Post by KING HENRI D'ARTOIS on Sept 8, 2015 5:26:12 GMT
All Henri could honestly say was that his plan had started off well and the children had been happy and excited. From there things had gone directly south at a rapid pace. He should have guessed that the plan would inevitably lead to disaster, and now it had. The plan, which had initially had the adjective ‘marveilleux’ in there and definitely no longer was it there, had been for Henri to take his monkey to the children’s hospital in Paris and allow some of the children to play with it in an effort to raise their spirits and cheer them up. Now there were a few problems at the outset of the plan. The first was that Henri needed to come up with a new disguise. He could not go to a hospital as himself — not without an escort. And if he had need for an escort he’d never be allowed in a hospital anyway -and- it would have been impossible to sneak the little critter along. But he wouldn’t be allowed to visit in a hospital dressed as a street urchin or servant either — no matter how clean his garb, it still wouldn’t have been let within ten feet of a hospital — especially given his age. Neither able to go out in his usual manner or his personal manner, he’d had to concoct a new outfit and a new story. This time he disguised himself as the confidante and playmate of a minor aristocrat who had been hired to keep a boy entertained and therein the monkey fit. Likewise, he worked on finding an outfit that was suitable for him to procure entrance to a hospital but not so fine he would be accosted on the street by those ill wishers of the aristocracy. The monkey named Capitaine Singe (Captain Monkey) had been a gift from one of his most trust Toy Army members, Eduard who had recently been quite ill. So ill Henri thought he had been told Eduard had died. But that must have been a nightmare — a terrible nightmare.. because he’d just seen Eduard recently. He was pale and thinner than he had been before his illness… the angles in his face more obvious — but Henri was just glad his dear friend was well. A Marquise’s son, Eduard was fifteen soon to be sixteen and had been one of Henri’s original contacts and toy soldiers. Their friendship spanned all but lacking six months of the time he had been King and no one was more loyal. As such, Henri valued his friend’s present very much. He honestly would have valued any gift.. but a monkey.. something so perfect for an active, energetic boy — especially given monkeys had to be imported and were SUCH an expense… and besides.. Capitaine Singe was an amusing companion and was always scampering about in some sort of trouble. His most amusing antics were leaping onto Chasse’s back from a higher piece of furniture and riding the good natured hunting spaniel like a horse and cracking and eating Pistachios which were his absolute favorite food. Because of this he also came running whenever someone mentioned the word Pistache as well. Henri had put Capitaine Singe in his ruck sack beneath his jacket and smuggled him effortlessly into the hospital where the children had had a wonderful time playing with and making much over the little monkey. Everything had gone fine until it was time for them to return home. Capitaine Singe had been reluctant about going back in the rucksack. He had enjoyed his time out and the change to play with the children and had no intention of going back into the sack. Henri had had to stuff him down in there and he was making an effort within the sack to gain purchase on Henri’s back to climb out. It was right in the middle of one of the busiest arrondissements in the entire city that the monkey managed to crawl up Henri’s back, out the top of the ruck sack, and onto the boy’s shoulder. Henri was aware of the little escape artist just in the nick of time and tried to reach up to grab the monkey and hold onto him. That was when a street vendor in a wagon driving by at a brisk pace called out “Pistaches fraiches!” Fresh Pistachios.. of COURSE. Henri grabbed, but he was more than a second too late as the monkey leaped out of his hands. “No! Come back!” Henri called to the monkey, his voice instantly drowned out in the crowded, bustling Parisian street. And the monkey was visible for only a second, the flash of his white and black back disappearing through the spokes of a wheel as he chased the Pistachio seller. Ten minutes later, Henri felt like crying. He had run until he caught up with the Pistachio seller.. but the monkey was gone. In fact, the man shook his head regretfully when Henri asked if he had seen any monkeys. No, he said. He hadn’t seen any monkeys today. He looked quite regretful about it too, as if he very much wished if there had been a monkey to see, he would have seen it. It was fair seeing a monkey wasn’t exactly an every day thing. It wasn’t much comfort to Henri though. In this huge city Capitaine Singe could easily get swallowed up and grabbed and taken home by someone else. He was quickly realizing he might never see his monkey again. His decision to take Capitaine Singe outside of the safety of the palace walls might have been a very poor one indeed. He was hot, sweaty, and looking distraught with smudged tear tracks on his face which would embarrass him to realize later as he considered himself -far- too old to cry when he saw three girls a little way away. Given there were girls all over Paris, he wouldn’t have thought much about this save for the fact that the brown haired girl looked very familiar. He squinted at the trio — two redheads and the familiar brunette. Why did the one girl look -so- familiar? And then he remembered. This was Eponine.. the girl who had taken him into the slums to help people. He was quite sure it was her. He did not know the other two girls.. but maybe they could help him. It was his best hope because he was running out of options fast. And so the exhausted, flushed teen with the tear stained cheeks (though he didn’t know it) approached the girls. Of course, he hadn’t even considered the fact that Eponine had met him dressed as a gamine and might not have a clue who he was in his current get up as a middle class boy confidante to a rich man’s son.. but that hardly mattered when there were monkeys loose in Paris! |
Gonna be a mighty king; enemies beware!
This child's getting wildly out of Wing!
