Author's note: The climax we have all been waiting for is finally here! I hope it won't disappoint haha!
We are being spoiled by the lovely MM as she produced yet another (not one, but TWO) beautiful portraits of Victor! Please go on Pixiv and check out her work.
For FFN readers, I can't put the link directly, so you can go to Pixiv and then in the URL, after type artworks/ and then the number 116277024 or 113877322
The plan all along had been simple: when faced with the Black Knight, Andre's role was to distract him either by chasing him or duelling him or both. In short, Andre was the bait, and Oscar would provide the necessary reinforcements and the element of surprise that would ensure a solid trap.
At the start of each mission, Andre and Oscar would agree on the strategy of theft and then where to meet afterwards. Oscar would choose a corner to conceal herself in anticipation, while Andre went on to do the actual thieving.
And when one is thieving, it behooves the thief to maintain a certain nimbleness - a quietness in movement and in action. Total silence.
Which was the complete opposite of what Oscar and Andre had been doing since they arrived in the woods adjacent to the gardens of the Duke de Guiche.
"Merde!" Oscar cursed under Andre's hand, still clasped on her mouth.
Andre was right. They were not alone. Just behind the trees where the garden's exit was, there stood a dark figure, completely clad in black, with jet black hair rustling in the wind. It was difficult to tell where his hair ended and his cape began.
Arms crossed over his chest, he was standing there, gazing directly at them.
Andre dropped his hand from Oscar's face and stepped beside her.
The plan was officially out the window: they had lost the element of surprise.
How long had he been standing there?! Oscar wondered.
More importantly, had he heard them? How much had he heard?
Mon Dieu, had he caught the part about Fersen?!
She shook her head gently to ward off these irrelevant thoughts. There were certainly more important things at hand than whether or not a nameless thief had heard about her and Fersen.
She was about to act, but it was Andre who put things into motion first when he advanced forward.
"Enchante," he greeted the newcomer, with a wry grin on his face and a sarcastic tone. "If you didn't show up tonight, I would have had to go stealing from the Jarjayes house next!" *
Oscar took a step back behind Andre. Having finally recovered from being caught off guard in that manner, it was now time to get back in the saddle and revert to their original plan. So what if the Black Knight had seen her? Andre will remain the distraction and the Black Knight will think she had fled.
Andre did not lose a moment. He withdrew his weapon and launched towards the robber.
The Black Knight did the same and the two immediately clashed.
This gave Oscar enough time and cover to extricate herself from the scene. As she left, she could not help a smile – impressed as she was by Andre's swift reaction and boldness in that moment. Indeed, that was her Andre.
…
"So you would be devoured by your greed in your own self-interest under name, you imposter!" lashed the Black Knight. "I shan't allow it!" *
He was strong. There was so much power in his assault that Andre could hardly hold his ground.
He was highly skilled, and fast. It was no wonder how he was able to penetrate a hall full of people, steal their belongings from right under their noses and then effortlessly escape.
But Andre had a skill he had cultivated over the years, seeing as how he spent his life fencing an opponent as fierce as the Black Knight, if not more.
Diversion.
"Y-you shan't allow it?" Andre huffed in between clashes, as he took a few steps back to avoid the next assault. "It's not as though I'm doing this because I so desperately want to!" *
Having placed enough distance between them, Andre judged it now safe to turn his back to his opponent and fly off as fast as he could towards his horse.
"HAAAAAALT!" the Knight called after him. *
Andre simply laughed in his face. "You jest!" *
No one matched Andre's skill in speed and ease with which he could get in the saddle and set his animal off into a gallop. It was almost as though his horse had known to anticipate what Andre needed and obliged him accordingly. As such, Andre maintained the advantage of getting ahead and as far away as possible from the sword and clutches of the Black Knight.
Now!
He let out a whistle that echoed through the woods.
The onslaught of hooves that were directed at Andre not too long ago, now brought him great relief. Oscar was coming. And the Black Knight was no match for her.
As Andre expected, she overtook the thief in no time, her white mare was now running parallel to the Black Knight.
Andre slowed down his pace so that they can corner the thief between them.
"Stop right there, Black Knight!" Oscar pointed her pistol at him. "Unless you want me to shoot you, you'll do as I say." *
The thief was flustered, having realized he fell right into their trap.
