one had followed him, there hacker guy on the inside had said they were the only captives, so he had hope she was around somewhere. “You better not be dead.” Wiping blood from his brow he had been roughed up for information, but he did not give anything away.

“That pompous Prince and his stupid father. Living the life of luxury whilst we fight for our next meal.” Grumbling to himself he knew he was making himself angry but for now he needed to hide himself and find her, find his girlfriend. It was hard not to worry on the fact she had not come home, when he found out what mission her father had sent her on, he nearly flipped. Expecting her to sneak in an assassinate someone? She was no trained assassin and a part of him feared she had already faced severe consequences for getting caught.

--

Feeling more human after washing her face with cold water she looked back at her reflection, the once haunted look had changed to one of worry. She was worried what her memories meant, and the fact was that if they were true it would have such a huge detriment to her and Caspain.

There would be no chance… we could no longer be… friends even. Looking down at her hands she sighed shaking her head, the unease was still there. “He would hate me.” Shaking her head, she left the stunning bathroom and hobbled back into the bedroom glancing around, the room was beautiful. She had been so excited to stay here, experience it all, but now all she felt was the doubt on who she was. It was hard because she didn’t know who she was fully, there was no clue on what it did mean but she knew deep down it wouldn’t be good. Caspain had saved her life, opened his home and covered for her medical costs, she owed him but more than that there was the almost kiss from earlier and even when thinking on it it still made her heart flutter.

It was quite complicated and as much as a part of her wanted to run she knew it would only rouse suspicion, a part of her didn’t want him in any sort of trouble because of her. Sprawling out on the very expensive sofa in the room she felt it was high time she rested. Forget about the memories. It could all just blow over and she could have been stressing herself out over nothing. Sighing softly as she felt herself relax more at the idea, she could put that in the past and she could just enjoy a few more days with Cas.

The time had passed, and she had fallen into a light slumber, mind swirling with various different thoughts. Opening her eyes, she looked around the room frowning at first thinking that she had heard something. Rubbing the back of her head she realised that there had been a knock at the door and without even realising a small smile had crept in place as she thought it was Cas.

“Just a minute!” Calling out as she sat herself up, using her fingers to smooth down her hair she fumbled for her crutches before moving to her feet. Opening the door, she grinned seeing Cas, “Hey there! How are you feeling?” Taking a step to the side so he could come in if he wanted too rather than stand in the hallway talking, she didn’t want to be rude.

[Rogue Sloth]

At least Iris was looking better than she had when Caspian had last seen her. He noticed that the color had returned to her face, and she was grinning with her usual cheery energy rather than looking like she was going to lose her lunch. He was relieved that she didn’t seem to be upset with him for taking off so suddenly after they’d had such a good time in the historic district. He felt like he’d done plenty of things worthy of being scolded even though most of it had been out of his control. The near kiss had been by choice. He still wished he could go back in time and hit himself for being so stupid. Trying to make a move on an amnesiac girl was weird. No matter how he looked at it, he should have waited for her to get her memories back before he tried doing something like that.

Coming back from his distracted thoughts, he cleared his throat and returned her smile. “I was just coming by to ask you that,” he said, stepping into her bedroom when she moved aside to let him through the open doorway. “I’m okay, but I’m pretty beat. We ended up covering security details for hours.” He couldn’t say much more than that, since everything the council had discussed was confidential. Iris didn’t strike him as the type to abuse the information if he confided in her, but he wasn’t allowed to tell her anything anyway. The fewer people knew about the military’s security methods, the safer they would all be in this civil war.

Ambling over to the sofa, he collapsed tiredly on the cushioned furniture and looked over the room. Although Iris didn’t have many belongings, he could tell that she had made herself at home since she’d moved in. There was just something different about sitting in a room that hosted an occupant than one that had been empty. It was warmer somehow. But, then again, maybe that was because everything about her felt warm to him.

He glanced up at her and gestured for her to sit down on the other side of the sofa, so they could talk without gazing at each other from different heights. He couldn’t go into detail about the changes they had made to the security in the capital, but there was still one thing he could tell her about.

“At the end of the meeting, we received word that the prisoners escaped,” he sighed, sinking down in his seat as the weight of Jacob’s news seemed to bear down on his shoulders. “They got out of their cell and are supposedly somewhere in the city. If you see or hear anything that sends up a red flag to you, tell one of the guards right away. These people are dangerous, Iris.” He frowned at her solemnly. “Although I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that, since…” He trailed off, remembering what she had told him about her mother. From the memory she’d regained, he’d concluded that her mother had been a casualty in the fight against the Scourge.

Not wanting to touch a raw nerve, he changed the subject. “Anyway, what have you been up to?” he asked, offering her a somewhat forced smile as he tried to lift the mood. “Did you ever get your appetite back for dinner?”

[sukikyoufu]

Smiling that he seemed overall okay she watched as he entered, feeling comfortable in his presence. “Aren’t you kind.” Feeling a flutter when he mentioned he had come to see if she was okay. Moving to the sofa she joined him in sitting where he had gestured, he looked tired but then as he had mentioned they had covered security for quite the few hours. “I’d love to say that sounds like fun, but I’m sure it’s not.” Glancing over at him she didn’t want to pry, not that he could even tell her, and she was certain of that fact. “It’s important though and I’m sure you did well.”

Placing the crutches back down to the floor she felt herself relax more, feeling a bit more at ease with his company. “Least you can relax now, well, I hope you can. I’m feeling a lot better. I’m so sorry about earlier. Who knew I was motion sick?” Chuckling softly as she remembered how she had felt earlier in that day, “I’ve managed to rest a bit, did not regain my appetite but I ended up napping if I’m honest. Didn’t even sleep in the bed! This sofa is pretty comfortable.”

