Sage pursed his lips slightly, nodding slowly. He'd seen this coming, he couldn't deny that...the lower villages felt like the crown should be protecting them, helping them, and...quite frankly they weren't. "Not gonna lie, I saw that one coming," he grumbled, scrunching his face up. He ran his hands through his hair, thinking for a moment. "The things I taught you will defend you well enough from ninety percent of the population down there. Maybe teach your family that. Luther too. Anyone you can, really." It was true, the defense he'd taught her would be useful ... probably more so than the guards, who were practically sitting bait at this point. They were used to fighting other huge men by hacking with giant swords or axes. The peoe down there...they didn't fight that way. They'd step to the side and go up under the sword, and boom, the guard was dead, with no chance of defending himself against the tiny weapon his opponent held. Most likely crude knife, sharp piece of glass, a giant rusty nail, or any other weapon they could find. Sage himself was lucky enough to kill a richer opponent and take his dagger...most people in the lower towns just grabbed whatever they could use. And to be honest, those things were the most dangerous...you didn't know what they had or what it could do until, well, it was inside your body and you were falling over or dead. He was worried...to put it quite frankly, the castle didn't really stand a chance against a rebellion like this. He was worried for Anya ..even if she survived, she'd most likely lose people she cared about, and probably her home too. He looked over at Anya, chewing on his bottom lip as he thought. "But let's not think you're all doomed yet, alright? There's a lot of talk about stuff like that down there, and most of it never comes to fruition. We'll figure out whether this is a real threat or not, and if it is real, then you can allow yourself to freak out for a bit." The last part of it was mostly a joke, trying to cheer her up a bit, though he didn't know if he'd be successful...he did tend to have an undertone of perpetual gloom around him most of the time.

(I was thinking...what if Sage's dad shows up? And that's kind of the point where the queens motherly instincts really kick in? Maybe his dad gives him a choice between war and going back with him and sage chooses to go, to protect Anya and her family, but once he leaves Anya begs her mom to help and she sees his father hurt him? It was an idea lmk what you think)

Anya shook her head slightly folding her arms over and kind of holding onto herself. If this was going to happen, well, she didn't stand a chance to put it quite frankly. If they got into the castle and picked off the crown one by one, there was nothing they could do. She'd seen Sage take down men much larger than himself... what if there were people in the villages who could do the same? If they got past the guards she and her family were done for. Sage mentioned that there was lots of talk about this kind of thing down there, but this... this had made it back to her father. He knew about it, and was just as concerned as Anya was. She could barely smile at his little joke. Mainly because she didn't really see this as something to be laughing at. She was worried and maybe a little scared about all this. Not about what was going to happen to her, but what was going to happen to her family. They couldn't defend themselves... neither could Anya, really, but she could do a little bit to look after herself. Her parents, and her cousins, they couldn't do that so much.

Anya put on a slight frown before leaning off the wall. "I'm scared, Sage. Even if this might not be happening, it got back to my father. He doesn't normally hear about this sort of thing unless it's really something to be concerned about." She muttered before gently taking his hand and giving it a slight squeeze. "I'd rather think we're doomed and be ready for it than be sitting around and thinking nothing is wrong." Anya tried to give a little smile before letting go and walking a little towards the doorway, pausing slightly for just a moment. "We can talk about this when I see you later. Why don't we go find Luther or something, he's probably someone who should know about this, don't you think?" She murmured quietly before wandering off down the halls. She could feel her heart start beating just at the idea of this all happening. Even if it might not come about... it was disturbing to think about. That someone actually wanted to harm her little cousins, parents, and well, herself. She understood that they could do more for the lower ranks, but was it really so bad to want them dead? She didn't know. But she could talk it over with Sage later on when she had collected herself a little. To discuss what he thought about going out there again, and what would be the best plan of action surrounding that.

(Yeah, I like that! We could have that sort of thing happen just after new years.)

