Chapter 7
Precision
June 19
The halls of Les Neuf Sœurs were empty that night; save for the group of assassin recruits that occupied its common room. The room was noisy with idle chatter until Thomas stepped into the room with Leona at his side.
"Recruits!" said Thomas. The noise in the room lowered to the sound of each recruit's breath. "You have been summoned here to undertake your final test, the successful conclusion of which will see you brought to the status of Assassin." Herbois rubbed his hands together and smiled.
"And what is our mission, monsieur?" he asked.
"In all things, you must realize that every action has a reaction. An action spreads through the waves of history, altering the path it takes. But who starts these actions? Tonight, it is you."
"So what is it?" asked Billaud-Varenne.
"We have intelligence that states that there are three keys that open the inner doors to the meeting place for the Estates General. We also have the names of the palace guard who hold these keys. Your first task will be to liberate each key from each member of the guard. The three reside in Paris, and their residences are here." Thomas produced from his vest three slips of paper and laid them on the table. "You will be splitting up for this venture. Once your key is secure, you will make your way to the Hotel des Menus Plaisirs where Leona will be waiting for you. With her, you will then infiltrate the outer sections of the Menus Plaisirs, then seal the inner doors of the meeting place from the inside, barring entry for anyone who wishes to enter tomorrow. Do you have any questions?" Saint-Just raised his hand.
"How will this act help us?" he asked. Thomas was about to speak, but Leona interrupted him.
"If you had been keeping up with the news from the Estates General, you would understand," she said. Saint-Just looked at her with distaste.
"Then tell us," he said.
"The Third Estate has declared themselves a National Assembly, a governing body by the common people to replace the monarchy and the Estates-General. If the doors are sealed, tomorrow morning they will not be able to get in to the meeting, and will immediately suspect that the king is trying to fight against them. This will confirm the fears of the National Assembly had all along, and will spur them towards their goal of independence."
"How did you know that?" asked Billaud-Varenne.
"I've been going to all of the meetings and delegations over the past month," she said.
"Ah."
"Very good," said Thomas. "There are no further questions? Jean-Marie?" Herbois had raised his hand.
"Yes. You say we are sealing the doors from the inside. How are we going to get out of Menus Plaisirs if we are locked in?"
"Good question. It is why Leona is accompanying you there. She has been looking the place over for the last month, and has found a path to get out of the inner meeting area once locked in. Would you like to tell them, Leona?"
"Sure. If you are able to climb up above the chandeliers, you are able to climb among the rafters that the chandeliers hang from. Then there is a gap in the upper wall, shaped like a circle that is large enough for someone to climb through. That's how I'll get out." The recruits nodded.
"Good," said Thomas. The three grabbed out at the pieces of paper and read them. "You have your targets, and you have your instructions. Do this quickly and silently, but no bloodshed. We don't want the idea that the keys were robbed from a dead man, we want this to appear as an act of aggression from the king, and that only happens if the three stay alive. Now off you go." With that, the four took their leave and made their way to their targets.
Leona waited behind the bushes with Herbois and Billaud-Varenne next to the Hotel des Menus Plaisirs. The three had been waiting for over an hour for Saint-Just. She kept her eyes on the road closely, looking for any sign of him.
"You two have no idea what is taking him so long?" she asked.
"No," said Billaud-Varenne. "We went our separate ways when we exited the lodge."
"I wouldn't worry," said Herbois. "Louis is pretty straightforward in his tasks. Whatever is taking him so long through is not him being idle; he must've run into a snag." The three heard the canter of a horse, and they ducked down into the shadows. The horse came to a stop in front of the Hotel, and a figure descended from it.
"Leona? Jean-Marie? Jacques?" said the figure.
"Louis!" said Billaud-Varenne, rising to meet him.
"Louis," said Leona crossly. "You know what you're supposed to do to call to us."
"I have no desire to repeat bird calls. I prefer to do things my way." said Saint-Just. He removed a key from his robes. Leona sighed.
"Every mission that Monsieur Thomas has sent you on and nothing's changed." She glanced down at his left wrist. She noticed that it was dyed red. She took it in her hand and felt the warmth of the liquid. "Why is your blade arm bloody?" Their eyes came up and met each other's at the same time. She grabbed him by the collar. "Idiot! You were not given permission to kill these men! You know the rules! You must finish your assignments as dictated by our teacher. You actions affect Jean-Marie and Jacques as much as they affect you! If Thomas finds out about this, you could be held back!"
"Wait…" said Jean.
"You know, your brothers have been waiting three years for this opportunity! Whether you take your time here into consideration is of no consequence to me, but I feel like they are ready to become Assassins!"
"Would you calm down for a while? Just a little while is all I ask." Said Saint-Just. Leona relented.
"Fine, explain yourself."
"I'm late because my target was not at his residence. I had to find out where else he might be, which took the better part of an hour. I learned from some passerby that he frequented a bar that was far away from his home, so I had to travel there, okay? While looking for him, I rested my arm on top of a weak barrel of wine which gave under my weight. So that is why my wrist to my elbow is dyed red." he said, with a tone of annoyance. Leona looked him over. She released his collar to grab his wrist in question.
