Cas nodded when Dr. Emett echoed what he’d said about the bathroom mirror. [color=#b97703]“Yeah, that’s what she said,”[/color] he confirmed. [color=#b97703]“I didn’t see it for myself, but she’d have no reason to lie about something like that.”[/color] He could also tell when she’d told him about it that she had been honest. The guilt in her eyes wasn’t something that could be faked. Like the doctor, he could understand why she’d done it though. It hard to be rough, looking at her own reflection and not recognizing the face that stared back. It was hard for him to imagine what that must have felt like. He wondered if it would be best for the hospital to wait until she checked out before they replaced the mirror, so she wouldn’t have to go through it again.

As Emett looked through Iris’s notes to determine how much her care would cost, Cas drummed his fingers against his bicep, a bit nervous to hear the number. He’d overheard the doctor talk about hospital expenses with his father before, so he already knew it was going to cost a lot of money. However, when the words [i]twenty-six thousand[/i] came out of the older man’s mouth, he couldn’t stop his eyebrows from raising in shock. That was a [i]hell[/i] of a lot of credits. Even though it wouldn’t even make a dent in the Maydestone family fortune, his father was definitely going to be furious when he found out. It would have been one thing if he had paid for Jay or Miles or someone else he considered a close friend, but Iris was a total stranger. The king would never support his decision to help her.

However, he’d already promised to foot the bill, and none of her family had turned up yet, so there was no getting out of it now. He would just have to tell Atlas what he’d done and hope he could walk away without too severe a consequence.

[color=#b97703]“Okay.”[/color] He cleared his throat when he noticed his voice leave him a bit hoarsely while he recovered from his initial surprise. [color=#b97703]“Right. Twenty-six thousand? I can have the funds wired over either tomorrow or the next day… depending on how long it takes to go through.” [i]And how long it takes my dad to calm down,[/i][/color] he added silently. [color=#b97703][i]God, he might actually kill me this time.[/i][/color] If he wasn’t the king’s only son, he might have considered working on an escape plan after tonight. It was a good thing his father didn’t have any other heirs to replace him if he was strangled for his impulsiveness.

When Dr. Emett answered his last question, Cas nodded contemplatively. It sounded like Iris was going to be leaving tomorrow whether her family picked her up or not. He wished he could pay for her to stay longer if she needed to, but he’d already landed himself in a deep enough hole by covering her first two nights. Although, who knew? Maybe it would be a good thing for her to get out of the hospital, so she wouldn’t be cooped up like a coddled housecat anymore. Being able to freely explore the capital might help her get her memories back too. It could be just what she needed to beat her amnesia.

[color=#b97703][i]But where will she go?[/i][/color] He couldn’t help but wonder. With no family to go home to or friends to bunk with, she could end up on the streets or even exiled from the city. With the rise in rebel activity lately, the military had cleared the capital of all people who weren’t high born. If a soldier saw her looking homeless with no ID to prove her status, he would assume she was from one of the lower cities and force her out. She would never get back to her old life if that happened.

[color=#b97703]“Maybe… she could stay with me,”[/color] the words left his mouth before he could think them through. Realizing what he’d just offered, he bit his lip. He shouldn’t have made the proposal so quickly. There was no telling what his father would say if he asked to let a strange girl live with them, so he couldn’t make such a suggestion in confidence. [color=#b97703]“I mean, I can ask my dad if he’s okay with it,”[/color] he corrected, trying to set more realistic expectations. [color=#b97703]“But… if it works out, we have plenty of place at the house. If her family calls the hospital looking for her, you can just give them our general number. I’ll just tell the appointment receptionist to keep her ears open for anyone asking for Iris.”[/color]