I'd Give Up The World For You

Daisy still couldn't believe she was going to be a mother. In a fantasy world no less! How was she supposed to entertain a child without having the benefit of modern amenities like playgrounds and Disney movies? 

What did little kids even do here aside from run around outside? That was all the Krinzel children ever seemed to do but that wasn't an option in the capital. Their yard was entirely garden but she supposed there was an open field of grass at the park.

Motherhood would have been scary enough back in her world but it was so much worse here since she had absolutely no idea what she was doing. It had taken her a while to get used to this fantasy world back when she thought she was in the past but that was when she was on her own. Raising a child here was a whole other ballgame. 

They didn't have preschools here. Or at home science projects or arts and crafts. She didn't even know if children went to school here or if they were tutored by their parents. That was how things were back in Cloverfield but it was a rural area. 

Daisy doubted Leo knew anything about parenting in Mirea either. Things were likely different in his country. 

She had a lot of things to think about that she had never considered before. Such a baby names. The names here were either old fashioned ones from her world or completely made up. What would she call a kid that wouldn't be too weird for this setting but also wouldn't offend her sense of aesthetics?

Leo might want to name their baby something from his home country but what if it sounded completely horrible? She didn't even know what his name was but if Leo was a shortened version of it that had to mean it was kind of long. 

Their children were basically guaranteed to have red hair. What were good names for redheads? 

The only ones she could think of had belonged to actors/actresses or fictional characters back in her world. Harry Potter characters particularly came to mind. There were a lot of redheads in those books. 

Ugh, Daisy was terrible at naming things. She also wanted to give her children names with cool meanings but they didn't have baby name books here. People in this world didn't care about things like that so why would they? 

Wasn't it too soon to be thinking about that, anyway? The doctor thought she was only a few months along. 

She felt pretty stupid for not realizing she had been missing her period but there had been quite a lot going on. With so much on her mind she hadn't thought about things like that. 

Finding out when she was so far away from Leo was the worst part of all of this. He should have been the first to know not Ira. She couldn't write him about such big news either. She had to wait until she was home and could see the look on his face. 

That seemed so far away now. Daisy would still be here visiting for a few more days then had to make the trip back to the capital. She had sent him a letter yesterday but it was likely the last one she would before she left. 

She didn't know what else she would be able to tell him anyway without giving away what was really on her mind. Pregnancy was a big deal. 

The one time they talked about it Leo had seemed especially excited about having a family with her. He had been confident she would be a good mom but she wasn't so sure. He was biased. 

He thought she was much better than she actually was because she happened to be the one he relied on after his whole world fell apart. If he had met her under any other circumstances he wouldn't feel the same way. She was sure of it. 

Daisy had wondered before when she was trying to get over her mental block about their age difference what it would be like if she had met him in her world. But now that she knew why he had latched onto her and no one else with greater detail she was certain he never would have had anything to do with her. 

She hadn't been anything special. She still wasn't. 

Meeting Leo when she did had been a fluke. She wasn't supposed to be inside this book world. She should have died properly in that accident. 

Even knowing that, she couldn't regret meeting Leo. It took coming to a fantasy world and meeting someone supposedly destined to be a villain for her to experience the happiness that comes from having another person understand you. 

Daisy closed her eyes. Thinking like this wasn't going to get her anywhere. She should really take a nap before it was time to visit Ira. She was exhausted and she needed to be a good foster mother and give him her full attention while she was here. 

It took less time than she expected to fall asleep and she woke up to someone knocking on her door. "Miss Veronica? Are you awake?"

With a groan, she heaved herself off of the bed and unlocked the door. "Hey, Ira. Sorry. I was taking a nap. What do you want to do this afternoon? Do you have anything specific in mind?"

He nodded. "We're going to the library today. I haven't shown you that yet and I want to find some books about pregnancy and childbirth. There have to be some since they teach medical science at the academy to upper-level students." 

Daisy smiled. He had such a unique way of showing he cared. "Lead the way."

They did go to the library and he showed her his favorite places to study before they found the books they were looking for. They sat side by side reading different ones and occasionally he would say certain facts he was reading aloud. 

She was relieved they had books like this here though they were more from a medical perspective than an emotional one the way baby books seemed to be back home. She supposed they were textbooks for medical students so it made sense. Regardless, she was grateful. Knowing what to expect helped. 

Doing that helped ease her nerves about one thing and lowered her anxiety levels overall. Conducting research with Ira helped distract her for the rest of the day and part of the next since he checked the books they couldn't finish out and let her read them while he was at work. 

Ira valiantly attempted to distract her the rest of the trip and even managed to succeed a good chunk of the time. He could be such a sweet boy when he wanted to be. 

Daisy had expected the time to drag but her visit was over before she knew it. She wasn't quite ready to say goodbye but knew she needed to go back and face whatever was awaiting her in the capital. 

"Thanks for inviting me to visit you, Ira," she said as she hugged him tightly before departing with a different merchant caravan than the first. 

"Of course! I'm glad you were able to come. Say hi to Mr. Leo for me and be sure to write as soon as you arrive so I know you made it home safely. I'll stay in touch and update you about my magic class and anything else I learn.

"I'll find a way to come visit after the baby is born too even if it does take until next summer. I'm going to be the best older brother ever. Take care of yourself, alright Miss Veronica? I love you." 

Daisy smiled and hugged him tighter. "I will! I love you too. Can you try and make some friends this year? For me?" 

Ira sighed into her shoulder and she barely managed to hold back a laugh. "I'll do my best."

"Good. I don't want you to feel alone out here." 

"I'm truly not lonely. I have my studies and letters from you. What more do I need?"

"Everybody needs people, Ira. You just…haven't managed to find the right ones yet. But you will. I believe in you. Have a great schoolyear, okay?"

Ira nodded as he pulled away and waved as he watched her set off. Daisy waved back. He would be fine. She knew that he could do anything he set his mind to even if it wasn't his area of expertise. By the end of the year she was sure he would have at least one friend. 

As he became too small to see in the distance she turned around and slumped against the wagon wall. This trip had been a nice distraction from her problems but they were still waiting for her back home. 

Now she had even more of them to boot. She wouldn't trade her baby for anything even if the timing was terrible but it really was terrible. 

Daisy didn't know who or what this baby would grow up to be but she loved it already because it was something she and Leo had created together. The first biological relative either of them would have after losing all of the others. That was something worth celebrating. 

With her eyes on the road, she took a deep breath and told herself everything was going to be fine. All she needed to do now was get home and tell her husband what was going on so they could deal with it as a team…even if he didn't think of her as a proper teammate. Knowing he didn't fully trust her hurt but she could understand why he had done it to a degree. 

She loved him too much to be too angry about it. She was going to have to find a way to learn to live with his secrecy. He had told her he would tell her everything when it was all over.. The real question was when that would be.