Chapter 13

The next morning Oscar headed straight towards the address Sean had given her.

It didn´t take long for her to reach her destination, which was a big old building. She stopped in front of it just to take a look at it before stepping into it. As she reached the apartment, she saw that the door was ajar. She peaked in. ""Please, come in" she heard a man´s voice saying. And she did as she was told to. There were two young men, approximately the same age as she and Sean was. One of them came to shake her hand and introduce himself. "I´m Sebastian"

"Nice to meet you" she smiled.

"Likewise. You must be Oscar. Sean has talked a lot about you. And he said you are looking for an apartment"

"Yes, I am"

"Well, you are in a right place, then." he said while they were walking towards the middle of the room, towards the other man who had been standing still ever since she saw him.

"I want you to meet my boyfriend Friedrich"

"Nice to meet you, lady Oscar" Friedrich greeted her.

"Lovely to meet you both" she smiled as she looked around "And this apartment looks nice…"

"Yes, indeed" Sebastian said. Then the couple showed her around the apartment, and indeed the apartment was just perfect for her. And what´s more, it had everything:

An old attic renovated as an apartment with a beautiful view to Seine. And in front of her laid a romantic view of Paris, and its most famous monuments and places. …Sean had been right, she did like it. It really resembled his own apartment.

And when they told her the amount of the rent, she was surprised. Has she misheard the amount of francs?

"I don´t get this. You have this amazing apartment, and now you are renting it to me for a low price? Why? I mean, don´t you want to live here yourself?"

"The fact is, that we have just moved in together, in a bigger apartment, and are planning our wedding, so this place is now useless to us"

"Really?! Oh my God! Congratulations on your engagement!"

"Thank you!"

"We need to celebrate this!"

"Sure" the couple agreed.

"Do you like Chinese?"

"Yes!"

"We know a good Chinese restaurant nearby" Sebastian told her.

So, they went there to celebrate the happy couple and Oscar's new home. They sat on a table next to a window with a view to the street. And while Sebastian made an order for them all, Oscar watched as large groups of tourists passed by. There were children with their parents, lovers and elderly couples who seemed to come to Paris to remember their romantic time here before.

"It is good to see so many tourists here"

"Yeah, ever since the people took over Paris and the whole of France, replacing the government and spreading the power of the people elsewhere, Paris once again became the city where everybody could feel safe and happy" Friedrich explained to her.

"I remember reading about it in history books" Oscar said "it all started from the group that had formed from the yellow vests activists over fifty years ago…"

"It certainly was one of the greatest incidents of French history, just like the Revolution"

"Revolution…1789…it´s been 300 years, exactly this year, 2089"

Exactly that moment a waiter came to their table and poured wine into their classes. "This is from 50 years ago" she smiled "revolutionary, isn´t it"

"Indeed"

"Cheers!" they raised their toast to France and its people. That moment felt so good to Oscar, not only had she made new friends, but there was something more to it…as if she felt strong connection to France and its history. She felt as she had come home, again.

The three of them sat there for hours, taking about this and that while enjoying delicious Chinese food. But mostly they talked about French history, its art and culture. She was positively surprised of how much Sebastian knew about French history, particularly about the Hundred Years´ War and Jeanne d´Arc, her heroine.

After departing from her new friends, Oscar rushed to the hospital to meet Sean as he was released. And as they went back to his place, Oscar started to talk about the medallion and the initials once again. She wanted to know more about those, and the connection between her boyfriend and the past.

"You know, that it wouldn´t be just anyone portrayed in the medallion" she started. "At that time only the most important people could have their own pictures on such a precious valuables. Well, nobles, and such."

"You´re not from working class background, are you?"

"Fine…" he finally started to open up about his past "my grandparents are wealthy. I don´t know so much, because quite frankly I am not interested in my family´s history. I only know that my parents had argument with them and because they drove the car feeling angry…"

"Sean…" she held his hand as they sat on his bed. She knew just how much he was still hurting.

"Besides, I want to make a living on my own. I don´t need my family´s heritage"

Oscar laughed to the notion that she herself had thought the same about her family. How much they had common.

"Did you say that the medallion is from the 18th century?" he suddenly asked.

"Yes"

"Yes…" he started…"I have heard that my family is distantly related to…" he hesitated to talk anymore.

"Yes?"

"…Marie Antoinette"

"The Marie Antoinette?!"

Later that night, in England…

Oscar´s sister, Hortensia, was visiting their parents´ house, and while she was there, she sneaked into the attic, once again, to help Oscar to uncover the truth that their father was hiding. She knew she would risk her relationship with their father, but that was a risk she was willing to take. She wanted to help Oscar, and the only way she could, was to find the medallion. She had no idea, but somehow she thought that the medallion was important. Luckily for her, she didn´t have to search for long, when she discovered it. The lost medallion of the mysterious boy…

"Ha!" she was pleased to find it "Now I´m going to take a picture and send it to Oscar"…