[color=#b97703]“That doesn’t mean your problems aren’t important to me anymore,”[/color] Caspian insisted with a frown. Crown prince or king, he’d always carried the burden of other people’s expectations on his shoulders. Just because he was busier than before didn’t make her less significant in his life, and he didn’t want her to think that he was going to forget about her just because he had more on his plate. It was hard to convey that, though, when he’d already fallen asleep for two of their recent phone calls. Even though it was the distance that was grating on him, not Iris herself, he wasn’t stupid. He knew how she would have interpreted his difficulty in even holding a one hour conversation with her over the phone. The way she answered his question didn’t give him much hope either, and he felt his heart sink a little when she basically said that coming with him would be better than nothing. For the second time, he noticed that she didn’t show any excitement about being with him specifically. She just wanted to get out of the situation he’d put her in when he’d left her suddenly to take over as Aspiria’s next king. Somehow, the distance between them felt even more tangible than it had when they’d been apart for two weeks. Worried that she was having second thoughts, he rested a hand on her leg in a feeble attempt to reach out while she went on to tell him about how miserable she’d been since he’d gone back to the palace. [color=#b97703]“I do enjoy them,”[/color] he assured her softly. [color=#b97703]“I enjoy talking to you, Iris. Some days, it’s the only thing I look forward to… I’m really sorry I didn’t answer the last time you called too. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to talk to you. I fell asleep because I was exhausted, and that’s why I’m here now. I don’t want us to drift apart.”[/color] He fell quiet again, unsure what else to say. He could apologize until he was blue in the face, but it wouldn’t change the fact that he’d hurt her by being so unavailable recently. If the warden approved his request to pardon her for the crimes his father had held against her, then maybe things would get better. He had to hope so. After all, it was going to be easier to rekindle their closeness when they weren’t miles apart. He was king now too, so there was no one else in the palace who could stop him from letting her share his bedroom. Atlas never would have permitted it, but the guards were under his authority now. If he wanted her to stay with him, they couldn’t say no. [color=#b97703]“Anyway, I’m here now,”[/color] he sighed, trailing his fingers across her thigh. [color=#b97703]“Even if you’re not hungry… will you please eat something for me? There has to be something in the kitchen that hasn’t spoiled yet. I’ll share it with you, since I’m skipping lunch to fit this visit into my schedule.”[/color] Getting up from the sofa, he offered her a hand. [color=#b97703]“Come on. Let’s look and see what you’ve got.”[/color]