It was nice to keep the mood light; she had missed it especially after the events. Listening as he explained about the prisoners escaping, she frowned a little, but his reaction had only saddened her. She could see the weight on his shoulders over this all, a part of her wanted to give him a hug. Tell him it would all be okay something her mother would do when she was young. Although at that realisation she had remembered something about her past, no memory but she knew that her mother had done similar actions to ease her worries.

Hearing the fact, they were dangerous she couldn’t help but think on it, the idea that there were dangerous people out should have scared her, but it didn’t. In fact, the idea that if his father found out about those memories from earlier was much scarier than these prisoners.

“Hey, you, I don’t want them forced smiles either. Prince or not.” Looking over at him as she saw a forced smile as he tried to change the subject, “I'm sure you hate it when others aren’t real with you. Offer their fake smiles.” Leaning forward she touched his hand with hers gently, it was quite the forward move, but it seemed less so than the hug. “Not everything can be great and that’s okay. We still had a wonderful day. I had a wonderful day.” Smiling as she let her hand drop, she felt her face heat up remembering the almost kiss, coughing slightly she tried to calm herself down not wanting to be embarrassed. “Something I remembered that my mother used to tell me when things weren’t great was that everything will be okay. With a hug of course.” Coughing some more as she glanced away slightly, “No matter what happens if you know you have done your best, done the right thing that’s all anyone can ask of you.”

Turning back to face him she wanted to help more, she wished she could but a part of her didn’t want to overstep her bounds. Plus, there was the nagging feeling in the back of her mind over the memories, but she pushed that aside. Now was not the time. “Did you just want to relax tonight? I can meet those friends another time. Especially after the whole motion sickness… if it becomes unsettled again, I wouldn’t feel comfortable having to rush to the bathroom especially with these bad boys.” Winking at him as she gestured towards the crutches next to her.

[Rogue Sloth]

Of course, Iris took the opportunity to flatter him again, and Cas sat up a little straighter on the sofa, bolstered by her compliment. Before the meeting, he wouldn’t have believed it if someone had said he would do well, but now that it was over, he felt like it had gone better than expected. Apart from the setback of the prisoners’ escape, he had been able to facilitate the discussion well enough to cover all the topics they had needed to discuss in just three hours. His father probably could have done better, but as one who was still taking baby steps as a leader, he was proud of the accomplishment.

“Seriously, don’t worry about it,” he shook his head dismissively when she apologized for her motion sickness. In his opinion, it had been a best case scenario. She hadn’t vomited in the car, and she seemed to be feeling much better now. As far as motion sickness could go, he’d seen worse. “Really?” he laughed, glancing down at the sofa when she said she’d slept on it. The furniture was pretty comfortable, but so was the bed. “You have one of the most expensive memory foam mattresses in your room, and you passed out on this old thing? That’s almost blasphemous.” He shot her a teasing smirk.

As Iris rested her hand on his, Cas blinked in surprise and then averted his gaze awkwardly. Apparently she could read him better than he thought. “I wasn’t trying to…” he trailed off, biting his tongue. No, that was exactly what he’d been trying to do, and she’d called him out on it. While he hadn’t intentionally meant to be fake with her, it was true that he was covering up his stress and exhaustion from the eventful day. He didn’t want to think about it anymore. There was nothing more that could be done until the soldiers captured the escaped prisoners, so dwelling on it would just cause him unnecessary anxiety. That was the real purpose behind his false smiles.

“You’re ridiculously optimistic, you know that?” he smiled at her incredulously. If someone had just told him about potentially dangerous people loose in the capital, he wouldn’t have been nearly so cheery. He was also surprised that she chose to focus on their day in the historic district over everything that had happened since then. To him, the sort-of date felt like an eternity ago, like a distant memory lost in the chaos of the terrorist attack and long discussions that had followed. I small part of him thought she was crazy, but a larger part was inspired by her decision to use the happy part of the day to stay positive.

“Yeah, I’m sorry,” the prince’s expression turned sheepish when Iris offered him an out. “I’m too tired to go anywhere, and my friends can’t come here after what happened. Security has this whole place on lockdown. We’ll just have to find another time for them to come and meet you if you still want to do that.” With a sigh, he leaned into the cushioned crook between the back and armrest of the sofa, drawing one knee to his chest. For as stressed as he had been during the last few hours, his worries seemed to melt away when he was with her. He was still tired, but at least he wasn’t tense anymore.

She always seemed to have that effect on him, he noticed. It was the same reason why he’d tried to kiss her before the call from security had come through. He bit his lip as he thought back to it. At the time, he’d been feeling relaxed and confident, letting go of his concerns about the ‘what ifs’ because they hadn’t felt important enough to focus on. It had been just enough for him to throw caution aside and lean in. But now, he wondered if the move had been a mistake. His eyes flicked back to Iris. She hadn’t said anything, but it was possible that she was just non-confrontational. If he had made her uncomfortable, he didn’t want to leave things unresolved between them.

Steeling himself, Cas went on in a low voice, “I’m also sorry about… trying to kiss you.” He cleared his throat awkwardly, an embarrassed blush forming on his face. “I didn’t mean to make things weird between us. I just got caught up in the moment, and… well… I’m not gonna lie. I like you, Iris.” His heart raced as he laid his feelings out on the table. “I completely understand if you don’t feel the same way, and I promise this doesn’t have to change anything between us. If you just want to be friends, I’m okay with that. I’m not some delusional creep who would keep trying to make a move on you after you’ve told me you don’t want that. We can keep things platonic. It’s what I’ve been doing this whole time anyway.” He casted her a lopsided smile. “This isn’t an attempt to win you over or anything. I know you’ve got enough going on with your missing memories. I just wanted to apologize and explain why I did what I did. That’s all.”

