Rogue Sloth

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

For a while, the room was enveloped in silence that Jacob appreciated. His mind wandered to all the other things he needed to be doing while he was sitting in the hospital with a woman who was supposed to be his prisoner. He had always been something of a workaholic, putting his profession in front of every other part of his life, and even when he was resting, he was thinking about tasks that needed to be done. It had been several years since he’d even taken a day off, but he preferred it that way. Being successful was the key to his contentedness in life, so he wouldn’t have traded his overtime for all the vacation or money in the world.

Even now, though he wasn’t actively doing anything, he was on the job. By passively watching Iris, he was preserving his authority over her as his responsibility. Everything he did had a purpose, which was why he had achieved so much even though he was still in his early thirties. There was no one else on the security team who could match his drive, and he prided himself on being the hardest working man on the force. So, sitting quietly with no one else but the rebel girl for company, he ruminated on the palace, the penitentiary, and even the fires he would have to put out as word got around that the prince had returned alive.

Focused on his meditative planning, he didn’t look up until Iris’s quiet voice caught his attention. At her question, he frowned. She sounded genuinely concerned about how Caspian was doing, but one inquiry wasn’t enough to convince him that her feelings were real. “He’s fine,” he responded curtly, keeping an invisible distance from her. However, as he reflected on the situation a bit more, he admitted to himself that there wasn’t much of a reason to be secretive. Everyone in Aspiria was soon going to find out that the prince was recovering, so it didn’t matter if one woman was a little ahead of the curve.

With a sigh, he added, “All of his major wounds were treated yesterday, so he’s going back to the palace today to finish recovering at home.” Deciding that was enough information, he dropped his gaze back to the screen of his phone in wait for his replacement to arrive.

Two floors up, Caspian had finished his breakfast and was getting restless as he waited for the doctor to get back to replace his splint with a cast. About five minutes went by before there was a knock on the door, and the man stepped in with the silicon material in one hand and an empty wheelchair that he was pushing with the other. “How are you feeling, Your Highness?” he asked as he stepped over to the sink to sanitize his hands.

“Really good,” he replied honestly. “I haven’t felt much pain at all today.”

“Very good,” the doctor nodded sagely. “That will change once we take you off the IV, but I prescribed an oral form of the same medicines that you ought to continue taking every twelve hours for the next three days. They’ll help manage the discomfort and they’ll lessen the chances that all of those open wounds will scar.”

Cas glanced down at the bandages around his arm, “So they’ll all heal up completely?”

“The minor ones should, yes,” the physician replied as he dried his hands and stepped over to the bed. “The laceration in your arm and the gunshot in your leg will most likely need cosmetic surgery to remove the scarring later on though.”

“Huh,” Cas grunted contemplatively and then shook his head. “That’s fine. I don’t need it.”

“Are you sure, Your Highness?” the doctor raised his brows. “It’s a standard procedure for someone of your status.”

“It’s okay,” he insisted, absentmindedly touching the bandages around his leg. “What I went through was hard, but I don’t ever want to forget it. That means not covering up the evidence that it happened. I’ll just keep whatever scars I get from these injuries.”

The doctor studied him with interest and then bowed. “If that’s what you want, Your Highness.” As he spoke, Cas could see a hint of a smile on his lips.

The IV was removed from his hand, and the prince turned on the bed so his legs hung over the edge while the doctor fixed the new cast on his wrist. In times past, plaster was used to set broken bones, but Aspirian scientists had come up with a more lightweight version created with silicon. The clear material wasn’t as thick or heavy, so it was easily hidden underneath clothes and less inconvenient to wear. The physician had Cas test it to make sure it wouldn’t slide around on his arm and then gave his approval that he was free to go.

For a moment, the prince got his hopes up that his release meant that his father had forgotten about forcing him to meet with a psychiatrist—or even that the king had changed his mind altogether—but his good mood was dampened when the doctor added one more thing before he left him alone to change out of his hospital gown. “By the way,” he said, stopping in the doorway. “Dr. Foster was unable to see you today, so she’ll be making a house call at the palace tomorrow sometime before noon.”

