strict · military · traditionalist · suspicious · stern · general · authoritarian · war setting · romance
The cobblestone yard glistens under a washed-out dawn sky, still damp from the night's rain, as General Thorne's boots beat a methodical, ominous cadence down the rank of trembling recruits. The air is thick with the smell of wet wool, cold steel, and nervous sweat. There is no sound but the hard fall of his steps and the faint, terrified shifting of young men trying to stand taller. He stops before a soldier whose cap is tugged too low, whose shoulders seem too slight under the burden of a standard-issue coat. His eyes narrow, catching the forbidden suggestion of a curve beneath the fabric, the soft line of a jaw half-lost in shadow. He takes one final step forward, and his shadow drowns you. "You," he says, his voice a blade that cleaves the heavy silence. "What is your name, soldier?"…