Trash Panda

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

The sound of heavy footsteps echoed off polished, hardwood floors as Jacob strode down the hallway that led to Caspian Maydestone’s bedroom. The prince was due for another lesson with his private tutor at nine that morning, but he had yet to turn up for breakfast. Normally, the guard wouldn’t have gotten involved in the royal family’s business, but Ellie, one of the maids, had discreetly asked him to make sure that Cas didn’t oversleep. Anytime their prince and their king butted heads, Atlas went into one of his moods that made working at the palace miserable for everyone. If they had a spat early in the morning, the day would be torturous for all the servants who had to wait on their monarch in the next sixteen hours. Ellie happened to have been assigned to be the king’s next bedside attendant, and she dreaded the thought of being reprimanded until the sun went down.

So, taking pity on the poor girl, Jacob went to gently remind Caspian that he had a lesson in one hour. He stopped outside the royal’s door and knocked twice. “Your Highness,” he called. “Breakfast is waiting for you downstairs.” Leaning closer to the wooden panel, he waited for a reply, but none came. He knocked again, “My prince?” Once more, there was nothing. The guard knitted his brows. He must have gone to the bar after the address, he thought with a roll of his eyes. If Caspian was hungover, it was going to be more of a challenge to get him out of bed. “Your Highness, I’m coming in,” he declared, turning the handle and stepping into the room. “You’ve only got one hour until—” His tongue failed him as he saw that the prince wasn’t in bed. In fact, the bed was still made from the previous day.

Leaning forward, he peered into the adjoining bathroom, but Caspian wasn’t there either. It looked like he hadn’t come back to his room at all the night before. He folded his muscular arms over his chest, wracking his brain to think of a reason why the future sovereign would have stayed out all night. And then it hit him. “Fuck,” he swore, pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation. He remembered how Caspian had looked at the girl who’d moved into the palace a few days ago. The prince had probably spent the night with her and fallen asleep in her bed. It’s a damn good thing I got involved, he grumbled inwardly, marching back out of the room to look for the missing royal in the amnesiac’s room. If King Atlas finds out about this, he might end his own family line.

When he reached the correct door, he knocked loudly. “Your Highness, I know you’re in there. You’d better make yourselves decent and get to the kitchen before His Majesty wakes up.” He paused, tapping his foot impatiently against the floorboards, but no sound came from inside the room. Not even the furious shuffling of bedsheets being tossed aside, or clothes being thrown on naked bodies. He groaned. Walking in on his future king in a state of undress was the last way he wanted to start his day, but he had no other choice. “Alright, I gave you a fair warning,” he called. “Now I’m coming in.”

Steeling himself for an uncomfortable confrontation, Jacob pushed open the door and then halted in the entryway, staring at the empty bed in surprise. No one was here either. Not Caspian nor the girl he had taken in. Immediately, he fumbled for the com device he wore on his belt, turning it on to connect to the other guards. “We’ve got a problem,” he growled, walking around the edge of the room to pull open wardrobe doors and search the bathroom. “I can’t find Prince Caspian or the girl who’s been staying in the guest room in the west wing.”

Yeah, I was just about to call you about that, another guard sighed on the other end of the line. They left the palace last night.

“They what?” Jacob stopped in his tracks, gawping at the air in front of him.

I noticed that the gate had been left open, so I pulled up footage of the grounds from around twenty-one hundred. It looks like they got out through the side door with the faulty wiring and took one of the emergency vehicles off the property.

“God damn it,” Jacob clenched his fist at his side. “Track the car. I want them back here immediately! We’re in the middle of a manhunt for Christ’s sake.”

Understood, sir.

The line hummed with white noise as the connection was severed, and Jacob dragged his hands over his head in frustration. He had no idea what Caspian had been thinking, but he did know that he was going to have to report the prince’s little stunt to Atlas. He wasn’t looking forward to telling the king that his only son was nowhere to be found when there were still two rebels loose somewhere in the city.