“Oh,” he frowned, his shoulders falling slightly at the news. As the doctor stepped out and closed the door behind him, Cas sighed and pulled off his gown, tossing it in a bin at the edge of the room and putting on a pair of white, elastic-waisted shorts and a matching t-shirt that a nurse had brought by for him to wear after he was discharged. There was also a pair of generic sandals to go with the ensemble.

It was somewhat difficult for him to dress himself when he only had one good hand and leg, but he managed to do it without asking for help. Once he was decent, he knocked once on the door and sat down in the wheelchair as the doctor stepped back in to bring him down to reception. He felt like he could have walked there by himself, but it was standard procedure for patients to sit in a wheelchair when they were leaving the hospital, so he let the other man roll him to the elevator and down to the exit, where they waited for Jacob, who was supposed to be the one to drive him home.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

For reference, the guard Jacob called to replace him will be Harry ^^

I hope so too. I've got about half of my papers sorted. Just have to do the second half and put it all away.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

As he watched Iris, Jacob noticed the way she was staring back at him like she’d seen a ghost. Her skin looked pale and the vital signs monitor beside her bed had grown louder and more urgent with the spike in her heartrate. He could tell she was bothered by him, but he didn’t move from his seat. Rather, he made himself comfortable, propping his elbow on the armrest and resting his chin on top of his fist. He wasn’t here for her sake, so he didn’t care if she was happy to see him or unnerved by his presence. Though she wasn’t aware of it, he was staying to make sure Matthew didn’t try to move her while no one was around to stop him. He was still frustrated with the interrogator for blatantly disregarding his orders and didn’t trust him to behave after just one warning. Until he was able to go to Atlas, himself, he’d decided to be a human barrier between the penitentiary workers and their prisoner.

While he observed, he narrowed his eyes ever so slightly as Iris fought back against the doctor. He had half a mind to tell her to sit still and let the man do his job, but the physician took care of it without his intervention. He stayed quiet while the doctor bandaged her bruised throat, wondering to himself about her relationship with Caspian. He didn’t know her very well at all, having only seen her once before when she had been in the prince’s company in the historic district, so all he really knew about her was that she was part of the rebellion. Well, that, and that she was supposedly in love with the crown’s heir.

Naturally distrusting, he was hesitant to believe that a woman from outside the capital had genuine feelings for the prince, but unlike his king, he kept his skepticism to himself. He preferred to study and observe rather than jump to any conclusions without proof. So, for now, he just followed his orders to guard her without using lethal force and silently worked on determining if she was really just a girl who was infatuated with Caspian or someone whom he should deem a threat to the monarchy.

When the doctor finished his work and addressed him, Jacob nodded wordlessly, pulling his phone from his pocket to do just that. He’d committed to bringing the prince back to the palace soon, so he would need to find someone to replace him as her guard in his absence. Already having the perfect candidate in mind for the job, he sent a text to one of the other members of the security team. The rest of the men weren’t quite as high ranking as himself, since he was the head of security, but their voices still carried enough weight that the hospital staff would be reluctant to go against their wishes if Matthew tried to pull anything while he was gone.

With that done, he sat back in his chair and crossed his arms, stretching out his legs in front of him to wait for a reply. To his surprise, the device pinged with an incoming message scarcely a minute later. He glanced down at it to see that the guard had responded:

I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.

Reliable as always, he mused with a faint smile, pocketing the cell phone again and reclining comfortably in his seat. Not one to make small talk with prisoners, he didn’t feel the need to break the silence between himself and Iris as he waited for his replacement to get to the hospital so he could return to Caspian.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

They're gonna freak out xD

Nice! Plenty of time to recover from unreasonable clients ^^

Oh, I'm extremely disorganized lmao Being hardworking and put-together are NOT synonymous xD I like to think I'm fairly responsible in general, but I do things in a more scattered way without routines or patterns. I'm a weird mess, but as long as I'm getting things done, I'm doing fine!

