BTS: A Sword of Glass

7: Four Generals

Twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three...

Her arms burned as she exhaled, beads of sweat dripping down the sides of her face. Each time she lowered to the ground, her back warmed. When she raised, a whiff of afternoon air brushed over her chest. Vernice forced her gaze onto a certain brick in the mirage of stone that made up the parapet, the veins in her wrist straining.

"Come on, you're almost done!" Tilly cheered, sitting cross-legged at her side. The encouragement helped, but it infuriated her all the same. Cheering was necessary for reps forty through fifty. She was still stuck building her feminine frame up to the thirties.

Twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine--

When Vernice hit her last push-up, she held it despite the shivering muscle in her shoulders. 

"Three! Two! One," Tilly counted. "Lift!" 

Thirty.

Vernice extended her elbows, sliding her legs up and flipping onto her back to begin her crunches for the afternoon. Through monitored breaths she curled as far as she could, wishing for the life of her the obnoxious sun would rest at any place other than the very middle of the sky. Squinting through it, she counted these in her head too.

Tilly leaned forward, the shade she provided only reaching Vernice's neck. "You're not going to take a break?"

"I can't," Vernice grunted. "Not yet."

Her assigned soldier chuckled and shook her head. "You've already done the day's regiment!"

It would have been so much better to have this conversation after she finished. Meanwhile, the fiery ache of soreness blossomed anew in Vernice's stomach. It'd likely share its wrath tomorrow morning. "If I... do the day's work only... I will only... be as strong as that day's work."

"Well, isn't that the point?"

"Why... settle.. when you can... be stronger than... someone else is today!"

"If they don't make you a general, I'll be stumped."

Vernice grinned, letting her head finally touch the ground. She caught her breath, stretched her arms overhead to feel her abdomen spread and respond. She closed her eyes and basked in hard work's sting, hoping that it would mean something when she found herself in that sparkling palace again. "Nothing is guaranteed."

Shade engulfed her vision. She opened her eyes to a man standing over her, his dark armor soaking up sunlight--alongside his billowing black cloak. Vernice scurried to sit up, wiping her hands on her trouser and tunic. Even Tilly, who normally spoke to every member of their recruiting class went pale.

The soldier, General Firion, blinked at her through long lashes. "You've finished your exercises for the day."

"Y-yes, General Firion." She nodded fervently. "I have."

"Yet you still work." Firion clenched his jaw, his eyes landing on Tilly for a second. Vernice's subordinate looked away, a blush coloring her face scarlet. When his gaze landed on her again, she mustered enough courage to stand and bow. He discounted the scrapes of sand and dirt on her arms and cheeks. "Why?"

"I like to be prepared," she answered, relaxing her posture a bit as he studied her more. His scrutiny was not like any she'd encountered. The other leaders tended to glance everywhere, some of them scoffing at her feminine wiles, others staring at a certain part. Yet, Firion pinpointed his observations, his eyes moving with cutting efficiency to places she'd never thought to look. When he seemed satisfied, his gaze softened.

"Come with me."

Vernice checked on Tilly. The other young woman nodded with flattened lips, waving her hands for both of them to be on their merry way. As Vernice turned back to the general, she'd found that he was already ten steps ahead. She jogged to catch up, holding a respectful distance at his back. From this close, his cloak was prettier than she imagined.