--

Sitting in his cell in the dark, Cas shifted his weight uncomfortably, trying to get blood flow back down to his feet. While he’d been unconscious, his legs had been bent at an awkward angle and his ankles had been bound with more rope. He could feel the pins and needles effect that came before the recovery of feeling in his skin. He still didn’t know where he was or if he would even be able to escape, but if the opportunity presented itself, he was going to need to be able to stand up without toppling back over, so he stretched and massaged his muscles, trying to get himself in condition to run.

While he was working on that, he startled at the sound of a door opening somewhere nearby. Whoever had locked him up had just come into the room. Quickly, he laid back down and closed his eyes, hoping his captor wouldn’t catch on to what he’d been doing. He’d never been in a situation like this before, but he’d heard enough stories about the Scourge not to trust its members to be nonviolent. As long as they thought he was being a ‘good’ prisoner, he hoped they wouldn’t do anything to worsen his chances of getting out of this mess.

Hearing approaching footsteps, he opened one eye slightly to get a look at the person who was holding him hostage. However, when he did, his whole body stiffened against his will. It was Iris. Iris was standing outside his cell, untied and untouched. He’d already known in his head that she’d been responsible for his removal from his home, but actually seeing her on the side of the bars for members of the Scourge made him taste bile. She wasn’t the woman he’d thought she was, and now, because he’d been gullible enough to trust her—to fall for her—she’d gotten exactly what she had wanted. The rebellion had cut off the royal line. He wanted to throw up.

As she set a plate of food and cup of water down outside his cell, Cas pressed his cheek against the cool floor and kept his gaze pointed downward, avoiding her eyes. He was still too overwhelmed by everything to be hungry, but he was desperately parched. His mouth and throat were dry, and he was tempted to crawl over to the edge of his prison to down the entire glass in one gulp. But he couldn’t give her the satisfaction of ‘taking care of him’ in his darkest hour when she was the one who had turned the hands of the clock. He refused to take anything from her when he’d given her his heart, and she’d crushed it in the palm of her cold hand. Unless someone aimed a gun at his head and told him to eat, he’d rather suffer.

“Did you even have amnesia?” he murmured, unable to keep the venom-laced words from tumbling out of his mouth in spite of the fact that he knew he shouldn’t say anything to her. His voice was hoarse both from lack of use and lack of water. “Or was that just a lie you made up to get me to trust you?”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

I had to carry it forward so I'd have something to write haha cx I figured Cas would wake up after they locked him in the cell.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

For a while, Caspian faded in and out of consciousness, remaining more often in the dark than in the state of half-wakefulness that he found less pleasant to endure. It was difficult to distinguish between what was real and what he’d conjured up in his mind after he’d fainted. At one point, he felt like he was being jostled in someone’s arms. The next few times he surfaced after that, he was lying on his side with his knees pulled to his chest in a confined space. Every time his hazy mind attempted to swim back up from the depths though, he was aware of an acute pain in the back of his skull that was discouraged him from fully returning to the land of the living.

He’d never participated in the military, and since he’d lived his whole life in the capital, the prince had never experienced an injury worse than a fractured wrist. He had far less fortitude than the men who soldiered on even if they left a trail of blood in their wake. Until now, he’d never needed the quality. All he was expected to do was sit back in the safety of the stronghold he called home and dole out orders to those who could handle the pain of executing his commands on the battlefield. Kings didn’t run to the frontlines to risk their own lives. So, when he finally stirred enough to escape the pit of unconsciousness that he’d been sinking in for who knew how long, it took him a while to orient himself.

He shifted against what felt like an old, wood floor, and a ragged groan escaped his lips. His head still pounded worse than any hangover he’d ever had, and the back of it felt wet with viscous liquid. Weakly, he tried to lift his hand to touch the spot, but the motion drew his other hand to follow, and he stopped, confused. Pausing to let himself wake up a little more, his dark eyes fluttered open, only to find that he was staring at a chain of metal bars. The sight didn’t give him any clarity into the situation, but it did make him more alert. He winced as his headache flared again and looked down at his hands, discovering that both were bound together at the wrists with rope. That explained why he couldn’t move freely.