[sukikyoufu]

“Woah! H-Hey! Don’t reprimand me.” Iris stuttered a little when he had teased her about not napping on the bed, “I’ve got to make the most of every bit of furniture whilst here.” Chuckling slightly as she shook her head, regardless of the bad news of the prisoners escape she felt pretty great, but then that was because he was here. “Plus, if I had slept on that bed I’d be out for the night and then you wouldn’t have any company. So, you better thank me and this not expensive memory foam mattress for that.”

Watching him as he looked away after being caught out for the fake smile her gaze softened, she understood why completely but she wanted him to feel at ease with her. “It’s fine to be stressed, exhausted even. You don’t have to explain yourself to me. You could sit there with a grumpy face all evening and I’d be okay with that. I’d try to cheer you up; make you smile but it’s okay.” Using her own face to pull a pout, making herself look grumpy to emphasize her point and hopefully get a smile from him.

Grinning when he had agreed about no friend coming over, she nodded, plus the whole security situation of being on lockdown. “It can wait for another day, plus they sound like quite the handful. I doubt I’ll get in a word with them.” Tilting her head as she watched him lean into the sofa getting comfortable, she only hoped he felt a bit more relaxed. “I suppose I am quite optimistic, I never really thought on it. Not that I can right now anyway…” Rambling slightly as she grinned to herself, “I don’t like dwelling on bad things. Maybe it can be borderline delusion as I suppose it’s not all sunshine and roses. I just think to myself that well, I have most of my health thankfully. A roof over my head currently, thank you.” Nodding towards him with a smile thanking him for letting her stay, “And food. Plus, the company isn’t so bad either here, I mean the Prince is a bit stuffy but well… he’s alright really. Harmless” Not being able to stop herself from giggling as she teased him back gently.

Meeting his gaze once more as he started to speak about earlier events before the security breach, she fidgeted slightly uncomfortable with the subject. It was hard not to feel disheartened when he had apologised for trying to kiss her, a frown formed listening to his words. See I knew it had been a mistake… However, before she could get lost in her thoughts about the what ifs she heard his next words, he liked her. Her heart started to race, and her face turned a deep crimson as her fingers turned to playing with the hem of her sleeves, clearly nervous. “A-A..h.” Feeling the nerves rise in her stomach as she looked away coughing slightly, averting his gaze as she tried to compose herself. “I… oh gosh no!” Holding her hands up as she began to stammer out her words, clearly flustered as she tried to form a sentence. “I don’t mean no, I mean yes… well. No. Ahh.. idiot.” Mumbling to herself as she shook her head before looking up at him with red cheeks. Biting her lip as she tapped her fingers against her leg.

“What I’m trying to say is that well… I like you too.” Letting out a sigh of relief as she managed to get out her words, she felt like a weight was lifted, “I know it’s a bit difficult with my memories, with everything going on around us. I don’t think I have a boyfriend, I’m sure I would have remembered something by now especially with the growing feelings for you.” Smiling over at him as much as she didn’t want to say it, she had too, the truth was she still didn’t have her full memories back and some had been scarier than the others. “I know it’s probably not something either of us wanted reminding, but I want to be real with you. I love spending time with you and whether it’s just getting an ice-cream or just hanging here I’m honestly just so happy to be spending it with you as cheesy as that sounds.” Grimacing slightly realising how pathetically cheesy that sounded. “So… uh… yeah.”

[Rogue Sloth]

“Alright, fair enough,” Cas smiled amusedly when Iris asserted that she’d done him a favor by napping on the sofa. Her kindness continued to astound him. Even though he knew she was joking when she’d made that first claim, the words that followed seemed to have come from a more genuine place in her heart. She was the kind of woman he could imagine volunteering to join citizen-run relief efforts when poor and homeless people had still been living on the streets of the capital years ago. Her nature was inexplicably selfless, more so than any other high born he’d met before, and he wished he could ask her what had happened in her life to have made her turn out this way. Unfortunately, with her memories still gone, that question would have to wait for another time.

He had similar thoughts about her optimism. It was one thing to look on the bright side of a situation, but the way she spoke about the good things in her life was different than other citizens in the capital too. He didn’t know many people who would look at their health and shelter as a reason to be content. Those two things were both supposed to be a given in their society. Every member of the upper class had a roof over their head, and medical technology had advanced so much that severe conditions like his father’s were few and far between. Most of the time, if an individual became ill, pharmacies were stocked with remedies to provide a cure. Because of that, everyone was far more concerned with their public images, luxury items, and entertainment, but Iris didn’t seem interested in any of that.

As she became flustered over his confession, Cas shifted his weight on the sofa. Maybe it would have been better to sweep the whole incident under the rug rather than bring it back up again now. He hadn’t meant to make her uncomfortable by admitting the reason he’d tried to kiss her at the park. He had just wanted to make sure she knew he hadn’t been trying to take advantage of her or anything like that. But, of course, it seemed like his explanation had done more harm than good. He silently chided himself for making things worse and opened his mouth to reiterate to her that just because he had a stupid crush didn’t mean he was going to act on it. However, before he could speak a word, she collected herself enough to say that she liked him too.

Cas stared at her, tongue tied. He hung on every word that fell from her lips. She liked him, and she verified that it was unlikely that she had a boyfriend. The assurance made him feel weak with relief. The matter of whether she was available or not had been weighing on him since he’d first realized he saw her as more than just a friend. To know that she thought she was single lifted that burden from his shoulders.

