Sage quietly peeked into the living room, hoping nobody would see him, so he had a chance to locate Taro's family without the entire room watching him. He spotted Taro first, standing by the window with the daylight on his golden hair. He was the only one in the room wearing purple, and the only one with arms crossed firmly over his chest. Sage could tell by his tense posture that he was talking in a serious manner.
He spoke to a woman who stood next to him. She was shorted than Taro with straight blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. She wore light blue jeans and a red jumper with a white stripe down each arm. From her side profile, Sage could tell that Taro had her thin nose and cut jawline. He couldn't compare their smiles because her expression was an anxious one, or one that was annoyed, or one that was worried.
Someone suddenly noticed him and leapt off the chair by the bookcase. All the other guards quickly stood up to bow. Sage visibly gulped and moved his gaze when Taro's mother made eye contact with him. Don't just stand there, move! Sage forced himself to walk through the room. Make eye contact, don't be rude! Sage locked eyes with Taro's mother. Her green eyes were lighter than Taro's, and in the daylight, they were captivating.
She bowed lowly and said, "Your Royal Highness, it's an honour."
Taro watched her blankly and turned to watch his stepfather bow lowly too. He was a short man with brown shoulder length wavy hair. When he lifted his head, Sage's gaze was drawn to a scar on his forehead above his brow. "Your Royal Highness," he said as if Sage's presence had solved all his life's problems. He grabbed Sage's hand and shook it enthusiastically.
Taro had started to smirk at their reactions. "Sage this is my stepdad, Nyerien. And this is-"
"Nyerien is short for Aloe Nyeriensis because I'm an Aloe Vera plant," Taro's stepdad said proudly.
Sage smiled. "Taro has told me once before. Very interesting name."
"And this is my mother, Jessenia short for Jessenia Pothos if we're talking like that." Taro eyed his stepdad with a raised brow.
Sage smiled as warmly as he could. "Nyerian, Jessenia, it's lovely to meet you both. I wish it could've been under calmer circumstances."
"Please Sir, call me Jesse," Taro's mother replied, matching Sage's warm smile.
Sage suddenly realised that she was anxious because she was meeting him. Maybe she wanted to make a good impression on me too? Sage then looked around. "I thought Mrs Beecham was driving you."
"She did, Sir. She's in the kitchen, helping to make breakfast."
"You don't have to call me Sir," Sage said, and Taro scoffed.
"I had to for ages," he complained.
"Taro, you followed the rules for like half a day," Sage scoffed. "I'm going to say hello to Mrs Beecham." He turned and left them standing by the window.
Before he left, he heard Jesse whisper, "I see why you've changed your tune about royalty. He doesn't let you walk all over him."
"I've not changed my tune about Royalty," Taro hissed. "Just him."
Sage smiled all the way to the kitchen and to where he heard a familiar voice. He saw curly ginger hair and the familiar Greenthenor branded waterproof jacket. Katie's mother was helping cook the eggs, but she saw him first and quickly bowed.
Mrs Beecham turned quickly. "Oh Sage," she said quietly in a pitiful voice, hurrying to him with arms out wide. They hugged tightly, something that was rare between them. "I'm sorry to throw royal etiquette out the window, but I've been so worried about you!"
"I'm okay," he said, dodging her hand when she reached up to the plaster on his head. "It's so good to see you."
She squeezed his arms. "I almost had a panic attack when I saw that photograph of you and Taro, not because of you and Taro being together, I saw that coming a mile away. But I knew this was forcing you into a position you were not ready to be in. Neither of you were."
"Wait, what do you mean you saw it coming?" Sage questioned.
"I've known you for a long time, and I've known Taro for a long time too. I saw the way you two started looking at each other."
"What if someone else noticed too, and they were waiting to capture a picture?" Sage wanted to panic, thinking about how he hadn't been as careful as he hoped. But that didn't matter now. His secret was out, and the whole world was watching.
"But who? Someone obviously had a tip-off about where you were staying. If I find whoever took that picture . . . God have mercy on them." She shook her head, clenching her jaw.
