Three more days passed since the night Jacob visited Cas in his room. Trying to stay true to his word, the king put more effort into his work as it came up. During his scheduled meetings he was less distracted, and outside of the prewritten agenda, he started requesting documents to skim through as he finally took steps toward figuring out how to solve Aspiria’s economic disparity.

Ever since he’d been abducted by the rebellion, the image of the districts’ poor condition had been seared into his mind, and he was starting to find his determination to correct it again. He wanted to be the leader he’d promised he would be on his coronation day. Iris’s disappearance had put a halt to that for almost a month, but just because things didn’t work out between them didn’t mean he could forget about the other common people who needed his help. He wasn’t so petty that he would take out his disappointment with her on every non-highborn citizen in the kingdom, after all.

The additional work kept him busy, but he knew he needed to ground himself in something other than his job, so over the weekend, he asked Jacob to change the security parameters around the palace, so he could invite his friends, Jay and Miles, to visit him for an evening. The guard obliged without the need for any convincing—he was just happy to see his monarch finally returning to normal—and passed the word along to the men who were stationed to watch the front gate.

Once Cas was finished with his tasks for the day, he headed to his in-home bar to set up a game for them to watch on one of the TVs while he sipped at a whiskey sour. Even though the sting of the breakup hadn’t dissipated yet, preparing to spend time with two guys whose company he enjoyed was a strong step toward moving on. For just a moment, he could picture his life the way it had been before he’d met Iris. Hanging out with his friends, going out to late night parties, tracking his favorite teams each sports season and enjoying a few drinks at the end of a long day. Some of those things would never quite be the same since he was crowned king, but thinking about them helped him take his mind off things. Right now, that was what he needed.

And he didn’t have to wait long before a guard stopped by to let him know Jay and Miles had arrived, then the two in question caught up with him a few minutes later.

“Look who it is: His Royal Highness, King Caspian,” Jay grinned at Cas and leaned over in a mock bow as the former prince slid out of his booth to greet both of his friends with firm hugs and slaps on the back.

[color=#b97703]“Shut up,”[/color] Cas gave the other man’s shoulder a shove, though a smirk arched on his lip. He’d forgotten how much he had missed their jokes and ribbing. Lately, it felt like he had to be on his best behavior for all the older men and women he met with to discuss political issues. They all treated him like his father, with stiff manners and humorless attitudes. He may have become king, but he was still only halfway through his twenties. Sometimes it was nice to let go and forget about appearances for a few hours.

“Dude, we haven’t seen you in forever,” Miles jumped in as they headed over to the booth closest to the TV Cas had set up. “How’s life going for you as the most powerful man in Aspiria?”

[color=#b97703]“Um, not as amazing as you probably think it is,”[/color] Cas admitted, taking a seat across from his friends.

“What do you mean?” Miles frowned.

[color=#b97703]“Well, for one thing, my dad is dead and I’m being drowned in all the work he left behind,”[/color] he lifted his shoulders.  There was a sting in his chest at the mention of Atlas’s unexpected passing, but he swallowed the emotions that rose up with it. Now that he was the new leader of the country, he was learning that if he didn’t temper his feelings, other people would think he was weak or unstable, so it was becoming a habit to keep the pain of his loss private. [color=#b97703]“But aside from that… there’s also something I need to fill you guys in on.”[/color]

Jay and Miles exchanged a glance. “Is it something to do with Iris?” Jay asked tentatively.

[color=#b97703]“Yeah,”[/color] Cas sighed, taking another pull of the drink he’d left on the table. [color=#b97703]“She left.”[/color]