Sage and Taro returned to Dalia's Quiet Room. Dalia had some tea and water brought in, but Sage was too eager to talk more about the prophecy to drink any. Taro drank some water, and he could taste plant food mixed in with it. He felt less like he had to transform into his plant now that he was hydrated.
Sage's grandmother sat down again. She was old, with a hunched back and wrinkled skin. Her cheeks were smooth and rosy, but when she smiled, they creased like thin pastry into a million fine lines. Her dark grey hair was pinned around her face and her sunken blue eyes fixed on him, with a gleam of wisdom that made him uncomfortable. Taro knew that stare. Sage's dad looked at everyone the same way.
He glanced to Dalia's nails. Nail polish, he thought, because they gleamed against the lights above. Though he wasn't quite sure if she was a green or not. Taro was always sure, but not today. Taro couldn't explain what was different about her, though he felt it through a shiver on the back of his neck.
Sage brushed their knees together and Taro settled on the beautiful man sitting next to him. Sage was wearing a brown knitted jumper with hints of golden thread that complimented his dark skin. His curls had grown a bit since they first met- no longer short on the sides, and almost in his hazel eyes. Taro resisted the urge to gently tug on one of them.
He shuffled closer and rested an arm on the back of the couch, behind Sage. For a moment, Sage froze, and Taro thought he was going to get up and sit somewhere else, but Sage eventually unclenched his fists and relaxed. Taro felt sorry for him; he was still suffering an inner battle.
"Did dad say who told him about the prophecy?" Sage asked, relaxing even further when Taro's arm pressed into the back of his shoulders.
"He likes history and being married to the Greenthenors means you have access to places nobody else does," Dalia replied. "It's dotted all throughout history. It's a good thing people like to record what important people say. Only Monarchs have whispered about the prophecy, especially the further back you look."
"I want to see it for myself," Sage said stubbornly.
"You'll have to talk with your father. And maybe make sure that your mother is there too. I know she liked to be told everything, which is why I think she's so frustrated about you and Taro. I'm guessing she found out the same time as everyone else?"
Sage nodded and glanced guiltily down to his fidgeting hands. "I wanted to tell them. Their reactions prove why I didn't."
"Sage my darling, they love you. And I'm sure they'll learn to respect you for the decisions you're making to be happy. They should understand that more than anyone. My son wasn't meant to marry the Queen. The Queen wasn't meant to marry my son, but do you see how powerful love can be?"
Sage squeezed his hand between his thigh and Taro's thigh to stop himself from fidgeting. "I don't like feeling uncomfortable in my own home. I don't trust half of the staff. I'm not entirely sure I trust Oxley after what he did to Patrick. I feel safer with a guard right outside the bedroom door, and I'd much rather avoid my parents until they stop acting like children for not getting their own way."
Dalia had frowned at the mention of Patrick. "What did Oxley do?" she asked with genuine confusion.
"Um-" Sage quickly glanced to Taro, panicking.
"He murdered Patrick," Taro said calmly. "And he used me to do it." Dalia's old, hooded eyes couldn't go very wide. But her mouth gaped open and closed, so Taro explained. He also added that Oxley had tried to kill him too, thinking that Taro was one of Patricks spies sneaking into the castle.
Dalia sat very still, and her mouth still gaped apart. The fire crackled to their left. It was dying, and the noise got quieter until the Quiet Room was as silent as it would be empty.
"My parents know," Sage added. "Not about the Taro being involved part, but they know what he did to Patrick."
A trembling anger flushed through her shocked expression. She rummaged through an inside pocket of her cardigan and started pressing furiously against a small black phone. Sage's fidgeting returned when she spat his father's name into the phone. "Get over here right now. This is urgent," she hissed, and hung up.
"I thought you would've known," Sage said sheepishly. "Dad's going to think that I've come here just to make you mad at him."
"If he thinks that, then he doesn't really know you at all." Dalia linked her fingers and sat back into her armchair. Her eyes focused on the closed door. "You should stay. Let's mend your relationship with him before he ruins it to the point of no return."
Taro didn't want to stay. He didn't want to suffer through more family drama. He wanted to go to his parent's house and sit with them in their small garden. He wanted to talk about useless stuff and things that didn't matter. "Maybe I should go," he said. "So that you can talk it out as a family." He didn't really want to leave Sage, but he still felt like an outsider- like he didn't quite belong in the conversation, or in their presence.
