[color=#b97703]“I wouldn’t know. I try to avoid them, to be honest,”[/color] Cas shook his head when Iris talked about the articles that had been written about him. He’d stumbled upon a few of them years ago, but they were so ridiculous that he was a little disgusted by the measures the authors took to act like they knew him. None of them had even said so much as a word to him before, so they couldn’t say why he did the things he did. Of course, he knew the writers wouldn’t stop publishing stories about him just because he didn’t like it, so he’d decided it was best to ignore them altogether. He only read the ones that Jay and Miles told him about if the author had tried to claim something especially scandalous about him or his father, and that was just so he could privately send word to the publisher to take the article down.

[color=#b97703]“Oh my God,”[/color] he laughed when Iris invented a fake headliner. [color=#b97703]“I think I just threw up a little in my mouth.”[/color] Following her over to the counter, he took out his wallet to pay for the toiletries she’d picked out. All in all, it was turning out to be a good trip. Now, when he finally brought her back to his house, she wouldn’t have to worry about missing anything that she needed, and she could rest until she felt ready to leave again—or her family came to get her. Whichever came first.

[color=#b97703]“You’d better,”[/color] he glanced at her with a smirk when she said she would remember his favorite color. [color=#b97703]“There’s going to be a quiz later, and I expect you to be on your A game.”[/color] Running his card, he waited for the transaction to go through and then added the bag of toiletries to his collection. With everything finally purchased, he was ready to head back too. He wasn’t nearly as tired as she probably was, but he’d skipped lunch to pick her up from the hospital, so he wanted something to fill his empty stomach. Maybe one of the maids could make him a sandwich or something else that was relatively quick. Since he’d been gone and his father hadn’t been eating lately, he doubted the servants had even bothered to make a proper meal earlier, so there wouldn’t be any leftovers to come home to.

When Iris spoke up again, he nodded in agreement. [color=#b97703]“The food here is amazing,”[/color] he confirmed, holding the door for her to walk into the parking lot first. [color=#b97703]“All the chefs compete with each other since their restaurants are so close together. They’re always trying to outdo their neighbors’ recipes, so you can expect a great meal every time you come through for lunch or dinner.”[/color] Plus, if he went with her, he was sure the cooks would treat them to something special. Getting the best dishes with the freshest ingredients was yet another perk of being royalty in Aspiria.

At her mention of bumping into someone she knew, he nodded again. [color=#b97703]“You could sometime,”[/color] he said, opening the back door of his car to put away the shopping bags followed by her crutches, which he laid on the floor again. [color=#b97703]“If we stay longer next time, I think it’s pretty likely.”[/color] He offered her a hand to get in the passenger side and then climbed in the driver’s side to take them back to his place. [color=#b97703]“Alright, next stop, Hotel Maydestone,”[/color] he announced, casting her a grin as he backed the car out of the parking spot.