(I wonder if it'd be interesting to do a bit of a time skip? Maybe a couple of years. They could still have Att with them and Anya and Luther could maybe go out for like a festival and they see Sage again? Idk could be fun)

Anya watched as Luther backed away and out of the room. She was so scared about it... what if he went out and told her mother about it? What would happen to Sage then? And... what would happen to her? If she was actually with Luther... like married... then she'd be in just as much trouble as Sage would be. They'd want her dead. God she hated this, and shouldn't help but feel that it was her fault... well, it was. Sage had wanted to leave it there and she just had to push it a bit more. It was stupid... and now Sage was gone. He was really gone... they agreed that once he'd left that he'd visit and send letters, and that she could go see him... but would he do that now? Or had he really just left her? God, she could only pray ne hadn't... he'd barely knew it, but she'd come to need him... to have him with her... but what if he'd really left her, and what if he was never coming back?

(oh yeah that would definitely be interesting lol. We could do that. Maybe Anya doesn't expect to see him but wants to go look around where they used to hang out? And let Luther see what the slums are really like and then they find him again?)

Sage didn't really know where he was running to, he just...ran. as fast as he could. Eventually, he slowed, when he couldn't run anymore, and found himself by the cave. His face twisted and he took off again, away from it and the memories it held. It had been the start of all of this....he had been dumb. He should have died before Anya came back, as soon as Liz no longer needed him. Maybe it wouldn't have been as bad. He wasn't going to reach out to Anya...he couldn't, not now. No doubt the girl would be mad at him for leaving without a word. What if she didn't get his note? Would Att be taken care of? What would all happen? Well, it wasn't something he should worry about...he could do as he always did.things we're back to normal now, and he'd have to deal with it. He stood there for a while before he felt a hand tighten around his wrist, and he looked over to see his father towering over him. He winced slightly and looked down at the ground as his father towed him back to their small shack. Things were about to get ugly, and he wasn't sure he cared.

After a little while, the girl gave up with her tears... they weren't going to make thinks alright again. Well, things never really had been alright, she supposed. Now they'd been called out for it, and that was no one's fault but her own. Would this have happened if she didn't try and kiss him? Or would they all be laughing about some stupid joke and one of their own expenses. But no, she was sat in bed crying and Luther was off doing god knows what, and Sage was probably off trying to get himself killed. Hell, she wasn't going to see him again, was she? He wasn't going to write to her either... and she knew that.

Over the next few years, not all that much really changed. Well, Anya had given up waiting for Sage to come back, and new she and Luther were actually planning their reception... it was going to be in the middle of march, where it'd be warm and bright, outside instead of in the church like the royal weddings traditionally were. The outside was much prettier, she'd decided and Luther seemed to think was a nice idea too. "Anya!" And they still had Att... the idea was to find him a decent home, where he'd be looked after, but Anya just struggled to let him go. "Hey buddy," she chirped to the young child as he came running up to her and holding his hands up to be picked up, to which Anya happily obliged and picked him up with a bit of a swing. He was a good kid, really... once they got over the initial shock of learning to look after a child of their own. "Ready to go?" A slightly deeper voice called down the halls, of which was almost definitely Luther's. Anya gave a nod and a grin, shifting so that the boy was clinging onto her back as she walked towards him. In truth, the two had come to act as the boys parents, and they both rather liked that role. Of course, the boy wouldn't count as an heir, so they'd still need another one at some point, but for the time being the two of them having a child to show off at all seemed like a comfort to the public.

