章 13: You ARE Kind Of Weird

Things changed a bit between them after that. Leo seemed as if a great burden had been lifted off of his shoulders and was friendlier and altogether more expressive for it.

When they were alone, he called her Daisy and that meant a lot to her. He didn't pry about her life before and she did the same but they had grown closer with two less mysteries between them to the point that he actually talked to her first now when he didn't specifically need something.

Leo told her everything he knew about Mirea and the surrounding nations to help her adjust better since he knew she had absolutely no idea where she was. She appreciated that and soaked up whatever he was willing to tell her like a sponge.

Apparently she had landed in a fantasy kingdom smack dab in the middle of a continent and its primarily focus was agriculture. She never would have guessed because every country needed farms but she supposed she should have considering the wide variety of things that grew here.

Daisy was eager to learn more so that she wouldn't accidentally trip up and ruin her cover as Veronica. Honestly, it was amazing she hadn't done so before now. The Krinzels had completely bought her act and they actually knew the real one!

From what she understood, their personalities were completely different but her reticence had been explained by the sudden, tragic deaths of her entire family and nearly dying herself. They hadn't suspected her of being another person entirely because of the extenuating circumstances.

But who would? What happened to her was essentially impossible. She didn't know how she ended up here and probably never would.

Most of the winter passed like that and when the first signs of spring began, they had to get back to work. Well, she had to get back to work. Leo seemed to have been working the entire time on something else with how often he was gone.

Daisy needed to plow the ground, plant the seeds, harvest the grain, and prepare it to be sold to the miller. She had an awful lot of work to do so there was no time to waste!

When it was time to get started, the Krinzels came back—they had been doing other things all winter since there was no need for them to be here—and they all set to work together. She was grateful to have their expertise because she had never done this before, having arrived later in the spring last year when it was already taken care of.

It was hard to believe she had been here so long. So much had happened since she first came and she wasn't sure what to make of it all even now. All she could do was accept the second life she had been given as the gift it was.

Thankfully, what she worried about last year hadn't been necessary. She didn't need to hire extra farmhands because she had Leo. He was surprisingly talented at reaping wheat. He swung his sickle artfully, as if it was a sword, and the rest of them couldn't help but stare in awe.

He got embarrassed when Braedon and Thomas began clapping for him but seemed secretly pleased at the same time. It was cute.

Since they had gotten closer, Daisy considered him the brother she never had. She had plenty of foster siblings but hadn't been close to any of them so it was nice living with someone she got along with well.

And when the miller, whose son's proposal she had rejected, tried giving her a hard time and not paying the right price for the wheat, Leo backed her up. He looked rather threatening despite his size since he was holding a sickle like he was some sort of grim reaper.

That put the miller in his place and he gave her a fair price in the end, even agreeing to give some of her wheat back to her at a discount. It could be really nice having someone around.

Was this what Mr. Wilem meant when he said she needed a man to protect her? She didn't need physical protection but in this sexist fantasy world she needed someone who was willing to help when people didn't take her seriously as a woman.

Leo wasn't sexist. He acknowledged that she was a perfectly capable and competent person on her own even if he did worry about her a tad too much from time to time. She understood the reasons for it despite him never specifically saying anything about it so it wasn't a big deal.

He was a sweet, diligent kid who admittedly was seeming less childlike over time. He hit his growth spurt not long after his thirteenth birthday, which they celebrated shortly after the grain harvest.

He stood more than half a foot taller than her by the time it was done but didn't stop growing there. He had passed six feet by his next birthday and towered over her.

She made a comment about how tall he had gotten one day as she worked the herbal tea rinse through his hair that helped disguise its color. He had to sit on the ground in front of her so her arms didn't get too tired the way they would have if he had been in a chair.

"I could toss you over my shoulder as easily as a bag of flour," he said proudly one day.

Daisy snorted. "Please don't."

"I'm not saying I would. Only that I could."

She wasn't entirely sure she believed that since he had showed more of a mischievous side over time as he became more comfortable with her. Their harvest-related games in the summer and fall were all the more fun because of it.

"Sure, I totally believe you," she said sarcastically.

"Good!"

Leo didn't really understand the art of sarcasm. He thought she was being serious and took her words at face value.

He totally could toss her over his shoulder like a bag of flour though, which was weird to think about. He had been so little when he first came to her two years ago. Small. Fragile. In need of protecting. Look at him now!

He had become broad-shouldered and strong. Girls in the village had noticed too and whispered about him every time they went into town.

It was strange seeing that happen since she still thought of him as a kid. But she supposed he could be considered nearing manhood by this fantasy world's standards. Her little baby bird was growing up…and would probably leave the nest sooner or later.

Daisy didn't like thinking about that. What would she do when Leo was gone?

Obviously it wouldn't be fair to keep him here forever but she doubted he would want to spend the rest of his life as a farmhand not even making any money for himself since his labor paid for room and board. If she was being honest, it was surprising he hadn't left already.

Part of her thought he was familiar and comfortable with the farm (and her) and that was why he didn't move on. Another wondered if he might have actually come to like farming. He never did say much on the subject since he wasn't a complainer.

"Leo, what do you want out of life?" Daisy asked curiously one day as they were picking tomatoes.

He didn't answer for a long time and when he did he said, "I want to regain what I lost."

That didn't really explain anything but she couldn't fault him for it. She knew he was fanatically private by nature and that was a rather personal question.

She couldn't straight up ask him what he had lost so she went quiet. A long pause later, he returned the question. "What about you? What do you want out of life? Aside from having lots of flowers around, I mean."

Daisy smiled. She did want to have lots of flowers around. That had always been her dream. Having a fruit and vegetable garden was secondary to that and the farm had accomplished it and then some without giving her what she truly desired.

"I want to live life on my own terms," she told him honestly.

She didn't want to follow anyone else's rules or have to adhere to other people's expectations. What she truly wanted more than anything was to live life for herself for the first time and she had been accomplishing that here even if it wasn't in the way she had originally expected.

"So you don't want a husband lording over you like the cobbler or any of your other suitors would," Leo surmised.

Daisy nearly dropped the tomato in her hand. He wasn't wrong but where did that come from all of a sudden? She supposed at sixteen she was technically of a marriageable age here. Yuck!

"Absolutely not. If I get married, it will be for love and nothing else," she said firmly. "Not that I think anyone would love me. I'm kind of weird."

"You ARE kind of weird," he agreed. "But that's part of your charm."

"Thanks…I think." She wasn't sure whether to feel complimented or insulted. It was better to go with complimented.

"Really though, Daisy, you're more lovable than you think. Why else would you have so many suitors? People can tell there's something special about you. It doesn't hurt that you're the most beautiful girl in the village either."

Now that was definitely a compliment! What had happened to the boy who had barely been able to choke out that she looked nice when she asked him about her birthday ribbon?