[color=#b97703]“Second only to ice cream,”[/color] Cas agreed with a sage nod, chasing his food with a swig of coffee. Offhandedly, he found it interesting how easily he could talk to Iris after spending less than a week in her company. Even amnesiac, she had a way about her that made him feel compelled to relax. That was a priceless quality in the fast paced world of high borns, where everyone seemed to be fretting about something or another at every hour of the day. He had been told by others that he had a similar idiosyncrasy, but he knew his laidback attitude was just a side effect of running from his responsibilities. He was carefree because the cares were too much to handle. It was more pleasant to pretend like the country didn’t need him to lead it one day than it was to accept his role as the heir to the crown. Unfortunately, with the rapid decline of his father’s health, he was afraid he couldn’t keep running for much longer.

When Iris spoke up again, the prince was relieved to have a distraction. [color=#b97703]“Well,”[/color] he started slowly. [color=#b97703]“I was thinking we could go to the historical district. There are a few interesting museums, and sometimes you can see performers in the streets. If that doesn’t spark anything, we can go back to the mall.”[/color] He lifted his fork to his mouth with another bite of greens. Showing her around that much of the city had to bring back [i]something[/i] for her. The historical district wasn’t as popular as the mall, but there were often events going on at night to attract a crowd. He would have been surprised if she hadn’t visited it even once.

Turning back to her, he parted his lips to add more and then faltered when he saw that she was already done eating. [color=#b97703]“Wow,”[/color] he whistled. [color=#b97703]“You really were hungry, weren’t you?”[/color] Determined to catch up, he shoveled down the last few forkfuls of his salad and guzzled his water. With a satisfied exhale, he stood up from the table and took a step back. As soon as his seat was empty, the kitchen staff hurried forward to clear away his empty dishes, and he thanked them habitually.

[color=#b97703]“Ready to go?”[/color] he grinned at Iris eagerly. Since she had been regaining bits and pieces of her memory, he was optimistic that spending an afternoon touring the capital would help her recover more of the rest. Even if it didn’t, he was excited to spend time with her outside of the hospital and his own home. The last time they’d visited the city, she had been too tired to stay on her feet for very long. He hoped that this time, they could have at least a few hours before they had to come back to the manor. 

[color=#b97703]“We can take my car again,”[/color] he offered. [color=#b97703]“I know my way around, so we don’t need a chauffeur.”[/color]