I'd Give Up The World For You

Rukelion was spending far too much time in war meetings. He supposed that was what he got for being both an officer and a traitor.

He was half-asleep for this one and trying his hardest to be alert. He went to bed late last night because he met with the Zelish clan leaders and was woken up early by the Mireans to have one before the daily fighting began.

He couldn't sustain a sleep schedule like this on a regular basis! Would he really have to do this for another month when he could be peacefully curled up in bed at home?

It was important to pay attention here though because he needed to know what was going on in order to report back to his allies later. He couldn't depend on anyone to pass the information he missed onto him later either since he was the only person higher ranked than a captain in their band of renegades.

"Progress seems steady," General Howl, who ran the military compound by the border, speculated. "I doubt this will last much longer. Their numbers dwindle daily while ours are holding steady for the most part. Having Major May here has made a world of difference."

Everyone around the table looked at Rukelion in appreciation and he wasn't sure what sort of expression he was supposed to have on. He was too tired to think.

"You flatter me, General. I'm only doing my part," he replied, trying not to sound as sleepy as he felt.

"Your contribution is not going unnoticed. How long have you been a major?"

"Less than a year, sir."

"I see. A pity…if only it had been two years or even a year and a half. I'd say you're well on your way to becoming a lieutenant colonel. It's only a matter of doing the time," the general said as everyone else here nodded in agreement.

That woke Rukelion up. Lieutenant colonels had more access to the castle than majors did, though it still wasn't as much as colonels or generals. If he could get promoted early that might move his plans along much faster. As soon as he knew the layout of the castle he would be able to strike once he sent messages out to gather his allies.

"Thank you for the praise, sir."

"And so humble too! You'll go far, boy," the general said before moving on to the next matter of business.

Rukelion listened intently now that he was awake. He needed to be able to pass this information onto the Zelish clan leaders tonight. As long as he played his cards right he would be able to end this war with new allies and the potential for a promotion that would help with the final part of his revenge. That made the extra time spent away from Daisy worth it!

===

This farce of a war seemed to drag on and on. It was the same thing every day. Progress was slow but steady and the whole thing ended up taking closer to two months but eventually the Zelish soldiers had completely cleared out and taken the local civilians with them to hide out in one of the clan territories further south.

The desert seemed eerie once it had emptied out. The quietness made the higher-ups at the border assume that the locals had abandoned their homes in order to avoid being killed themselves, which was at least partly true, and they decided to leave it be.

Though no one outwardly spoke of treason, everyone was weary of fighting and didn't want to pursue things further, as Rukelion had suspected would be the case. They planned to inform the king the threat had been neutralized without going into it further. That made things easier for him.

Since he knew where everyone in this area had gone he would be able to send a message on letting them know they were safe and that he would call on them when the time came to overthrow the king. That had all worked out much better than he had expected it to even if it did take longer than he hoped.

But it was finally over. Everyone was packing up to leave. He would be home in less than a week and could hardly believe it! Unfortunately, he didn't have the benefit of a horse this time. He hadn't been able to send word ahead to Daisy.

She was certainly going to be surprised when he showed up without any warning. He hadn't been able to see her reaction to him returning from war the first time and couldn't deny he was very much looking forward to it.

The road seemed especially long this time around. Most likely because he knew his wife was waiting for him at the end of it.

"We did good, May," Conrad said to him as they walked, stretching his arms above his head. "We hardly lost anybody! I knew sending for you was the right thing to do. Pity the higher-ups didn't realize that sooner."

Rukelion was still bitter about that. They had lost valuable players…but gained even more in the form of the wind mages. He could have gained them as allies without losing the others if he had gotten there sooner though. That was what bothered him.

"I know," he said with a heavy sigh.

"But hey, at least it's over and done with now. You can get back to your lady love and I can continue carrying on as a single dog as my men continue to find sweethearts and I don't."

Conrad's tone was overly dramatic and Rukelion rolled his eyes. Way to change the subject. He was looking forward to being back with Daisy though. It was why the travel seemed so much longer than usual.

"…why does it always come back to this with you?"

"Because it amazes me that you found someone who turns you into a completely different person. I'm never going to get over the shock. What's so special about her, anyway? Aside from how you met," Conrad said meaningfully.

He was the only one aside from Daisy who knew she had saved his life when he was at his lowest point. Everyone else thought she was his cousin and that they had grown up together.

"Do you honestly want to hear why I'm in love with my wife?" Rukelion asked flatly.

"I do! I want to understand what love is like from someone else's perspective," he insisted. "Hit me with it and make me feel more single than I already do."

It wasn't as if Rukelion had anything better to do. They were marching back toward the capital and hadn't even reached the stretch of road where he had attacked the crown prince's entourage yet. That was still tragically far off.

He was thinking about her anyway. He may as well verbalize some of his thoughts to help pass the time. "Fine. Where do I start? She's the most beautiful, wonderful, compassionate woman in the world. Simply being around her makes me happy.

"She has a rather calming presence but she's spontaneous too. She can be a bit silly at times but that's part of what makes her so fun. She can make even the dullest of tasks seem interesting.

"She's brilliant too. She managed to run an entire farm on her own and knows more about everything from finances to flowers than anyone else I've ever known. Talking to her never gets old. I could honestly listen to her talk all day."

Rukelion realized that half of the Silver Wolf Squadron was hanging onto his every word at this point and frowned. "Do none of you have anything better to do than eavesdrop?"

"But we want to hear about Mrs. May too," Ermes said eagerly. "We've only met her twice so we didn't get a very good read on her."

"Yeah, I want to know what sort of woman could tame the Lone Wolf," Harland added.

Rukelion sighed. "You're all ridiculous. Listen if you must. As I was saying, I love talking to her. She's smart but she's also warm. The kind of person who makes you feel valued simply by interacting with her.

"She's so full of light that it touches everyone she meets. She's far too kindhearted for her own good but I can't fault her for it since it's one of her best qualities. She hasn't had the easiest life and yet she hasn't been hardened by it.

"She finds joy in the smallest of things and it's contagious. She's such a happy person that being around her makes you happy too. I honestly don't know what I would do without her. She means the world to me."

"May, you are seriously going to make me cry," Conrad sniffled.

Rukelion shot a glare at him. "You're making fun of me, aren't you?"

"Not at all. I'm happy for you…but also wishing I had someone like that for myself. I think most of us are after hearing about a woman like that."

Nods of agreement went around the group and he noticed that Conrad wasn't the only teary one.. What was wrong with these fools? Maybe telling them had been a mistake but he hadn't been asked point blank about Daisy like this since before he knew he was in love with her.