[color=#b97703]“Alright, that’s fair,”[/color] Cas admitted when Iris said the workers at the hospital were nice. Emett was one of the most pleasant people he’d ever met, especially for a doctor. He’d gone to him for all his appointments for as far back as he could remember, and aside from his own disagreeableness—he’d always hated getting vaccines as a kid—he couldn’t remember having any bad experiences. The man was probably just as patient and gentle with Iris as he had been with him.

As she offered to recreate the sound he’d been talking about, Cas made a face. Just thinking about messing with an injury that serious made him feel squeamish. [color=#b97703]“Don’t you dare,”[/color] he shook his head firmly. [color=#b97703]“You leave your leg alone or I’m going to call a nurse in here to duct tape your hands to the bed.”[/color]

At her mention of the cost of the hospital, he just shrugged, though inwardly he couldn’t help but dwell on the comment. As of right now, all the bills for her room, treatment, and medications were going to be charged to him. He didn’t mind covering it, but the longer she stayed here, the more that expense was going to cost. If he came home with a massive hospital receipt for a girl he didn’t even know, his father would be livid. Of course, as the reigning family, the Maydestones had more money than they knew what to do with and could easily spare enough to cover whatever Iris needed, but the king wasn’t as generous with their wealth as he was. It would take a lot of explaining to get him to understand why he thought they should pay for her. He hoped her family would get her soon so they wouldn’t have to have that conversation.

When Iris went on to say that she was remembering everything since she woke up, he was glad, although he wavered when she called him by his full name. Exhausted yesterday, he hadn’t noticed that the nurse who’d stopped by to tell him about the sedan had called him “Caspian” instead of just “Cas.” Discreetly, he studied her face to see if the name rang any bells, but she didn’t seem to make the connection that he was the heir to the throne, so he relaxed again.

[color=#b97703]“Yeah, I do,”[/color] he confirmed with a nod. [color=#b97703]“Some people still call me Caspian, like Dr. Emett, but I like Cas better. It’s simple and easy to remember.”[/color]

When she suddenly brought up his father, he stared at her in surprise. Even though he knew she didn’t know his father was the King of Aspiria, he found her offer almost comical. A random girl writing a note to the [i]king[/i] to apologize for keeping the prince out late one night? He bit back a snort at the thought. Still, the concern on her face was kind of sweet. He could tell her suggestion to help came from a genuine desire to make sure he was okay, and he liked that.

[color=#b97703]“It’s alright,”[/color] he smiled at her. [color=#b97703]“He wasn’t happy, but it wasn’t the first time I’ve missed my curfew. He always gets over it as soon as something more important comes up. There’s nothing to worry about.”[/color]

Not wanting her to linger on it when it was his problem to deal with, he changed the subject. [color=#b97703]“Hang on, I’ve got an idea.”[/color] Slipping his phone from his pocket, he opened up his music app and pulled up a playlist of [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2Q6YO3Ez44&t=9916s][color=aba000]bossa nova[/color][/url] songs. He glanced up at her with a smirk as he hit ‘play,’ and the sound of cheesy jazz music filled the room.

[color=#b97703]“And [i]voila[/i],”[/color] he said with a flourish of his hand. [color=#b97703]“We’ve got ourselves a two-star café.”[/color]