[color=#b97703]“I wasn’t—”[/color] Caspian started and then stopped, shaking his head as he decided against arguing with Iris. The apologies that came out of her mouth didn’t seem to have an off switch. He hadn’t asked her if they were spending the night in the woods because he was turning his nose up at the plan. He had asked out of innocent curiosity without any underlying judgement. At this point, he just wanted to stop walking and rest. If he had to do so under a canopy of tree branches instead of a roof, then so be it. As long as he could stop moving long enough to gather his thoughts, he would be content with wherever they made their metaphorical beds for the night.

Ambling along beside her into the trees, his breath hitched as he felt her suddenly take his hand in hers. Her touch still made his heart flutter no matter what he told himself about the reasons why they couldn’t be together, and the way she stroked his skin made him want to forget about the fact that they had to part altogether. Hesitantly, he glanced up from the ground to meet her gaze but didn’t pull away from her as he had done in the apartment. Judging by the words she spoke, he guessed she had noticed the shift in his mood since the bombing. Her assurance didn’t quite hit the mark, since he had been discouraged by the fact that his father didn’t seem to care about his safety, but he still appreciated that she was trying to cheer him up. At least he had one person on his side.

At the thought, he blinked and then turned away from her with an incredulous smile. He hadn’t noticed it until now, but the amnesiac was currently the only person in his life who wanted him to make it out of the warring districts alive. The realization swelled his affection for her, and he laced his fingers with hers as they walked. [color=#b97703]“Thank you,”[/color] he murmured with genuine appreciation. He was also starting to wonder if there was even any point in pushing her away anymore. The people he had known in the capital obviously didn’t miss him, and standing beside him now was a woman who was quite literally risking everything to make sure he wasn’t killed by the rebels. Was he really going to toss her aside to go back to his so called friends and family, who might not even be happy to see him return?

[color=#b97703][i]I don’t think I want to… but I have to, don’t I?[/i][/color] he frowned, feeling conflicted. As much as he would have loved to stay with Iris, he still had a responsibility to take over as the next monarch after his father. Everyone was expecting him to do it, so it would have been wrong of him to abandon his duties to run away with a commoner. But, then again, what was the point in giving up his own happiness to make a group of people happy who couldn’t care less if he died? Iris’s father had been right. They didn’t care about him, so why should he sacrifice everything for them?

As they stepped into a small clearing, he watched Iris absently until he remembered that she had been running a fever. She was ill, and yet she was going out of her way to make sure he was taken care of. He felt a pang of guilt, knowing that he should have been the one taking care of her, not the other way around. Sitting down beside her on the blanket she had rolled out for them, he slipped the backpack from her hands. [color=#b97703]“Let me,”[/color] he volunteered, taking the water bottles out and handing one to her.

Setting the bag aside, he leaned back on the palm of one hand while he lifted the drink to his lips to wet his tongue. The cool water felt refreshing as it swept down his throat, washing away all the dirt that had lodged itself there from the explosions. When he’d had his fill, he put the cap back on and set it off to the side near the backpack and looked up at Iris again. [color=#b97703]“How are you feeling?”[/color] he asked, hoping that she wasn’t as sick as she had been earlier, but knowing that all the running around they had just done had probably made her worse. [color=#b97703]“If you need to take a nap, you can. I’ll keep watch.”[/color]