"So, Haliver," Dalia said, and Taro saw Sage gulp. "You're homophobic."
"No," Haliver disagreed bluntly.
"Yes, you are," Sage argued. "You don't like Lord Coniferous because he was married to Patrick."
"Maybe I was a bit uncomfortable by it, but I would've stayed friends with him if he didn't conspire with Patrick to take the throne. He was okay with sticking by a man who had planned to kill my boys. He was my friend. How could he be okay with that?" Haliver sat back in his seat with a scowl.
"I raised you better than that," Dalia muttered. "Uncomfortable by what? Love?"
Haliver tensed his jaw, but he stared at Sage. "I'm not frustrated with you for dating a man. I'm frustrated that you were careless enough to get caught kissing him when he was in his Valets uniform. To everyone else, that was a scandal. It was embarrassing to see the papers the next day because it was clear that your mother and I had no idea what was going on."
"We were in the middle of nowhere, dad. We would have done it properly if we had the chance, instead of someone sneaking up to the cottage. I wasn't out to anyone but Taro. I was humiliated too."
Haliver sighed heavily. "I just wish you had been more careful."
"Well, I don't that much." Sage sat up straighter. "It would've taken me ages to come out to you guys. Now I know that you would've done all you could to keep it a secret from the public. Whoever took that photo of us and sold it to the press was so wrong for doing that, and it hurt to be forced out to the entire world, but I'm kind of glad it was so sudden. At least it's over with. Hating myself was so much worse than this."
Haliver's cold eyes shaped briefly to pity. "You hated yourself?"
"I did."
"He couldn't even say the word gay out loud when we first met," Taro added. "He was so ashamed."
"Is that because you knew how we would react?" Haliver asked calmly.
"Yes, and the rest of the world. They hate me so much. I didn't want to add another thing to the list."
A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. It opened and a butler bowed lowly and quickly stepped aside before the Queen ran him over. She paused, making eye contact with everyone, and one by one, they got up to bow to her. Sage pulled Taro up when he didn't move. The way he bowed reminded him of when they first met in Mrs Beecham's shed. Taro had given him such a weak bow that Sage had judged his entire personality from it.
Now, his mother was given the bow she deserved, which was barely a tilt of the head. Granny Dalia cleared her throat to hide a small smile of satisfaction.
"Please everyone, take a seat," the Queen said, moving swiftly through the room to sit next to Haliver.
Everyone sat, and the atmosphere thickened. His mother's title was heavy. Everyone around her lowered their gaze anxiously, but not Taro. He sat back down and crossed his arms, staring at her with the same intensity. Taro's confidence was attractive to Sage. He was rarely around people who treated him like he was just a normal person.
"So," Marigold said, smoothing down the silk sleeves of her orange blouse, but before she could continue, there was another knock on the door and the same butler bowed as Taro's parents nervously stepped around him, thanking him politely.
The butler curtly nodded and left. Sage braced himself for an awkward silence when the door closed, but Taro jumped to his feet and hugged his mum tightly. He extended an arm to his stepdad too, who joined the hug as if he hadn't seen him in years.
Sage felt a pang of jealously, glancing towards his parents who didn't even stand to greet them, so he did. "Jessenia, Nyerian, it's great to see you both again," he said, shaking their hands.
"You remembered our names!" Nyerian said with a surprised smile.
"Of course." Sage returned the smile as Dalia introduced herself.
"Please, call me Jesse," Taro's mum said.
"That's easier to remember." Dalia smiled warmly. "But Jessenia, is that after the Jessenia Pothos?"
Taro's parents glanced nervously at Sage. "They all know you're green's, don't worry," he said, thinking, Or maybe worrying is wise when my parents dislike you so much.
"Yes, I am a Jessenia Pothos," Jesse said, but the nervous shimmer didn't leave her green eyes.
"And Nyerian . . ." Dalia turned to Taro's stepdad. His shoulder-length brown hair was tied in a bun, showing a very neat undercut. "You must be an Aloe Vera."
"I am!" Nyerian grinned proudly.
Taro glanced at Sage with a playful eye roll, and Sage struggled to keep down a smile. "Nyerian, Jesse, this is my mother and father." Sage motioned towards his parents who finally stood up. "Prince Haliver and Queen Marigold."
Taro's parents bowed lowly. Jesse was the first to approach, saying, "Your Majesty," into the floor. She glanced up at her, eyes wide and full of pure admiration as if she was staring at a god. "Meeting you is such a pleasure!"
Marigold smiled, and Sage released his breath. "The pleasure is all mine, Jesse," she replied with a warm glint in her eyes. The way Jesse bowed and used proper royal etiquette pleased her, and her smile extended to Nyerian, who also bowed and expressed his gratitude to be in their presence.
