I'd Give Up The World For You

Rukelion left his office eagerly at the end of the day and went by the barracks to see Conrad and hand over that letter and the money as discreetly as possible. Thankfully, there wasn't anyone else around who wasn't a part of their little rebellion. They wouldn't tell anyone what they had seen.

He headed home rather exhausted. His lack of sleep and the emotional whirlwind he had experienced earlier today had finally caught up with him.

When he arrived Daisy was in the middle of making dinner with her back to him. She greeted him without looking up. "Hey, Leo! How was your day? Mine was about the same as usual, though I did have to deal with a bit of an aphid problem."

Rather than responding using words, he walked over and flopped onto her shoulder. She realized what that meant and laughed. "That bad, huh?"

"I wouldn't call it bad as much as tiring beyond all reason," Rukelion mumbled.

"I'd hug you if my hands weren't covered in flour," Daisy replied sympathetically. "Hang in there. Why don't you go lie down for a little while after getting out of your uniform?"

He couldn't deny that he was stiff from being in this blasted uniform coat all day and went to do half of what she said. When he returned he went back to leaning on her rather than lying down. Being near her was far more relaxing.

She continued working on dinner and occasionally had to move to do so but Rukelion didn't mind. He was slowly regaining his lost energy by casually touching her. She had that much of an effect on him.

"What exactly was it about today that was so tiring?" Daisy asked.

"I didn't get much sleep last night and then had to deal with a bunch of paperwork and mixed news," Rukelion told her. "I can't give more details than that. Classified, you know."

"Ah. Well, I hope you figure out how to deal with your mixed news. As for the lack of sleep, maybe you should go to bed early tonight."

That wouldn't make a difference. He had gotten used to holding her while trying to fall asleep and if she didn't go to bed early too he would spend the whole time waiting for her to come upstairs. He didn't want to admit that out loud though since she was still skittish about their relationship developing.

Going at her pace was a must, maddening as it could be. He desperately wanted to know what was going on inside her head so he could work with it to his advantage.

"Maybe," Rukelion agreed half-heartedly.

Daisy finished her dinner preparations and put the dish in the oven before washing her hands. Then she smiled and hugged him. "There. Is that better?"

"Yes. Could I possibly lean on you on the sofa for a while though?"

That didn't push the existing boundaries of their relationship and he did need more contact with her in order to feel better. She let him, as he figured she would. They stayed like that for several minutes until she spoke up.

"This can't be comfortable for your neck since you're so much taller than me. Why don't you lie down and use my lap as a pillow?"

Rukelion's heart nearly stopped. Daisy had never let him do anything like that before! Was this a good thing or a bad thing in terms of relational development? He honestly couldn't tell but wasn't about to turn her down either way.

The sofa wasn't long enough for him to completely stretch out on while doing this but he didn't care. He could lie on his back with his knees up perfectly fine.

He closed his eyes in contentment as she began playing with his hair. She had run her hands through his hair countless times over the years helping him dye it but the familiar sensation had taken on a new meaning after the few times they had kissed passionately. She did it then too.

If she was playing with his hair without there being a real reason to do so…did that mean it was because she wanted to do it? Why would she want that if she wasn't warming up to the idea of their relationship being genuine?

Rukelion was afraid to rock the boat but he needed to know. "Daisy…why are you playing with my hair?"

He didn't dare open his eyes and look up at her, afraid of what her response would be. She replied nonchalantly. "Because it's fun. Do you not want me to? I can stop."

"No! I like it. I mean…never mind."

"Leo."

Her tone of voice finally made him open his eyes. She was looking down at him with an expression he couldn't quite read but it made his heart skip a beat. What was that supposed to mean?!

"If you don't want me to do something you are allowed to tell me no," she informed him seriously.

Rukelion sighed. "That isn't it. Really. I was only asking because…well…because…"

"Because what?"

"Because I was wondering if it meant you had changed your mind. It's fine if you haven't! I was curious, that's all. Forget I said anything."

Daisy's brow furrowed and she bit her lip. It took her a minute to respond. "…I am working on it. I'm trying at least. You deserve to love someone who loves you back but my head is still a mess. I'm sorry."

He should have known she would end up apologizing again. "Daisy, I already told you that you don't have to apologize for the way you feel or don't feel. Relax. I shouldn't have said anything."

She continued to look concerned but did go back to playing with his hair. He wasn't sure what that meant either.

She had said it was fun, which meant she liked doing it in some capacity. She also said she was working on changing her mind. There was a good chance she was playing with his hair at least partially because she was trying to get used to that sort of thing.

Rukelion would have to take what he could get, as usual. Daisy would get there eventually. Rushing her wouldn't help. He really needed to stop asking stupid questions that made things worse.

===

The next morning Conrad's eyes gleamed with excitement when Rukelion wrote the news down for him to see. He had expected as much.

'This is great! Rumors of the king being indisposed will spread sooner or later because of the nobles even if most of the military is loyal to him. It will filter down to the common people soon enough and that will work in our favor.'

He had been thinking along the same lines. There were a few potential problems though since they had no way of knowing what was going to happen with the king's situation. He was too paranoid to stay positive like Conrad.

'Hopefully. He might recover before we get the chance to do anything.' Rukelion pointed out.

Conrad disagreed. 'Unlikely. You made him snap! That was your plan all along, wasn't it? I knew you were brilliant but purposely making the crown prince disappear instead of leaving a body for the king to find was clever. Using the war with Zel to your advantage and gaining more allies was even more so. Honestly, the country is in much better hands with you.'

The flattery meant nothing to him. He already knew the country would be in better hands with him. It would be with anybody other than that greedy piece of human waste.

Rukelion ignored this. 'Don't get complacent. We still have a long way to go. Right now our biggest concern is figuring out the layout of the castle and I have no idea how we are going to pull it off.'

'I wonder if one of Boon's sisters could get a job in the castle as a scullery maid or something. They all adore him and would do whatever he asked. Or maybe have our men who are unattached try and get close to palace workers somehow?' Conrad speculated.

Hmm. He knew he wasn't very talented at convincing people to do things for him but maybe one of his more charismatic pawns would be able to. Right now it seemed like the best plan they had.

'Let's try both. Talk to everyone and see what they can do.'

Conrad nodded, let him burn the paper, and exchanged pleasantries as he had been verbally on his way out as usual. He had become an impressively good multitasker. At least to anyone listening in it wouldn't be suspicious that Rukelion didn't say much in response to his mindless blather since that was the way things were normally.

He couldn't help but wonder if any of his men would be able to woo someone to the point that they would spy for them. They would have to be incredibly careful. Talking to the wrong person could get them in serious trouble.

They would also have to be subtle, which wasn't exactly the strong suit of most of his men. This plan was risky but it was unfortunately the best one they had.

Rukelion didn't like the fact that so much hinged on the competency of his men's romantic endeavors. Even he wasn't doing very well in that regard so how were those idiots supposed to pull it off?