185 Napoleon (1/2)
Ed sat down at the dinner table with his previous life's mother. A loaf of white bread and a bowl of soup were waiting for him. He happily dug into the meal, not even waiting for his mother to join him.
”So.” His mother hesitantly spoke. ”Your father and I have been discussing it, and we believe it's best to send you to school.”
”School?” He looked up and nodded. ”That's fine.” His mother usually had the ultimate say in the home, so he knew there was no point in arguing.
”You'll be going to school on the mainland.” She continued. ”You'll need to learn French.”
Ed's face grew dark upon hearing the additional details, but he kept his silence and simply nodded. The awkward silence carried over for the rest of the meal.
...
Time passed, and soon, the nine-year-old boy left the island of Corsica and joined an academy on the French mainland. However, things did not go well for the young child, as he was a foreigner that did not speak the French language well. Additionally, he was short for his age and his title of nobility was low on the totem pole. The children of higher nobility quickly made sure to show him his place.
”Gahahaha!!!” A large boy with messy blond hair laughed as he mercilessly pushed Napoleon down a flight of stairs.
”UGH!” Ed groaned as his head slammed into the hard floor. His eyes flashed with vengeance as he glared at the bully.
”What are you going to do about it?” The bully gestured with his hand, inviting Napoleon to fight back. ”Trash commoners like you shouldn't be in this school.” He took a step down the stairs, and a posse of his rich friends followed closely behind him. Soon, they reached the bottom of the stairs and towered over Napoleon.
”Is he so short because of malnutrition?” A skinnier brown-haired boy joked. ”Maybe we can put him to work on one of my uncles' farms. I hear they feed the pigs quite well.”
”I'll kill you!” Ed screamed in rage, but only broken French came out.
”Gahahaha!” The largest boy laughed as he pushed Napoleon back to the ground. The group of six or seven boys took turns kicking him while he was down, bruising him all over. They didn't even bother sparing the face, and why should they? It's not like there were consequences for showing a commoner their proper place in the world.
...
Napoleon slowly regained consciousness. He trembled as he forced himself to stand up, but there was rage burning in his eyes. 'I'll make them pay!' He thought as he glared at where his long-gone bullies had originally been standing.
...
Months passed. Napoleon continued to be bullied during this time, forcing him to keep his head low. He began exercising more, but there was little to do to aid his stunted growth when compared to his peers. It seemed he was a late bloomer when it came to height, so instead he focused most of his time on a newfound interest in war tactics. While the academy library was sparse on the topic, as it was not a military school, there was much to learn from the books that were available, and soon, he came up with a plan.
The day for Napoleon's plan soon arrived. Today, they were being taught horse riding. Most of the nobles had long since mastered it, and even Napoleon had gotten the hang of it over the past few months. He controlled his horse to move towards the largest of his bullies. ”How about a race?” He confidently taunted, certain the noble would take the bait. They cared too much for their imaginary honor to let even the smallest slight pass over them.
”Humph.” The noble snored. ”Seems we haven't taught you a lesson lately. Fine, but if I win, don't blame me for my actions.”
”Haha, same here.” He smiled in reply.
Soon, the children were given free-range with their horses. Napoleon and the bully took off in a flash, leaving all the others behind in confusion. The two horses galloped side-by-side, the wind rushing past them. Ed glared at his opponent, the ruffling of his hair blocking part of his view. He glanced behind him, happy to see that no one was following him.
”Now!” He flicked the reigns, causing his horse to speed up even more. He had long analyzed all of the available horses and had made sure to choose the fastest one. He had even arranged for his opponent to get stuck with one of the slower horses today.
”Damn!” The bully clenched his teeth as he too flicked his reign in an attempt to catch up. Unfortunately, Napoleon remained just a single step ahead of him the entire time, leaving victory just out of his grasp. Of course, what he didn't know was that Napoleon was leaving such a small gap completely on purpose.
Soon, the two boys reached the forest. They were quickly concealed from the outside world by the trees. Suddenly, Napoleon pulled on his reigns, causing his horse to jump for no apparent reason. Confusion covered the bully's face for only a brief moment before he felt his horse stumble forward.
