Chapter Text
“Thank you all for heeding the emperors call to arms. You should feel honored to serve his majesty in this war,” the lieutenant general said at the front of the stage.
You had just reached the capital earlier that day and even though you were tired out of your mind, you still had to go through the formalities of the welcome speech. It did give you more time to get comfortable in your disguise, though, so you couldn’t complain too much.
“You all will be under the command of Grand General Caleb Xia. He is the best general our majesty has seen and he will expect nothing but greatness from you. He is not someone you want to disappoint,” the lieutenant continued.
Grand General Caleb Xia? Had you heard the officer correctly? That was the name shared by your adoptive brother but he had left and disowned himself from your family many, many years ago. Was this where he had ended up? A part of you hoped he hadn’t as it would have made your plan all that more difficult. When your household had received the call to arms, your family was left in a rut. Your father was old and weak, so he couldn’t fight, and your adoptive brother Caleb wasn’t apart of the family anymore, so that left you.
The call to arms was for one man from each household, but you could disguise yourself. You put your hair up into the style of bun common amongst the men and traded your high-waisted robes for those of a lower waist with pants. Your chest was the hardest part of yourself to disguise, but with enough fabric and strength, you were able to get it to resemble muscled pecs. You had also thought your hips might have been an issue but with the amount of fabric piled just above them, any curves you had had became negligible.
It was hard saying goodbye to your father but your aunts had agreed to look after him while you were gone, so you felt at ease knowing that. In addition, your friend from childhood, Zayne, was a doctor and insisted he would check up on your father’s health in your absence. You hadn’t told him the real reason as to why you were leaving, you didn’t want to blow your cover too early, but you thanked him all the same. You had thought he would have been enlisted as well, but those with important jobs were spared from the call to arms. As much as the war was pressing, your kingdom couldn’t lose its villages too if every male physician and lawyer had to go out and fight.
“A word from the grand general before you all depart to your accommodations for the night,” the lieutenant lastly said.
He bowed before ushering General Caleb Xia onto the stage and all of you prospective soldiers followed suit in the display of respect. You caught a glimpse of the general out from the corner of your eye and you almost gasped. His face was the exact picture of the Caleb Xia you knew, just older and more defined. The last time you had seen Caleb was just after his seventeenth birthday. A similar call to arms had happened and even though he was under the age of conscription, he went to fight. Your father had pleaded with him not to go but Caleb’s mind had been made up. He had snuck out in the night, only leaving a note.
Don’t come looking for me.
It seemed his age hadn’t been an issue, but with how remote your village was, there were no reliable records of births and deaths so him just saying he was of age would have sufficed. You had guessed Caleb must have been in his late twenties but his fellow men probably had him down as in his thirties, if they even knew.
“Rise, soldiers,” General Xia said.
You all rose and you were able to get a better look at him. His hair was long and tied up in a half-up bun. A hair stick held up the style and it was adorned in fine gold embellishments. He was the picture of a high-ranking official with those fine accessories as well as the many jade insignias worn on his uniform.
“I thank you all for joining this fight and I will expect nothing but the best from you all. Your training will begin tomorrow at first light, but until then your lieutenant will show you to your quarters,” General Xia spoke authoritatively.
You all bowed once again before General Xia left the stage and you began to be escorted. All of you soldiers hadn’t had much on your backs, just an extra pair of clothes, food for your journey, and a keepsake or two from home. All of the wealthy classes weren’t sent to fight and if they were, they were up in nicer housing with the general and other members of the nobility.
“Here are your quarters for when you are training and across the way is the mess hall. Three meals a day will be served at corresponding hours so be sure not to miss them. It is not nice food but it will keep you fed and warm. These are trying times, soldiers, we expect resilience from you,” the lieutenant said.
You all murmured “Yes, sir,” before filing into the bunker. The space was filled with rows and rows of beds, ones that looked like if you slept on them wrong they might break. They probably hadn’t been changed since your father was conscripted when he was your age and your back winced at the thought of sleeping on them. You were all free to choose your bed, which was a bit of a glimmer of hope so you ran to the best one you found and marked it with your belongings.
“Fellow soldier, I’m Gideon,” the man who took one of the beds next to you said.
“Xia, nice to meet you,” you offered, giving your family name.
“Xia? Like the Grand General?”
“Different character.”
“I didn’t know there were other Xia surnames.”
“Take it up with my father.”
In Gideon’s defense, you were just making that up. When it came time to write your name out for conscription you would use a different character than the generals, but it would be an odd one. It hadn’t crossed your mind that your knowledge of hanzi would have come in handy, but you also hadn’t thought you’d find Caleb here either. Many of your fellow soldiers wouldn’t be able to read and the only reason you could was because of your father. Men were definitely not given much of an education in your village, let alone women, but your father valued it so he made sure to teach you and Caleb to read and write. There would always be characters you didn’t know but your ability to read was better than most, which you were grateful for.
You got to know a few of your other nearby bunkmates before you were all whisked away to the mess hall for your first meal as soldiers.
“Do you think it’ll be as bad as the lieutenant said?” Gideon whispered to you.
