Roots and Oxygen

Chapter 74 - Duplicity

"Oh please, you don't love him. You barely even know him. Give it a few more months and he'll leave. Mum and dad will push him out."

Sage gulped thickly to stop himself from feeling too hurt. "There's no need to get nasty."

"I'm not being nasty, I'm just saying what we're all thinking. You're so hurt by the truth all the time."

He's being mean because he knows he's in the wrong. Sage had hoped that they would never speak this way to each other. "If you fell in love with Nancy, and decided to risk it all for her, I wouldn't dream of saying anything like this to you."

"Well, I wouldn't fall for a maid."

Sage glanced away with disapproval. Their arguing spun them in circles and each time they turned, Oxley spat larger flames. "She's not just a maid, she's a human being, and so is her boyfriend with thoughts and feelings who could be absolutely head over heels for her and you couldn't care less. Why? Because you're a prince and your title can get you anyone you want? I don't even know who you are anymore." He's a murderer. Killing Patrick has brought out a darkness in him. Sage had a sudden awful feeling that Taro wouldn't be safe in the Palace for much longer.

"I don't even know who you are either. We're brothers, we're supposed to help each other."

"No, you're Oxley Greenthenor, you only help yourself." Sage left, trailing a thick line of guilt behind him. He felt bad for saying it, despite Oxley not showing a glimpse of remorse over what he had said to him. This family is crazy. I need to get out.

On his way down the corridor, he heard the door yank open and Oxley yell, "If I'm so selfish, then don't bother bringing Taro back here! If he knows what's good for him, he'll stay away from me!"

Sage stopped, turned, and relaxed when a guard stood only a few metres away. "Do you think threatening Taro will make any of this easier for both of us?" he asked.

Oxley tightened his lip, annoyed that Sage hadn't yelled back. "Yeah, I do. He's the reason for all of this!"

Sage looked around. A cleaner was wiping the skirting boards, guards were posted all the way down the corridor and all heads turned their way. A servant had stopped to adjust empty glasses on his golden tray, wanting to hear more. "Blaming him won't make us break up."

"Won't it? Maybe I should have a little word with him." Oxley kept his head up high.

Sage could deal with his brother being mad at him, but he would not put up with threats about Taro, especially now that Oxley was a very dangerous man, and a threat could cost a life. Sage walked up to him with broad shoulders and a blank expression. "Well done," he groused, looming down on him with eyes as tense as the atmosphere. "You've just finalised my ticket out of here. Enjoy being King."

Oxley's glare cracked into shards of panic. He was too angry to beg him not to abdicate. His cruel streak was out for all to see. "If you're going to abdicate because you clearly don't give a shit about what happens to me," he said loudly, "then I may as well tell you everything." Oxley looked around as if he welcomed the eavesdropping. He opened out his arms, inviting the honesty. "I took that picture of you and Taro, and I sold it to the press."

Sage wasn't shocked by much after finding out that greens lived among them, but this knocked all the air from his lungs. Thoughts in his mind crumbled to dust. The anger within him simmered into steam and floated away with the rest of his soul. His mouth fell ajar, and the shock brought wet glimmers to the corners of his eyes. "How could you?" he whispered.

"What? Out you as gay to the entire world?" Oxley jeered, leaned in closer. "I was bored."

By now, the guard closest to them had inched forwards. Sage wondered what he would do if he ordered him to remove Oxley from his sight. Did he have that power? Even if he did, Sage wouldn't abuse it, and that was the difference between him and his egotistical brother. "The humiliation you caused me." Sage felt his lip quiver, but he composed himself and stood tall like a lighthouse battered by the strongest waves, unbothered by its strength. "Now that you're next in line to be King, you'll finally understand what it's like. The tabloids will come down on you so hard that you'll start to believe that you really are as awful as they say, or as ugly, or as weak. And when you're crying alone in your room, panicking about your reputation and whether you really are a failure just for existing, maybe you'll learn a bit of fucking compassion."

Sage should have been satisfied by getting in the last word, but the weight of Oxley's truth had stripped him of all his power. He made it to the stairwell before collapsing and crying into his knees. The worst part was that nobody came to comfort him. Oxley didn't run after him, begging him for forgiveness and wishing for old times where they could laugh and love each other. No maids or cleaners or servants went up or down the stairs to give him pitying smiles or to back away with a sudden awkwardness. His parents never ventured to that part of the Palace. Taro didn't magically appear and hug him until Sage could soak his jumper with tears.

The tears dried up all on their own, and Sage stared at the gloss-painted door until the white gave him a headache. He started to hear workers scurrying back and forth behind the wood. The mad rush for dinnertime had begun and Sage would soon be in the way. He wasn't a person to them; he was another pompous rich title who couldn't possibly have anything to be sad about because money and fame solved all his problems.

He unbent his legs. His knees ached from hugging them so tightly. His own brother, the one who had scolded Sage for ruining his life, had done the same thing, with every intension of causing him harm. Of course, Sage thought. That's why he just turned up at the farm- he was already at the village. Sage dragged himself up the stairs, relieved to see the guards, who had witnessed their feud, posted outside his bedroom door.

Their pitying expressions were just a blunter knife to his heart already full of holes.

Alone again in his room, Sage stared at his miserable expression. He deserved the sympathy for looking so devastated. His eyes were red and drooped from the weight of his drawn together brows. He couldn't change his face. Even a forced smile made his eyes more broken, and his expression troubled.

No wonder Taro disliked him so much. Sage felt like a fool for not seeing through his brother's intensions like Taro did. But why would he have seen his younger brother as anything other than his beloved family? Oxley had once been there for him when he had been torn to shreds by the tabloids. Oxley had been there for him when Patrick was cruel to them as kids. He had once thought of Oxley as his best friend- the one person he could vent to and trust. A betrayal of one's own blood was a wound destined to always fester.

He started to pack all his clothes. He rummaged under his bed for suitcases and filled three big ones, but he still had a full wardrobe of clothes to pack, so he asked one of the guards outside his room to find more. If he had a valet, they might've been able to pack it all a little better. Sage felt like a prince then, a clueless spoilt prince. At least he had a head-strong boyfriend who could teach him to be better.

Sage really missed Taro. He missed his smirk, his cheeky comments, the way he stood around Sage's room just to stretch his legs, the way he would lean up against the desk to feel the daylight. Sage missed everything about him, especially his hands that embedded with his, his hands that tugged often on his curls, his hands that held him with meaning. Sage almost phoned him to ask if he would come back early. He stared at his phone for a long time. Taro deserved one more night with his parents before he dragged him away again. He knew Taro would understand his abrupt decision to leave, and that was another thing Sage loved about him.

He packed all he could and caught his glum reflection in the mirror. He didn't want to be sad, he wanted to be angry. How dare someone try to ruin him in such a cruel way. How dare someone manipulate him so cunningly. How dare someone threaten his boyfriend. Sage stood taller and stared at his reflection. If Taro can be bold, then so can I. He forced his back straighter. He levelled his chin with the floor. He hung his arms by his side no matter how hard he wanted to fidget. He watched his own face until the redness faded and his dark skin glowed golden against the setting sun. He stared until hazel eyes of defiance stared back.

And there, seeping through his confidence for the first time, he saw a King.