July 04th, 1799

God had granted them fifty days of peaceful rest and healing love, before men once again physically tore them apart.

A new wave of royalist farmers had started raising hell in Anjou again, and the town, as well as a few others, had been taken back by the persistent group of workers. And now, Obermann's final orders to end their little attempts at ruining the national new order were quite simple and crueler: Not only were the men to be killed, women and children too.

—There ought to be no survivors —Laupin read the final line of the major general's letter out loud, and Francis hid his face between his hands—. He's out of his mind if he thinks we'll...

—I don't want to either, but do we have a choice? —the commander asked, angered and disturbed by their new plan of action—. If we don't follow Obermann's instructions, we could be denounced to the Directory. We could be punished with a fate worse than death. Demotion. Torture. We could be exiled...

—But children? Children, Francis?... This is not right. This is not fair. This is not Christian, nor republican!

—War isn't fair.

—Yes, but still, you know this is unnecessary.

—I do —the commander agreed.

They stared at each other, and lost all ability to speak for a solid minute. They knew this was wrong. They knew this went against their principles. But their soldiers were dying, the royalists weren't giving up on their plans, and if they hadn't lost the war to the Ruhm Empire and the Staeltorn Kingdom yet, they couldn't afford to lose it to a bunch of farmers with old muskets and pitchforks.

Besides, at the end of the day, orders were orders. They had no choice but to follow them. Otherwise, not only they would pay for their disobedience, their family and friends would too.

It was too dangerous to stand against Obermann's wishes right now. And saying that was too soft; it was a death sentence for everyone around them and themselves, to stand up against him right now. The man was furious. And fury leads to unpredictability. He couldn't be trusted.

So, despite the bile rising fast inside their throats, and the sinking feeling growing heavier on the bottom of their stomachs, they unanimously decided to fulfil their duty.

Even if it was at the expense of their own sanity.  

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AN: Francis...