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Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

When Iris said she agreed with the king, Cas looked back down at the food on his plate. It was hard for him to listen to her pander to his father when Atlas was being so cold toward her. Having lived in the culture of the monarchy all his life, he knew she was being shrewd by indulging the king’s skepticism—if she openly challenged him, he could have her kicked out or arrested—but that didn’t mean he liked it. His father was being cruel in his accusations. There was no reason for him to frighten her when she had already been through so much. A small piece of him understood that caution was necessary for the royal family, especially with a group of rebels threatening to usurp the throne, but he wished there was a kinder way to go about it.

He exhaled quietly and lifted another forkful of pasta to his mouth. Sometimes he felt like he’d been born into the wrong family. Even when he was a kid, the message had been drilled into him that he needed to be stern and pitiless with everyone in Aspiria or he would be used or betrayed. He had been told to emulate his father, who was the epitome of a worthy leader. However, he’d never been able to detach from his emotions the same way that Atlas could. As much as he tried, he’d always had an empathetic heart and a bent to trust that people were naturally good. It was why he dreaded becoming the next king. Sure, he knew all the head knowledge about how to run an empire, but he wasn’t confident he had the strength of will to handle making some of the hard decisions he’d seen his father commit to before—like the way he was handling Iris now.

When she suddenly offered to leave, Cas looked up from his plate in unbridled surprise. He didn’t know if she had made the suggestion because she was making the king uncomfortable or if she was uncomfortable, herself, but he did know it was a bad idea. Choking down the bite of food in his mouth, he interjected quickly, “That’s not necessary. You can stay here until you can go back to your family—”

“Caspian,” his father intoned warningly. “Until the day you’re crowned king, I make the final decisions around here. Do you understand?”

Cas winced at the harshness of his father’s voice. “Yes,” he muttered, shuffling his feet beneath the table as he grew nervous for what the king was going to choose to do with her.

Atlas nodded, satisfied, before he turned back to Iris. “Excuse my son’s outburst,” he apologized, dabbing at his stubbly chin with his napkin. “However, I did permit you to stay here until there is somewhere else for you to go, so there is no reason for you to leave any sooner. As long as you abide by the rules I trust Caspian has already informed you of, you may sleep in the room you’ve been assigned.”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Finally got a post up! Yesterday ended up being really busy too, but I'm staying home today, so I should have more time ^^

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

At first, Cas decided not to contribute to the conversation his father was having with Iris. He could explain all he wanted that he wasn’t going to get anything out of her even if she was a threat, but he knew the king was too stubborn to listen. It was better to just let him go through with his interrogation and let him figure it out for himself. He absentmindedly twined strands of angel hair around the prongs of his fork from the shrimp pasta that had been served alongside the lobster. He’d seen the look on her face when she had been trying to fill in the gaps about who she was. Not even the best actresses in the country could fake that kind of sorrow. He was certain she was just a normal girl who’d been in an unfortunate accident, just as he’d seen when he’d found her.

Although he knew his father would have to come to the same conclusion eventually, when the king suddenly asked what she had been doing in the woods, the prince looked up from his food with raised brows. It was an accusative question even if he’d bothered to ask it with a smile—which he hadn’t. He was surprised how quickly Atlas was revealing his distrust when she had been nothing less than pleasant since the minute they had met. It seemed a little unfair in his opinion.

Of course, Iris was unable to give the king any more information than she’d given him in the hospital, but the grimace that appeared on her face was enough to persuade Cas to step in. He swallowed the mouthful of pasta he’d been chewing on and turned to his father, “When she woke up, she remembered next to nothing, and not much has come back since then.” Playing along with the king’s feigned desire to get to know her, he added, “I know this must be disappointing to you, but you won’t be able to learn much more about her until things start to fall back into place.”

Atlas held his gaze for a drawn-out moment as if he was trying to decide if his son was interrupting his plans or not. “Well then, I hope they do quickly,” he said after a pause, taking a sip of the white wine that had been poured alongside their seafood dishes. “I’m curious to find out what motivation any high born woman would have to leave the capital at such a peculiar hour.”

Cas nearly rolled his eyes at his father’s insinuation that Iris wasn’t high born. “She wasn’t that far outside the city,” he pointed out. “I wouldn’t have found her if she was.”

“It’s still unusual, don’t you think?” the king insisted with an air of nonchalance that felt forced to the prince. “Especially with the unresolved situation with The Scourge. It’s dangerous for anyone to venture outside the capital while those terrorists are threatening our lives and livelihood.”

“Well, we’ll find out why she was there after she gets her memories back,” he shrugged, overtly taking a long draught of wine. If his father was going to insist on probing Iris for details she couldn’t give, he was going to need something to take the edge off.

“Pace yourself, Caspian,” Atlas mumbled chidingly before returning his attention to his guest. “My intention is not to make you uncomfortable. However, we need to know more about you if we are going to decide where to send you.” Cas noticed he didn’t even promise she would be going home. The king continued: “The sooner we can do this, the better. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Great! I don't know how free I'll be to write today, because I have some more work to do on my project (it's due in two days, ugh xc) but I think I can get one more post up sometime!

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Standing before the king was nothing new for Cas, but he could tell Iris was feeling pressured beside him. The tension in the air was so thick, it could have been cut with a knife. With no memories of the ruler of Aspiria nor any recollection about proper behavior to display in his presence, all she had to go on were the few brief pointers had been able to scramble together before his father had arrived. And it was only too late that he realized his list had been woefully incomplete.

