Topic: There was a decorated general with a heart of gold~

The General

Date: 2013-11-30 07:24 EST
Metal shattered against metal, Alexander slammed his sword against the armor of his foe. His body was stained in sticky red vital, a mixture of his own and his enemies. When the opponent staggered backwards, Alexander lifted his foot high into the air and slammed it against the chest of his foe. Upon that body meeting the ground, both his hands met the hilt of his sword, he lifted it high above his head and rammed in through an exposed part of armor that inevitably led to flesh and bone.

The back of his hand moved to wipe the sweat and blood from his face, and he grunted out his displeasure as his bones ached and his body hurt. He staggered over the lake and looked into the water. His hair was in tumbles, copper and stained with crimson, long enough to touch his shoulders. Bright green eyes scrutinized that which was looking back at him. With that, he began to shed his own armor, leaving it to clank to the ground in pieces exposing a muscular torso and a scared body. There was a long scar that went all the way across his back, from the bottom left of his back to the upper right of his shoulder. It was gruesome, and tattered the almost pleasing image of the broken man. As he looked down into the water, he slammed his hands into it almost angrily marring his reflection and drawing water up to splash into his face.

"General Alexander," a feminine voice said from behind him. "Please, come with me."

Alexander moved eagerly towards the woman. His stomach twisted with excitement, and he wasn't sure why. Did he love this woman' Her beauty went unmatched, that was for sure. Her hair was jet black, tumbling down in curls that threatened her rear. Her eyes were so blue, they almost appeared silver. He couldn't see her eyes, because she was bowed down with respect and he couldn't help but hate that. How could such beauty bow before him' Alexander reached down to touch the woman's hair and suddenly he was jerked from existence.

"Kid! Come on, kid! Wake up!" A woman said, kicking the door with her heel. "If you're late one more time, it's going to be my ass!" Alex groaned, face down on the pillow. He couldn't help but complain as she ripped the covers off of his bare back. "I swear, all you're good for is sleeping and—" Her voice halted abruptly, "What the hell did you do to your back!?" Her hand traced the scar and Alex flinched away from her touch violently. "Great, now they're gonna think I'm beating you! That's real f*cking nice. I take in these inappreciative brats, and for wha—"

Alex cut her off. "I've had that my entire life. That shows how much you pay attention to anything." He pulled himself up from the mattress and moved to throw a shirt on over the jeans he'd fallen asleep in.

"Want to be a little smartass...You can't even hold a family! Maybe you should look in the mirror before you point any fingers and ask yourself why nobody wants you! You live in some fantasy world with nothing but these," she grabbed up his sketchbook and tore the pages out. "Stupid drawings!" One page after another his work was torn away and crumpled to the floor. They were pictures, scenes, memories—whatever anyone would want to call them, of battlefields and soldiers. When he drew them, when he dreamed of them, they all seemed so real. When someone looked at them, they seemed like a stupid fantasy.

"Real nice, Cheryl. I hope you're real proud of yourself." She wasn't, though, she wouldn't be until the empty binding of the book hit him square in the back of the head. Alex scooped up his back pack, barely gifting her a reaction as he left the house.

"I'm sending you back, I swear it!" Was the last thing that would be called out to him as he left the dirty place.

"Zander!" A voice would call from behind him as the little girl raced up to his lengthy side. She clung to his hips and then took his hand. "You didn't forget about me right' You're gonna walk me to school, right?"

A hand moved to ruffle through the eight-year-old's head, and he smiled. "Of course, kiddo."

"She tore up your drawings again, huh?" The brown haired girl looked up at him with even darker eyes. Her cheeks were red, but that was probably because it was hot as all hell outside.

"It's okay," he said, kneeling down and reaching into his backpack. A drawing of the woman from his dream sitting on the back of a white horse was produced. "I always hide the ones that are for you."

Alex watched as Ella looked at the picture. It was a simple charcoal piece, but the detail was wonderful. She wore a long dress that threatened to touch the ground, even from atop the horse. "Wow, this is great! I'll hide it from the witch.." She whispered, flashing a smile of missing teeth and innocence. "You draw her a lot, is she your girlfriend?"

Taking her hand and leading her off to school, Alex smiled. "Only in my dreams, kid. Only in my dreams."