Rogue Sloth

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

When Harry spoke up, Cas glanced at him and then back at Iris. He wanted to stay by her side all day if it was possible, but realistically, he knew he wouldn’t be able to visit her for much longer. His father had been avoiding him since their fight, but if he didn’t return home before the evening, he was sure the king would search for him. The last thing he needed was to cue Atlas in to his closeness with her by allowing him to find out that he’d insisted on staying by her side at the expense of his own health. If he was going to build a case for himself and pretend like he wasn’t in love with her, he was going to have to behave like he only saw her as the person who had rescued him and nothing more. He let out his breath in a quiet sigh.

“I guess that’s fine,” he relented, casting Iris a subtle, wistful glance. “I just want to make sure she won’t be sentenced prematurely. She saved my life, after all.” It was the best excuse he could come up with that wouldn’t give away how much he actually cared about her. Fortunately, it seemed to be believable enough for Harry.

“I’ll pass on the word if anyone asks,” the guard assured him in his usual friendly manner. “You get some rest, and I’ll stay here to make sure she’s treated fairly.”

“Thanks,” Cas nodded, feeling a little relieved that there would be someone keeping an eye on Iris while he was gone. He supposed this worked out for the better anyway. He couldn’t speak to her openly as long as the guards were around, so he would be able to get more accomplished in the privacy of his own bedroom. As long as the soldiers abided by the doctor’s orders, he had at least two days to come up with a plan to get her away from them. It wasn’t a whole lot of time, but it was enough for him to start working on something before they sent her back to the penitentiary.

Breaking her out of the hospital will be a lot easier than trying to get her out of a maximum security prison, he thought, stepping over to the door where Jacob was already waiting. He would have liked to say goodbye to her before he left, but he didn’t want to come across as too friendly with her, so he merely glanced at her over his shoulder one more time before he headed into the hallway with his bodyguard.

Their walk back to the lobby was quiet, as both men were still tense after their earlier argument. They dropped off their guest passes at the reception desk and made their way to the parking garage in further silence. On the way, Cas idly rubbed his chest, where his fractured ribs had begun to pain him again after he’d been off his painkillers for a while. The injections he’d received would speed up the duration of his healing from six weeks to just one, but he was still going to be sore for a few days while he was recovering. As soon as he got home, he planned to have a light meal and take the prescription pills they’d picked up at the pharmacy to ease the pain.

~Bonsoir~

“It might,” Vail admitted, though his uncaring tone revealed how little the potential issue bothered him. Like the rest of the clan, his father had been through a lot during the last week, so he tried to tread lightly around him. The leader of the Hygraces had been broken deeply after Mikael had massacred more than half of the vampires who had survived the first attack a century ago. Not wanting to wound him anymore than he already had been, the heir had been careful not to upset him too much, but he wasn’t going to pretend like Peter was made of glass. His feelings toward Victoria hadn’t changed, so his father was just going to have to accept that he’d chosen to be with her whether he liked it or not.

Honestly, he wasn’t sure how the rest of his family would react either, but none of them had the authority to discourage him from being with her. He hoped they would be more accepting of her now that she’d been turned into a fledgling, but he couldn’t predict what they would think since she was born from human roots. Turning humans into vampires was an ancient and taboo ritual that seemed to have been abandoned by most modern clans, after all. He wouldn’t have been surprised if none of the Hygraces approved of the way he’d saved her life or the fact that they were still intending to be together.

As she squeezed his hand, he felt a swell of fondness for her and nodded, pleased that she was just as eager to confront his family as he was. “I would appreciate that,” he said earnestly. Now that she was awake, he was going to have to start investing more of his time into helping the other members of his clan get back on their feet. Normally that task would have fallen on his father’s shoulders, but since Peter was practically in a vegetative state, it was now his responsibility to take over. He’d never stepped up to be a leader before, so having her support would give him the encouragement he needed to do the job.

Noticing the brightness in her eyes, he looked her over curiously as he wondered how much of her strength had come back to her since she’d first regained a heartbeat. “How are you feeling now?” he asked. “Do you think you need to lie down a while longer, or would you like to try getting up?”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

It was entertaining. We play the adult version, haha. It's an 18+ card game that we turned into a drinking game.

