"I need your help with something," Taro said as he measured the length of Sage's arm with tape. "I need repotting."
Sage lowered his arm. "Today?"
"It would help. My feet hurt."
"Your... feet?" Sage looked down at Taro's black work shoes.
"My roots are cramped."
"Oh," Sage said as though he understood any of it. "Okay well um, Mrs Beecham can help-"
"No, I want you to do it. I've seen her handling the roses." Taro shuddered and Sage couldn't help but chuckle.
"Fine, we'll do it after breakfast."
Taro smirked a little too wide.
"What?"
"Nothing." Taro wrapped the measuring tape around Sage's waist and tugged it hard enough for Sage to stumble closer.
Taro beamed and Sage rolled his eyes. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"
"Of course I am. You're hot, I'm hot, and I have permission to strip off your clothes. What more could I want?"
Sage wondered how many friends flirted with each other this way. "You do not have permission to strip off my clothes."
"Isn't that basically my job description?"
Sage was getting used to ignoring his flirting, though he couldn't ignore the way it made his insides flop. "Are you sure you want me to repot you? Did you say that touching your roots was like-"
"Sticking your finger in my mouth? Yes, that's exactly why I want you to do it." Taro grinned and his eyes glowed with mischief.
"You're very intense today." Sage glanced at himself in the mirror and cursed his red cheeks.
"If you think this is intense, you haven't seen the real me, Sagerian."
"Don't call me that."
"But it's cute, and princely," Taro whispered, raising the tape measure to wrap around Sage's chest. His fingers brushed his skin. Taro's hands were cold, but Sage liked it, and almost admitted it until someone knocked on the door.
Before Sage could ask who was knocking, the door opened. "Oxley!" Sage complained as Taro immediately uncoiled the measuring tape and wrote the numbers down, as though he had actually paid attention to what he was doing.
"Brother, you're late for breakfast," Oxley sneered.
"You are too."
Oxley shrugged and flopped on the small couch by the double doors. "I'll just blame it on you."
Sage allowed Taro to dress him. He didn't stand unusually close, he didn't button his shirt from the bottom, and he allowed Sage to buckle his own belt. In the eyes of another, Taro did his job professionally.
He cares about keeping my secret. He really is a friend. Sage thanked his Valet when he was dressed, but before Taro left, Oxley asked, "Where's that plant?"
In a panic, Sage almost said what plant?
"It was brought down to the servant's hall to be watered. It will return this afternoon, Sir," Taro said politely. "Though it might need to stay in the kitchen for a day or two. Prince Sage has forgotten about it recently."
Sage stopped clenching his fists. "I'm going to the garden after breakfast. Maybe I'll get another plant too." He bit the inside of his lip when Taro tripped and almost fell against the door. "But I don't know yet. It's hard enough looking after one plant." He held his gaze with Taro as he turned to close the door behind him. Oxley was texting on his phone, so Taro dared to wink.
Sage cleared his throat and quickly faced away. He could picture the evil smirk on his Valet's cheeky face as he walked away. Sage adjusted his collar and swallowed whatever excitement was brewing in his soul.
"Let's go before mum loses her shit," Oxley said and dragged his brother out of the room and down the corridor.
Sage could barely wait to get to the gardener's shed, but after breakfast, Oxley followed him down the corridor. "Do you need something?" he asked, passing a guard in a golden suit and wondering if he had green nails.
"I want to do some gardening too."
Sage stopped and Oxley walked into him. "But-"
"Yeah, gardening is your thing or whatever, but I just want to see why you like it so much." Oxley scratched the back of his short curls. He looked up to Sage with begging hazel eyes.
"What has mum asked you to do?" Sage challenged.
Oxley sighed and grabbed his arm, pulling him down the corridor again. "Fine, she asked me to keep an eye on you."
"I don't need babysitting." Sage huffed. "Why did she ask you to do that?"
"Because you've been weird ever since you got back from the Castle. You're so distant, you don't want to do any of your duties, you barely want to spend time with any of your family. All you want to do is hide in your bedroom with your Valet."
Sage tensed. "No, I don't. My Valet has a job to do, and he's only in my room when I need him."
"Well that's not what I heard."
Sage stopped and yanked his arm from Oxley's grip. "What do you mean?"
"Maybe he's stealing from you or snooping, but I heard from one of the maids that he sneaks into your room throughout the day."
"And what are you doing talking to the maids about stuff like that?"
Oxley stopped standing so tall. "I just hear stuff."
Sage's heart thumped and his mouth dried. Taro wasn't careful, and now he would pay the price if Sage didn't act fast. "Actually, I'll do some gardening later. I need to talk to dad about something." He spun on his heels and stormed the halls before Oxley could jog after him.
Sage didn't stop until he reached his father's office. The guards lifted their poles immediately, so Sage knew he was alone.
Haliver looked up when Sage stumbled in, out of breath.
"Ah, my son. I barely saw you at breakfast. Have you come to eat the rest of that porridge you left on your jumper?"
