The night was long. Sage slept little and greeted dawn by stuffing more suitcases. He filled six big ones with golden rims. "I have far too many clothes," he grumbled, flinching from the morning sun. He ordered tea and toast to his room and waited until breakfast was over in the dining room to brave the corridor.
Sage successfully arrived at his father's office without bumping into Oxley. For once he was pleased that they lived in such a ginormous building. He knocked and his father ordered him to enter. "Sage," he said, standing by his window in a dark blue suit with silver buttons glistening against the morning sun. "I've just read the papers about you and Oxley."
"What?" Sage glanced around his father's desk. Ten different papers and magazines printed the Greenthenor brothers on the front cover. He grabbed the closest one with an edited crack between them. He read aloud, "A brother's betrayal. Oxley guilty of leaking Sage and his lover's scandal to the press." Sage dropped the magazine onto the desk. "That damned servant."
"Is it true?" Haliver asked.
"Yes." Sage sat down, too pained by the argument to look up from the floor. "Oxley threatened Taro, so I told him I'd abdicate, and he then told me how he sent in that photo of us because he was bored." Sage clenched his jaw. His father said nothing, so he glanced up. He didn't expect to see shock in his cold blue eyes.
"He threatened Taro? How?"
Sage explained what was sad and Haliver slammed the pen he was holding down onto the desk. He glared at Sage, but he wasn't angry with him. "That is a step too far. And he really said he did it because he was bored?"
Sage nodded.
His father rubbed his chin, scowling around his room. "And you're leaving? Where will you go?"
Sage revealed his plans of moving back to the mountains in the north. "I haven't told Taro yet. I'm sure he'll see the papers soon."
"You shouldn't be the one to leave."
"I don't like it here. The staff clearly sell any story they can for some money. I can't even trip up the stairs in my own home without it being all over the news. Oxley can stay here and finally see how it feels. I wouldn't wish it on anyone, but he's turning nasty. He needs to be humbled."
"I agree." Haliver straighter his back. "I bet he thought he could publish the photo, and you'd get rid of Taro because family love meant more. The most foolish thing he has ever done is think that you are that weak. He started the prophecy by trying to end it."
"Dad." Sage felt himself wanting to fidget, so he crossed his arms instead. He no longer wanted to waste another breath on Oxley. "I talked to mum yesterday. She said Gran is half a green and grandad was a human. Can I ask about . . . you?"
Haliver raised a brow. "Your mother mentioned that?"
"Yeah. She said you don't talk about it, and that she didn't find out until years after you married."
"Are you two on better terms now?"
"Yeah. Better terms."
Haliver pursed his lips and sat down next to him. "Your mother's side of the family hate us, for obvious reasons. They think the green should serve us. I'm not sure if your mother would have married me if she knew I was so closely related to greens. But we love each other still, so that's enough for me." Haliver's cold stare moved to the window. "But about how I feel- I don't know how much of the green blood is in me. I don't have tattoos on my forearms, I can't transform, I don't need a strict water routine or plant food. I just- I feel at my best when I'm outside with bare feet on the grass, like I should have roots and oxygen."
"I've never seen you act that way."
"Because I know your mother doesn't like it."
Sage then vowed to never make Taro compromise. "That's not fair."
"No, it's really not." Haliver's gaze was fixed on the green grass beyond the window. "I feel better around you though. I feel like I can breathe."
"Taro said the same thing." Sage had never felt different in a way where he could transform into something else. He just loved plants.
Haliver snapped out of his daze and returned to his desk, picking up his pen and a stack of letters. "Well," he said in a lighter tone. "You should talk to your mother too. At least do it before you leave. Will you be leaving today?"
"Most likely tomorrow morning. But I'll wait until Taro's back."
"Blue-sow Thistle Cottage," Haliver said with a nod. "I'm envious. It's beautiful up there."
"Visit whenever you want." Sage hovered by the door, sensing a goodbye.
"I will." Haliver lingered awkwardly in front of him. "I'll visit as much as I can because I doubt you'll want to come back here. And I hope this doesn't mean that you'll definitely abdicate. Nothing needs to be set in stone right now."
"I won't make that decision now. I just said it to freak Oxley out." They both smiled and Haliver patted his shoulder.
"I'm proud of you. It's not easy to go after what you want," he admitted. "I'm sorry I was so harsh. I just didn't expect any of this."
"I forgive you." Their hug was short, but they were both blinking back tears when Sage left the office. He tried to find his mother for almost an hour until he was told that she was out all day on royal duties.
Sage sat in the garden until he got a text from Taro.
'On my way xx', he said with no mention of Oxley, though Sage could tell by the tone of the message that he knew. He was excited to see him again and wondered if he should wait by the entrance like a lovesick puppy.
