And He Protected Her

Francis Bonnefoy sat in the grassy plains of his homeland, awaiting the long anticipated arrival of a friend. Even though he was at war- which separated him from his friend England- he wanted to be there for his friend on such a glorious day. Jacques d'Ark and his wife, Isabelle, were expecting a child that day. Isabelle had went into labor a few hours previous, and Jacques begged Francis to wait for the news in that field.

Suddenly, a man started to run up to Francis. Francis recognized the middle-aged man as Jacques, he was jumping up and down with joy as he dragged Francis up to the village and into their little cottage. There, Isabelle laid on a cot, a tiny bundle in her arms and a weak smile on her timid face. Francis stared in awe at the baby, whose blonde hair shimmered in the lantern's light. Isabelle allowed Francis to dote over her newborn daughter, falling quickly asleep on the uncomfortable cot. As Francis held the infant, he had the strongest feeling that she would do something great, and he vowed to protect her at any cost.

Years passed, and true to his word, Francis was there for the girl named Jeanne. When her village, which was isolated and supported the French monarchy contrary to the surrounding towns, was set ablaze by neighboring villages, he was the first to save her family and help rebuild the damaged buildings. Jeanne was the first human to know of his status as the country of France, her response was a boyish grin and a slap on the back.

When Jeanne hit the age of thirteen, he noticed that she would talk excessively about the Archangel Michael and the Saints Margaret and Catherine. She even once told him that she spoke to them, and that they had told her that she had to stop the Hundred Years War. Francis tried to convince her otherwise, telling her it was too dangerous for her, but she did not listen. Right then, he supported her and vowed to her that he would protect her at all costs, no matter what she chose to do.

At the age of sixteen she was put into an arranged marriage and somehow managed to convince the court to let her out of it, and Francis supported her. Soon enough, Jeanne took audience in the high court and convinced them to let her join the war. Right then, even as she made her decision, Francis supported her and vowed to his king and to Jeanne and her family that he would protect her at all costs.

The first time she set out, Francis accompanied her, along with an escort. Jeanne was cross dressing in order to protect herself better, as suggested by the escort. Francis supported her. By the time she had become a full-on soldier of France, she had completed many feats and Francis protected her.

During the year of 1430, a truce came into affect between France and England. This left Jeanne with little to do, so she wrote a letter to the king of England stating she would remove them fully from France, either driving them out or taking their lives. And Francis supported her. The truce came to an end, the war began anew and Francis protected her.

Jeanne rode to Compiègne that following May to help France once more. And Francis protected her. In the end, the French troops were quickly overwhelmed by the English and Burgundian troops and were forced to pull back. Francis was separated from Jeanne, quickly losing sight of the short female. Jeanne was in the rear guard while Francis was in the front, departed by a sea of soldiers all sprinting out of the town. Eventually, Francis spotted Jeanne, but it was too late, Burgundians had surrounded the young woman, and captured her as Francis tried to turn back to get her, but he was pushed forward by the hundreds of men behind him. And Francis couldn't protect her.

The day's turned into months and there was no sign of Jeanne. Francis hated himself for being unable to protect her when it really mattered. Eventually, he received a letter from a Burgundian officer who was in charge of Jeanne's 'trial'. She was being put to death for treason, heresy, witchcraft and cross-dressing among many other things. The only reason they notified Francis was so he could say his goodbyes to Jeanne as she was executed.