All the while, Sage stared at Taro who fought not to stare disapprovingly. Sage nudged him when he started to scowl. Everyone sat back down. Taro's parents squeezed on the couch next to their son, not moving their round adoring eyes from the Queen and her husband.
"So," Marigold began again, sitting up straight and elegantly resting her hands on top of one another. She wore three golden rings on her right hand, all with different coloured gems embedded into them. Her left hand was decorated by only her wedding ring. "I'm glad we can finally all meet one another."
Liar. Sage pursed his lips.
"This is more informal than usual." Marigold glanced towards Dalia, "but I admit that this is a rather unusual situation."
Here we go. Sage inhaled deeply.
"For obvious reasons, your son, Taro, is not who we would have thought of as a suitable match for Sagerian," she continued.
Jesse glanced at Taro, then back to the Queen. "Forgive me ma'am, but what are those obvious reasons?"
"Well, he was my son's Valet. Their relationship is viewed as a scandal to the outside world."
"And you, ma'am, what do you view it as?" Nyerian asked.
Marigold glanced to Haliver who's expression remained unreadable. "We view it as a scandal too."
Sage was thankful that the fire had died out in the fireplace because he was suddenly feeling too warm. The tension was dense and suffocating.
"You're not happy that my son is dating your son because he's not of noble birth?" Jesse questioned, not surprised.
"Unfortunately, that's correct. As Royals, we have rules to follow." Marigold voice floated through the room like silk on a smooth surface. But her eyes had turned hard and dark as they bore into Sage's face.
"Dad wasn't the one you were supposed to marry, but you did anyway," Sage argued.
"He's still from a respectable family."
Taro inhaled sharply, and his parents gasped. Sage's mother pursed her lips with regret, while Haliver closed his eyes, clearly wishing to be elsewhere. "Ma'am," Nyerian sputtered, sitting forwards. "We are a very very respectable family. It might not be with titles and riches, but we are well respected in our community."
Sage's heart raced when his mother smiled politely. "I didn't mean for that to offend you. Please forgive me. But you see, we have rules and we need titles because-"
"No," Sage interrupted quietly. "You want titles because Lady Liniana was promised to me, and instead I chose Taro Vinea, who isn't a Lord. And now Liana's family are frustrated, and you feel like you need to compensate because you're embarrassed that you didn't know that I was gay. Because that would imply that we are not as close as you pretend to be." He gulped. Where did that come from? Sage felt more words rising. "You said to me that you won't accept our relationship. If you won't, then I won't lie to anyone who asks about what you and dad think about it."
Haliver shuffled forwards in his seat and rested elbows on his knees. "I spoke to my mother when I first got here," he said, looking around the room. "She told you about the prophecy, and I'll admit that we had pushed Lady Liniana onto you so much because she isn't a green. You choosing Taro really worried us about the future of the Monarchy. And to be honest, if I had known you were gay, I would've pushed a Lord onto you instead."
"Prophecy?" Jesse asked.
Sage stared at his father, relieved at the small validation that he didn't hate him because he preferred men. Though the mention of the prophecy spiked his anxiety. If his father thought it was real enough to force him away from the greens, then maybe there was a bit of truth in it. "You believe it?" he asked.
"I do," Haliver confirmed. "I have no reason not to, especially now that it's starting to take its course."
"What prophecy?" Jesse asked again.
"I'll tell you later," Taro mumbled.
"Does it include the greens?" Nyerian asked.
"I'll tell you everything later," Taro said urgently, turning to look at them. They both nodded and sank back in their seats.
"So, you think that Oxley and I will both be Kings?"
Haliver slowly bobbed his head up and down. "I don't know how, but it was in the ancient agreement. I've seen it, I've read about it, and I believe it's about you."
"Why?
"You're interested in gardening and plants, and you're good at it. Plants thrive around you. Greens seem to radiate around you too. Guards always inhale as you walk by, as if you're giving them a burst of pure oxygen. And now you're dating a full green, which hasn't happened in our family since the agreement began. And you're not just dating a green, you're dating an Epipremnum Aureum, our family symbol. We live in Pothos Palace, it protects our walls, it's our symbol of strength. The prophecy speaks about devil's ivy as if it's a companion to the King of green. I thought it was maybe a weapon, but now I see it's a lover."
Sage and Taro stared at each other, both anxious and scared that their seemingly random relationship was a part of something that was always meant to be. "Can we read what you've read?" Sage asked. "I want to see for myself what the prophecy says."
"I have copies of it," Haliver admitted, looking down when Marigold turned to glare at him.
"I too would like to see these," she muttered.
Sage felt a cold tickle down his spine. His parents were never mad at one another. They shared everything and lived to serve the crown together. At some point, his father had taken a separate path, and his mother was only now joining it.