The woman looked at him for a moment, her brows pinching together when he seemed so... flippant about the whole thing. He wasn't worried about this. He was worried about Anya and thr queen. He didn't seem to understand - this would mean the thrown was weakened. The queen was nothing but a welcoming face to outsiders. The king held the most power. She just stared at him, her gaze hardening ever so slightly. "Sage," she started, her words slow. "The king is dead," she repeated, her voice soft though still full of concern. "The queen wont be far behind - Sage, this isn't nothing," she muttered. She sort of wrinkled her nose a little, feeling her jaw clench just a little... not because of him, but the worry would start eating away at her - this was every means for rebellion. "This isn't about Anya," she muttered.

Sage grunted, pausing to think through his words so as not to come off wrong. It was obvious Mari was upset about it. "The throne is no weaker than it was while he was sick and unconscious," he noted softly, setting the letter down. "And the queens been practically dead for weeks. If someone wanted to attack, they'd have done so already," he pointed out. "We have to look to Anya to protect the kingdom now....we have for a while," he mused gently, placing a soft hand on her arm. "This is bigger than just us, I know ..but she will be a strong queen, she just needs to believe in herself. I'm worried that when her mom goes she won't do that. She has what it takes....she just needs to realize that," he noted with a shrug. "But life goes on either way," he noted after a moment, gaze sort of flickering as his past swirled around his head. "We need to take the hits as they come."

The woman sort of just watched him for a moment. He didn't seem as worried about all this as she was. Yes, the throne was weak already, but now the king was dead. Anya didn't like the man much, but that didn't mean she wouldn't be upset. She was already struggling with it all. "Sage, he was her dad," she muttered. She didn't much like the idea of Anya on the throne... not many people did. She was still... well, she still seemed like a child. She wasn't married, she couldn't control her troops and there was no children, other than Atticus and she'd made it clear that Att wasn't her own. "All they're going to think is that they have a new princess. One who doesn't have any help and is vulnerable as it is. She groaned after a moment and perched on the edge of the bed when he reached for her arm. "I'm not particularly worried about Anya, Sage. I'm worried about what would happen to our family if rebellions do break out - or if we get invaded. Anya should be at the back of our minds," she muttered. "Life goes on until we don't have a plan and we get injured or killed," she breathed. She knew she was thinking worst case scenario but... what else could they do? She glanced up at him again, her brows pinching together. "I don't know what I'd do if anything happen to the kids... or you," she murmured softly.

Sage shrugged when Mari mentioned he was her dad. "And they were never close," he noted simply. As she kept talking though, he let out a soft sigh and moved to sort of crouch down in front of her, taking her hands gently. "Then it won't take her long to grind then into the dust," he noted. "She can keep control," he promised. "Nothing will happen to us," he murmured softly, meeting her gaze. "Neither I or Anya will let it. Or the doctor, for that matter."

Mari watched him for a moment, the worst case scenario still running through her head. So much could go wrong, she knew that... and Sages words didn't seem to comfort her. She just gave him a slightly pointed look, though when he took her hands she glanced down, a soft breath escaping her. "I'm not so sure, Sage," she murmured, sort of chewing the inside of her cheek. Sage always was right about this sort of thing. He always knew when it was time to worry. They weren't int he castle anymore, it wouldn't effect them directly... but she was still worried about it all. If they got invaded, then things would be very wrong. She sighed and gave his hands a squeeze before letting them go.

Sage sort of hummed when she didn't seem comforted by it...and he understood why. He was a bit nervous about it too, but he also knew there were no signs of anything wrong. Aside from the actual death of the king, but the guy had been pretty much dead for a while. An invasion would have happened while they were still alive....he doubted it would happen now that they were actually dead. Anya was most vulnerable while both parents were sick....so he didn't think much would happen. "Try not to worry about it too much, yeah," he mused. "If anything happens, we'll be one of the first to know," he added.

The woman let out a slow breath before going to peck his forehead where he was healed infront of her. She couldn't help but feel... well, she didn't know. He wasn't hearing her probably. She was scared, and she had a feeling others may not think the same as Sage did. Yes, her parents were ill... but if the queen dropped too, Anya would have no one. Well, no one but Sage. The only reason she'd gotten better at all was because of him. He helped her more than the woman would ever know. She just nodded at him and let him go before hustling out the room, trying to occupy herself in any way.

Sage just offered the woman a small smile before they moved on their way. He'd have to check in on Anya, he supposed....but that could wait a day or two. It was clear Mari was uneasy, and as close as he and Anya were, his family came first. He got done with the horses quickly, before moving back inside to see what Mari would want any help with. When she said she was fine, he moved to just paint for a while. Get his mind off of things. And make money...that was important too, of course. But he did enjoy it.

Mari got to work quite quickly, clearly just... uneasy. I when Dage came in, she just smiled and shook her head... she didn't really need help with anything for the time being. She had it all handlers, and she wanted to do it. If she stopped even for a moment, she had a feeling she'd just break down. It was just... she didn't know. She was worrying more and more about the safety of their little family.
(short , busy!)

(you're good lol!)

Sage got to work after a bit, just wanting to get a few orders finished up so they could dry overnight, and then they could get them all shipped out tomorrow. For now though, he just wanted to relax and work on some art things. He had multiple paintings almost done, so getting them all done need to happen. He was still working hours later, only looking up from his intent work when Mari came in to get him for dinner.