“Probably worse,” you replied.
“I’d say it’ll be just edible,” Andrew added.
Andrew was your neighbor on the other side of your bed and the three of you decided to buddy up for the time being. Everyone was a new face so might as well try and make some friends early. If you could at least blend in and have people who’d have your back in that aspect, maybe it would have made your disguise flow better.
You all went through the cafeteria line and sat at an open table before beginning to eat. The “meal” consisted of some mystery meat, vegetables of unknown origins, and rice. You had expected some sort of slop or rice porridge, but maybe as new recruits you were getting buttered up by the higher ups. It’d be easier to make you all stay if you didn’t have much to complain about.
“Have either of you fought before?” Gideon asked.
“I fought with my siblings growing up,” you teasingly said.
“Swords?”
“Fists.”
“The Xia’s prefer hands?” Andrew asked.
“Well you don’t always have a sword on you, do you?” you reasoned.
“Fair point. Anyway, I don’t have even that kind of experience,” Andrew pouted.
“No older brothers to rough up?” Gideon questioned.
“Only sisters.”
“How many?” you asked.
“Four.”
“Your poor father,” Gideon commented.
“What about me? Do you know how much makeup they had me put on? They even would braid my hair!” Andrew complained.
You giggled at Andrew’s musings. You had done much of the same to Caleb as a kid and you wondered what would the fellow military men have thought about their grand general wearing makeup and dress robes. You two also fought, that wasn’t a lie, but it was only fair given what you made him do from time to time. You smiled at the memories, even if it hurt that you couldn’t share them with anyone.
“They sound like real gems,” Gideon laughed.
“I’ll never live this down, will I?” Andrew sighed.
“Nope, Mr. Braid!” you said.
***
“Now you may all be eager to use weaponry, but that will not be the start of your training. With your current states, you wouldn’t even be able to pull the bows back, and if you don’t believe me, you may try later today,” General Xia said the next morning.
The sun was just rising over the horizon and you and your fellow soldiers were huddled in a circle. General Xia was at the center and he was pacing around as he spoke. Your first day almost didn’t start off well as if Gideon hadn’t woke you up, you would have missed this training and you really didn’t want to find out what rule breaking earned someone on their first day. You were still groggy from sleep, but the loud and commanding tone used by General Xia helped wake you up. You, Gideon, and Andrew were huddled in the second row of the crowd and with this close-up view of the general, you were even more certain than before that it was your Caleb. For the future you were going to have to pray that your disguise was very good, or that you had changed enough since Caleb last saw you so that he wouldn’t recognize you anymore. If you had to be honest, though, even if Caleb did see a resemblance, it wouldn’t cross his mind that his adoptive sister would be at the male call-to-arms.
General Xia raised a crossbow and cocked it back with practiced ease. The gesture was effortless coming from him and had all of the soldiers whispering to each other. You heard men around you say that they could easily have pulled that off and it seemed that the general had heard their musings as well.
"If you all are so sure of your skills, please, be my guest in trying the crossbow now," he said.
"I'll try, sir," a soldier from the opposite side of the field said.
As he came forward, you noted his large form and cocky attitude. This man seemed to be the most muscled of you new recruits and you thought that if anyone could pull the bow, it would be him. After he reached General Xia, the general handed him the bow and stepped away.
"I'd suggest that you—“ General Xia started before the man held out his hand.
"I don't need any tips," he said.
"As you wish," General Xia said with an uncharacteristic coolness.
He fully stepped to the side and the man began to fiddle with the bow. He tried pulling it back but it looked like he wasn't doing anything. The mans forhead was littered with creases and sweat as he tried the weapon and a few of the other soldiers started to snicker.
"He should have taken whatever General Xia's tips were," Andrew whispered.
You and Gidean nodded and you felt a giggle bubble up in your throat. Seeing the man struggle after his cocky approach was laughable but a knot started to coil in your stomach. How were you going to shoot a crossbow? It was the militaries weapon of choice but you were far from a strong person, and if this muscled man couldn't even get it to budge, it wasn't looking good for you. Your disguise may have looked the part but your physical capabilities might not have met the cut. Thankfully, though, it seemed General Xia was under the same assumption of you all so you would train to work up to the bow first.
The man, having realized he wouldn't be able to shoot the bow, threw it to the ground before stomping back into the crowd. General Xia chuckled before picking up the bow and speaking to the crowd.
"First, from this point on, none of you shall adress me in such a manner. I am your superior and I will be treated as such. Second, I hope that showing respect will be easier now that you realize what is at stake. You are all a rag-tag bunch and I am to make proper soldiers out of you, which all starts with respect. Now, what do you all say to that?"
"Yes, sir," the crowd murmmered.
"I didn't hear you."
"Yes, sir," you all firmly said.
"Better. Your first assignment as soldiers will be to run a lap around this pond. Whoever finishes first will get an extra helping at the next meal and whoever is last will become my personal assistant for the rest of the day. Go on, now."
