Trash Panda

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow watched his sister amusedly as she prematurely welcomed Penelope into their family. They had only been courting for less than the span of a whole evening, but the princess was already too ecstatic to wait any longer. He decided not to tease her this time though. Considering the fact that Naida was among a group of nobles he could count on one hand who supported them, he appreciated her avid response to the news. It was going to be encouraging if or when they started hearing more from the people who weren’t as excited about their newly public relationship.

His eyes shifted to William’s irate figure on the other side of the room, protesting the courtship with John. Right now, the only ones who were actively upset about their passionate announcement were the men and women who had been trying to use them to rise up in the social hierarchy. However, he had a feeling even more people in the castle would side against them as the petty old knight spread the word that they had been intimately involved when Penelope had been his guard two years ago. Nobles were shallow, so he knew they would judge the lieutenant for falling in love with a criminal. It was only a matter of time before someone’s tongue would slip, and their true thoughts would start to show through.

When Naida asked Penelope about the ceremony, Crow turned back to her with a bemused smile. The princess really didn’t waste any time. Her question gave him pause though. He hadn’t thought much about what a wedding ceremony would look like now that he was a nobleman. Having grown up with the traditions of peasants, he only knew about the handfasting ceremonies the villagers would throw together to get married. It didn’t take much planning, since all a couple needed was an officiator and at least one witness, but it sounded like members of the upper echelon of society planned much more elaborate events.

He glanced at Penelope, noticing that she had gotten visibly flustered by the subject. Her awkwardness surrounding their future was cute to him. When they had first started talking about it near Farhill, he’d been just as uncomfortable as she was, but the more he thought about it, the more his excitement replaced his nervousness. He knew what he wanted, and he knew she was on the same page as he was. Now, the prospect of marrying her was more thrilling than anything else. He couldn’t wait to spend the rest of his life with her.

“Me too,” he agreed, leaning in to press another affectionate kiss to the knight’s cheek. “I don’t care if we get married in a manor or the middle of the woods. I just want to be with you.”

“And have a banquet full of good food, right?” Naida teased him with a grin. “Since you like hors d’oeuvres better than women.”

“Better than every woman except this one,” Crow corrected her with a wink, wrapping his arm around Penelope’s side. He knew nobles usually weren’t as openly affectionate as he was being now, but he was enjoying the ability to be so close to her without hiding it anymore. And he wanted to make it clear to every man in the Great Hall that she was off the market. “But yes, if there’s going to be a banquet on our wedding day, I’m going to be eating venison. That’s non-negotiable, love.” He shot Penelope a playful smirk.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Yeah, I'm excited to see what he does when he talks to Iris ^^

I'm thinking it would be better if Iris ends up helping him, otherwise we might hit a wall when it comes to getting them back together again (communication wise). I'm trying to think of things that could keep them together longer too, because if Cas doesn't have enough time to really get a feel for what's going on outside the capital, he'd just go back to life before he and Iris met. What if during her father's "interrogations" one of the things he does that's too far is causing some kind of injury that would make it difficult for Cas to get anywhere fast? Like a broken leg or something along that line. So, when they do escape, she'd have to help him get back to the capital without getting caught by the rebels who don't want him to get away? It could be a good way for them to bond, because they'd be hiding out in the streets for a few days on their way there.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Thinking about it, the rebels would have more likely escaped after one round of interrogations. Three hours is a long time, so Ethan might show up a little banged up when he finds Iris!

I like that idea ^^ It'll be interesting to give Iris's father more of a role.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

“I understand,” Cas nodded sympathetically when Iris said she didn’t have an appetite anymore. He didn’t have much of one either, but for different reasons. While the hover car didn’t make him motion sick, knowing that he was going to have to act as his father’s proxy for the evening did. Stepping in for the king during important meetings wasn’t new to him in and of itself. He’d done it before to meet with foreign dignitaries and make minor changes to plans that the council came up with. This was the first time that he’d been put in charge of handling the fates of criminals though, and that was nerve wracking.

“Sure,” he offered her a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. He hoped she wouldn’t be disappointed, but after everything that had happened, he wasn’t in the mood to hang out with anyone anymore. Besides that, he wasn’t sure Jay and Miles would be allowed on the property, even if they tried. The whole estate was going to be on lockdown until the soldiers in the capital gave the all-clear that there were no other rebels who could attempt a second strike on the royal family. Before then, no one would be allowed in our out of the mansion, and he would have to focus on handling the prisoners the security team had succeeded in capturing.

Walking with Jacob and the other guard—it was another man whom didn’t know well enough to name—Cas made his way across the grounds to the exterior entrance of a different wing in the building. He did his best to wear a stoical expression, knowing that all the people he was about to meet with expected him to be a phlegmatic leader in the face of unrest. It was what his father would have done. He focused on a mental image of the king, healthy and commanding, dictating orders to his people, as he stepped into the meeting room.

Everyone on the council was at least twice his age. Men and women in their fifties and sixties all looked up from their hushed conversations as the young prince strode over to the empty seat at the head of the ovoid table and sat down. His two bodyguards took up positions on either side of the door, passively observing the meeting in wait of orders to delegate to the security team, if needed.