He also lingered on the fact that she had growing feelings for him. Having been so caught up in hiding his own interest from her, he hadn’t even noticed that she had any feelings for him whatsoever. Every once in a while, she had said or done something to make him question if there was something between them, but every time, he’d decided that she was just a naturally friendly person. The little touches, the soft smiles, the honeyed compliments. Suddenly, he saw it all in a new light, and he was thrilled.

“Are you serious?” a grin took over his lips as he looked at her. “I don’t care if it’s cheesy. My god, I thought I was the only one catching feelings this whole time.” He shook his head and laughed. “I don’t know what I did to make you like me, but I’m glad you do.” He paused briefly before sliding over to sit closer to her on the sofa, no longer worried about appearances now that he knew how she felt about him.

With their hips brushing in the shortened proximity, he met her gaze with an emboldened smile. His heart raced with excitement this time, and he slipped his arm behind her back. “I feel better about this too,” he added sotto voce, leaning in to finish what he’d started in the park. This time, there was no interruption as he pressed his lips against Iris’s, meeting her in a tender kiss.

[sukikyoufu]

Feeling relieved that she had managed to get her words out to tell him how she felt it was liberating, they had both felt the same way. Both had these feelings sparking and was almost too good to be true. The whole turn of events felt like a story, amnesiac girl found by a Prince, taken in and they both start to like each other? That was certainly a story to tell, but it was real. He liked her, she liked him, and it made her heart flutter at the prospect.

Smiling over at him as she saw the grin bloom on his face, not caring that her words were somewhat cheesy. Feeling him move closer she felt her heart stop, his arm was behind her back and before she could even say a word, he had leaned in and kissed her. Out of instinct she had closed her eyes and leaned into the kiss, no interruption this time as she felt his lips against hers. Without thinking her hand found his and she gently brushed against his palm before lacing their fingers together, holding it gently within her own.

Pulling back after what felt like a lifetime she looked into his eyes smiling, cheeks tinged pink as she kept his hand in hers, “Not a bad kisser for a stuffy old Prince~” Whispering her words with a teasing grin, her heart was still racing and the excitement did not leave her. Being this close to him was rather intoxicating and a part of her just wanted to kiss him again, his scent, his warmth. Everything was so inviting but she composed herself, settling for holding his hand for now.

“Hmm… going back to your previous sentence, what you did to make me like you?” Reaching her other hand up touching his cheek gently, “Your personality. Compassionate, helpful and I suppose your jokes aren’t terrible.” Winking as she nudged him playfully at her last comment on his jokes, his personality was so genuine and of course he was cute, but she did not have the guts to say something like that to his face. Not yet anyway.

A part of her wanted to ask that they kept this between them, the kiss, the fact they liked each other. Of course, nothing was official, no labels, but she didn’t want this to be a big deal. After all he was a prince, his father would highly doubt not approve and the world didn’t need to know about their innocent crush growing. Some things should be kept private, especially things that went on behind closed doors like that kiss.

It was strange, as much as she was happy. Over the moon infact there was still something that was nagging at her. The memories from earlier, should she share them with him? No, that was far too heavy and only pushed the idea that she was not a high born, not meant to be here and that was a complication she did not want to cause herself. She wanted this moment to last forever, the kiss, holding his hand and just enjoying his company. Biting her lip slightly as she looked back up at him, she didn’t want to start over thinking everything. Not now. Leaning herself up slightly she placed a gentle kiss on his cheek, the same placed where her hand had touched moments ago closing the tiny gap between them on the sofa.

[Rogue Sloth]

Finally kissing Iris was just as amazing as Caspian had expected it would be. The feeling of her soft lips moving against his, the electrifying touch of her fingers as she intertwined their hands, the thunder of his heartbeat. As he sank into the moment, all thoughts about her condition fled to the back of his mind. It didn’t matter that she didn’t know anything about herself or even that he was just supposed to be helping her find her way back home. Right now, she wanted to kiss him too, and that was enough for him to let go of the lie that he was content with just be friends and start pushing for something more.

By the time she finally pulled back, the prince had lost track of how much time had passed. He inhaled slowly, trying to calm his racing heart as he met her bright blue eyes with an equally delighted smile. The blush on her cheeks endeared him to her all the more, and he squeezed her hand affectionately. After everything that had gone wrong earlier, he was glad he’d decided to stop by her room instead of going straight to sleep. If he had, he never would have found out that she had feelings for him too, and he wouldn’t have discovered what her lips tasted like.

“I don’t know where you got the idea that I’m old or stuffy,” Cas laughed when Iris showered him with a playful compliment. “But I should say that you’re not so bad yourself. I thought you might have forgotten how.” Despite the backhandedness of it, he was flattered that she thought he was a good kisser. Having only dated a few girls in the past—and never long term—he didn’t have as much experience in the realm of romance as most other men his age. If it had been up to him, he would have pursued more relationships or tried to make the ones he’d been in last longer, but his father had successfully stifled every attempt he’d made so far.

At the thought of the king, he cringed inwardly. Atlas was still dead set on making him wait for an arranged, political marriage, even though the concept was outdated in Aspiria. If the monarch hadn’t approved of the women he’d been with before, there was no way he would allow him to date a girl who didn’t even know who she was. For her sake, he couldn’t let his father find out that they’d taken a liking to each other. After all, he wouldn’t put it past the overbearing king to remove her from the Maydestone property to keep them from seeing each other. Until she was reunited with her family, theirs was the only roof she had to cover her head at night.

The feeling of Iris’s gentle fingers on his cheek drew Cas from his thoughts. This time, it was his turn to blush as she described the traits she liked in him. Her list was different than most other women’s too. Usually, physical features made the top as his past girlfriends called him handsome or athletic or hot, detailing the tangible parts of him that they were attracted to. But that was what he liked about her: She wasn’t like other women. A smile pulled at his lip as he held her gaze, appreciative of the different way she chose to look at him.

