Sage scoffed. "You're unbelievable. I'm trying to be serious here. You're not doing your job well like you promised you would."
"I am being serious," Taro claimed.
Sage's frown pushed deep into his hazel eyes. "Are you on something illegal?"
"No."
"Do you even know what you're saying? That you're my houseplant?" Sage had to laugh because of the absurdity. "This is no time to joke. You're late by an hour. What were you doing?"
"Changing into my Valet's uniform because when I change, I'm in my other clothes." Taro's voice was monotone, as was his face. "And I couldn't change while you were in the room."
"What do you mean when you change?"
"When I shift from plant to human."
Sage gawked. "What's going on? Are you pranking me?"
"No."
"Then what the hell are you saying?"
"You asked for the truth and I told you. It's not my problem that you don't believe me." Taro swept blond hair out of his eyes. "Now, you said you called for me. What did you need?"
"You're up to something. What were you doing getting dressed in my bedroom?"
"I've told you the truth."
"Mister Vinea, do you know how many chances I've given you? This was your last one, and you're so close to being fired this time." Sage couldn't believe Taro was being so difficult. "Do you really expect me to believe that you're my Devil's Ivy houseplant who can transform into a human?" Sage scoffed. "Get out. I don't want to get to know you. The moment I'm back at the palace, I'm getting a new Valet."
"You can't do that," Taro said, holding his head up high.
Oh god, he's going to use my secret against me. Sage had a moment of panic and Taro didn't miss his wavering mouth.
"No, I'm not going to blackmail you!" Taro pinched the bridge of his nose. "You asked what I was doing in here and I told you the truth. Don't fire me for telling you the truth. Though the punctuality wasn't a good look, I'll admit, but you would've run out screaming if your plant suddenly changed into your Valet when you were just minding your own business."
Sage edged around him and started pacing. "Are you recording my replies?"
"Sage-"
"Tell me the truth!" Sage yelled. "Have the papers put you up to this?" His paranoia was never that far away.
"Mrs Beecham is going to kill me," Taro muttered, unbuttoning his waistcoat.
"What are you doing!" Sage yelled. "Stop undressing!"
"I'm going to show you who I am, now that I have no choice."
"I know you're a man, you don't have to show me!" Sage had backed up against the door as Taro threw off his waistcoat and unbuttoned his shirt.
Taro put distance between them. "I'm not showing you that."
When he took off his shirt, Sage paused from trying to find the doorhandle. Along Taro's arms were green tattoos of Devil's Ivy vines twisting all around his muscles with little heart-shaped leaves. The green stood out against his pale skin, and Taro softly ran a finger over a vine on his forearm.
Now that he had Sage's attention, he said, "Watch carefully."
Sage looked at the vine Taro had touched, and for a moment, he thought he saw it move. Sage blinked a few times, but movement on Taro's other arm caught his attention. The vines started twisting, circling them like a snake on a branch.
Sage was so stunned, he stared wide-eyed and opened mouthed, forgetting his manners and forgetting about their arguing. "How?" he whispered. "How are you doing that?"
"These vines are your Devil's Ivy plant," Taro explained. "They were almost gone when you got the plant, but now they are long, and I'm healthy again."
Sage's gaze zipped from arm to arm, and to Taro's watchful green eyes, then back to the vine tattoos. He was leaning against the door with his own arms tucked against his chest. "I don't understand how you did that."
"You don't need to understand, you just have to believe what I'm telling you." Taro put his shirt back on. "Judging by how big your eyes are, I bet you'll faint if I do anything else, or you'll throw up. I don't do well with other people's vomit." He buttoned up his waistcoat too. "I thought you had caught me the other week. I knocked something off your desk, and I was just finishing my transformation." Sage looked confused, so Taro added, "Does glowing veins and glowing eyes ring a bell?"
Sage wanted to shake his head to say no, and tell him how absolutely ridiculous he sounded, but he had dreamt of Taro with glowing green veins all over him, and glowing green eyes in his dim bedroom. He hadn't told him of that dream, so how would he know, unless...
"I told you to go back to sleep. You did, and I expected you to remember, which is why I brought you tea without you asking. I thought you might've questioned me on what you saw."
