I'd Give Up The World For You

Daisy floated through the next day rather dreamily, including having tea with Tom and Miette in the palace garden. Though nothing was blooming yet she could tell preemptively that once it did the place would be spectacular.

She hadn't seen the garden in full bloom yet since she moved here toward the end of the summer. By the time Miette took her to meet Tom nearly everything had died because of the fall chill.

She was looking forward to coming back in the spring and early summer when everything showed off its full magnificence. She knew what all the plants here were by their leaves or other signs and knew it would be glorious.

Tom had been jealous and impressed as Miette had predicted when they had their first horticultural discussion. He even tried to bribe Daisy to work for him instead but she couldn't betray Miette like that since she genuinely needed the help and had been generous enough to give her a job in the first place.

Besides, she wouldn't have full run of the place here. There were rules and restrictions to working in the palace. She had heard about a lot of them from Juliet.

She was likely down in the laundry room at this very moment since she claimed she practically lived there. Daisy missed her. Maybe she should invite Juliet out to do something soon since it would be awkward if she came over when Leo was home.

He wasn't exactly one for socializing. It was surprising enough he had agreed to invite Conrad and his girlfriend over for dinner considering his usual social life consisted solely of her when he wasn't working.

"Did something good happen, Veronica?" Tom asked curiously when he noticed how spacey she seemed.

Daisy smiled but didn't go into the real reason. "My husband and I spent most of yesterday planting fruits and vegetables. I'm looking forward to harvesting them and planting more once the weather warms up a bit more."

"Ah, yes. Once you've experienced farm fresh there's no going back or so I've heard. I've spent my whole life in the capital so I haven't experienced it for myself."

"Be grateful you haven't. You'd never be satisfied getting fruits or vegetables from the market again."

She was only teasing and he could tell since he let out a loud guffaw. "That's what I like about you! You aren't afraid to tell it like it is. Does your husband enjoy gardening anywhere near as much as you do?"

"No, he prefers eating what's harvested but understands that the work needs to be put in to make that happen. Primarily he helps me plant because he wants to spend time with me."

"Aww, young love!" Miette cooed. "The two of you are so cute."

Daisy flushed. Miette had only seen them interact on their wedding day, which was tremendously awkward in her opinion. People saw what they wanted to see. Though she supposed that Leo's love for her that day had been obvious so it was natural to assume she felt the same way.

A small stab of guilt hit her stomach and she did her best to squelch it. That was all in the past. She had figured out her feelings and she loved Leo the way he loved her now so it didn't matter anymore.

"He's a military man, ain't he?" Tom asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, he's a major. Because of that he was able to make sure our days off lined up, which is why we were able to do the planting together. Otherwise I would have had to do it on my own."

"A major! Don't tell me a pretty young thing like you is wasted on someone our age!"

Daisy barely held back a snort. In reality she was closer to their age than Leo's. "No, he's two years younger than me. He got promoted for his role in ending the Aveleenian War a few years ago."

"Is that how he lost his eye?" Miette asked curiously.

Tom looked at her in disbelief. "He's missing an eye?!"

"No, that happened in a farm accident," Daisy improvised. She knew he had picked up the eyepatch before he got to the capital and couldn't let weird rumors spread. "He had the eyepatch before the war."

"A farm accident?!"

"Farm tools can be surprisingly dangerous if misused. You should know that much from being a gardener, Tom!"

He mulled this over. "I suppose you're right. Still, that's such a strange way to lose an eye. Especially for a military hero. He must have been very young when it happened."

"It happened shortly after he came to stay with me," Daisy lied. No one in the capital could refute that and it wasn't like anyone here had contact with the Krinzels back in Cloverfield.

"I see. Poor thing. He's rather imposing between the eyepatch and the scar on his forehead but he's a sweetheart," Miette clucked.

"He is. The sweetest person I've ever met."

"…and he's a major in the military?" Tom asked skeptically. "I want to meet your husband."

"You leave those two little lovebirds alone, you old coot! They don't want to waste their precious time together on the likes of you," Miette scolded.

"If I'm an old coot what does that make you?"

"I'm going to tell Dinah you said that since we're the exact same age."

Fear shone on Tom's face and he grasped onto the edge of the table in panic. "Don't you dare! I'll deny everything. She'll believe me over you anyway so don't you dare tell her!"

Daisy was inclined to believe she wouldn't actually considering how freaked out he was at the thought of Miette ratting on him to his wife. She laughed. Watching these two interact was always a riot since they had known each other so long.

She wondered briefly if people would ever feel that way watching her and Leo go. They didn't tease each other nearly as much as these two did but still it would be interesting to see. She looked forward to it.

She looked forward to life with him in general. Maybe having a family with him someday wouldn't be so bad but right now she was enjoying being with him in a fuller capacity. This body was quite young, after all. There was no rush.

Miette was still annoyed at Tom by the time they left and stalked back toward the flower shop in a huff to do some paperwork. Daisy returned to the greenhouse and got back to work, happy to see her flowers.

It may be a bit silly but she considered all of these plants her babies the way she had back in Ohio when her apartment was somewhat of a jungle. In those days she had been more attached to plants than any human being. That changed after meeting Leo.

When her shift ended she was surprised but pleased to run into Juliet on her way out of the store. "Hey! What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you. It's my day off and I already sold out of my socks at the open market so I thought I'd see if you were free for a while. You did tell me your husband finishes work later than you," she replied casually.

Daisy had told her that. It was a good thing she remembered because it had been quite a while since they had seen each other. "I am most definitely free. Do you want to go to the bakery? My treat."

The two of them walked together and sat down with mugs of hot chocolate and pastries. She had chosen a cinnamon roll though they were called cinnamon buns here. It didn't matter to her what they were called; they would always be her favorite. Juliet picked an éclair.

They caught each other up on their lives though there wasn't much Daisy could say. Most of what had happened since the last time they saw each other had to do with her changing feelings about her husband and she couldn't tell anyone about that.

It seemed her friend had primarily been dealing with all of the romance blossoming among the palace servants with members of the royal army and trying to get her sock business off the ground. Apparently, that was slow going.

"…and now I have to buy yarn to make more socks while I'm out today. Want to come to the store with me after we're done here?" Juliet asked.

"Sure," Daisy agreed easily. "I'll have to go home after that though."

They finished their snack and headed out to the fabric store. She perused the shelves idly wondering if she should make another quilt and decided to go for it. She got cold easily when Leo wasn't home.

She purposely picked fabrics she knew tended to be warmer and paid for them as Juliet waited nearby, having already stocked up on the yarn she needed. They walked out of the store laden with boxes and she wondered how she was going to make it home like this going around the long way.

If she was lucky, Leo wouldn't have left work yet and she would take the shortcut with him.. Most of the royal army knew her on sight by now but they still wouldn't let her walk around as she pleased even if she was an officer's wife.