"Nearly there," she murmured, almost to herself as she felt herself slowly getting out of breath. She had gotten further than the day before without stopping, so she was a little more pleased with herself. Of course, her breathing was weaving in and out of short and deep breaths, but she was determined not to stop again... she thought for a moment about Sage, and whether or not he'd need to stop, but he was a stubborn ass who would walk to keep on pushing himself. She just hoped that he would ask to stop if it got too bad. Eventually, though, she found herself holding a small door open for him again, leading out to a small path out into the gardens. She gave him a bright smile again, happy to be out of a lot of the judgmental eyes of the castle workers. "There's a bench not far if you want to catch your breath again," she murmured lightly.

Sage nodded when she said they were almost there, still looking around, trying to take in every little detail. It was a little I take in... The castle was huge, and all the decorations were old relics that were...well, to out quite frankly, outdated but seriously cool. He grinned back at her when she smiled at him, then waved her on. "I'll manage. I gotta work back up to where I was at. Unless you need to stop we keep going until we get there." Ok, so maybe he could use a break, but he didn't need one. His legs hurt, and his breathing was getting choppy, but he would be fine...he'd been mush worse before. He could breathe, and move, and all this was just going to strengthen him the more the strained himself. He could deal with it.

She gave a slight smile. "I'm sure I'll survive." She chuckled softly. Her breathing was uneven, but it wasn't exactly bad. She had clocked in on his breathing, though. She trusted Sages judgment on his limits but gave a weary nod. "If you say so. But Sage, if you need a break just say. I'm not going to have you break again." She murmured softly trying a small smile. "We have a little orchard... its cold now, so we could take a walk through there to stay out the wind. There wont be any gardeners there at this time of year either, so I won't have to hold my tongue." She noted with a soft laugh.

Sage waved off her concern and nodded. "I know I know. I'll be fine." He looked around again and then looked back at Anya when she kept talking. "That sounds great. As long as I'm doing something I'm fine with it " then he snickered. "You won't have to hold your tongue, huh? What all are you planning on saying, Anya," he giggled in a slightly teasing tone of voice. It would be nice to get outside.. the cold air wasn't the best for them, but hey, he was bored and it would kill him. They'd be fine, and it would be worth anything negative that might happen. Though the only negative thing he could think of that might happen is they got a cold or got super tired. But neither of those things were dangerous, not at the castle.

The girl gave a soft snicker before lightly jabbing him in the side, "Get a grip Sage, what you think I mean?" She cooed with a laugh before her expressions went kind of dark in a sinister teasing fashion. "What did you think I was planning on saying, Sage?" She purred, her voice going light and airy. The cool air was kind of soothing... while it'll probably make them feel worse, it was nice to have fresh air in her lungs and the cool would sooth her burning arm.... it also go rid of any lingering nausea, which was a nice break from constant illness. Whatever the doctor had given her was slowly fading off, and her giggles had become a little lesser. Because of that, she was also feeling everything a little more... the cold, her arm and the constant hunger that she had, it all seemed to be coming back again... like it was all fresh, and everything fel overly sensitive.

Sage stuck his tongue out at her in a playful fashion. "I'm not telling you," he sang in a teasing tone of voice. In reality, he had no idea what she would have said if she was going to say something he could tease her about. He didn't know what she would say ..it was an opportunity to tease, so he took it. But honestly had absolutely no idea how to respond to the response she gave him. He took a deep breath and looked around, glad to be outside, though he knew they couldn't stay out in the cold long ...their immune systems would abandon them for good if they got sick now, and it wasn't the stronger already, so it would be easy to catch a cold.

The girl gave a mock offended look before sticking her tongue out in response. The then gave a thoughtful look. "You know, its odd seeing you in the castle, or even during the day for that matter, especially without sneaking about," she murmured lightly. Really, it almost felt wrong that they weren't sneaking around... espacially since they were trying to keep how they felt about eachother to themselves. She then furrowed her brows. "It actually seems like we should be seaking around, especially with how the castle workers are looking at us... or rather, looking at you," she breathed out as they wandered through a small arch, leading to a still standing orchard... winter had stolen and the trees leaves, but in the snow, it looked almost like a wonderland. She then looked to Sage with a soft smile, "Are you going to stay for chrismas? Its only a few weeks away," she murmured lightly. It was a big ask, trying to get him to stay around in a place he didn't quite belong in for so long and then wanting him to come to gathering full of the people he despised... but it would be nice having him around for that time, especially if her family could grow to like the boy.

Sage glanced over at her with a chuckle. "Well, Im definitely more used to sneaking about than walking through hallways with you." He shrugged and grinned slightly. "They can give me all the weird looks they want it doesn't change anything." Sage looked around the orchard, taking in the sight. It wasn't often he ever got to see snow clean...it was just frozen mud down in the slums. It was sparkly and clean and it almost took his breath away. He glanced at Anya, slightly surprised when she asked if he'd stay for Christmas. He thought for a moment before shrugging. "I don't have anything better to do. Although, I've never really had a chance to celebrate it so I'm kinda clueless," he he told her with a chuckle.

The girl gave a bright smile to him. It was a little odd that she had asked a question like that... she knew, but she didn't want to leave Sage alone during the holidays... she still didn't know how he was feeling. The tavern would be pretty busy too, so if he was working then he would be run to the ground with that stress... if he had a roof over his head, and at least a few people around him, then maybe he wouldn't be so utterly alone. "It'll be fun. There'll be a meal, we can decorate and have a little party deal and I can get you a little something for a gift." She babbled out, rather excited about the idea. "Then, if I'm lucky, you'll stay the night after with me." She scoffed, making her joke quite clear.

Sage chuckled at her enthusiasm. She obviously loved the holidays...and she was quite honestly getting him excited about it. He'd never really gotten a chance to celebrate...it was always work, work, work, without a break for him. He'd try and do something for Lizzie, of course, but they never really celebrated together...they didn't have the time. "Stay the night, huh? Well just have to make sure to lock the doora to your room," he giggled,nudging her playfully. He couldn't buy her a gift, but that didn't mean he couldn't make her something. He'd enjoy that anyway, and he started planning his gift mentally.