The prince glanced discreetly at Iris when the monarch addressed her, biting the inside of his cheek as he noticed that he had forgotten to tell her to bow or curtsey or do something to show a sign of outward respect, since it was unlawful not to. In the presence of the soldiers, she would have to call him by unnecessary titles, but there were even more mandates in place that dictated how she could interact with the king. He hoped his father would take mercy on her, since she had only just left the hospital that morning.

However, it turned out that he was fretting for nothing because in the next moment, she surprised him by leaning forward in the deepest bow she could manage in her injured state. He blinked and looked away again, internally relieved that her amnesia hadn’t stolen away all her knowledge about how to address the royal family. His father seemed to be pleased as well. The king was not an expressive man, but his son knew him well enough to catch sight of the subtle movement in his jaw as he unclenched his teeth.

As for her answer to his question, the reaction was harder to gauge. Cas wasn’t sure what his father was trying to pull by asking her which family she belonged to when she couldn’t even remember her last name. He had a feeling it was a test of some sort though. The king was cunning by anyone’s measurement, and he was one of the most distrusting people the prince had ever known. If he had to take a guess, Atlas was probably skeptical about her condition and intended to throw curveball questions at her to see if he could break her act. He fought the urge to roll his eyes. If that really was the case, he was going to be sorely disappointed when he discovered that she was just a normal girl who’d hit her head.

“Nonsense. You aren’t imposing on anything,” his father said dismissively.

Bullshit, Cas thought, reflecting on how persistent he’d had to be to convince the king to let her anywhere near the mansion.

“Come,” Atlas turned toward the table in the nearby dining room where their plates had been set up by the wait staff. “I am eager to get to know you over dinner and drinks, Iris.”

While his father’s back facing them, Cas shot Iris a helpless look and shrugged his shoulders before following him over to the table. The king took up the seat at the head, and the prince stood behind the chair on his right, waiting for the monarch to settle down comfortably before he did so as well. The rules weren’t as strict among the members of the royal family—the soldiers would sooner be executed than they would arrest the heir to the throne for something as petty as disregarding etiquette—but he didn’t want to earn any scolding looks from his father for ignoring protocol.

The other utensils had been set up across from him on Atlas’s left.

On the table were three plates covered by metal domes to conserve the dishes’ heat. Cas could smell buttery shellfish underneath. He shot his father a bemused look. Atlas was supposed to be eating light meals to keep from upsetting his stomach while he was on medication, but it seemed like his pride wouldn’t allow him to serve anything less than the best while there was a guest in their home.

The king removed his dome first and picked up his fork and knife, digging in to a steaming lobster tail. “So, Iris,” he mused. “Caspian told me he found you in the woods. What were you doing outside the capital in the middle of the night?”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

I loved it! I'll get started on a reply for you ^^ It's gonna be an interesting dinner

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Can’t wait ^^ and don’t worry about it! I’ve been really busy. It was my friend’s birthday yesterday, so we all got plastered at her place xD She just turned 21 (she’s the baby of the group), so there was a lot of alcohol

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

That’s okay! Good luck with work! Sounds like it’s been busy lately.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

I liked it ^^ Just got my reply done!
Cas is imploding at the end of that scene because he realized he forgot to tell Iris to bow when his father addresses her xD

Have a good night!

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

When Cas made it to the kitchen, he found that he wasn’t the first arrive. He caught sight of Iris across the room and made his way over to join her. As much as he disliked it, his father was going to be joining them for dinner, so he needed to prepared her to face him before he got there. Any unexpected or disrespectful reactions from her—even if they were inadvertent—would displeased the king. He didn’t want to risk getting her kicked out before she had even spent her first night in the mansion, and there was no way of knowing if she remembered proper etiquette around the royal family. So far, he hadn’t seen her show any to him, but he had expressed that he didn’t like being treated specially, so she might have just been honoring his request. Just in case though, he decided to refresh her memory.

“Hey,” he greeted her warmly, hoping to give her a dose of friendliness before the ice king entered and chilled the mood. Stopping by her side, he casted a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure Atlas hadn’t gotten to the kitchen yet before he turned back to her with a more serious expression. “So, my dad is planning to eat with us,” he admitted, getting straight to the point with the limited time they had. “I just have a couple words of advice before he shows up. First,” he held up his index finger as he began his list. “Try not to act too shocked when you see him. I don’t know if you remember or not, but he’s ill, and, well… he definitely looks it. If you give away any appalment, it’ll make him upset.”

He held up his second finger, “Also, remember what I said about not calling me Your Highness? Scrap that. Anything my dad shows up to is automatically a formal event. The general rule of thumb is to avoid our names altogether. If you do that, you should be golden.” He paused briefly before adding, “And don’t sit down or leave the table before he does. Don’t touch your food first either. He has to initiate everything.” It wasn’t the best crash course in royal etiquette, but it would have to do for now, especially because his father had just arrived in the kitchen.

Quickly, Cas took a step away from Iris to put a little more distance between them, careful not to look like he was too close to her while the king limped toward them. Atlas was leaning most of his weight into the cane that he used to get around with a focused look on his face as if the simple act of walking was taxing business. His eyes drifted from his son’s face to hers, where he paused, taking in the sight of the guest who was now staying in his home.

Sensing a quiet that was dragging on too long to be comfortable for anyone, the prince cleared his throat. “Dad, this is Iris,” he introduced her, holding out one hand.

“So it is,” the king mused, eyeing the amnesiac girl with an unreadable expression that made his son nervous. Another brief silence followed as he limped closer to her and stopped, straightening his posture as much as his decrepit spine would allow. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Iris. To which family do you belong?”