"I doubt they'll come forward-"
"And shame on the magazine that printed the picture. Shame on them for-"
"Trust me," Sage interrupted, "I've been through this exact thought process. I'm just now sad that someone would publish that, knowing I might lose everything because of it."
Mrs Beecham stared deeply into his eyes. "Have you heard from your family yet?"
He shook his head to say no. "You're risking your job by being here."
"Sage, now you need to trust me when I say that your Palace will lose a lot of workers if your family don't accept you for who you are. I'll put in my notice, as will many others. You're more loved than you think."
Sage didn't believe her, but he thanked her for trying to fill him with pride. "I'm not sure whether I should get in touch and just deal with it. But I'm just so scared of what they'll say," he admitted. Katie's mother glanced sadly in his direction. Patrick's a traitor because he was gay. There's no way that they'll have anything good to say.
"Let's have some breakfast and then we can all talk about what to do, together." Mrs Beecham guided him back to the living room. Taro still stood by the window, but his mother and stepfather were no longer there.
"They've gone to freshen up. Do you feel calmer now that you've met them?" Taro asked.
Sage nodded. "They seem really nice."
"They are. My stepdad is going to suck up to you really badly though. He'll one day tell everyone that you and he are really good friends. He's a harmless boaster."
"I'm used to that." Sage stood beside him to look from the window. The rain had stopped, and the clouds were parting to bless them with blue skies. The snow was still very deep with a sparkling sheet of ice across the top. He shivered at the wintery sight. "I think I should read the tabloids."
Taro snapped his head to face him as though he was mad. "Why?"
"Because they'll be people at the palace selling their souls to the papers to tell them I'm not there, or to eavesdrop on what my parents are saying. They'll get credible sources and they'll be telling half-truths, so we can at least piece together what's going on. Also, I really want to know what's being said about us."
Taro's hard gaze circled his face. "Look at them if you want. I'm just worried you'll get upset."
"Are you not curious to see what they're saying about you?"
Taro shrugged. "I guess a little, but I just know it'll end up making me angry because they don't know me, yet they'll have strong opinions. And I know everyone is entitled to an opinion bla, bla, bla . . . but you're not entitled to preach it to the world as though it's the only one that matters. These tabloids have seen a one second snapshot into our lives together, and they'll grant that enough to suddenly know everything. Don't you ever think about how ridiculous that is?"
"All the time," Sage said quietly, and Taro sighed.
"Sorry, I'm talking to you as if you have no idea." He coiled an arm around Sage's waist, who tensed because the room was full of guards. "You've had it worse than anyone for years. If they're gonna come for me like that, I need to show them that I don't give a fuck. They can't hurt me or my reputation."
"How would you show them that?" Sage asked, trying not to focus on the people behind them. They don't care. They won't take pictures.
"Live my life, give them ugly and funny pictures, kiss you in front of them, laugh in front of them. I know your rules as a royal is to be as monotone as possible, but that just making it worse because the tiniest bit of emotion is an instant scandal."
"I know you're braver than me, but you don't know what it's like with hundreds of cameras and microphones shoved into your face, knowing those cameras could make or break your future. It's fine saying that you won't let them hurt you, but that's impossible when they go out of their way to hurt you for a reaction. Nothing can prepare you for this. I'm sorry but it's the truth. You'll be judged for smiling, judged for kissing me, judged for not being professional enough, judged for being happy. You're right, everyone thinks they know who you are from a single picture, and a loud opinion. But when the entire country is like that, it's hard to change how they see you."
They stared at each other. "I might be more confident, but I'm not braver than you," Taro said, tilting his head with a softer gaze. "Clearly, I'm unprepared for this. I'm pretty good at living through my confidence. I guess I don't see the consequences of stuff until after. But I want to still try and find a way to make them leave us alone. Hiding forever just doesn't feel fair."
"Nothing about my world is fair. I'm seeing that now more than ever."
"Because you're on the outside looking in."
Sage nodded. He wanted to hug Taro and tell him that he was sorry for dragging him into the mess, and to apologise for not making him aware of what would happen if they ever got caught like this. "I know you don't want to see me get hurt, but I'm used to tabloids talking crap about me. Maybe it's best if you don't look; they can be nasty."
"So can I," Taro replied with a fire burning brightly in his gaze.