Allons enfants de la Patrie,
Le jour de gloire est arrivé~
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After the Great War puts France's military prowess and courage to the test, the Bonnaire family in Allier and the Lavigne family in Paris turn to their leaders for help. Meanwhile, two...
-Certain French words and phrases are in Italics for now. There is no criteria for WHICH words.
-POV changes within the same chapter are separated by a "---". Also, I could not put indents because that is how this site works on my end thus far. You'll have to roll with it.
-The following is a work of fiction. Though the main characters don't exist, there will be references to real historical figures and major occurrences that I cannot shy away from (e.g. The 1940 Invasion of Paris).
It was the 30th of June in the year 1914. Captain Pascal was sipping bitter coffee in the documentation center when one of his guards whispered in his ear.
"Who?" the captain exclaimed. He nearly fell off of his chair. "Repeat it to me again. Prove it."
A second guard slammed a newspaper on Pascal's desk. The captain, now silent, placed his mug down as he read the title.
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Captain Pascal crumpled the paper.
"I know what you're thinking," he told his guards, "and the answer is no."
The one at his left spoke. Though he was much taller than Pascal, his voice had a twinge of caution.
"What do you mean?" he cried. "Look at the board. Half of these men should have been released years ago. Set them free, Captain. And send us home to our families. We're done working here."
Pascal swung around to face the wall behind him. He made eye contact with hundreds of photographs and sketches of his current batch of inmates. Some had pleading faces. Others furrowed their brows, conveying tenacity and strength. But Pascal only focused on the dates below each of their names, which either read "1914" or a year much earlier.
"What?" he insisted. "And set them free so that the French high command sends me into battle someplace else if France enters the war? No. We're letting these prisoners be cannon fodder, as they so deserve. Whatever happens, do not tell anyone. We're keeping everyone on the grounds. No parole, no prison releases, nothing."
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In late July, on one gloomy morning, M. Pascal did not show up outside to the prison grounds. As the convicts ate a measly breakfast of hardened bread, they muttered to themselves and tried to imagine what might have happened to him.
