Steppe dwellers attack the border village. A little girl named Sunshine loses both of her parents. The young steppe dweller takes pity on the little girl and hides her from his own. The girl is found by the general of the royal army, Lorin Hard. He takes the child with him, giving her his name. And Sunshine becomes a cadet of His Majesty King Veliam. She dreams of fame and exploits, but the very first watch in practice changes everything, and the red-haired cadet girl begins her journey towards her destiny.
Chapter 1 Cadet
Cadet Hard, to the rector, the adjutant of the general, officer Mort, a completely faceless, emotionless person, glided over me with an indifferent look, turned around and disappeared behind the doors of the auditorium.
Why now? Mini asked sympathetically.
I shrugged my shoulders and left the auditorium, where the lesson on the history of the kingdom was supposed to begin, and went to the general's office. The history teacher caught me walking down the stairs.
Are you far away, cadet? he asked.
Not at all," I reported. To the rector's office.
Ah, Mr. Lamothe gave me a mocking look. Well, go. Don't forget to ask your classmates for homework. I'll ask you first tomorrow.
I obey, I answered, waited for the nod of the teacher, who let me go, and continued on my way.
The general's office was on the first floor of the academic building. The road to him I have been trodden long and firmly. And it's not even that I'm a malicious violator of discipline, in my studies and in the field I'm one of the best. My main problem is that the general is my father, therefore he asked me several times stricter than the rest. While I was walking, I puzzled over what they would reprimand me for now, as a result, I missed the officer, who stopped and thoughtfully turned his head after me. Having already passed him, I caught myself, turned around and put my right hand to my heart.
"Courage and strength," I greeted the officer.
"Courage and strength, cadet," the officer replied in a pleasant voice.
I was about to move on when I noticed a sly smile on the man's face, which made me examine him more closely. That wheat-colored hair was familiar to me, as were the cornflower-blue eyes framed by dark lashes, unusual for blonds.
Chris? I asked in amazement.
"Who were you expecting, Cadet Hard?" - mockingly asked the brother of my girlfriend and friend in children's pranks - Chris Shellis.
Ask, Captain Shellis, - I immediately pulled myself to attention.
Sunny, and you're still the same redhead, - Kreis tilted his head to the side. - Well, come to me already, redhead!
He stepped towards me, grabbed strong hands in a vise and lifted me off the floor, laughing joyfully. I yelped, not in the usual way, and tightly grabbed his neck. Kreis squeezed me a little more and put me on the floor, looking with interest from all sides, which made me involuntarily embarrassed and blushed.
You have become quite an adult, ginger, - he summed up his examination. - You look great.
You, too, are no longer the youth who left the corps, - I smiled. - What fates? Came to check on Mini?
I will accompany one of the groups of the graduate course to field practice, - smiled Kreis. - Maybe even you and Mini, I just arrived, I haven't seen the lists yet.
I broke into a smile, already knowing what I would ask my father for. It would be fun to have an internship under Kreis, of that I was quite sure. Might get lazy. I was distracted from my rainbow thoughts by the angry shout of my father, who went out into the corridor to the noise.
Cadet Hard, haven't you spent the night in the punishment cell for a long time?
I sighed heavily and spread my arms, showing my childhood friend that I had to go. Captain Shellis turned on his heel and followed me to the rector's office. We approached the general together, at the same time putting our right hand to our heart.
"Courage and strength," I said.
Courage and strength, - Kreis clicked his heels.
Courage and strength, - the general answered and nodded to us to enter the office.
I was left standing in a corner, and the rector invited Captain Shellis to sit down. He nodded to Kreis, got acquainted with his prescription, and only after that he smiled, showing that he remembered his pupil and friend of his daughter. They chatted peacefully for a while while I languished from boredom and a desire to quickly run to Mini and tell who I ran into. My father looked at me, but did not offer to sit down, because it was my fault. I tried to make compassionate eyes, the general grinned, but did not react in any other way. He took several sheets of paper from the table, reviewed them, and handed one to the captain. Kreis scanned the paper quickly with his eyes, and disappointment flickered across his face for a moment. I nearly twisted my neck as I reached out to get a glimpse of the cadet assignment list for practice, because I realized that it was him. But, noticing the flickering expression on the face of Chris, she immediately frowned in annoyance. Looks like Mini and I weren't on that list. However, it may not have been only Mini. The general smiled barely perceptibly, took another list and crossed something out, wrote again, then took the list from the captain's hands and repeated the same maneuver. When my childhood friend looked at his sheet again, he smiled involuntarily and glanced at me.
"But no concessions," the rector warned sternly. "Especially, Captain, I repeat, especially for Cadet Hard.
My general ... - I filed an indignant voice, but immediately stopped under the stern gaze of my father.
That's right, my general, - smiled Kreis.
"You are free, Captain Shellis," said the father. - You will be able to meet your group the day after tomorrow in the field, but for now, rest. There is always something to do for a young man in the capital," he smiled warmly, causing me another indignant sniffle.
For me, for example, it's not enough at all that was allowed. As soon as I put the tip of my nose even into the men's building, not to mention the capital itself, the shadow of the punishment cell immediately began to loom in front of me. Mini and other girls went to the boys freely, during the day, of course. I was not allowed to go there under any pretext. What suggestion can I have? I went into the men's building only on business, which was immediately reported to my father. Now I went around the strict red building where our guys lived, by the tenth road.
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