Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Heart of the Dragon ❯ Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil ( Chapter 17 )

Three weeks went by all too fast for Van, and all too slow for Hitomi. Her throwing up had barely calmed down, and her moodiness increased. Van thought it was hilarious and he was always laughing at her. It just furthered her testiness and you could always catch her highness as good as running to get away from her husband, who would just be laughing at her some more.

Hitomi, Merle, and Varie spent most of their time together, getting more closer by the day. Varie didn’t test their patience like Van and Allen did, because she had already gone through it twice and knew what triggered what.

Merle and Allen had been married the week before, and seemed very happy in their marriage when Merle wasn’t screaming at him to shut up or to go away. Hitomi and Merle were often both trying to outrun their husbands, but they always caught them, considering Hitomi and Merle had to be careful with their growing girths.

Hitomi was sitting all by herself in the garden, cherishing the fact that she was all by herself and no one would bother her. Her dragon which she had decided to name Rain, was lying next to her, sleeping. She seemed to be a much more silent companion now that Hitomi wanted to be left alone and supposedly rejoice in her pregnancy. It was a nightmare as far as she could tell, notably in view of her being bigger than she should have been. Although no one could tell that she was pregnant, she didn’t doubt that everyone would be able to tell within the next week or two. She was only ten weeks pregnant, and she looked like thirteen. She shrugged. There was nothing she could do about it.

She felt a familiar presence behind her and it made her tingle. She turned around and saw Van just standing there watching her. She smiled and waved him over. "If you make me mad, I'm just going to leave."

Van grinned and sat next to her on the wrought iron bench she was sitting on. "I won't make you mad. I just want to visit my pregnant wife."

Hitomi smiled. Van was totally fascinated by the whole thing, always touching her and asking how she was doing. It didn’t bother her in the least, in fact it made her feel better about the relationship they had. She had felt so scared that Van wouldn’t care for the child and would just leave it to her and the healers. But after expressing this to him, he had looked hurt.

"Van, will you help me with the baby when it comes?" Hitomi had asked nervously.

Van had given her a long hard look and then a reassuring smile. "What made you think that I wouldn’t?"

Hitomi had gnawed on her lip, wondering what she should say. "Well, on Earth, men of your stance don’t normally participate in children, they think they are nuisances and don’t bother with the female children at all. When the male becomes of age, that’s when they start caring. I always hated it, but I couldn’t do anything about it."

Van had snorted in disgust and kissed her tenderly on the forehead. "I would never be like that, Hitomi. Fanel men have always participated in their children. So it would only make sense that it’s built right into me to have parental instincts." Van had smiled and continued, "I couldn’t imagine you all by yourself taking care of a newborn. You would go insane."

"How would you know?"

"I took care of one when you were gone those four years. I had found it in the woods behind the palace. I was absolutely furious that someone would leave their child. I ended up taking care of it myself because no one seemed very willing. I had to bring in a wet nurse because it was still nursing, but other than that, I was up at all times during the night for a whole month. I almost died from relief when someone offered to adopt it."

Hitomi’s concerned look had softened and she gave him a loving hug. "Van, that’s so sweet."

"So you don’t have to worry about me. I’ll probably be pestering you so much that you’ll go crazy from me instead of the baby."

Hitomi smiled at the memory and watched Van sit next to her and his hand immediately come to her belly. He grinned at her and kissed her cheek. Hitomi turned her face so he could further his kiss and their mouths latched onto each other. Van had his right hand buried in her hair and his left one resting on her belly when someone cleared their throat. Van waved them away with his hand that had been resting on her belly and then settled it back into its place.

"Van!!! Hitomi!! Please, can you just stop for one second?!"

Hitomi cocked open one eye, still kissing Van. Merle giggled and Allen grinned.

Van sighed and ended the kiss reluctantly. He still had his hands on her, and refused to let Allen and Merle persuade him to put them at his sides.

"So what do you want?" Hitomi asked and covered Van’s hand on her belly with her own.

Allen brought Merle over to sit down next to Hitomi and sat down next to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "We were thinking that maybe we should leave for Asturia," Allen announced.

"What?!" Van and Hitomi both said at the same time.

"Well, now that we’re married, it seems like we’re intruding on your privacy somehow," Merle said.

