The Sensory Animals of Ston Hill

This all happened two days before the national meeting.

Grace already knew what had thoroughly enraged the people: the king had secretly assembled [-] foreign mercenaries and ordered them to garrison in front of the building where the National Conference was about to be held.The reinforcements sent by the Habs royal family have also crossed the border.

People knew the king had lied to them.

These troops were prepared for the representatives of the people, and it turned out that the king had been preventing the national conference from being held.

People also said that it was all instigated by the political queen.

After knowing everything, Grace asked the king: "Are you really going to shoot at the civilian representatives?"

The king replied frankly: "If necessary."

Grace asked him why.

The king said he had no choice, he did the right thing and just failed.Faced with an uprising, every king does this.

Citizens want to protect their representatives and ensure that the national convention that carries all their expectations goes ahead.They bravely took up arms and rushed to those professional foreign troops.This time, not only the former prison garrison was on the side of the citizens, but even the capital guards were on their side.The mercenaries hadn't been paid yet, so they retreated immediately upon seeing the situation.

As Grace sat anxiously in the summer palace waiting for the national conference, the capital had completely changed.The tax gates were attacked, the former governor of the capital was beheaded in the riots, the officials in the government buildings fled, and the eminent figures of the civilian representatives moved in, and the National Guard under their command patrolled the streets.

The King and Queen are under house arrest in the palace, and after a simple vote they are disqualified from attending the National Conference.

Only their close servants and a small team of court guards remained with them. The captain of the guards who knew Grace told him: "They changed the name of the 'National Conference' to the 'National Conference'. The nobles surrendered. killed them."

Grace was concerned about what the Earl of Arundel was doing.He thought that if there was only one representative of the common people left who believed that the King was still important, it must be the Earl of Arundel.

But the lieutenant told him, "The Earl of Arundel is not in the same position as he was before, and he has opponents in council who question his position."

"What do you question him about?"

"They said he...was loyal to the king because the women had asked for help from the National Guard before they went to the Summer Palace, and he refused."

Thinking of that day, Grace almost shivered.He was stunned for a long time before he said, "But in the end they went anyway."

"Yes." The lieutenant spoke with hatred, for several of his soldiers had been killed in the riots that day. "The Earl of Arundel only allows professional soldiers and active citizens who pay enough taxes to join the National Guard. But his opponents say that it is foolish to use property to determine who can carry a gun-the protest of the poor helps them win the vote, The new government has agreed to provide uniforms and weapons to those who are not qualified...these are the people who followed the women to the Summer Palace that day."

"Who among the opponents has the final say?"

"Several people," the lieutenant said, including a foreign name that Grace had heard, "George Constantinos."

"Lieutenant, I can no longer express my gratitude in words, but I hope you can understand that His Majesty and I are extremely grateful that you are still by our side." Grace said.

The lieutenant showed unspeakable reluctance on his face, "Your Majesty, I am about to tell you something... They will not allow me to come to see you again. My soldiers and I were asked to evacuate immediately... Next, the place will be completely Controlled by the National Guard." He kissed Grace's hand, "Please help me tell Your Majesty that it is my honor to serve His Majesty, he is the best enlightened monarch in my heart, and you are the best queen in my heart."

Grace watched him leave, suddenly felt terrified, and hurriedly shouted: "Lieutenant!"

The lieutenant turned around.Grace asked him, "Have you got any news from the front? Do you have any news from Brigadier General and Colonel Ston?"

The lieutenant shook his head.But he remembered another thing, and said to Grace: "Your Majesty, the reason why women do that is because they have heard that women in Paris have done similar things. Women in Paris have fought for themselves in politics. Because of their status, they learn from the Parisians."

"What does this mean?"

The lieutenant hesitated for a moment, and said: "This shows that the French plague has spread to our country." He devoutly drew a sign of the cross on his chest, "May God bless the king and queen of this country, and may they be able to recover from the epidemic." survived the disaster."

Grace searched several rooms before finding the king.They were only allowed to move about in the king's suite, a total of seven rooms, and the king hid himself in the deepest part.He hides in the bedroom.

Grace put her hand on the doorknob of the king's bedroom and decided to move back.He was terrified every day in bed, as he thought the king would be, and he remembered how vulnerable Chris was at night.

He opened the door and went in.

Chris was reading a book, sitting on the small sofa in the bedroom, turned his head when he heard him push the door, and looked at him intently.Grace walked over and sat down beside him, looking down at his book.

is in Latin.Grace's Latin vocabulary was limited to reading the Bible aloud, and he couldn't understand a word in the book in front of him.

He said to the king: "You know what? Someone once told me that I can speak a little Latin, it's good, and it's easy to be friends with the king." He looked up, looked into Chris' eyes, and saw those dark eyes. Her eyes were a little moist, which made Grace's eye sockets start to feel sour.

