I'd Give Up The World For You

Silas Conrad had no doubt that the majority of his men would be thrilled to get this particular instruction from their leader. He had never imagined himself in a leadership role but here he was four years in, somehow managing to handle it fine.

He hadn't wanted to take the lieutenant role when May asked, thinking he wasn't up to the task, but he was so glad he did. He had wanted to repay the man who saved his life and now he was the person he trusted most.

Silas would do anything for May but he also genuinely believed in their cause. He wanted a better life for his family and all of the others who were burdened by the heavy taxes.

May might not be the most talkative person in the world but he had a certain way of drawing people in all the same. He was passionate underneath that stony exterior and the more time you spent with him, the more you noticed that.

The two of them had spent a lot of time together since he became May's lieutenant. At this point he was fairly certain he knew how the man ticked. He probably knew him better than anyone…except maybe his wife.

Veronica May might not know about her husband's treasonous activities and his real identity but she knew everything else. She was also the only one who actually got to see his lighter side.

He was so serious all the time but it made sense when you considered he had only joined the army to destroy it from the inside out. He wasn't there to make friends.

And yet he found them anyway. Silas wasn't sure if May considered any of the people he interacted with regularly as friends (he was called the Lone Wolf for a reason) but at the very least he did care about their well-being even if he was too gruff to admit it.

Everyone could tell he cared so they cared back even if they didn't always know how to talk to him normally since he was such a brick wall. They would still follow him anywhere.

They didn't have as many details about May's life and his reasons behind the coup they were plotting so they had been confused by some of the instructions they had been given, like back in Zel when they had to stop actively fighting their enemies and spare them while making it look like they weren't. They did as they were told though because what May wanted, May got. That was how loyal his men were.

This would take much less persuading. More than half of the soldiers here had been trying to get themselves girlfriends anyway.

"You want us to what?" Dudley asked in disbelief after Silas explained the plan to them in a whisper after gathering the members of his squadron who were in the know during free time.

"You heard me." Everyone began whispering excitedly to each other but Silas held up a hand to quiet them. He wasn't done yet. "This is very important. We cannot proceed with the plan without having this intel.

"So if any of you have siblings or other relatives who can potentially get a job in the palace too convince them. Boon, are any of your sisters old enough to go out into the workforce yet?"

Boon nodded. "Yes. My sister Arya already works as a seamstress in a dress shop but Raeve and Mabel plan on beginning to look soon. I'll have them check for openings anywhere in the palace before they look anywhere else."

"Excellent. And remember, it's absolutely vital that we are SUBTLE. Asking offhandedly about what it's like to work in the palace and if there are any particularly interesting features about the place ought to do it. Only once you've built up enough trust though," Silas said as sternly as he could muster.

May had impressed the importance of this part of the plan on him so he wanted to make sure they all got the point instead of getting starry-eyed about being instructed to go out and find themselves sweethearts. A good lieutenant always helped their captain follow through.

"What would you define as 'enough trust', Captain Conrad?" Ermes asked with a divot between his eyebrows.

"You have to have gone out together for at least a few weeks so she won't think you're pumping her for information. Show an interest in other aspects of her life first so she won't think that's all you're after."

Everyone nodded their understanding and he was relieved. "You're all dismissed. Enjoy what's left of your free time. I'm going to go pass this message on to the others."

Captains Brant and Cartwright were also on their side with almost all of the members of the Black Dragon and Golden Eagles Squadrons who had fought in Aveleen. Convincing them hadn't been terribly difficult since they had seen May in action and respected him more than they respected the king that sent them to war in the first place seemingly for no reason.

Silas stopped idly to chat with the two of them (which wasn't suspicious since their squadrons trained together frequently as the top three in headquarters) and handed them written instructions to give to people in the know. By this point they knew to destroy the evidence as soon as it was no longer needed.

His work here was done. All he had to do now was wait for his next day off and try to woo a palace girl himself.

He didn't want to let May down but he also truly wanted to find someone to share his life with. He was already at an age where a lot of people younger than him were married and he didn't want to be alone forever.

May had lucked out finding someone who managed to bring him so much happiness after all he had been through. The way he talked about Veronica it was completely obvious he was head over heels.

She was harder to read. Silas had only met her a few times and always in rather emotionally charged situations.

He vividly recalled the day she came to visit May shortly before they were called off to war and she laughed as he spun her around and then messed up his hair. She hadn't seemed at all surprised by his reputation and gave off an air of being proud of him too.

She was a beautiful woman with a smile that rivaled the sun in terms of brightness. But he hadn't understood why a super-serious guy like May was always so happy to receive letters from her. That was the only time he ever truly smiled.

Finding out she had saved his life right after losing everything explained it a little more but he didn't actually talk about her all that much. It was as if she was a precious secret he was determined to keep from the rest of the world…at least until they were walking back to the capital from Zel and he finally opened up.

May had it bad. Silas wasn't entirely sure his wife felt the same intensity of feeling he did though.

She had seemed oddly upset about something on their wedding day standing off to the side by herself but claimed it wasn't because most of her friends couldn't be there. He could tell she cared about May from their conversation—she called him her best friend while smiling fondly—but she didn't seem anywhere near as enamored.

Veronica might have been tired or upset for a separate reason but she hadn't seemed as happy as a bride on her wedding day should be after such a long engagement. Or it could have been all in his head since he really didn't know what sort of person she was.

She did make May happy though. Since coming back from Zel he had been in an oddly good mood most mornings and it had to be because of her.

He needed someone who could lighten him up since no one else in the world seemed capable of that. But they had all seen how he was both with his wife and when talking about her. He wasn't the taciturn, responsible man they had come to know. He actually had a personality around her!

Silas was glad he had someone he felt comfortable enough around to do that with. Goodness knows he needed it.

So much of May's life was consumed by his revenge plan. If that was all there was to him he would burn out or go mad like the king seemed to be doing. Veronica had saved him from that fate by being the first person he met after losing everything.

Silas would always owe her for that. He cared about what happened to his friend. When all of this was over he sincerely hoped she would be okay with it. If she wasn't…he didn't even want to think about what that would do to poor May. It was better not to think about things before they happened.. No point in worrying twice.