𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓚𝓲𝓷𝓰'𝓼 𝓡𝓸𝓼𝓮

Chapter One: The Windsor Regimen

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"Attendez-moi!" the young boy shouted to his sister, pushing his way through the crowd, earning a decent amount of glares.

I smiled, the streets of Paris were always very lively. I too cut a path through the street goers, my destination being the new conference building. Our previous one had been on the other end of the city, until a group of particularly violent protesters had taken it upon themselves to burn it to a crisp. There were no casualties, but we did see a devastating loss in important documents. I wiped away the beads of sweat building on my forehead as the midsummer sun beat down, baking the cobblestone streets.

Finally, I came upon the designated building, and after a few moments of strife spent searching through the foreign, labyrinth-like hallways, I came to the room I'd been told to go to. I pushed open the room's grande doors, and, upon entering, I was met with the usual disapproving glances of the majority of the men that sat around the table.

After years of serving under general Maurice Laporte, and proving myself to be equal, if not superior to my fellow soldiers, these men just could not seem to accept the fact that a woman could accomplish military and political related tasks just as well as they could. In my favor, however, there were some among the soldiers who acknowledged me as an equal, unfortunately, the general was not one of them.

Nonetheless, I was content to have some friends in the regiment, I smiled, waving to one of them, before cheerily making my way over to him. It had been nearly a year since I'd last seen him, on account of the fact that he'd been enlisted to fight under the command of General Washington, in America.

"Bon matin, mon amie! It has been far too long since we last spoke." he greeted me, some colour returning to his soft caramel complexion, a smile curling his lips.

"Bonjour, Lafayette. How are you?" I asked, seating myself beside him.

"I am doing well. Et toi?" he asked, his joyous smile lingering.

"Quite well, thank you. I bid you tell me of America. I wished for general Maurice to send me as well, for it is, I hear, a wondrous place." I mused, meeting his gaze with a hopeful look.

"It was, how you say... Incroyable? I met some friends now very dear to me, Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, Hercules Mulligan, and John Laurens. J' admettrai, American alcohol scarcely compares to that of France." I laughed as he said this, it came as no surprise that I would first hear a review of America's alcohol quality before anything else.

Suddenly, a hush fell over the room as the soldiers rose, in humble respect to the general, Maurice Laporte, who'd at last arrived, signifying the commencement of the conference.

"With Lafayette returned from America," general Maurice began, a stern look on his face, "We now must choose a number of soldiers to accompany him back."

"That is correct." Lafayette nodded, "If we wish to shift the balance, I must hastily return with more guns and ships, it would also be desirable to bring with me more soldiers to counter the tens of thousands of British troupes."

"In addition to this, I have recently received word that Clemente, the spy sent to smuggle integral documents from the British government, was captured. Thus, a separate group will be sent to retrieve these documents before Lafayette's group departs, and, if possible, to save Clemente, as well." Maurice concluded, shifting his gaze around the room, as if searching for something.

"And so, who will be placed into each group?" one man asked.

"It is only common sense to send a small group to Windsor Castle to retrieve the documents, if we wish to go undetected. With Lafayette, I suppose, we should send as many soldiers as we can, to shift the tide of the war." Maurice answered, his eyes still roving the room, likely deciding whom he thought best to go with either group. There was a brief silence as the soldiers awaited further instruction from the general.