Sage sat down. A green velvet couch was by the fireplace. He didn't speak and sank into the cushions. Taro hovered by the wall, anxiously wringing his hands. Sage stared into the orange flames. They flickered erratically. The tattoos on Taro's arms had moved so smoothly, and calmly.
Sage shook his head. "I'm finally losing my mind," he mumbled without even a twitch on his bewildered face.
"Yes, my tattoos move, I am a plant. It's not as weird as being named after a herb."
Sage glared into the flames. "Excuse me?"
"You heard." Taro crossed his arms. His eyes weren't as confident as his perfect posture. "So..."
Sage's mind wasn't just turning with thoughts of Taro's magical tattoos, it was whirling at the speed of light. "Show me again." Taro didn't move, so Sage leapt off the couch and stomped his foot. "Show me right now. Your tattoos, show me."
Taro took off his waistcoat and shirt. He stood by the fire, in front of the Prince, and held out his arms. Now that Sage was closer, the green tattoos looked brighter, especially against the orange firelight. But when the vines moved, they glowed vibrantly.
Sage was entranced. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He watched something unnatural, but it was real. He felt the sting on his wrist as he pinched himself, the warmth from the fire, the thumping of his heart, the pain in his eyes when he forgot to blink. "How?" he whispered again.
Taro lowered his arms and tilted his head. The vines slowed to a halt on his skin. "I can't keep repeating myself. I've told you the truth and you're not listening to me."
Sage stared at his arms. "How can this be the truth?"
Taro hummed with thought and put his clothes back on, again. "Nothing will break your disbelief today. Sleep and I'll show you my proper transformation in the morning."
"I- but-"
"Prince Sage." Taro pointed to his bed. "Go to sleep. If you think you're dreaming, then you'll wake up and tell me about this, and I'll tell you how you dream ridiculous things."
"I really-"
"No. You're not ready to accept this." Taro clenched his fists. "I should have been more careful," he muttered angrily and turned to leave.
"Wait," Sage said, not meaning to say anything at all. He meant to let his Valet go, and to pass out, and wake up in the morning to find that his moving tattoos were a dream. "Show me my plant."
"I don't think you're ready," Taro said, not even turning to face him.
"Show me my plant," Sage repeated.
"No."
Sage clenched his fists. "This is not a choice!" he snapped. "Show me right now, or you're fired... right now."
Taro sighed so deeply; his entire body curled when the air left his lungs. "Fine, but I'm trusting that you won't go screaming to your security guards about this, just like how you're trusting that I'm not pranking you for my entertainment."
Their eyes locked. How is this not some cruel joke for him to later laugh at my expense? Sage anxiously tugged at the bottom of his jumper. "Show me." I need to see this with my own eyes. I need to see his lies.
But no lies came, not when Taro stripped his waistcoat and shirt to show his green tattoos, not when the tattoos moved again and curled his wrists, then his palms, then his fingers.
Sage stepped back when the tips of his fingers glowed green. He stepped back again when a green heart-shaped leaf grew from his thumb.
"Don't faint on me now," Taro said softly. The vine grew faster and coiled around his waist.
Sage watched with eyes wide enough to pop from his head as the glowing green spread all around Taro. The vines protruded from his other hand too and also wrapped around his body. Meanwhile, the tattoos on his arms shortened.
Soon, the green light was too bright to watch. Sage lifted a hand to shield his eyes and only moments later, he heard a heavy thud and the bright light dimmed. He looked in time to see the glowing green sinking into the soil.
He was once again looking at his houseplant in the purple pot, and with vines wrapping around the base like they had wrapped around Taro's body.
Sage reached his bed and collapsed on the end. He didn't blink until a surprised stinging tear dropped down his cheek. He wiped it away with a shaking hand. "C-Change back," he stammered. "Change back."
The transformation began immediately. It was the same process in reverse, though this time, Sage didn't look away as the plant transformed into Taro Vinea, his valet, who now had glowing veins and glowing green eyes.
Sage's heart thumped and the room spun. His head hit the bed as his vision blurred.
"Shit, I knew you'd faint!" Taro jogged to the bed and hovered over him, now wearing a purple jumper instead of his Valet's uniform.
All Sage felt was Taro's cold hand tapping his cheek before the darkness took him.