New Farmhands

Daisy managed to hire three new farmhands by the end of the week. A pair of twin sisters in a family of all girls named Elsa and Marie and an orphaned eight-year-old boy named Ira who had been shunted from family to family in town after his parents, travelers passing through the area, had died and no relatives had been located.

His story struck a chord with Daisy and she agreed to take him in so he didn't have to keep getting moved around. She knew better than anyone in this fantasy world what it was like to have no one want you.

She let him move into one of the spare rooms that hadn't been used by Leo (she was saving it for when he came back) and set aside his pay in a large jar that she could give to him when he was old enough to use it. He would probably want to go do his own thing once he was older and would be able to afford it with enough savings.

Ira was a sullen, hopeless boy who didn't speak much. In a way, he reminded her of Leo when he first moved in. But he also reminded Daisy of herself.

He seemed surprised by basic kindness, such as when she helped him with his chores or gave him treats she made with the abundance of apples and berries they were collecting. He didn't seem interested in making things a game the way Leo had and did what needed to be done in silence.

The stark difference between the two boys with nowhere to go she had taken in was obvious. Ira didn't have any goals he was working toward while biding his time the way Leo had. He had lost all hope and was simply trying to get through the day.

Poor kid. Daisy knew exactly what that was like. She didn't want to push him though so she let him be after offering something once.

Somehow having someone here who didn't care about her was even lonelier than being by herself. She learned that when she was a kid surrounded by people but still completely alone and the reminder wasn't pleasant.

Still, she couldn't drive the kid out just because she was uncomfortable. He needed a place to stay and a way to pave a future for himself. She couldn't let him down.

Ira might not speak much but he hovered around her like a very obedient shadow awaiting orders. That was how he ended up accompanying her when she went exploring and discovered an entire meadow further up the stream from the farm. She had never had a reason to come this far before so she had no idea it had existed.

The wind fluttered her hair despite it being tied back with a ribbon and she looked around in awe. "This is amazing! Look at all these flowers! I've never seen anything like this, have you?"

The boy shook his head but gave no indication whether or not he liked the meadow. He stared blankly the way he always did.

Daisy couldn't help herself. She skipped around the meadow breathing in the beautiful fresh air scented with flowers and ended up rolling around in them, heedless of getting dirty. She was reminded of a post she saw on the internet several years ago about some guy in his twenties talking about how he frolicked for the first time in his life posting pictures of how happy he looked while doing so.

She totally understood where he was coming from now! She was frolicking and having the most fun she'd had since before Leo left. She was going to have to tell him all about this in her next letter.

Once she got that urge out of her system, she plopped herself down and began humming to herself as she made a crown out of Gerber daisies. Ira watched quietly from several yards away.

The daisies in question happened to be the same bright red as Leo's hair and it made her miss him. He would have been much more enthusiastic about finding a place like this with her than her current companion was.

Daisy moved on to making a necklace, two bracelets, and a ring for herself as well before feeling a laser-like stare and looking up at the silent boy. "…would you like me to make you something? You can pick the flowers you want me to use."

Ira's eyes widened at her offer. He clearly hadn't been expecting it.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course! There are so many flowers here and we have plenty of time," she said with a smile.

His voice was hesitant. "Could you maybe make me a crown with some blue flowers? Only if you want to though."

"I would be honored to make a blue flower crown for you. These are actually called baby blue eyes, isn't that funny? I guess it makes sense in a way though since they're pretty close to the color of yours."

Ira's hair was straight and black with a bluish sheen and he had light blue eyes. He was also missing a bunch of teeth but she hadn't noticed that at first since he hadn't smiled once since coming to work for her.

He nodded acknowledgement of what she said before going back to watching her work. It was strange being stared at like this but Daisy did her best to ignore it and act like it was perfectly normal.

When she finished the crown, she placed it on his head and clapped her hands together. "There! Now we sort of match."

"…we don't match completely," the boy said quietly.

Was he talking about the color or the fact that she was completely decked out in flowers while he wasn't? It was the first time he had shown real interest in anything even if it was in a rather limited way. She had to milk it for all it was worth.

A mischievous smile lit her face. "Do you want to? We don't have to get back to the farm for a while."

A tiny spark of something flashed in his dull eyes and he nodded shyly. Daisy gathered up all of the baby blue eyes she could find and set to work. By the time the two of them headed home, they were completely covered in flowers and Ira's heavy countenance seemed the tiniest bit lighter.

That night as she wrote her daily letter to Leo by the light of a lantern, he uncharacteristically spoke up. Normally, he sat there doing nothing all evening long even when she suggested they do things to pass the time.

"Miss Veronica, who are you writing to all the time?" he asked before suddenly looking as if he wished the ground would swallow him whole.

Daisy barely managed to stifle a laugh. "My fiancé, Leo. He's working in the capital right now but before he left, he asked me to write him every day as if I was talking to him like usual. He used to live and work here with me.

"I write something every day and then send everything off at once when his letters arrive. Right now I'm telling him about our adventure in the meadow. He used to bring me flowers all the time but I'm not sure if he ever found that particular spot."

Ira tilted his head curiously. "What's he doing?"

"He's a part of the royal army. He sends money home to help me out, which is why I was able to hire you and the twins."

"Do you miss him?"

Why had this kid become so talkative all of a sudden? Was it because he had perceived decking themselves out in flowers earlier as bonding? He hadn't talked this much at once the entire time he had lived here.

A small, sad smile lit Daisy's face. She had been missing Leo more and more lately. And she used to think she was perfectly fine on her own. That showed what having someone who cared could do. It ruined you…but in the best way possible.

"Every day. He's my family," she told him.

She had to keep with the cover story that she was engaged in front of Ira since he interacted with the other farmhands, all of whom were under the impression that her 'romantic' relationship with Leo was real. He probably thought she meant family in a much different way than she truly did.

Leo was twelve years younger than her. He was her family but in a little brother sort of way. In this case, being honest lent credence to her story despite how misleading it was.

"Mr. Callum says your whole family died like mine," Ira said suddenly. "Is Mr. Leo all you have left?"

Daisy was a bit surprised Callum said anything. She wondered when he had the chance to since most of the time the kid was glued to her side and she definitely hadn't heard that. It must have been when she stepped away for a minute to do something or other.

"Yeah."