Written for the kinkmeme.
Disclaimer: This fic is not meant to voice out any opinions regarding the series of events depicted. No offense is meant to anyone. Artistic license is claimed in the characterization of any historical figures that appear.
Background: Reading about the French Revolution, certain aspects of the whole event seemed very morally grey to me. A key event in it was the War in the Vendée, where there was great loss of life (both military and civilian) at the hands of the Republicans as they worked to quell its counterrevolutionary movements. More explanation about my headcanon can be found at the end.
Till then, read on!
He struggled, viciously, as they forced him to kneel among the spilled blood of his comrades. Bile rose in his throat, seeing gaping wounds and ashen faces. His men, brutally killed by those monsters.
But those soldiers standing before him were his men as well, a part of him reminded. Traitor, he hissed at the voice, but it laughed derisively in reply. Mon cher, it said, you are the traitor.
One of the Republican soldiers who had escorted him here went forward to whisper in his superior's ear. After a moment, a pair of boots, once polished to a shine yet now stained with crimson stepped before him. Cold fingers forced his head up.
"So this is the man who led the Vendée forces?"
His blood ran cold at the familiar voice, but he forced himself to keep still, refusing to show fear. Fingers swept aside the hair that clung to France's face, damp clumps soaked in equal parts blood and sweat. He heard a sharp intake of breath. It was then that he finally turned his eyes to glare at the other, knowing without a doubt that he had been found out. The grip on his chin tightened painfully. A light of madness entered the other's icy eyes as his met them.
"Well, well, well. What a surprise," the general drawled. "Francis Bonnefoy."
"Jean," France ground out.
Jean-Baptiste Carrier chuckled, before he tossed his head back in an order to his subordinates.
"Leave us. He can pose no threat to me in this state."
"Yes, sir!"
The painful grip on his chin remained as the footsteps faded, never allowing him to turn away. He continued to glare, not budging an inch even as the other hand came up in a caress. Those cold fingers trailed up his face, thumb swiping away blood from his cheek in a mock display of affection. Blood that was equal parts his comrades' and enemies'.
All your people, the cursed voice mocked again. How do you choose who is true? Do you even have the right to?
The general shook his head slowly, almost disappointedly. "France… My nation, why do you ally yourself with these ingrates? Surely you know that our cause is just. Why go against us? We speak for the people, as you should as well."
France laughed, taunting, but his anger showed. "I think the people can speak for themselves. You are no better than a tyrant, murdering innocents. Too much blood has been spilled, and you plan to spill more. You would kill my royals, who have done no wrong but be born to their position. What right do you and your little friends have decide who lives and who dies?"
A rough hand pulled mercilessly at his hair, forcing his head further up. France's eyes flashed, wanting to do nothing better than to wipe that sick little smirk off the other's face. Carrier tutted pityingly, as if speaking to a young child who could not understand. "But you see, there is the beauty of it. There are some who say God will determine who is righteous. That the Lord will judge who deserves to win. Convenient, is it not? Divine intervention or not, it is the way of the world. The victors will determine what is right. And we have won."
France spat in his face. Carrier brought his hand to wipe the spittle from his cheek, and France had to fight to push down fear at the cruel anger in his eyes. An unmistakable click made France's eyes flutter close briefly before he forced them open again. He would not show weakness, not in front of this man.
"I had hoped that I could make you see sense. But it seems you leave me with no choice."
The cold barrel of a gun was pressed against his forehead. France stared straight ahead, stonily, refusing to give the Republican general the satisfaction of seeing him flinch.
"Goodbye, Royaume de France," the other whispered as his finger pulled back the trigger.
The monarchy was no more.
As promised, here is the headcanon explanation time!
Headcanon 1 - Revolution
When it comes to revolution, everyone will agree that things are bound to get complicated with the personifications. Here's my take on it:
1) In most cases, the nation's view will tie in to the people and the majority. As revolutions are often the people going against the government, nations will usually back up the revolutionary leaders.
2) Then we have situations where the nation is torn between two sides of a war. In extreme cases a new personification may even appear. Fanon often portrays the American Civil War as such a case.
3) And finally we have the situation portrayed in the fill. By definition, a counter-revolution is a situation that may occur after a revolution, where some attempt to overturn or reverse it. In my Hetalia headcanon, counter-revolutions only ever occur when the nation's support is stuck on the "other side", so to say. Nation personifications tend to have strong ties with their royals/rulers, and just because the people want it doesn't mean that they're happy about the old rule being overthrown, sparking off rebellion.
Headcanon 2 - 'Killing' a nation
The ending is symbolic of the death of the 'Kingdom of France', to be reborn as the 'First French Republic'. Of course, a human cannot kill a nation in the proper sense, but even a nation will be put out of commission for a while after a mortal wound. My headcanon for this isn't very well formed, but the idea is that with this, the 'reborn' nation will return with ideals closer to those in power. It isn't done often, of course, being deemed as unnecessarily barbaric, and its results even less documented, but some human leaders do believe in its effects.
Any thoughts on the story or headcanons? Leave a review and let me know what you think!