Cas nodded and stood back, hoping Iris knew what she was doing when she said she would see what she could do for them. If it was too much, he was willing to eat some of the food they’d brought with them, but privately, he hoped she would be able to get them something to eat despite their small reserve of cash. Staying in a pub without taking advantage of the house-made food would have been quite a waste. It certainly wasn’t something he had done before either. [color=#b97703][i]Although I’ve never been broke enough to pass up the chance to eat out before,[/i][/color] he thought with a frown, understanding just how far removed he was from the citizens of the country beyond the capital. Whenever he’d wanted to buy something in the past, he’d always been able to do so without even thinking about how much money he had in his bank account. Now, knowing that Maisie had only given them a few credits to scrape by, he was hyper aware of how cautious they had to be whenever they spent any of it. It was a stressful feeling.

Fortunately, the man behind the counter took pity on them. The prince felt a bit guilty that they had to lie to him, since he was so kind to them in return, but it wasn’t like they had a choice. The most he could do was try to repay him and the other people of Aspiria as a whole later on by figuring out how to solve the wealth divide that plagued the nation—if he returned to the capital, that was. The bartender and Maisie had both been unconditionally hospitable, so he didn’t want to move on without doing something for them in return. They deserved to be rewarded for their big hearts and selflessness.

When Iris thanked the man for his generosity, Caspian did as well, murmuring his own appreciation as he stared in amazement at the bags of food he’d brought out for them despite their inability to pay for it. In the capital, no business owners were that benevolent. However, he didn’t dwell on it for long before the barkeep’s next words made him falter. The suggestive wink the man gave him made him twinge pink. [color=#b97703][i]He doesn’t mean…?[/i][/color] He studied his face for a moment as he pondered over the odd warning. [i][color=#b97703]No, there’s no way. A stranger wouldn’t get involved in someone else’s love life, right? He was probably just advising us to treat the room well.[/color][/i] He knew that young people often mistreated their hotel rooms whenever they spent a night out, so he decided that must have been what the man was talking about. At the very least, it was a more comfortable conclusion than the alternative.

Running with the thought, he offered the barkeep a smile. [color=#b97703]“Don’t worry, we’ll leave the room just as we found it after we’re done using it,”[/color] he assured him. Turning around to follow Iris back though the crowded room, it took until they reached the base of the stairs before he realized how his words might have sounded. [color=#b97703][i]Well, shit,[/i][/color] he cringed, hoping sincerely that the barkeep really had been talking about the quality of the room they were borrowing and not about what they would do while they were spending the night. If he’d been wrong, he’d just accidentally implied that they wouldn’t only be sleeping while they were there.

Silently collapsing in on himself in embarrassment over his bad habit of speaking before he thought through his words, he kept quiet until he and Iris arrived at their room. As he stepped inside, he took a look around. It was homely, but it was much better than sleeping on the open ground. And since there was a bathroom, he could take another shower before they left. Overall, it was the best kind of shelter they could have hoped for.

[color=#b97703]“It’s a good thing your fever broke,”[/color] he mused, unzipping his hoodie and sliding it off his back now that he didn’t need it anymore. [color=#b97703]“This place is great.”[/color] He could feel the music from downstairs pulsing in the floorboards beneath his feet, but it was a very minor downside in comparison with the perks that came with rooming at the pub. His eyes wandered to the bed. When he was younger, he’d fantasized about the thought of sneaking off to a hotel room to spend the night alone with a girl, but he’d never thought it would happen because he was on the run from a group of people who wanted to kill him—or that they would actually just be there to sleep.

[color=#b97703][i]What a twist,[/i][/color] he thought, turning back to Iris. [color=#b97703]“I’ll take one of those,”[/color] he said, slipping one of the paper bags from her hand. [color=#b97703]“Do you want to sit in the desk chair or on the bed while we eat? I’ll take whichever one you don’t want.”[/color]