"There are some things in this world you rely on, like a sure bet. And when they let you down, shifting from where you've carefully placed them, it shakes your faith, right where you stand."
-Sarah Dessen, 'Someone Like You'
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He loved Joan. It didn't take him long to realize that. Even from the start he admired her. Even before he met her. Just that she was demanding an audience with Charles.
And then he saw her. And she called him a good man.
And he was struck by her beauty. But it was more than that. Joan had an air to her; a commanding sort of air, a regal sort of air.
It was impossible for him not to believe her.
It was impossible for him not to follow her.
He thought she would never get hurt. It was a silly thought, given they were going to war, but he thought God would protect her. Which in and of itself was a funny thought, given God sacrificed his son. What should he care about the life of one peasant girl?
But Joan was more than a peasant girl. She was….she was indescribable. She was majestic.
She was the illusion that there was good in the world.
But that illusion was shattered, as most illusions were.
Love was a funny thing. Love made him do things he never expected to do. Things like go fight battles that he didn't think they could win. Things like make promises he couldn't keep.
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It was unexpected. He was positive Charles would send them an army. Joan was positive.
Why shouldn't they be? It was Joan who got Charles the throne. It was Joan who'd won back Orleans. If anyone could win back Paris, it'd be Joan.
That was the first time the world shattered his illusions. It was most definitely not the last.
When they'd gotten back to Reims, Joan was furious. No, furious wasn't the right word. She was livid. She burst into Charles rooms angrily, wanting to know why he betrayed her.
What they didn't realize was that this was hardly a betrayal at all compared to what he would do next.
However, at the time, it was a betrayal like none other.
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Then came the battle of Compiègne. Aulon couldn't believe that they had refused to open their gates, and that the Burgundians captured Joan.
He couldn't believe it.
But it had happened. The invincible Joan had been captured. Had he known it would be the last time he would see her, he would have told her he loved her.
As it was, Aulon and the captains gathered their money for Charles. They figured they could help chip in for her ransom.
It never even occurred to him that her ransom would never be paid.
That Charles no longer wanted her.
Because how could someone not want Joan? She was…she was magical.
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The captains were avoiding him, and he wanted to know why.
No one had heard news of Joan's fate in weeks. But now the captains were avoiding him, so clearly they knew something.
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They burned her. They burned his love.
Damn them all. They burned a saint.
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A/N: I'm only partially pleased with how this came out. I may have to revise it at a later date. However, it came to me as soon as the movie was over, and I felt a compulsive need to write it.
Because dammit, I felt so bad for Aulon.