When Cas made it to the kitchen, he found that he wasn’t the first arrive. He caught sight of Iris across the room and made his way over to join her. As much as he disliked it, his father was going to be joining them for dinner, so he needed to prepared her to face him before he got there. Any unexpected or disrespectful reactions from her—even if they were inadvertent—would displeased the king. He didn’t want to risk getting her kicked out before she had even spent her first night in the mansion, and there was no way of knowing if she remembered proper etiquette around the royal family. So far, he hadn’t seen her show any to him, but he had expressed that he didn’t like being treated specially, so she might have just been honoring his request. Just in case though, he decided to refresh her memory.

[color=#b97703]“Hey,”[/color] he greeted her warmly, hoping to give her a dose of friendliness before the ice king entered and chilled the mood. Stopping by her side, he casted a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure Atlas hadn’t gotten to the kitchen yet before he turned back to her with a more serious expression. [color=#b97703]“So, my dad is planning to eat with us,”[/color] he admitted, getting straight to the point with the limited time they had. [color=#b97703]“I just have a couple words of advice before he shows up. First,”[/color] he held up his index finger as he began his list. [color=#b97703]“Try not to act too shocked when you see him. I don’t know if you remember or not, but he’s ill, and, well… he definitely looks it. If you give away any appalment, it’ll make him upset.”[/color]

He held up his second finger, [color=#b97703]“Also, remember what I said about not calling me Your Highness? Scrap that. Anything my dad shows up to is automatically a formal event. The general rule of thumb is to avoid our names altogether. If you do that, you should be golden.”[/color] He paused briefly before adding, [color=#b97703]“And don’t sit down or leave the table before he does. Don’t touch your food first either. He has to initiate everything.”[/color] It wasn’t the best crash course in royal etiquette, but it would have to do for now, especially because his father had just arrived in the kitchen.

Quickly, Cas took a step away from Iris to put a little more distance between them, careful not to look like he was too close to her while the king limped toward them. Atlas was leaning most of his weight into the cane that he used to get around with a focused look on his face as if the simple act of walking was taxing business. His eyes drifted from his son’s face to hers, where he paused, taking in the sight of the guest who was now staying in his home.

Sensing a quiet that was dragging on too long to be comfortable for anyone, the prince cleared his throat. [color=#b97703]“Dad, this is Iris,”[/color] he introduced her, holding out one hand.

“So it is,” the king mused, eyeing the amnesiac girl with an unreadable expression that made his son nervous. Another brief silence followed as he limped closer to her and stopped, straightening his posture as much as his decrepit spine would allow. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Iris. To which family do you belong?”