"Oh, no, no, no. Merle, you can't leave. I will be all by myself and be left with Van. Please, I'm begging you, don’t leave yet. After my baby or your baby is born, yes, but not now. Please not now. I’ll get down on my hands and knees and beg and grovel if I have to," Hitomi whined and looked at her wistfully.

Merle couldn’t withstand the look and she looked away, smiling. "Oh, don’t throw that look at me....oh, alright!!"

Hitomi smiled at her. "Uh, thank you. I won't be tortured to death by a husband that’s all paws and won't leave me alone for one minute."

"Hey!" Van said and pretended to be insulted.

"Is anyone hungry?" Merle asked suddenly.

"Yeah, I have this craving for...strawberries," Hitomi said and they both stood up.

"Really? So do I!"

Van and Allen watched as they both walked away, talking about red delicious strawberries.

"What an experience," Allen said and leaned his head back on the bench.

"I know. When Hitomi isn't all moody as she puts it, I put it as something absolutely hilarious, she wants love and attention. She can't seem to get enough. And here she’s accusing me of being all paws. She’s the one!!"

Allen laughed and said, "I know. I never saw someone who wanted everything at once. Merle drives me nuts for attention." He grinned. "Not that I mind. You should hear her purr away. Sometimes it gets so loud I have to tell her to stop. Of course, she doesn’t and if anything, it gets louder."

"Well, she only purrs if she likes the attention she is getting. I remember this one time she had been sitting on my lap when we were younger, around the time before the Great War. She had scrapped her knee and had been crying and I had sat her on my lap so I could tend to it without having to get in some odd, uncomfortable position. After I fixed it, she just started purring like crazy. I was totally fascinated, considering she had never done it for me before."

"She sat on your lap?! And just for a scrapped knee?! Where you just a little eager or was it because you were generally concerned?" Allen asked, grinning his face off.

"You want the truth?" Van asked and grinned when he saw Allen nod enthusiastically.

"Both."

Allen burst out laughing and had to hold his stomach, bending over and laughing some more. When he calmed down, he said, "Well, you were just a teenage boy with raging hormones. Undoubtedly you still are."

It was Van’s turn to laugh and he said, "Well, I'm not a teenager anymore, I'm twenty. But the hormones are still going strong and hopefully won't stop for a very long time or I won't be able to please Hitomi very much. Let’s just say she keeps the spirit alive."

"Of course I do. Now shut up before you embarrass me."

Van and Allen both looked up, grinning their faces off. "I think that you two were talking about very perverted things while we were away," Merle said and sat down next to Allen and small bowl of large strawberries clasped in her hands. She put one into her mouth and chewed slowly, savoring the taste.

Both Van’s and Allen’s eyes almost crossed in lust when they watched their wives do all these little movements with their tongues. Van watched Hitomi’s tongue twirl around the tip of the small strawberry and then stop suddenly at the sharp intake of breath he brought in. She gave him a wicked grin, knowing exactly what she was doing to him. She held it up to his lips and he opened his mouth. Hitomi popped it into his mouth and smiled while he chewed. She pecked him on the lips and went back to her strawberries. Hitomi totally ignored him and it drove him crazy.

Hitomi repressed a smile. Van was sitting there, completely captivated, fully clothed and aroused. She glanced over to Merle and Allen. Allen was in just as bad shape as Van, if not worse. Hitomi tried not to laugh when she saw Merle play with the strawberry with her tongue and then bite off the tip. She saw Allen start to shake as he watched her do more tricks with her tongue.

Hitomi liked what Merle had done and thought to try it on Van. She took one of the small strawberry's and let her tongue run along the length of it and then whirl around it before her mouth latched onto it and sucked on it. She took a quick peek at Van to see if he was still watching and saw him staring right at her mouth and the strawberry. She bit off the tip and chewed it, grinning at Van.

"Oh, God," Van whispered and grabbed her hand, jerking her up and letting the bowl of strawberries drop unheeded to the ground. He ran with her to the palace, going around a corner and disappearing.

Merle stopped when she saw Van and Hitomi run away, hand in hand. She sat down the strawberries and said, "I'm done."

Allen was still staring at her mouth and she pretended that the look he was giving her didn’t do much for her. Allen suddenly grabbed her shoulders and yanked her against him. "No, you’re not done."