“You’re something else,” he chuckled incredulously as she planted a warm kiss on his cheek. “I’ve never met anyone like you before, Iris. You’re like the manifestation of a ray of sunlight, and there’s just something about you…” He trailed off, studying her face and then shaking his head. “I don’t know what it is, but it’s different. I’m glad I was the one who found you in the woods, because I’ve really enjoyed getting to know someone as amazing as you.”

Leaning in again, he indulged himself in one more passionate kiss just before his com device rang with an incoming call from security. With a sigh, he pulled back from her lips and casted her an apologetic look. “I have to take this,” he said, disentangling their clasped fingers to remove the device from his belt and then standing up from the sofa. “It could take a while, so don’t wait up for me, alright? I’ll see you in the morning.” With that, he turned to head back into the hallway, using his fingerprint ID to access the security team’s frequency as he spoke into the receiver: “Any news on the prisoners?”

[sukikyoufu]

The playful jibe back of her forgetting how to kiss made her frown, it was hard to keep it up because she couldn’t help but giggle at the jibes back. It was a fair comment, a good one at that especially with her condition and she didn’t take offence to it at all. It was just nice, being able to enjoy their time together like this, tease one another without fear of either of them taking it in the wrong way. Even though he was the Crown Prince she was able to talk to him like any other normal person. Iris didn’t see him as just the Prince, he was much more than that and it saddened her that there were others out there who didn’t get to see this side or just couldn’t look past him being a royal.

“Ray of sunlight?” Smiling at his own words she couldn’t help but feel flattered, he had said he hadn’t met anyone like her before and it was hard not to blush at such a compliment. Well she hoped it was a compliment. “I’m glad you found me in the woods, who knows what would have happened had you not.” It still frightened her to this day, the idea that if she hadn’t been found she could have very well died in those woods. Not that anyone has missed me… Shaking her head from quite the depressing thought, frowning that she had even trailed to such a conclusion.

Feeling his lips once more in a passionate kiss she responded, it was such a rush of emotions kissing him and she could have lost herself had there not been an interruption. Probably for the best. Feeling her heated cheeks as she nodded to him having to take the call, she relaxed back on the sofa just watching him. I can’t believe this has happened; he likes me. We kissed. Ah but his dad… that’s a not today worry. Almost getting lost in her thoughts she managed to look up catching him walk into the hallway, smiling as she watched him leave, she found her fingers twirling a piece of her hair thinking back to moments ago with kiss.

“Oh Cas… what have you done to me.” Shaking her head, she pushed herself off of the sofa and grabbed one of the books that were on the table. There was no harm in a bit of light reading before getting some sleep, Cas had said not to wait up for him meaning that he no doubt had important matters to attend too with the prisoners. It was a troubling thought but something that was pushed far into the back of her mind especially with the events of this evening playing in her mind. Holding back a yawn she began to turn the pages lazily, pale fingers brushing against the pages of the book as she settled herself on the sofa.

Glancing at her leg as she paused from her book, she could see it was in a much better state than when it first happened, she could probably start walking on it without the crutches soon but it would still twinge no doubt. The wounds had closed up and were healing nicely so it was going in the right direction.

[Rogue Sloth]

I’ve just received word from the soldiers that two of the prisoners have been recaptured, Jacob’s voice projected crisply through the earpiece Caspian was wearing. It appears that they split up in the city. One was found taking cover in the downtown district, and the other was attempting to scale one of the border walls on the east side. We suspect he was trying to retreat to the provinces on the other side. However, it is still unknown whether these provinces are the location of the Scourge’s headquarters, so the soldiers shot him down before he made it to the top.

“What is his status?” Cas asked, climbing the stairs that led to his room. As excited as he had been to finally cross the line from friends to something more with Iris, all of the joy had fled from his visage as he spoke with the security guard about the updates. According to the bedside doctor who had come to check on his father, the king had fallen asleep as soon as his medicine had worn off. That meant the crown prince was left in charge of the handling of the prisoners for the rest of the night, and he needed to take his job seriously.

He survived the fall and was taken in alive, Jacob answered through the device. However, he sustained a number of serious injuries from both the gunshots and the impact with the ground that require immediate medical attention before he can be handed off to the interrogators. The estimated time of his awakening from the anesthesia is 23:00.

Cas glanced at the time on his cell phone and winced. It was only half past eight o’ clock. At this rate, it looked like he was going to be pulling an all-nighter in order to stay in touch with the soldiers throughout the interrogation process. “What about the others?” he asked next, pushing open the door to his bedroom and stepping inside. “Any sign of them in the city?”

Negative. Based on the intelligence we have received until this point, there are two terrorists left that have yet to be recovered. The soldiers believe they are still somewhere inside the walls, but their locations are unconfirmed.

“Okay,” the prince mused, sitting down on the edge of his bed. “Thanks, Jacob. Keep me posted as you learn more.”

Of course, Your Highness. Soft static followed the statement as Jacob severed his end of the line, and Cas fell back on his mattress with a groan. After the past few days of peace and quiet, he supposed he should have known that something would go wrong that demanded his attention. He just hadn’t thought it would be something as major as a terrorist attack on the mansion. The rebels were getting bolder. It had been years since the last time they had invaded high born territory. He hoped the soldiers that were fighting against them in the provinces beyond the capital were faring alright.

For the rest of the night, Cas alternated between laying on his bed and pacing to stay awake as he took intermittent calls from Jacob and one of the interrogators handling the prisoners. According to both of them, the two rebels they had in their custody weren’t budging, and the only information they could get out of them were details they already knew about the Scourge. It was better than nothing, since their prior intelligence was confirmed, but it was still frustrating to know that the terrorists were so loyal to their cause that they wouldn’t give up any crucial information. The two missing prisoners were never found either.

