I'd Give Up The World For You

"Leo? A villain? Are you completely insane? He's the softest, gentlest person I've ever met!" Daisy got out between peals of laughter. 

"Daisy, I know it may be hard to believe but he is. He's going to burn this world to the ground after going crazy from bloodlust and a prolonged sense of grief. He had already taken over before the start of Down in Flames. The prequel I was writing is about how and why he did it," Juliet said desperately. 

"Don't you see? Even if the prequel has changed because of you, Down in Flames is already written. He's going to destroy the world and my protagonists are going to save it. That's set in stone because I wrote it first. This world wouldn't exist without it."

Daisy stopped laughing. There was the anger she had been expecting. "He would never do something like that!" 

"He would. He already did. The timeline of this world got messed up when your soul went to the wrong place after you died but, as I said, everything was already destroyed at the beginning of Down in Flames. 

"At first I couldn't believe it was him. The character I wrote is bloodthirsty and was slowly driven mad by PTSD and a twisted desire for revenge. Your husband doesn't act anything like that…in front of you at least.

"But he's using the alias I gave him in the prequel and is wearing an eyepatch. I knew he had to be my villain but at first I thought you genuinely changed him—"  Juliet said before being cut off. 

Daisy was scowling at her and her hands were balled into fists. "Who says I didn't? Even if Leo was originally supposed to be a villain that doesn't mean he is one! He would never do anything to hurt innocent people. He cares about others and wants to make a difference in the world!" 

Oh boy. This was going to be difficult. 

"You don't understand. In Down in Flames he's a pretty basic crazy villain without too much depth because the story didn't call for it. But in the prequel, Throne of Fire, I had to get inside his head. Dissect his motivations. Make him go from a normal person to a blood-soaked psychopath who would kill anyone who got in his way.

"His primary characteristic throughout the whole story is his desire for revenge. I'll admit…I made the tragic backstory pretty gruesome. That was the only way to make his descent into madness seem more realistic. 

"All of that happened before you met him but meeting you didn't change his goal. I know it didn't! Otherwise he wouldn't have joined the military. He's planning something…I don't know what but he's going to destroy this kingdom. And soon," Juliet said as gently as she could. 

"You're wrong," Daisy replied in a fiercer tone than she would have thought the woman was capable of. "You may have written a character similar to him but he's alive! He's capable of making his own choices and the person I know would never hurt anyone without a reason."

It was difficult to deny that the Rukelion Blaze she was married to was a bit different than the Rukelion Blaze from her prequel. But she hadn't changed him. He was hiding his revenge plans from her. Juliet was sure of it. 

"He's a villain, Daisy. Your being here changed some things but it will never change that." 

"Why are you so sure?!" 

"Because I wrote him!" Juliet burst out. "I had to take a character who only cared about killing and power and give him a somewhat relatable backstory so I broke him in the worst way I could think of then slowly chipped away at his humanity. 

"No matter what you did…you couldn't change all of it. You can't change his past. It's his number one driving force and matters to him more than anything. He's going to destroy this world in retaliation and I don't want you to get hurt in the process!" 

Daisy crossed her arms over her chest. "Leo would never hurt me. Yeah, he's been through some stuff but he isn't what you say he is. He cares about me and he cares about the well-being of others. What you're worrying about isn't going to happen. I think it's time for you to leave."

"Please, you have to listen to me! He's plotting something RIGHT NOW. I saw him the other day at the tournament and—"

"I said to leave, Juliet. And don't come back. I can't be friends with someone who thinks so little of the person I love most. I know him better than you do and I won't stand for your continued slander."

Daisy turned her back and continued cutting roses as if this conversation hadn't happened. It was an obvious dismissal but Juliet couldn't let things end like this!

She went over and put a hand on the other woman's shoulder. "I know you love him but you're in danger. He's a madman and there's nothing he won't do to get what he wants. If you get in the way he'll trample over you too.

"He hates this country and everyone in it because the king destroyed his homeland and murdered his family in front of him. He'll stop at nothing to avenge it because he's the sole survivor. He's—"

Daisy whirled around and clapped a hand over Juliet's mouth with a fire blazing in her eyes. "You don't get to tell me who my husband is. He'll do that himself when he's ready. I told you to leave so get out of my greenhouse before I make you." 

It was then that Juliet realized she severely underestimated the depth of Daisy's feelings for her husband. And how much she already knew. 

Did she have the slightest inkling what her husband was but didn't care because she loved him? Had telling her the truth made her realize that there was something wrong with him? That he had lied to her? 

She wasn't stupid. She had to be putting the pieces together about her husband's behavior if she truly did know him well. And she would have to after spending so much time with him over the years. She was figuring it out…and still didn't seem to care. That was the problem. 

What was Juliet supposed to do now? If Daisy didn't care she could easily get hurt because of Rukelion Blaze's inevitable revenge plan. 

It was happening soon. She didn't know how soon but considering he was planting agents inside the castle it couldn't be long now. He was going to accomplish his goal and then everyone in this world would suffer for it.

She had wanted to minimize the death toll as much as possible but she doubted she would be able to get to Ripore Academy before the plan was complete and he took over Mirea. But it was never too late. In the original timeline the heroes hadn't struck for a while because they needed to finish their educations. 

As much as she tried to comfort herself with that thought, it was difficult. She was seriously worried about her friend…or ex-friend. Daisy had made herself rather clear on the matter. 

What had Rukelion Blaze done to charm her? He had been good at getting what he wanted out of people in the prequel she wrote but it wasn't because he was particularly charismatic. People followed him because he was powerful. 

Daisy didn't seem like the kind of person who would follow power. She was so warm she wouldn't cling to someone unless they were warm too. 

He might truly be grateful to her as his savior. Based on his behavior around her and her vehemence that he wasn't a bad guy he probably did have real feelings for her. That didn't change anything though. 

Juliet knew what he was at his core. He would throw anyone away if it disrupted his revenge. She had no doubt in her mind that if poor, lovestruck Daisy crossed him he would get rid of her. 

What was she supposed to do? She was still months away from being able to afford traveling where she needed to go!

She headed back to the castle with a heavy heart. The one person she was even able to tell about any of this had rejected her. She really needed to make more socks. That was the only thing she was good for at the moment. Socks and ruining her friendship with the one person here she had truly identified with. 

It made sense. Daisy was from earth! Of course they would feel a certain sense of kinship with each other. She didn't know anything about her former life though aside from her home state, how she had died, and the fact that she was a fan of both Adele and Bruno Mars. 

Honestly, it was a pity they hadn't had the chance to talk more about life back home. She missed earth desperately!

Juliet didn't even know when she had died. There seemed to be some sort of timeline lag since she knew a song from 2015 but had been here for eight years. If time flowed the same way in both places that wouldn't be possible. 

There were so many things about their situation that didn't make sense. She had hoped to have someone on her side who understood what was going on but it seemed she was going to have to strike out on her own after all.. It was up to her to save this world…and the very thought terrified her.