CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
Dior Antoinette
-Through the Trenches-
Vimy Ridge is where Dieva will die. Among the tall trees in the countryside, her soldiers won’t protect her. She won’t even see me coming. She positioned herself on the entirely vulnerable side of the ridge.
“Tell the rest of the rebels to be ready to hit the Ridge in three, and they are to leave the Queen’s tent to me, I can’t have her blown up. I need to see that sacrilegious wench’s body. And I need to be the one to end her life, make that perfectly clear.”
“I doubt anyone would have it any other way, your highness,” Rob salutes. He goes to prepare the rebels for our fight.
“I hate to sound like an American, but I think if there was any good day to die. it would be today,” Kat jokes.
“We can’t think that way, we have to think about how we are going to stay alive, and kill all of them,” Rochelle says.
I chime in “As harsh as that is, Rochelle is right. Don’t think about the Italians as people in this situation. They have come to our home and destroyed what is ours, these are not fathers, sisters, brothers, sons, or mothers, they are the enemy, and we all know it’s the strong who survive. We must make sure we are stronger than our enemies.”
“One minute till shit hits the fan,” Rob exclaims.
Weapons at the ready they wait for my signal. “It’s time to take our home back!” I raise my arm and point forward. I, along with two hundred rebels, gathered from the whole of France, know we may never win. But we may as well be dead if we don’t try.
The Italians start to shoot as we march the Ridge. We fire back. The sound of gunshot blocking all else from my ears, my eyes focused on the target- the Queens tent located at the centre of the camp. It’s bulletproof.
A soldier throws me to the ground and goes to shoot me. He falls when a bullet pierces the back of his skull. “Thanks Jay.” Jay helps me up as we continue shooting our enemies. My people are dying before my eyes. I can’t pay attention to my fallen comrades. I must kill the Queen, like in chess. When she falls, so will the King. Doing it in any other order wouldn’t be covering all the bases.
Some of the enormous trees lining the ridge have begun to fall, the explosions uprooting them entirely. A large pine is about to crush us when Rob shoves me, Kat, and Jay C in to one of the trenches, before jumping in himself. The tree falls on top, covering our section. Two Italians are running through the trench when they happen upon us. I shoot one while Jay C takes out the other.
“Jay, follow me, I need you to watch the tent,” I yell. ”Okay!” Jay C follows me as we climb out from the trench just behind the fallen tree, just one of many now lining the landscape. I toss a grenade toward a horde of soldiers advancing from the cover provided by the forest. They disappear in an explosion that takes out another section of the forest, “Come on Jay! Let’s make this quick!” I turn when Jay doesn’t reply, just in time to watch him get stabbed through the back with a sword.
“Jay!” Kat is screaming as she runs to him, she throws a dagger through the Italian that stabbed him, and then the breaks his neck. I see her kneel down over Jay.
I fall to the ground beside them as others from our side flank us for protection. “Kat, Kat, I’m so sorry,” I say.
Kat is crying as she looks at me. “You can be sorry all you want, but nothing will change any of this unless we win,” she sobs. “He’s gone, but we can still make sure he didn’t die in vain,” Kat says.
I force myself to turn away from them and keep moving forward. As I fight my way through the field, all that I can think of is ending this carnage once and for all. The mud around me is crimson red, the blood of the injured and the deceased mixing in to the earth. The battlefield is a mud pit, for lack of better a term. I know that I ordered this strike. These French dying around me, they’re my people, and this is my fault entirely.
The Italian soldiers have retreated towards the tent to protect Dieva. Rob hands me a grenade. “You take it, you charge them with your gun! Then fuckin’ toss it, got it!?” he screams over the deafening sounds of war-fare. I know I told Rob we would wait till this is all over, but this could very well be the end. I pull him close, our lips meet with a fiery passion amidst the most important battle in any of our lives.
I gather my courage, and let my anger overcome my sorrow. “VIVE LA FRANCE!”
The Italians have begun launching canon balls in to the air. The earth shakes as the spheres of fury make impact. The closest one is about a yard away from me. I keep shooting through the soldiers- my friends at my back, coming up on both sides. The tall narrow trees lining the ridge are falling. Their collateral damage to the battlefield is immense in itself.