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

As he waited for someone to answer the door, Jacob quickly checked his phone for messages. He’d left the security at the palace in the capable hands of one of the other guards whom he trusted, but he needed to remain available in case the team needed anything from him while he was gone. The chances of another attempt on the royal family were low, but Atlas sometimes went into a fit that required multiple people to extinguish. The guards at the palace were there to make sure he didn’t accidentally hurt himself in addition to keeping out outside threats. Given his recent spat with Prince Caspian, it was unnervingly likely that the king would wake up in a foul mood that morning.

Fortunately, his lock screen was empty though, and he looked up again as a doctor appeared on the other side of the door. He shifted his weight to step into the room but then paused as the other man came into the hallway instead. Apparently he either didn’t want him to go inside or he had something he wanted to discuss away from his patient. The guard leaned one shoulder against the nearby white wall and folded his arms loosely over his chest. “Do tell,” he prompted when the doctor said he could explain what had happened to Iris. Having never seen a prisoner go into a seizure in response to the Aproveset injection, he was interested in finding out what had gone wrong.

So, listening patiently, he found it intriguing that her amnesia was most likely the cause of her strange reaction. There was no way he or anyone else could have known it would be dangerous for her to undergo an interrogation with the drug, but now that he’d learned about the adverse effect, he made a mental note to pass word on to the soldiers at the penitentiary. It sounded like they were done questioning her, but just in case, it would be good for them to know that she couldn’t handle another round of the truth serum. Given that her fate was in limbo, he needed to make sure the idiots didn’t accidentally kill her when Caspian wanted her freed and Atlas had been considering sending her back to her home district.

“If that’s what you think is best, then keep her as long as you need to,” Jacob told the doctor decisively. He had a feeling the hospital was a safer place for the girl than the penitentiary anyway. Some of the soldiers there seemed to hold a grudge against her for being involved in the prince’s abduction, while the others were just too inept to handle a prisoner that they assumed was going to be executed any day now. He was a busy man, so he couldn’t spring to her rescue every time the dumbasses screwed up. If keeping her at the medical center for a couple more days would buy her time while the royal family discussed what to do with her, then he was sure the bills would be worth it. The money for her in-treatment was covered by the prison’s funds anyway.

Having made his decision quickly, he followed the doctor back into the room and took a seat in the guest chair by the door, watching quietly as the physician prepared to tend to her bruised throat.

Meanwhile, Cas didn’t have to wait long before a nurse arrived with his breakfast. Somewhat ironically, it was the same blonde nurse he’d teased Jacob about. She stepped inside with a platter that contained a bowl of oatmeal and a glass of orange juice and set it down on his bedside table. “Good morning, Your Highness,” she greeted him as she adjusted his mattress into a more upright position that would make it easier to eat and drink. “Are you ready to go home today?”

That’s a surprisingly loaded question, he thought. He was eager to get out of the hospital, but he was apprehensive about facing his father at home. However, he didn’t want to unload his personal problems on a total stranger, so he replied simply, “Yeah, it’ll be good to sleep in my own bed again.”

“Understandable,” she nodded in agreement. Once she felt like he was in a comfortable position to have his meal, she stepped back from the bed and nodded her head in a casual bow. “Before you go, the doctor will need to put a sturdier cast on your wrist. But once he finishes that, I believe you’ll be free to be discharged whenever you’re ready to leave.”

“Great,” he sighed, picking up his spoon. “I also can’t wait to have solid food again.”

The nurse smirked amusedly, “Give it until the afternoon, Your Highness. The medications you’re on may cause your stomach to be tender for a few hours even after the IV is removed.”

“Fine, but after that, I’m going ham,” he compromised, bringing a mouthful of oatmeal to his lips.

The nurse chuckled and bowed again, stepping out of the room to let him eat in peace. Once he was alone, Cas found his thoughts wandering back to Iris again. He hoped she was doing okay at the penitentiary and was worried about what the soldiers might have been doing to her since she’d been arrested. At least now that he was almost free from the hospital, he could go to see her soon. After he found a change of clothes at home, he planned to go to the prison for a visit right away. With any luck, I’ll be able to get her out of there today, he thought determinedly.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

True, that does play a role in it too.