Cas could feel the weight of their gazes on him as a quiet fell over the room. He knew most of the members of his father’s council didn’t take him seriously because of his age and inexperience. They would have preferred to be looking at Atlas himself when discussing something as serious as a terrorist attack. However, there was little room for choice when the king was in no condition to oversee the proceedings, so he straightened his shoulders and pushed through the discomfort. “I’m sure you’ve already heard that my father is unable to attend this meeting,” he started, reiterating the reason for his presence just in case the guards hadn’t filled them in. “I’ll be heading the discussion in his place. To start, I’d like to go over what we know about the prisoners; who they are, and how they got in…”

--

For the next three hours, the council went back and forth covering matters regarding the prisoners, the security of the capital, possible changes that needed to be made, and anything else that could potentially prevent the Scourge from getting this far again. They combed through documents while Cas directed Jacob’s team to search their computers for foreign malware that could have been planted by a rebel hacker. Everyone worked diligently on their assignments, and as progress was made, the crown prince began to feel more confident in his ability to lead. He didn’t stumble over his words as often as he thought he would, and he remembered enough from all the lessons with his tutors to keep up with every detailed topic they covered. Overall, his mood improved as the meeting went on—just enough for him to be caught off guard when Jacob lifted a hand to his ear and took on a concerned expression.

“Your Highness,” the guard spoke up, drawing the council’s attention to him. He had been silent for the majority of the meeting, so his voice jarred them all from their conversation. “I just received word from the soldiers in the holding cell. The prisoners have escaped.”

“What?” Cas blanched. “How is that possible?” He’d seen the cell before. It was incredibly secure. As far as he was aware, no one had ever escaped from it before.

“The tech team found the hacker, but before they could remove him from the system, he deactivated the lock on the cell,” Jacob explained clinically. “The prisoners took advantage of the situation and have made it into the city.”

“Damn it,” Cas groaned, dragging his fingers through his coarse hair. “Tell the soldiers to lock down the capital. No one gets in or out of any public building without proof of ID. If the guards took mug shots, tell them to air the photos on every screen in the city. We’ll flush the rebels out before they can try to hurt anyone else.”

“Of course, Your Highness,” Jacob bowed and stepped outside the room to give the orders.

“If the prisoners are gone, what do you want us to do?” an elderly man named Edward turned to his prince with a frown. They had been discussing appropriate punishments for the captured rebels when Jacob had received the alert.

“I guess that’s all we can do,” Cas shrugged in response, rising to his feet from the table. “We can reconvene after the soldiers recover our missing rebels.”

With nothing left to go over, he and the rest of the council members dispersed. Caspian yawned tiredly as he walked down the long halls that carried him to the residential part of the mansion, glad that his job was done for now. It was distressing that the terrorists were loose in the city, but he trusted the soldiers to capture them before they caused any damage. The Scourge had never succeeded in getting a foothold in their war against the Aspirian army before, and they wouldn’t start now. He was sure that everything would work out for the better.

Deciding to stay optimistic about the situation, he made his way to Iris’s room to see how she had been doing since he’d left her with Harry on the tarmac. He felt a little guilty for abandoning her so suddenly, but it wasn’t like he’d had a choice. He just hoped she had found something to keep herself occupied since they had parted. He also hoped enough time had passed for her to forget about his stupid idea to try and kiss her at the park. Just the thought of it brought an awkward blush to his cheeks.

When he reached the right door, he lifted his fist to knock and then stepped back, waiting for her to answer.

Cirque du Sombre [Siaya Dragalorn & Summer]

That's okay! I'm back in school, so I'm going to be writing less often for the next four months as my projects pick up.

Just get a post up whenever you're able to ^^ I don't mind the wait!

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Sounds good to me! And not right away, but he'll come around after he sees how terrible life is outside the capital and realizes the rebellion actually has a valid cause, unlike what he's been told by his father. Atlas definitely won't see it the same way though xD

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Cool! And I was thinking he would find her after Cas and Iris go their separate ways for the night, since Atlas set her curfew at 10. If he approached them right away, Cas would just call security and have him arrested again ^^; His com device also acts as a panic button if he's in danger lol

Also, if Ethan and Iris are alone, it would give them time to talk and come up with a plan to kidnap Cas (since Iris wouldn't be out to assassinate him anymore), which would lead to the scene change to the poor districts of Aspiria.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

It could actually work if we say the captured rebels escape! Maybe they could get the news during the meeting Cas is attending (say the rebel hacker manages to unlock their cell before the interrogation room is fully set up to be used). After that, the meeting would end, since they wouldn't have anything left to discuss. When Cas and Iris meet back up, they'd have time to talk about the incident at the park (maybe actually kiss this time) and then Ethan finds Iris overnight somehow?

Of course, it doesn't have to be that fast paced, but I can't think of much we could do to fill in the gaps in between those major points.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

I'm also excited for when Iris's boyfriend makes an appearance cx It's gonna be such a whirlwind from there.

Okay xD You can go to bed if you need to! I have another post to write, and then I was gonna try to get ahead in my online class for the rest of the evening

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

I think I'm gonna add CSs for Jacob and Harry. So they have face claims ^^

Everything he discusses with the council and security is confidential, so he couldn't take her with him even if he wanted to. Although he already wishes she wasn't involved.

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EDIT: I added them both to my minor character post in the character section!