Roots and Oxygen

Chapter 69 - Room of Truth

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.