So there was Claudette, I also learned something about Laurette soon after which made my frustration at my brother only grow, the one in the Amber-colored dress for those still listening.

Not long after that incident the soldiers had left, and I'd gone over to the bookshop/library. The summer sun was shining high above and I was in a pretty good mood, the damn soldiers were finally gone and I didn't have to hear another goddamn song and dance number from those clods. If I had to hear about the Vendee massacre in excruciating detail one more damn time I wouldn't have been responsible for my actions. I wasn't the only one, plenty of people here were old enough to remember when this had been part of the Empire or the holding of the old Polish Pretender and the last king's grandfather. We'd been luckier than other parts of France and had never been done wrong by the nobles or the king so had been horrified at what had happened to the royal family.

When the Vendee had risen we'd privately been supportive of the action and prayed for them in the small alcove the priest had managed to preserve when the revolutionaries had closed the churches, being a Roman Catholic in my last life the rites here were no hardship...except for the Latin...it sucked not being able to understand what the hell was going on. We'd also mourned the massacre that had followed when the bastards in Paris had committed Genocide, apparently this unit had served in the fighting and the veterans had cut their teeth in the killings. Which meant we were repeatedly serenaded with a damn song and dance number every damn night detailing the killings, burning and even rapes...

If anyone is curious the song and dance numbers were actually canon...seems that music was connected to a low-level but very omnipresent magical field found just about everywhere. Singing seemed to allow for some minor nudges to fate and the like. Sing about cooking and food tasted better, sing before a battle and you might fight harder. But just as singing could amplify the magic, the magic could influence the actions of people which resulted in them doing said song and dance numbers, it was an accepted part of life and no one could really resist it so didn't bother and went along with the flow...made things nice that a truly terrible singer wasn't a thing in this world.

But I'm rambling so back to my trip to the book shop, I was thinking about looking for a copy of Tacitus, I'd noticed that the bookstore owner had managed to acquire a copy of it last time I'd gone by and I was thinking about picking it up this time. In my past life I'd learned how to read when I was about three and mostly self-taught, it wasn't that my parents didn't teach me so much as they didn't have too much according to them. Which meant I'd learned how to read French shockingly fast compared to my brother. If I'd had my druthers I'd of been reading all day every day my mother...my original mother, often said I'd turned a virtue into a vice when I was younger.

As I entered I was surprised to see Laurette paying for what looked like a package of blank paper and other stationairy.

"Well this is a surprise, afternoon Ms. Laurette, what brings you here?" I said.

Laurette turned her head, blinked in surprise then smiled and said, "Oh Pierre. Good afternoon. I'm just doing some shopping for my father."

"Really? Your father's a farmer though." That was putting it mildly, the de Rhin's were the biggest landowners in the area and if they'd had at least one ancestor that did something heroic on the battlefield would have definitely been nobles of the sword. As it was they made a killing in selling grains of all sorts, which had done them well when crops had been failing left and right in other parts of France yet had left this area untouched.

"Yes but even a farmer needs to record of what he has. And that's my job." She seemed to almost beam at that.

"Really?" I said, kind of impressed, "How long have you been doing that?"

"Since I was ten. When poppa got sick all those years ago, me and my sisters were in a bad place and we drifted apart. Claudette was always with uncle Hans and Paulette was with Momma in the kitchen learning to cook. That left me alone for long parts of the day. Well one day I was went into poppa's study and I saw Clarence the clerk working. I was curious and I asked him what he was doing." I nodded in recognition, Clarence was a former student from Paris who'd fled the city during the height of the Terror and who had been hired on by Monsieur de Rhin as a clerk.

"Well Clarence tried to explain it to me though I didn't understand everything at first he said it just boiled down to a bunch of counting, then I asked if I could help him. Clarence had said that he saw no reason why not and I ended up becoming his unofficial assistant."

"No fooling?" I said, well this was something of a paradigm shift for myself. I'd always thought that the de Rhin sisters were a trio of giggly idiots. Claudette's thrashing that soldier and now this had cracked that facade like wood eaten by dry rot.

"No fooling Pierre." She said with a proud smile. "I could do Clarence's job by myself if I wanted to but Clarence has done well by my family, we couldn't just kick him out like that."

"Well that's good of your father Laurette….well actually could I ask you a favor?" I asked,rubbing the back of my head as I did so.

"What is it Pierre?" She said, cocking her head.

"Well...I was wondering if you could teach me accounting as well? You see my father's given me the accounting job for the tavern." I leaned in conspiratorially, "Between you and me I think pops might want me to take over the tavern some day, what with Gaston not being interested working behind the bar and all that."

"And what happened to becoming an officer?" She asked, "I know you mother had those old men training the two of you for years."

I grimaced, "Well that kind of died when the King was murdered." The both of made a sign of the cross and bowed our heads for an instant in memory of the wrongfully killed king.

Our village was a bit unique in that we were universally staunch Royalists and news had reached us that the king had been deposed we were horrified and when a messenger had later proudly announced the king's execution by guillotine for treason against the Republic….well it was the first and last time I'd ever seen my father really lose it….and there wasn't much left of the man after he was through.

The news had broken my mother's heart and had killed her dream of seeing us as officers serving in the king's service. I still remembered the haunted look she had for months after.

There was a moment of silence between us then I cleared my throat and said, "Erm well. Right, teaching, would you mind showing me?"

She considered it for a moment then said, "Alright Pierre I'd be glad to help." Then she grinned and said, "If you could do a favor for me."

"Oh sure, whatever you need." I said.

"Oh wonderful, well you see it's like this. The summer festival is coming soon and I haven't had anyone invite me to go with them." She stepped closer me and actually pouted...holy fuck was that hot. "And there's someone I'm really hoping would invite me, but he hasn't yet."

Dots immediately connected in my mind and I smiled, well there was no denying that Laurette was just as lovely as her sister and if she was actually interested then awesome. I decided to try and play along. "Is it someone I know?"

"It's someone you know very well, but he doesn't seem to know I exist." She pouted again.

"Oh I'm sure if he knew you were interested he'd ask you in a heartbeat." I said.

She perked up almost immediately, "Oh you think so?"

"I know so." I replied, already imagining dancing with her in the village square and maybe even stealing a kiss in the process.

"Oh wonderful, so you really will ask your brother to invite me to the festival?" And like that the entire image just died right then and there, turned to ash and blew away in a ice cold northern wind.

My jaw slackened and my eyes glazed for a moment, blue screening at the soul crushing I'd just experienced.

Laurette didn't seem to notice my stunned shock or assumed it was further confirmation of her request because she giggled and clasped my hands with hers and said. "Oh Claudette was right you are a wonderful friend Pierre. I'll see you tonight for our first lesson after last call. Bu-bye!"

She then almost dashed out of the shop, her spirits soaring, while I was left there still struck to the core.

I didn't cry…..

….

Alright I cried….a little….

….

Well maybe not a little….

….

ALRIGHT I ADMIT IT! It was a minor miracle no one else entered the bookstore that afternoon because I didn't want anyone to see a strapping sixteen year old youth almost folding himself in half in order to bawl his eyes out into the shoulder of the diminutive and unsure bookshop owner who had to stretch his arm a bit in order to pat the young man on the back while saying, "There, there. Everything will be alright."