“How am I sure?” Caspian echoed with a hint of incredulousness. His grip loosened on Jacob’s arm now that it seemed like the guard was no longer hellbent on storming off to sing to his father. Thinking over the question, he hesitated for a moment. Of course, he trusted Iris wholeheartedly and knew that she would never intentionally do something to hurt him. It wasn’t that the other man’s inquiry had planted any seeds of doubt in his head. His struggle was disentangling the objective facts from his affection for her, since Jacob wouldn’t be convinced by a simple ‘because I love her.’
“Honestly, it might just be easier for me to tell you everything rather than try to give you a specific answer to that question,” he sighed, deciding it was too difficult to pinpoint exactly what had led him to have faith in Iris. Gesturing to the small table by the window, he led the way over so that he and Jacob could sit down while he relayed the whole story.
The guard followed him quietly. He was still reluctant to believe that a rebel had changed sides, but he was willing to hear the prince out. In all the years he’d known Caspian, he’d learned that the young royal could be quick to trust others and often took flattery at face-value, even if the flatterer had an ulterior motive. It was entirely possible that Nox-Fleuret was stringing him along, using his heart of gold to achieve something for the rebellion. However, he also knew himself. As an ex-soldier who had seen the darkest side of humanity, he was the exact opposite of the future king of Aspiria. His bent was to believe the worst in everyone until proven otherwise, so it was possible that he was judging the girl too harshly. Taking a seat across from Caspian, he decided to withhold his opinion until after he heard his side of the story.
And he did.
For the next twenty minutes, the prince launched into a lengthy description of everything that had happened to him since the day he’d been taken by the rebels. He explained that Iris’s father, Regis, had kept him locked up in a cell in his basement—the very same one that the rescue team had discovered upon raiding the building—and that Iris was the one who had kept his strength up with intermittent deliveries of food and water behind the leader’s back. He also told the guard how Regis had verbally and physically abused her when he’d found out what she had been doing.
From there, he described the escape; how he had gotten caught the first time when he’d tried to climb out the window, how Regis had beaten him, and how Iris had eventually treated the worst of his wounds and helped him escape. He made sure to include the detail that he had lost trust in her during that time and hadn’t believed she was actually rescuing him until they had gone an entire day without getting caught by the other rebels. Knowing that Jacob was frugal with his trust, he felt like it would be helpful to inform the guard that Iris had earned his trust back after she’d lost it initially.
He went on to tell Jacob about their stay with Maisie—though he omitted her name just to be safe—their time in Bel Bicis, the fight with Ethan and Thomas in the street, and the events that had occurred in the Scourge’s prison hideout. By the time he was finished, he nearly felt winded. It was the first time he’d opened up to anyone about everything that had happened outside of his ridiculous psychotherapy session with Dr. Foster. He studied Jacob’s face expectantly, searching for a sign that the guard had been convinced not to hand Iris over to the soldiers. If he refused to compromise, Cas didn’t know what he was going to do.
For his part, Jacob hid his thoughts with an unreadable expression. After everything the prince had said, he had a lot to consider. Although he was only hearing one side of the story, it sounded like Iris had done quite a bit to keep Aspiria’s crown prince safe, and he couldn’t think of a reason why she might have done so. Well, other than the possibility that she was pulling a long con to win him over, become queen, and have him assassinated in order to secure the throne for the Scourge. However, her bold and somewhat reckless actions made him doubt the likelihood of that. If she had been vying for royalty for selfish reasons, it would have been quite a gamble for her to allow herself to be arrested and imprisoned at the border. If not for her seizure, she would probably have been dead by now. As reluctant as he was to admit it, Caspian seemed to be right in his assessment that she was really on his side.
How long will it last though, when their draw to each other is built on a house of cards? Jacob couldn’t help but wonder. By now, he was utterly convinced that Iris and Caspian had fallen for each other, even if the prince had never stated it outright. He also knew that their relationship, whatever it was, had nowhere to go. She was a former member of the rebellion, and he was on track to be king. Atlas would never allow them to be together. The guard worried that they were getting their hopes up, when in reality, they were going to have to split up eventually. Whether Iris was forced to leave the capital or Caspian was engaged to marry someone of his own status, their time together had an expiration date. The only question was when everything would fall apart.
He drummed his fingers on his knee, holding the prince’s gaze solemnly. Personal opinions aside, he knew Caspian was right. Iris had made amends for her past mistakes and was no longer a threat to the monarchy. There was no reason to have her executed, and if he reported her to King Atlas, she would be dead before the sun went down. “Fine,” he said, feeling more content with his decision to take the younger Maydestone’s side. “I understand why you’re trying so hard to protect her, and I agree with you. If she isn’t an enemy, killing her would be wrong.”
When the words left Jacob’s mouth, Cas felt weak with relief. He was glad that the head of security had agreed with him after all. “Thank you,” he breathed, sinking back in his chair. “Will you… tell the soldiers that she got away?”
The guard nodded, “They’ll likely want to continue looking for her for a few more days just to make sure she’s really gone, but I’ll spread word that she was taken by other members of the Scourge.”
“That’s fine,” Cas glanced down at the silicon brace on his wrist, adjusting it slightly with his free hand. “They won’t find her, so I’m not really worried.”
Jacob grunted and rose to his feet. He was curious where the prince had hidden the girl, but he knew better than to ask. The less anyone knew, the better, including him. However, he wasn’t going to leave just yet. “A word of advice, Your Highness,” he added, prompting Cas to look up at him again. He paused briefly, pursing his lips, and then spoke quietly: “Don’t dive so deep that you drown yourself before you realize you need to come up for air.”
“That’s cryptic,” Cas eyed him confusedly.
“I think you know what I mean,” Jacob assured him, not bothering to elaborate. With a curt bow, he turned and exited the room, leaving the prince behind to puzzle over his parting message.
--
Oh, I know you could, Miles thought, biting his lower lip when Iris joked about making his clothes fashionable. She could even make a garbage bag fashionable. Why the hell did Cas have to bring back a girl as hot as she was? Housing her would have been a lot easier if he didn’t have to pretend like he didn’t find her ridiculously attractive, so he wouldn’t make her uncomfortable.
When she disappeared into the bathroom, he turned his back to the glass door and ran both hands through his unkempt hair, puffing out his cheeks as a long exhale escaped his lips. It was tortuous. Hiding her from the soldiers was both his most coveted fantasy and most dreaded nightmare at the same time. It was also a gamble. If he made a move and she reciprocated, then watching her would be even more of a thrill than it already was. However, if he tried and she recoiled, things would just be awkward between them the rest of the time that she stayed with him. He didn’t know what to do.
Coming to the conclusion that he was just going to send himself into a tailspin if he kept thinking about it, he snuck out of his room to distract himself by raiding his sister’s closet for clothes.
Luckily, his guess had been right, and the bedroom was empty by the time he got there. There were no maids around either. He slipped inside and made a beeline for the oversized walk-in, turning on the light and looking over the rows of fancy, vogueish outfits that lined the walls. Not knowing the first thing about women’s fashion, he collected a variety of tops, bottoms, dresses, and undergarments and piled them in his arms. Iris could go through everything and pick what she liked when she got out of the shower. He just hoped at least some of it would fit her, since he’d heard his sister and past girlfriends gripe about how hard it was to find clothing that was designed for their body types.
Once he had a surfeit of options for her to choose from, he ducked back out of the closet and headed back to his own room, where he dumped the clothes on the bed and seated himself on the sofa to scroll on his phone while he waited for Iris to finish washing up.
Snowdrops
sukikyoufu
Rapture
Knight 7
Red Schuhart
Damycles
Dion
shylarah