General and I

WHISPERS OF DAWN

Leah stirred slowly, her lashes fluttering against the soft morning light streaming through the sheer white curtains. The air was cool, still, and strangely peaceful. For a moment, she thought she was dreaming again the kind of dream where the world was kind, where she wasn’t surrounded by the snores, whispers, and sharp glares of her campmates.

But as her eyes adjusted, reality sank in.

This wasn’t her room.

The bed beneath her was too soft, the sheets clean and crisp with the faint scent of cedar and something expensive. The walls gleamed white, framed by silver accents. A large shelf lined with neatly arranged books sat beside a mahogany desk, and on it, a sword rested in perfect symmetry. The room was cold yet breathtaking the kind of place that spoke of precision, discipline, and wealth.

Her heart skipped.

Where am I?

She sat up abruptly, realizing she wasn’t even in her uniform anymore. Instead, she wore a loose white shirt, one far too big for her one that clearly didn’t belong to her. Her mind raced back to fragments of last night: the party, the drinks, the spinning lights, the… strong arms that caught her before she fell.

Her breath caught.

No. No, that can’t be.

Just as panic began to claw at her chest, the door opened.

Damien Cole stepped in, his expression calm but unreadable, his uniform crisp, his presence filling the room with quiet authority.

Leah froze, every nerve in her body on edge. The earth could have opened and swallowed her whole, and she would’ve thanked it.

He stopped near the door, eyes sweeping over her her messy hair, the oversized shirt, the clear panic written all over her face. And then, unexpectedly, the corners of his lips curved in the faintest smile.

“Relax,” he said quietly. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Leah quickly lowered her gaze, her cheeks burning. “General, I didn’t….i mean…”

Her words stumbled over each other helplessly.

Damien walked past her, stopping by the desk to set down a file. “You don’t have to explain,” he said evenly. “Nothing happened. You passed out, and I wasn’t about to leave a soldier on the ground.”

Leah nodded quickly, her fingers gripping the bedsheet. “I… I’m sorry for the trouble, sir.”

He turned toward her, arms crossed, that commanding calmness never leaving his tone. “Next time, if you can’t handle your drink, don’t touch it.”

Her lips parted. “I didn’t drink alcohol. I only had apple juice.”she mumbled.

Damien raised a brow. “Apple juice,” he repeated, almost amused. “That ‘apple juice’ had enough alcohol to knock out a grown man.”

She blinked, realization dawning slowly. Ann…

He caught the flicker of emotion across her face but said nothing. “Be careful who offers you kindness, Recruit Sanders,” he said simply. “Not everyone means well.”

Before she could respond, a knock came at the door.

“Enter,” Damien called out.

Mason stepped in, a folder in one hand, looking his usual calm self until his eyes landed on Leah. His brows shot up immediately.

“Uh—General,” he began cautiously, “I brought the reports you asked for and uh…” His gaze darted between Damien and Leah, confusion written all over his face.

Damien didn’t even flinch. “Mason, get a clean female uniform from the store.”

“Yes, sir.” Mason hesitated, his mind racing. A uniform? For her? In his quarters? He couldn’t help the flicker of curiosity that crossed his features. Could the General possibly be…?

No. Impossible. Damien Cole was a man of rules.

Within minutes, Mason returned with the folded uniform. “Here you go, sir.”

“Give it to her,” Damien ordered, still flipping through his documents.

Leah accepted it quickly, bowing slightly. “Thank you, sir.”

When they left the quarters, Mason couldn’t help but glance at her once more. She looked so small beside the General’s door, like a secret she didn’t mean to keep.

By the time Leah made it to the training field, the morning drills had already begun. Sergeant Harper’s whistle cut through the air as recruits sprinted across the open ground.

“Sanders!” he barked. “You’re late!”

“I’m sorry, sir!” she replied, standing straight.

“Save your breath! Ten laps now!”

“Yes, sir!”

Her body ached, her legs burning, but she didn’t dare slow down. She’d rather run herself breathless than let anyone suspect where she had been.

From a distance, Zach Trent stood with his hands in his pockets, pretending to observe the morning drills. His sharp eyes, however, followed Leah’s every move.

“Impressive,” he murmured. “She’s got more grit than most of them.”

The sergeant saluted him. “General Trent, didn’t expect to see you this early, sir.”

“Just curious about the new recruits,” Zach replied smoothly, his gaze never leaving Leah.

But curiosity wasn’t the only thing stirring inside him. He had seen the way Damien’s eyes followed that girl last night the same eyes that never softened for anyone. And now, here she was again, late, disheveled, and clearly hiding something.

Ann Parker noticed too. Her eyes narrowed, burning with quiet satisfaction.

Time to make her fall.

She leaned toward one of her friends. “You know, it’s an offense to be out after curfew,” she whispered. “And last night’s curfew only extended till midnight. I say we tell the sergeant she wasn’t in her room.”

Her friend hesitated. “Ann, maybe”

“Do it,” Ann hissed.

Moments later, the sergeant’s whistle blew again. “Recruit Sanders! Step forward!”

Leah froze mid-run, her pulse pounding.

“Yes, sir?”

“You were not in your room after curfew,” he said. “Care to explain?”

A murmur swept through the recruits. Natasha’s eyes widened in alarm.

Leah’s heart thundered. Her mind screamed one truth she could never say aloud. I was in the General’s quarters.

She looked up and her eyes met Damien’s. He had just arrived at the field, his hands behind his back, standing tall and unreadable.

She begged him silently with her gaze. Please, help me.

But Damien only watched her calm, almost amused as though testing her.

Zach stepped closer, interest piqued. “Where did you sleep last night, soldier?”

Leah’s throat tightened. She swallowed hard, searching for words, her mind spinning.

Then, quietly, she said, “I… I was drunk, sir. I couldn’t make it back. I must’ve fallen asleep in the toilet.”

A few chuckles broke out among the recruits, quickly silenced by the sergeant’s glare.

Damien’s lips twitched slightly part irritation, part reluctant amusement. The toilet? Really?

Natasha suddenly spoke up, her voice trembling. “I saw her, sir! She went to the toilet! I didn’t know she ,she fell asleep there.”

Zach turned sharply. “And who gave you permission to interrupt?”

Natasha flinched. “S-sorry, sir.”

Damien’s eyes softened slightly toward Leah. “both of them will serve punishment detail this evening. Cleaning duty.”

“Yes, sir!” the sergeant barked.

Leah bowed her head. “Understood, sir.”

As the recruits dispersed, Ann’s lips curled in quiet fury.

She had tried to humiliate Leah but instead, Damien Cole had stepped in again.

And that, Ann decided, was the last time she would let that happen.

She wasn’t exactly pleased and her friend stared at her , why is she always picking on her they thought , it couldn’t have been because she mistakingly stepped on her the other day, she literally sees her as her rival like they both have something they are dragging , Leah better watch her back because Ann has always been that girl that get what’s she wants no matter what since she’s young .