The next few weeks felt like wading through deep waters to Caspian. Every meeting was slow and forced, and whenever he had time to himself, he was too lethargic to do anything other than lay in bed or watch absentminded TV. Jacob did what he could to offer the monarch company, but most of the time, Cas wasn’t interested in talking. It was the first real heartbreak he’d ever experienced, and he couldn’t take his mind off the pain of the breakup no matter how hard he tried.

Which meant Jacob’s other job was coming up with excuses to get the Aspirian king out of last minute responsibilities and appearances. Anything that hadn’t already been on the schedule before Iris had disappeared stayed in place, but the security guard recruited the help of his PR agent to keep from adding anything new to the agenda for a while. Aside from Caspian’s own emotional recovery, it would have been bad for the kingdom if they pushed their ruler into making public appearances that he wasn’t prepared to handle. The rest of the Aspirian people—especially the rebellion—didn’t need to know what poor shape he was in.

However, everyone also knew that Cas couldn’t mope forever. The country could only run smoothly for so long before his lack of motivation started to affect things. So, as they started into the third week of the king’s new, reclusive habits, Jacob decided that it was time to set him back on course.

Lately, the monarch had been spending all of his spare time in his room, so the security guard knew where to find him without any effort. He headed up to the top floor of the palace and knocked on the oversized doors that used to belong to Atlas. Stepping back, he waited for a few beats before he heard a muffled response from within that he assumed was permission from the occupant to enter.

“Good evening, Your Majesty,” he said as he headed into the room. Unsurprisingly, he found Caspian lying half dressed in his bed. The younger man was sporting bed-messy hair and was scrolling through posts on social media, though it was questionable if he was comprehending what he was even looking at. “How are you doing today?” the guard asked on his way over to the bedside.

[color=#b97703]“How do you think?”[/color] Cas replied dryly without looking away from the screen of his phone.

“Fair enough,” Jacob lifted his shoulders, slipping his hands into his pockets. For a moment, silence fell between them. It was obvious that the king wasn’t in the mood to chat, but the guard wasn’t going to leave without addressing the long overdue conversation that needed to be had. He’d given the ruler time to grieve, but now he needed to start getting back on track. Staying where he was, Jacob went on, “How much longer are you planning on hiding away in your room?”

[color=#b97703]“As long as it takes,”[/color] Cas answered noncommittally.

Jacob sighed. “I know you don’t feel like getting up, but you’re not going to move on from Iris until you stop letting her affect you like this,” he said frankly. “You have a duty to your people and purpose in bettering their lives. Don’t let one girl take that away from you.”

[color=#b97703]“I’ll still go to all my meetings,”[/color] Cas muttered, finally letting his phone drop on the mattress to cast his guard an impatient look. [color=#b97703]“I’m doing my job, so what’s your point?”[/color]

“My point is that there’s a lot more to being king than attending meetings,” Jacob folded his arms. “You’ve been doing the bare minimum ever since Iris left you, and people are going to notice that your heart’s not in it if you keep this up. Laying around in bed isn’t going to bring her back either. She’s gone, Caspian, and sooner or later, you’re going to have to go back to your life without her in it. For your own sake and everyone else’s, let that lesson sink in before you have to clean up another mess.”

At that, Cas stayed quiet. He knew Jacob was right. Iris was gone, and he couldn’t contact her when he had no clue where she’d went. However, even though he understood it logically, he couldn’t convince his heart to get on board. [color=#b97703]“It just sucks, you know?”[/color] he exhaled, dragging a hand over his tousled hair. [color=#b97703]“I want to move on, but it still hurts. I think about her a lot, and every time, I just want to climb back into bed and be alone… How long does it take before that part goes away?”[/color]

“It will go away faster if you force yourself to stay busy,” Jacob assured him. “Get back to normal and let other people and responsibilities keep your mind occupied. I promise it will help, and you’ll eventually be able to think about her without the pain.”

Cas nodded halfheartedly. [color=#b97703]“Okay… but not today,”[/color] he compromised, picking up his phone again to unlock the screen. [color=#b97703]“I want one more night to be selfish about it, and tomorrow, I’ll try your idea.”[/color]

“That’s all I can ask for, Your Majesty,” Jacob bowed. “Have a good evening.”

And with his goal accomplished, the guard left the king alone, hoping that he would stay true to his word. The sooner he moved on from Iris, the sooner they could progress on establishing him as the new authority figure in Aspiria. There was still much work to be done on that front.