napoleon la lande — d2m.

This is a story of how the mighty fell.

The story does not end well. He wishes to counsel you, dearest reader, of that first and foremost. This does not constitute as a tale with a happy ending. It, in fact, does not end at all. If you wish for a bedtime story, it is well advised to keep away from the sordid tale of the La Lande family, once titans of industry, now vermin of backalleys.

He wishes he had a real sense of time, or any sense at all, of when the rot set in. He wishes he could put a finger on when the pulse waned, or when the vein weakened. But Napoleon, you see, had every whim of his attended to back then and thus … the lack of worry, the lack of knowledge. Spoiled is a sour word and yet its taste flavored the days he spent lazing by the high windows of La Lande manor, or strolling through the luscious orchards, or revelling in drink, dance, and sweets.

The La Lande earned their wealth and merit from a namesake product they had manufactured called La Lande, a brand of vermin slayer that could be sprayed in the nooks and crannies of each home to rid it of pests. And at the cusp of war, brought forth by death and carnage, all the vermin bred like flies in a cesspool and infested everywhere. The La Lande’s swore to get rid of it. And they succeeded, to an extent.

Then the side effects came.

It began with intermittent coughs, hot flushes, and fever, then exacerbated to internal bleeding, stomach issues, loss of movement, and soon after, a painful and agonizing death. However, as La Lande was mostly purchased by the wealthier ones in Two, the toll on the rich far exceeded that of the poor.

In Panem’s eyes, that spelled treason.

Perhaps he should be thankful to have been spared. Men have been slain for lesser crimes. But the punishment to the La Lande’s felt deliciously cruel, tailored for they had committed. Should anyone in Shearhill need a ratcatcher, the peacekeepers are quick to call on them. The rats know them by name now. And they resent him as much as he resents them.