Chapter 2

"Signing a Death Warrant"

In our kingdom of Bretagne, the news that we had defied Napoleon spread quickly like wildfire, especially in the village that was once my home, Villeneuve. Since my father had joined me and Adam in the castle, our home had been occupied by Gaston's former sidekick, LeFou, and his friend, Stanley. Both of them were trying to live a normal life away from Gaston as much as possible.

"I'll never understand the people in this town," Stanley said as he came in through the front door, while LeFou sat on the sofa. "Everywhere I go, there's nothing but talk of how Prince Adam signed a death warrant for this kingdom."

"He probably made the right decision, Stan," said LeFou. "Napoleon is 10,000 times worse than Gaston ever was. Who knows what he will do when all is said and done to us?"

"I suppose you are right," Stanley sighed. "It's just that…given the situation, we need to make a stand against him. Sort of teach him a lesson that we are meant for one another."

The fact that both LeFou and Stanley had feelings for one another was apparent. With Gaston dead, they both felt as if they were given more than just a second chance.

"And how do you propose we do that, Stan?"

"I think we defect to one of the four powers that are fighting against him. It's just that I don't know which one."

The two former misfits of Gaston contemplated their situation. They wanted to go somewhere where they could be together while also trying to join our effort to stop Napoleon.

"What about Russia?" asked LeFou.

"No, too far."

"Prussia?"

"Maybe."

"Austria?"

"No, too pompous. I guess we should just go where Prince Adam wishes to go to."

It was then that LeFou got himself an idea. There was one area that would allow him and Stanley to not only fight against Napoleon, but also allow them to be themselves in their character.

"What about Scotland?" he suggested. "It's a friendly country and the men wear kilts. I've always wanted to wear one."

This made Stanley smile at his lover's suggestion.

"Me too, LeFou. Me too."

…

Meanwhile, Adam and I had made our way into Villeneuve to meet with our subjects and give them the option to either stay and allow themselves to be under Napoleon's control or stand with us and fight with one of the coalition members. During our visit, I managed to stop by the bookseller and see what new books were available.

"Ah, Belle!" he said as I walked in, bowing his head slightly in my presence. "Your highness…"

"I'm still the same old Belle," I chuckled. "There's no need for that. Any new books that came in?"

"Not since last month," he said, his smile disappearing as I climbed the ladder. "And there may not be any for a while. Not as long as he is in power."

I scoured the shelves and could see that he was right. All these books were books that I had read many times before and that it would be a long time before any new books would come onto the shelves.

"Belle," he said. "I have watched you grow up into a beautiful young woman and I must ask you…what do you think I should do?"

This made me step off the ladder and look back at the bookseller, who was clearly nervous at the prospect of the impending war.

"I mean, I've lived my life and well, if I am to die…"

"You are not going to die," I interrupted firmly, placing my hands on his shoulders. "You are not going to die. If anything, Napoleon will probably never send his troops into the village. They may say you are to serve in the army, but if you side with us, you are to be protected by whatever ally we side with."

"Who will that be?"

"Whoever is willing to take us in," I answered.

Just then, the bookseller had a thought.

"I just had an idea, Belle," he said, climbing up the bookshelf. "I did have a book that just came in from across the channel."

"What is it?"

"It's about King Arthur of England," he answered, handing me the book that featured a picture of King Arthur on the cover. "Written by someone named Sir Thomas Malory."

Studying the book, I looked and read the pages of King Arthur and how he helped make his kingdom of Camelot into a kingdom of grace and plenty. I wasn't sure, but something told me that this was the only way: to side with the British. Great Britain was a land that was steeped in tradition and they had no respect for Napoleon and his overall behavior.

"If you want, you are welcome to take it…wherever you decide to go."

"I think I know where we will go."

…

Leaving the bookstore, I saw Adam and Papa with a small group of the villagers behind them. They seemed to have the idea of wanting to defy Napoleon just as much as we do.

