Traitor or Lover?
I grew up as a republican. Being a poor orphan in France with a young sister to care for, I saw countless times how the plebeians and commoners were oppressed by the aristocrats. I understood and felt the bitterness of those who started the revolution. That bitterness toward those who oppressed us is still within me. That is why so many think I support the revolution. And well they should, for I did support it. I still, in some ways, support certain ideas of it. Yet the blood-thirsty mobs that run that beautiful country with chaos and death disgust me.
Never will I forget those rich fools who treated the poor with contempt and persecution. I have felt the brunt of it. Yet thousands of aristocrats are being slain by Madame la Guillotine, be they men, women, or children, and many of them are innocent of any crime save that of being rich. The revolutionists, many of them my past friends, crave their blood in ridiculous amounts. No longer do you have to be guilty to be executed; not in France.
So, because of the terror that roars through France, my beliefs have been altered and my sympathies have changed. I sought out the one man that all French revolutionists hate with a passion: the Scarlet Pimpernel. So much had been said about him and his band of Englishmen. I deeply admired his bravery and self-sacrifice for those aristocrats who were dying daily. Though it was difficult I found men in his league and I joined their cause.
I, Armand St. Just, French republican, am now on my way to meet that incredible man known to the world only as the Scarlet Pimpernel. No one, not even my beloved sister, would suspect me of this. That is what makes me an incredible, though unlikely ally, to the brave Englishman. I have been in the heart of the revolution and can easily get there again, but this time I will be fighting to save those I once fought against.
It is only obvious that I am now a traitor in the eyes of the revolution, or will be once I am found out. Yet I do not, cannot, think of myself as a traitor. I love France, that beautiful country. I would never turn my back on her or betray her in any way. What I do now grows from my love for France. My country, my home, is tearing itself apart. I supported the revolution because I longed for peace and freedom. I long for it still. This is why I have made the choices I have and why I do what I do.