He gritted his teeth. "I was wondering where you went." He addressed the Commandant. So, this was what was going on! I was careless. * Ah, but there was an opportunity to turn the scales. He pulled out a whip from his belt and struck the horse in front of him.
"Ahhhh!" Andre yelled, as his horse convulsed and flailed violently, causing him to fall to the ground.
"Andre!" Oscar hurled.
It all happened with the speed of lightning and yet it seemed to unfold ever so slowly in front of Oscar's eyes.
The Black Knight, taking advantage of the situation, lifted his whip again, ready to strike the man shamelessly dressed like him. He put in all of his ire and resentment against Andre – who in his eyes was nothing but a lowlife, a thief who was stealing from the people themselves, and at a time when Paris was starving! The audacity! How dare he?! How dare he ruin and foil the plans of a vigilante whose sole purpose was to bring hope and retribution to the down-trodden? How dare he interfere with the sacred work of justice?!
For Shame! For Shame!
The whip cracked with incredible force, as it sliced the air and landed on Andre's face.
"Ahhhhh!"
A piercing growl filled the air.
Oscar's eyes widened with horror.
…
There was a faint ringing in Oscar's ears, a familiar reverberation that echoed from within the depths of her mind. It started in the split second the Black Knight decided to wield his whip for the second time.
That sound… the sound that had been haunting her the entire time she had ridden with Andre tonight. The sound of something slamming onto something. A hard surface being slapped. A blade's vibration.
"Here, I believe this belongs to you?"
The dagger…
The dagger!
She had dropped her pistol and reached for the dagger that she had strapped to her waist before setting off this evening.
Without thinking, she reached for it immediately and launched it at the outstretched arm that had already begun to lower its weapon onto Andre.
And then…
"Ahhhhh!"
A piercing growl filled the air.
The dagger landed right in its target, and the Black Knight screamed with agony.
Oscar's throw managed to deflect his aim but not enough, it seemed. The whip still landed in Andre's face.
Her eyes widened with horror, as she realized that the painful growl that just resounded in the air was a mixture of both Andre's and the Knight.
Andre clutched at his face.
"ANDRE!" she screamed.
She dismounted and rushed to his side. Her stomach fell to the floor.
There was blood everywhere. Andre was curled up on the ground, writhing in pain.
"Andre!" she called again, clasping his shoulders gently, turning him to wards her.
While it would have been a difficult decision to run to Andre's rescue instead of in pursuit of the thief, she did not think twice; she let the Black Knight escape.
"What are you doing?" Andre shouted at her. "He's getting away!"
She had not even intended to bring the dagger with her, miserable as it made her, having become a symbol of utter rejection. But something told her to take it anyway. That strange crow incident from earlier had somehow foretold of a bad event.
"Forget him!" she snapped, as her hands attempted to make their way to the site of his injury. But Andre kept his face hidden. The bleeding was oozing through his fingertips as he struggled to cover the left side of your face. "Your eye!" she inhaled sharply. She began to tremble.
"Leave me and go after him!" he turned away from her.
"I- I can't possibly!" came her anguished protests. "I can't leave you, Andre."
"Oscar," Andre's voice brought calm to the chaos. "This opportunity may not come again. You need to go. Now. I will be alright."
"But…"
"I promise you, I will be alright."
Her breathing was shallow. How could she even contemplate leaving him like this? But here he was, reassuring her. Even when he was injured or suffering, he put her career first.
Her heart both sank and swelled up with emotion at the same time.
"Andre…" she said softly. "Alright…" she relented. "F-follow me when you can, Andre!"
She stood up to leave and took two strides towards her horse.
But then, she turned sharply on her heels and knelt down again next to Andre. Without so much as a pretext, or explanation, without even allowing them both any time to process, and with complete disregard to the dark liquid that was smeared on his jaw, Oscar cupped Andre's face, drawing him to her and sank her lips into his.
…
Merde, that hurt so much.
Andre's skin burned raw. It was as if the heat from the whip caused the tissue to become glued to it, tearing it off as it receded.
Thank God Oscar had launched that dagger in time. A few centimeters more and Andre was sure the cursed instrument would have taken out his eye.
