Sage was on house arrest, until someone tried to break into the Palace.
He was dragged out of bed at three in the morning by a beefy guy dressed in black, and a beard so wiry, it stabbed Sage's palms when he tried to wriggle out of his grip. Sage tried to yell and kick to get away from him until the man told Sage that he was a bodyguard that worked for the Palace.
Sage almost didn't believe him until Oxley hovered by the doorway, half asleep and covering his ears. He then heard the alarm, high pitched, loud enough for everyone to have to shout over it to be heard. "Come with me, Your Royal Highness." Sage had no choice. The bodyguard held his wrist and pulled him down the corridor, and another, and another until they were at the back of the Palace.
Sage was shoved into his father's office where another bodyguard met him by the door disguised by his father's bookshelf. Sage had never been inside the panic room. He had hoped that he would never need to be comforted by its cold thick walls.
The door was shut behind Oxley and yellow lights flickered in the dim short hallway. "Boys?" their mother's voice called out from down a set of stairs, and behind another door.
Sage entered the room first. His parents stood together in their pyjamas. His mother's hair was wrapped in a silk scarf, his father wore fluffy black slippers. The room was square, bleak, bare, and as cold as Sage expected concrete walls to feel. The alarm was an eerie distant sound above as he embraced his parents.
"What's going on?" he asked when his mother thanked her God that he was safe.
"Someone broke onto the grounds. They had made it into the servant's quarters until he was stopped by a member of staff. The man was carrying a weapon and wanting to get to your room, Sage."
Chills crawled down Sage's spine. "What were their intensions?" he asked. The shock must have been visible because his father stepped closer and clasped a hand on his shoulder.
"I don't care if they only wanted to talk," Haliver said. "They broke in with a weapon, they're going to prison, and you're going to a castle in the country until this madness blows over."
Sage licked his dry lips and sat on a bench in the corner of the room. His head had spun since the funeral. Now it was making him sick, and not just in his stomach. Sage's head felt too full to think. "Uh, is the intruder still here?"
"Yes. The police are on their way. He'll be well detained in the meantime." His dad sat next to him.
"Who was the member of staff who stopped him?" Oxley asked. His tone was very rarely serious. It made Sage feel colder. "They need a raise."
"It was Mister Taro Vinea. I don't know what he was doing up at that time, but I thank the heavens that he was," Marigold said. Her red silk dressing gown swung by her ankles as she paced.
Sage looked up when he heard the name. "That's my new Valet. Was he hurt?"
"No, only his knuckles, I assume. The security said that he gave the man a whopping punch to the jaw."
Sage allowed himself to relax at the absurdity. "He hasn't even been here a week," he said with a shake of his head. If that doesn't show his loyalty, nothing will.
"Which means he hasn't gotten his first paycheck. I'll be sure to stick in an extra month's wage. Who knows what could have happened if he wasn't in the right place at the right time?" his dad muttered with a deep frown.
Sage's face paled a little. He didn't want to think about how anyone could possibly get into the grounds, never mind the actual Palace. "What now?"
"We're waiting until it's safe and then you're going to a car that'll be waiting to take you far."
Sage nodded. He didn't really want to go, but the severity of a break-in hadn't settled.
He sat with his family for almost an hour until the secret door opened and a stream of bodyguards entered to assist them through the Palace. Sage thought that he was being driven off alone, but his family were joining him for the night.
They were escorted through the empty corridors and to the side entrance where the servants parked. They had separate cars for each Royal member. The Queen was assisted by three bodyguards, and her Lady in Waiting. His father was assisted by two bodyguards and his Valet. Oxley was assisted by two bodyguard. Sage was assisted by three bodyguards and his Valet.
Taro Vinea was already strapped into the back of the car with an empty space next to him, for Sage.
"Are you okay?" Taro asked when Sage sat next to him. As soon as all bodyguards were packed in, the car sped out of the carpark and was escorted by a police car travelling close behind.
"I think so. Are you?" His hand shot to Taro's bruised knuckles.
