I'd Give Up The World For You

"My country was unjustly invaded and destroyed by the king of Mirea. I do not wish to see the same thing happen to anyone else, which is the primary reason I offered to help you in the first place. 

"As you are already aware, I only joined the military to take it down from the inside. The citizens of Mirea shouldn't have to suffer because of an inadequate, selfish ruler. A king's duty is to his people. I may have been too young so I failed mine but I won't fail them," Rukelion said firmly. 

Arete's eyes widened. "You…you're from Katalya!" 

"I suppose word gets around. I didn't realize it had gotten quite as far as Zel but yes, I'm from Katalya." 

Kové scrutinized him. "You said a king's duty is to his people and you failed yours. You're a member of the royal family, aren't you? I had heard they were all fire mages. That would explain why you are so strong but not how the king of Mirea was able to crush your country so easily." 

"He had help," Rukelion said bitterly. "Aveleenian water mages. Any mage knows what nullifies their element unless they are exceptionally strong. You can imagine the results."

Piri frowned. "I see…we would experience a similar situation going up against stone mages. That certainly explains your grudge against the king of Mirea. I know it won't mean anything but I am sorry for your loss."

It didn't. No amount of "sorry" would ever bring them back. "Thank you," he replied because that was the polite thing to do. 

"Your name is not truly Leo May, is it Lone Wolf?" Arete asked curiously.

"No. My name is Rukelion Blaze. Formerly the third prince of Katalya." 

"And soon to be the king of Mirea!" Kové added with a slight smile. "We look forward to a peaceful alliance with you." 

"As do I. I should head back to town now but I will be in touch. Let me know if you encounter the Gray Skull before I do and we can get things moving more quickly," Rukelion said before exchanging polite salutations and making the long trek back to town. 

He was hungry. Some of Daisy's pot pie sounded amazing right now but she was safely out of the way so he could execute his plans. He supposed the bakery was the second best choice if they were still open. 

They were not. Just his luck! He would have to scrounge up whatever he could at home. There should be some slightly stale bread and tomatoes. He could make himself a sandwich. 

Rukelion ate it morosely then sighed before flopping on the sofa. He truly did want this over and done with. Being in charge of a hostile takeover was exhausting and he didn't even have Daisy here to recharge him. The sooner the Gray Skull arrived the better!

=== 

Every nerve in Rukelion's body was on fire by the time (almost) everyone gathered outside of town to go over the plan. It had been a rough few days waiting but at least he had heard from Daisy and knew she arrived safely. That was one less thing to worry about. 

He hadn't been touching up his hair since he was able to wear his military uniform hat as an officer ever since the wind mages arrived, knowing that it wouldn't matter soon. The red was starting to shine through the brown but since his hair was cut short it wasn't noticeable with the hat on. 

The day he heard news of the Gray Skull arriving he scrubbed what little dye remained away. He wanted the king of Mirea to know exactly who he was dealing with. 

So he would stand in front of everyone going over the plans looking every bit a prince of Katalya aside from the clothes. People wore different styles here anyway but he was also wearing clothing befitting a commoner since that's what Lieutenant Colonel Leo May was. 

His allies from the royal army had been especially surprised when they arrived. He got plenty of questions about his hair, his lack of eyepatch, and his heterochromia. Conrad put a stop to them by slinging an arm around his shoulders though he was clearly taken aback as well. He had never seen Rukelion without brown hair or the eyepatch either.

"Say hello to my good friend Rukelion Blaze, gentleman! I have to say I wasn't expecting this but it's nice to finally see the real you after all these years." 

Rukelion cracked a smile. "Thanks, Conrad."

"How long have you known his real name?" Boon asked curiously.

"Not long after we got back from Aveleen. He trusts me most," Conrad bragged. "I know all of his secrets. Get this: he's a fire mage AND a prince! Or he used to be anyway." 

Everyone gaped at Rukelion in shock and he shrugged. "He's telling the truth." 

"I've been treating a prince so informally?! If my mother knew she'd kill me!" Ferguson lamented, making everyone laugh. 

"What are we supposed to call you?" Brant asked. "You won't be a lieutenant colonel after this. You're going to be the king! Should we call you Your Highness or Your Majesty? I don't know anything about addressing royalty."

"…I'm not really one for formalities. I have lived as a commoner for the past eight years so don't feel like you need to do anything different now. Rukelion is fine, or Blaze if you want to stick to calling me by my last name." 

"I think I'm going to do that," Conrad announced. "It would be strange if you called me Silas so I'll stick with Blaze."

Murmurs went around the group in agreement of what he was saying and in the process members of the Gray Skull who had been watching everything happen finally decided to speak up. Barry went first with a laugh. 

"I can't believe you were a prince this whole time! And here I thought you were some cocky farm boy. No wonder you wanted to learn swordsmanship to the point of watching us for weeks up a tree!" 

Rukelion scowled at him. "Do you have to mention that in front of everyone?"

"Absolutely! It's my sworn duty as your teacher to embarrass you. I can't believe you managed to make it all the way to lieutenant colonel at your age. Your resolve is second to none."

The compliment mollified him slightly. "I couldn't have done it without your teachings. Thank you for coming."

"There's nothing I won't do for what you're paying!" Barry replied, making all of the other mercenaries laugh along with him. "Let's get this party started."

And so they did once everyone from the three groups had been properly introduced to each other. The meeting happened after nightly roll call so everyone could be present. Those in the squadrons who had to handle things back at headquarters would sneak back in without anyone being the wiser once they had their orders. 

The best time to strike was the middle of the night when no one would be expecting it. That almost guaranteed the royal family would be in their rooms so they wouldn't have to spend time and effort tracking them down.

Rukelion began going over the plans. He assigned people to different groups that would come in from various secrets passages and told everyone exactly who they would be fighting when. 

He had been coming up with the plan for weeks and had everything figured out to the last detail. People asked questions as he went and he was able to answer each one without difficulty. 

Everything was going to go off without a hitch. He had talented fighters on his side and had grouped them up knowing what their strengths and weaknesses were to make the most well-rounded teams. 

"Are there any other questions?" Rukelion asked at the end of his presentation. Everyone shook their heads and he clapped his hands together. "Excellent! Black Dragons and Golden Eagles return to your posts. Everyone else needs to stay here for a few hours and get some rest before we head out." 

"Yes, sir!" the members of the royal army chorused out of habit. 

Rukelion lay down on a patch of ground and stared up at the sky with his arms under his head. Soon it would all be over. Everything he had worked so hard for was within his grasp. 

Sleep was imperative though he knew it would be difficult with all of the thoughts racing through his mind. After the mess in Aveleen regarding Veese's sigil he knew better than most how deadly a lack of sleep could be. 

Conrad laid down next to him unexpectedly. "Are you nervous?"

"No. Not in the traditional sense. It's more anticipation than nerves," he replied. "I've waited for this for a very long time."

"I know. Honestly, I'm amazed you've managed to keep your composure as long as you have. If I had seen some of the things you have I would have lost my mind and been unable to form any sort of coherent revenge plan." 

Rukelion let out a small laugh. "So would I if not for Daisy."

"Who's Daisy?"

Ah. With how preoccupied he was he accidentally let his wife's true name slip. And he was so good at calling her Veronica in public too!

"…my wife. It's a nickname since that's her favorite flower," he invented. 

Conrad bought it easily enough, knowing her deep love of flowers. "You really are such a sap, Blaze. It'll be strange for her, won't it? Going on a trip the wife of a lieutenant colonel and coming back as a queen." 

"Yes but I'm sure she'll be able to handle it.. I believe in her."