Writing speeches for his private lessons had always been slightly intimidating to Caspian. Writing one that would be heard by the entire capital city was completely petrifying. As the sole heir to the crown, he was used to being in the limelight, but most of the time, he was free to be himself—with some careful restriction of his words in front of the media, of course. He was either dodging impromptu interviews with reporters in the streets or reading scrolling scripts off a screen when he was asked to attend talk shows. None of those interactions carried the same weight as publicly declaring the execution of two people in front of a crowd. This time, he was going to have to hold himself with the same authority his father always seemed to ooze without any effort at all. As one who wasn’t confident in his own ability to lead a country, he overthought and second guessed his meager speech until he was even less certain of its quality than when he began.

Sitting at Atlas’s oversized executive desk in his private office, the prince tangled his fingers in his thick hair as he stared down at the paper in front of him. His brows were furrowed in frustration, and he held the end of his pen between his teeth. He’d written and rewritten the short address for the last two hours, but he still wasn’t satisfied with the scrawling words on the page. The sentences didn’t feel like they flowed together, and the words didn’t feel like they carried the same weight as the ones his father would have used. He wished the king would have been well enough to handle the situation by himself. Who would listen to the ramblings of an inexperienced twenty-four-year-old?

Suddenly, he jumped at the sound of a knock on the door and looked up. [color=#b97703]“Come in,”[/color] he called, the pen dropping onto the desk from his mouth as he forgot about it in the moment.

At his permission, the door peeled open and a familiar face appeared. “Your Highness,” Jacob inclined his head in a polite bow as he stepped into the office. The guard eyed the paper on the table and then dropped his gaze to the wadded-up rejects on the floor. “Have you been working on a speech this whole time?” he asked with a tentative frown.

Cas flushed and turned away from him to look at the cherry wood bookshelf on his right. [color=#b97703]“Maybe,”[/color] he muttered.

Jacob studied him contemplatively. A shadow of an amused smile tugged at the corner of his lip and then vanished. “I’m sure what you’ve written is fine, Your Highness,” he assured his prince. “The address is in less than two hours. Why don’t you take a break to get ready and have some dinner?”

[color=#b97703]“I don’t know…”[/color] Cas looked down at the scribbled speech disappointedly and then sighed, picking up the paper and holding it out to the guard. [color=#b97703]“Here. You read it. You’ve heard plenty of my dad’s addresses before, so you can tell me what’s wrong with it.”[/color]

Jacob complied wordlessly with the request, striding evenly across the room and taking the sheet from the prince’s outstretched hand. He reviewed the messy lines attentively for a few minutes while Cas watched him with his arms folded over his chest and an uncertain frown plastered on his face. After a silence that felt like an eternity, the guard shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re so concerned about,” he said, handing the paper back. “It’s compelling.”

[color=#b97703]“Seriously?”[/color] Caspian arched his brows in disbelief. [color=#b97703]“You’re not just bullshitting me because the address is in an hour and a half, are you?”[/color]

“I’m serious,” Jacob insisted, his amused half-smile returning. “This is exactly what the people need to hear. Now come on,” he waved a hand. “You need to look the part too.”

Cas blinked and looked down at himself, belatedly realizing he was still wearing the old t-shirt and joggers that he’d thrown on that morning. With everything that had been going on, he hadn’t had a chance to comb his wild hair, shower, or even brush his teeth. [color=#b97703]“Yikes,”[/color] he winced, standing up from the plush leather chair behind the desk. [color=#b97703]“You’re right. I’ve got a lot of work to do, don’t I?”[/color]

--

With Jacob hurrying him along, Caspian made quick work of preparing to make a public appearance. First and foremost, he showered and took care of the hygiene he had neglected when he’d first woken up. Once the basics were out of the way, he shaved the stubble that peppered his chin and tamed his tousled hair with a thin application of mousse until he looked presentable. All in all, the tasks took no longer than half an hour to complete, and he headed out of his bedroom to finally make good on his promise to Iris that he would stop by to see her when he had free time.

As he walked down the hall, he tugged uncomfortably at his shirt collar with one finger, disliking how tight the stiff fabric was around his throat. It wasn’t often that the laidback prince wore a suit, but in this case, the occasion called for it. To look professional, he’d put on a pair of pressed black dress pants, a maroon button-down shirt, and a matching black jacket adorned at the top with a black and grey checkered tie. It was a handsome ensemble, but he preferred his loose t-shirt and joggers any day of the week.

His dark brown eyes flicked down to his watch, and he took a deep breath. He only had about another thirty minutes before he had to leave for the public square. It was barely enough time to check in on Iris and shovel down a quick dinner of whatever he could stomach when he was still stressed about the speech. Wanting to squeeze in as many minutes with the amnesiac as he could, he stopped outside her bedroom door and raised a fist to rap on the solid panel.