That sounds exciting! Where are you going for your work trip?

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

When Iris insisted that nothing he did would work, Cas furrowed his brows, perplexed by her pessimistic attitude. He didn’t understand why she was so cynical about it. Yes, it was going to be difficult, but it was still worth trying if it meant she would be safe. Even if they failed, the consequences wouldn’t be worse than what she would face if she didn’t leave. In his mind, there was no reason not to take the plunge and do their best to save her from the soldiers and his father if there was even a hair of a chance that they could succeed.

Her acceptance of her own death was concerning to him as well. When he’d been trapped as the rebels’ captive, he’d had the opposite response: He’d been desperate to do whatever it took to save his own life. His will to live had prompted him to spend all of his waking hours in Regis’s basement prodding about until he found a way out of the makeshift cell. He’d loosened the bars and tried to climb out the window, and even when he’d been caught, he’d fought back to keep the rebel leader from killing him with his knife. Later on, he’d also defended himself and Iris against Ethan and Thomas in the street and at the prison. When staring death in the face, he’d refused to give up every time. Only when he’d been so beaten and battered that he could barely breathe had he changed his outlook on dying, and even then, when a chance to escape had presented itself, he’d still taken it without a second thought. Comparatively, Iris’s certainty that she was going to lose her life was disconcerting to him.

As she admitted that she’d told the interrogators that she had feelings for him, he shifted his weight, somewhat worried about what would happen when that bit of information found its way to his father. Given how protective Atlas was of him, he was sure the king would be furious to find out that a member of the rebellion had developed feelings for him. It wasn’t the end of the world though. Judging by the way she phrased it, it sounded like the soldiers only knew that she loved him, not that the feelings were mutual. If it meant keeping her safe, he could always lie and tell his father that he’d had no idea that she’d fallen for him and that he had no such affection for her. Hopefully that would be enough to throw the monarch off their scent long enough for him to get her away from the soldiers.

With no time to discuss escape plans with her while the guards were waiting to come into the room, he decided to keep them to himself until he could secure another moment alone with her. “I know you can do it,” he assured her with a more genuine smile, stepping back to put some distance between them. “And don’t worry about what you might have said during the interrogation. I’ll take care of it.” With that, he turned his head toward the door and called to Jacob, “You can come in now.”

The latch on the door clicked, and Cas slipped his good hand into his pocket, taking on a casual posture to mask the serious conversation he’d just had with Iris. Jacob stepped into the room first, glancing between the two with subtle curiosity. Unfortunately for the prince, he was more aware of the taboo romance that had developed than he let on. Although he still had no solid evidence, he could read Caspian well enough to know that he was hiding something, and the passion that entered his voice every time they discussed the rebel girl filled in the gaps.

“How long did you intend to stay here, Your Highness?” he asked rigidly, still on edge around the royal after their argument in the car. “You need your own rest too.”

“I don’t know,” Cas replied with a shrug. “You don’t have to wait here with me. If you have other things to do, you can go. I’ll just have someone pick me up later.”

Now he’s just being unreasonable, the guard fought the urge to roll his eyes at the prince’s obvious attempt to get rid of him. “That’s alright, Your Highness,” he said with forced politeness, ambling over to the chair by the door and sitting down. “I don’t have anything else to do, so I’ll wait for you right here until you’re ready to leave.”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

It was a lot of fun ^^ I had like 8 shots on Saturday while we were playing Never Have I Ever, but I didn't drink yesterday. My husband did though and got very drunk on Tequila and whiskey xD He admitted it was a stupid idea to mix those two liquors afterward, hahaha.

Nice! Sounds like you had a good weekend too :)

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Seeing Iris smile again gave Caspian a brief flicker of hope that she was coming around. He knew he couldn’t erase the trauma that the soldiers had put her through with words alone, but he was glad that she seemed to be comforted by him for the moment. With any luck, he would be able to do even more to help her aside from just holding her in his arms and making promises. Everything he said to her was empty until he actually thought of a way to get her away from the penitentiary, after all. As determined as he was to protect her, he knew it was going to be an uphill battle when everyone else in the capital was against her. He doubted they would find allies like Maisie or the man who had helped them escape from Ethan’s prison this time.

