When Iris said she hadn’t really slept, Cas felt a pang of guilt blossom in his chest. She’d done so much to help him escape from her father, and in return, he hadn’t even thought to make sure she was faring alright once. Belatedly, he noticed that the only trash in the room had come from the bread and pie that he’d devoured the night before too. He didn’t have to ask to know that she must have skipped dinner. Uncomfortable with the revelation, he shifted his weight on the mattress. It didn’t matter that he was injured. Even if she’d insisted that he take the bed and eat all their food, he still could have considered her wellbeing before he did so. He was chagrined that he had been so selfish. This was no way for anyone to behave, let alone a crown prince who was supposed to become a respectable leader one day.

[color=#b97703]“I’m sorry,”[/color] he sighed. [color=#b97703]“I didn’t realize you didn’t have your own bed or food.”[/color] An apology couldn’t turn back time, but he hoped she could hear the sincerity in his voice. Moving forward, he intended to pay more attention. If they weren’t able to get back to the capital by the end of the day, he wanted to make sure her needs were met alongside his own. It was the least he could do to repay her for everything she was doing for him. She’d turned against her own father to help him escape, and now she was running with him to make sure he got home safely. It was more than most people were willing to do for someone else, especially someone they didn’t know well.

When she said they needed to keep moving, he nodded and forced his tired body up from the bed. As expected, every part of him ached with the motion, and he grimaced, hoping the stiffness would fade once he started moving around a little more. That always seemed to work when he was sore after an intense workout, so it wasn’t too much of a stretch to guess that it might be the same for what he was going through now. If climbing out of bed wasn’t the worst part, he was going to be in for a very long day.

[color=#b97703]“Sure,”[/color] he shrugged his right shoulder at her offer to go to a river. Out of all the places she could have named in the middle of a city, a river seemed an odd choice for cleaning up, but he remembered what she’d said about how many rebels there were in this district. They probably couldn’t go very many places in broad daylight without risking someone recognizing him and alerting the other members of the Scourge. He shivered at the thought of coming this far only to end up back in Regis’s house of horrors. If washing his face in a river meant he could avoid that awful fate, then he wouldn’t complain.

He picked up his jacket from the bed and put it back on, pulling the hood over his head with his good hand. The fleece wasn’t as comfortable anymore because of the blood that had dried on the inside, but it would help him hide his face, so he wore it anyway. [color=#b97703]“Once I’m done cleaning up, we should get you something to eat,”[/color] he said decidedly, walking with her to the door. [color=#b97703]“Is there a grocery store nearby? I don’t mind waiting outside if you want to go in and buy something.”[/color]