Sage had taken to going back to his old life. Well, with one exception. He worked day and night....he didn't have to look after Liz anymore, and the tavern was the only place with even a little bit of shelter or was away from his father. If he left the place without enough money, his father would let hell lose on him...well, more of a hell than his life already was. He'd gone back to the way he'd started...or maybe he was worse. Physically, he'd definitely degraded...he was thinner than even when Anya had found him, as he wasn't able to hunt or go buy much with what little money he had. He was over working himself, he knew that...but there was nothing else for him to do. Unless getting beat by his father was something he wanted to happen. And then work after that. So, he stayed in the tavern as much as possible. At least, he'd done that up to a point, but the last few days he'd barely been able to crawl out of the place and curl up in the shadow between the buildings. It was a small space, somewhat sheltered...and he just couldn't physically work anymore. He was alive, but just barely...the light in his eyes was gone; they were a dull color, and not even a fight could bring that old spark back. He was a shadow of what he used to be, in all aspects. He still thought of Anya, though he'd tried to push those thoughts away. She really was better off without him....and she'd given up on finding him. When the guars stopped coming around to search for him, she probably thought he was dead. He though about Att too...where he was, who was caring for him. He knew Anya would put him in a nice home, but he wished he knew. And yes, he thought about Luther. Did the boy feel any remorse about their fight? Or had he really felt that way? The thoughts plagued him, day after day...he didn't know how long it had been, or why he was still alive....though, of course, he wouldn't stay that way for long, since he didn't even have the energy to walk anywhere. If he needed to go somewhere, he crawled around, so he was cacked with spring mud and whatever else was on the ground. His clothes were tattered..he really only worse them to keep himself from going naked, though as ripped and worn as they were it didn't do all that much anyway. Really, he was at the end of his line, and he knew it, so he'd just been waiting for Liz to come get him, passing between consciousness and unconsciousness over and over again as he lay there. The rats were gathering in the background, too...they could tell he was almost gone. Much more and they would be his death...they didn't care if he was dead or dead enough to not struggle much...they would eat him either way. He hoped he'd be dead before they decided it was time for a feast, though with his luck he doubted that would happen.

Luther gave a bright smile to the girl... err... not woman when she reached his side. Anya had a similar smile of her face, clearly exited to go out into the village and mooch about. A guard was coming with them... just the one. This festival was meant to be one of joy, and they'd decided that the presence of too many guards would put them on edge... besides, they would have Luther with them, and the boy had pretty much doubled in size over the last three of four years, so they would be safe with him, no doubt. The last time she'd been out to one of these festivals, it'd been where she met Sage, in the tavern... she did wonder how he was doing from time to time, if he was still going, still alive... she'd love for him to see Atticus now. The boy was so big... he was probably only about four and a bit, but he could pass easily for a six or saved year old. Sage would be so proud of the little thing, she though... he was fun and bubbly and always had questions on the go, and he got along with the other children brilliantly, despite some initial issues with the higher up ranking children. Subconsciously, she'd probably be searching for the boy... he was probably dead, though. And god, that was hard to think. He was most likely dead, and that was her fault. Whatever, it wasn't important anymore. He wasn't important. She'd tucked away the tavern he made her, along with the little books... in truth, she didn't have a clue where they were now. It was like he hadn't ever existed, and Sage had just been some strange fever dream. Luther called her attention when he picked Atticus up off her back, and gave the woman a small smile. He could tell she was a bit fidgety... probably nervous to go out there, but he'd look after her, and she did need to know that. He placed the boy on the ground and he ran off ahead of them, to where their guard was waiting at the gate. "Hurry up!" The small boy squeaked, which only made the other two giggle. The child was obviously very exited... he hadn't left the castle grounds in a long while, and with the promise of a new toy in the books, that'd only made him more excitable. They followed the child along for a bit until the first couple of houses came into view... the place was already buzzing, and it hadn't passed noon yet. "Att, come here," the woman called, holding her hand out to the boy... in truth, she just didn't trust anyone around here... the boy would end up running off and something awful would happen, like it almost had to her whenever she had come out a couple of festivals ago. "Oh, leave him be," Luther chuckled and rolled his eyes, but Anya gave him a look which told him to close his mouth before he could say anything else.