"Suppose I should be grateful," he grunted to himself as he struggled to his feet. He found a tree stump nearby where he propped himself up and sat down, dabbing at his wound with a handkerchief.
"Merde!" he cursed again.
Unfortunately, there was to be no respite for Andre. As soon as he managed to regain some sort of control over the bleeding to stop it, his lungs demanded his immediate attention, sending him into yet another terrible fit of endless coughing.
The doctor had warned him that if he did not take the time to properly rest and heal, he will experience severe coughing fits that might damage his heart and lungs.
Obviously, the fierce race with Oscar earlier and the intense exercise and ensuing events did not fall under the "proper rest" category.
By the end of it, Andre was utterly spent. He sat there in the cold, shivering and panting, waiting for whatever this was to pass. Or maybe for his own passing, for all the coughing and the bleeding had depleted him.
But no, he should not think that way! He needed to collect himself and get better. He needed to go after her – he could not let her face the Black Knight alone.
"Oscar…" he muttered, leaning his head back onto the tree bark.
After all of this, Andre should be miserable.
And yet, as he closed his eyes to allow himself a few minutes of rest before he set off to find Oscar, a smile broke on his face.
She had kissed him. And this time, there was no mistaken identity, no masks.
…
When Andre awoke next, he was being hoisted onto a familiar white horse. Thankfully, he regained consciousness just in time to carry his own weight, thereby reducing the burden he was indeliberately inflicting on his saviour.
"Mm," he groaned as he settled himself feebly astride. He rubbed at his eyes. How long had he been asleep for?! Minutes? An hour? More?
"You're back so soon," he said, his voice thick. "I take it you didn't catch him?"
Oscar positioned herself in front of him. "I did not."
"So, what happened?"
She tracked the Black Knight all the way to Paris, up until a certain point where he disappeared. He had dismounted and ran off, so she followed the trail of blood until it led her to none other than the Palais Royale. It was at this point that she heard voices and surmised that the Black Knight had called for reinforcements. Thankfully, she was able to get back on her horse quickly and evade them. God knows what would have happened had she had been there without a way out. Looking back, she was sure the Knight would not have hesitated to fire at her with his pistol had he not been injured. That dagger saved both her and Andre in more ways than one. Unfortunately, it disappeared along with the Black Knight.
"I see," Andre nodded.
The conversation died down. Andre did not want to press her any further. He could sense her annoyance and irritation as she related to him the events that took place after they parted. They can talk about that tomorrow, with a clearer head.
Oscar drove at a temperate pace. The coldness in the air aided significantly in restoring Andre's consciousness, returning to him in full vivid picture the last thing that had transpired between him and Oscar before she went on her pursuit.
He blushed. Should he say something? A part of him did not want to break the spell. A part of him did not want to find out why she kissed him. Did she pity him? Was she relieved that he was not the Black Knight?
But then…
"THERE IS NOTHING GOING ON BETWEEN ME AND FERSEN!"
Andre could feel the heat rise up from his lower back to the top of his head. It was then that he remarked that he was draped in a layer of clothing that was not there before: Oscar had covered him with her coat.
He felt ashamed. It should be him covering her with his coat, providing her with warmth and shelter.
He began fiddling with the laces on the coat when-
"Don't even think about it," came the direct order from the Commander.
He chuckled under his breath. She did not even need to turn around to see what he was up to. Either he had become predictable, or she simply knew him like the back of her hand. Probably a bit of both.
"You're shivering," he responded.
"And you were coughing like a mad man," she retorted.
"You… heard that?" he said sheepishly.
"Everyone in Versailles heard that. That was how I found you."
He tried to laugh it off. "I suppose I can sometimes get carried away with things!"
Andre almost fell off the horse when Oscar tugged on the reins, bringing them to a sudden halt.
Turning to him, she yelled: "You could have died! Imbecile!"
Andre's eyebrows shot up, taken aback as he was by her outburst.
"You told me Doctor Lassone had given you his permission to return to your duties, but you seem to have omitted that these 'duties' do not, and should not include, strenuous activities like, oh say, stepping out in the middle of the freezing night and chasing after a thief!"
She threw her hands up in the air repeatedly as she scolded him.
Andre bit his lip. He desperately wanted to laugh. Oscar was spending too much time with Grandmere, it was rubbing off on her.