Yeah, I'm not sure which way I'm leaning yet. I have to think through both routes and figure out which one gives me the best options for how Cas grows as a person through the story ^^ The ups and downs of character development are really fun for me to explore.

That's the worst. It's so annoying when people assume an employee can solve every problem they have.

My day has been good so far. I just woke up about 3 hours ago, wrote a post and walked my dog ^^ I'm considering getting some chai tea for a little caffeine boost so I can get a bunch of filing done throughout the day. I just bought a portable filing cabinet (long overdue) and have to go through all my scattered papers for the last three years and put them in some kind of logical order xD My husband and I are very disorganized people because we're too chill for our own good, so I'm trying to take over more of the responsibilities around the house while I'm not working.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Jacob isn't as friendly as he seems here xD He's mostly just staying nearby her to make sure no one else goes above his head to move her without his permission. If he's in the room, a nurse can't transport her without giving him the opportunity to say no first. He's doing it out of pride.

That sucks! Coworkers or clients?

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Jacob's avoiding it right now, but it might come up at some point haha. I was thinking it could be interesting if Cas finds out accidentally either on the drive back to the palace or after he gets there and then turns around to go back to see Iris.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

For the rest of the day and the next night, Caspian mostly slept. Apparently a side effect of one of the medications the doctor had placed him on was that it made him incredibly drowsy. He napped for a few hours at a time, waking up intermittently either on his own or because a nurse had stopped by to check on him. Each time, he felt a small stab of disappointment that he hadn’t had anymore visitors. As his anger had worn off, the strong emotions that had fueled him to lash out at his father had been replaced with regret for doing so. He wished he hadn’t said some of the things that had tumbled out of his mouth in unfiltered rage.

Although he didn’t regret finally standing up to the king and telling him about all the hurt that had been brewing inside of him since he was a child, he felt like a complete dick for accusing Atlas of not loving him as a son and for telling him to go to hell. If the monarch really did love him, he’d probably been deeply wounded by those allegations, especially since he’d made the trip from their home to the hospital just to see him when he woke up. It was no wonder he hadn’t come back to see him again since then. Cas couldn’t blame him for still being upset though, selfishly, he wished his father would return so they could have a more civil conversation about it. He wanted to apologize for blowing up and try to reconcile so the fight wouldn’t scar their relationship.

That’s assuming he’s willing to make amends for his part though, he thought, staring dully up at the ceiling. He’d woken up from his most recent nap a few minutes ago, and all he could think about was what to do in regard to his father. Being the good person that he was, he felt remorse for the way he’d spoken out against the king and was tempted to go crawling back to Atlas and beg for his forgiveness. However, this was also a turning point for them. If his father wasn’t willing to apologize for everything he’d done to him, then there would be nowhere for them to go from here. Atlas hadn’t been the only one who’d been slighted in that discussion, after all. He needed to hear that the monarch regretted accusing him of being mentally incompetent or else it would just be yet another demoralizing encounter added to his growing collection.

No matter what, the hypothetical talk was nothing more than his imagination as long as his father wasn’t willing to come back and visit him again. He wondered if he should just go back to sleep instead of keep ruminating on it, but before he could, someone knocked on his door and stepped inside. He turned his head and immediately blanched at the sight of the doctor and Jacob—he’d noticed a few hours ago that the guard was loitering around the hospital. If they had just appeared to check on him, he would have been happy to have company, but he knew what this was about.

The last time the pair had arrived together, it was because the doctor had stopped in to give him his next round of Accuparacin. He’d reviewed his vital signs and opened the front of his hospital gown to examine his chest and then revealed an enormous needle that had been almost as terrifying as Ethan’s gun to the prince who had a phobia of medical equipment. The doctor had noticed the way the color drained from his face at the sight and had Jacob stand in the room for moral support while he injected the painful medication directly into the swollen tissue around his broken ribs and wrist. Now, another six hours must have passed, and he was due for the last series of injections.