Sage had completely forgotten about the festival...really, things like that were the last thing on his mind. But, he didn't have the energy to deal with anyone, so he kind of crawled backwards into the shadows between the buildings, as far back as he could go. The rats squeaked in protest, and one actually bit him, though he got annoyed enough to grab that one and toss it away from him. The others scurried away to wait in the other shadows, as Sage curled up again, chest heaving and visions swirling from the little effort that took. Pain shot through his lower abdomen...something was wrong, very wrong, and he knew it. He supposed being thrown into whatever bed the tavern owner wanted him in every night could mess someone up. Well, more than he already was, anyway. Though, of course, it didn't really matter, he was dying with or without whatever issue was going on. He still had the small dagger Anya had given him...sometimes just holding it made him feel better...like he still had some worth, like he could still do something. Still fight. But he knew he couldn't....he couldn't even walk, and he could barely even crawl. "Gosh, Liz, what's taking you so long," he whispered, wondering if the younger girl could even hear him. Or if he'd even be going the same place as she was. He supposed not...the girl was innocent, and he...well, he definitely wasn't. The things he'd done....no, they were very different people. He didn't think anyone would care up there (if there was some divine being in control)...no one cared down here, and the fates had certainly enjoyed carrying out anything bad they could think of. But whatever...he'd take it all in stride, no matter what happened. At this point, he wasn't sure things could get any worse. He closed his eyes, just wishing he would finally just face away...really, he wished he'd died a long time ago, back when Liz first left him. Having those memories with Anya was wonderful, but now he doubted that the girl even really ever cared. She hadn't tried to stop Luther from sending him away that he knew of, and she only searched for him for two or three days. Had he just been fooling himself, pining for any sort of love, like Luther had said? Well, he certainly wasn't now. Love had only ever hurt him...he'd given up on the dream of having someone a while back now. He'd wished that death brought peace...but Liz had proven there was something after death, and he wondered what was in store for him. Why was he delaying it, still fighting for breath when it rattled in his lungs, and made him cough up mud and soot from the tavern fire? Why was he still digging through the mud in hopes of finding a bug or worm to eat? Nothing made sense...life was a fleeting dream...or nightmare, whatever you'd call it...it came in and out, and he was only aware of his immediate surroundings half of the time. Maybe less. The rats must have spread the word that there would be food soon, since it seemed like they had multiplied in the past few minutes. He sighed slightly but didn't move...he'd always known this was how it would end, really. With him curled up in the mud somewhere, alone, desperately waiting for Lizzie to come for him. At least by feeding the rats, he'd be of some use to something.

Luther jokingly zipped his mouth shut when the girl glared at him... the two definitely had a very different 'parenting' style from one and other. Luther wanted to let the boy be a child, and run around and have fun, and while Anya wanted that to, she was a little bit more protective of the child. She wanted him to have fun, but she also was a little bit more protective of the boy, trying to turn him into one of the royal children... with manners and respect, and while he was well behaved, he definitely wasn't quite at the same etiquette level as the rest of the children. He might never get there, but she at least wanted the boy to be able to attend events with them without embarrassing himself or them. He would get there someday, but for the time being she was mostly just arguing with Luther as to how to raise him. The child grabbed her hands as instructed before reaching for Luther's hand too. "Swing me!" He ordered excitedly as they wandered into the village. Anya looked at Luther a little confused before the man chuckled. "Like this," he hummed before swinging this arm back and fourth. Anya joined in after a moment and the boy just started giggling as he swung back and fourth. It was a sweet sound, a squeaky, joyful giggle, and it really was a type of music to her ears. She looked at Luther with a bit of a grin, obviously confused as to where the boy had learned that, but Luther just grinned back. They came towards the market, which was so much busier than she'd ever remembered, Anya pointed towards the tavern. "We can maybe go there for lunch," she murmured with a slightly cocked head. Ok, so somewhere deep down, she was looking for Sage... praying just to see a glimpse of the boy, to see if he was even still alive. But Luther quite obviously didn't know that, because he just shrugged out a "sure" before continuing towards the little market stands. As soon as they looked towards the sellers, it only seemed to get louder in the square... it was painfully obvious that they had money, and people were yelling their pitches at them, praying that the two would splash some money on the whatever they were selling. They pretty much just got dragged around by Att, the boy pointing at all sorts of sweets and toys. Soon enough, the boy jumped up and down and pointed at a small horse and chariot toy, begging for them to pick it up for him. Anya looked to Luther with a cocked head then sighed and handed toy to Att, and then a handful of cash to the seller, who had started trying to sell them something else by that point. Anya looked towards a small sweet stand, the same one she'd picked up a bunch of chocolates with Lizzie. A small smile at the memory crossed her face before looking absentmindedly wandering over. She picked the Att up so he could see all the chocolates and sweets. "Anything you want?" She asked lightly as Luther wandered up behind the girl. "Yeah, I want all of it," he giggled over her shoulder, to which Anya just rolled her eyes. "I think you're big enough, don't you? And pout, we wouldn't want you loosing all that muscle you've worked so hard to build by gorging yourself on sweets, huh?" Anya teased before poking the boys side with a grin. Luther just have a bit of a scowl before rolling his eyes. "And the child gets sweets," he scoffed before shaking his head with a small laugh. Att looked over the sweets for a few moments before getting handed a little paper bag. The boy hummed for a moment before filling the bag to the top and turning to Anya with a toothy grin. "Done!" He chirped lightly before being placed down again. Anya gave a smile before grabbing another little bag for her and Luther to share, but when she turned back, Att was just... gone. She looked at Luther for a moment, wide eyed... if he was out here, alone, then she didn't trust anyone to be decent with the boy. Luther looked at her confused for a moment before glancing around and realising the little boy wasn't in sight. Anya went pale before cursing to herself. "Luther, where the hell is my child?" She growled at the boy, clearly more fearful than upset... god, she couldn't loose this boy... she'd promised herself nothing bad would happen to him. Luther just looked at her fearfully before shaking his head. "I'm..." he was cut off by an Anya, who'd by now seemed to be a bit... erratic. "You should have been watching him, Luther!" She yelped before jumping into action in trying to find the child, who by now was wandering around the alleyways, munching on sweets and playing with his new toy, oblivious as to how worried he'd made both Anya and Luther in such a short time.