Where am I? he wondered dully, shifting his weight as he tried to sit up. Although his head hurt the worst, his body ached as well, as if he’d been tossed around like a sack of flour. He wouldn’t have been surprised to find that he was covered in bruises underneath his clothes. Once he managed to maneuver into an upright position, he raised both of his bound hands to investigate the wet spot on the back of his head. Upon touching it, the wound smarted, and he hissed through his teeth, glancing down at his fingers, which had come away coated in blood.

At least it’s mostly dry, he thought with some relief, trying not to panic as he took in more of his surroundings. He had no idea where he was or how he’d gotten there. The last thing he remembered was going out to the forest with Iris to look for her missing ID— Suddenly, his eyes widened as the rest came back to him at once. Iris was part of the Scourge. She must have done something once she’d had him alone, and now he was… well, wherever this cell was.

His heartbeat quickened in his chest, and his hands dropped to his hip as he rushed to active his emergency beacon, but his com device was gone. He held his breath nervously and checked his pockets for his phone, but that was gone too. The rebels must have looted his only means of contact while he’d been unconscious. “Damn it…” he muttered, wincing again as another surge of pain blossomed in the back of his head.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Same but I also had so much fun writing that post
Their relationship is going to be so different when he wakes up from this. I'm excited for all the character development opportunities we just unlocked cx

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

“How would you know? You don’t remember what kind of girl you were before you hit your head,” Cas teased Iris with a laugh as they walked toward the forest. The dried leaves crunched underneath his shoes, and the foliage was pitch black, shadowed from the moonlight below the trees that hung over their heads. He rarely visited this part of the city, but now that he’d been here twice with her, he was starting to wonder why he didn’t stop by more often. It was a peaceful area compared to the hustle and bustle of the capital. Quiet, even. After he’d spent most of his life surrounded by the monotonous hum of the city, silence was audible in its own way. He would have to make more of an effort to pass through once he got back to his old routine. It would be fun to follow some of the game trails he could see between bushes to find out where they went.

Trying not to get distracted, he slipped his phone from his pocket and turned the flashlight on to look for her ID card. They didn’t have long to search, so he didn’t want to get sidetracked and hurt their odds of finding it by wasting time. He followed along after her, keeping her in the corner of his eye at all times so they wouldn’t get separated. She’d found out the hard way that the woods were a veritable landmine full of hunters’ gear and traps. It was barely safe to walk around there when the sun was out. While it was night, they would have to be especially careful not to step on anything that might take their feet off. The last thing he wanted was for his father to find out he’d snuck out by sending Jacob to pick him up from the hospital with a bear trap of his own locked around his ankle.

Caught up in his thoughts, it took the prince a moment before he realized that Iris had stopped up ahead. He looked up at her and furrowed his brow in a deep frown. Belatedly, he recalled that the place where they were standing was where he’d found her the night she’d lost her memories. It must have been too much for her to handle. He muttered a swear under his breath and hurried over to place his hand supportively on her back. “Are you okay?” he asked, studying her face once he was beside her. She looked disoriented to him, and he already knew the answer to the question before she even opened her mouth. “This wasn’t a great idea, was it?” he sighed, shaking his head. He glanced over his shoulder at the distant road and opened his mouth again to suggest that they turn back but paused when he heard her whispery voice speak first.

Her words made his frown deepen, and he stared at her confusedly. “Don’t be sorry. It’s a good thing that your memories are coming back—” he began to assure her and then faltered as she looked up at him with her pale face. In that moment, alarm bells began to sound in the back of his head, and he tensed reflexively. Something was wrong, but he didn’t know what it was. Had she remembered something unexpected? What did she need to tell him that would make her blanch like she’d seen a ghost? Had coming back to the forest put them both in danger? Whatever it was, he was starting to think they’d made a mistake by returning to the woods when no one else knew where they were.

