Roots and Oxygen

Chapter 29 - Queen's Spectre

Sage woke when only the light of the moon sharpened the shadows around his long and large bedroom. He rolled over, pulling his cold silk sheets to his chin, but he couldn't pull it as far as he would've liked. Sage tugged sleepily until something else moved next to him.

He froze, staring wide eyed into the dark, until his eyes adjusted, and he recognised the cheekbones, the round nose, and the dimpled chin of his Valet, Taro Vinea.

Sage relaxed and reached out to shove him awake.

Taro grumbled and slapped his hand away.

"Get up," Sage hissed, not because he wanted him out of his bed. "You said you can't sleep in your human form all night."

Taro shot up immediately and clutched his throat. He dashed to the bathroom, and Sage quickly followed to see him sucking water from the gold sink tap. Taro drank until water was dripping down his chin and filling the sink.

"Um, are you okay?" Sage stood awkwardly in the doorway until Taro wiped his face dry.

"Slept too long... human form..." Taro cleared his throat. "Your bed is too comfortable for your own good. It's unnatural to sleep that deeply."

Sage arched a brow. "It's a good thing I woke up then. Will you be alright?"

Taro nodded. He followed the Prince back to the bed and sat on his bedside table. He transformed, and for a moment, the green glow lit Sage's room brighter than daylight. He winced, scrunched his eyes shut, then opened to darkness. "Well, night then," he said to the plant on his bedside table. One of the vines wobbled as a response.

When Sage woke again, it was by Taro's hand. After morning tea, his Valet fixed cufflinks to his shirt, and someone knocked on the door. Sage allowed entry and his mother's secretary, Finley Wainhouse, stepped awkwardly into the room.

"What is it?" Sage asked, eyeing the letter in his hands.

"The Queen wishes to inform you that you will spend the day with her, shadowing her Royal duties," Finley said, staring blankly at the Prince with piercing blue eyes. His thin face stretched over his thin skull. His mouth was even tighter, clearly disapproving of having someone trail after the Queen, especially someone as hated as Prince Sagerian Greenthenor.

"Today?" Sage allowed his arms to smooth inside a navy-blue blazer. He did his best to ignore Taro's fingers brushing his hips as he pulled his waistcoat down and straightened out the front.

"Yes, your Royal Highness." Finley cleared his throat and bowed his head lowly.

Once alone, Sage chose not to mention that Taro sleeping in his bed last night was not only highly inappropriate, but extremely risky. Taro was his friend, as well as his Valet. Sage had to cut his tongue short and allow their friendship to form.

Sage sat through a quiet breakfast. His father burst into the room only for a slice of toast, then left. His brother clearly nursed a hangover. Every time Oxley looked at Sage's eggs, his tanned skin paled.

His mother, however, had much to discuss. "First, we're looking through the green cabinet," she said with a twinkle in her dark eyes.

Starting off the day with important documents, great. Sage found everything mundane, now that Taro's secret was unearthed. Taro told him that there was more to life than the monarchy, and he was absolutely right.

Sage didn't voice his boredom and followed his mother to her office. He tried to take an interest, knowing his future would be much the same. The documents were a case of putting them into piles for his mother to visit later, though she did her best to explain to Sage about the importance of, well, importance.