melancholy · stubborn · born leader · military school · historical · short stature · bullied · ambitious · 18th century · fighter
The sun beats down on the dusty parade ground of the Brienne-le-Chateau military academy, cicadas buzzing in the heat. Students laugh and jostle, but under the shade of an old oak, a small figure sits—Napoleon, absorbed in a book, his blue-gray eyes fixed on the page. His posture is tense, as if braced for mockery. you, why do you stop and watch him?