Sage had kept back when someone moved to yank the hatch open, feeling himself deflating slowly as his last bits of adrenaline enduced energy wore out. He'd gone down to one knee, the only thing keeping him up and fighting was the thought that this new group may not be his friend either. Though, when all he saw was Mari, his eyes widened slightly. It was a sight to behold probably....he was dirty as hell, skinny, and definitely more than beat up. His hair was messed up and all over that place and he hadn't showered in days. He was bleeding all over the place. He was surrounded by unconscious guards too, with the yoke bloodied on his shoulders. His response to it all? He gave her a rather drunken looking grin. "Like my new necklace," he sort of slurred. "It works wonders for knocking people out," he added with a wheeze, before pretty much just toppling over. Maybe those concussions had taken more of a toll than he'd realized. He'd dreamed of a nice happy reunion, greeting Mari with a hug and kiss or something like that. This was....very different. Oh well.

Mari held the knife carefully as she peered down, although it didn't take long for her to clock it was Sage she was staring at. It took a solid moment for her to clock what was going on. Sage. This was Sage. What had they done to him? He was attatched to a yoke like some sort of animal. "God," she breathed quickly, panicking more with every word he let out. Then, then he collapsed before she had a moment to get to him. She nearly threw herself into the little room, trying to pull the yoke from him as carefully as she could, her eyes watching the unconsious guards, making sure they didn't wake up or... something. When she finally managed to get the thing off him and the sun hit his back, she nearly yelped at the sight. He'd been wipped. They'd wipped him. What kind of person could do that? He looked awful, bloodied and ribby like he hadn't eaten in days. Hell, he probably hadn't. "Sage, hunny, you gotta get up," she told him quickly, sort of calling up to the doctor to try and help her get him out of here.

Sage was still conscious when Mari got to him, though just barely. He could hear her words, feel her trying to get him situated....but they were muffled, swirling around his head just as much as his vision was swimming around. She lifted the yoke from his shoulders, and while it felt amazing, he still couldn't seem to breathe properly. They were more like agonizing gasps, probably thanks to how beat up his ribs were. If he'd punctured a lung he wouldn't be surprised. He moved his gaze to her, squinting as he tried to make out her features. Go. Yes, they should go. To where, he wasn't sure. He tried to help her get him up, though admittedly she was doing most of the work. He saw movement out of the corner of his eyes though, and while he wasn't fully aware of much he could make out the glint of a gun. He used the last bit of energy he had to just bowl into Mari, knocking her over as the shot rang out. Of course, know he was in the way, and he felt the impact of the bullet hitting his chest and knocking him backwards, where he sort of just...slumped against the wall there. But Mari was ok. That was all that mattered.

Mari spent a moment trying to get him up, although she had the breath knocked out of her the moment he bowled into her, shoving her down. She stilled for a moment, although when she clocked one of the guards Sage had knocked down up again, she just threw her knife, somehow hitting the man back down again. She didn't think he was dead, but he was down... hopefully for long enough to get Sage out of here. Sage. Her eyes widened as she looked over to him, her heart dropping at the sigh of blood spilling from his chest. She scrambled towards him, her hand pressing against his chest to try and stop the bleeding the best she could. "You're okay... you're okay..." she breathed, trying to keep her voice steady. God, the state of him. She hoped he was okay. She had to believe he was. She yelled for the doctor again, her voice breaking as she tried to keep tears from pooling in her eyes. She had to be calm... Sage didn't need anyone crying about it. He needed to get out of here and get help... but god, he'd just been shot. In the chest. She wasn't sure how long he'd even be alive for if they didn't get him help. Soon enough, through, the doctor came in, wide eyed before calling one of the men they were with to help get him out of the underground room.

Sage wasn't really aware of much after that...he'd noted Mari get up, the man fall...and then she was there, holding him. Doing her best to keep him alive. His head just lolled against the ground, breath hitching as he tried to breathe. At least it didn't hurt anymore....though that was supposed to be a bad sign, he appreciated it. He could tell Mari was upset....he knew she would be. But he couldn't move, couldn't form any words or take her hand in his. It was all he could do to just keep breathing. If you could even call it that. He was dimly aware of a few more people moving to grab him, though he'd slipped into unconsciousness before they'd gone very far. He wasn't sure what happened after that, but when his eyes fluttered open again, it took a moment to register where he was at. He'd woken with a start, lashing out at whoever was there, thinking he was still in that barn. It was just the doctor, and apparently he'd expected that sort of reaction, because he'd just grabbed his hands and firmly nestled him down again. He was gentle, of course, and once sage realized where he was, he relaxed, letting out a heavy breath of air. He was safe. He peered around for Mari, and the doctor chuckled. "I'll go get her," he'd noted, saying something about her updating the rest of the family. They were all there, apparently, the kids playing somewhere in the castle. Good, Mari had some support then. Really all he cared about was that she was ok. He'd done his job. Now he just had to finish it and stay alive...which seemed like it would be a relatively difficult task, though he supposed the hardest part was already done.

