"That's my truth. I can see that you're angry," Marigold said, picking her glasses back up. "Taro's not to blame, despite me wanting to blame him. You're not to blame for choosing love because I was once in your position. The greens are the ones who will alter your future and probably for the worse. I don't see how they can win an uprising. I don't see how they can safely rise to power."
"Maybe me being their king is all they need." Sage struggled with an inner battle. His mother was right, he was very angry that she wanted to blame Taro for everything. He has done nothing but wake Sage up from his life in a golden box. Taro deserved the credit for their current conversation, one Sage never thought he would have with his mother. "Maybe having a Queen who doesn't respect them is what causes all of this. You're too loud about how they don't deserve to be a part of this family. That sort of stuff can spread quickly. Does Oxley have those same opinions?"
"I'm not sure."
"Then me dating Taro isn't the only thing that's confirming this prophecy." He stood and smoothed down his jumper with dried soil on the front. "Thank you for being honest with me. I hope now you can stop avoiding me because the silence hurts a whole lot more than a screaming match."
Marigold quickly rose too. "I'll always love you. I'm sorry I've not been better at saying it."
"Saying it is one thing, but showing it is what you need to improve on," Sage mumbled with his back to her. But he tilted his head in her direction. "I love you too." He left feeling lighter than he had all day. Love from his parents was all he craved. At least he was one step closer to their relationship returning to normal.
He went to seek out Oxley and was directed all over the Palace by guards who had seen him throughout the day. He eventually stopped a cleaner heading towards the servants' stairwell with a mop in one hand and a bucket in the other. "Those stairs are steep," he said, startling her. Her eyes widened and she bowed quickly. "Would you like help carrying them down?"
"No, Your Royal Highness!" she urged as if the thought alone was insulting.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, absolutely. I do this every day, I'm used to the steepness, sir."
Sage then noticed her green nails, and he smiled to himself. How had he not noticed that half of the staff had green nails? Maybe he didn't see them because he didn't expect them. Or maybe he had never cared enough to wonder why. "Well, while you're here, I just want to ask if you've seen my brother anywhere."
She nodded and looked around before whispering, "I saw him heading towards the maids' quarters about an hour ago."
"Ah." Sage said, not needing more information. "Do you think he'll still be there?" She nodded. "Well, now that you've helped me, let me help you." He lifted a hand. "I'm going in the same direction now anyway."
The cleaner smiled and gave him the bucket. On the way down the narrow stairwell, he asked for her name.
"Lisii," she said, and Sage tried to think through all the plants to figure out which one she was, but she added, "Spathiphyllum Wallisii."
"A peace lily?"
She nodded, smiling up at him with surprise when they reached the bottom of the stairs. "I'm honoured you knew that."
"I'm honoured you shared it with me." He handed her the bucket and pointed behind him. "Is it this way?"
"Yes. Go all the way down to the end of the corridor, take the first left, and then go down the stairs at the end of that corridor, and the maids' quarters are through that door."
"Thank you, Lisii." Sage left her to her job and followed the instructions. The door to the maids' quarters had a big sign on the front forbidding any men to pass through it, so Sage waited until his brother emerged from a room, tucking in his shirt. A maid followed immediately after, giggling and adjusting her apron.
Oxley opened the door and paused as though he hit an invisible wall. "Sage!" he gasped. The maid's face turned pale, and she scurried away with her head down. "Uh . . . I was just-"
"Spare me the details." Sage uncrossed his arms and pushed his brother in front of him. "Let's go, I want to speak to you about something." They left in a hurry. Sage was thankful that nobody saw them leaving as he guided his brother to one of the many reading rooms around the Palace.
He shut the door and Oxley flopped on a black leather couch by a bookshelf overflowing with books of all genres. "The maid- It's just a bit of fun. She has a boyfriend anyway, so it's nothing serious."
Sage's gaze fixed on his careless face. "What's her name?"
"Nancy."
"As your older brother, I need to tell you to end that before Nancy tells the press, or the boyfriend finds out and tells the press, or someone sees you and tells the press."
"Nobody will care, they're all so bothered about you being gay anyway." Oxley linked his fingers together and smiled.
"That doesn't make it okay."
Oxley rolled his eyes. "You're far too serious these days."
And you're far too okay with ruining other people's lives. Sage sat down on a footstool opposite him. Oxley looked smug, like he was proud of himself. "You'll be embarrassed if this gets out."
"It won't get out. They don't care enough about my status to try and ruin me."
"They will soon."
Oxley's eyes finally met his. "What do you mean?" Sage wasn't sure how to word what he wanted to say. "You're not abdicating, are you?"