By the time he was no longer needed—a little after four in the morning—Cas finally turned off his com device and collapsed on his bed, exhausted from the long day. Not everything had been resolved the way he would have wanted, but he was too tired to spend any more energy on trying to fix the issues. Unable to stay awake any longer, he passed out on his pillow, still wearing the same clothes he had been in since the morning.

[sukikyoufu]

It had been a few hours and Iris had fallen asleep on the sofa reading her book, hand dropped towards the floor as the book dropped onto the floor with a light thud. “Huh?” Stirring as she heard the noise of the book drop to the floor, she rubbed her eyes shaking her head at herself, “I should really get some sleep.” Moving from the sofa she turned off the lamp and the bedroom fell into darkness, everything seemed quiet and if she was anywhere else, she might have been a bit nervous in the unknown surrounding.

Limping towards the bed she hoped up onto it smiling to herself, fingers touched her lips as she thought on the earlier evening spent with Cas. Sighing in content she let herself fall against the soft bedding looking up at the ceiling in her room, closing her eyes as she relaxed on the soft mattress. Cas was right, it was far superior to the sofa she kept napping on. Jumping slightly, she sat up when she heard a noise, frowning as she looked around the room wondering if she’d just misheard. Perhaps it was her mind playing tricks on her?

Crack

There it was again; she was not imagining something. Moving from the bed she reached out to the bedside table to grab something, fingers clasped around a book as she proceeded to check out what noise she had heard. Moving towards the bathroom she’d check there first, if anyone were to be hiding, she could only imagine they would go there first. Biting her lip to stop any sound leave her lips as she used both legs to keep herself upright, she reached the bathroom door, hand outstretched as she quietly turned the handle. Pushing the door open more she raised her other hand that was still clasping the book, heart began to race as she quickly turned into the room ready to throw the hardback book at any intruder, but there was no one there.

What an idiot. Sighing as she shook her head she went to turn to go back to bed, but before she could scream a hand clasped around her mouth and she was pushed against the wall in an instant. Her body trembled as she tried to see the dark outline of the figure, her hand went to beat him with the book, but the intruder had seen right through it and gripped it tightly making her drop it to the floor. This has to be a terrorist, one of the people Cas mentioned. How the hell did they get into here? Her mind began to race as she tried to struggle against the figure that held her tightly against the wall, realising it was getting her nowhere she decided to play dirty. Biting down on the hand she felt him let her go and she picked up the book quickly throwing it hard at the intruder, diving to the bedside she turned on the light so she could see this man.

Hissing out in pain Ethan grumbled as he rubbed his hand, but it didn’t stop there as a hardback book came flying his way. Dodging it just he looked over at the girl but when the light filled the room he stopped, his heart dropped as he had found who had been looking for all this time. “Iris?” Confusion swept his face as he looked her up and down, eyes noticed the bandages on the leg, and he took a step forward to her.

“Who the hell are you!” Using the bedside to keep herself upright she looked at the man who was in her room, her voice wasn’t as strong as she looked him over shaking slightly from the effort with her leg.

“What do you mean who the hell am I? It’s me. Ethan…” A look of shock swept his face as he continued to move forward, inches away from her he took her face in his hands forcing her to look at him as he gave her a cheeky grin. “Oh, I get it… messing me around. Jeez you like to worry me. Idiot.” Leaning down he placed a kiss on her forehead before wrapping his arms around her sighing with relief at the fact he had found her. In quite a dangerous place he might add.

“Ethan…. Ethan… oh my gosh.” Before she could even question it, she looked him in the eyes, that cheeky grin. The way he approached her like he knew her. She was about to push him away but when he had wrapped his arms around her and placed a kiss on her forehead, she felt a rush of pain go to her head, hand reached up grasping it as she gasped. A few key memories of her life flashed before her eyes.

“This is going to sound super cheesy, buuuut I’m sorry about that text. I don’t want us to end. Please be my girlfriend again.” Ethan stood with a bunch of flowers in hand, a cheeky grin as he stood at her door asking her out.

“Iris… Iris. Are you even listening to me?” A gruff voice could be heard, this time her father. “Honestly. I’m trusting you to kill the heir of Asperia and here you are daydreaming! Why wasn’t I blessed with a son.” Rolling his eyes as he took a swig from his bottle.

“I’m sorry daughter, ever since your mother was killed to them, I haven’t been the same.” Another memory, a more solemn one of her fathers with his head in hands opening up to her. “I want this rebellion to succeed. I want that power. Show them what it’s like to be poor.”
“But father power is not what you want remember? We want equal rights for everyone. That’s our goal.”
“STUPID GIRL.” Wincing as she heard a smash of a glass bottle hitting the floor. She had remembered just how much darker her father was becoming, the years of the war. Without her mother. He wasn’t the same, that’s why she had agreed to do this. To try to kill the heir in hopes it would bring him back to her.

“You’ll be safe out there, if you can’t do it that’s fine. I know your father wants you too, but all I want is you to come back. Be safe. So, we can start that family? I promise I’ll find you if anything goes wrong.” She was stood with Ethan at the edge of their town, other members of the rebellion all stood proudly as they came to see off their leaders daughter go on an all important mission.

“No… no” Whispering to herself as she shook her head, “I knew it was a lie… but why now. I…” Her face dropped when she looked up at Ethan, she did have a boyfriend. The Crown Prince who she was sent to kill was Capsain. It all made her head spin and she sat down on the bed unable to hold herself up anymore.

