As always, Cas found himself grinning at the glee on Iris’s face when she climbed out of the car. He enjoyed sharing his interests with her. Since she didn’t have any memories about who he was, it was easier to take her by surprise than it was with other high borns. Most of the time, everyone he met acted like they already knew him, since a decent portion of his life was broadcasted by the media for all to see. It was no secret that the heir to the crown had a penchant for speeding and enjoyed supporting the small business owners that remained in the historic district, but Iris remembered none of that. Having the opportunity to tell her about himself on his own terms and in his own words rather than battling against what the media said about him was a welcome change of pace.

His excitement simmered down slightly when he noticed her happiness fade, reminding him that her amnesia wasn’t as invigorating to her as it was to him. Apparently even this place, as memorable as it was, didn’t spark any familiarity in her injured mind. It was difficult for him to understand. There didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to the things that triggered her memories to resurface. He hoped that didn’t mean there was nothing they could do to coax her mental fog to clear up faster. If it was left up to chance, there was no telling how many days, weeks or months it could take for her to return to normal.

[color=#b97703]“Maybe that will help,”[/color] he shrugged, trying to stay positive so they wouldn’t both be discouraged by the fact that she still couldn’t remember much. At the very least, he was optimistic that she would have a good time exploring the shops with him. There were plenty of intriguing pieces of history, some whose purposes were known and others whose uses could only be left to the imagination. To him, it felt like going back in time—getting away from all the expectations he had to carry around when he otherwise had to be the prince of Aspiria.

When Iris spoke about his past, Cas smiled melancholically. [color=#b97703]“Yeah,”[/color] he nodded. [color=#b97703]“She hated being cooped up in the house, and I needed breaks from studying to have a real childhood, so we visited places like this all the time.”[/color] As he talked, he led the way down the sidewalk that would take them to the nearest shop. His pace was purposefully slow, so he wouldn’t wear her out too quickly. If she could handle it, he wanted to complete the full circuit around the edge district before they left.

[color=#b97703]“It’s been a long time since I last came here with her,”[/color] he mused in response to her question. [color=#b97703]“I think I was around eleven or twelve. After that, I sort of went through the usual ‘rebellious teenager’ phase and spent most of my time with the friends I’d made back then than I did with her.”[/color] He shook his head. Even though the information might have been considered personal to someone else, he had grown numb to the thought of other people knowing every intimate detail of his past. The media had broadcasted it all years ago anyway. Forgetting that Iris may have forgotten the fate of the Aspirian queen, and he added in a low voice: [color=#b97703]“If I’d known how little time she had left, I would have done things differently.”[/color]