JULIET'S QUILL

CHAPTER 9: HOME

Liberté, égalité, fraternité!
The three words that were born over the bones of crowns and jewels,managed to stay immortal as the three colors of the flag. While, the fourth one was abandoned as it screamed about the sanguine truths of 1789. The slogan of that time was liberte ou la mort (liberty or death),as the second part was proved to be more easier to execute by the people. When Judgement is made by hunger and poverty,they could never be equal to the ones made by Law.
In their eyes,every one was guilty. Every drop of blue blood, that,somehow acted as the Grim reaper for their children. Every head that held the crown had to pay,not only the ones with golden jewels but the ones made up of mere family names
I was Forsaken into a place, that wasn't unknown, for it was the bloodstained lap of the deadly revolution. I fumbled for the bundle of paper that Stephen had given me, as a key to my refuge. But there was nothing there, except few patches of burnt paper. The heat of that millisecond journey was still burying against my skin. It felt like my body was dismantled into thousand pieces, and then the pile of my remains was knitted together again. I looked at my naked body, and then at the blinding sun overhead.I would have been sun burnt, if I spent another half hour there. So, I crawled towards the shade of a small church. Luckily, I appeared at the outskirts of the city otherwise, I would have been the object of amusement for the local public. I was still lost in plotting a plan for grabbing some clothes, and food when my eyes turned towards the source of sudden noise. It was an elderly woman, dressed in brown patchy clothes with a stick in her hand. She was mumbling something as she climbed down the stairs assiduously. She seemed like my only refuge, so I walked towards her. Her head tilted towards me, and she frowned.

"Stop right there, Naked man!" She aimed her walking stick at me like a gun.

I danced around trying to cover my body, but there was nothing that could have been done in that situation. I managed to utter. "I need help"

She nodded,"I can see that. Wait there, I'll get clothes for you, Son." I sat against the wall, watching the old woman climb the stairs back into the church. The bad beginning of my journey told me that there were worst things waiting for me. But the only hope that kept my scared heart happy, was the fact that I might find my parents. And if I were lucky enough, I might have a glimpse of Juliet. Though, it was like finding the needle in a haystack. But I had one city to search and an infinite period of time unless I got killed by the angry mob on the eve of revolution or by any wicked noble. I was still lost in thoughts when the old woman appeared again with a bundle of clothes in her arms followed by the priest. I buried my head in my lap, trying to make the embarrassment disappear.

"Are you alright, Son?" The priest handed me a large cloak.

"Rough day." I shook my head and wore the cloak immediately.

"You can stay at the church for as long as you like." The priest patted my shoulder. The elderly woman mumbled something again, but the priest shook his head.

"That isn't a good idea"

"What?" I questioned moving my head from the elderly woman to the priest.

"Do you live here? or any where nearby?" Priest asked without taking his eyes off me.

"No, I came from a far away place in search of something that I couldn't tell you about, but I can assure you that I'm harmless. I just need a place to stay and food. I'll leave in a day or two" I uttered, making an innocent face.

I was about to something else,when I heard the hoofs of approaching horses. The woman motioned me to hide but it was too late. The three men appeared right in front of us. they were wearing similar tight fitting jackets with silver lace, white plume on their hats and red stockings. I understood from their appearance that they were the sergeants.

"We asked for a favor. Is it done?"

The priest nodded reluctantly. "Follow me inside, will you?" One of them got off his horse and followed the priest inside the church while the two of them kept staring at us.

One of them pointed towards me, "Haven't seen you around, Boy. Who are you?"

I bit my lip,"My name is Marcus Breton. I just came...."

"He's my grandson. He just came to the city in search of a job"

One of them smirked,"You had another daughter?"

His sentence triggered so much anger in the old woman, that she pounced at him. Unintentionally, i grabbed the woman and stopped her from hitting the horse with her stick. I could feel the tapping heartbeat of her fragile heart. Her cheeks flushed like a ripe apple, and she was breathless. Before she could utter another word, the third one appeared and he motioned them to follow him. They rode their horses off behind him.

"Destroy them!" The old woman looked up at the sky. The intensity of pain in her voice predicted that the cause of her grief had crushed her heart. She looked at me, and held my arm softly.

"Let' go home, Son."

We walked through the narrow streets for so long, that my feet were aching but the old woman was not even a bit fatigued. She stopped in front of a small wine-shop and handed me few coins.

"I'll go and tidy a room for you while you buy something for yourself."

I really needed a good drink right now. So, I walked inside the shop as the old woman crossed the street. The wine-shop was a lot more crowded than I expected. I was still dressed in nothing but a cloak and sandals which were enough to draw attention of everyone in the shop. I sat at a high stool, and placed the coins on the table.

"What do you want?" A harsh voice replied.

"A beer." I replied blankly.

The man grabbed the coins, and placed a huge cup in front of me. He was more interested in listening to the conversation of two stout men sitting a little further than me.

"Nothing could help in stabilizing the system now." One of them announced, "Not even Estates-general"

"At least they are trying to do something. The government is at verge of bankruptcy."

I wasn't interested in the politics, as I was well aware about the result of this meeting. It was summoned by he King to propose solutions to his government's financial problems,but it ended when the third estate decided to take matters in their own hands. I stared out of the window, looking at people walking down the street unknown about the upcoming storm.  It was 13th May,1789.I had a glance of the newspaper placed on the table near my beer.The Outbreak was due in a month or so, and there was nothing that could stop it from happening.
I finished the beer, and walked across the street to the Old woman's house.