"Belle," Adam said. "These men wish to join us against Napoleon."

All I could do was smile at the prospect that these men were to remain loyal.

"We refuse to worship a false king," said Tom, one of Gaston's former minions. "We vow to die for the true France."

"Me too!" cried Dick, raising his pitchfork high into the air, nearly scratching another man next to him. "Oh, sorry."

"Where do we plan to go, your highness?"

Turning around, Adam stood on a crate and addressed the small crowd.

"Gentlemen of Villeneuve," Adam said. "Wherever we go, we will fight for the glory of our kingdom. Any one of the coalition will be willing to open their gates for us."

A small scatter of cheers came amongst the crowd, seemingly both sure and unsure of what was to come. They all had the same mindset to find out where they were going to go.

…

"I might have a suggestion for us," I cried, holding up the copy of King Arthur's story to the crowd. "Great Britain is a kingdom that holds our values greatly and is lead by one of the greatest kings in Europe…George III!"

"Belle, are you sure that's a good idea?" asked Adam. "George III is a mad king."

"He is mad, but it might be our only option," I said. "England will more than likely provide us with the sanctuary we seek."

Several more confused cheers came from the crowd and even though he tried to be supportive of my suggestion, I could tell Adam was probably thinking that we should have thought this through more.

"Wherever we go," Adam said, trying to keep the crowd focused. "We must all be prepared to fight in some way. Infantry, Cavalry and Artillery…that's what each of you must seek."

"I am a good horseman!" said a villager.

"I can shoot!" said another villager.

"I used artillery during the American Revolution!" said yet another villager.

And the cries continued to grow louder and louder for each man claimed to be experienced in a various role of war. The more they cried, the more confidence we had to stand against Napoleon.

…

A little while later back at our former home, LeFou and Stanley went out to the back of the house and tested to see if their old weapons were still in good use. LeFou looked down into the barrel of his weapon to see if it was clear.

"LeFou, careful!" cried Stanley. "You'll shoot your eye out with that!"

"I'll be more than careful, Stan," Lefou remarked, swinging the musket around by the holder. "In fact, the eyes I'll be shooting out are those who fight for Napoleon."

LeFou then saw an empty barrel in front of him and thought that this would be a perfect time to test his marksmanship.

"Stand clear for a second, Stanny," he said, pointing the musket at the barrel and loading a musket round into the weapon. Clicking it, he fired the musket, shooting a hole into the side. "Well, not too bad. Hopefully more will come out of it."

Not that far, Adam and I were leading the volunteers from our village back towards the castle where we came across the shot.

"Did you hear that?" Adam asked. "Let's investigate."

"Must be LeFou and Stanley up to their tricks again," remarked Papa. "They better not have caused any damage to the house."

Trusting his instincts, Papa marched towards our former home as another shot rang out.

"LeFou! Stanley!" he thundered as he walked around back. "You better not have caused any damage!"

Papa soon approached them and letting a loud clearing of his throat caught their attention.

"Um, what's going on, Maurice?"

"Are you shooting up my house again?" he asked firmly. "Because if you are…"

"Oh no, we're not!" pleaded Stanley. "In fact, we are just wondering if…we…"

At that moment, both of them saw Adam, me and the loyal villagers standing behind Papa. They felt a sense of embarrassment upon seeing us there and quickly bowed to us.

"Your majesties," they cried. "I can assure you that…"

"There's no need to show any remorse," said Adam. "Will you join us in the fight against Napoleon?"

"Yes on one condition…" said LeFou, much to our surprise. "That, as a personal choice between me and Stanley, we serve in the Highlanders of Great Britain!"

I then looked to Adam who could only smile slightly at me as if to say he felt like we needed to take up my suggestion of joining Great Britain in the fight against Napoleon. And the cheers from the crowd behind us gave a sense of confirmation.

We would side with Great Britain…

…

…