Destined for the Star (Starstruck) Read Online Free PDF Page A

”He knew what he was being accused of, and he knew that the sentiments in the city that day were volatile, but still he insisted on carrying out his duties. He knew he was innocent and I guess he assumed the truth of that belief would protect him from the people’s wrath.”  
    ”A very dangerous assumption,” Nate said quietly.
    ”Yes,” she said, wrapping her arms around her knees, ”but sort of beautiful too, don’t you think?” She looked at him.
    ”’The truth shall set you free’?”
    She nodded, wondering what kind of riches of emotion he hid behind those luminous eyes.
    ”Yes, that is a beautiful notion,” he agreed and looked out at the cobbled courtyard.
    ”He was wrong, of course. He might have escaped with his life, I guess, but events seemed to conspire against him.”
    ”How so?”
    ”Well, for one thing, the city was handing out free brandy to everyone that day, so the crowds were getting really drunk by the time the procession passed through the city. Also, for some reason, someone had ordered the soldiers who stood guard along the route that day to load their rifles with blanks. Although, even if they had been using live ammunition, it probably wouldn’t have saved von Fersen.”
    ”Why not?”
    ”Because, according to reports from eyewitnesses, the soldiers refused to step in and help him once the beating started. Maybe they were afraid for their own lives. Or maybe they believed he was guilty of the accusations.”
    ”Fate really didn’t deal him much of a hand that day, did it?” Nate said, pensively.
    ”No,” she agreed. ”As his ceremonial carriage - with the family crest on the side and von Fersen inside, clearly visible through the huge glass windows - drove through the streets, people started throwing rocks at it. At first he tried to ignore the angry crowd outside. But when a rock hit von Fersen in the head, and he started bleeding, a member of his entourage decided they should try to make a run for it.”
    ”They didn’t succeed, I’m guessing?” Nate rested his hands on his knees, his voice quiet.
    ”At first it looked like they might be able to escape. They hid in a pub, but were soon forced to leave by the riled up patrons inside. So then they headed for this palace. His friend hoped to get him inside, away from the angry masses. But in the violent frenzy on the streets, with people trying to hit von Fersen left and right, his friend lost hold of him. They were separated by the mob. He was lynched to death right here. They say his ghost still haunts one of the houses here in the Old Town.”
    She fell quiet and a soft shudder ran down her spine.  
    He looked at her.
    ”That’s horrible. What an awful way to die. The horror he must have felt as he realized what they were going to do to him. That there was no escape…” his voice trailed off.  
    ”Yes,” she whispered. She cleared her voice. ”You know, when he was young and at the royal court in France, he was a favorite of the Queen, Marie Antoinette. Rumors had it they were lovers. And perhaps he really was in love with her, because in 1792, during the height of the revolution, he tried to arrange an escape for her, and the King, and their children. But their carriage was stopped and searched in a small village only an hour or so from Versailles. They were all captured by the revolutionaries and imprisoned.”
    ”What a tragedy. He couldn’t save the woman he loved, and then, years later, he himself was falsely accused and murdered, by an out of control mob.”
    Suddenly she felt really stupid for having told him this loathsome tale. What must he think of her?
    ”I’m sorry,” she said, ”I shouldn’t have told you that story. You must think I’m really morbid.”
    ”No, no, I wanted to hear it. I feel such empathy for Axel. There are few things more terrifying than large, over-excited crowds.”
    ”Yes, I think so.” She looked at him. ”I’ve never felt comfortable in large crowds. I’m