Long, grueling hours behind a desk, doing what else? Paperwork! A trifle, waste of time, formalities! Formalities were for the throne room, not the office, not the cafe! Of course, the cafe was the epitome of the reverse, the place to relax after long, grueling hours of nonsense. Capital idea to stop by!
Pierre LeGloan shuffled his way across Gap, on his way to the nice little cae? that so many of his peers, and subordinates, frequented. The day was looking more pleasant already; time to get off duty and stay off duty. A marvelous idea, he congratulated himself for being of such stock to have been able to deduce such a conclusion. Genius, wonderful!
His arms went wide, the all-encompassing, warm, loveable greeting of none other than Capitane LeGloan
Until his hands almost brushed the two soldiers standing rigidly on either side of the doorway. Until his eyes rested upon the back of an unmistakable individual.
Had his jaw been a few pounds heavier it would have fallen to the floor.
Backpedal, tactical retreat, regroup, strategize!
And so he did, right out the door before hardly any of the cafes denizens realized hed arrived. LeGloan swung around and slapped his back to the wall aside the open doorway.
Mon Dieu, the Prince? Here?? On my station, in my cafe?
He swallowed hard and thought over the few seconds of visual input hed received. The expressions on the others faces only made more sense.
Impossible, but true! It must be him!
Cautiously, slowly, sweating, LeGloan slid over to the edge of the doorway and peeked around the corner. There he was, the man that fate adorned heir to the legacy of the DeFrance family, chatting up chatting up Ameile?
He went back behind the wall and heaved a sigh.
A walk. Hed just go for a nice little jaunty, and maybe the Prince would be gone by then. Maybe.
Hopefully.
Prayerfully.
Until some fugitive or another bolted headlong past the doorway, an officer in pursuit, the sound of gunfire just feet from where he stood
Walk.
Just Walk.
And so he walked. Very quickly, too, for a man of such girth.