“Iris?” Ethan helped guide her to the bed, sitting her down as he looked at her concern filled his eyes. “What happened to you?” He was careful to keep his voice low, there could still be guards around and he had done a damn good job of evading him thanks to his friends.

Placing her head in her hands as the memory of what had happened that night began to come back, “I was on my way to the Capital… I got caught in a bear trap. I fell, hit my head. I lost my memories.” Whispering more to herself than anything, “I…”

“Hey shh… it’s okay.” Pulling her into his arms he stroked her hair as if it would try to soothe her but only looked confused when he was pushed away. “Sorry… I didn’t mean too.. what do you remember?”

Looking away from him she felt sick to her stomach, not everything had returned but enough to do major damage. “Not everything.” Tears welled up in her eyes without even realising, she was devastated at what had just happened. She liked Cas, she couldn’t betray him, but she had betrayed her boyfriend. What did that make her? “Oh my… oh my. We need to get out of here. We are in way too deep staying here.” Panic started to rise as she tried to stand, her mind was working at top speed as she tried to think of a plan, anything to get out of here.

[Rogue Sloth]

The next morning, Cas was awoken by the jarring sound of his phone ringtone. He groaned and pulled his comforter over his head, internally debating whether he should answer the cursed device or throw it across the room. Having gone to bed so late in the night, he had been hoping to sleep in until closer to noon. However, judging by the soft light coming in through his bedside window, it was still sometime in the morning.

The phone rang again, and he hissed a curse under his breath, wondering who would be trying to reach him at this time of the day. Mustering what strength he had, the prince sat up on his mattress and leaned back on one palm as he tiredly rubbed his eyes. Whoever was on the other end of the phone was still pestering him with yet a third call, but he took his time waking up rather than answering it right away. If the caller was going to be so rude as to wake him up at—he glanced at the digital clock on the wall—nine thirty in the morning, then he was going to make them wait before he responded.

Just as the third ring was about to go to voicemail, he swiped the phone from the table and lifted it to his ear without bothering to check the caller ID. “This had better be important,” he growled into the receiver. Usually, he was far more patient with other people, but he’d never been a morning person. That paired with the exceeding late night he’d had taking calls from security had left him in a grumpy mood.

Oh my god, you’re alive, Miles’s voice transmitted through the other end of the line.

“Of course I’m alive,” Cas pinched the bridge of his nose, hoping for his friend’s sake that Miles didn’t wake him up just to state the obvious. “What are you going on about?”

What do you mean ‘what am I going on about’? It’s all over the news! Miles replied excitably. Every jumbo tron in the city is broadcasting that the palace was attacked by terrorists. The reporters said there still hasn’t been much info released yet, so I’ve been trying to get ahold of you to make sure you hadn’t died.

“I wasn’t there when it happened,” Cas yawned, sliding down from his bed in reluctant acceptance that he would have to get up for the day. “And before you ask, everyone else is fine too. I’m sure the reporters will tell you the same thing as soon as they have clearance to start releasing more details.”

That’s a relief, Miles sighed. There was a pause on his end before he added. So, um… do you think this has anything to do with the chick you found in the woods?

Caspian froze in the middle of unbuttoning the shirt he’d worn overnight. “What do you mean?”

Well… This is the first time rebels have gotten inside the palace, right? It just seems fishy that it happened right after—

“This has nothing to do with Iris,” the prince interrupted and then winced at the defensiveness in his own voice. Going on more placidly, he explained, “She was with me in the historic district when the terrorists broke in. There’s no way she could have been part of it, or I would know.”

The historic district? Cas could hear the amusement in his friend’s tone followed by a whistle. You didn’t waste any time did you?

“Shut up,” he said, though a blush blossomed on his cheeks. He was well aware that Miles knew that he’d used the historic district as a date spot before.

Did it work? The inevitable question came through the phone.

Cas bit his tongue and then exhaled, “…Maybe.”

Atta boy, Cas, Miles laughed.

“You’re incorrigible,” the prince rolled his eyes even though he knew the other high born couldn’t see him. Not wanting to discuss it any further when he still didn’t know exactly what was going on between him and Iris, he changed the topic. “Anyway, things are still tense around here, and I have more work to do. I should go.”

Okay, his friend accepted the excuse without question. I’ll let Jay know you’re not dead. Later, Cas!

“Later,” he hung up the phone and dragged a hand through his hair in a stressed manner. The mention of doing more work may have been his out of the conversation, but there might have been some truth to it if his father was still in poor condition. He needed to find out how the king was doing that morning and brace himself for the possibility that he would have to continue heading the ongoing investigation with the security team if Atlas couldn’t do it yet.

I need a coffee… he thought wearily, throwing on a pair of comfortable joggers and a plain t-shirt before he headed out of his room.

[sukikyoufu]

They had spoken all through the night, Ethan had gone through stories of her past. Everything he knew about her and it had taken all night to go through the important events that she should know. There had been tears, a lot of tears but that was because Iris knew everything was now going to change and not for the better. Although she now knew about her boyfriend Ethan it wasn’t the same, she could recall feeling something for him, but it was not how she felt now and that was a topic she would have to discuss with him. In a less dangerous setting.

Iris hadn’t sleep, she felt sick to her core speaking with Ethan. Memories would trickle in here and there, but they weren’t anything of big importance. The only thing she could focus on was the fact she was here to kill Caspain, someone she knew she had feelings for and only yesterday had kissed him.

“I get it, I can’t imagine what it’s like to not know anything.” Ethan sighed heavily running fingers through his hair, it was morning now and he was exhausted especially with being on the run from the interrogators. “No pressure on us though, don’t force those feelings for me. It’d be cruel.” Shaking his head slightly as he looked towards the door, a part of him was worried on if anyone would walk in, but it was still early. He was crushed, he had liked Iris for as long as he could remember. Chased her since school and here she was not even able to conjure up any sort of feelings to him. He had to be the better man though, he couldn't do anything about it whilst here.

