"Something amiss, Lieutenant?" He asked, noticing your distress. You fought the urge to ignore him in favour of not looking overwhelmed, but you turned, brushing the hair from your face that had fallen from your regulation bun.
"If I am honest with you, general, I want to say no, that I have this under control," You paused as he sat up straighter, arms folding on his chest at the admission that you would try to deceive him. "But I don't, the storm must have delayed my father going to the grain store to get feed, and then what with the party and my asking for his help, he must have forgotten." The general looked like he was about to interject, but you continued in a rush of anger filled rant. "Which means not only do I need to make sure that the food is prepared for breakfast for the family, and the rest of the personnel, but I also have to make sure that food is ready for this morning because obviously my mother was busy and didn't start yesterday. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but I have a feeling that they are going to be watching me even more this year because this is my first festival as an adult-" You hadn't noticed that the general had stood and was now holding your wrists in either of his hands, then again, you hadn't noticed that your hands had been waving around as much as they were.
"Enough." He growled out, his voice just above his speaking voice, but it was enough to silence you. You flushed in embarrassment at your outburst, and the general released your wrists. "You have, Lieutenant Mitika, the other officers and myself, all here at your disposal to assist you." You opened your mouth to object but a look from the general had you closing it again. "You are an officer, are you not?" He asked, and you nodded, a quiet yes sir, leaving you. "And you were trained to delegate tasks and command a situation, correct?" You again nodded, responding the same. "Then show me that your training was not wasted." He said, stepping back from you and motioning you to the door that lead to the outside, and the barn.
You pulled on your boots, squaring your shoulders almost unconsciously as you marched out to the barn, your general following a few paces behind you. You rolled open the door, the sound causing the faces of the officers that were awake to turn, and for those who were not awake, it was a rude awakening. When the general came into view behind you, they all leapt to their feet, standing at rest.
"Good Morning," you called into the dark, as you flicked on the light. A collective response from the officers encouraged you to continue. "I am in need of your assistance this morning. I have three sets of tasks for all of you. One: I need two of you to go to the grain store and pick up feed for the fathiers, it will be heavy and I don't think that you will be able to get through the snow that has piled on the road with a wagon. Two: I need one of you to go to the market, I have a list of things I need, and I have the credits that you will require. Third, I need help with interior prep work. There are six of you, so this should not be a problem." The gathered group turned from you in surprise to glance at the general.
The general simply raised his eyebrows and then narrowed his eyes when they didn't instantly begin to move. "You were given a set of orders, were you not?" He roared, his voice filling the large barn almost oppressively, and the group -yourself included- jumped.
"Yes, General!" They called, all snapping to attention.
"Then get your sorry asses in gear, and move!" He roared, and the group scrambled, falling in line before you as you handed the first two a set of credits and a paper with the name of the required feed. You then handed the next a list of items, and then more credits. The last three stood before you at parade rest as you gave them orders of what they needed to clean and organize, as well as what food they were allowed to prepare, but you left the cake for yourself.
You turned, instantly feeling the weight of the morning lift and you let out a sigh of relief. You nearly ran into the General as he stood looking at you curiously. "Thank you sir, I don't think I could have finished everything in time without their assistance."
Chapter 2
Comenzar desde el principio