You all dispearsed into a run around the nearby pond and you internally cursed your father for having kept you inside, focused on your education. Your endurence was far from that of a proper soldier and you had a feeling you might have been at General Xia's beck-and-call for the rest of the day. Andrew and Gideaon had kept pace with you at first but they slowly passed you and you made sure they didn't stay back with you.
"Come on, Xia!" Andrew cheered.
"This Xia isn't a runner," you panted.
"You really aren't the General's type of Xia, that’s for sure," Gideon teased.
"Go on without me, I'll be at that Xia's feet for the rest of the day anyways," you reasoned.
"Now it'll be your turn for a nickname!" Andrew smiled.
"Boot licker?" Gideon suggested.
You shook your head and they both laughed before overtaking you. Many of the men continued to pass you until it was just you and a few other men with spindly limbs left in the back. Your breath was heavy and your limbs ached. From a distance, the pond didn't look that large but as you ran around it, you found it was rather the opposite. You were about halfway through the lap when you heard cheers erupt from the oposite side of the pond. You glanced and saw that the first few men had already finished their laps and your rolled your eyes. You were a hopeless cause at that pont and on day one you were already regretting your grand idea. You had no idea how intense training would be but you hoped that in time it would become easier, even if it meant being a "boot licker" for a few days after failed drills.
Those men with spindly limbs slowly came up in front of you in the last quarter of your lap and as you glanced behind you, you saw you were dead last. You groaned at your impending fate but kept running until the end. Your joints screamed at you but you coudn't be caught walking now. All of the recruits were staring at you and walking would surely earn you the medal of "laughingstock", as if being last wasn't already earning you that.
As you reached the finish line, Andrew and Gideon cheered.
"Go, Xia!" Andrew said.
"Saving the best for last!" Gideon joined.
If you weren't out of breath, you would have laughed, but your smile was soon washed away as General Xia came up to you.
"Officer Xia?" he asked as he stood in front of you.
General Xia was much taller than you and his presence over you felt menacing. You looked up at him and noticed even more features that reminded you of your Caleb. His piercing galaxy-tinted eyes met yours and you saw then why he had earned the title of General. Anyone would fold under those eyes and you had a feeling that even the emporer did as well.
"Yes, sir," you mustered up.
"I wonder if our families are related," he mused.
"I don't think so, sir. Different character."
"A well read countryman?"
"Sort of."
"That's more than most. Anyway, you will be coming with me."
You nodded before following in step behind General Xia.
"The rest of you can go for your first meal. I will expect you back here in two diǎn," he finally said before dismissing the crowd.
General Xia began to walk away and you followed him without a word. His quarters weren't too far from the training grounds and once he reached the threshold, he invited you in.
"At least you have an education to offer, Officer Xia. That was the slowest lap I have ever seen," General Xia said.
"My father valued education over fighting, he didn't want me to come here, sir," you said, your statment not entirely a lie.
"Then I applaud your courage to come here. My father was much of the same. Maybe I coud make some sort of man out of you."
The general said that last part more to himself as he began to pace around his quarters. Caleb had always paced when he was thinking back home and even if you couldn't recognize him as yours anymore, you would still enjoy the little things that reminded you of him. Overall, you were just happy to know he was alive and doing well for himself, which was more than you could ask for. You had never expected to see him again after he had left and you had eventually made peace with that fact, but your new reunion of sorts had your thoughts stuck back in your childhood.
"Since you will require more training than the others, I may call on you as my 'assistant' more often. I am not one to show favoritism, nor am I allowed to, but for a fellow man in a position I once was, I find myself drawn to your cause. Besides, having a fellow literate soldier on the field would do us good," General Xia said as he came to sit at his desk.
"Thank you, sir. You are too generous," you said, your words entirely true.
You were nervous for how your disguise would hold up in the long run if you spent more one-on-one time with General Xia, but a part of you was very excited at the prospct of spending time with him. You selfishly wanted him as your Caleb again and while you knew that wasn't possible, you would take whatever you could get.
"We are just two men who want to fight for our kingdom, the only difference is our status,' he said.
"I suppose that is true, sir. I will do my best to not dissapoint you," you bowed.
"Something tells me you won't, Officer Xia. We may share a different name, but I see some of myself in you."
"I hope to be even half a great as you, sir."
"I don't doubt that. Now, let us begin with some bookkeeping, you can write as well as read, correct?"
"Yes, sir."
"Wonderful, I want you to be my record keeper for the time being. Start by writing down the mornings activities, including who won and lost, and our strongman from earlier."
"I will get right on it, sir."
General Xia nodded before handing you some paper, a brush, and a pot of ink to write with. While your storytelling would be a bit clunky, it would get the point across and that seemed to be all General Xia required. As you were writing, you thought back to his earlier statments. He had mentioned how he had seen a part of himelf in you and that made your heart all warm and fuzzy. Even if it wasn't meant in the way you were thinking, a part of you relished in his acknowledgment of yourself. You were glad you could at least prove useful to him in one way while your physical state was in progress. You knew you would have to keep your private lessons a secret, you didn't want to jepordize the generals position, so instead you would get to have fun in thinking up horrible scenerios as to what General Xia had you do in your alone time. Maybe intense physical labor and torture methods would help get the questions off your back, right?