Merle was quite shocked at how rough he treated her, but in a sort of gentle way. He brought her deeper into the garden, ripping her clothes off on the way. Merle giggled triumphantly and let Allen do his worst.

Van was getting frustrated by the time they got inside the palace. He wanted in his room right now and he wanted to ravish his wife. She was running to keep up with his fast walk.

"Van, slow down. If you have noticed I'm pregnant and I can't exert myself overly."

Van mumbled something and stopped, turning around and picking her up. She gasped at first because he scared her, but quieted when he held her close to his body. He started to run as fast as he could to his room and Hitomi blushed, imagining what the servants were thinking as Van ran past them.

They got to their room and Van set her down carefully, closing and locking the door. Hitomi blinked at the hungry, devouring look he was giving her and she looked down, nervous for some reason. Van came over to her and pulled her into his arms, kissing her lightly and tugging her over to the bed.

Hitomi let Van sleep and got dressed quickly, going back downstairs. She had some stuff to do that she had been slacking off on. She found Marie, the servant she had become friends with, and asked her to find as many of the servants as possible and meet in the hall.

By the time a half an hour went by, Hitomi had the grand carpet taken outside to be scrubbed and beaten till the point where it looked new again. She had over twenty servants washing and moping the marble floor, while others took down all the large pictures to be cleansed. The tables were dusted and the last of the summer flowers placed in vases on top of them. Fall was only a few days away and she wanted to savor the last bit of the flowers left in the enormous gardens.

She had the immense chandelier lowered to sweep off all the cobwebs hanging on it. When that was done, she helped clean it with soap and water to make the crystals shine and sparkle.

Van came down a short time later only to find his wife immersed in dirt and cleaning the lowered chandelier with five other servants. He smiled when he saw around twenty or so more servants washing the blue and white marble floor, some dusting and hanging up the pictures that had been on the walls, and even more setting flowers arrangements. He blinked when he saw a handful of men staggering into the hall with the carpet that had been previously set on the floor. He hurried over to help them and they set it along the wall to later be unfurled.

Van walked over to his wife and kissed her sweaty forehead. She looked up and grinned, wiping off the sweat. "Hello."

"What are you doing to this place?"

"Cleaning the dirtball, why?"

Van chuckled and looked around. Although they were not done, he could tell how clean the place already looked. "Just be careful, alright? You’re pregnant and don’t need to strain yourself."

Hitomi let a lopsided grin appear on her face. "Yeah, you should have seen how many servants balked at the idea of a queen, let alone a pregnant one, helping them. I am tired of sitting around and getting out of shape. I need to get some exercise because it’s good for the baby, as long as I don’t overdo myself."

Van kissed her cheek and left her. Hell, if she decided the hall needed cleaned, which it had, then let her. If she wanted the whole palace cleansed, then he wouldn’t gainsay her. He felt proud that she had taken the responsibilities up without him having to tell her.

Dilandau sat in his cushioned chair, contemplating the situation. Seibu was scolding one of the other sorcerers that he was doing something wrong. She shoved him out of the way and did it herself. "Stupid man!! You could have just ruined it all!! Did you know what would have happen to you if you did? I would kill you so slow that you would beg for death!! Where are my Angelslayers?! Aiea, Erien, get over here and help me!! Stupid males can't do anything!!"

Dilandau smiled and walked up behind his wife. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and she jumped. "Not all males are stupid are they?" he asked and kissed her soft hair.

Seibu turned around and gave him a wicked grin. "Not you."

He walked away from her side, going back over to his red cushioned chair. "Hurry. I want this over with. I can't wait to see if it works."

Seibu and Aiea held a huge piece of metal down while Erien welded the rest on, finishing the task by putting in a screw. "It’s done, my ladyship."

"Dilandau, it’s completed. We can start any moment if you so wish it."

Dilandau’s face twisted into an evil smile. "Come over here and we will discuss what we will do to them."

Seibu sauntered over to him and sat on his lap, wriggling around to get more comfortable. He scowled at her when his body leapt in response. He was trying to concentrate. "Seibu, unless you want to be hurt, don’t move."

Her eyes glittered and she licked her lips. Dilandau’s eyes followed the small movement and he closed them. "Seibu, I have things to do. Don’t tempt me."

"Why not? You know you like it," she whispered and traced her tongue on the scar on the side of his face.