"No, you stay," Dalia demanded. "This conversation will very much involve you. If Sage's parents can't get on with you, then they will never truly mend their relationship with their son." Dalia quickly plucked out her phone again. This time, when Haliver answered, she said, "And bring your wife too."
Taro felt the power in that one sentence, so he stayed seated. "Is now a good time to ask my parents to visit?" He craved their support and knew they would stick up for him too, so Sage's parents would be outnumbered in their hateful opinions.
"Now would be a perfect time," Dalia replied with a bright proud smile. "They'll all meet eventually. It may as well be informal and out of the Palace."
Taro and Sage sat nervously together as Dalia left the room to ask the staff for more tea and some sandwiches for their guests. "This can either go well or really bad," Sage said, wide eyed, and chewing on his bottom lip.
"I hope your parents are not rude to my parents. I doubt I'll refrain myself from sticking up for them," Taro warned. "I don't want to make things worse but I'm going to stick up for my family."
"Don't hold back," Sage said which surprised Taro. "If they're cruel, I'll stick up for you too. My parents are the ones taking this too far. If they know about this daft prophecy thing, and if they're trying to pull us apart because of it, I don't think I can cope with being around them. This is my life they're messing with." Sage shook his head. "Our lives, they're messing with our lives."
Taro folded his arm around Sage's shoulder and wiggled his fingers. Sage gripped onto Taro's hand tightly, clinging to it as though it was a rope keeping his head above water. "Our parents would've had to meet eventually," Taro said with a sigh.
"Yeah, but if my mum had it her way, she would've done it publicly, so it looked like everyone was getting on."
"If things go wrong today, you should be public about how hateful she is," Taro mumbled, planting a kiss into Sage's curls. "If she doesn't want her reputation ruined then she shouldn't act like a twat."
Sage scoffed, and he intertwined their fingers. Taro enjoyed the warmth of his hand. He stared at the side of Sage's face, and the crinkles forming beside his eyes when he smiled, and his dark long lashes, and the round tip of his nose, and the curl of his full lips, and the heartbeat on the side of his neck, and the muscles tensing on his neck as he turned to face him. Taro stared into his hazel eyes, knowing that no matter what happened, he would never give Sage up for an easier life.
"You look hot today," Taro said, smiling at the way Sage rolled his eyes to divert his flustered gaze.
As Sage stared into the fireplace, he started to grin. "You look good today too."
"Thank you for the confidence boost." Taro smirked. "I really needed it."
"No, you didn't."
"I did."
"You love yourself more than oxygen, and for a plant person that's saying a lot."
Taro laughed. If his feelings continued to spiral out of control for Sage Green, he'd end up loving him more than oxygen. His heart skipped a beat at the thought, and he wasn't usually so excited about the thought of falling in love. He had dated before, but nobody could compare. Sage was the most pure-hearted person he had ever met. Taro would be a fool not to cherish him.
They sat closely together, trying to cheer each other up with jokes and ticklish jabs in the ribs. After almost thirty minutes, the door to the Quiet Room abruptly opened when they were laughing while Sage was untangling Taro's hand that was stuck in his curls.
Haliver stood in the doorway, staring at them with a blank expression. Taro untangled his hand and they sat awkwardly together, watching him take a seat by the fireplace. Sage immediately started to fidget, while Taro made the effort to stare back.
"Hi," Sage said awkwardly. "Is mum with you?"
"Not yet," Haliver replied, crossing arms over his fitted waistcoat. "She's on her way, though."
"So are my parents," Taro added. Haliver's cold blue eyes flicked over him. Taro studied him in return. Haliver always wore lavish suits with silver buttons and gold stitching. He always looked serious, at least in public. Taro had never seen him smile, but Sage loved him, so he must have some decent qualities that were yet to show. Sage and Oxley had gotten their dark skin from their mother. Haliver was pale and today he had dark circles under his eyes.
"Your mother and father?" Haliver asked.
"My mum and my step-dad."
Haliver nodded slowly. He offered no more questions. Dalia eventually entered and motioned for her servants to fill the table with food and drinks. Only water was placed in front of Taro. He could feel the restlessness in his limbs. He needed to change to his plant form for a while. Though he'd have to wait at least another hour.
Dalia motioned for him to drink as she sat opposite, so he did. She smiled sympathetically, as if she understood the way he felt. She's weird, Taro thought. Nice . . . but weird.