Sage chuckled slightly in response to the girls comment, but he knew her well enough to see how she'd instantly looked like she felt better once she noticed it was him. "Well you look like you could use some cheering up so you'll have to deal with me for at least ten minutes," he chirped before cocking his head slightly. "How are you holding up," he asked, this time a bit more...sober? Serious? Whatever....he really just wanted to check in on the girl. Make sure she at least knew she had one person supporting her.

The woman looked over at him, a small smile tugging at the corners on her lips. The room was so quiet... it felt like her head had been running a million miles an hour recently. She'd been sat there for at least an hour, and she had to admit it was the first time in... a while she'd felt like things had stilled. "I can deal with you for a little while I suppose," she mused softly to him before shaking her head in thought. She was holding up. Well, mostly. "There's a lot going on right now," she murmured gently to him. There was a lot... not that she could exactly explain it all.

Sage was relieved to see the woman relax a bit. She'd smiled, which was definitely a good thing...at least he thought so. He never was great with emotions. He snorted softly when she supposed she could deal with him and he gave her his normal crooked grin. "Good, cuz I'm not gonna go anywhere," he noted in a rather amused tone, nodding when she said there was a lot going on. "The doctor filled me in a bit about what's happening with your parents," he murmured. "I'm sorry," he added after a moment. He didn't particularly care if the royal couple died....but Anya would be upset, so he was sorry about that. "I'm worried," he admitted, sort of leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. "About you. And att." He shook his head slightly with a sort of sigh. "I brought him a horse," he added. "Named him Luther. You should come see the big oher, hes named after Luther for a reason," he added with a slight chuckle. "But what happens if tomorrow you wake up and you're queen? Are you at all prepared?"

Anya threw a slightly amused look over at him, though quickly went somber. Her lips pursed a little, not entirely sure what to say, or do. She couldn't fill him in on anything... she wouldn't know how. She didn't know how to act. It felt like everything was crashing onto her shoulders so suddenly, and she wasn't ready for it. Not in the slightest. She sort of stared at the floor for a second before biting her lip absentmindedly and shaking her head. "No, you're not sorry," she muttered callously. Sage had never liked her parents. Not many people did, actually, but god she loved them. Only now it was hitting her how much. She'd be so lost without them... and she was just coming to realise how much it would affect her, and so many other people if they died. It would affect Att, too. He wasn't royal, and he'd never picked up any sort of title, but it would affect him. The queen treated him as her grandson, and he loved her as much as Anya did. She could be so cold, but she really did care about both her and Att. Her brows pinched together after a moment and she let out a soft breath, sort of looking back over at the man. "I'm worried too," she sort of whispered. "I don't know how this is gonna go down. But Sage, it's not good," she murmured. She was clearly upset about the whole thing... though, she'd never been the sort to open up about their problems. She leaned back in her chair after a moment, her nose wrinkling. She'd sort of zoned out, though when she heard Luther's name she sort of just looked over at him with heavy eyes. "I miss him," she huffed. "God, SageI miss him so much," she repeated. She didn't pay much attention to what he'd said about the horse... but the name sparked something in her. Luther. He didn't deserve what happened to him. She didn't deserve to lose him. It was selfish, she knew that... but those were the only thoughts going through her head. She cocked her head at him after a moment, a little scoff escaping her. "If I wake up queen tomorrow I'd have to shoot myself. That's only off the rebellion doesn't get to me first," it was crude and she knew as much, but it was the truth of it. "No, I'm not ready," she sort of mused.

Sage raised an eyebrow in response to her first comment. "Sure I am," he murmured. "It's not easy loosing someone you love, and even if I don't love your parents, you obviously do," he reminded her gently. He'd had plenty of time to figure out that loosing someone hurt, and it hurt badly, but you really could only just...keep walking, one step at a time, and eventually things would even themselves out. He nodded when she mentioned it wasn't good, and he reached over and squeezed her shoulder gently. "I know," he whispered when she said she missed the man....he knew how it felt. "I miss him to," he added. He stayed quiet for a minute before huffing out a breath at her crude little comment towards the end. "I doubt they'd get to you before you could," he mused. "Then again, in order to do that you'd have to figure out how to shoot the gun which may take a bit," he teased, hoping it would lighten the situation a bit. He stood up then with a grunt. "I think you need a break," he announced, holding out his hands to help her up. "Come on, let's go see Luther," he said gently. "It won't be like this forever," he murmured after a moment. "And one day, you'll look back and realize youve overcome so much, even before coming queen. You're a strong woman, Anya, and even if you don't see it, I do," he added. He knew what it was like to feel so hopeless you longed for deaths embrace. But he also knew what it was like to overcome it. And he wanted that for Anya.

