"W-What are you doing here?" Meccio squeaked in surprise as he stepped out of his tent and came face to face with general Denlleonis who seemed to be on her way to visit him.
"After what you told me yesterday I decided to prepare you a gift, to help make you strong," she told him, as blunt as ever. The sun glinted off her silver chest plate, nearly blinding Meccio, he was grateful for the glare though, as it blocked much of her exposed breast, something that he had yet to fully get used to.
Before he could respond to her words Y/N had barged into his tent, and ignoring the cot covered in many fluffy blankets, marched straight over to the rack holding Meccio's dusty, vertically unused breastplate, and other bits of armor. "Put these on Vilu, you need to look like a proper general, then follow me."
She walked out of the tent to converse with Esclave while Meccio hurried to strap the armor on over his purple tunic. It was a struggle as he had hardly ever worn armor and he had to refasten the buckles several times before the armor was on correctly.
He exited the tent and nearly faceplanted, unused to the extra weight of the chest plate. Esclave scoffed at Meccio's clumsiness before striding off to patrol the army camp as Y/N had instructed.
General Denlleonis led Meccio through the camp. He followed her in silence. He had the feeling that she wouldn't tell him her plan, even if he dared to ask. He may not have been as petrified in her presence as he was the day they first met, but he was still reasonably frightened by her.
He tried to ignore the snickers of the soldiers who caught sight of him in full battle armor as they passed. Lowering his head in embarrassment he continued to follow Y/N. She seemed to be leading him closer and closer to the heart of the tents of the infantry division.
Reaching a clearing in the tents almost as large as the one in front of his own and the other generals' tents, Y/N, at last, came to a halt. She directed Meccio to go stand on top of a small wooden platform that had been erected in the center of the clearing before disappointing into a nearby tent.
A sick uneasy feeling took hold in Meccio's stomach as he stood on the platform. Soldiers from all over the camp had gathered around, the appearance of the platform earlier that morning piquing their interest. Meccio tapped his foot against the planks beneath him as his anxiety grew. He could already hear the mocking whispers of the soldiers as they took notice of him standing on the platform in battle regalia.
General Denlleonis emerged from the tent, dragging something behind her. She tossed it onto the stage unceremoniously as she said, "here's your gift, Vilu."
It landed with a thump and a groan. Looking down, Meccio was shocked when he locked eyes with the rat-faced officer who had mocked him the previous day. The man had been hog-tied and was on his knees, looking up at the ginger with both confusion and hatred. "I-I don't understand-" Meccio stammered.
"-I want you to make an example of him. Punish him for daring to disobey you," General Denlleonis spoke in a commanding voice but kept it quiet enough that the crowd couldn't hear her words. "I want you to kill him."
"I can't! I-I've never killed anyone before!" He protested, shaking his head and backing further away from the bound soldier. "I-I just don't have it in me."
"Everyone has the potential to kill, it is just more innate in some," Y/N said as she came closer to the young general. She rested one hand on his shoulder while the other pulled out a silver dagger with a blue stone set into its hilt. "Take this knife; it is the ceremonial dagger that I used at the military temple of Estain to kill for the first time. Now I want you to use it on him."
W-What should I d-do?" Meccio asked as he hesitantly took the blade. The handle was cool, but the weapon felt unwieldy. He set his violet eyes on the bound soldier, his face had gone pale and he dared not speak as the redheaded general looked down at him.
"Slit his throat, carve out his eyes, force him to eat his own tongue, cut off his head and keep it so that his soul will be bound to serve you for eternity," She whispered in his ear. The feeling of her breath on his neck and the brutality of her words made his hairs stand on end. "The possibilities are endless. Just make an example of him."
General Denlleonis released her hold on Meccio's shoulders and gave him a slight push in the direction of the soldier he was to kill. He stumbled forward and raised the knife, preparing to give him a quick death. He could see general Denlleonis pacing out of the corner of his eye, prowling in his peripheral vision like a savage wolf, hungry for blood.
His hands shook so badly that he nearly dropped the dagger as he raised it above his head to strike the man tied at his feet. Their eyes locked again and as Meccio looked down on him he saw fear, hopelessness, dread, and remorse flash over the soldier's face.
General Vilu's heart ached as he imagined what he must have been feeling as he thought he was about to die. ''I-I can't do it!!" He cried, dropping the knife with a dull clatter and backing up, tears coming to his eyes. He had never killed anything before. He had been a fool to think that would ever change. "I-I just can't!"
"HA! I knew you didn't have it in you!" The soldier exclaimed, his arrogance returning when Meccio cast aside the knife out of empathy. "Once a coward always a coward. You will never change Meccio."