Sage rubbed his jumper with a frown. "I've come to ask your thoughts on a job role I want for my Valet."
"Oh? The guy who punched that intruder?"
"Yes, I only have one Valet." Sage sat on a dark blue velvet chair with silver tassels around the edge. His father leaned back in his chair at the opposite side of his desk. Stacks of paper and envelopes sat between them. "I want Taro Vinea to not only be my Valet, but to be my guard for when I'm in the building."
Haliver's cold blue eyes narrowed with thought. "Still feeling on edge after what happened?"
Sage nodded. His father rubbed his chin and before he rejected anything, Sage added, "He uh, he used to be a bodyguard in his um... old job. He has experience and has already shown his loyalty."
"A bodyguard for what? A nightclub or something?"
"um..."
"Bring him here. I want to ask him myself. I can't just put anyone as your guard."
"But you'll let just anyone be my Valet? You chose the last guy, and he stole from me." Sage's palms were sweating, but he was doing his best not to show that he was nervous. His father's stare could rupture even the calmest people, and sometimes, Sage could do the same.
His father rubbed his chin some more. "Go get him."
Sage hurried through the Palace. He didn't know where to check, so he checked his room. The plant wasn't where it usually was, so he checked the servant's halls. He asked a nervous maid, and Sage wondered if she had been the one to snitch on Taro.
When nobody knew where his Valet was, Sage went to the shed. He didn't dare to ask Butler Osier. Getting Taro into trouble was the last thing he wanted, especially when he had just lied about his previous job.
Inside the shed, Taro was wearing his Valet's golden shirt, untucked from his dark green trousers. His sleeves were rolled to his elbow and his hands were covered in soil. "Sagerian," he grinned.
Mrs Beecham was quick to jab him in his ribs.
"Oh sorry, your Royal Highness."
Sage ignored his sarcasm. "I need you to come with me." He looked quizzically at all the pots full of different types of soil. "What are you doing?"
"Testing which one I like the best. I need something a little less, loose. I need stability in my pot." He then grabbed a large plum coloured pot from underneath the bench. "What do you think of this colour. It clashes with my eyes, doesn't it?"
"Taro, you need to come with me. My father wants to see you." Sage edged from one foot to the other, anxiously wringing his hands until Mrs Beecham placed hers over the top of them.
"What has he done this time?" she asked. "This must be so hard for you, knowing about his secret."
"It's not that hard, actually." Sage smiled down at her. "But it's me who has done something this time." He motioned for Taro to follow. "I lied about your previous occupation," he admitted when they were marching the halls. "I told my dad you used to be a bodyguard. I panicked. I'm sorry."
Taro laughed and patted Sage's back as they turned a corner. "Now look who's eager for me to be a guard."
"I thought you'd be mad. Now you'll have to lie to my father-"
"Or I could tell him the truth and get you into trouble." Taro looked around. Only guards accompanied the silence of the grand Palace hallways.
"I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you."
"Oh." Taro's green eyes gleamed. "Will you now?"
"Just please, stop it. He's waiting." Sage hurried to the office and the guards, once again, moved aside. He noticed Taro discretely bowing to them. They must be plant people too.
He cleared his thoughts when his father turned from the window that displayed the front of the grounds. The golden gates glowed in the sun. "This is Taro-"
"Vinea, yes, I know who you are." Haliver strode around his large desk and shook Taro's hands. He had previously stared oddly at Taro's green nails, now he ignored them. "I should thank you again for that night with the intruder."
Taro smiled graciously. "When I took this job, I became a loyal worker of the Greenthenors. I know most of your staff could say the same."
"Most?" Haliver's eyes bore down on him. "Well, we're all grateful for what you did for our son. Now he comes to me with a guard position."
"Well, it's more like an upgrade. I still want him as my Valet, but he's happy to guard too," Sage said, trying not to sound as eager as he felt.
"Is a Valet role not already stressful enough?" Haliver asked.
"It's fulfilling, but I feel like I could do more for your son by making him feel safer. It would be no bother to me, and I wouldn't expect to be paid more. I'm here full-time anyway."
Haliver stopped glaring. For a moment, his eyes rounded with surprise. "You don't want to be paid more?"
"Your son feels unsafe, I can make him feel safer. There should be no price on that."
Sage felt the corners of his lips curling towards a smile, until his father looked at him expectantly. "You wanted to know why I'm distant, this is it," Sage said. "I'm not sleeping well. I don't have the energy to do anything because I'm anxious to leave my room. Having Mister Vinea as a personal guard will help me. I know it will." Don't beg for this to happen, don't look too desperate.
Luckily, Sage didn't have to convince him further. "Fine, you start now, Mister Vinea. Your loyalty and friendship to my son will not be forgotten," Haliver said, holding his head high.
"Thank you, Sir." Taro bowed and followed Sage from the office, like he would continue to do for the rest of the day, now that his job required him to be by his side at all times.