[color=#b97703]“I understand,”[/color] Cas nodded sympathetically when Iris said she didn’t have an appetite anymore. He didn’t have much of one either, but for different reasons. While the hover car didn’t make him motion sick, knowing that he was going to have to act as his father’s proxy for the evening did. Stepping in for the king during important meetings wasn’t new to him in and of itself. He’d done it before to meet with foreign dignitaries and make minor changes to plans that the council came up with. This was the first time that he’d been put in charge of handling the fates of criminals though, and that was nerve wracking.

[color=#b97703]“Sure,”[/color] he offered her a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. He hoped she wouldn’t be disappointed, but after everything that had happened, he wasn’t in the mood to hang out with anyone anymore. Besides that, he wasn’t sure Jay and Miles would be allowed on the property, even if they tried. The whole estate was going to be on lockdown until the soldiers in the capital gave the all-clear that there were no other rebels who could attempt a second strike on the royal family. Before then, no one would be allowed in our out of the mansion, and he would have to focus on handling the prisoners the security team had succeeded in capturing.

Walking with Jacob and the other guard—it was another man whom didn’t know well enough to name—Cas made his way across the grounds to the exterior entrance of a different wing in the building. He did his best to wear a stoical expression, knowing that all the people he was about to meet with expected him to be a phlegmatic leader in the face of unrest. It was what his father would have done. He focused on a mental image of the king, healthy and commanding, dictating orders to his people, as he stepped into the meeting room.

Everyone on the council was at least twice his age. Men and women in their fifties and sixties all looked up from their hushed conversations as the young prince strode over to the empty seat at the head of the ovoid table and sat down. His two bodyguards took up positions on either side of the door, passively observing the meeting in wait of orders to delegate to the security team, if needed.

Cas could feel the weight of their gazes on him as a quiet fell over the room. He knew most of the members of his father’s council didn’t take him seriously because of his age and inexperience. They would have preferred to be looking at Atlas himself when discussing something as serious as a terrorist attack. However, there was little room for choice when the king was in no condition to oversee the proceedings, so he straightened his shoulders and pushed through the discomfort. [color=#b97703]“I’m sure you’ve already heard that my father is unable to attend this meeting,”[/color] he started, reiterating the reason for his presence just in case the guards hadn’t filled them in. [color=#b97703]“I’ll be heading the discussion in his place. To start, I’d like to go over what we know about the prisoners; who they are, and how they got in…”[/color]

--

For the next three hours, the council went back and forth covering matters regarding the prisoners, the security of the capital, possible changes that needed to be made, and anything else that could potentially prevent the Scourge from getting this far again. They combed through documents while Cas directed Jacob’s team to search their computers for foreign malware that could have been planted by a rebel hacker. Everyone worked diligently on their assignments, and as progress was made, the crown prince began to feel more confident in his ability to lead. He didn’t stumble over his words as often as he thought he would, and he remembered enough from all the lessons with his tutors to keep up with every detailed topic they covered. Overall, his mood improved as the meeting went on—just enough for him to be caught off guard when Jacob lifted a hand to his ear and took on a concerned expression.

“Your Highness,” the guard spoke up, drawing the council’s attention to him. He had been silent for the majority of the meeting, so his voice jarred them all from their conversation. “I just received word from the soldiers in the holding cell. The prisoners have escaped.”

[color=#b97703]“What?”[/color] Cas blanched. [color=#b97703]“How is that possible?”[/color] He’d seen the cell before. It was incredibly secure. As far as he was aware, no one had ever escaped from it before.

“The tech team found the hacker, but before they could remove him from the system, he deactivated the lock on the cell,” Jacob explained clinically. “The prisoners took advantage of the situation and have made it into the city.”

[color=#b97703]“Damn it,”[/color] Cas groaned, dragging his fingers through his coarse hair. [color=#b97703]“Tell the soldiers to lock down the capital. No one gets in or out of any public building without proof of ID. If the guards took mug shots, tell them to air the photos on every screen in the city. We’ll flush the rebels out before they can try to hurt anyone else.”[/color]

“Of course, Your Highness,” Jacob bowed and stepped outside the room to give the orders.

“If the prisoners are gone, what do you want us to do?” an elderly man named Edward turned to his prince with a frown. They had been discussing appropriate punishments for the captured rebels when Jacob had received the alert.

[color=#b97703]“I guess that’s all we can do,”[/color] Cas shrugged in response, rising to his feet from the table. [color=#b97703]“We can reconvene after the soldiers recover our missing rebels.”[/color]

With nothing left to go over, he and the rest of the council members dispersed. Caspian yawned tiredly as he walked down the long halls that carried him to the residential part of the mansion, glad that his job was done for now. It was distressing that the terrorists were loose in the city, but he trusted the soldiers to capture them before they caused any damage. The Scourge had never succeeded in getting a foothold in their war against the Aspirian army before, and they wouldn’t start now. He was sure that everything would work out for the better.

Deciding to stay optimistic about the situation, he made his way to Iris’s room to see how she had been doing since he’d left her with Harry on the tarmac. He felt a little guilty for abandoning her so suddenly, but it wasn’t like he’d had a choice. He just hoped she had found something to keep herself occupied since they had parted. He also hoped enough time had passed for her to forget about his stupid idea to try and kiss her at the park. Just the thought of it brought an awkward blush to his cheeks.

When he reached the right door, he lifted his fist to knock and then stepped back, waiting for her to answer.