Sage could tell the girl needed to think about all the things running around inside her head, so he let the subject drop. She was willing to talk about it later, so really, that was all he could ask. He'd forgotten that for people here, death was actually something to fear. Something to try and avoid at all costs. It seemed a bit odd to him....he had to admit that if someone was talking about him, talking about killing him....he would have sought them out and attacked them by now. It was kind of an unspoken rule of the slums - attack first, stay safe. Give no warning, just kill. That was the way it worked. Honorable duels, knights sparring it out....it seemed foreign to him. Really, everything here seemed foreign to him...he knew he wasn't supposed to be here, and he knew that while Anya said he looked the part, he'd never be able to act the part. He might be able to dress in a bit of nice clothing and bathe regularly (or at least somewhat regularly), but this morning just proves he still didn't really fit it. And Anyas mother had made it quite clear she still didn't really approve of him being here ...he had to admit he didn't trust her. He didn't think she'd pull out a knife and try to kill him or anything, but that's how he had to act...she was the queen, and he was still some lowly tavern boy her daughter dragged back to the castle. And he'd been here for a while. He let out a bit of a sigh as he wandered after Anya, looking for Luther. He was probably still watching the guards training, though if he'd left they'd have to go in a wild goose chase to find the guy. And while he did think Luther should know about this whole thing, he also wanted to settle Anyas nerves a bit, talk the two of them. She was planning something, he could tell, and he wanted to know what it was. He didn't like the queen much, but he liked Anya and Luther, so he'd help any way he could. Even if it meant arguing with the king or queen.

Anya walked quietly down the halls, eyes glued to the ground. She felt bad, just a bit about how she'd spoken to Sage. She hadn't been horrible in any way, but she wasn't exactly informative, not overly friendly. She could have at very least tried to talk about it, but she wanted to let her nerves settle so that she didn't say anything out of place. She was worried - very worried about what could happen. Her head was trying to tell her that it was just rumors spouting out, and things like this actually happened on a weekly basis. But on a bigger scale, with more people going full force on the castle, that could be more serious. It was almost hard for her to discuss it with Sage... he wouldn't understand how, well, terrifying it was for her, for all of her family. He wasn't scared of death, not in the way they were. In all honesty, he probably thought they were stupid for their worry. Well, that was what Anya assumed, at least. She kind of just shuffled along in front of Sage until they got outside, where she looked around for a short moment before sighing and turning back towards the door. "He's not here," she almost complained before wandering back inside. She wanted to find Luther, to talk this over with him. He was a lot braver than Anya, but she would probably be able to talk this over with him a little easier, without feeling, well... stupid. She knew Sage would try his best to make her feel better about all this, but she would get all in her head about it and convince herself that was how he felt, that they were just being overcautious... and she didn't want him thinking it was his fault she was feeling like that.

Sage could feel the silence over them....he didn't want to say anything though...Anya needed to think. She needed some time to let her brain run. The initial worry was normal, he couldn't deny that. He was worried, mostly because if it did come to a fight, Anya was in danger. Luther too, he supposed, though the people attacking the castle were much more likely to go for Anya. They most likely wouldn't kill her...they'd want her alive, at least until they'd had their fun with her and decided she was no longer useful to them. Luther would be killed in battle, unless he somehow escaped, which wasn't likely as loud and large as the guy was. But he could defend himself a bit, and while Anya could too, she had a tendency to freeze up when she got scared. Just like she was doing now. Which he couldn't complain about, not really...she wasn't used to this, wasn't used to people getting killed or used or whatever else. She was thinking she'd be killed right away, from what it sounded like, and as of right now, he didn't have the heart to tell her the other possible outcomes of an attack. For her or her mother. He made a face when Luther wasn't there and sighed. "We wander then," he muttered as he turned to follow Anya, hoping that once she thought this all through she'd feel slight better. Maybe talking to luther would help.

