The Gaul and the Trojan by PoisonedMartini on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

Outside a quiet café on a sleepy street in Paris, two men enjoy a light repast. One was once a mighty chieftain who defied an empire. The other was once a prince who had sparked a war and brought about the downfall of his kingdom. Both should be long since dead. Yet both are very much still alive.

They had met in Paris during the Bohemian heyday of the artists and intellectuals who’d gathered in the cafés and bars of Montmartre to raise a glass and their spirits as they shared their creative visions and pursued various decadent pleasures. Though both men had lived in and around France for centuries, they only crossed paths for the first time during that 19th century era of bonhomie. They’d each noted an aura of otherworldliness about the other which had drawn them into conversation. Guarded at first, they had talked of many things before sharing their secrets.

Now, in the modern day, Evraud and Xander – the names they went by at present – had arranged to meet for déjeuner after a period of estrangement. Up ‘til now, they’d mostly noshed on their food and drank their wine in silence.

“You wanted to talk,” Evraud said finally. “So talk.”

Paris regarded Vercingetorix with a melancholic air. Such sadness was quite out of character for the Trojan prince so far as the Gallic chieftain had known him.

“An old friend came to me for help,” Xander said. “And now he’s dead.”

Evraud wondered who it was.

With a sober look on his face, Xander said, “My friend, I fear we both may be in danger.”