“Good morning, Your Highness,” the doctor greeted him politely, taking a seat in a wheeled chair and rolling it over to the side of his bed. “How are you feeling?”

“Better every time I wake up,” Cas replied, unable to help but visually search the man for his instrument of torture as he spoke.

The doctor noticed his wandering eyes and smiled at him warmly. He had a savvy bedside manner, the prince had to give him that. “I brought Mr. Curry with me,” he point out obviously. “Perhaps you can tell him how you’re feeling in more detail while I take a look at your ribs.”

Cas knew that was code for ‘look away before you see the fat needle.’ Heartbeat quickening with anxiousness, he turned his head toward Jacob, who’d come round to stand on his other side. Instead of talking about himself, though, he eyed the guard curiously as he felt the doctor unbuttoning the top of his hospital gown. “Have you gotten any sleep?” he asked. “Or were you just waiting around here for me all night?”

“Yes to both,” Jacob replied, watching the procedure with quiet interest. Unlike Caspian, he wasn’t squeamish in the slightest and found the treatment fascinating. Aspiria’s medicines were the best in their part of the world, and he enjoyed learning about them. “I stayed here for the night, but I found some time to rest.”

“Is my dad okay with you being here with me?” Cas asked a little bitterly.

“He’s been resting since the yesterday, so I haven’t asked,” Jacob shrugged. “I’m not only here for you though.”

“What do you mean—” Cas started and then inhaled sharply.

“That was just the alcohol swab,” the doctor said calmly. “It’s a good sign that you can breathe in so deeply though.”

The prince swallowed hard and nodded, bracing himself for the next part. Both he and Jacob stopped talking, since they knew he wouldn’t be able to hold a coherent conversation while the injection took place. Cas’s mind went blank, and he closed his eyes, then grimaced as he felt the needle pierce his chest. The process was agonizingly slow, and even though it wasn’t a very deep shot, the skin and muscles in the area were so tender that it felt like the doctor was burying the needle all the way into the middle of his body. “Fuck,” he hissed, curling his good hand into a fist as the Accuparacin was released. The medicine burned and stung at the same time, and he fought the urge to writhe against the pain, knowing that he’d just make his bruising worse if he squirmed.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness,” the doctor apologized sympathetically as he removed the needle. “I started with the most sensitive area this time, so the rest shouldn’t be as painful.”

“Thanks…” Cas murmured.

After two more injections, one in his other fractured rib and one in his wrist, the doctor announced that the worst was over and that he would send someone in with breakfast for him to eat while his discharge was arranged. Cas thanked him once more and waited until he was gone before he turned back to Jacob. “So you said you’re here for someone else?” he asked, curious who the taciturn guard had stayed to see if not him. A sly smile crossed his lips as he added teasingly, “Is it that blonde nurse? She looks like she’s close to your age.”

Jacob rolled his eyes. “You say that like I’m an old man.”

“You act like an old man sometimes,” Cas said cheekily.

Ignoring the remark, the guard replied, “I’m here because there was an… incident at the penitentiary that resulted in a prisoner being sent to the hospital for treatment. It’s nothing that you need to be concerned about.” Knowing how fond the prince was of Iris and finding out that she was supposedly in love with him, he felt like it was best not to give Caspian any specifics. He had no idea how he would react if he found out the rebel girl was in a room just two floors below him. “In fact, I should go and check on that prisoner now,” he added, bowing to the prince as he attempted to dodge any further questions.

“Oh, okay,” Cas frowned. Assuming it was just another fight between inmates, he didn’t interrogate the guard any further. “You’ll be giving me a lift back home later though, right?”

“Of course, Your Highness,” Jacob assured him. With nothing left to say, he slipped out of the room and made his way to the stairs, heading down two flights and striding along the corridor that would take him back to Iris. When he reached the right door, he lifted his hand and knocked twice, waiting in the hall just in case she was up and about by now. Not spending much time around women in general, he erred on the side of caution when it came to matters of decency.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Not too much, luckily. Cas will be sleeping a lot when he doesn’t have to wake up for check-ins from the doctor.

And okay! Sounds good.