”AGHHH!!!” The bully screamed in horror and pain as his horse crashed to the ground, crushing his left leg. Upon glancing behind him, he saw a thin wire that had cut his horse's legs, causing the fall to the ground.
”Looks like I win.” Ed taunted as he pulled the horse back around and looked down upon his opponent from up above. His disdain for the bully couldn't be hidden, and there was also a hint of something else in his eyes. Rage? Anger? No. It was simply boredom. His victory had come far too easily, proving that the bully was never really an opponent to begin with. ”I'll be sure to tell the teacher about your bravery today that allowed your precious friend to survive.”
”What?” The bully replied in confusion, not understanding what the young Napoleon meant.
Ed didn't bother answering as he climbed down from his horse. He pulled out a dagger from his waistband and stabbed it into the neck of his own horse! ”NEIGHHH!” The horse began to panic, spreading blood everywhere. Ed then walked up to a thick tree and placed both hands against it. ”ARGHHHH!” He shouted as he suddenly slammed his head into it. Blood covered his forehead and dripped down his face, making for a scary sight. He smiled towards the bully one more time before turning around and running away.
”BANDITS! THERE ARE BANDITS IN THE FOREST!” Napoleon fearfully shouted as he hurriedly fled from the woods. ”BANDITS!”
Soon, a group of horse-riding students found Napoleon, and they were shocked upon seeing his bloody face. He explained how the bully had held them back to allow him time to escape and get help. The students hurriedly gave Napoleon a ride back to the stables so that they could inform a teacher. He was then rushed to the medical bay so that his wounds could be examined and cleaned.
...
The next day. No news of what happened in the forest spread to the students, but rumors naturally spread. Of course, only Napoleon knew the truth, and he had expected the school to keep it under wraps. He had secretly hired homeless men to kill the boy, and he had no need to worry about them backing out of the deal. He hadn't informed them the boy was an important noble, nor did he reveal his own face, voice, or even body to the homeless men. He had concealed himself and used a third party for every transaction. Additionally, he knew who the families of the homeless men were, and if they attempted to betray his expectations, then he could easily arrange for the destruction of their families. Fortunately, that was unnecessary, as it seemed everything had gone as he planned.
Over time, the rumors grew more and more exaggerated, and eventually, the school couldn't keep it under wraps for any longer. The noble boy had been gruesomely tortured to death by the homeless men. Enraged nobles came down upon the school with the fury of a thousand suns, and it was soon revealed that the school was shutting down. Most of the nobles could easily transfer to other academies, but this left Napoleon in a certain limbo. He was not like other nobles that could simply choose to attend any academy they wished.
Near the end of the school's final days, Napoleon was suddenly called into the headmaster's office.
”Sir?” Ed questioned, not understanding why he was here.
The headmaster was an older man with a balding head of gray hair. He patiently dipped his pen in ink as he wrote down various notes. After a moment of silence, he looked up to the boy. ”Very little gets past me in this school.” He slowly and solemnly said. ”From what I've heard, you've taken an interest in military strategy and tactics during your time here?”
”Mm.” He nodded to confirm it. He actually planned to become a writer someday, but he indeed had taken an interest in the military.
”I've arranged for you to attend a prestigious military academy. Most of the other commoner students have been made similar offers, though for less prestigious schools depending on their aptitude.”
”I'm grateful.” Ed gave a nobleman's bow. It seemed he wouldn't have to disappoint his parents by returning to Corsica after all.
”Here.” The headmaster handed a small book to Ed. It detailed some of the basic information about the academy.
”Thank you.” Ed nodded as he turned to leave.
”Was it worth it?” The headmaster suddenly asked as he returned to writing in his book.
”What do you mean?” Ed nervously questioned as he glanced back at the slumped over headmaster.
”Was it worth it?” The headmaster repeated his question without looking up.
Ed hesitated a moment before choosing his words carefully. ”I have no regrets about my time at the academy.”
”I see. That's good then.” The headmaster nodded. ”I've heard rumors of the father of a student being caught in an affair. Another student's mother has been accused of an affair as well. Yet another has had their parents accused of tax evasion, and another had plans to rebel against the crown.”
”I see.” Ed nodded. ”It seems that many things go on behind the scenes for French nobles.”