While he didn’t share Iris’s love of books, Cas could understand why she was drawn to them. It was the same reason why he’d been sucked into the party scene in the capital: escape from reality. When he was surrounded by other high borns who were just out to have a good time, he could forget about his responsibilities and the impending weight of the crown he was supposed to inherit from his father. Of course, there was no getting away from the cameras that followed him around wherever he went, but he could still enjoy the same mindless activities that the rest of the capital’s young adults took part in after dark. Taking shots, playing bar games, getting to know strangers he would never see again in his life… All of it was his “fiction,” the life he would have wanted if he hadn’t been born into the royal family.

When Iris said he was in great shape, a proud smile took over his features. He hadn’t been fishing for compliments when he’d mentioned his habit, but he still liked to hear that she thought he was fit. [color=#b97703]“Thanks,”[/color] he replied appreciatively. [color=#b97703]“I haven’t put in as much time as I would have if I didn’t have so many other things to think about on a daily basis, but I’m glad you can tell.”[/color] He’d met some men who were absolutely shredded because they dedicated all their free time to sculpting their bodies. As the crown prince, he didn’t have the option to spend that many hours at the gym, but he still squeezed in thirty or sixty minute sessions whenever he had the chance. Between his regular workout routine and the healthy meals he ate as recommended by the royal family’s dietician, he still managed to keep up a better physique than quite a few other people he’d come across in the capital.

At her suggestion that he could try to help the other districts rebuild if he went home, he considered the idea thoughtfully. [color=#b97703]“I don’t know if it’s that simple,”[/color] he frowned. [color=#b97703]“I would love to believe that I could just snap my fingers and bring an end to the fighting between the crown and the rebellion, but do you think your dad is going to let things go that easily?”[/color] His tone was slightly hesitant as he mentioned her father. Regis hadn’t struck him as a reasonable man. He suspected that even if he convinced the military to let up on the fighting and focus their efforts on reconstructing the districts that had been damaged, the rebel leader would just take it as an opportunity to strike them while their guard was down. If he cared more about power than he did about peace, they were going to have to knock him down until he couldn’t stand back up again.

[color=#b97703]“That aside, I wouldn’t be able to do anything without my dad’s approval,”[/color] he added, rubbing his injured arm over his jacket sleeve. The torn skin was starting to itch a little as it healed. [color=#b97703]“He has final say over everything involving the military and the war as a whole. As long as I’m not the king, I can’t make any big changes to the directions he’s already given them.”[/color] If he went back to the capital, he did plan to question Atlas about the things he’d discovered about the other districts though. He wanted answers about why the rest of the country was so impoverished, especially when he’d been taught in his classes that wealth in Aspiria wasn’t that unevenly distributed. None of it made any sense to him anymore. If his father was withholding something from him, he was determined to find out what it was.

For the next few hours, Cas walked at Iris’s side, casually looking around the sides of the empty road in a halfhearted watch for other people. He didn’t try very hard though, because it seemed like she was right about the path being mostly deserted. Chances that anyone would notice them looked slim, so he ambled leisurely, sipping at his water bottle on occasion to stay hydrated. Underneath the sun, the hoodie felt too warm to wear, and he was starting to feel tempted to take it off. With no one else around to see him, it seemed safe enough to dress down a bit.

[color=#b97703]“Yeah, we can do that,”[/color] he answered her question, having no qualms with heading into another district for a break. [color=#b97703]“I’m getting kind of hungry.”[/color] Giving in to the need to be comfortable, he unzipped his jacket and shrugged it from his torso. [color=#b97703]“It’s too warm out for this in the middle of the day,”[/color] he explained as he tied the sleeves over his shoulders. [color=#b97703]“I’m gonna cool down a little and put it back on when we get close to the next district.”[/color]