Wincing when she heard his words, she looked at her hands sighing as she fiddled with the fabric of her clothes, “I’m so sorry. This is so much to take in.”

“Our lives are in danger, our people, your people need you to do this. You can’t return to your father empty handed. We will have to do something. You can get close to him.” Ethan stressed his words as he looked at Iris with pleading eyes, trying to convince her to continue on with the plan. “If they find me here, find you harbouring me we’re both going to end up to those interrogators, do you know what they do?”

“No”

“Iris, have you forgotten about her. Your mother.” Grimacing as he had avoided to tell her about her mothers’ death, he hated having to break this news to her.

“I know what happened, father couldn’t pay for her medicine, no one would help. I know why he started the rebellion.” Placing her head in her hands as she sighed, she was exhausted, no tears left to cry and she didn’t want to think on it anymore. “I know they need help.. I want to help, but Cas… he. He saved my li…”

“You like him don’t you.” Cold words cut across before he let her finish her sentence, a couple of days ago she had been up for the task. Now she was different, something had changed, and he felt his hands curled into firsts angry at the whole thing. “Iris, you can’t walk away from your past. They will figure out who you are here, do you know they have expert men going through every photo of every person trying to find out who is in this rebellion. They’ll catch onto you and being locked here, interrogated… it isn’t just simple questions and we have people down there at this very moment who risked their lives to try and find you.”

“N-No… I…” Shaking her head she felt it pound away from a headache that had formed hours ago. “I… I’m not a killer. How will killing him change anything? What if I talk to him? He will understand, he would want to help.”

Scoffing he turned his back on Iris, a part of him sickened as he had tried to be understanding. “What about kidnapping him, you don’t have to kill him.”

“No, Ethan… bloodshed won’t help any of the people. If he goes missing the capital will search for him. Probably burn everything down trying to find him. This is a lost cause. Our best course of action is for you to hide… you can hide in this room. No one will be in here and we can plan an escape back home.”

Shaking his head, he sighed, what would have happened had she not have lost her memories? “Fine, but remember if you try taking me down, I’ll bring you with me. We are doing this together. It’s best we get out of here, away from influences that are effecting your judgement.” As much as he wanted to kick off at her, argue over everything he had to keep his voice down. There was no way he wanted anyone to find out he was here; he would convince her to kidnap him. They would get this done whether by force or not.

[Rogue Sloth]

As he approached the kitchen, Cas could smell the mouthwatering aroma of omelets being prepared by the royal chefs. After a long night with only a few hours of sleep to restore his spent energy, a hot breakfast and mug of coffee was just what he needed. He stretched languidly and hopped up on one of the barstools to wait while the cooks worked on his food. Pulling his phone from his pocket, he scrolled through the media, curious to see what Miles had been talking about when he had said that the terrorist attack was already all over the news.

It had only been about fifteen hours since the rebels had first been arrested, so he was surprised that word had leaked to the reporters already. However, as he read the articles that had come out so far, he saw that there had been a whistleblower who had mentioned something about the attack to the press. The detail made him wince. From what he read, it seemed like the only information that had come out was that there had been rebels in the mansion and that the increased security throughout the capital was somehow related to them. The security team knew much more than that, so he felt certain that it had been a staff member who had wagged their tongue. His father was probably going to have the servants thoroughly investigated to find out who had spread the word before they could come up with a sculpted story to satiate the reporters without losing control of the situation.

“How the hell are the rebels still loose in the city?”

The sudden, booming voice of his father made Cas flinch and turn around in his seat. The king had been ill the day before, but it sounded like his strength had returned today. Atlas marched into the kitchen—as well as he could while leaning on his cane—with a flustered security guard hurrying along at his side. “The soldiers are turning over every stone to find them,” the guard assured his ruler quickly. “There are only two left who are still unaccounted for, and I expect that we will have them both back in custody by the end of the day.”

“Not good enough,” Atlas barked. “I want the bastards behind bars or in the crematory by noon. Give me the name of the man in charge of the hunt. If he doesn’t deliver, I will have him removed from his office.”

“Yes sir,” the guard bowed and jogged off to fulfill the request.

The king watched him go and then turned to his son with furrowed brows, “We’ll be standing before the nation today to address this issue, Caspian, and that is what you chose to wear?”

The prince stared at his father incredulously. He had spent almost ten straight hours handling the situation with the terrorists last night, sacrificing food and sleep to get things under control, and all he got in return was a critique of his clothes. The blatant disregard for his efforts stung, and he averted his gaze to hide his hurt from the king’s eyes. “I just woke up,” he muttered, busying himself by cutting into his omelet with a fork and knife. “I’ll change into something else before we leave.”

“Good,” Atlas grumbled, limping further into the room. “That girl you brought back, is she still here? I’m going to have her sent in for questioning.”

“What? Why?” Cas looked up from his plate with widened eyes.

“Because I’m sure she’s involved with the Scourge,” the king said firmly. “Those fools have never gotten inside the palace until she showed up. The timing is too convenient to ignore.”

“She had nothing to do with it,” Cas asserted. “I’ve been with her almost constantly since the day I found her, so she couldn’t have been conspiring with anyone. There wasn’t time. And Dr. Emett diagnosed her with amnesia, so she doesn’t have the capacity to plot against us.”

“Then she’ll have nothing to hide,” Atlas said simply, turning to walk down the hall that led to Iris’s room.

The prince muttered a curse under his breath and slid down from his barstool to chase after him, hoping to change his father’s mind before he hassled the amnesiac with misplaced questions.