“Iris—” he tried again but didn’t get any more words out before she said something that made his breath hitch. What does she mean, she isn’t who I think she is? At this point, his heart had begun to pound in his chest, and his hand slipped from where it had been resting on her shirt. As hard as he tried, he couldn’t make sense of what was going on. Just five minutes ago, they had been cruising down the street, having the time of their lives as they snuck off to the forest in secret, and now she was acting completely different. Swallowing apprehensively, his right hand inched subtly toward his waistband, where his com device hung from his belt. All it would take was the push of a button, and his family’s security team would surround the area in a clockwork response time of two minutes and forty-three seconds. But he didn’t touch it yet.

“It doesn’t matter,” he forced a half smile, still giving her the benefit of the doubt. No matter what she said, he knew her. He knew she was friendly and sweet and funny, the kind of woman he couldn’t help but fall head-over-heels for even though they’d only known each other for a week. Maybe she wasn’t a high born of high status like he’d been hoping. Maybe she was even someone’s maid, but he didn’t care. He liked her regardless of her status. “What did you remember?” he prompted with a hopeful tone, trying to reassure her that he wasn’t going to change his mind just because of something as superficial as her social standing.

However, as soon as the name dripped off her tongue, all color drained from his face. Nox-Fleuret. That was the name of the man pioneering the rebellion, the man who had just sent assassins to kill his father. She was related to the man who had single-handedly ripped up the peaceful utopia of Aspiria and dragged the entire nation down into the hellfire of war. Caspian felt lightheaded. Atlas had been right about her all along. He’d foolishly put his trust in a member of the Scourge, and she could have killed either one of them because of it. Just the thought of it made him feel sick. He couldn’t believe he’d fallen for an enemy of the crown.

And he had just followed her off to an isolated forest when no one knew where he was.

In an instant, his heartbeat skyrocketed with adrenaline as he realized the trap he’d so stupidly stepped into. He took a step back from her to run, and his hand flew to his com device to send an emergency signal to his guards. He needed to get away from her before it was too late. However, his finger had barely brushed against the cold metal when he felt a sharp blow to the back of his head that made the air rush from his lungs, and everything went dark.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

It was great! I'll get started on my reply now ^^

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Can't wait! I'm excited for Cas to wake up in Hope's captivity later too cx

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow rolled his eyes when Penelope reminded him that she wouldn’t stop worrying about him. “Maybe not, but I’m hopeful I’ll get through to you one day,” he retorted cheekily. Perhaps it was cocky, but he really did believe he was capable of taking care of himself even in the midst of danger. After all, he’d managed to survive other mercenaries, knights, bounty hunters, the current war, and even Jaxon. If he kept up with his current track record, he was sure that he and the other nobles in their peace party would pull through if they were attacked. He just had to make sure that they knew what kind of enemies to look out for on the way to Younis, so they would be ready to fight back.

“They may be skilled, but so are we,” he pointed out with a lopsided smile. “Well… at least, they are.” He tilted his head toward the knights riding in front of them. Since he’d started training with John, he’d made some improvement to his sword fighting techniques, but he still operated best in a fight when his opponents let down their guards. When pitted against someone who actually knew how to use a blade and who wouldn’t fall for his tricks, he had a much harder time holding his ground. If mercenaries did attack them, he had a feeling he would be relying heavily on the others to fend them off. However, he wasn’t terribly concerned because the knights around him were all good at their jobs, so he wouldn’t have to do much fighting anyway.

As Penelope went on, the former thief was reminded of the other subject he had yet to discuss with her. He watched with a frown as she lowered her gaze, clearly upset that they would have to part ways soon. For a moment, he toyed with the thought of forgetting about the request he’d wanted to make, so they could have one extra day together, but he quickly pushed the idea aside. Even if they had one more day, it wouldn’t change much in the long run. It was better for them to part sooner if it meant he could steal one night to be with his old companions. Between them and the knight, he was far less certain about when he would be able to see the former again. It could be weeks or even months before he could find another opportunity like this. He let out his breath.

