I'd Give Up The World For You

'I've never talked about it with anyone' Rukelion admitted. 

'I can see why you wouldn't want to' Conrad wrote back before adding, 'Do you really think she'll be understanding though?'

If he played his cards very, very carefully. Daisy was a compassionate woman. He didn't want to traumatize her with too many gory details but his tragic past would probably make her cry on his behalf anyway. 

With her feeling sorry for him, she likely wouldn't be too angry about taking over the kingdom as long as she didn't know any details about his kills. She would think it was a simple matter of one royal family killed for another the way the rest of his men did. 

'She should be'

'And if she isn't?' Conrad asked. 

That was the real question wasn't it? Rukelion couldn't live without Daisy. If she tried to leave him over this…no. That wouldn't happen. She promised to have his back no matter what. 

She loved him and living in the palace would provide her with a life of luxury and unlimited access to the palace gardens. She wasn't even Mirean so it wasn't as if she had any degree of loyalty to the king. 

'I'll figure something out' he scribbled with partially false confidence. 

'If you say so. When are we doing this?'

'As soon as the reinforcements arrive. It should be any day now. We'll meet up with everyone far enough from town that no one will overhear us and go over the plan. Then we'll strike.'

'What about headquarters? So many of us missing at once will raise a red flag and the royal army might storm the castle once they realize something is going on' Conrad pointed out.

Rukelion had thought of that. He was going to wait to strike until the night before one of those squads had the day off. No one would be looking for the ones who were off the following morning and the others could stay behind and handle things at headquarters if they got dicey. 

He also planned to send reinforcements back there as soon as they were finished with their jobs in the castle. Hopefully that way they would be able to take over the royal army peacefully. 

Most of the people there respected him more than the king of Mirea anyway. Getting them to switch sides shouldn't be too difficult. They could choose a less taxed life for their loved ones or going to jail. The choice seemed fairly clear to him. 

Rukelion wrote down his plan and Conrad nodded thoughtfully before replying. 'You really have thought of everything, haven't you?'

'I sort of have to'

'Fair point. I leave it in your capable hands'

He wrapped up the phony verbal conversation they had been having about married life and headed out, leaving Rukelion alone with his thoughts. This would work. It had to. He had thought of a contingency plan for everything so why was he still so worried?

Most of his life had been spent preparing for this! He was as ready as he would ever be. All he had to do now was execute the plan. So why were his nerves pulled as taut as a loaded bow?

Rukelion hadn't been this anxious going to war either time he went. He wasn't worried about dying…he was worried about having to kill more than necessary and losing everyone's respect. If necessary, he could destroy this country by force and no one would be capable of stopping him but he didn't want that. 

This was going to be hard enough to explain to Daisy as is. It would be much worse if there were casualties and an unreasonable amount of property destruction. 

He sighed and leaned back in his chair. He wanted this to be over with already. 

Unfortunately, his wish wasn't granted. He had to endure four more days of endless paperwork and nights without his wife there to calm him down slowly going insane from anticipation before he even heard word that the wind mages had arrived. 

They were camped outside of town not far from the stone house he used to practice his magic in. All they were waiting on now was the mercenaries.

Rukelion went to go see them after work the day he received their message. He spotted Kové and Arete immediately since the latter was waving to him energetically. "Lone Wolf! It has been a while."

"It has. Thank you for coming." 

"Thank you for finding a way to save our people from the threat of the Mireans," Kové replied seriously. "We are in your debt, which is why we are here."

There were quite a lot of them there. If he had to guess, every wind mage in Zel had made the journey to help with the takeover. He hadn't realized there were so many of them back on the battlefield since they rotated out. 

Rukelion shook hands with him and the other clan leaders before addressing them all as a group. "We have a strategy in place but are waiting to go over it until all the players have arrived. I have other allies who are traveling to the capital as we speak. They will likely run into you here on the edge of town so don't be alarmed if a large band of mercenaries approaches in the next few days."

"Mercenaries?" Ivis asked in disdain. "Who are these mercenaries?"

"The ones who trained me in swordsmanship when I was younger. They are known as the Gray Skull. Tell them you're with Leo May and they won't give you any trouble."

He wasn't even sure they actually knew his alias since they had always referred to him as Lone Wolf. Since he hadn't been able to use his real name in so long he didn't much care what he was called at this point. 

Not for much longer though. Soon he would be able to proudly and unashamedly be himself. Red hair, two different eyes, and all. Rukelion Blaze once again! But not Rukelion Blaze the third prince of Katalya. Rukelion Blaze the king of Mirea. It was strange to think about. 

He hadn't been born to be king. Georgios and Llyris were both ahead of him in the succession. The role he was born to play was supporting Georgios as either a military counselor, a diplomat, or a scholar. 

He hadn't decided what he wanted to do by the time his family died. And when they did the choice was taken from him. He had to go down the path of no return in order to avenge everything that was lost. Now he was days away from accomplishing that goal after so many years of waiting!

Rukelion had devoted nearly half of his life to revenge. It had been a long, slow, often torturous road but there had been enjoyable moments along the way. Like when he saw real fear in the eyes of the Aveleenian water mages who recognized him and Crown Prince Devan. 

The most rewarding part of all would be when the king knew exactly who had caused his downfall and what a huge mistake he had made. He would know he had been outfoxed by someone he thought he had killed.

"They must be powerful indeed for their training to produce one like you," Piri pointed out, bringing him back to the conversation. 

"They are rather strong," Rukelion said mildly. 

Barry's training had been vigorous and he had experienced many poundings at the hands of older, more experienced mercenaries while he was learning. But he had been dedicated to his practice and was able to beat most of them without magic by the time he was fifteen. 

That was what the wind mages didn't know. He had fire magic on his side. He couldn't trust them with that information back in Zel but it would get out soon enough here. Then there was a chance they would know his identity on the spot. At least that he was a member of the royal family of Katalya. 

"We will keep an eye out for them," Arete promised. "And send word as soon as we encounter them so we can enact the plan." 

"The sooner we repay our debt the better. There is nothing I want more than to reclaim our lands near the border. You do plan to take care of that issue immediately, I trust?" Ivis asked in a steely voice. 

Rukelion nodded. "Yes. I do not believe in engaging in war unprovoked. While I'm in charge no one will attack you. And if they do I'll punish them severely and strip them of their posts. Rest assured, Ivis. I have no desire to take over any country but Mirea."

"…why does one plotting a coup who is touted as a military hero not believe in engaging in war?" 

His voice was skeptical and Rukelion couldn't blame him. He had played his role very well over the years.. He supposed he could spare one bit of the truth since they were solid allies at this point and they would find out soon enough anyway.