Part 1: Joan's Escape
Chapter One: A Diverted Fate
The flames licked hungrily at Joan's feet, the heat rising in suffocating waves. The girl who had led the armies, who had spoken with saints and angels, closed her eyes and waited for the end. But f...
The flames licked hungrily at Joan's feet, the heat rising in suffocating waves. The girl who had led the armies, who had spoken with saints and angels, closed her eyes and waited for the end. But fate, it seemed, had other plans.
A commotion erupted at the edge of the crowd. Shouts of alarm and the clash of steel pierced the air. Joan's eyes flew open as an arrow whistled past, striking the wooden stake inches from her head. In the ensuing chaos, a hooded figure darted forward, slicing through her bonds with a gleaming dagger.
"Courage, Maid of Orléans," a familiar voice whispered. It was Jean de Metz, one of her most loyal companions. "God has not abandoned you."
With a strength born of desperation, Joan stumbled from the pyre. Jean threw a cloak over her shoulders, and together they plunged into the roiling crowd. Soldiers shouted and pushed, trying to recapture their prize, but the mob's frenzy worked in Joan's favor. Ducking and weaving, she and Jean made their way to the city's edge, where horses awaited.
As they galloped away from Rouen, Joan's heart pounded in her chest. She had been prepared to die, to become a martyr for France and God. Now, alive and free, she felt the weight of divine purpose settle upon her shoulders once more.
"Where will we go?" she asked Jean as they rode through the deepening twilight.
"To friends," he replied. "Those who still believe in you and your mission."
For days, they traveled by night and hid during the day. Joan's escape became legendary almost immediately. Some said she had been carried away by angels. Others whispered of dark magic. But for those who had always believed in her divine calling, it was simply proof that God still had work for Joan to do.
As word spread of her miraculous escape, hope rekindled in the hearts of the French people. Joan of Arc, the Maid of Orléans, had not burned. She lived, and with her lived the dream of a free and united France.
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