"This prophecy, it's happening whether you want it to or not."
"How did you find out about it?"
"It includes the both of us. I should have been told the moment you knew I was dating a green."
Oxley's smugness had melted into fear. "Don't abdicate. Please, I don't want this responsibility!"
"You once did."
"That's because I knew deep down that I would never be a king. I'm perfectly happy with being a prince. Sage, please." Oxley sat forwards. "The prophecy doesn't mean you have to abdicate. Maybe you won't even be with Taro that long."
"You know what the prophecy says. Devil's Ivy is meant to be by my side." Sage's heart leapt about in his chest. He had thought the prophecy was some ancient tale, but the way his family reacted to it made him think more seriously about his future. "I don't know how it'll happen, but you'll be a king and I'll be a king- of the greens."
Oxley rubbed his face and his leg bounced with anxiety. "We have to stop it."
"How?"
Oxley shrugged and got up to pace back and forth. "Maybe we can . . . or maybe you can . . . " Oxley glanced at him with a guilty frown. "You have to break up with Taro."
Sage was disappointed in him. "Or maybe you should take on some responsibility. You're so eager for me to be unhappy if it'll help you get what you want."
"I don't want you to be unhappy Sage, I just-"
"Then why would you even suggest that?"
"Because it's the only way to distance us from the prophecy."
"I'm not breaking up with him." Sage was as stern as he could be without yelling. "Just don't be king. Nobody can force that on you."
"But then if I don't, it all ends with me. I can't be the one to end the royalty in our bloodline."
"Then don't, but whatever you decide, it won't cost me my relationship with Taro."
Oxley stared for a long uncomfortable minute. Something in his eyes was turning dark. "Patrick didn't want the prophecy to come true, and neither do I, but I still killed him because he would've killed you. And you act like your happiness is the most important thing in the world. We can't all get what we want."
Sage felt chills down his spine. "He would've killed you too, and mum and dad. He would've taken the throne for himself to avoid the prophecy. My happiness is the most important thing in the world, but it won't just be handed to me. I have to fight for this happiness, just like you. Leaving this place and living elsewhere with Taro would be what makes my life worth living. If you don't want to be king then be brave and abdicate too, or give it a try, you might like ruling." Sage shook his head and looked away when Oxley scowled. "Why are we talking like this is going to happen right now? Mum has at least forty or fifty years on the throne. We'll be old men when we have to put this into writing. You might have children you can pass the throne to."
"No because you're forcing me to think about this right now. You want this prophecy, to come true don't you? You want to go off with your little greens and live in this peaceful fantasy world."
"Not entirely. I don't want a war. I don't want us both fighting for peace. I don't want us fighting at all."
Oxley's mouth curled downwards. "I don't want to fight either."
"Then what do we do?"
"Don't plan to abdicate. If you take mum's throne when she's gone, then the prophecy won't come true."
"Have you read about the prophecy?" Sage asked. "What if you date a green and then we don't know who will take this throne and who will be on the throne of the greens."
Oxley sighed with frustration. "I don't like the greens; I would never date one."
The more Oxley spoke, the more distant they stood. "I don't understand why."
"You don't have to understand. But my point is that it's definitely you who is on the throne of the greens. You love plants, you always have."
"Why do you hate the greens?" Sage challenged.
"Do I need a reason?"
"Yes, you can't just hate people for no reason. You never used to be like this."
"I've always been like this."
"No, you've always been a rule-breaker, but you've never been so hateful. And you've never been this selfish. If I was the younger one, I would be scared too, but I'd understand your need to be happy, and I'd encourage you to go after what you wanted."
Oxley started to scowl again. "But instead, you're dumping the throne onto me because you decided to fall in love with your Valet, the first guy who looked at you. Do you realise how desperate that makes you look?"
Sage could barely believe the hypocrisy. "If titles matter so much to you then why have I just found you sneaking around with Nancy?"
"I wouldn't throw my life away for a maid. But you'd ruin mine for a fucking valet."
"I'm not ruining your life." Sage talked lowly. If he continued yelling, his voice would end up wavering and he'd walk out of there with tears streaming down his face.
"Then what would you call it, huh? Because you're not making it any better."
"You're acting like I was the one to make the prophecy."
"You're not doing all you can to stop it though, are you?"
"I already told you," Sage said carefully, "I'm not giving Taro up."
"You've been dating him for what . . . a few months? Doesn't family mean anything to you?"
"Taro will one day be my family too. I would give up everything for him." Oxley gawked at Sage like he was speaking in another language. "You'll understand when you fall in love." And just like that, an unwritten emotion for Taro Vinea had inked a new chapter into Sage's life.