Élise sat on the side of her bed, peeling off her socks, and the second to last in the chateau to retire this spring night, when she heard the front doors downstairs burst opened.
"Monsieur Chobat, glad you're still up!" Denis exclaimed from downstairs. Immediately the conversation caught her interest, and worry. "The city's come under some kind of bloody lockdown! National Guard's gone mad! Martin and I just barley managed to slip out!"
She rose, approached her bedroom door for a better listen. She placed her ear at the crack of her door.
"They rang that big bell in Notre Dame! Fired a cannon on the Pont-Neuf! It seems Hanriot is calling the shots now. Bugger's been appointed head of the Paris National Guard."
"My God..." Timothee said.
"Robespierre's been playing with his damn toy, I just know it. The city's under his spell. I'm not sure what they have planned, but something bad's going to go down. Really bad."
Élise decided to the open her door and step out. It creaked loudly, likely getting their attention, even though she was not currently in view. She stepped out into the hall, and down the stairs, to three awaiting faces. She stopped before she had even reached the bottom.
"I heard what you were talking about. There's some trouble in Paris?"
"That's an understatement, fille," Denis said. "I can smell the stench of the Piece of Eden on this."
Arno, following suit, emerged from his chamber under the stairwell, producing a creak of his own.
Timothee spoke. "Here, why don't you two come sit down, we'll discuss the best course of action."
Élise began descending the rest of the steps. She knew she would not be getting a lot of sleep tonight.