Anya nodded slightly before wandering a little back through the castle, her hands behind her back as she fiddled with her fingers slightly. She knew it was quiet, and that it was maybe a bit awkward, but her thoughts were running wild through her head. She wanted to speak up and talk to Sage, but she didn't want to annoy him at all. It was hard when she was with him... she loved him with everything she had, but sometimes she just wished she could have fallen for someone closer to her rank. Someone like Luther, maybe, who was used to her way of living, and knew that while they would always live comfortably, it could also be so lonely. They could deal with the way things were together. With Sage, it almost felt wrong to feel as though anything that happened to her could be bad. He had it so much worse than her, and she knew that which was why it had gotten so hard to admit just how... trapped... things got. It wasn't fair on Sage, either. Why did he have to fall for her of all people? There were plenty of girls in the slums. He would have found someone eventually, and they could have toughed it out together. But things couldn't be that easy for them, could they? The things that Anya was scared of, Sage wouldn't even think twice about, and Anya would never understand how he was so alright with any of those fears. She took a slight breath before slowing her pace a little so that she was walking next to him. She let her hand brush lightly against his, a none verbal request to hold it. Almost an attempt to feel a little closer to him. There was no one around... they were all busy dealing with what was left of the day before, so they would be fine.

Sage glanced down in surprise when she brushed up against him, but slowly closed his fingers around hers anyway. He wasn't sure why she wanted that, perhaps for comfort...he didn't know, but he was more than willing to do what she wanted, if it helped her. He'd never fully understand all of what she was thinking...her thoughts worked different than his. But he did know she was scared, and if he could help in any way he would. He owed her that much, for sure. He hoped Luther would help her too....he seemed like a nice enough guy to do that. He looked over at the girl for a while, silently, before sighing slightly. 'what are you thinking?" If she was that worried he wanted to know how to help...he couldn't help if she didn't talk. He wasn't going to judge...he'd be the last person to do that, considering their relationship.

Anya gave a slight smile when his hand closed around hers, but her gaze was still set on the ground. She really just wanted to feel a little closer to him, mostly because she couldn't find a way to talk about this whole rebellion, attack, or whatever was going on with that. She just wanted to find Luther and talk it out with him... they were both going to be affected by it, after all. He wouldn't be able to ease her nerves so much, but it would be good to discuss it a little. She would talk it over properly with Sage at some point too, but she didn't want it to be quite so... fresh. When she was on edge. Though, she didn't want there to be such an uncomfortable silence around them... so when he spoke up a little, she found herself a little relieved. "Just... about everything. You and me, how different we are... and this whole rebellion threat. It's all a bit much. I just... I don't know what to do, to make everything better."

Sage hummed thoughtfully and nodded. He understood it, he did...just because he was fine with a fight now didn't mean he'd always been fine with it. And they were definitely different. But ..the difference was he'd been through this so many times he was used to it. It was different with Anya. Finally he just settled in something he thought would help...not about her, but telling her about himself. Not really related to the topic but related a little bit. "We only seem different because of experience," he murmured gently. He zoned off into the hallway ahead of them, thinking about his own past. "The first time my dad attacked me, I was worse than you," he admitted softly. "At least you're admitting it might be happening, and you're thinking of ways to help. I just denied it and kept coming back.." he trailed off eventually, not really knowing what else to say. How to wrap it up. And now he was thinking about the relationship between him and his father, which brought back so many bad memories. He didn't regret telling Anya that, but he didn't know if it would help, or seem like he was just talking about himself.

Anya glanced up from the ground to Sage, her brows slightly furrowing slightly. She kept on forgetting that there was the first time that he had been attacked by his father. She could barely imagine how completely terrifying it must have been for him. He must have been so young, defenseless. And here she was worried about something that might not even happen. The girl have his hand a gentle squeeze, trying to be of some comfort, though she wasn't too sure how it was working. "Sage, you were a child. Even if you didn't go back, you would have probably died out on the streets." She murmured gently. She didn't know what happened to children out there... they'd probably either be picked up by the slave traders, kidnapped, or killed. Sage had ended up on the streets anyway, but at least he wasn't so... young. She wanted to be there for him, though. What he was thinking about must have brought back so many awful memories... and if he wanted to spill on her, then at least she wasn't focusing on something that might not be an issue. But she didn't want him reliving something so horrible, not when he'd gone through it once already. "There was nothing you could've done about it when you were young... but at least you're not there anymore, right? He can't hurt you anymore." She murmured quietly, trying to be comforting, though she wasn't sure how well she was doing.