Racine de la Liberté

"``I find that perhaps, only perhaps, the Closers are maybe in the right in this... peculiar situation.``""``What? What can you possibly mean by that? They want to stop us from reaching salvation!``""``They want to stop us from reaching the Cubrilians, and that's a good thing almost.``""Racine de la Liberte discussing the topic of The Paradise with Gabriel Pierre and her opinion on The Paradise."Racine de la Liberté, better known as Corbeau, was the third Head Reopener of France and worked during the French Revolution. She was born moderately wealthy and despite her Jacobin Club parents, Racine openly marked herself as a Girondist and opposed Louis XVI sternly. Born youngest to Jean-Louis Paine de la Liberté and Charlotte Pierre de la Liberté, Racine, famously, was known for her name to resemble 'Root for Freedom'. This raises controversies on whether her parents were indeed, behind the scenes, Girondist financiers and supporters - though a conclusion nor statement was ever reached, yet a letter titled Sujet d’urgence: Liberté, left most conspiracy theorists satisfied.

Born to a large family, Racine was raised amongst her seven siblings. When her mother had been discovered to been having an affair with a Girondist, Racine's oldest brother - Hugo de la Liberté I - stabbed her to death and was then sent to Charenton Asylum in 1772 and was released in 1789 following the French Revolution, where he was shot in 1791.

Racine, with siblings Hugo de la Liberté II, Maximillian Paine de la Liberté, Jean-Louis de la Liberté III and Josepha de la Liberté, trained in swordsmanship and showed a love for archery which she trained with brother Hugo de la Liberté II.

Early Life (1771-1786)
Racine was born to Jean-Louis Paine de la Liberté II and Charlotte Pierre de la Liberté I on September 19th, 1771. On March 3rd, 1772, Racine's mother was stabbed to death by her oldest brother after the discovery of her affair with Edouard de la Verrés. After Charlotte dying and Hugo being sent to Charenton Lunatic Asylum, the hidden daughter of Edouard and Charlotte, Elisabeth de la Verrés, was informally adopted by Jean-Louis following Edouard's suicide on March 16th, 1772 when Elisabeth was 2. Due to this series of events, Racine grew up without relations with her older brother and mother, though she would soon come to despise her brother following a discovered letter in 1788 titled Danse d'une Hirondelle where Hugo explains his newly discovered hobby of mutilating animals after his thrill of murdering Charlotte.

Racine got along fondly with Hugo de la Liberté II, Maximillian Paine de la Liberté, Jean-Louis de la Liberté III, Elisabeth de la Verrés and Josepha de la Liberté, but had a bitter resentment to her other siblings who followed after her father and supported the Jacobin Club and Robespierre.

Though Jean-Louis de la Liberté III and Elisabeth de la Verrés both supported the royals, Racine found herself forgiving them as she grew to prefer their personalities over their political beliefs.

At the age of 5, Racine's brother, Hugo de la Liberté II, began to teach Racine in the art of swordsmanship and later archery once she reached the age of 8. This brought them extremely close, even to the point where Racine described him as, 'L'idole brillante' translating to 'The Brilliant Idol' in a letter to Elisabeth whilst she was in Austria titled 'Mes Actes Apologétiques' - in which Racine rants out everything this believed she had done wrong. Racine and Hugo kept close through the years and often exchanging letters whilst Hugo was in London.

After Hugo found himself in London studying politics, Racine began to train with her other siblings who were all lesser skilled than her. In need of a challenge, Racine enrolled herself in a sword fighting competition at the age of 11, posing as a short 18 year old boy titled Adolf François. Racine came out in third place, and began to train harder in swordsmanship and archery. After struggling to advance in skill, Racine asked her father to pay for a tutor, to where he eventually and reluctantly agreed.

Under the tutor Henri Allard, Racine began to excel and was later described by Henri as 'L’apprenti le plus talentueux que j’ai jamais enseigné et que j’enseignerai', which translates to 'The most talented apprentice I ever taught and shall teach' in a letter to his wife titled 'Mes apprentis'. Once reaching the age of 13, Henri 'resigned' as her tutor as he claimed he had nothing left to teach her. A month later, Racine enrolled in another competition under the same alias Adolf François, and won this tournament. The organizer of the tournament, Arno de la Monarchie, sent a letter to his wife titled 'Tournoi d’épéiste: Vendôme' claiming that Adolf was the most brilliant swordsman he had ever spied amongst all of his arranged tournaments.

Racine's love for archery outgrew her love for swordsmanship, though she never entered it competitively as she was much better at swordsmanship. Three months after her victory in the tournament, Racine discovered a pair of hidden blades on a walk. After cleaning them and fitting them on her wrists, Racine began to train with them and try to get used to them. After reaching the age of 15, Racine was entering many sword fighting competitions throughout Paris: building a name for herself.

Whilst 15, she met Gabriel Pierre. A 16 year old peasant boy who rivalled her and beat her in a tournament. Disgusted with herself and desperate for a rematch, Racine confronted Gabriel. Gabriel, skeptical and first, agreed to train her until he couldn't any longer.