"Yes, of course. But wouldn’t you be more entertained by seeing Hitomi’s and Van’s love shatter into a zillion pieces?"

She sighed. "Oh well. So what are we going to do?"

"Erien, Aiea. Prepare the fate alteration machine."

Seibu hopped off his lap and went over to help them, pulling down a large lever and turning a small knob. "Dilandau, it's ready for whatever you want," she said seductively.

Dilandau stood and treaded over to the huge machine, not noticing his wife. He glared at his accomplishment. It had taken so long to even come close to duplicating the old fate alteration machine, but they had succeeded. In fact, it was ten times better, stronger, and less complicated. They had made a couple adjustments today, to fix a little problem they'd had with making two men fall in love with each other. Seibu and Dilandau had thought it to be the funniest thing ever in the world, and in truth, they had been laughing so much they had almost cried.

After that event, they had made the men fall in love with more than one person. It hadn't been as funny as it had been making them fall in love with each other, for they had been latching onto each other and almost raped one another, but Dilandau and Seibu had been laughing so hard and so painfully that they had just killed them.

Dilandau smiled at the memory and rubbed his hands together. "Lets get started."

Van sat Hitomi down on his right, while Allen sat Merle next to him on his left. The servants came over with a signal from Hitomi. They served them and she excused them all, wanting to be left alone in the companionship of her friends and husband.

They were eating in comfortable silence when all of a sudden Hitomi and Allen dropped their forks. Van and Merle looked up, wondering if something what was wrong. "Is something wrong, Hitomi?" Van asked and looked at her curiously. Hitomi and Allen were staring at each other with such lust filled eyes that Van blinked. He waved his hand in front of her face to get her out of whatever she was in. Whatever was going on, she was so engulfed in Allen that she didn’t even notice him waving his hand frantically in her face.

Hitomi stood up, knocking her chair over. Allen followed her example and crawled over the table, knocking food and bowls out of the way. Hitomi met him half way and they grappled at each other, their lips locking and not letting go. Van and Merle sat there and stared while they started ripping off each other’s clothing.

At the same time, they surged out of their chairs, trying to get them unhooked. They were sharing such a passionate embrace that Van felt white hot fury rip through him. Allen’s hands were cupping her breasts and her hands were going his stomach. Van’s eyes widened, knowing exactly where they planned to go.

Van pulled Allen off her and punched him in the face as hard as he could. Allen shook it off as if he hadn't even been hit. Hitomi hopped off the table and jumped on him, toppling both of them to the floor. She tried to undo his pants and yelled in frustration when Merle severed her connection with Allen.

Merle didn’t want to hurt her pregnant friend, so she couldn’t do much. Hitomi already had his shirt off and was about to push down his pants when Van dragged her away. "Hitomi!!!! What’s wrong with you?!?!?"

"I want Allen!! I'm going to do so many wonderful things to you, Allen. Like—"

"Hitomi!!!"

Merle tried to restrain Allen, but it didn’t work very well. Van yelled for help, and Marie opened the door to mayhem. "Your highness!!"

"Go get help!!" Van said while he struggled to hold back his wife, who was reaching her arms out for Allen.

A few moments later, a group of men came in, waiting for his highness to give them orders. "Don’t just stand there!! Help!!"

Two men held back Allen with some difficulty while another one held Hitomi. Van took a deep breath and tried to relax. What had just happened?? Hitomi and Allen were still trying to get to each other, but they were getting fatigued. Merle was wringing her hands, not knowing what to do and trying to talk to Allen, who didn’t even acknowledge her presence. He was staring at Hitomi as if he would kill anything or anyone just to get to her. Van felt intense pain go through him when he saw Hitomi was returning the same stare.

"Lock them in separate rooms and hurry," Van commanded and watched the men leave with his wife and Allen. Merle was glaring at the door with such pain in her eyes that Van went over to her and gave her a hug. "Don’t worry, Merle. Whatever just happened, we’ll find out what it was together."

Merle let the tears that had been pooling in her eyes fall over and she let out an anguished cry that filled the room. Van let her wail and sob on his shoulder while he held her. He didn’t have any of his own tears in his eyes, for he was too confused to understand what had happened. Merle lifted her face after she sniffed and Van smiled at how red her eyes were.

