Mon amour, ma vie

14

In the morning Napoléon told you he'd promise you a quick divorce from your husband and that he could surely get a Huguenot Pastor to consent to it as well. That brighten your day, for today you'd be sneaking into Portugal with some of the army and he'd be busy in battle.

Drawing the horses, you jumped in and sat beside your love. Most of the army knew Napoléon had a lady on board by this point, but thought little of it. They knew he had many women in the past, though there was only one around, that was you. Joseph had never seen his brother so devoted to one woman, and though you weren't royal or noble, he was happy to see him so cheerful and he speculated he might marry you and if that took place, you'd soon be pregnant.

You leaned into Napoléon's arm. You knew it'd be at most a week until you saw him again, but it felt like a long time to you. But you tried to imagine happier things. You wondered what Portugal was like, perhaps like Spain, you thought. Napoléon kissed your head, knowing of your concern.

"Do not stress yourself my cherie. I promise you will be safe with my brother. This battle will not be difficult, if Portugal has any sense or care for their people they will surrender at an instance." He said, as you nuzzled into the crane of his neck. You didn't respond, you trusted him completely.

By the time you reached Salamanca, it was past noon. You made your way around the city and at the edge of it, you got out with your lover. Napoléon took all your bags and placed them in the chariot with Joseph.

"I promise you'll be fine. I'll see you in less than a week. I love you." He said, kissing you passionately to the point if no one was around, you were sure it would have turned into a sex session.

"I love you." You said, as he helped you into the chariot and kissed him one last time. He nodded and you were setted next to Joseph. Waving goodbye, Napoléon and his army went off South. He had left about 500 men with you, Joseph, and Joachim. Joseph let you settle in and you were headed off West to Portugal.

It was much more quiet with just you, Joseph, Joachim and the other 500ish men. You didn't say much. It was warmer than France in Spain and you imagined Portugal was the same. You wanted to ask Joseph some questions, but you found it better not to annoy him, but surprisingly, he spoke first.

"So, I'm amazed by the fact you've stayed with my brother this long." He said, chuckling. You nodded, smiling awkwardly. "He's quite infatuated with you, the only time I've seen this before is with Joséphine, his ex-wife. He's dismissed all his mistresses for you, I'm guessing you're the best faire le con he's had. He loves to talk about you. I've never seen him so in love." He said in a merry tone, making you blush and smile. You'd always speculated he had other women besides you, but hearing Joseph's words gave your heart an extra pump of blood.

"I didn't know that. Thank you for telling me." You said, a polite smile on your face.

The next few hours were dead silent. Not even the usual loud and rowdy army was talking. The Spanish landscape and the eventual invasion of Portugal was meddling and dwelling on everyone's minds. You however, had drifted your thoughts to Étiennette. You wondered if she was okay and happy. It'd take a few days to get a letter out here and to get back to France if something was wrong, you thought. You tried to take your mind to happier things though. Étiennette was probably the healthiest and safest she'd ever been; there was no need to worry.

"So, I'm going to take an educated guess that you've never been to Spain or Portugal?" Joseph asked, snapping you out of your worry bucket of emotions. You laughed in a shaky tone, trying to conceal your anxiety.

"Hahaha. I see you're quite intelligent, just like your younger brother. I've never been outside France until now. In fact, up until a little over a year ago, I'd never been out of my little town in Normandy." You said, smiling and looking out to the red ant hill to the side.

"Oh my! How wonderful, you're from Normandy. Never been there myself, I've heard it's lovely though. You must be a descendent of William the Conqueror then, I've heard most people there are." He said. You almost laughed. You'd never heard a more ridiculous claim in your life.

"Well I don't believe so. One of my paternal great grandfathers was Welsh I believe, though he later moved to London and then to France when he met his French wife." You said. Your father had told you that once and you were skeptical of it's truth but you figured that's how he went to London when he was a boy. It did fit with the story you supposed. During that time, more Huguenots were being killed than ever and the time your great grandfather would have come to France was when the persecution died down. Though a descendent of William the Conqueror? That was ludicrous.

"Well then, what was Normandy like?" He asked. You smiled, you could talk about Normandy forever...

***

The ride went on. You crossed the passage into Portugal without a word. You had a sense that Vila Real was closer than ever though the army was still in the backcountry and no one else was around. The horses looked tired but kept on walking. You wondered when you'd get there, you were so tired that you had trouble keeping your head up and your eyes were red and bloodshot.

Finally, as the moon shone fully and you could see a light beyond a hill. You shot up and smiled. It was so refreshing to see a light, even if it was tiny. You took a deep breath and looked up at the moon. It was so bright tonight, unlike the others. The stars could be seen, unlike Paris, which almost reminded you of your little quaint town in Normandy. You imagined Vila Real was like that. And almost as you reached the city, a load of horses came up from behind and you felt that something was wrong.

"You are all under arrest." said a loud, deep voice. And then came trotting out horses and men writing them from all sides. Your breath stopped, you were going to die tonight, weren't you?

"What do you want? You should know that I am under Napoléon's army and he will not be pleased to hear about this." Joseph said, in a cold voice you'd never heard. The man in the shadows appeared. He was tan with black hair and a short beard, he looked like a conquistador. You shuddered, he had looked directly at you, his eyes cold and dead.

"I do not care about that. I want the girl." He said. You wanted to scream but kept your cool, shuddering. You had only realized how cold it was.

"No. You will not have her. She is only a maid. She knows nothing." Joseph lied quickly, trying to cover for you. The man looked deeper into your eyes and your back trembled. He could see the truth in your eyes, even in the dark.

"Alright. I will go with you but at most you can have me for three hours. That is all." You said in a serious tone that you rarely used. Joseph tried to stop you, but he realized what you were doing. As the tanned man looked away, you gave Joseph a look, he knew what to do. The army of the Portuguese had at least 1,000 men.

Less than 10 minutes later, you were in a cold room with only the moonlight coming through the barred window. The tanned man was breathing down your neck slowly. He hadn't said a word yet and you knew he was intimidating you to crack, but you wouldn't. You hadn't gone through hell and back just to crack under some macho brute.

"What do you want?" You asked, sighing. It was getting boring at this point.

"What do you know about Napoléon? Where is he headed? I'll have you know I can do what I like. Do not test me, maid." He said. You almost wanted to laugh, but you stayed dead silent.

As this was happening, Joseph wrote a quick letter, gave it to a soldier with the fastest horse and left in the shadows for Napoléon; soon you'd be out of this mess. Joseph was praying you were okay...

"TELL ME WHAT YOU KNOW, YOU WHORE!" He roared at you. You shuddered but still stayed silent. He reminded you of Clement, giving you a flashback of horror. Suddenly, he slapped you across the face. You barely breathed and then he did it again, drawing blood from your pale lips, and again, this time blood spurting from your forehead near your brow. You started crying. That was all you remembered before falling over and everything went pitch black.