I’m so close to the Queen I can literally smell her Chanel perfume. It reeks. She always wears too much. We are now at the line, close enough to take out the canon operators. The others take on the soldiers, while I break my way through in to the tent.
Deiva stands at her table, both arms resting on a large map of France. “Dior, It really is great seeing you again. When Claud told me you were somehow still breathing, well, I must say, I was shocked. Now.”
“Dieva, can I ask you if you’re more shocked that I survived, or more shocked that I killed your son and your daughter?” I stroll towards her, my gun aimed and ready. The slaughter just outside still raging, I can hear screams, some in French… “Do my ears deceive me, or am I hearing a lot of Italian screaming, and a lot of praying?” I look her straight in the eyes as I stop across the table from her.
The Queen of Italy smirks, “My men are loyal, they will fight to the end,” Deiva says.
“You’re right; they’re loyal. But are they loyal to you or to God? I don’t hear them calling the Medici name out there.”
“You do realize you’ll never get close enough to my husband to kill him.”
“Oh, after what happened the first time I tried, I know,” I pause for a second. “If I agree to lower my weapon do you agree to talking like civilized human beings?” I ask. Dieva nods. I lower the gun.
“What do you plan to accomplish Dior? When you’re done here, you’ll have only killed my son, my daughter, and me, but we aren’t the ones with complete control, how do you think anything will change if you don’t take out the main target?”
“Honestly, I’m not at that point yet Dieva.”
“No real plans then?” she grins. Mocking me.
I place my hands down on the table between us, “My father always told me something about plans. He said it was the one thing I should never forget, for one day I would be Queen.”
“Sorry darling, do I really care about what your father told you?”
“I suppose you don’t- you’re a Medici after-all. You love your power, yet you have no idea how to properly use it. You abuse from every single angle you possibly can just to further your own needs. You make these power play moves, yet you have no idea what the consequences will hold. As I was saying before you rudely interrupted me, my father told me that power is only secure if you use it wisely, even more untouchable if you share it. I’m sharing my power with my people, just as my parents did, and they’re fighting back. Because we are united, we are equal. And for all those reasons and more, I know we will be victorious.”
“Quite insightful. And I suppose you know so much about us personally, we were close with your parents, not with you.”
“Exactly, Dieva, and my parents told me just about everything. Did you really think they wouldn’t have their secrets kept somewhere safe. Books are good, but a second back-up, one nobody would think of, is even better.” I point to my head. “I know everything about you, I even know your husband had a daughter, with a woman named Magdalene Resilo.” I let her take that in.
Dieva is clearly agitated, “How-”
“Claud told my father everything. He came to him looking for a place to hide Magdaline so she could have the child and live in secret somewhere on our soil. A bastard child is the last thing any monarchy needs, after all, especially if the mother is a prostitute.”
“ENOUGH! You can’t tell me you came here to talk, after killing more than half my men.” The sounds from outside have softened to a dull echo, it’s calming down.
I grin, “You’re right.” I shoot Dieva in the knee. She falls to the ground, wailing in agony. She spits at me, “You’re going to die a fucking martyr!”
Dieva is reaching for the gun at her side. I walk over to her and twist her wrist, taking the gun from the holster around her waist. I toss it across the earthen floor. “I’m sorry I can’t stay longer, but my friends need me, and so does my country. There’s no use in delaying the inevitable.” I rush towards her weapons rack and grab the nearest tool, an axe. “You have no idea how great this is going to make me feel,” I say as I take the axe and swipe it in the air straight through Dieva’s neck. The Queen’s head falls to the floor. I grab the disconnected head and exit the tent.
Outside the Italians have dwindled, there are maybe one hundred more. My own allies have fallen as well, but seem to have remained strong. I use the loudspeaker located outside the tent to speak to the fighters. “YOUR QUEEN IS DEAD. RUN AWAY AND PRAY TO YOUR GOD WHILE YOU STILL CAN!” I scream as I shake Dieva’s head in the air for all to see. I take my gun and aim it at the nearby army vehicles. The first gas tank being my target, I shoot it. In a domino effect it begins, the explosions take over more and more of the camp. The Italians begin to retreat down the ridge.
