I'd Give Up The World For You

The way Leo was talking broke Daisy's heart. She knew he wouldn't have done something like this maliciously but hearing him talk about how he wanted to ensure his family was remembered really got to her. 

He had told her before that his goal was to make a difference in the world and ensure nobody ever went through what he did again. What he was saying now aligned with that perfectly. 

"Your father was the king," Daisy stated rather than asked. "And that's why you had to hide what you looked like. Because you look just like him."

Leo nodded. "Anyone with even the slightest knowledge about King Baratheon of Katalya would have known who I was instantly. Or anybody who knew about fire mages since that power is restricted to the Katalyan royal family.

"You probably have some idea of how difficult it's been hiding who I am for so long since most of the world thinks you're Veronica May. Living among my enemies and pretending to be one of them has been terrible but it had to be done so I could avenge everyone I lost. 

"I might not have been born to be king but after my father and brothers died I was the king by default. All these years I've been the king of a country that doesn't exist anymore. If nothing else, it was my sworn duty to retaliate.

"My brother Georgios was supposed to be king. I've been thinking about him a lot since I first sat on this throne. I have to rule in such a way that will honor him, my father, and Katalya's long and noble history." 

Daisy mulled this over. She did know how difficult it was to hide who you were. That was a large part of why they had gotten along so well all these years. They had that shared secret. 

But to think! He had been a prince—no, a king—all along. A king was in love with her! She was carrying a king's child! In her wildest imaginings back in her world she never would have seen that coming. 

That didn't fully answer the question of who he was though. He had left a very important detail out. 

"Okay, I get that. But you never told me your name," she reminded him. 

Leo blinked in surprise. Perhaps he hadn't expected her to take all of that so well. "Oh. Right. It's Rukelion. Rukelion Blaze." 

Rukelion? Roo-KEH-lee-ahn. Kind of a mouthful, especially compared to Leo. But she had already known it was short for something. He had told her before that he preferred his real name but wouldn't mind if she continued calling him Leo. 

Daisy could get used to it. He had lost everything else; he deserved to be able to use his proper name with the person he cared about most. She never would have guessed that was his name but in a strange way it suited him. And his last name definitely did considering his fire powers and the color of his hair. 

Did that mean her real name was Daisy Blaze now? The thought nearly made her laugh. That kind of rhymed!

A tiny smile appeared on her face even though she should still be mad at him. It was impossible to be when he was being so vulnerable with her. After eight years she was finally getting the truth out of him. 

"Rukelion, huh? Nice to officially meet you though I have to say it's long overdue." 

Leo—no, Rukelion—let out a small laugh and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, sorry about that. It had nothing to do with me not trusting you. I just…really couldn't get caught before I pulled this off. I always knew it would be a long game but I wasn't sure exactly how long." 

He truly had been doing this for such a long time. Ever since he met her he had been planning for this moment. That was an awfully long time to have revenge on your mind. The grief behind it must have been all-consuming. 

Earlier when he was talking about his family and his country Daisy had been able to see the anguish in his eyes and hear it in his voice. The wound was still raw. 

"How exactly did you pull this off?" she asked curiously. 

Rukelion sighed. "It wasn't easy. It took quite a while to convince the mercenaries to train me but you already know about that part. I wasn't sure what to do once I got to the royal army headquarters but I planned to take this country's corrupt government down from the inside. 

"I wasn't able to make any headway until the Aveleenian War when I saved several people's lives and managed to gain some loyal allies as a result. I knew I would need people and intelligence about the inner workings of the castle to pull things off. 

"I'm strong but if I did it all myself I would have to burn everything to the ground and I didn't want that. Getting other people involved was the only way to make sure innocent people didn't get caught up in it. That was the last thing I wanted after seeing how many bystanders died for no reason back in Katalya.

"I kept gathering allies within the military slowly but surely, the wind mages I told you about, and got in touch with my old mercenary teachers. That was how I was able to do this. Everything is functioning exactly as it was before in the castle aside from who is in charge. 

"We had to overhaul the military too to get rid of the corrupt higher officials loyal to the former king but, like I said, they're in prison now. Nobody got hurt except the royals. The king actually killed his wife and son himself while trying to attack me…"

Rukelion grimaced. "I haven't been able to sleep since. The magic he used was the same kind he did on my family and I keep having nightmares."

Daisy's heart dropped to her stomach. She already knew he had seen his entire family die in front of him but seeing the same thing happen again had to have been horribly traumatizing. Forgetting her ire completely, she got off the throne, sat on his lap, and threw her arms around his neck. 

"Daisy?" he asked in confusion. 

Tears began leaking out of her eyes. She had already been terribly upset on his behalf throughout this conversation but hearing that drove her over the edge. He had been dealing with all of this alone for so many years!

Juliet was wrong about him. He had carried out his revenge but he had done it without hurting people as much as possible, as Daisy had known he would as soon as she discovered he was planning something. He hadn't wanted anyone else to suffer like he or his people had and had gone out of his way to make sure that wouldn't happen. 

"I'm so sorry!" she sobbed. "That must have been horrible for you and you dealt with it all by yourself all this time!" 

Rukelion's arms tightened around her and he kissed her head. "Even if I couldn't talk about it, I always had you. You're the only thing that kept me going after what happened. Here I was, fresh from the carnage, and I happened to run into the most kindhearted woman in existence. 

"You were exactly what I needed to keep me going another day when things felt hopeless. You've always been my light in the darkness, Daisy. I can handle anything as long as I have you."

She had known she was important to him because she was the first person he clung to after something horrible had happened to him but now it hit her more than ever. He had needed her to prevent him from becoming consumed by revenge the way Juliet said he was supposed to be. 

He admitted himself that he was strong enough to take everyone out on his own but that he hadn't wanted to do that because innocent people would get hurt. That proved he was a good person capable of making his own choices. 

What exactly had happened to him though? If he was having nightmares…and Juliet said it was gruesome…what sort of plant magic could do something so gory? 

"Can you talk about it now?" she asked hesitantly. "I want to understand."

Rukelion slumped forward so his head was buried in her neck. "I suppose I do owe you that much since I know all of your secrets. It was an ordinary day when the king of Mirea and his entourage came to call. 

"We heard that there were invaders and were told to get to safety but my father refused and went out to meet the king himself. He would have been able to shrivel up his plants easily if they hadn't cheated by getting water mages involved. With his flames doused he was defenseless and got impaled on a thorn by the Mirean king's special brand of plant magic. 

"He created monstrous plants that were so large and powerful they ripped up the ground and buildings beneath them. There was nothing left of Katalya by the time he was done. It was all overgrown rubble.

"The plants took people out left and right and the water mages made it impossible to retaliate. They reached the castle before any of us knew it and my brothers did their best to try and fend them off but their fire was made useless. 

"I watched the king's plants impale what was left of my family and several servants all at once. I knew if I tried to fight them I would die too so I crawled under a giant vine, hurting myself in the process, and played dead. 

"He walked by to make sure we were all dead and laughed. He laughed, Daisy! I felt sick to my stomach but as soon as they were gone I had to run for it before they came back. I ran for days before passing out by your stream.

"I had nightmares about it for years but it had been quite a while before I had to see that abominable magic again. I…I dreamed that you died the same way and when I woke up you were gone.. I'm so, so glad you're back," Rukelion mumbled.