He asked the king: "Is your Latin really good?"

Chris raised his hand and touched his chin carefully. Seeing that he didn't dodge, he put his whole palm on his face and kissed his lips gently.

"I'm kind of scared...I don't know what's going on." Grace pressed her forehead lightly against Chris's.

"Grace, do you think I'm a tyrant?"

"Of course not!" Grace replied without hesitation.

Chris was deeply moved, and asked him again: "Then do you think those people with guns outside are mobs?"

Grace hesitated.

mob?It was difficult for him to use the word to describe people who shook their fists because they were hungry, because he had tasted hunger and knew how hard it was.When the poor shouted "revenge" and stabbed the knife into the noble's stomach, he was terrified and shocked, but he couldn't help but think: their hatred is not without reason.

Chris knew what he was thinking.So the king smiled helplessly, "You are still facing them... I thought more than once, it would be great if I wasn't the king, so that we would not be alienated, and those quarrels would not happen... But I immediately thought , if I were not the king, I would never be able to kiss you..."

"I never understood, Chris, why you treated me..."

"Why would I love you?"

The first time Grace heard him say that, she paused, "... yes."

The king smiled more happily, and at the same time his eyes became redder, "Do you believe that I love you?" He then sighed softly, "I finally said it, yes, Grace, I love you, I am sincere and fanatical love you. You believe it, don't you?"

"I believe." Grace's eyes were also red. "People like to blame women. They hate me more than you. If you follow them and say it's all my fault, they will forgive you."

Chris smiled softly and shook his head, "Grace, how could I do that to you, I would never treat you like that, my Grace... I told you, I'm not afraid of death , I'm afraid—”

"—a disgraceful death," Grace said with him.After speaking, the two laughed at the same time, and fell silent together again.They heard that a minister had his stomach pierced and his intestines spilled all over the place, and which officer and which officer had their heads cut off and stuck in spears and wandered through the streets, covering most of the capital.

"Ask me a question, Grace, I've been waiting for you to ask me."

"what?"

"Ask about that play I wrote for you."

Grace swallowed, swallowing the soreness in her throat, and asked him solemnly, "Chris, what was that play you wrote for me about?"

Chris places the book he's been holding between them, the left page over Grace's right leg, and the right page over his left leg.

Pointing to a word above, he said to Grace: "Kubler, the mother of the earth in ancient Rome, is the most worshiped god of the ancient Romans...I compare 'her' to you."

Grace made a look of surprise on purpose: "Do you think I'm so powerful?"

Chris smiled, and pointed to another word in the book: "Attis, the beautiful man who fell in love with Kübler, he castrated himself."

Grace was really surprised now, "Is he also a god? There is such a myth?"

"Yes. In some stories, Attis castrated himself because he was mad, and in others, he did so voluntarily, to show his loyalty to Mother Earth and not to be seduced by others."

Grace snuggled up to him gently, her head resting on his shoulder, "How does that look in your story?"

"In the play I wrote, it was Attis who fell in love with Kübler first. He was unable to love anyone because of his misfortune. But he met Mother Earth... he was lucky, and Mother Earth also love him……"

At this time, the door of their room was pushed open, and several men in National Guard uniforms rushed in angrily.

Chris hugged Grace fiercely, and said quickly in his ear: "In the early morning of the day after tomorrow, don't forget, someone will take you away in the early morning of the day after tomorrow."

Chris is roughly pulled up and pulled away from Grace.Grace yelled to stop, threw the book at the guards who were using force against the king, and shouted at them: "Do you know what you are doing! This is the king! The king of this country!"

The guard who was hurt by him pushed him away and shouted angrily: "A person who colludes with foreign countries and betrays the country is not worthy of being a king! Our country does not need a king!"

"Let go! I can walk out by myself!" Chris yelled.The majesty of the king was still valid, and the guards unconsciously let go.

Chris looked at Grace again, "Don't be afraid, Grace, remember what I said? Don't be afraid of death, but you can't die in a dishonorable way. And—" His eyelashes fluttered, "It's a pity that I never had the chance For you to see that play come to life on stage."

Chris was taken away, and Grace chased to the door.Guards stopped him, and he couldn't take another step.

He saw Chris was surrounded by guards, walking further and further away, his back looked the same as before, noble, elegant, and fearless.

The corridor of the palace was very long, and they were about to turn a corner. Grace saw Chris suddenly look back at him through tears.Grace's vision was blurred, she quickly wiped her eyes hard, and then looked again, and saw the reluctance she had never seen in her life.

This was the last time he and Chris looked at each other.

———Note: Kübler was born with androgynous, but the king was still shy and didn't say anything.