La Chanson de la Victoire (The Song of Victory): La Petite Arpenteuse (Non, SV, you are a General of France in the Napoleonic War!)

The Life of Brian: Who am I?

Robespierre's office was immaculate, as Brian walked into it, stooping his head down slightly to not hit his head on the doorway. "Consul Robespierre, you asked for me?" He said as the third Consul of France looked up from his desk. The Sun was setting, the darkness was setting across the city, yet in the well lit by candles and oil lamps. Like his fellow consul Napoleon, he seemed to be burning the midnight oil, working tirelessly for the sake of France.

A sentiment that Brian would invoke, and tirelessly do, if he was not married, with a child on the way, and worried for both of their health.

"Ah, Consul Auclair, thank you, come in." His voice was still holding a hint of hostility, his hatred, and dissatisfaction from many of the events that had befallen him, by the man he had just offered a seat to. "I trust that my request was not disruptive to any work you had been planning?"

Brian did not know politics, but he understood people, and how to read them, as much as he could. "No, at least not yet." Personally, he was working with one of the doctors in the city, preparing for his wife to give birth, and he had been about to retire to his apartment. "I was just about to head home for the night."

It was honesty, something that seemed to give every man outside the political sphere who talked to the First Consul a sense of reassurance. That for all the politics and lies, of backroom maneuvering, that there was one man who was either too stupid or too moral to be the man who would compromise such beliefs.

Yet whenever he spoke to the man in front of him, it was cast into a gaze of disappointment and bitterness, not outright hatred, but something far deeper than what most men could carry.

Robespierre flashed a smirk for a moment. "I have noticed that you have taken a more… off-handed approach to certain matters of state? Why is that?"

Brian shook his head. "You already know, Robe, why must you ask again?"

"Enlightenment, Consul Auclair." He replied with a drum of his fingers on his desk. "You say you wish to protect the republic by remaining as a neutral figure to myself and Bonaparte."

A sigh escaped Brian's lips, as his annoyance grew yet again. "And? We have already discussed this in length, what is your point that you wish to make?" His voice was soft, he was not tired, just hiding his frustrations.

"You hide behind a mask of meekness, of a great zeal for ideals that you do not understand." The words the Consul said made Brian narrow his near golden hazel eyes.

"And what is it I do not understand?" He raised his voice ever so slightly, from a whisper to his standard tone, but it was a marked increase.

"THe delicacies of power, the finery of politics, even the ideas of the Revolution itself, are things you do not care for, you do not understand, except that they are an avenue for you."

"They have been a great avenue for me to rise to prominence, that I will not lie about, yet my record is immaculate save for the events that lead to the Directory coming to power, an event that I and many others were exonerated for." Brian stated.

Robespierre sighed. "You like power Auclair, for all your boasts of humbleness, for all your wishes to protect the Republic, it is merely a means to an end for your own ambition."

Brian scoffed. "You must be thinking of Napoleon consul. My ambitions in life are far simpler than seeking power."

"Yet at every turn, you find yourself in power. A simple Lieutenant impersonating an officer at a battle, being saved by your superiors and promoted? Meeting Bonaparte in the field in the Vendee after reassignment? Overthrowing a government? Leading men in battle when it is impossible? Marrying the sister of the popular general Bonaparte, a man whose ambition is well known?" Robespierre shook his head. "I'm sorry, but power is something you seek. Even Crave."

Brian was quiet. He thought for a moment about the accusation that was being levied before him. "Perhaps."

At that moment, Robespierre looked bewildered, absolutely stunned that there was an answer that was not a lie. He had expected Brian to crack, to show some sort of facade. "You don't deny it?"

"In any position of power, one has to know the responsibility that one carries, how it affects the people, around them and those who work with them." He stood up. "Perhaps you may believe that I have an ulterior motive for seeking power, that I hunger for fame, fortune, and power over my fellow man. Yet I do have a duty to my oaths, to protect France from those who seek to destroy it, and harm its citizens."

He began to walk away. "I did what I thought was right, to keep my oaths and to protect my country. And I will continue to do so, no matter what enemy I may have to fight."

"And what if that fight comes from your family Consul Auclair… From Napoleon or Thérèse?" Robespierre asked. "Would you fight them to protect France?"

Brian took a moment to gather his thoughts, before looking back towards the Consul and quietly stated. "It will not need to come to that. I can assure you of that."

"Because you will stand for France? Or stand by those you love?"

The question remained on Brians's mind, echoing through his thoughts and he shut the door behind him.

He needed to get home. His wife was expecting him.

AN: Yes, a brief look into the Life of Brian.

And Yes, things are surely getting interesting in Paris.

So Enjoy.

Edit: Brian "I would Rather Betray the world, then have the World Betray me."

Wait wrong movie.