“I will too,” he agreed with her final statement, paused, and then looked up to seek her gaze again. “And speaking of not being together much longer… I have a favor to ask.” His light eyes flicked toward the knights ahead of them and then back towards Percival and Naida as he made sure they were far enough away not to eavesdrop on what he was about to say. Once he felt confident that they could speak somewhat privately, he guided Baine to walk a little closer to Penelope’s horse and leaned toward her, dropping his voice to a whisper, “I’ve been thinking. We’ll be getting close to the part of the forest where my companions have been living, but they’re still too far out of the way for me to visit them. I can’t change our course without raising anyone’s suspicion either. I don’t want them to know I still keep in touch with criminals, so… would you be willing to part ways in the next town tomorrow morning?” He offered her a pleading smile. “I love you, and I would love to spend as much time with you as we can get, but this may be my only chance to see them for who knows how long. I don’t want to lose it, and if you go north tomorrow, you can tell them I’m in the area. Let them know that I can meet them halfway between Silverpool and Myrefall two nights from now. I promise I’ll make it up to you after we get back to the castle.”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

I brought us there! And I'm excited to see what Ethan and Iris end up doing. Cas is just blissfully ignorant xD

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

“I don’t know about never, but now is definitely more fun,” Cas shrugged as he waited for Iris to get into the passenger side of the car. They could have easily waited for the lockdown to be lifted before they went back to the woods to look for her ID card. If they had, they wouldn’t have had to sneak past the royal family’s security or leave after the sun had gone down for the night. Everything they were doing now was technically more inconvenient, but he wasn’t going to complain. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d enjoyed himself so much. It really did feel like they were living out the movies he had grown up with as a kid, and the adrenaline of creeping around to avoid being spotted by anyone got his heart pumping. So caught up in the excitement of it all was he that he’d forgotten why he’d been reluctant to leave the mansion in the first place.

Once Iris had settled into the car, he circled back around to the other side and hopped into the driver’s seat. As expected, the key was safely hidden away in the glove box, so he pulled it out and turned it in the ignition. The car came to life with a quiet hum of its electric engine, and he turned to Iris with a grin. “Twenty minutes starting from the second I put this baby into park,” he nodded. Whether or not twenty minutes would be enough time to find her ID remained to be seen, but he was more invested in the trip for the adventure of it than the success. He hoped she wouldn’t be too disappointed if they ended up having to turn back without the card later on.

Putting the thought aside for now, he reached for the clutch and put the car into drive, simultaneously hitting the button to open the garage door. The mechanism groaned as the panel slid upward, and he winced. Hopefully they were far enough away from the main building that no one had noticed the sound. He wasn’t about to wait and find out though. Without skipping a beat, he pulled out of the garage and brought the vehicle around to the private road that would take them out to the gate at the edge of the property. The next part was tricky. Security would be alerted if a car drove up to the gate when it was still closed, since someone needed to screen the driver and decided whether or not to let them pass. However, there was about a two second window between the underground panel that tripped the alert and the point in which he could open the gate by himself with a button inside the emergency vehicle. If he timed it right, he could open it manually without the security team receiving a message that there was a moving car heading away from the building.

Focused on making sure they could get past without getting caught, he didn’t talk as they approached the gate. Only after he pressed the button and saw the barrier part without turning on the light that connected it to the security team’s intercom did he finally turn back to Iris with a somewhat delirious laugh. “Oh my god, I can’t believe that worked,” he shook his head. “We’re officially in the clear. No one has any idea we left, and as long as we play our cards right, they won’t know when we come back either.” Reaching across the center console, he took her hand in his and grinned. “Let’s get your ID back.”

--

The rest of the trip to the forest went by without a hitch. Cas followed the posted speed limits to avoid getting pulled over, and none of the soldiers patrolling the area seemed to pay them any mind. The enforced, city-wide curfew was ten o’ clock, so they didn’t look strange driving down the highway at nine. Blending in as perfectly as he could have hoped, they made it to the woods on the edge of the capital in great time.

“I feel like Bonnie and Clyde,” the prince joked as he climbed out of the car. He’d parked on the side of the road so they could get back to the mansion quickly as soon as they were done looking around. Striding over to Iris’s side, he opened the door for her again to let her out. “And I’m convinced. You were definitely a bad girl before you lost your memories,” he teased, closing the door behind her and locking the vehicle. “No one else would suggest to do something like this when there are criminals on the loose.”