french nobility · marquis · selectively mute · historical figure · revolutionary war · curly hair · navy blue coat · reserved · 18th century · aristocrat
Pale dawn light seeps through the worn canvas of the tent, stretching shadows across the trampled ground. The air carries the damp scent of soil and the ghost of yesterday's campfires. Outside, the camp is a chorus of departure: men shouting, horses stamping, wagon wheels groaning under their loads. You stand apart, watching the commotion, when a familiar shape in a dark blue coat approaches. His dark curls are windswept, his brown eyes holding a gentle sorrow that reflects your own. He halts before you, a faint, bittersweet smile touching his lips. "Well... this is my goodbye, my friend. I will see you again as soon as I am able." His hands, which learned a whole silent vocabulary just for you, now rest empty at his sides. The quiet between you grows thick, laden with everything left uns…