"Back so soon from your walk, sir?" I wondered as I heard footsteps approaching the door.
"Unfortunately not. We have grim news to report, ma'am," replied Lieutenant Brody Gordon, a soldier stationed at the Gilford Army Base, where I was currently situated.
I looked up from the reports about rogue Lockwood troublemakers at our border with The Pack of Lockwood, which was near Gilford. They were the reason why the General came here, bringing me, his apprentice, with him.
"What is it, Lieutenant?" I asked.
Two men walked into the room, carrying something between them. I froze when I saw what, or rather who, it was. I rushed out from behind my desk and over to his lifeless but still warm body. An arrow stuck out from his heart, and blood soaked his red-and-gold army uniform he proudly wore. The arrow was made from wolf-eared beech wood. Wolf-eared beeches were most commonly found in Lockwood territory, so it must've been those Lockwood scoundrels who did this, then. I scanned his face and stared into those lifeless blue eyes for a long time to make sure that it was really him. As much as I wished it wasn't true, there was no denying it.
General Cornelius Quentin Richmond was dead.
"What should we do, General?" Lieutenant Gordon asked, snapping me out of my trance.
I started, then stared blankly at the Lieutenant. Finally, I shook my head, and replied:
"Don't call me General yet. I haven't been bestowed with my title yet."
"Alright then, Lieutenant General, what should we do?" he asked again, addressing me by the title I knew I had to soon leave behind.
"Take a patrol to Lockwood territory and tell them to look around. We're probably too late to catch them, but we should still look for them just in case they've decided to hang around. Make sure the Lockwood soldiers don't catch you snooping around. They don't need to know that our General is dead. Not yet," I ordered.
Lieutenant Gordon nodded, then headed out of the room.
"Put the General's body in a coffin and make sure his body is kept in a good condition," I instructed the two soldiers who were still carrying the General's body.
They nodded, then headed off too.
I plopped down in my chair and buried my face in my hands, overwhelmed by many emotions. I knew this day would come ever since the General chose me for the Elite Warrior Program at the age of five, but it didn't make it any easier. The General did train me hard and was sometimes very harsh on me, and I suffered because of it, yes, but he was also like a second father to me. He saw my great potential and gave my family and I everything when we had nothing. He was kind, caring and thoughtful most of the time. He gave my siblings and I quality education and gave my parents low-skill but safe and well-paid jobs in the army. He even didn't marry and have kids so that no one would contend for the title of General when he died. He was the best mentor I could ask for, and I didn't wish to part with him so soon.
Then there was the huge burden of being General that had just landed on my shoulders. I was an ambitious person, and I did want to be the General, but only when I was ready. There was still so much that he hadn't taught me. I could ask the other Lieutenant Generals, those with much more experience than me, for help, but I didn't want to give them the opportunity to undermine my authority. I was just not ready for the role.
Now is not the time to stress out and shut down, I decided, now is the time to take charge, just like what the General would want you to do.
The first thing I must do was to write a letter to the capital to inform the Alpha and Luna of the General's death. Writing was never my strong suit, so the letter I produced was quite simple. It would have to do. I had more pressing matters to tend to.
Four days later, a letter from the Alpha and Luna arrived, summoning me to the capital to formally receive my title. I gathered up my belongings and set out at three in the afternoon, bringing with me the various caretakers that the General had with him. We made the journey with a procession of carriages, soldiers flanking us front and back. We arrived at the General's Manor in the capital Harridan at eleven at night the next day, and Nicodemus Lewis Richmond, the General's brother, came out to greet us himself. Since my family didn't have a residence of our own in Harridan, I was to stay in the Pennington Manor, the residence of my mentor. Nicodemus, a man of 47, looked quite similar to his brother. They shared the same light brown hair, pale skin, tall height, broad frame, large hands and long legs. The only differences were that Nicodemus had leafy-green eyes instead of blue, a friendly-looking, round head instead of a long, severe one and a short, flat nose instead of a long, sharp one. He marched up to me, a sombre expression on his face.
"Greetings, Lieutenant General Finley," Nicodemus greeted as I stepped out of my carriage.
"Please, just call me Meriam. Thank you for letting me stay in your manor, Sir Richmond," I replied.
He nodded, looking quite thankful that I hadn't called him Lord Richmond yet. That was good. I needed him in favour of me. He was going to represent me in front of the Alpha and Luna like he did with his brother, and sometimes I might need him to tell some… untruths to them. We bowed to each other, and Nicodemus showed me into his Manor. I had been to the Pennington Manor a few times before when the General visited Harridan, and compared to many of the other manors in Harridan, it was quite impressive. The General called it an extravagant waste, but he knew how important it really was. To look powerful was to be powerful. And the giant Manor looming over the land around it certainly looked powerful.
Inside the Manor, Richard, the oldest son of Nicodemus and a Lieutenant General of the Belmont Army, waited for me. Like me, he was promoted much more quickly compared to the common soldiers, hence him being in a position of very high command at such a young age. He was a handsome man of 21, taken after his mother's beauty. He was tall with short dark blonde hair, ocean blue eyes, a long, sharp nose, defined cheekbones, long legs and a thinner frame than his father. He was also my best, and let's be honest, only friend, and the man I plan to marry if I don't find my mate. When he first joined the army at 18, he was bitter about the fact that I, a common girl from a poor family, would one day become General instead of him. However, as time wore on, he was impressed by my intelligence, diligence, perseverance and my leadership skills, and he became my number one supporter.
"I expected you and my uncle's body to be back sooner," he scolded jokingly.
"Don't be so hard on her, son. You yourself only came back yesterday," his mother, Lady Florence, chided.
"Lady Richmond," I greeted, bowing to her.
She curtsied, then stared at me for a second. She had a suspicious and stony look in her eyes, and a chill went down my spine. What was she suspicious of? What did she think about me?
My thoughts were interrupted by Louisa and Henry, Richard's siblings, as they came out to the foyer to greet me. Louisa smiled and curtsied, while Henry raced up to me and gave me a funny-looking salute.
"Welcome to Pennington Manor, General Finley," he said.
"Lieutenant General Finley," I corrected gently, "I haven't been properly bestowed my title yet."
The boy admired me a lot, even more so than he admired his uncle. He called me a "Super She-wolf" and thoughtI was the greatest werewolf in the world. He even used to think I had superpowers. His dream was to serve beside his brother and I as a Lieutenant General. As much as I wanted the loyal boy by my side, he would probably have to stay in the capital to represent House Richmond in the future while his brother served with me.
"Come on, let me show you to the guest room where you'll be staying," he offered.
"Thank you for your offer, but there are some things I have to do first before I turn in," I replied with an apologetic smile.
"Come on, Henry, it's way past your bedtime," his mother reprimanded.
His face fell, but he nodded, gave me a salute, and trudged over to his mother. Louisa nodded to me and left the foyer too.
"There are some details we need to work out," Nicodemus informed me.
"I'm coming," I replied.