As the day went on, Sage could hear noise at the festival increase by...well, quite frankly, a lot. More than usual, at the very least...or maybe that was just him imagining things, or maybe it sounded louder to him because of his current state or something. Whatever the case, he let out a slight whimper/groan and curled up into a tighter ball from where he was leaning against the corner of the walls between the two buildings. Someone important must have shown up...well, important to the seller anyway. As in, someone with plenty of money to spend on frivolous things. Half of him hoped it was Anya, though he told himself to shut up...even if it was the girl, he couldn't go see her. No doubt she'd have Luther with her anyway, and even if he could stand up and walk over there, he'd get himself beat up by going near a crowd full of higher-ups, and there was no way he could actually talk to the girl. He wouldn't know what to say, how to act. He doubted the girl still even cared, or if she even remembered him as something good, or if she'd decided he was a mistake. No, the girl was lost to him now...she had been for years. And so was little Att, and Luther, he supposed. Luther probably hated him...and he couldn't say he blamed the boy. He did wish he knew what had become of Att, though, at the very least. Though, he was never likely to know....those days were over, and they had been for a while. He wondered how much longer he'd lay here, recalling memories that only seemed to make his heart hurt more. The times he'd had with Anya...they were good, but now they just hurt...especially since he didn't know if he was just a phase for the girl. Was he just the new toy the girl had fun playing with, until she found a new, better one? Ugh, he couldn't keep thinking about those things...he wanted them to stop, to block them all out, to never remember anything that had happened. As if reading his mind, a few of the bolder rats moved forward, trying a nibble to see how much he'd still fight them. He pushed them away, of course, though without the emotions of earlier. They retreated back into the shadows to wait, chattering among themselves as more joined the group. He sighed and looked up, hoping the sky would bring some form of peace, but it was just...dark. He couldn't even see the stars at night anymore...it was just a blurry mass of blue, that pretty much just hurt his eyes and head. So he closed his eyes..there was nowhere good to look at, so he could just close them. Sit there and wonder how long it would take for him to go. How long it would take for the rats to pick his bones clean. Not long, he supposed...there were quite a few of them around hi now, skittering about in the darkness, waiting for their chance, eager to eat and energized by the smell of blood from where the others had done a bite test of sorts.