"Are you alright now?" Van asked quietly and soothed her by rubbing her back.

"Oh, Van. What happened? What happened?!!" At her words she started crying again and she fell to the floor, curling up into a tight ball and hugging her belly. Van went down on his knees next her and stroked her hair while she cried more. She hiccupped when she was done and Van grinned. She always hiccupped after she was done crying. He picked her up in his arms and carried her to her room that she shared with Allen. He opened the door and treaded over her soft carpet to her bed. He laid her down and kissed her cheek, covering her with the blue blanket. She sighed and closed her eyes. "Thank you, Van."

A small smile appeared on his face and he looked back over to her still, shadowed form lying on the bed. "It’s alright, Merle. You would have done the same for me."

He closed the door and walked to his study, which was a ways down the hall. He had so much work to do that he himself had been slacking off on, but he wasn’t in the mood. He needed to talk to Nara and find out what was wrong. He bumped into a serving girl on his way and asked her if she could bring Nara to his study. The girl bowed and walked away to find the lead healer.

Van sat in his study on a black stiff leather chair. He was almost asleep when he heard a small knock on the door. "Come in," he called through the thick wood.

Nara came in only to see his highness sitting up in a rumpled state. "Am I correct? Is my baby having a love affair with the knight Allen Schezar?"

Van looked down at his hands. "I honestly don’t know. All of a sudden they were just all over each other and we couldn’t get them restrained. I was wondering if you might know something about it." Van looked at her expectantly.

Nara walked over to his highness, and being very bold, took his hands in hers. "I'm sorry your highness. When something like this happens, I almost always means the two were having a love affair and couldn’t contain the secrecy anymore."

Van felt all the blood drain from his face. "No." He shook his head vigorously, saying it again and again. "No!! I won't believe it!!"

"Your highness, there is nothing we can do. If she did have a love affair with him, then the queen has to be tried for treason to her country and hanged."

"What?! Are you insane? She’s my wife!! I love her!! I could never kill her!!"

Nara gave him a sad patient look. "Then she has to be banished forever. If they were all over each other, there is no doubt in my mind that they had a liaison. You will have to terminate the marriage. Even if it is against your will, your advisors will force you. You can't do anything about it. In fact, I already saw your generals and advisors gathering for a conference."

Van sat down. Never had he thought to believe Hitomi would do something like this. Never. It had to be fake. It had to be. She loved him, she wouldn’t do this to him. They had a child on the way, damn it! How could she do this to him? After everything he had done for her, after how much he had loved her. Why?!?!

"I won't believe it until I ask her myself," Van said in a determined voice and stood. Nara let go of his hands and stepped away.

"I will wait here for you when you return with the results."

Van nodded and stalked out of the room, resolve going through him. He realized then that he had no idea where she was. He walked around, and saw a guard standing outside of a door. "Is she in there?"

At his nod, Van asked for the key and the guard handed it to him. He unlocked it and flung open the door. And blinked. The window was shattered to a thousand pieces, lying with the lacerated pieces of wood that had held the panes together. He should have known she would have escaped with her wings. He was so damn stupid.

He rushed out of the room, almost knocking over the guard. "Where is Allen’s room?"

The guard pointed down the hall to where the other guard was stationed. Van dashed down it and ripped the key out of the man's hand. The stupid man had been asleep and had the key clasped in his hand. He paled further when he heard noises coming from the room. He turned the knob slowly, not wanting anyone to hear him.

On the side of the bed he saw Allen and Hitomi chucking of their clothes, kissing hard and not stopping. He watched Allen brush his hands over her plentiful breasts and moan deep in his throat. Hitomi arched against his hands and stopped suddenly when she saw Van. A lilting laugh came from both her and Allen as they watched the look of complete and utter horror on his face. Van slammed the door shut and walked like a dead man back to his study. The pain of his heart constricted and tightened its hold on him, making him feel darker and darker. He felt tears course down his face and he heard a cry reverberate through the dark hall. He turned around and saw Merle clutching her neck. They stumbled into each other’s arms and collapsed to the floor, crying out at the pain they felt at their hearts being ripped brutally from their chests.

"Van, what did you see!?!" Merle cried and shook his shoulders. He was so out of it that she had to shake him harder.

