(no worries!)

Sage nodded. "Well you're smart enough to make up for Luther's lack of brains if it comes to that. But you both seem like you'll do your best for the kingdom." As much as he hated to admit it, Luther wasn't a bad person. Quite the opposite, in fact. He seemed like he would make a good king. And Anya would be a wonderful ruler. "An equal yoke is the key," he admitted. "Listen to eachother and you'll be fine." He shrugged. "I might not be there to see the changes but I know you'll bring them around." He trusted Anya in that retrospect.

Anya let her smile grow slightly, but it slowly vanished as she heard twigs snapping again... this time slightly closer. It was probably an animal, maybe a badger or a fox, but it still made her heart pound a little. She glanced to Sage, her brow slightly raised. "Of course you'll be here. We might not talk after anything happens, but I want you here for a little while at least, to see how things change," admittedly, that was purely selfish. It sounded that way too, and while the likelihood of Sage living for nearly as long as her would be low, she could still hope. It meant that she could come and see him when things got rough, or simply for him to straight up tell her that she was doing a shit job. She was sure he was one of the few people who would do that for her. Still, she knew life was hard in the slums, and that they were grateful to make it to the next day most of the time... well, they most likely weren't so grateful. Day after day working in conditions like that... you would probably be happier dead.

Sage chuckled slightly. He would let her hope...if she was more comfortable thinking he would live as long as her then he didn't want to take that hope away. She didn't have the easiest life either....and she had a big future ahead of her. Besides, he didn't want to hurt her. He just wanted to slip away so that by the time she found out, if she ever found out, he would be long gone, and her grief wouldn't be harsh. After all, she was the only person left who even though of him in a somewhat positive manner. Or treated him well, for that matter. He heard the twig and he sighed inwardly. It sounded like they would be coming to the two of them before Anya had left. Dammit. He could get himself killed in front of her. Oh well. He could fight for now if he had to. He didn't need to be fully aware to kill someone...he had been fighting, killing, since he was young. That though confirmed it for him. He probably wouldn't be going where Lizzie was going. Was there no break for him?

Anya dropped her pace slightly, falling back so that she was walking next to Sage again. She could admit she was nervous... afraid even, and was finally a little thankful that she had run into Sage, despite the unfortunate circumstances. She had to swallow a lump in her throat when she found out about Lizzie. She had wanted to cry, if not for herself then for Sage, but she didn't reserve the right. Even so, now, she was just happy to have someone accompany her on her walk home. She would have been happy for anyone to walk with her now though, as long as they were at least a little friendly. Sage wasn't friendly, not right now, but there was good reason for that, and she still had faith that he would take care of the two of them the best he could, even when his head wasn't completely in the game.

Sage kept an ear on the people behind them. He had counted at least four, and there were probably more out there that he couldn't hear because they were out of range. Besides, his head was still spinning a little bit. He kept pace with Anya, though he shifted slightly so he was behind her just a tiny bit. Practically unnoticeable, but people out here liked to be sneaky. Attack from behind. If he was behind her, he could react better and stop either of them from getting hurt. At the very least, he would take the hit and let her run, though that normally only did so much good....if he was down they'd just chase her. No, he'd have to fight, and he'd have to win.

The girl gave him a slightly worried look. She could almost see them now. Shadows, running and hiding almost soundlessly through the trees. She could only see about two, so she had no idea how many there were. Even in this state, Sage was much more likely to pick this sort of thing up than she was. Both of them had quite obviously noticed something was going on, though, they had somehow made a silent agreement that they weren't to make a sound about it. Something of which Anya would break. "Sage," She murmured, her voice slightly wobbly She didn't say anything else, this was almost her little verbal way of letting him know she was worried, although it was obvious anyway. It was odd how someone could go from relatively upbeat to quite shaky in the space of just a few moments.

He used his shoulder to nudge her forward gently. "Keep up a normal conversation. Don't let them know you noticed them. Let them get closer. Then I can deal with them much easier without putting you in any unnecessary risk. I lost one person I care about today and I'm not losing the other one too." Ok so maybe the last part was a bit cheesy, but it was true. The fog had almost completely lifted at the prospect of a fight, of protecting someone he cared about. It was replaced with a type of anger. No, they hadn't killed Lizzie, but he was still mad she was dead. Anya had never seen him this mad, he knew that, and she could very well be frightened of him too...his eyes seemed to darken and glitter, looking almost like a consuming fire rather than a gold. He'd kill them. He'd kill them all. He didn't care who they were or what they were doing. He'd kill them without a hitch, without regrets. And if they touched even a hair on Anya's head, he wouldn't kill them quickly. He may not even kill them, he could very well leave them there to bleed out. He didn't have any emotions other than anger, hate even, towards the world...everyone but Anya really.

(sorry double post lol)

(Lol all good)

Anya nodded slightly, resting her hand on her lower arm, feeling for where she had tucked her little knife away. She didn't need it, not yet, but she wanted to make sure it was still there, just in case. "Are you going to cut down your work hours?" Fuck. Sage didn't need to hear that yet. His sister had just passed, and now she was asking him to figure his work life out? The least she could do was think through what she was saying. How was she going to keep a conversation going? She could barely get her words together. She should be used to this by now. Not just from going out on strolls with Sage, but just from living in the castle. When she was out on a walk through the streets or with the boy, people wanted her. Her body, clothes, everything she had with her then and there. In the castle, however, attacks were planned. They weren't just planning to use and dump her, no, they wanted money. They would try and take her and hold her for ransom. For that, they needed her alive for a start. Alive and well. She would be treated well... almost as well as she would be in the castle, without so many creature comforts. As a royal, the girl was lucky only to have been caught once, though, there had been countless other attempts. This... what was happening now... this was coordinated. It looked just like all the other attempts to kidnap her... only, now she didn't have a fleet of guards to come and save her. Shit. She was trying hard not to panic, and yet her heartbeat had quickened and was thumping firmly inside her chest. She could hear it pounding, harder and harder until it eventually started to ache.

Sage responded the only way he could...in a sensible manner. "Maybe. I guess we'll have to see. It might make the time go faster." He could tell Anya was panicking, so he steered her in another direction, to the side slightly, so the people following them would have to change their course, and hopefully, their plan. It seemed to work, and a ghost of a smile flickered on his face as he heard them falter and then stop and group together, as if trying to figure out what to do next. "Have you ever learned how to run in a way that's actually correct?" They could use those skills now. They were stopped but not for long, so running would give more distance. They would come back with a new plan, so he wanted to get Anya back before that happened.