A/N: Hey guys! I've been wanting to write a French Revolution fic for a while, and I finally got around to typing up a tidbit. I have a long story in mind that would start here and then flash back to the beginning of the conflict. Let me know if I should continue or just leave this as a stand-alone!


December, 1793

This is not what I wanted.

From where he crouched in a narrow alleyway, Francis could see rivers of blood flowing through the cobblestone streets of Paris. It had been months since they weren't stained red, since people weren't dropping like flies at the hands of the extremists. Francis longed for those days.

A frigid breeze slammed into him, and Francis curled into himself. His breathing was labored, a puff of air appearing each time he exhaled. He shut his eyes for a moment and tried to center himself. That particular task proved to be difficult, however, as the screams of fear and desperation seemed amplified with his lack of vision. His eyes snapped open again.

Francis knew he could be next. Admittedly, he had considered running and hiding out in the countryside somewhere far away from here. But he couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead, he stayed, vowed to accept his fate do whatever he could to end the bloodshed before he was dragged to the guillotine. Before he was executed by the very people he was trying to protect.

God, revolutions hurt. It was painful from the start, but once the Reign of Terror started gaining momentum, it became downright excruciating. Francis coughed up blood for the third time today. He wasn't entirely sure if he was going to survive this, guillotine or no.

That was just one more reason he had to speak to Robespierre. The man who had once confided in him; the man he had ultimately betrayed.

It tore Francis apart to try to pick a side in this god-awful conflict. His own king had banished him from the palace when Francis beseeched him to listen to the demands of the Third Estate. The National Assembly grew to distrust him when he had argued for a peaceful compromise between them and the now non-existent monarchy. Now he belonged nowhere, and he was forced to watch as his country destroyed itself.

This is not what anyone wanted.