Mari watched as the few men picked him up, the movement so careful. She rushed to support his head, one hand still on his chest as they moved out the log cabin and back towards the castle. They'd help him. The doctor would help him, make sure he was okay, make sure he'd live. It didn't look promising, not at all, but she wanted him to at least feel safe. She'd make sure he was safe. She had to watch them take him away, unable to follow since there was still masses amount of people waiting for... someone kind to help. Her chest hurt the more she thought about it. She didn't want to leave him even for a moment. She made sure she could see all of them, made sure they were cleaned up and back to their families... she was grateful for her time in the ward for that. She was grateful that she could help them, but she'd made it back to the castle fairly quickly, but not before passing by her family to tell them about... well, everything, along with picking up the kids. She made sure they were settled before going back to the ward to check on Sage, who was still passed out. The doctor had patched him up the best he could, but he still looked awful. She just watched him and the unsteady rise and fall of his chest, the way his face strained every time he had to draw in a breath. He'd been changed into something clean, but she could still see where he had been hurt... where the yoke had been strapped to him, a few of the bandages wrapping from his back to his chest. She wanted to stay with him, but she just... couldn't. Her kids were worried, and she if she stayed there for a moment longer she'd break down. She just couldn't understand why someone would do something like this to him. To anyone. What kind of person had the heart to hurt another human like this? She soon found herself sat with the kids, trying to play with them, but she was far too low to put any effort into it. Nearly a day had past before the doctor had come to her, explaining that Sage was awake. She almost jumped out of her skin, and found herself rushing into the ward. She stood at the door for a moment, just staring at him. He was awake. Not in a good way, but he was awake. She tried to swallow a lump in her throat, but it just came back up in tears. She came to his side, sitting down at the side of his bed as she tried to swallow her tears.

Sage had closed his eyes once the doctor had gone, as the light honestly still hurt his head. When he heard the door open though, he opened them again, a tired smile forming on his face as he saw Mari crossing the room. He moved to reach for her hand and squeeze it weakly, hoping to give her some form of comfort. Having her here certainly helped him, he supposed. "You ok," he sort of managed to get out, brows pinching slightly as he looked her over. He knew she'd be upset and tired.....but she's been there with all the fighting. Hell, he was pretty sure she'd killed the guy who'd shot him. But she could have very easily gotten hurt there, especially if they had guns. She seemed alright though, which calmed his nerves slightly. There was so much he wanted to say ...but he just didn't have the strength yet. He hoped his eyes told her how much he loved her though. He didn't regret taking the bullet....even if he had died, he would have been satisfied to know he'd kept her safe. But he was alive, and despite being weak and honestly still pretty ahitty, he was determined to get better. They had a long road ahead, but if he had survived up until now, he wasn't surrending another thing. He did want to tell Anya that treating everyone they'd rescued would get the lower classes to like her. To know their new queen would care for them, too. But he could do that later. For now, it was just him and Mari.

Sage just gave the girl a soft smile in response to her comments, shaking his head slightly. "The doctor has me on so many drugs I feel better than I have in years," he noted with a chuckle. Of course, the chuckle led to coughing and then a grimace of pain, though he was back to normal fairly quickly. "I'll be alright," he noted after a moment, voice quiet but determined. "You'll have to put up with my shit for years to come," he added, a small spark of mischief glinting in his eyes. He knew they'd be here in the castle for a while ....he wasn't getting out of this bed anytime soon either. Though, after thinking for a moment he aort of wrinkled his nose. "Though I could use a bath," he noted. They'd cleaned him off some, and gotten him into clean clothes too, but he still felt gross.

Mari nodded slightly, her eyes still red as she tried to calm herself. She'd been so worried. She'd had the worst case scenarios going through her head for a while now, and even just seeing him awake was a huge weight off her shoulders. Relief... so much of it that she could hardly contain her tears. She sort of reached out to him after a moment when he started coughing, panicking until he'd stopped. She squeezed his hand tight, pressing a soft kiss to the back of it after a moment. "You'd better be alright," she murmured softly, trying a slight smile. Her eyes ran over him carefully, inspecting... well, everything, really. "I want nothing more than to deal with your shit. Just... not this shit," she mused slightly, sort of cocking her head at him after a few moments. "Do you remember what happened at all?" She asked curiously. She almost hoped he didn't. The state he was in... god. She never wanted to see him in a situation like that ever again. They'd tortured him, treated him like an animal, and she still didn't even really know why. They hadn't wasted time sticking around to find out... they needed to get people out of there, and they'd done just that. She nodded softly after a moment, leaning in to press a soft kiss to his temple. "I'll see if I can run one for you, as long as you promise not to die on me half way through," she hummed.