I'd Give Up The World For You

Rukelion was surprised by his wife's line of thinking. Children almost always carried on the family business. Although…he didn't know how things worked in her world. She had mentioned her former profession before and wasn't sure if it was a trade she had learned from a relative or not. 

Come to think of it, that was unlikely considering her relationships with her relatives. Didn't she say something about choosing what she wanted to do with her life before? What a novel concept!

"That isn't how people think here," he told her seriously. "Farmer's sons grow up to be farmers. Blacksmith's sons grow up to be blacksmiths. King's sons grow up to be kings or other court officials supporting them." 

Daisy sighed. "I know but…you didn't want this, did you? You're only doing it because you feel like you had to."

Rukelion frowned. Yes but the circumstances were completely different. He had known his duty and had been prepared to happily fulfil it before everything got turned on its head. He had never questioned his place in the world until suddenly it was gone. 

"That's different! I knew my place until it was taken from me. I would have done anything to support Georgios because that was how I was raised to think. You know why I had to do this."

"And you were really okay with that? You never wanted anything different?" she pressed. 

He shook his head. "Not at all. I loved my country and I loved my family. I'm going to teach our children all about Katalya and its culture. I'm sure they'll understand what they need to do."

"I'm not so sure about this…if our baby is a boy he's going to have to become king and if it's a girl she's going to have to become what, some political tool? That isn't the life I want for them, Rukelion. I want them to have choices."

That was how things would have happened if he had spent his whole life as a prince. But after learning what it was like to love and be loved he could never want anything less for his children. 

"No," Rukelion said firmly. "I want our children to know what it's like to be with someone they love."

A small smile appeared on Daisy's face. "Good. I thought I'd have to knock some sense into you. I could never let any daughter of ours be forced into a political marriage."

"My parents had a political marriage. They did know each other though as the highest-ranked male and female of their general age in the kingdom. They were engaged since they were children so they had the opportunity to become friends. 

"The way my father told it, one day a few months after their marriage he walked into the library and saw her reading a book with a look of fierce concentration on her face and it hit him just how much he enjoyed watching her do things. That was when he knew he was in love. 

"It took her a while longer to come around but they both had feelings for each other by the time Georgios was born. I knew they were some of the lucky ones and hoped I would at least be able to have that much. 

"Little did I know then I would get so much more. I know better than anyone how important love is. It saved my life. How could I ever prevent my children from having what saved me from drowning in a sea of darkness?" Rukelion finished as lightly as he could considering the heaviness of the subject. 

He had always expected to be in a political marriage. That was the way his world had worked. 

There was a small pool of potential candidates in his age group and he hadn't been interested in any of them. There had also been a possibility of bringing in a princess or duke's daughter from another country since it didn't matter so much if his offspring carried on their magical line since he was so low in the succession. 

Rukelion hadn't gotten along with nobles his age very well, though outwardly he had perfect etiquette. He had preferred hanging around with his siblings in his limited free time. He was able to actually enjoy himself around them. 

Then he lost them. He had been so consumed by grief that he thought he would never come to love anything or anyone again. He had never been so happy to be wrong. 

Daisy was his salvation. She had been from the very beginning even if he hadn't realized it at first due to his suspicions that she might be out to get him. It was essentially impossible to come to trust anyone due to his circumstances yet she had managed to earn it anyway. 

No one else could have done that. She was special. 

Hearing his words she reached up to caress his face with a look of great sadness in her eyes. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I'm glad I was able to help."

Rukelion crushed his wife to his chest, suddenly overcome with how much he loved her. She was the most beautiful, wonderful, kindhearted woman in this or any world and he had absolutely no idea what he would do without her. 

"I'm so grateful I have you," he whispered before kissing the top of her head repeatedly.

Daisy hugged him back tightly. "So am I."

===

Daisy was surprised and touched that her husband went out of his way to make things better for her after her outburst. First, he started getting off work at a normal time like he used to so he could spend time with her. 

They primarily sat around talking about the future as she worked on knitting baby clothes but that was very similar to what they used to do. They went on walks out around the gardens too holding hands. 

She missed gardening with him since they had done that together so many times but she couldn't be picky. He had way too much on his plate to do that with her too. 

The second thing he did to help her out was have Conrad talk to Elaine about visiting every day. She always came over around the time Daisy was finishing her garden work for the day so she had someone to spend time with before Rukelion finished work. 

Having Elaine come over more frequently made things feel more normal too since that was what they had been doing before she left on her trip to see Ira and everything changed. She didn't care if Daisy was queen or not. She still wanted to learn as much as she could from her as they had been doing before. 

The consistency was wonderful but even that paled in comparison to Rukelion's final gift. He had given her a kitchen completely separate from the main one where she could do whatever she wanted without being watched. 

She was so moved she burst into tears before kissing him with every ounce of passion she had in her heart. That was how much she appreciated being not only listened to but actually heard. 

Rukelion had always been the most considerate person she had ever known even if he did have his own agenda that needed to be adhered to in the process. He truly cared about her well-being and happiness despite there being things he couldn't bend on. 

Daisy was happy. She might not ever be fully comfortable being a queen (and more specifically raising princes and princesses) but she could do it for her husband. If he could do this for her she could make occasional public appearances for him. They had to try and work together rather than lead parallel lives in the same space and they were getting there. 

She sang to herself as she baked an apple tart, knowing it would make her husband's day. He far preferred hers to the cook's. 

A knock on the door sounded and she didn't register it because she was too busy rocking out to the song. A servant apologetically entered and wouldn't meet her eyes. It was probably weird to see the queen of this country covered in flour. 

"Your Majesty, a letter has come for you from an Ira Brooks."

Daisy smiled widely and dusted off her hands before eagerly taking it from her. "Thank you!" 

All of her correspondence with Ira was still being sent to her old address. Many of Rukelion's friends that he had promoted to officer status had moved into the houses vacated by the corrupt officials during the coup. Dudley and his wife were living in her old house now and taking advantage of her garden. 

She couldn't be too bitter about that though. They were kind enough to send the mail on for her. And there was no shortage of fresh fruits and vegetables in the castle after she had a greenhouse set up on part of the grounds.

Some of the gardeners worked there now since she personally preferred working with flowers. This way she was still able to reap the benefits of fresh produce without overexerting herself. 

Rukelion understood her need to do things but was still overprotective.. She understood why—losing everyone else he ever loved had made him paranoid—but it could be difficult to deal with nevertheless.