"Only one way to be sure," she said. She flicked her hidden blade out and cut away some of the cloth from his wrist.
"Hey!" Louis said. Leona popped the piece of cloth into her mouth and swished it around. She tasted traces of berry flavor and alcohol on her tongue, and then spat it out on the ground.
"I'm sorry for being presumptuous Louis. Were you successful?" she asked. Louis reached inside his tunic and brought out an iron key, hanging from his finger. Leona took it from him.
"Now, we must finish this task set before us. The time was late when we began, and now, we've even less. Dawn's approaching, and we must be finished before then." She motioned to the others. "Come, I had left a window unlocked the last time I was here. Hopefully it has remained so."
Leona pushed on what seemed to be a normal piece of the wall, but was actually a door, and it swung open to where the Estates General met. She walked through, followed by the other three and surveyed the room. The center of the room was bathed in silvery moonlight that shone through a windowed ceiling. She walked with the three to where the king would sit.
"I don't understand why we don't just kill him," said Saint-Just.
"Do you remember Joan of Arc, Louis?" asked Leona, not turning around.
"The martyr?"
"Now, why did you associate her first with martyrdom? She was a peasant girl, a mighty warrior, and also an advisor to the king."
"Well, because that was about the most significant thing that happened to her in her life. She was burned alive for believing an idea."
"Exactly. That is why we do not simply kill our targets that hold high regard among people. Martyrdom is a deadly tool to wield. The tide of the Hundred Years War was changed because of Joan of Arc and what she meant to the people of France." She turned to face the three. "Joan of Arc was a Templar and wielded the Apple of Eden that the king now holds. It is why we must work like this. I need each of you to take two broadswords and bring them with you to the doors. They are located on the walls surrounding this place, hung as ornaments. Once you lock the doors, slide the broadswords through the handles of the door, for added insurance." She gave keys to Saint-Just and Herbois, who then separated towards one of the doors. "I have to hold one, so I can lock myself in," she said to Billaud-Varenne. "I'll help you with the broadswords" She went behind Louis' chair and brought two sturdy looking claymores for Billaud-Varenne and herself. "Meet us over here when you are done!" she shouted over to the other recruits. Soon, the four were reunited at the last unlocked door.
"You all are free to go after you are outside. You need not to wait for me. "
"Won't you need, I don't know, backup?" asked Herbois. Leona pointed up at the rafters.
"A fall like that would probably kill me. I only have one shot at this, so your help, as kind as the offer is, wouldn't be beneficial to anyone," she said. The three left, and Leona slid the last claymore through the door handles of the east door and was alone. She walked back to the king's chair and sat in it. Thinking, she sat there for a few minutes, and then got up and walked to the center of the room. She removed her hood and stared up at the cloudless full moon overhead. She could almost feel the chilling rays of moonlight as one could feel the heat from the sun. She sat down, letting the moonlight shine upon her still, and closed her eyes. When she opened them, darkness took the room. "Eagle Sense," she said, shaking her head. She observed the room in its entirety, until a column caught her gaze. It glowed in a faint blue color and was back near the king's seat. She walked over to it, pressed her hand to it, and studied its features. She noticed many areas in the column where there were missing pieces of stone, most likely that had fallen out due to disrepair. These areas were large enough to place hands and feet amongst them, and continued up the entire length of the column, where it met the ceiling. She ran up the column, grabbed one of the notches, and used it to pull herself to the next. She climbed all the way to the ceiling and, looking to her left, jumped to a rafter that stuck across the walls. Pulling herself up, she saw that the next beam was only five feet from her. She jumped beam to beam, until they ended. The only problem was that she was not at her exit. Her eyes came to a large chandelier that hung between her and the circle opening. On the other side of it were more beams that did lead to her escape route. Eyeing the chandelier more closely, she determined that it would not snap under her weight. She jumped from the beam and caught on to it, shimmying around to the other side. She then back ejected from it and landed on the beam on the other side. She then again jumped from beam to beam until she came to her opening. Jumping to it, she clutched the wooden frame, and pulled herself to freedom.
Leona stopped in the middle of the bridge that connected the road to Versailles and Paris over the Seine River. She removed the small burlap sack that held the keys and tossed it into the river.
'One last thing,' she thought.
King Louis was awakened that morning by his personal guard.
"My king, you must wake up," the guard said in a hurried tone. The king stirred after a few more minutes of prodding.
"What… what is it…" said Louis.
"When we went to Versailles this morning, to Menus Plaisirs, we found the meeting place locked." Louis got up at the sound of this.
"What? Locked?"
"Locked and barred, from the inside." Louis had woken up quite enough to notice the slip of paper he had clutched in his right hand. "Get out of here," he told his guard. He read the note; upon it were the words:
Now, mon roi, reap what others have sown, as you are so accustomed of doing. Enjoy the harvest.
He crumpled it in his hand after reading it. Marie Antoinette had woken up at this point.
"What is it, dear?" she asked.
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing at all," he said angrily.
