Roots and Oxygen

Chapter 45 - Anticipatory Anxiety

They sat together in a comfortable daze, the Prince and the Prince's guard. Sage couldn't yank his mind away from the kiss, while Taro couldn't peel his eyes away from Sage's face. The longer they sat under the tree, the colder they felt. Sage looked around, not seeing much in the darkness, but more than when they first arrived. The storm had shifted the clouds, so the moon painted everything in a silver light.

He started to shiver and said, "If I don't walk around, I think my legs will freeze."

Taro chuckled and got up first, holding out a hand to help Sage up too. Instead of going back to the Palace, they wandered towards the edge of the field. "I'm sure Oxley sneaks out of the grounds around here."

"It's common knowledge in the servant's hall that he sneaks out a lot."

"Oh yeah?" Sage said, ignoring how cold the wind felt against his wet clothes. "What else is common knowledge down there."

"Not a lot. Osier doesn't let anyone gossip if he's around."

"Good."

Taro's hand slipped inside Sage's as they walked. His fingers were cold, but Sage didn't pull away. Nerves flickered in his chest. He felt brave and at his happiest when he wasn't resisting what he really wanted. He had to cherish his courage because it would be gone by dawn.

They scaled the wall until Taro stopped. "Here," he said, pointing at a gap above their heads.

"This is where Oxley makes his great escape," Sage observed with a raised brow. The gap in the wall was a slim one, and high up enough that he would have to hoist himself up just to see to the other side. "How does he get back over when he's drunk?"

"I don't know how he hasn't broken something, stumbling back over with seven pints in his stomach."

Sage was curious about what was on the other side. He wanted to know what freedom Oxley saw beyond the wall. He pulled his hand from Taro's grip and reached up to touch the stone.

"What are you doing?" Taro asked, his voice raised with surprise.

"I just want to look." Sage got a good hold of one of the slabs, but they were slimy when wet. Still, he managed to pull himself with only the strength in his arms until he could see to the other side.

"What's there?" Taro asked.

"A narrow street," Sage replied. A very narrow street. The road was made of cobbles, the paths were made of pavement slabs, uneven and orange under the streetlights. The rain made them shimmer, but the street still plunged into darkness, so Sage couldn't see what was at the other end. He wanted to know, he wanted to see what Oxley saw on his adventures.

"Are you climbing over?"

Sage lowered himself until his feet were firmly back the ground. "No."

"Why not?"

"Where would I go?"

"Just to the end of the street and back." Taro pulled himself up and peered through the gap too. "I know this street, it leads to Swidler Avenue and to the park I used to play at as a kid. We can just go to the end and back. Nobody will be up at this time."

"Taro, get down." Sage pulled him back to the ground. "You're my personal guard. You can't tempt me to cross the wall in the dead of night."

"So, you are tempted?"

The night had certainly been one for adventures. "Of course I am. Wouldn't you be, if you knew you couldn't leave?"

"There's nothing stopping you."