8 What's So Special About Her?

Daisy whirled around and saw Leo standing there looking as expressionless as ever though his fists were clenched at his sides. He loosened them and glanced over at her, his tone warming slightly.

"Is he bothering you, Veronica?"

"Yeah, he is actually," she said more calmly than she felt.

She was freaked out not only by the implication that Mr. Wilem was going to come after her but by how cold the boy had been a moment ago. She still had goosebumps. That level of ice wasn't like him…at least not the version of him she had gotten to know the past couple of months.

Leo walked over and slung a protective arm over her shoulders, which he could do easily enough since he was only a few inches shorter than her despite their age difference. He stared the cobbler down, who looked at the two of them in disbelief.

"Why can he call you by your given name while I can't?" Mr. Wilem snarled.

"Because I gave him permission," Daisy said simply, feeling more secure now that she had backup and whatever had briefly come over her companion had passed. "As I said, I have things to do. Come on, Leo."

They passed the gaping older man and Leo didn't let go of her until they were out of the market. He had been looking over his shoulder for most of the walk and had seen the coast was clear.

"Sorry about that. I had to do something," he said apologetically.

"Please don't apologize! I don't know how I would have gotten rid of him without you. I hate dealing with people like that. Why can't they leave me alone?" she griped.

"This happens to you a lot."

A statement rather than a question. He wasn't wrong but how had he come to that conclusion? He never came to town with her. She didn't even know what he was doing there today when he helped her out.

"Yeah," Daisy sighed. "I don't know what their deal is."

Leo stopped dead in his tracks. "…seriously?"

He was looking at her like she was stupid and she instantly felt defensive. "What?"

"You really need to be more careful," he said in lieu of a proper answer. "If I hadn't been there, you might have been in real trouble. Don't go into town alone anymore."

"How am I supposed to do that?! You aren't always around."

"Then wait for me to be around."

Daisy huffed in frustration. Sure, Mr. Wilem had been creeping her out, but she knew how to handle herself. Leo was treating her like she was completely defenseless. Who exactly had saved whose life here?

"I can handle myself perfectly fine!" she protested.

He met her gaze with that piercing yellow eye and though his expression and tone were neutral as ever, she sensed that he was pleading with her. "Please. It would make me feel better."

All of the fight drained out of her after that. How was she supposed to counter such an argument? She didn't know what he had been through but had realized he had some attachment to her. If he was genuinely worried, she couldn't say no.

"Alright," Daisy conceded. "You happy?"

"Quite."

They returned to the house briefly before she got back to her chores and he disappeared the way he always did this time of day without another word. Where on earth was he going, anyway? And what had he been doing in town? He didn't have any money.

That boy was a real mystery but it wasn't her job to figure him out. She had more pressing things to do, like help the Krinzels carry fruits and vegetables down to the cellar.

===

Rukelion knew he needed to do more than sit around watching people spar with swords but wasn't sure how to make his situation change. That mercenary had been fairly adamant. Maybe he needed to try finding someone else in town.

He had unsuccessfully tried to locate a sword master in the pub again just before he saw Veronica being held up by an older man. Her body language was defensive so he knew that wasn't any old friendly chat.

Rage boiled inside of him when he got close enough to hear what they were talking about. That cretin was trying to make a move on her!

When he said there was no one to protect her, Rukelion couldn't help but step in. He was surprised to find he meant it too. She was a good person; she didn't deserve to deal with that. He may be the last person on earth who should be protecting anybody since he had been a coward who ran away from the fight of his life but that didn't change anything.

Rukelion was trying to become stronger to take his revenge but he couldn't deny that the thought of being strong enough to protect what mattered to him was appealing as well. As much as he may not want to admit it, Veronica had grown on him.

She was a strange girl but she had also kept him distracted while his world was falling apart. He would always owe her for that. Why shouldn't he protect her while he was here?

Though he didn't know how much longer that would last. If he found a traveling sword master, he would have to go with them and leave her behind. He knew it was necessary but a pit formed in his stomach at the thought of never seeing her again.

Veronica was warm. Bright. Kind. Interesting. If things were different, he would want to stay her friend but he knew she was far too good for the likes of him. As the mercenary said, he had murder in his heart.

Rukelion sighed from his place up a tree as he thought about all of this but didn't realize he would give himself away by doing so. Three pairs of eyes passing beneath him looked around with their hands on their sword hilts before looking up and spotting him.

"Oi, you! What're you doin' up there?!"

He froze, trapped. He couldn't go down but he was a sitting duck up here!

He was quick to explain himself. "I don't mean any harm! I was only watching because I want to become a sword master and your leader refused to teach me."

"Get Barry and see if he can confirm this kid's story," one barked to another, who rushed off to do what he said.

Rukelion was stuck in the tree until he saw the mercenary he had originally met in the pub laughing up at him. "I must say, you're more skilled than I thought to have not been caught before now. How long has it been, anyway?"

"…I followed you after you turned me down and have been coming ever since."

He laughed even harder. "You've got guts, kid! Doesn't mean I'll teach you though. Next time I catch you sneaking around here, I'll have my men shoot at you."

"Please," Rukelion begged, though the word left a sour taste in his mouth. He was a prince of Katalya! Begging a mercenary was beneath him but he had no other choice. "I don't care about the price. I need to be powerful enough that no one can ever touch me or the ones I love ever again. That's all I want!"

The mercenary eyed him more critically. "The ones you love, eh? Like that girl I saw you defending so fiercely in town today against a man nearly twice your size?"

He flinched. He hadn't realized anyone else had seen that, let alone someone he knew. That wasn't what made him flinch though. The implication that he loved Veronica did. How could he? He hardly knew her!

Although…he might be able to use the man's assumption to his advantage. If pretending to love someone was what got his foot in the door, he would do it. His conscience was the last thing he was worried about in the pursuit of his revenge.

"Yes," Rukelion insisted though his face was bright red at the very thought of being in love at his age. "Too many flies hover around her and I want to be strong enough to protect her from them. The way I am now…I can't protect anyone. Not even myself."

"Aww, young love," one of the mercenaries cooed. "Come on, Barry! Give the kid a chance. What'll it hurt?"

Barry's expression was skeptical. "Do you truly want to do this for that girl and not some ridiculous thoughts of revenge?"

He bristled internally at his dreams being called ridiculous but kept calm. He was partially honest in his reply. "She's all I have left. I don't want anything to happen to her. I…I can't lose anyone else."

"What's so special about her? You've only known her for a couple of months, haven't you? That was around the time I first started seeing you around town. I don't go easy on my men, you know. Why are you willing to push yourself so hard for her?"

Rukelion would do anything—ANYTHING—to punish those who had destroyed his kingdom. But since he couldn't say that, he needed to focus on the things he liked about Veronica to make this man believe he was in love with her.

"She saved my life," he began firmly. "She's kind…beautiful…when she smiles at me, I almost feel happy again. She can make even the dullest of tasks seem fun and has the sort of laugh that makes you want to laugh along with her. Spending time with her is the only thing I find enjoyment in anymore.

"She puts up with a lot but never complains. She's hardworking but deals with everything cheerfully. She's the kind of person who goes out of her way to do nice things for others even though she won't benefit from it.

"She's mysterious…she won't say so but I know her life hasn't been easy. Yet she still finds joy in the smallest, most insignificant things. I admire that about her. I don't want anyone making her life harder. She deserves to have things be easy for her now."