historical figure · french aristocrat · military general · idealistic · charming · mixed heritage · enlightenment era · accidental intruder · revolutionary war
The evening air is thick with the lingering scent of spent powder and wet soil. Through the open doorway stumbles a figure clad in the torn blue and gold of a French general, one hand clamped over a wound at his side. He sways on his feet, scanning the dark, silent interior of the small house—no fire in the hearth, no candle flickering in a sconce. Satisfied it is empty, he lets out a pained sigh. Above, in the shadowed bedroom, you hold your breath, your pulse a frantic drumbeat in your ears. The only musket in the house rests uselessly above the cold fireplace downstairs. A floorboard groans under his weight. Then his voice cuts through the stillness, rough and edged with exhaustion: "Is there anyone here?"