My remaining comrades raise their arms in the air, chanting in victory, hugging each other. There is hope for my people after all. As I survey the landscape around me I force my emotions to stay in check. My land is being destroyed and I’m part of the destruction. Though it’s necessary. For France to be reborn Italy must leave. And for Italy to leave the Medici must first be served their karma.
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CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
Marilyn
-Crossed Lines-
The trip to Monaco is anything but beautiful. As I drive the back roads along the Cote D’Azur countless villas have been blown to shreds by air raids and the natural landscape is torn asunder.
The last major turn before I would be at the border is where I would have to get out of the car and make my way through the rocks along the coast. The Italians have blocked the main roads out of the country. Rob has his colleagues waiting for me along the same coast, just a few yards away. I can’t see them because of the terrain.
I take a deep breath as I make my way to the edge.
The cool sea breeze saves me from the blazing sun. I bend down and take off both of my shoes, tying them together and hanging them on my shoulders.
The rocks shred my feet as I grab hold and begin my journey. The edge is slanted enough that I can lean in to it, but one false move and I’ll go falling straight in to the ocean. “Tabarnac,hostie -” basically fuck this- I say as I make the mistake of looking down.
It feels like ages before I finally see the line left hanging down for me to grab. I slowly take one arm and shake the rope, indicating to the people above that I’m there and ready. I tie the rope firmly around my waist, and prepare myself for the walk upwards.
* * * * * *
Dior has made arrangements for Tristan to stay at one of the villas used by the royal family of Monaco. Monaco has remained impartial in this war, their only reason being that they are too small to fight back, which is true. Italy would take Monaco within an hour if they’d chosen a side. Prince Alexandre has however sworn a quiet oath of loyalty to the Antoinette’s. He knows of what Dior and I are doing and he is more than happy to help.
Alexandre and his family have had a feud with the Medici for generations. He has great interest in seeing them wiped from the face of the earth.
There are two royal guards standing watch on the property, which is located just outside Monte Carlo, on a quiet span of coastline severed from the rest of the population. A perfect hiding place. Tristan is already at the door the moment I get in. “Marilyn, Oh thank God you’re alright,” he picks me up as he hugs me, we kiss passionately. “I never thought i’d see you again,” he says.
Tristan puts me back down, though we’re still embraced. “I never thought I’d see you either.”
* * * * * *
When we’ve had some time to be together without complications being part of the discussion. Tristan breaks the conversation, “So what is this deal you’ve made with Dior? I know for fact princesses don’t just burst in on an army and free a random guy without having a good reason. You must have offered her something in return,” he says.
“You’re right, I did.”
“And what did you have to give in return?” Tristan asks.
“I’m pretending to be Fleur Antoinette, to get close to the Medici so this war can end,” I reply.
“Pardon? And how is pretending to be someone that’s dead and getting close to them going to help Dior?”
“Dior plans to kill them all. Every single Medici.”
Tristan is clearly shocked. He looks in to my eyes. “Are you helping her kill them? How could you even take part in such a heinous plot?” he asks.
“Try being in my position Tristan. I was all-alone in Paris when they took you. The rebels may be around. But they could be taken at any moment, and if this is the only way to end this fucking war, then you’re damn right I’m going to do it. I will slit that bastard Claudius’ throat myself if I have to, end of discussion Tristan.”
Tristan goes to interject. I interrupt him. “No, don’t even. I don’t have time for this shit. I have to get back to France before the Medici notice I’m gone. I only came here to see that Dior kept her end of the deal. I have to go.” I proceed to leave.
Tristan grabs my arm and twists enough that I’m forced to look back at him. “Just tell me this. How personal are you getting with the prince? How far do you have to go to play the part?”
I can see the hurt in his eyes. My heart is breaking. “Only what I have to, there’s nothing but strategy when it comes to Maximiliano Medici and me.” I kiss Tristan. There was only strategy, at first. Now, I honestly don’t know if there’s more.
Tears of Versailles 