Racine and Gabriel became very close, to the point where Racine would write to Hugo about him and described him as 'Un combattant plus fort que Henri lui-même' which translated to 'A stronger fighter than Henri himself'. Racine eventually outfought Gabriel in a long duel, and Gabriel resigned as her mentor. Though Gabriel was not teaching Racine anymore, they still remained close and entered all tournaments together as well as being described as 'best friends' despite the class divide. Approaching her 16th birthday, Racine was disgusted to discover that Gabriel was being spat on by her noble friends for being peasantry, to where she stabbed one of them and disposed of the body without ever telling Gabriel or her father - and only briefly discussed it with Hugo, who seemed supposedly unfazed by the incident and promised to burn the letter afterwards, though Racine kept a copy of every letter she ever sent and received, and it was eventually leaked following her death.

Gabriel Pierre
Gabriel and Racine were extremely close following Gabriel's mentorship. They often entered many sword fighting tournaments together and eventually joined The Reopeners with one another.

When Racine discovered her aristocrat friends and acquaintances were disliking of her friendship with Gabriel, as Gabriel was the son of a peasant farmer, Racine - in a fit of rage - had murdered one of the aristocrats.

Julie de la Monarchie
Julie de la Monarchie was a French aristocrat who was murdered by Racine in 1787. The wife of Arno de la Monarchie - an arranger of sword fighting tournaments. Racine had stabbed Julie to death and disposed of the body in acid before dropping it into a stream of water. Racine never informed Gabriel of her acts, and only every briefly mentioned it to Hugo in a letter which he burnt yet Racine kept.

Aftermath
The letter was eventually leaked to the press following her death, and she was viewed as a crazy woman who murdered a woman over an incident. Despite best efforts, the letter could not be hidden from the public and she was viewed bitterly amongst the public, especially the children of the Monarchie family.

Louis Pierre
When Racine was 16, she met Gabriel's father for the first time: Louis Pierre. A peasant farmer who had taught Gabriel in the art of sword fighting. In an act of fascination, Racine had questioned Louis on where he had discovered how to wield a blade. Louis revealed he had been taught by a man named Gabriel, who he had named his son after. Gabriel was the second Head Reopener of France - and was still active. Curious, Racine had told Gabriel and wished to investigate this man with his help.

Uncertain and cautious, Gabriel agreed and they set off to Les Invalides, where they discovered the society of the Reopening after tailing a nervous postman. Upon arrival, Gabriel and Racine infiltrated the catacombs and reached their 'headquarters'. At first, they were named as enemies and nearly stabbed to death, until Gabriel explained his father was Louis Pierre. Gabriel Danton - the Head Reopener - remained skeptical yet allowed Racine and Gabriel to join under mentors.

Paul Francis
Racine's first mentor under the Reopeners was Paul Francis - an eager nineteen year old who had only just become a Reopener Mentor. He aided Racine in her first mission - the assassination of Jean-Luis de Baptistie-Andre. A nobleman who was campaigning and inciting riots to try get Girondists executed.

Jean-Luis de Baptistie-Andre's Assassination
Jean-Luis was hiding out in his house when Racine and Paul had come to kill him. Jean-Luis had been warned in advance of their visit, later discovered to have been a mole in the Reopeners. Once they arrived at the house, Paul was instantly called off to handle another mission, leaving 16 year old Racine to handle it alone.

First, she had climbed to the roof where she discovered three gunners - ready to shoot anyone who dared to venture close to the house. After some thought, Racine had decided that - instead of using her swords - she were to use her hidden blades which she had discovered the years before yet still in good health. She first stabbed a gunner, and pulled his corpse away and chucked it off the roof. The other two gunners remained cautious and eventually called an alarm after the disappearance of their fellow worker.

After this, she heard them talk to each other and mention that Jean-Luis was now in his panic room. In an act of sudden spite and desperation, she ran up and stabbed one in the head, leading to a slight duel with the last but eventually killing him. Once they were all dead, Racine climbed down the ladder to the third floor, where she discovered an abundance of letters and ornaments. She pushed past them and climbed down to the second floor, discovering many guards ready to fight to defend Jean-Luis. Anxious and uncertain, Racine retreated back up to the roof and searched the gunners for anything useful. Then, she ventured for a bright idea. After stripping a gunner down and replacing them with her own clothing as well as pushing her hair out of the way and taking the gun. She climbed back down and ventured down to the second floor, cautious but forcing herself to act frantic.

She had convinced the guards that not only had one of the gunners had vanished, but the other one too. After a sufficient number of guards had gone to investigate the scene, Racine had fought off the remaining ones and reached the panic room which she lockpicked and opened eventually. She was greeted with a panicking Jean-Luis who begged for mercy.

Unsure, Racine first decided to interrogate Jean-Luis, who gave her any information she requested. After she was happy with what she had collected, she stabbed him in the head and retreated to the roof where she killed off the remaining guards in a staggering sword duel.

After a long moment of hesitation, Racine had climbed back down to the flood floor and gathered a satchel, grabbing any letters and ornaments which looked useful or important. A handful of letters which she reclaimed included:


 * Exécutions Nécessaires
 * Exigences Désespérées
 * L’enlèvement de Marie
 * Sanson
 * Contrebande Alimentaire: Les Invalides
 * Une Question D’urgence

All of which proved to be important useful to the Reopeners.