"I saw..." he gulped and tried to swallow the lump in his throat. He felt his stomach heave at the words he was about to say. "They were in each other’s arms and they were ripping off one another’s clothes. They are probably making love right now!!"

Merle choked on her tears and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Both of their tormented and agony filled wails filled the hall until half of the servants were standing around them and watching. All of the women were crying, throwing their hearts out to his highness and Lady Merle. The men had felt uncomfortable with all the mushiness and had searched out Nara. When Nara shoved her wide girth through the crowd, a small bottle held in her hand, they backed away.

Nara gripped the king's hair and yanked him back, pouring the sleeping drought down his throat and then going to Merle. She had the unconscious people carried to the infirmary where they would be asleep for the next three days. Hopefully something could be resolved during that short time.

Van felt so heavy, and was reluctant to lift his head. He sat up completely, holding his head in his hands. He heard noises around him, but he didn’t want to open his eyes.

"Your majesty. Please open your eyes. We have some papers for you to sign."

Van crashed back down to the pillow he had been resting on. He felt someone start shaking his arm and he tried to get away from it.

"What are you buffoons doing?! His highness is trying to rest. Don’t you even dare touch him again, you skinny little man!!"

"It's alright, Nara," Van mumbled and sat back up, getting help from General Dunwe, apparently the skinny little man. He opened his eyes and blinked a couple times, getting adjusted to the bright light. "What do you people want? I'm trying to sleep."

"Actually, your highness, you were knocked out by a drug given to you by me."

Van glanced over to Nara and everything flashed back to him. He paled and he gripped his head, squeezing his eyes shut. "No. Everyone get away from me."

Nara ushered everyone out of the room and closed the door, leaving his highness alone with the sleeping Lady Merle.

Van looked around, and saw Merle sleeping on her side facing him. He frowned. Had she knocked both of them out? How long had they been asleep? Just then Merle stirred and moaned in her sleep, her eyelids fluttering open. Van stared at her blue eyes and he looked down, immediately seeing the change in them when everything came to her just like it had him.

"Van? Why are we in here?"

Van got up off the cot and started pacing the length of their beds, his arms clasped behind him as he muttered angry words to himself.

"Van? What are you doing?"

Van looked sharply at her, anger making him think unclearly. "If you hadn't fallen in love with him, then this would never had happened!!"

Merle drew back as if his verbal words had hit her physically. Van immediately retrenched, going over to her bed and drawing her into his arms. "I'm so sorry, Merle. I'm being unnecessarily violent right now. Please forgive me."

"It’s alright, Van. I forgive you. I...don’t know what to do," she whispered and drew away from him, giving him a sad, pleading look.

"When I woke up, my generals were waving something in my face. I take it that they were mine and Hitomi’s annulment papers. I have no choice in the matter but to sign them because Allen touched her."

Merle blinked at his words and nodded her head, as if concluding something. "So I guess I should terminate my marriage with Allen as well."

Van gripped her hand and squeezed, smiling at her to not only reassure her, but to reassure himself.

"But what about my baby?! What am I going to do with her?!" Merle exclaimed.

Van’s smile got bigger. "Don’t worry. We’ll raise our children together ourselves."

Merle’s eyes watered and she tried to blink them back. "But I want to be with Allen."

Van gulped at the emotional ups and downs he was feeling. "I know, Merle. I want to be with Hitomi too." Van laughed, and it sounded almost insane. "You know what? I know I shouldn’t tell you this, but what hell? Who cares anymore?!"

Merle started at how furious he sounded and said, "Yes?"

He laughed again and threw his hands up in the air, sitting down across from her. "I don’t know if you have experienced it yet since you just got married, but it's like my body has realized that Hitomi is its mate, and it searches her out. I don’t know how I’ll handle it now that...that..." He lowered his head in his hands.

Merle went over to his bed and patted his shoulder. "Oh, Merle. I love her so much. I just want to die now."

Merle held back her own tears and tried to comfort him. "Don’t worry, Van. We’ll get through this mess together and we’ll forget it as if it had never happened."

Van raised his face and looked away from her, not wanting her to see him in such a delicate state. She took his chin in her hand and turned him back to her. "Do you understand me, Van?"

Van smiled and nodded, agreeing about everything except the part about forgetting. He gave her a brief hug and separated from her when the generals strutted back in, the infamous dreaded papers in their hands.