Mari was awake for a long while. She had been sleeping worse and worse recently, and she wasn't sure if it was because of her worries about the throne, Sage, the kids or what. She'd been up early, thought his morning was slightly... worse. She just got some small chores done, then rested on the couch so she isn't wake Sage. Though, when it got to about ten, and the kids and Sage were still asleep, she huffed and wandered back up the stairs. She wandered into the bathroom, stripping quickly and running a bath. It was late in the day to be doing that but... well, what else did she have to do? She was just bored, she supposed.

Sage had just laid around for a while, the sun warm and covers comfortable. He didn't especially want to get up, but when he heard Mari coem in and slip into the shower, he lingered for a few mroe minutes before sighing and forcing himself up and out of bed, to get ready for the work part of his day. He sort of wandered around, getting ready slowly and then moving to pop his head in to say good morning to Mari before heading downstairs, grabbing an apple and the cat, and heading out to the barn.

Mari jumped a little when Sage popped his head in, though soon rolled her eyes and climbed out the bath, dried off and made her way downstairs to make some crepes for everyone. Well, she knew everyone like them, too. The kids stormed down and ate quickly, all the while Mari had a big grin on her face at their happy grins. Though, they ran off together just as quickly without saying two words to her. She just frowned and wandered out to the barn since Sage was still busy out there, to offer him a plate... she was almost certain he wouldn't have eaten by then. "Morning, babe," she chirped to him, popping the plate on a barrel nearby.

Sage had chuckled when Mari jumped at his good morning, but soon enough had whisked off to the horses. He was working on feeding them when he heard Maris voice and gave her a light grin. "Hey," he chirped lightly, dumping a few more buckets of feed into the paddocks and then wandering over to grab his own food.

Mari flashed him a smile when he replied, and sat down on a haybale not far from the barrel. "I was thinking we could all go out tonight or something," she chirped to him. It had been a while since they'd all gone out and done something together. They could go out for dinner or even just go for a wander. She was still on edge about the whole rebellion thing, too, so it could be nice to go out and see that it was all okay. Plus, she was just bored now, and the kids did need to get out.

Sage sort of munched on the food Mari had brought him eagerly, cocking his head slightly and then nodding in response to her suggestion. "That sounds fun," he chirped in agreement. It had been a while since they'd gone out, and even longer since it had been the whole family. So this would be nice.

Mari felt a grin spread across her face as she sat in the barn, the warm light spilling in through the cracks in the wood. It was a small moment, but she was glad to be out the house, away from the humdrum of daily life. She loved their life, she truly did, but sometimes it got a bit somber. She missed the drive of working hard for something, having a purpose that pushed her beyond her own home. A decade ago, she could’ve only dreamed of this kind of life—a family, a quiet home, and love. She had been barely an adult when she’d met Sage, and while she was so glad for everything they had, the routine had settled into something that felt... almost too comfortable. The kids were growing, needing her less and less, and while she adored being a mom, there were days when it all felt a little tedious. She glanced at Sage, her smile softening. “You think?” she asked, half-joking but genuinely curious.

Then, her expression shifted as she looked around the barn, almost as though the quiet of the space made her thoughts louder. She felt a little more pensive now, her fingers absentmindedly picking at the fabric of her clothes. It wasn’t that she didn’t love Sage, or that she wasn’t grateful for the life they’d built—it was just that things had become a bit too easy. The spark that once fueled their relationship seemed to have dimmed. It wasn’t gone, but it wasn’t the same.

“Sage,” she started, her voice quiet but serious. “You know I love you, but I do miss being up in the castle sometimes.” She chuckled lightly at the thought, shaking her head. “Feeling like we had something to do, something to look forward to.” She looked at him then, waiting for him to respond, before adding softly, “Do you not feel like that?”

Mari flashed him a grin, her eyes lighting up at the thought of a vacation. "A vacation would be nice... just getting away and showing the kids new places," she mused, her voice soft with a touch of nostalgia. "I never got to do that as a kid, and neither did you. I want to give them everything I never had." She leaned back slightly, her hands resting in her lap as she thought of the possibilities.

"We need to find somewhere fun for them," she added with a thoughtful look. "Somewhere they won’t be bored out of their minds the whole time. They're so active—I'd bet they'd get restless pretty quickly," she chuckled, shaking her head at the thought. "We need a place with lots of other kids, maybe parks and amusements, somewhere they can run around and burn off some energy without us constantly hovering over them."

She grabbed his plate almost instinctively, then wrinkled her nose as she looked at it. It was a reflex that irritated her—she hated that cleaning had become her automatic response, something she felt compelled to do without even thinking about it. "I wasn’t always this anal about keeping things tidy," she sighed, amusment lacing her voice before setting the plate aside.

When Sage agreed that he sometimes missed being out on the streets, Mari gave him a knowing look and let out a relieved breath. "It does sound crazy, doesn’t it?" she laughed softly. "I miss being young and excited about things, too." Her smile softened as she turned to him. "I miss watching the guards training—you know how I feel about them," she teased, puffing out her cheeks in a playful gesture.

But then, her expression shifted slightly as she stood, her voice quieter. "And I love everything here, I really do. I know you do, too. Everything I’ve done was working toward a life just like this," she murmured, a little sigh escaping her lips. "But... sometimes I miss the feeling of working for things, of getting excited for them."