The 13 Dukes of France gathered around the dinner table, standing at attention to Godefroi who was about to give grace.
The dinner table was filled to the brim with freshly roasted meat, rich and savory gravy, and glasses full of champagne as far as the eye could see. The man looked on at their dinners full of lustful cravings, waiting for their King to relinquish them from their hunger.
"Oh god… I don't know how long I can last!" James of Bourbon whispered to Silvio
"Hehe, relax you fat whale," Silvio chuckled. "Our King is a man of culture, this shouldn't be long at all."
"May the Good God watch over us and our families." Godefroi said, closing his eyes. "Amen,"
"Amen!" The men resounded, thrilled with the short grace.
"Well… I suppose we should start handing out the…" Duke began
"Let's dig in!" Silvi yelled, cutting Duke off, taking a huge wad of gravy and pouring it on his plate.
"Don't have to tell me twice!" Sebastian said, reaching his huge arms across the table. Without so much of a knife or a fork, he broke off the leg of a turkey and began chomping on it loudly with his mouth wide open.
"Animals," Archbishop Clay said, placing a napkin below his collar.
"Heh, at the end of the day, we all go home and shit this all out into a box, we may use fancy words, and wear well tailored clothes, but beneath it all, were all animals" Bishop Frank said, slicing off a piece of turkey with a knife, and shoving it into his mouth.
"That may be so," Clay said. "But even a well tamed dog knows how to behave in the house of a king, Some of the animals here should be restrained by a leash."
"You're not going to eat anything?" Duke said to the Duke of Gyanne.
"My appetite has been reduced," He answered, tightening his hands into a fist."My tongue yearns for blood,"
" He at least your tongue can still yearn," An old man croaked from across the table. "The only thing I yearn for these days is a cold drink and a warm bed. Back in my day I'll have you know was quite the swordsman,"
"And when was that Gilbert? The days of Mary Magdalene and the coming of our Lord?" Silvio gagged.
The table roared with laughter at Silvio's smart remark.
"That's no way to talk to an elder!" Duke yelled
"Of course, where are our manners?" The Duke of Champagne gagged. "This is a man who has witnessed the birth of Christ! He is not only our good friend but also likely to be our ancestor! Christ himself must have performed an act for him to hold on to such an old body!"
The table bursted out in glee yet again, jabbing their fingers at the old man and laughing themselves to death.
"Here Here! Here here!" Gilbert said standing up. As he came to his feet, he accidentally knocked Godefroi's napkin off the table.
Godefroi reached down to grab it but was stopped by a servant.
"Allow me my King…" The servant said placing a new napkin onto the table.
"This old Duke of Berry addresses you now!" He said. The table began to simmer down as the old man made his statement.
"While many of us are enjoying ourselves here, have we forgotten our most humble retainer who called us all here?" He said making a notion to Godefroi.
"Thank you Gilbert," Godefroi said.
"In that chair sits a man of such resilience that even the flames of the brutal burning of the Bourbon house could not tarnish. A man of wisdom and courage, a captain to the ship we call France' that sets out in a perilous journey to liberate the world!" He said cheerfully
Looks of confusion washed over the dukes as Gilbert made his case.
"Ehem, Gilbert," Godefroi said. "I was waiting to address you all after dinner, but it is in fact true, as of next week, a team of expeditiaries will set out on boats across the world as ambassadors, aiming to unite the world under our one crown!"
"Wait! Does this mean we will be expanding into other territories! More chances to get goods like this Pink Ivory!" Bishop James exclaimed
"Yes and much more than that! Soon we will control all commerce and trade in the mediteranean as well the pacific waters, through our contact with Wudon!"
"That is amazing!" Clay said.
"Hehe, lots of money to be made!" James said.
"Hmph, If there is no war? Then from me there will be no interest" The duke of Gyanne grumbled.
"Hahah! I wish I could be there to pillage the towns!" Sebastian roared
"Hmmm I've heard there are many beautiful women in Wudon." Silvio said
"Amazing!" Gilbert said. "Shall we not toast to such a wonderful King? Come, Let's raise our glasses now! A toast to our Captain!"
Each of the men raised their glasses overcome with admiration for their King, and their most wondrous dinner.
"à votre santé!(To your health)" Gilbert said
"à votre santé" THe men returned
The men each took a sip of the fine champagne that glistened in their glasses. As they gulped down its savory flavor, the air of fresh wine lingered on their tongues for much longer after they had taken their gulp.
"My word," Godefroi said, wiping his mouth with his napkin. "This champagne's quality is impeccably excellent, there can be only one man who is responsible for this!" He said waving his finger at The Duke of Champagne.
"Actually this one's not mine" He said admittingly. "It seems there was a problem with the barrels that I brought, holes were found in them, maybe they were dropped?" He said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Then… Godefroi stuttered, "Whose wine is this?" He said
Everyone looked around the room, waiting for someone to claim it but none made a move.
"I see…" Godefroi said "So that's how it is, I wish I could know who was responsible for this treasure, I would kiss them for blessing me with such a wonderful parting gift. It's almost touching,"
In that very instant, Godefrois' eyes rolled to the back of his head, like he had been possessed by a demon. His body went limp, dropping his glass of champagne to the floor shattering it into a thousand pieces. His head dropped, smacking his chin into the edge of the table before he fell to the floor, spread across it like a ragdoll that had been tossed away.
"GODEFROI!!!!" Gilbert yelled coming to his side.
Before He could reach the King, 12 of the swords of Wudon appeared onto his position pushing everyone back.
"My King!" Weisheng yelled. He placed his hand around the king's head, trying to raise him up.
Godefrois body twitched once, twice, and finally a third time, before all motion had ceased, and he lay stiff, dead inside of Weishengs arms.
"My King!!!!" Duke cried
"Our KING!!!" THe Men Cried
A dozen voices filled the air each bursting out in angst.
"Who is responsible for this!"
"I'll kill the Man who did this!"
"Lord god what is this tragedy!"
"Snakes in the garden"
"Tragedy in the heavens"
"How could this happen to someone so handsome!"
"Thus is the cycle of life and death"
" My friends are all around me yet the enemy is closer,"
"Who dares to interrupt a feast of Kings!"
"Who dares to go against the will of our lord?"
"No one Moves!" Weisheng instructed.
"Until we figure out who brought that wine no one moves... " Weisheng said
He stepped into the middle of the group of men drawing his sword
"When I find the man responsible for this… Death will be a friend to that man, A friend they will be screaming and begging for, to save them from me.