Dark Wind

Pierre DeBois flew along the narrow cobblestone streets. His band of men clung to the four corners of the carriage as it careened past large groups of patriots gathering in the streets. His cousin, King Louis the 16th, had summoned Pierre to the Louvre. He was truly loyal to the King and didn’t hesitate to perform gruesome duties no one else would. Pierre kept his hand close to his sword because he was well aware of the dangers he faced passing through the center of the city. Groups of men with red sashes and blood stained swords lurked at every turn. His men cleared the way allowing the carriage to run the many blockades leading to the gates of the palace. As he climbed from the carriage, he could still see the smoke rising from the Bastille. Earlier he had seen the rebels take the old armory and Governor DeLauney. All the captives were marched into the city square. DeLauney, along with his men, had their heads cut off and placed on pikes, blood streaming down all sides. He grimaced at the recollection as he began to jog into the palace to see the King.

King Louis was pacing back and forth before the great windows facing the Rue St. Antoine. He, too, had seen the Patriots running towards the great plume of smoke and heard the reports of the Bastille falling.
“So, it’s begun, young DeBois,” Louis said with a great sigh. “Are the reports true? Have we lost the Bastille?”
“I am afraid we have, Sire. The men have been killed and the weapons taken from the armory. DeLauney’s head has been placed on a pike in the square. I’ve seen it. It is true. The Third Estate calls for change.”
King Louis responded with anger in his face. “What is the Third Estate of the common man? They believe that they are everything! What have they been thus far? Nothing! What do they demand? To be something! The common people cry for their freedom and equal rights. And what is the cost of this freedom? It won’t be a loaf of bread or 5 acres of land this time. It will be a painful freedom!,” the King shouted as he turned his back on the chaos unfolding outside. “A dark wind is blowing over my country and the First Estate of nobility will be the blood that gives these commoners their freedom.”
Shots were heard somewhere in the city as great fires burned all around. The King winced as if in pain. Pierre glared at the insurrectionists running along the palace wall and then asked, “What do you desire of me, Sire?”
Louis said, “Come, walk with me. I have little time before the real change comes. The people of the Church and the National Assembly will not give into the murder of their king. I have sent for Marquis DeLafayette. With the help of the Assembly, I plan on putting him in charge of this rabble they call an army. I must get safely out of the city until he arrives. I commission you ‘Council to the King’. Take this seal and do what you must to move us to the castle at Versailles.”
Pierre had been waiting for an opportunity like this one his whole life. He already knew how he could use Louis’s fears to his advantage. He accepted the position by bowing before the King. It appeared almost comical.
“Your wish shall be my command. Be ready to move at a moment’s notice, Sire”.
He pivoted suddenly, sending his black cape spinning out as if he was flying away. He called out, “The common estate calls for my blade, Sire,” and then he disappeared. He left the Palace from a side entrance without the carriage. It was not a good idea to be riding through the city as one of the First Estate. Many nobles had been dragged down from their coaches that day to their deaths. His plan was to slip out of the palace on foot. Pierre was a chameleon. Two steps outside the palace walls, Pierre disappeared with his men down the steps to the river into the dark underworld he controlled.
Pierre had ordered a boat to be at the Louvre. It was the easiest way to traverse the city.