Assaut Amphibie, Part 3
The City had nearly fallen.
From the Harbor and the Walls alike, the Sicilian Soldiers were streaming back towards the Center of the City and the Royal Palace.
And with the City fallen, many French Soldiers began to do what all Armies did after such a Victory: Looting.
Rifles smashed in Windows and Feet kicked in Doors as Soldiers entered Houses, Shops and Bars, trying to find valuable Items, be it Money, Gold or otherwise. Some just ignored the Inhabitants of these Buildings, merely grabbing whatever looked valuable and the leaving again. Others forced the People at Bayonet or Gunpoint to hand over their Money and other possessions. Some weren't even after Money, just alcohol. And sometimes...
There were deaths among the Civilians on that day...and worse.
Philippe, however, was only interested in Plunder right now.
He and his Comrades had already entered a few houses and taken valuables, mostly coins and other stuff that looked like it would sell well. They hadn't encountered any Civilians yet. Either they were hiding when they came or just not at home.
It was fine by him, really. He had no interest in taking their lives, only their riches.
He was grateful to have Alphonse with him. While the new Recruit was reluctant in taking anything - his family was relatively well off and thus he didn't feel the need to plunder - he helpfully pointed his comrades to actually valuable Items, instead of taking stuff that looked shiny, but was in reality nearly worthless. They would have to stop soon, though, or they risked getting caught in the act.
Still, they had room for some more yet. And wouldn't you know it, Jean soon spotted a big, fancy house that looked like it belonged to someone pretty well off.
"How about we look into that one before we stop?", Jean asked.
Philippe grinned. "Fine by me! Let's go!"
The three Soldiers marched through the door, which was not locked. However, inside they saw that the room they entered was already in chaos. Furniture had been thrown over and drawers searched. A family of three, a little boy and and older man and woman, obviously his parents, were huddled into a Corner, looking fearfully at the soldiers.
Jean cursed. "Fuck, someone was already here!"
Philippe shook his head in disappointment. "Well, let's look around anyway. Maybe they overlooked something-"
All of a sudden, the little boy's face twisted into anger, despite the tears running down his face. Before his parents could stop them, he took a step forward an screamed at the Soldiers in Italian.
Philippe raised an eyebrow. "The hell's up here? Why is the little shit so angry?"
"He says he wants us to go away, back to where we came from", Alphonse said suddenly.
Philippe and Jean looked in surprise at their friend.
"You can understand him?!", Jean asked.
"W-well, I speak a bit Italian", Alphonse admitted shyly while adjusting his Glasses. "I learned some of it while studying and-"
"Right, right, your Education and all that", Philippe said impatiently. "What else did the little Pasta say?"
"He said..." Alphonse hesitated. "He...he said we should 'give his big Sister back'."
"His...Big Sister?", Philippe asked before his eyes widened. "Wait...don't tell me-"
A woman's scream interrupted him. The three Soldiers whirled around to the stairs that led to the next floor of the building. The Scream had come from there.
Philippe felt red hot fury rush through his veins. Before anyone else could react, he was already storming up the stairs, taking two steps at once. Jean and Alphonse soon followed him.
Upstairs, Philippe grabbed his Musket, which he had wisely reloaded, and rushed towards a door, from behind which another scream could be heard. He kicked the door open and ran into the bedroom behind it. A young woman with black hair was writhing on the bed, screaming in fear as two French Soldiers held her down, trying to rip her clothes off of her body while fumbling with their own trousers.
One of the Soldiers looked up as he heard Philippe and his friends enter the room. "Hey! We were here first!", he snarled. "Go find your own Italian Bitch to fu-"
The roar of Philippe's Musket interrupted him. As if hit by an invisible fist, he tumbled off of the bed, blood seeping from the bullet wound in his skull. Before his Companion could do anything else but look on in shock and fear, a Bayonet was buried in his throat. He too tumbled off the bed, writing on the floor in agony as Philippe stabbed his Bayonet into his chest four more times until he finally lay still, his eyes wide open and lifeless.
Breathing heavily, Phillipe pulled his Bayonet free and spat upon the Corpse. "
Batards...!!", he hissed with fury blazing in his eyes.
Alphonse stared at him in utter shock. "Holy Shit...!", he whispered.
Jean said nothing. He knew all to feel why his childhood friend had reacted like this.
Philippe closed his eyes, trying to fight down the Memories...the muffled screams of his Mother as a drunken Customer at his Family's Inn ambushed her in the backyard, trying to rape her...how he stabbed the man in the hand with a knife, only to nearly be killed by him...how his dad saved his life in the last second, slashing the Bastards throat...
He was not the best Person. He had no problems killing People in a fight or looting homes and houses afterwards.
But there were some Lines he would never cross...and that he would not tolerate being crossed in his presence.
He shook his head, fighting off the Memories. Slowly, he turned around to the girl, who had fearfully backed away from the three Soldiers, her back pressed against the wall and he eyes darting from the Corpses to them.
Seeing the fear in her eyes, Philippe raised his hands. "H-hey...we're not gonna hurt you..."
The young Woman shook her head, fear still in her eyes.
"I don't think she speaks our Language", said Jean ever so helpfully.
"W-wait...let me try it", said Alphonse. "He took a step forward, cleared his throat and, though hesitantly, began to speak in Italian to the Woman. "
Non avere paura. Non ti faremo del male."
His Words seemed to calm the Woman down a bit as she took a few deep breaths. Her body stopped shivering as much as she looked around the room once more, before her eyes settled on Phillippe.
"M-mi hai...mi hai salvato...!", she whispered, disbelief written on her face.
"She said 'You saved me!'", Alphonse translated.
Philippe looked at the young woman, meeting her green eyes. "...Yeah, I...I guess I did...", he said. Then he shook his head. "Let's...let's just bring her back down to her Family, alright?"
***
"
Maria! Sei sicuro!", the Father exclaimed tearfully as he hugged his daughter, who cried tears of relief into his shoulder as her Mother and her little brother joined the hug.
The three French Soldiers awkwardly stood a few steps aside, feeling rather out of place in this heartwarming Scene.
After a few Minutes, the daughter began to rapidly talk to her Parents in Italian.
"She's telling them that we rescued her from those two Bastards", Alphonse translated. "W-well...mostly you, Philippe."
The Father looked at his daughter in astonishment. "
Il francese? Ti hanno salvato?"
"
Si!", Maria nodded. "
Lo ha fatto soprattutto!" She pointed at Philippe as she said that.
The Family looked at him, both surprised and grateful. The Mother fell on her knees before them. "
Grazie...grazie...!", she whispered.
Philippe felt his cheeks burn slightly as he looked away. "It's...it's no problem...it was the right thing to do...", he mumbled.
He looked around the room as Alphonse translated. To be honest...there was probably nothing of value here left. And they had to stop sometime before being caught.
It was definitely not because he felt like that Girl, Maria, and her family had been through enough already. Of course not.
He nodded to Jean. "Let's go, before we get caught."
However, just before leaving the building, Maria's Voice held them back. "
Aspettare!" Looking back, Philippe found himself meeting her eyes. "
C-come...come ti chiami?", she asked hesitantly.
"She wants to know your Name", whispered Alphonse to him.
Philippe looked into her eyes for what felt like a whole Minute. "...Philippe", he finally said, pointing at himself. "Just....Philippe."
With that, he and his friends crossed the threshold, leaving the House and walking back onto the Streets of Palermo.
A.N: Third and final Installment, done! I may write more with these three some other time. We'll see.