"What!" she yelled again, detecting a smirk from her companion.
"Nothing," he grinned. "You just… remind me of Grandmere like that."
"Andre!" she smacked him on his thigh. "This is serious!"
"Alright, alright! Calm yourself," he rubbed his thigh, laughing.
She shook her head and resumed driving.
"Oscar?" Andre said after a while.
"Mmm?"
"By any chance…" he said in soft low voice. "By any chance, Oscar, was that you in my room that night I was ill?"
Her body stiffened.
"Did you… did you kiss me?"
She trembled slightly. How will she admit her feelings and explain herself after everything? Her fingers closed in tighter around the reins.
"Mmm," was the only response she gave.
Andre's breath caught. His heart began to pump faster.
"And?" he pursued. "Did you find your answer yet?"
After what seemed like a long silence, laden as it was with unspoken truths and confessions, and a long train of misunderstanding, Oscar uttered, "Yes," in a voice that was barely audible.
In turn, it took Andre several long minutes to contemplate her response, to put all the pieces together, to wrestle with himself. It was all starting to add up now.
If the answer she had found was the one he feared, then not in a million years would she have kissed him earlier. Not in a million years would she have come back for him so soon instead of pursue her target. And she was certainly no longer in love with Fersen.
But then, she wasn't exactly confessing to him, was she?
His heart began to fill up with regret as he realized that he had played a part in his own unhappiness by pushing her away and rejecting her.
Knowing her, she was not about to put the last shred of pride she had on the line and confess to a man who had been nothing but cold and judgemental towards her.
She needed to hear him say it again.
He encircled her waist with his arms, pulling her close to him, covering her back with his chest and clasping his wrists tightly around her hip.
Certainly, there was always a fear that he had misunderstood and that his attentions were utterly unwelcome. But, to his immediate relief, she leaned back into him, further closing the space between them.
And to his absolute joy, she placed her hand on his and intertwined her fingers in his.
He could feel her body reverberate in his arms. He brushed the skin on her neck lightly with his lips and whispered, "Je t'aime, Oscar."
Author's Note:
* these dialogues or phrases do NOT belong to me. They are quoted verbatim from the Rose of Versailles manga Udon version, I may have made little alterations to them. I used them to help advance the plot.
I am sure that just like me, you have been waiting for this much-anticipated confrontation with the Black Knight! As you can see, I didn't change too much in it except the most important detail: Andre is spared a most painful destiny. I originally wanted to write this story to see how a seemingly insignificant event like Andre disguising himself to kiss Oscar, could have major consequences and cause a huge deviation in their lives – hopefully, bringing them to another destiny that isn't so sad. One of the joys of fanfiction, particularly in the fandom of Rose of Versailles, is to give Oscar and Andre an alternative, because the sadness we feel after finishing the manga/anime is always too overwhelming to bear. What if Oscar hadn't gone to the ball with Marie Antoinette and never met Fersen? What if Andre had stayed home and never faced the Black Knight? What if Oscar had been able to save Andre from the Black Knight (what if she had a dagger 😉)? What if she had realized her feelings just a minute sooner? What if… what if…
Of note, I mixed 2 scenes in 1 in this chapter. In the canon, Oscar chases the Black Knight to Paris several days BEFORE she and Andre confront him.
I also wanted to explore a missing scene in the anime/manga: the scene where Oscar brings Andre home after he is injured.
Many people argue that this incident was the catalyst that jumpstarted Oscar's feelings towards Andre. In fact, she is utterly distraught and cries her eyes out about what happened to him. Her heart is especially touched when Andre tells her "I'm glad it wasn't your eye." It is then that she realizes how deep Andre's loyalty runs towards her. This is probably why she is able to forgive him later on in the series when the "Incident" happens. Also, when they do catch the Black Knight the next time, Oscar loses her mind and is about to take out his eye in revenge by telling him that she will do to him what he did to "her Andre."
In short, this confrontation was a turning point in the canon, so I based the climax of this story on it. Except here, of course, Oscar has realized her feelings already and Andre begins to realize her feelings for him towards the end (:
Thank you for reading thus far! The next chapter promises to be a bit more… on the romantic side with some exciting scenes