Sage decided to busy himself in the garden, so the time would feel quicker. Mrs Beecham gave him the lengthy task of watering all the plants. The grounds were huge, and he would have to stand with the hose for hours. Still, he was glad to be busy. Watching the rich soil soak up the water was satisfying enough to numb his mind.
He was almost twenty minutes into watering the roses when a voice said, "I never thought this would make me jealous."
Sage immediately recognised that deep voice. His head shot in his direction. Taro stood a few metres away with a goofy grin and sparkling green eyes. His blond hair was a little shorter and his purple jumper fitted him better. He looked good, and healthy, and happy to be back. Sage felt all self-control leaving him the moment he dropped the hose.
They collided for an embrace. Sage scrunched his eyes shut and inhaled Taro's earthy scent. "Hi!" he muffled into the side of his neck.
"My god I've missed you so much," Taro replied before burying his face into the shoulder of Sage's windproof jacket and squeezing him tighter.
They rocked on their feet and devoured all they could about each other. Taro grabbed Sage's face and kissed him strongly. Sage welcomed his affection without an ounce of worry. "Taro," he whispered when their lips parted but their foreheads connected. "I really missed you too."
They hugged some more before Taro uncoiled himself and trailed Sage up and down. "You really do look good in anything."
Sage looked down at himself. He wore dark green muddy boots, black jeans with mud on the knees, and a dark blue Nike jacket with three white stripes down each arm. "Do you have better plant food at home? Because you look great. And your hair is shorter," he admitted, steering the conversation away from himself.
Taro raised a brow like he hadn't expected Sage to notice. "My mum pruned my vines. She said I was starting to look messy. She also re-potted me. I mean, I still have the same pot, but my roots are a little more snug. That's probably why I look better."
"It's so interesting the way that changes you so quickly." Sage tugged softly on his jumper.
They leaned into each other. The autumn sun smothered them in a light spread of warmth. They were oblivious to the wind's bitterness. "Nyerian woke me this morning with a magazine. You and your brother were on the front page. Is it true? Did he really leak that photo of us?"
Sage nodded against him. "I didn't want to believe it. I thought he might've said it just to be mean, but it was confirmed by the paper he got in touch with. I'm frustrated that I didn't see this coming."
"He's your brother and you loved him. Why would you expect this from him?" Taro cupped his hands softly around the back of Sage's neck. "Now I can openly say that he's a twat and I hate him for doing this to you."
"You weren't exactly quiet about that before."
Taro grinned, though it was short-lived. "How did this argument between you happen?"
Sage told him everything on their walk back to his bedroom. Taro had gone silent from the moment he repeated Oxley's threats. They paused outside the bedroom. "I need to show you something," Sage said, opening the door and motioning to the stack of suitcases piled up at the end of his bed.
Taro stared at them, then looked around, nodding to himself. He started opening cupboards and pulling out drawers. He even had a quick look in the bathroom and under the bed. "Where are we going then?" he asked.
Sage stopped holding his breath. "I wanted to talk to you first about that. I was thinking up north."
"That cottage? What was it . . . Blue-Thistle-"
"Blue-Sow Thistle Cottage."
"That's the one. I liked it there." Taro tapped one of the suitcases on top if the pile. "Have you packed everything?"
"Not everything. Just don't open them, it's a mess and I fear you won't be able to close them again."
Taro chuckled. "I'll help you pack the rest. You have more bags in this cupboard." He opened the one near the door and dragged big gym bags out that Sage didn't even know he owned. They packed his coats and toiletries and any books and loose items from his desk drawers. Once the entire room was contained into six suitcases, four gym bags, and three rucksacks, they flopped onto the bed and laid side by side.
"I'm sorry," Sage whispered. "I feel like I'm dragging you around everywhere."
"You're not, and at least we have an end destination now. I thought you might be able to stick it out here, but not with that monster down the corridor."
"Even if Oxley was still the person who I thought he was, we wouldn't have been happy here." Sage lifted a hand and Taro intertwined their fingers. "I want peace. I want to walk around a house in my pyjamas and not worry about it being all over the papers. I want to play in the snow like I could before we moved into Pothos Palace. I want to sit in the sun with my top off. I want to make a vegetable garden and have barbeques and make friends with greens and invite people from the village. I want to go out for breakfast without worrying what I look like or worrying what I eat because I'll be judged for it. I just want to live with you and enjoy it."
Taro had watched him while he spoke. His smile only grew, and his green eyes twinkled with hope. "I want all of that too," he said before rolling on top of him and kissing him until the sun retired, eager to meet them again at dawn to follow them over to a new life.