“I know it won’t,” he agreed with her when she said it wouldn’t be simple. Well aware of the obstacles they were going to face, he didn’t expect that he would be able to come up with a foolproof plan to help her get away that same day. He didn’t expect that he would be able to help her without facing any consequences. The chances of getting away with it without his father finding out were slim to none, so he would just have to hope that the king wouldn’t be too severe with his punishment when that time came. No matter what happened to him, though, he felt like it was worth the trouble as long as he knew she would be safe from harm.

As Iris lifted her hand to touch his cheek, he leaned into her fingers, frowning as she spoke about her past wrongs as if they were impossible to overcome. He didn’t care that she had been involved in the rebellion’s plans to kill him. At one point, he’d held a grudge against her, but since then, he’d realized just how much she regretted what she’d done. He couldn’t hold it against her when he knew she felt genuine remorse. Besides, he also knew that Ethan and the others had manipulated her into going through with it. She had been a victim through it all, just like he had.

So, when she confessed that she wished the soldiers would just kill her, he inhaled sharply and pulled her into a firm embrace, pained by the knowledge that she felt like death was her only option. “They’re not going to kill you,” he told her sternly. “I’m not going to let that happen.” Pulling back just slightly, he pressed a fervent kiss to her lips and then met her gaze earnestly. “I’ve already forgiven you for what happened in the woods, Iris. It isn’t something you have to live with. Your mistakes aren’t what define you either. You’re an amazing, incredible, beautiful woman, and you deserve to be seen for that, not the things you’re ashamed of.”

Before he could add more, a knock sounded on the door followed by Jacob’s voice, “Your Highness, is everything alright in there?”

Cas swore under his breath. For a few minutes, he’d forgotten that the guards were outside the room. He glanced at the door and then back at Iris, wishing they could have more time alone. However, he knew that if he delayed letting Jacob and Harry into the room for much longer, they would start to seem suspicious. Reluctantly, he called back, “Just give me one more minute.”

“Okay, Your Highness,” Jacob replied.

With a sigh, Cas touched one more swift kiss to Iris’s lips and met her gaze again, offering a halfhearted smile, “I love you, and I know you’re strong. Please just trust that I’ll find a way to get you out of here, okay? I promise you’re going to be alright.”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

“Iris, don’t lie to me,” Cas chided her in a murmur when she tried to tell him that nothing had happened. He knew that was complete and utter bullshit. Jacob had filled him in on everything regarding the arrest, the interrogations, and even her seizure, so there was no way she could convince him that she was fine. He was a little stung that she even tried to mislead him. Didn’t she trust him to be there for her? He wanted her to see him as someone she could rely on during hard times, but it seemed like she was still reluctant to confide in him. That she was quicker to deceive him about her condition than she was to accept his sympathy and allow him to comfort her was proof that she either didn’t think he could do anything to help or thought he wasn’t strong enough to handle it.

Tangling his fingers in her thick, blonde hair, he let out a soft sigh, wishing she would stop pushing him away. He loved all of her, so he wanted to be there for her through everything—the good and the bad; the beautiful and the ugly. He’d fallen for the woman behind the walls she put up to make herself appear strong. When she showed him vulnerability, he wasn’t disappointed or disgusted that she couldn’t handle everything life threw at her. To him, those moments were just glimpses into the other shades of who she really was, and they made his affection for her grow deeper. He didn’t understand why she seemed to feel like she always had to put on a tough face for him and hide her messes as if they would cause him to think she was too much of a burden to tolerate.

So, when she suddenly cracked and wrapped her arms around him, he blinked in surprise before he began gently running his hand down and up her back. Seeing her openly weep drove a knife through his heart, but he didn’t say anything. There wasn’t much he could say after all she’d endured, so the best he could offer was his shoulder for her to cry on. If it was possible, he wouldn’t have hesitated to promise her that he would make things right. He would have had everyone who’d tormented her fired on the spot for their gross misconduct, and he would have brought her back into his home to be treated as a royal guest. However, he still had his father to contend with, so it wouldn’t be that simple.