Taro let him fret for a moment before saying, "I got to punch a prick in the face, of course I'm fine."
Sage could only scoff with disbelief. Does his sass ever waver? "Why were you even awake at three in the morning?"
"I was thirsty, thankfully." Taro's attention moved to the window. "Where are we going? I had to pack you a bag big enough for a couple of weeks."
"To the country. They didn't tell me exactly where."
"Security reasons I imagine. It's a good thing you gave me a full-time position or else this could get awkward," Taro said with a smirk, as if he hadn't punched a stranger who carried a weapon only an hour ago.
Sage was rather thankful that he was sitting next to Taro Vinea, and not his father who would have tried to make him feel better by talking about how much worse the situation could have been, or his mother who would have asked if he were okay every ten minutes, or Oxley who would have talked about himself the whole ride to distract Sage from the break-in.
"How long do you think we'll be travelling?" Taro asked and leaned over the back of the seat. His hand returned with a silk pillow from Sage's bed. He gave it to the Prince, who smiled kindly.
"Probably three hours at the least. My father said we were travelling far. Did you get another pillow for yourself?"
"I won't sleep now. Adrenaline will take over for a while."
Sage understood. "You can sleep at any point through the approaching day, then. You've earned the time off." He pressed the cushion to the window and rested his head on it. Sage was adrenaline-fuelled too, for a while.
When he was almost asleep, Taro slouched in his seat and their knees touched. Sage was suddenly hyper-aware of that little physical contact. Every corner they turned, their knees pressed harder against each other. Every bump in the road, their legs moved in sync.
Sage didn't feel that way when he was in close contact with others. He spent his life around people who wanted to grab his hand and pat his shoulders and hug him. The public were relentless for grabbing at his shirts.
His eyes flicked to their knees from where his head rested. Maybe it's because I know he's gay, and I'm like him. Sage sighed internally. But he's my Valet. Sage could only imagine what the papers would say.
He crossed one leg over the other and linked his fingers. Their knees no longer touched, and Sage fell asleep only minutes later. He woke up briefly when they swerved too much, or stopped at traffic lights, but soon they travelled on narrow country roads that were smooth and gentle enough for Sage to sleep lightly until they arrived.
The sun was almost ready to rise when the car stopped for the last time, and a hand touched his shoulder.
Sage's head shot up. Green eyes clashed with his tired ones and they crinkled at the sides with a smile. "We're here, Sir."
Sage peeked from the window to see Arum Castle, a place Sage visited only for Christmas. His mother spent more time at the castle because she had more business in the far east of the country. Sage now visited for a rather sinister reason, one he would much rather forget.
When he got out, he expected to be ushered inside by his parents. Instead, they surrounded Taro Vinea who looked just as confused.
"Well done," Haliver said with a strong pat on Taro's shoulder. "Your bravery will be rewarded." He shook Taro's hand and caught sight of his green nails. His brows twitches as he fought off a frown.
"Come inside and have breakfast with us, Mister Vinea," Marigold offered, trying to usher him inside. "It's the least we can do as of now."
"I haven't slept yet and feel quite tired, Your Royal Highness. If you don't mind, I'd prefer to sleep for a bit while Prince Sage doesn't need me."
"That's fine," Sage jumped in before they gave him no choice. "I'm not very hungry either, so I'll go straight to bed too."
Taro followed Sage up three marble steps and towards two very tall wooden doors with huge golden handles. A servant opened the door, and the rest was a blur to Sage until he got to a room with a bed. Taro had been escorted to the servant's quarters. Sage was thankful that Taro didn't want breakfast because then he would have to stay up for breakfast too. He would never have left Taro Vinea alone with his parents and brother. He'd end up fired, or someone would end up insulted by his improper Royal etiquettes.
Sage's last thoughts before sleep were about the plant that he had left behind. He made a mental note to phone the Palace later, to not only tell Osier about Taro's full-time position, but to tell Mrs Beecham to look after the plant while he was gone.