The woman just sort of looked at him for a moment, and soon enough let out a gentle breath. She hadn't spoken to this man in such a long time... and in truth she struggled to believe a word of what he was saying. She struggled to believe he knew how hard this all actually was for her. The doctor said to sit and wait it out, but they all knew her parents weren't lasting until the end of the month. She knew that. Hell, even Atticus knew that. The boy was taking it all just as hard as her, too. She would be devastated by the death of her parents, but the moment that happened her life would become just so much harder. She just sort of absentmindedly shook her head, closing her eyes for a moment. She did miss Luther. This would all be so much easier if he was still there. She was about to loose everyone close to her. She sort of just raised a brow at him before shaking her head. "Sage do you know how long it's been since we were seventeen? I can shoot a gun now," she mused gently. It was a strange thought, but one that had crossed her mind several times in the last few weeks. She'd never wanted to die, but... it was a more reoccurring thought than she would have liked it to be. She let him take her hands, and pulled herself up. She just sort of stared at him for a moment before letting out a soft breath. The issue was that she wasn't strong. She was soft... that's was the difference between her and her parents she supposed. They'd fight their way through everything, where as she was fully willing to just give it all up. She couldn't take criticism, or advice... that was why people where so worried about her taking the throne. She supposed in their shoes, she would be worried too. She sort of followed him, her brows pinched together in a way that aged her features. "Sage the problem is that I'm not strong. That's an absolute fact, no matter what you want to say. That's the problem," she murmured, though stuck close to him anyway.

Sage had hummed softly in response to her comment about the gun, giving her a sort of attempt at a smile. "You'll have to prove it to me. Preferably with the bullet in a target rather than in you," he noted, trying his best to make it into a joke of sorts. But he was serious....if she died too, then what would happen? Rebels could take over. Another longdome, perhaps. Hell, they could throw att into being a king and he'd have to marry some old lady in order to keep things working, and hopefully they worked out. And the probably wouldn't. He tugged her along the halls slowly, heading down to the barns. He shook his head at her comment, glancing over his shoulder at her. "You've already proven that you're strong," he pointed out. "How many times have you been stronger than me?" The answer was a lot...and she'd know that. "The issue isn't your strength, it's your confidence," he mused, squeezing her hand gently as they stopped by the shaggy colts stall. The horse looked up at them as they stopped, hay sticking out of his mouth, with just as much twisted in his forelock. He really did look like Luther. "Being strong isn't never being scared. Being strong is being scared and doing what you need to anyway," he added.

A small chuckle escaped the woman, though it was more dry than anything. "That's more than doable," she mused darkly. She was so tired, and in truth she was finding harder to take the jokes. She sort of rolled her shoulders back before looking back at him. He wasn't right, though. She'd been brave. She was confident. She was confident that this wouldn't end well, and she knew for a fact that none of this would end well. The towns folk had every right to be worried. She'd be worried too. She didn't know what to do with herself, and the other kingdoms would know how weak she was alone. They'd know she wouldn't last... the guards wouldn't be prepared. The rebels would know that too, actually. She'd been strong when she'd been scared, but she already just felt so defeated. "It's not the same. I don't have everything together in the way I need it," she murmured softly. She then sort of just shook her head. They soon got to the stables, though, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips when she saw the foal. He was a big old loaf. "This for Atticus?" She asked curiously.

Sage had huffed out a quiet breath when the girl responded more seriously than he'd wanted to the joke. So maybe she wasn't going to respond to those as well as he would like. Oh well. He could still try to help her out a bit. "I suppose so," he murmured, shaking his head slightly he tried to figure out how he could make her feel any better. More confident. Could he? He hoped so. "Maybe not, but you do have support," he murmured, squeezing the girl's hand gently. "and if you ever need help, I'm not far," he added, really just to remind her. They really only saw each other when he visited the doctor and stopped in...they could stand to visit a bit more he supposed. Though, he humemd lightly in response to her question about the colt. "I thought it could be nice to have him train something to use in a few years," he noted with a shrug. "though right now he seems to be helping you quite a bit too," he pointed out. "either way, one of you two can have him," he chirped after a moment of thought.

The woman cocked her head at him after a minute before giving a small shrug. It was so strange, and she couldn't quite explain how she was feeling. She knew she had people around her; but those people didn't know exactly what was to happen. Atticus knew to some extent, but she didn't want to concern him too much. The doctor did, of course, but they hadn't been particularly close recently. She couldn't remember the last time she'd spoken to him, actually. She sort of sighed softly. "Not really," she murmured softly. She knew she could go and see him - but there wasn't support. He couldn't help in any way. He could tell her she was doing well, or that everything would be fine, but it wasn't support. Luther supported her. They were meant to go through all of this together... and she knew she couldn't dote on the past, but she was doing just that. She sighed softly before drawing in a deep breath. She looked over at Sage before glancing at the colt. He was cute... and he did look like Luther. But then again, Luther looked like a horse anyway. The thought amused her a little, but soon enough she thanked Sage. "Att will love him. He should be in the gardens if you'd like to go see him," she hummed gently.