He was still planning to get her away from the soldiers, of course, but if Atlas wasn’t willing to compromise with him, he had a feeling he was going to have to sneak her out outside the law. Now that he was back in the public eye, it was going to be difficult for him to do anything without getting caught too. He had no idea how he was going to pull it off, but he knew he had to do it in order to make sure she would be safe. Even if that means helping her escape from the capital and never seeing her again, he thought, his throat tightening at the prospect of losing touch with her forever. As much as he wanted to keep her close, he was willing to let her go back to the other districts if it was what he had to do to keep her from being executed.

Clinging to her tightly, he pressed his lips to her neck as she sobbed on his shoulder, showering her with kisses from her collar up to her cheek. “I’m going to do whatever I can to make sure this never happens again,” he assured her in a whisper, lifting his hand to her face to brush away the tears that streaked her cheeks. “You mean too much to me. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you anymore.”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

It was fun! Plans also changed and my friends came over again today for another game day xD We hung out Friday night, Saturday night, today during the afternoon, and we might get together again tomorrow evening. It's been great for filling up my extrovert tank.

I also haven't been able to post because everyone just left, and now I'm babysitting my very drunk husband lol He's occupied right now, so I'll try to get a post done before I go to bed :)

How was your day?

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

That might be my last post til tomorrow, because my friends are coming over for another visit in about fifteen minutes!
They want to play some drinking games, so if I don't sober up before bed, I definitely don't want to attempt writing a terrible post xD

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Expecting to see Iris, Caspian paused in the doorway and raised a brow when the first face he saw in the room belonged to Harry Calhoun instead. As the guard bowed to him, he realized belatedly that he should have known Jacob would have left someone behind to keep an eye on their prisoner though. The head of security wouldn’t trust her enough to be left alone at the hospital even if she was injured. He nearly rolled his eyes at the thought but restrained himself. The man he was upset with was Jacob, not Harry or Iris, so there was no point in taking out his frustration on either of them.

Noticing Harry’s wandering eyes, he glanced over his shoulder. “Jacob is parking the car right now,” he explained casually, taking a guess as to what the guard was searching for. Carefully, he maneuvered around the other man to come further into the room, losing interest in talking to Harry as his gaze landed on Iris. Right away, he could tell that she wasn’t doing well. Her skin looked pale, and her eyes were red as if she’d been crying recently. The sight made him want to run to her side and wrap his arms around her in a protective embrace, but he couldn’t do that when the guard was there with them. Everyone on the security team reported to his father.

So, suppressing the urge to let go of his inhibitions and close the distance between them, he glanced at Harry again, quickly coming up with a way to get rid of him for a little while. “Actually… why don’t you go down and meet him in the lobby?” he suggested. “That way you can show him how to get to this room when he gets here.”

“Oh, Jacob already knows where this room is, Your Highness,” Harry replied.

Shit. Of course he does, Cas cringed inwardly, remembering too late that Jacob had visited Iris once already. He shifted his weight, his dark brown eyes flicking toward the open door once more before he tried a slightly more honest approach, “Do you mind waiting just outside then? I’d like a word with Iris in private.”

“Of course, Your Highness,” Harry bowed again and stepped into the hall, and Caspian was relieved that he didn’t ask any questions. There were some perks to being the crown prince.

He waited until Harry closed the door behind him and then turned toward Iris again, crossing the rest of the way to her bed and wrapping his good arm around her tightly. After spending the night apart, not knowing what had happened to her, he was relieved to be able to hold her again. “I’m so sorry,” he murmured, his voice muffled against her long hair as he buried his face into the crook of her neck. “I had no idea—I thought when we got to the border, I would be able to keep you safe… I didn’t know my dad had already put out a warrant for your arrest.” He shook his head, drawing her in as close as he could and hoping she wouldn’t push him away. “I’m sorry they did this to you… I love you, and I didn’t want any of this to happen.”