I'd Give Up The World For You

Rukelion did end up getting what he wanted after dinner so he was in a rather excellent mood the following morning despite having to deal with Lieutenant Colonel Hodges, who was bitter that his shadow managed to be promoted so much earlier than him and made little effort to hide it. So childish!

He wasn't the only officer who felt that way though. He experienced the same treatment from Major Armistead when he shadowed him. The major was likely even more bitter than Hodges about his early promotion.

No one said anything to his face though because they knew he had earned it. He had been instrumental in ending two wars with the Mireans victorious (even if one of the wins was a sham). Hostility didn't affect him. As long as he did his job properly no one could give him too much grief.

Rukelion had been through much worse. Older men being petty was the least of his problems.

The most pressing issue was the map. He had no idea when or if it would ever be filled out sufficiently. Boon's sister had been a tremendous help though. On her day off she would meet up with him and give as much detail as she possibly could about the castle's layout.

Unfortunately, it was a big place and she didn't have access to many areas. She couldn't do everything on her own without risking getting caught and imprisoned.

He wouldn't ask that of Boon's sister when the girl was such a valuable asset. They couldn't afford to lose her intel since she was more useful than all of the other palace girls his men were chummy with combined.

Still, it was frustratingly slow. He wished he could break into the castle himself and get it done. He might be able to pull it off too given his natural sneaking abilities. But if he got caught it would raise far too many questions. He couldn't risk it.

Rukelion had managed to add a tiny bit to the map himself based on what Daisy told him about the layout of the palace gardens. She loved gardening more than anything so she had gone on for over an hour about the exact patterns of the hedges. He hadn't expected that information to come in handy.

It wasn't enough though. They needed to know the full layout of the castle.

How many rooms…how many guards…where the secret passages and dead ends in hallways were…the location of the throne room and any other places the king was likely to go.

If there was a secret chamber somewhere for the royal family to hide in they needed to know that too. There were so many variables involved that he honestly didn't know if they would ever be able to pull this off.

What they really needed was free reign to explore the castle but that would never happen. It would be supremely helpful if they managed to get a royal guard on their side since they could go anywhere and do anything but managing to get one of them to switch loyalties would take a miracle.

Royal guards were the elite. They were trusted with the protection of the royal family so their prestige and pay were even higher than anyone's in the military.

There was a greater chance of pigs flying than there was of bribing a royal guard. The most effective way to get a man on the inside was planting one there themselves. It was possible but would be difficult.

Royal guards were chosen very carefully. They went through extensive background checks and physical testing to see if they were up to snuff. Typically, only the winners of tournaments were chosen (provided they weren't already a royal guard).

The next tournament was in a month. Rukelion had already ordered Conrad, Brant, and Cartwright to train their men extra hard in the hopes that one of them would win the tournament and be able to make it into the palace.

The army didn't require extensive background checks—which was good since he would be in trouble if they did—but having a history of fighting in two successful wars would make any candidate from the Silver Wolf, Golden Eagle, or Black Dragon squadrons look good. If one of them did manage to win this tournament it was possible that they could make their move while Daisy was visiting Ira after all.

If not for the fact that officers couldn't transfer over to become royal guards since they were needed in the military, Rukelion would have entered the tournament himself. He could beat anyone with ease using his magic.

This was a serious disadvantage. Several of his best men were disqualified this way because they were either captains or lieutenants.

The others would have to train especially hard if they wanted to beat the royal guards who entered the tournament. He only hoped they were up for the task. They needed someone with more access to the palace than Mabel Boon if they wanted to create a full map to help with their battle plan.

Hopefully, the king's paranoia didn't prevent a new royal guard from being chosen this year. Rukelion had overheard General Pace talking to General Sullivan the other day and it seemed that he was descending even further into madness as time progressed.

Good. He needed that shrewd, greedy, bloodthirsty king to not have a hold on his faculties. Outfoxing him would be much easier that way.

It was difficult to find any time to talk to Conrad or his other men while having to shadow Lieutenant Colonel Hodges so he wasn't able to check on their progress until Conrad and his fiancée came over for dinner two days before his evaluation. He wasn't concerned about Daisy suspecting them of anything as long as they didn't directly reference their plan. She was busy showing Elaine how to bake bread anyway.

"How is the new training regimen coming?" Rukelion asked as the two of them sat on the sofa.

"Well enough. I think Harland or Pole have a real shot at this. Everyone else…I'm not so sure. I really hope one of them wins," Conrad sighed. "It's a real shame I won't be able to get time off for the tournament."

Rukelion hadn't dared ask since he was still on probation but once he passed his evaluation he should be able to get a day off. If he did…he could guarantee one of their men won by doing his sweaty hand trick if things looked like they weren't going well.

He didn't have to enter the tournament at all and he could still affect things! Provided he was able to get the time off and get a seat close enough to the front.

He was less concerned about the latter than the former. He was a hotshot in the royal army. Only nobles would have higher priority and most of them stayed in their estates throughout the country this time of year.

"Hopefully I will so I can tell you all about it," Rukelion said.

Conrad didn't know anything about how he could manipulate other people's fights. If he did, he would likely realize what had happened to the former captains and lieutenants in Aveleen was no accident.

"I suppose that is the next best thing," he sighed. "Though I bet I'll hear all about it from whoever entered too. I wish I could enter. Wouldn't that sort of thing be fun? The prize money is no joke either. I could certainly use it to set up house and buy Elaine some new clothes."

"I'm sure you'll manage to set up house on a captain's salary. You only send half of your pay home to your sister these days."

"True, but buying so much furniture at once? How much did you have to spend?"

"More than you will, I'll tell you that much."

Conrad looked confused for only a moment before remembering that his relationship with Daisy had originally been fake. He had to pay to furnish a whole extra bedroom. His house was bigger than the place Conrad had found anyway.

The house he had been assigned by the military once he put in the paperwork saying he was getting married only had two bedrooms. One for them and one for whatever children they had later. The yard wasn't nearly as big as Rukelion's either and it was in the less nice part of the officer's housing.

That didn't seem to bother Elaine in the slightest. She had been chattering excitedly to Daisy about how cute the house was and how excited she was to make it nice over time as they kneaded the bread.

"Right. Can you at least tell me which furniture maker you used? The place is completely empty right now and I need to at least have some things ready before I move in," Conrad said somewhat desperately.

"I used the shop across from the open market. If you tell him you're getting married he should give you a discount. He did for me," Rukelion replied with a shrug. "Relax, Conrad."

"Sorry…I'm just nervous. I can't believe I'm actually getting married in a few weeks."

He could relate to the feeling. Feeling oddly sympathetic, he clapped a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Trust me, it'll be the best thing you ever do. Someone as sappy as you should be able to keep your wife happy."'

Conrad raised an eyebrow at him. "You're the last person who should be calling anyone else sappy."

Rukelion shrugged again.. What could he say? Daisy had that effect on him.