When Caspian arrived at the kitchen, he was quick to notice that Iris wasn’t there. He stopped in the doorway with a concerned frown. Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t seen her at lunch either. He hoped she wasn’t having a bad day. Even though he had been hesitant about sneaking out of the mansion last night, his excitement about it had been growing since he’d started working on a tangible plan to get past security. He’d convinced himself that she was right, that as long as they made the trip fast there would be no risk. With his reservations pushed to the back of his mind, he was left feeling thrilled about acting like a modern day James Bond and getting by all the guards who were skilled enough to keep terrorists out of the building. If Iris had woken up feeling ill or depressed, all the work he’d done would have to be scrapped.

Although he tried to remain optimistic, he asked the cooks for an extra plate to take to her bedroom just in case she had missed all three meals that day because she couldn’t get to the kitchen. He ate his own dinner quickly—this time, the chefs had prepared a flavorful mushroom asiago chicken dish in white wine—and thanked the servants politely as he picked up the spare serving from the counter and headed down the hallway that led to the amnesiac’s temporary quarters.

On his way there, his heart already began to pound eagerly. If Iris was still feeling up to going out with him, it would be the first time he’d ever pulled a stunt like this. He had his qualms with being born into the line for the throne against his will, but everyone knew he wasn’t the rebellious type. He cared far too much about pleasing his father to step out of line more than he already did by going to parties and occasionally dating women, and the only rules he broke there were the informal ones that Atlas placed on him because he thought they would make him a king one day. This time, he would be blatantly disregarding the safety measures put in place by the royal guard. Just the thought of it sent a thrill of excitement up his spine.

So, by the time he reached Iris’s room, he was already grinning to himself with unchecked exhilaration. It was a good thing there were no guards patrolling the corridors in that wing at the moment, because he hadn’t thought far enough ahead to come up with an explanation for his behavior. Hoping that the amnesiac was still feeling up for a little adventure that night, he raised his fist and knocked on the door. [color=#b97703]“Iris, are you awake?”[/color] he called. [color=#b97703]“I brought you something to eat.”[/color] The plate in his hand had turned into a perfect cover to explain why he would be visiting her room at such an odd hour.