The queen sat there, poised and perfect. Gaius was always astounded by her beauty anytime he saw her. Yet she didn't compare, he felt, to the love of his life. He pined for her a moment. Then he thought of his men, the ones he had lost in recent months. He remembered all their names. He tried to remember the name of his men as much as he could, but he especially memorized the names of the fallen soldiers. It was his way of honouring his men. To build up courage he would recite the dead men from memory. His men seemed to love the general, but this was one of those things that made him even more respected. The men were willing to die if they would be remembered by the great General Gaius Cassian.<br/><br/>The king and queen knew this, which is why they asked him directly for the names, and not one of his camp clerks. He stood tall and proud, and told them the names, "Lieutenant Maximus Thaliem, Centurion Desmond Ereves, Commander Shail Ruthen..." he named off all his dead men, not missing a beat, making sure to speak of every soldier, even the newest and youngest ones. As they finished he said his goodbyes, and bowed to them courteously. Even though he was on leave like his men, he agreed to begin preparations as early as tomorrow.<br/><br/>He arrived to his homestead a place near the palace. It was a large home given to him by his king. As he arrived one of his servants had prepared a meal for the General. Aside from his servant, and a few workers tending to his gardens and horses, he was alone. The home was fairly large, but was empty. He had no wife to wait for him to come back from war, and no child to run into his arms. Some men preferred visiting the brothels, but Gaius was still in love and couldn't bear cheating on her. He still creaked his head around hoping to catch her walking around the corner, greeting him with her beautiful smile, sitting on his lap and giving him a kiss. However this could never be, for she was dead.<br/><br/>He sat at his desk, writing in his journal, planning out strategies and ideas. Then he went to bed with a cup of wine and a good book, eventually falling into a deep sleep.