Anya pretty much ran around the square like a mad person, Luther eventually splitting off to try and find the child. He hadn't been gone for long, so he couldn't have gone far... but she was worried encase someone had spotted the boy alone. He was so young... and he certainly didn't know good from bad just yet. "Atticus!" The woman squeaked every now and then, trying to get the boys attention... to let him know that this was... bad, if he could hear her at all. If anything happened to the boy, she wouldn't forgive herself... and she'd probably beat Luther for taking his eyes off him. Att though, he seemed completely oblivious to it all. Still munching on his sweets and playing with his toys as he explored the alleyways. Soon enough, he came upon a little gathering of rats and let out a little delighted squeal before running at them and watching as they scuttled away. He chased after them a little more before letting out a squeak of surprise as one was thrown in his direction. He cocked his head slightly before looking in the direction that the rat had come from. He spotted someone curled up in the corner before waddling over and giving a grin. "Will you play with me?" He asked excitedly before shoving the toy in his face. "Anya and Luther got me this!" He squeaked with a bounce. He remembered being told that the two were important, and them explaining about how things, well, were. So, he assumed everyone knew about them. He crouched down in front of the stranger and gave a grin as he bounced up and down. "Do you want a sweet?" He asked enthusiastically. The boy glanced to the side as he heard his name being called, but didn't quite move. The stranger looked somewhat familiar, and the boy still didn't quite have the brain to figure out weather or not talking to this stranger was a good idea or not. He heard Anya's voice getting louder, and eventually he saw her standing at the end of the alley with a rather relieved expression. "Atticus, you can't run off like that," she scolded before noticing the child was crouched down in front of someone. "We don't talk to strangers, Att," The boy pouted slightly. "But I haven't given him a sweet yet!" He complained with a bit of a frown before looking back to the person with a grin.

Sage's eyes snapped open when he heard a child's voice near him and he whipped his head around to look at the boy, confused. Where were his parents What was he doing here, and why did he have toys and sweets and...wait. Anya and Luther got him those? His eyes widened slightly at the realization that this was their child...though, no, that wasn't it. Was...was this Att? Had the two of them decided to just keep him? It was good to see that the boy was still being spoiled, and that he was happy and healthy, but this also meant that Anya and Luther had to be frantically looking for him, too. He opened his mouth to try and tell the boy to go find his parents, though Anya came running up to the boy before he could get a word out, and he shrank back against the wall. He didn't know how this was all going to go...she obviously didn't recognize him, not that he blamed her, but...part of him longed for the girl to comfort him a bit. But no, he couldn't ask for that. If the girl didn't recognize him, he could shoo them away and he could wait here for Liz, and really that would be best. The boy brought up a sweet again, and his stomach churned at the thought of eating something so sweet. "It's alright, kiddo. I don't need one...go with your mom," he told the boy, giving him a gentle smile. He didn't know if the girl would even recognize his voice...it was quiet and raspy, not at all like the one she'd heard, and it had been years since she'd last seen him or heard him. And where was Luther? The girl and boy would be an easy target for someone, while they were out here away from the crowd. He could hear the rats scurrying about and squeaking indignantly, as the two healthy humans had chased them out of their spot. He wondered what they were thinking...if they could think, and whether they thought they were taking away a meal, or just delaying it. Would they try to attack them, too, in a sort of feeding frenzy? He certainly hoped not. It did hurt, a lot, for Anya to think he was a stranger, but he was glad she was raising him right. The boy would have a good life...Anya wasn't likely to get rid of the boy, not now...so he'd be pampered and spoiled, without ever knowing the pains of growing up in the slums. He was more glad than ever that he'd brought the baby home with him...at least one of them would get something good out of the whole thing. "You two had best get back," he murmured wearily, wishing they would just go away and leave him alone. If he had to sit here and act like he didn't know them much longer, he wasn't sure how he'd handle it. And, of course, the longer they were here, the greater the chance that one of them might recognize him. And while he did wish that may happen, he knew that if they didn't, it would be easier on all of them. He'd learned his lesson...love was nothing good, and bad things only seemed to come from it. At least Att seemed to be having better luck with love than he was. He wished them both luck...he really did, and wished Luther luck to,o because try as he might, he just couldn't hate the boy. Well, man now, he supposed. Luther had every right to do what he did...and Sage had half known it would end like that anyway...he shouldn't have been surprised. He shouldn't have been so upset by it. But he was, and he still was, and he needed them to go so he could just close his eyes and slip away.