18 What's This For?

Winter ended all too soon. Before Daisy knew it, the time to harvest the grain had arrived. There was a lot of work to do but she didn't want to do it at all because Leo wouldn't have a reason to stay anymore as soon as it was done.

Even with that heavy reminder hanging over her head, she was still able to laugh when he swung his sickle like it was a sword and made the Krinzels clap for him the way he did every year. He seemed to sense she was feeling down so he made more of a show of it than usual.

The first time it happened, she had wondered where he learned to reap wheat so well but it made perfect sense now. He was skilled at wielding a blade. Why wouldn't he be good at this?

Leo said he planned to stick around until the grain sales to the miller were complete so the man couldn't give her a hard time. The deadline loomed over Daisy like an anvil in a cartoon. She absolutely dreaded it.

Was this how mothers felt when their children went off to college? It was as if she was watching a baby bird about to take flight for the first time.

This all weighed heavily on her heart the day they finished the grain negotiations. He would be leaving tomorrow and she had no idea if she would ever see him again. He had promised to come back but what if he got hurt or even killed? Fantasy worlds were a lot more dangerous than the one she had lived in before!

"I want to show you something," Leo said as she finished putting an apple tart made with a jar of preserves in the oven.

Daisy looked up curiously and saw him pointing at different places in the air leaving flames shaped like flowers where he did. Her eyes widened with delight but he wasn't done yet. After he had created about two dozen, he flicked his finger and they began dancing around the room before shattering into sparks like a miniature fireworks display.

When she turned back to him to let him know how cool that was, she saw he was holding a bouquet of red and pink wild carnations. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Did you create those with magic too?"

Leo laughed. "No, I can only make things out of fire. I've been practicing just for you. What did you think?"

"It was beautiful! Thank you, Leo. But what is this all for?" Daisy asked curiously.

Suddenly bashful, he wouldn't meet her eyes after she accepted the flowers. "Because you've seemed sad lately and I know it's because I'm leaving. I wanted to do something nice for you before I went."

So he had noticed after all. Well, he was observant; it would be hard for him not to. She had hoped he wouldn't though because she didn't want him to worry about her more than he already did. It seemed that idea was a bust.

A small smile crossed her face. "I appreciate it. I'm sorry for making you worry."

"It's fine!" Leo reassured her. "I would have worried about you anyway because you're important to me. I…I'm going to take care of you, Daisy. Even if it takes me a while to come home."

Home. He had referred to the farm that way a few times before but it held more weight now that he was going off into the world.

Home could be mean one of two things. The place you lived or the place you felt comfortable in and always wanted to go back to. Since he wouldn't be living here full time anymore, he had to mean the latter. That was comforting.

Daisy squinted at him as a thought occurred to her. "How do you plan to take care of me exactly? You aren't even going to be here so I'm not sure how that would work."

Leo shrugged. "I'm planning on sending money home so you can hire more farmhands and don't have to work so hard. At the very least, you need to be able to replace me but you should be able to bring more on as I advance."

Her heart warmed. This boy who dreamed of fame and fortune was willing to sacrifice some of his money to help her out. Had anyone else ever showed her such concern? She honestly couldn't remember.

"You're sweet," she told him with a warm smile as she reached out to ruffle his hair. That reminded her. She still hadn't shown him how to evenly distribute the hair dye everywhere. He would need to know that since he most likely planned to continue hiding his identity. "Hey, this is random but I should show you how to dye your own hair."

"Right! I completely forgot about that," he said with a frown.

"Don't worry about it. We can do that now."

Daisy prepared the tea brewed from the hair-darkening herbs. He knew the basics of how it was done since she had done it for him so many times but watched carefully anyway so he would know the exact proportions of herb to water.

As Leo began scrubbing it through his hair, especially at the roots, she idly made a crown out of the flowers he had given her. She was about halfway through before he asked her to check and see if he had missed any spots. He had only missed one so he tried again and was extra meticulous.

"You need to be careful out there," she said seriously as she continued twisting the flower stems together. "I don't know what you ran away from but you can't let anybody know who you are or about your fire magic."

He cracked a smile. "Believe me, I know that better than anyone. I've managed alright so far, haven't I?"

Technically yes, but he had accidentally spilled the beans about his powers to her. There was no guarantee he wouldn't do it again if he got close to someone else. Accidents happened.

"Promise me, Leo."

Leo could tell she meant business and his smile dropped. "I promise."

Daisy was relieved. She finished her flower crown as he washed the dye off his hands and then took the apple tart out of the oven. They waited for it to cool before each eating a piece. It was better made with fresh apples but she wanted to make one for him before he left since it was his favorite dessert. Who knew when he would be able to have one again?

Would he be able to eat alright on the road? Would he be bullied in the army by people stronger than he was? Was he really going to be okay?

She continued fretting like a mother hen until he broke the silence after finishing his slice of tart. "Be sure to tell everyone we're engaged after I leave. That'll keep them off your back. It'll seem more realistic when I send money home too.

"Make sure you let the rumors spread as far as possible so they reach any knuckleheads who might want to come after you. I don't want you to have to deal with that sort of harassment without me there as a deterrent."

Daisy let out a small laugh. He was scowling and it was kind of cute. He really didn't like people bothering her.

"I will, don't worry. I don't want them bothering me either so I appreciate you letting me use you as a shield. Hopefully it works."

"It better," Leo muttered, making her laugh again. Definitely cute.

She ruffled his hair again now that it was dry and then the two of them played cards and talked until they needed to go to bed. It was strange thinking that this was the last night she wouldn't be alone in this house after so long.

In the morning, Daisy woke up earlier than usual so she could prepare Leo's rucksack for the road. She gave him a small pouch of coins she had been setting aside ever since she found out he would be leaving. He would definitely need them on his journey. She also packed him a few days' worth of rations since she didn't know how far he would be traveling to enlist, including several slices of apple tart.

Since she had a little extra time after packing, she went into the forest to find some flowers and make him a wristlet. It would likely dry out before he reached his destination, wherever that may be, but at least it would be a reminder of home.

All she could find were these little purple flowers known as elegant brodiaea. They would have to do.

Daisy was still working on it when Leo stumbled out of bed. He slathered a thick slice of bread with raspberry jam and didn't even seem to notice what she was working on, functioning on autopilot.

When he finally looked up, she had nearly finished and was admiring her handiwork. All she needed to do now was tie it on his wrist. She walked over to him and did so, which finally seemed to wake him up fully.

"What's this for?"

"A reminder of home while you're on the road. You can get rid of it if you get to the barracks before it dries out since it's probably too girly," she replied with a shrug.

"That shouldn't be a problem," Leo said quietly. "Thank you."