Hounds of War [Yandere Generals x Female General Reader]

4. A Long Way From Home.

"Should I stand guard outside?" The brunette asked nervously, doing his best to look away as Y/N removed her armor and continued to shamelessly undress.

"No, stay in here," She commanded him. Now fully nude, she crossed the tent pulling her H/C hair up as she walked. "After seeing what Luccia has to offer when it comes to men I am not worried in the slightest." She climbed into the tub and let out an audible sigh as the warm water enveloped her.

"H-How was the condition of the army, general Denlleonis?" Esclave asked, his voice wavering slightly from discomfort. Even though he had seen general Denlleonis naked before, it was never by his choice.

"Abdominal!" Y/N exclaimed, balling her hands into fists and hitting the surface of the water to vent her anger. "No discipline or fortitude at all! They all just stood around and gawked at me like mackerel, I was tempted to gut a couple of them like fish too, but I resisted."

"That is very admirable of you, from what I have seen the soldiers of Luccia don't seem to pleased with the idea of having a female general," Esclave replied, his vision still downcast. His tone turned bitter as he recalled the attitude the other generals had towards Y/N.

"Well, that's too bad," Y/N scoffed as she took the soap that Esclave had the foresight to leave by the bath, and used it to scrub herself clean. "I was ordered to train this army, and I will do as I am commanded. It looks like they're going to be stuck with me, and I with them until my task is completed."

"Indeed," the Subedict General sighed. He always enjoyed being in general Denlleonis' company, but he especially enjoyed it when she was especially headstrong.  "If anyone can whip such a group of useless louts into shape it's you."

The tent fell into silence after that. The young, redheaded general who had been eavesdropping on the entire conversation with tempted to leave, but just as he began to creep away the sound of a voice broke the quiet within the tent.

"Esclave, could you wash my back?" Y/N asked bluntly. She held out the bar of soap and pointed at a spot between her shoulder blades. "I have a spot I can't reach."

"I-I don't you think it would be improper for me to do th-that, general Denlleonis?" Esclave protested, his whole face turning as red as the birthmark on his left cheek.

"Nonsense, we're both soldiers," She gestured him over, growing impatient. "I'll order you to do it if that makes it easier for you."

"V-Very well, general Denlleonis," Esclave agreed, his voice quavering as he reluctantly approached the makeshift tub and took the soap bar from Y/N.

She held her hair out of the way and Esclave raised the bare of soup to her back with shaking fingers. Had he not been so proud of completing the tasks she set him to the fullest he would have run the bar over her back in a couple of seconds and called his task done so that he could retreat back to his corner and cover his eyes the way he desperately wanted to.

Instead, he brought the soap bar across her back, focusing with all his might to avoid glancing at her exposed chest as she held her h/c hair out of the way. His whole face bright red, Esclave set down the bar of soap, and tentatively began to rub the suds into her back.

The dirt and grime from the road washed off, revealing her smooth skin. Her back was littered with scars, the most notable being the long lash lines she had received from the blows of a whip. They were the only indication that she had not always been the fearsome and untouchable general that she was known as.

Even though he had seen them before, Esclave couldn't resist his desire to touch them. He traced the lines with his fingers, wondering what kind of woman Y/N had been when she had received them. Part of Esclave longed to have known Y/N before she became so battle-hardened, while the other part scolded him for desiring to know things that would make their relationship something more than the bond between soldiers.

"Thanks for the help," general Denlleonis snapped Esclave out of his trance as she thanked him before standing up in the tub without warning. The brunette fumbled back and turned his head to the other side to avoid seeing anything more than he already had. "I can always rely on you, Esclave."

With that said Y/N toweled herself off and pulled on a simple white tunic before blowing out the candle and crawling onto her cot and pulling her blue cloak over herself like a blanket. "It's only been a day, but I already miss home," she muttered with a yawn as she drifted off to sleep.

Esclave's heart softened as he got to his feet and gazed down at Y/N's sleeping form. She was finding it just as hard to adjust to the Luccians' customs as he was, even if she would never say it he knew it was true. He felt his chest swell with pride when he recalled how Y/N had said that she could always rely on him.

He took hold of the trough and began to push it from the tent with the intention of emptying it before going to bed himself. After several laborious minutes, the trough was out of the tent and could be dumped.

Griping the sides to overturn it, Esclave hesitated. Gazing at his reflection in the water, only marred by a few bubbles that remained floating on the surface, he recalled the sequence of washing the general's back.

The surprisingly graceful curve of her neck, the way the water made her skin glisten and accentuated the lines of her scars, all stood out painfully clear in Esclave's memory. He tried to push the images away, just as he pushed away all of his less than moral feelings towards the general, but he only had so much resilience and his discipline was on the verge of crumbling.

Scenes of making love to the general, accompanied by darker fantasies of drowning her in the trough flashed before his eyes. The more he fought to push them away the more vivid they became.

Panting he again beheld his reflection in the water. His cheeks were flushed red, and his body burned like it was on fire. "You should be more cautious of who you rely on," he whispered. Needing to do something to satisfy his desire the brunette cupped the water from the trough and brought it to his lips. After a moment of hesitation, he swallowed it.

He regretted it instantly as the bitter taste of soap coated his mouth and hot shame surged through his blood as the clamor of dark fantasies at last dispersed, clearing his mind in time for him to realize the disgusting nature of his act.

Feeling like he might be sick Esclave dumped the trough on its side. Not bothering to turn it upright, he withdrew into the now darkened tent where a sleepless night of shame and self-hatred waited for him, oblivious to the redhead who had witnessed the entire disturbing scene.

A/N

Esclave is probably the most deranged character I have ever written. Out of the four generals, he is hands down the most disturbed. He hides it very well with the facade of a dutiful soldier, but underneath in a writhing beast of depraved desires.

After all of the things that he has endured at Y/N's side, it is not surprising that his feelings for her are a muddled mess of deep admiration, obsession, sexual desire, and hatred.

I don't think any of the other generals will become as broken and unhinged as Esclave already is, but they can try.

Until next time I'll see you on the other side

~J. C. Coltt.~