"Weak!" "Pathetic!" "Worthless!" The chant of insults was taken up by the crowd who had been deprived of a good show. Their words made Meccio flinch and recoil as though they were throwing stones at him. His head drooped and he rounded his shoulders trying to look as small as possible hoping that the cruel jeers would stop.
"I know you hate it," General Denlleonis spoke softly as she came up behind the redhead and gripped his shoulders firmly. "I know you hate how they mock you, exploit you, abuse you. I know you hate it."
"I-I do, but-" he whimpered, his eyes glassy with tears and his pale lips trembling.
"-Then do something about it," she interrupted him in a low his, shaking him slightly "They will never stop unless you make them. So pick up that dagger, and give them a reason to fear and respect you."
Shaking from head to toe, Meccio bent down and grabbed the blade. His palms were slick with sweat, making it even harder to hold in his hands than it had been before.
"That's it," Y/N goaded him, returning to her place behind him, holding his shoulders once he straightened up with the dagger. "now, cut off that bastard's head and take in as a prize." She instructed.
Trembling, Meccio stepped forward. The mocking crying of the crowd got louder as they saw that he was making a second attempt. He was gasping for air as he raised the knife to strike. Looking down at the tied soldier he saw the hint of a smirk playing at the corner of his mouth, and that's what broke the young general.
None of them thought he had the gall to follow through with it, even the man who stood to be killed. None of them saw him as a threat. None of them took him seriously. Not one person in the whole army, not even his own father. His vision swam in and out of focus as he drew in shorter and shorter breaths. The hatred for the way that he had been disrespected for years finally came to the surface, a roiling mass of unbridled wrath. He was going to show them all.
A crazed glimmer filled his eyes as a hunger for blood like he had never known coursed through him as he tangled his fighters in the soldier's greasy hair, holding him up by his scalp. Swinging the dagger without hesitating, the blade cut cleanly through the man's neck. Blood spewed from the severed neck and the body slumped to the ground at Meccio's feet, lifeless.
He stood there, his heartbeat pounding in his ears, clutching the head as his mind was still clouded in a fog of hatred and ire. Taking advantage of his vulnerable state, general Denlleonis crept up behind him and whispered, "Now say, 'this is what happens to those who dare to defy my authority."
Gripping the severed head, general Vilu raised it high in the air, displaying it to the stunned crowd, its face still twitching slightly. Spattered in blood, he bellowed in a full-bodied voice nothing like his normal meek stutter, "THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS TO THOSE WHO DARE TO DEFY MY AUTHORITY!!!"
He shook the gruesome trophy for emphasis, his violet eyes glared around at the gathered soldiers. And there was not a man present who didn't feel the sheer hatred emanating from the petite general. Covered in blood, and with his face filled with malice, he looked like an entirely different person. The soldiers quickly scattered, fearing that the wound is the next to be subjected to his hatred.
After a few moments of frantic chaos, all was quiet. Y/N and Meccio stood alone in the middle of a now deserted part of the camp.
His anger cooling, the ginger slowly began to return to his senses. The arm that had been holding the head aloft lowered. "I-I did it..." He muttered, the head slipping from his grip and landing with a dull thud on the wooden platform.
His whole body started quivering, and he stumbled nearly falling. The intense hatred that had possessed him had drained him of all his strength. On wobbling legs, he walked over to Y/N and wrapped his arms around her, clutching onto her tightly.
His adrenaline high had left him feeling weak and dazed. As physically exhausted as he was, he couldn't help the shiver of pleasure that traveled up his spine as he recalled how wonderful it had felt to finally fight back. How wonderful it had felt to kill.
He snuggled his face against the cool metal of general Denlleonis' chest plate. Even in his slightly delirious state, he realized that it was all thanks to her that he was at last able to free himself from the bonds keeping him from excelling at the family business. The bonds that had kept him from being able to kill.
Y/N was caught incredibly off guard when Meccio embraced her so tightly, but noticing that even hanging on to her he was having trouble staying on his feet she decided not to push him off. He had done his part after all.
"I knew you could do it," Y/N told him. Hesitantly, she wrapped her arms around him as well. People find this comforting, right? She thought uncertainty. "I am proud of you Meccio, you are on your way to becoming the next great general of the house of Vilu."
General Vilu melted into her arms. The praise she had given him adding to the bliss of the moment. For once he felt appreciated. For once he felt like he was enough. He no longer felt scared in the company of general Denlleonis, instead, she made him feel bold like he could become the fearsome general that he always dreamed to be.
A/N
Meccio is a sweetie 90% of the time, but the other 10% of the time he is the most frightening of the generals, hands down.
Until next time I'll see you on the other side
~J. C. Coltt.~