Mademoiselle Natasha de Lavinge-Ozanne's Assassination
The assassination of Natasha de Lavinge-Ozanne as by far one of Racine's most famous assassinations, following the murder of a noblewoman, known for aiding the Jacobin Club and financing many of their actions.

She was assassinated by Racine in her home after Racine navigated her way through what was remarked as over one hundred guards to reach her, and then escaped after stealing a letter titled 'Jacobin Club Transactions' which was completely written in English and proved to be extremely useful to the Reopeners, despite their little use of it.

Title of Reopener (1789-1791)
After reaching the age of 19, Racine was granted the titled of Reopener and disbanded from her mentor in 1789 after aiding the Women's March on Versailles. Once she earnt the title, a year after Gabriel, she and Gabriel both paired up and worked together in assassinations and missions.

Her brother was

A year later, once reaching the age of 20 in 1790, Racine took on her first apprentice, who died during a failed assassination attempt.

Depression and Alcoholism (1791-1792)
Grief-stricken and depressed, Racine spiraled into alcohol yet remained almost fully functioning. After the discovery of her habit, Gabriel confronted Racine and Racine angrily stormed away from the conversation. Feeling as though it was dangerous for her mental health, Gabriel went to the Head Reopener and asked for Racine to receive a break from her missions.

Reluctantly, he agreed and Racine - though angry about the decision - was temporarily cast from the Reopeners and tried to live a relatively normal live for almost a year; avoiding conversation with Gabriel.

Emergence
After buying more alcohol, Racine discovered a child who was being held hostage because of their peasantry parents owing debts and hearing the child shouting from a house. After investigating, Racine fell into a fist fight against Hébertists who, though appeared untrained, held a fight to defend their idealism.

She rescued the child and though they were shaken up, they managed a thank you and directed her to their parents.

Raise
After the child was returned to their parents, Racine found herself pondering if her alcoholic habits were benefitting her in anyway. Determined yet anxious, she re-approached Gabriel after a near year of separation. Convinced she was healthy enough, Gabriel reluctantly agreed and asked the Head Reopener to allow Racine to be reinitiated.

Though she re-joined them and became majorly healthier, she never dropped her drinking habits.

Gabriel Danton's Assassination (1792-1793)
In the June of 1782, the Head Reopener - Gabriel Danton - was found assassinated on his chair in the catacombs of France. The body was discovered by Francis de la Serres-Monet, who was later arrested and charged for his murder, though there was little evidence.

This put the Reopening of France at a whirlwind as Gabriel had never initiated a Seprist Reopener. The council handled the matter and, for the first time in Reopening history, the Reopeners of a country were ran by the council.

A year later, Francis de la Serres-Monet was broken out by the warden after being bribed, and Francis came after Gabriel Danton's family - to where they were all murdered with a knife.

Racine was then summoned by the council to catch Francis, and following a month later, Racine - with the help of Gabriel - tracked down Francis and put an end to his bitter actions, but in the process, Gabriel was stabbed and hospitalized. During these months, Racine spiraled into depression once again, yet hid it from Gabriel and members of the order, but refused many missions and assassinations over the short period of time.

Following Gabriel's return, Racine began to receive missions again along with Gabriel.

Gabriel Pierre's Attempted Assassination (1793)
Following the death of Gabriel Danton, Gabriel Pierre was underfire to an attempted assassination due to being familiar with Racine, who was being slammed on the press after being caught for murdering a Royalist, yet being released under 'corrupt' circumstances.

Gabriel was shot in the chest and arm by one Maxime de Jean-Levon, who was later arrested for attempted murder.

Gabriel was hospitalized and Racine remained by his side for the majority of his time in the hospital, even to the extent to where a nurse described her as 'un caniche obsessionnel avec une bouche bave' in a letter exchange between her and her husband.

Then, he recovered following a month later and was in moderately good health, despite having to pull away from missions for a period of time, forcing Racine to handle missions and assassinations single handedly.

Napoleon Bonaparte (1794)
During a failed assassination mission on Emmanuel de Croÿ-Solre, Paris, Racine was arrested and put in prison. Yet, in the following week, she received a letter from one Napoleon Bonaparte, requesting for something in exchange for her release.

At first, Racine was skeptical, but wrote back and agreed. The next week, Racine was released and later picked up by a carriage to meet Bonaparte at Palace of Versailles. Bonaparte was first uncertain at following through with his request, on the topic of Racine being female, yet he deemed her good enough for the job.

He requested for her to assassinate Marshal of France: Philip D'Atthalin Jean-Buille as he was marked as a possible traitor to the revolution.

Philip D'Atthalin Jean-Buille's Assassination
The following morning, Racine eagerly was in preparation to deal with the Marshal. She discovered he was attending the opera, and stalked him there, where she stabbed him in the chest in midst of a crowd yet managed to get away before the body collapsed.

Though a prime suspect in the murder, Racine was released and Napoleon and Racine parted ways until their next encounter.