(Do you want to skip forward a year or so, to when Sage meets back up with Aria in town? Sorry if this feels rushed lol)

Aria laid in bed for a while, in deep thought. She didn't fall asleep until very early in the morning. Caroline woke up and went outside, looking up the hill at the castle... her home. It was hard to leave her dad. Would Sage forget about them?

(lol yea that's fine. I was actually going to suggest that too xD)

Sage didn't sleep much after that. Or eat, or...do anything but wander around and working all the time. He'd sealed the alliance with the other kingdom, but the woman he'd married was older, and while she was pretty, she was also pretty nasty to him. He always had some kind of cut or bruise from her, often times many of both, and he'd gone back to his old habits of just staying under the radar. He'd become her errand boy, too, and was currently on his way into town to pick up some groceries so she could have a certain kind of treat. He kept a cloaked hood on though...he didn't want someone to recognize him and start a commotion. No one was supposed to see how thin and hurt and weary and...sad he was.

Aria was out for one of her daily walks in town. Caroline was now 4, and she had ended up having a son named Henry. He ended up with blonde hair and amber eyes. Aria thought he looked just like his father, who she hadn't seen in a year or so. The girl would always think about him... hoping he had changed.

Sage shuffled around the town square, trying to keep under the radar as much as possible. Eyes down, not stopping to talk to anyone for long, if at all. Really, the only talking he did was mumble a "thank you" to a cashier here and there. Eventually, he drifted over to a stall with various fresh fruits, looking over the apples and trying to decide how many he should get, since the new queen was rather picky, and quite vicious if he didn't get exactly the perfect kind of apples. Oh, how he hated the woman.

Aria was out walking through town. Caroline and Henry were both home taking a quick nap. Aria walked down the middle of the street, zig-zagging past everyone in her way. She came to the fruit stand and grabbed a few different fruits to make smoothies for her and Caroline.

Sage wasn't paying much attention to where he was walking, since he didn't really want to look up at people and meet their eyes. So, when he accidentally bumped into someone, he slid to the side and murmured a quick apology, though froze when he recognized Aria. She was here? All this time she was right here? But...he supposed it didn't matter anymore, did it? He wasn't even sure if he wanted her to recognize him or not.

Aria stepped backwards when someone accidentally bumped into her. She looked up and met their eyes. The hooded figure had something familiar about them. The girl sort of froze. It looked as if they did too. Aria noticed something about them... the figure had amber eyes. The ones she fell in love with years ago. "Sage...?" She whispered quietly, looking up at figure with sad eyes. Was it really him? Had he come back for her? Did he really change? Aria was nervous... if it was him, would he hate her for what she had done?

Sage sort of just stared at the girl, and then winced when she said his name. He was both very glad and also not so glad that she'd recognized him....it was amazing that she had, he'd been longing to see her again ever since she'd left...but what was he supposed to say now? "Yeah," he sighed. "But keep it down...no one's supposed to know it's me," he added on, throwing a glance at the rest of the shopping population.

Aria could feel tears stinging her eyes. It really was him. The girl had a smile on her face that hadn't been there in a while. She went to give him a hug, but stopped when she noticed that the boy had a different ring on his finger. Her face fell with sadness. "I-I should be going. The kids are still at home." Aria whispered, looking down at the gravel road.

Sage felt his heart wrench when she went in for a hug but stopped short when she saw the ring. He looked down at his hand and sighed. "You have to understand...you left and the kingdom needed a queen...I didn't a say in the matter," he whispered, voice breaking. He pulled a slim necklace chain out from under his tunic and chuckled dryly. "I still have yours, though I'm not sure why," he admitted, showing her the ring clasped to the chain. He felt his breath hitch when she mentioned the kids...oh, how he'd missed Caroline. And the other....he didn't even know if they'd had a son or daughter. "The second...the one I haven't met," he started, feeling his eyes prick with tears. "What's it's name?" He had to know...even if he could never meet them, he just had to know.