POV: It’s the year 1692 and you’re a courtier at the glorious Palace of Versailles - except your life has been anything but glorious so far.
Your family tree stretches back for generations and you are of the noblest birth, yet your family has never truly managed to establish itself at court. For years you have languished in the shadow of all that splendour, largely because your parents possessed no talent whatsoever for intrigue.
Fortunately, someone… cough… happened to poison their wine, causing them to pass away from a “mysterious illness.” How terribly sad. And your dear parents were not the only ones to suffer such an unfortunate fate, meaning several highly coveted positions have suddenly become vacant. And people still claim the affair of the poisons is over.
As luck would have it, the tide has finally turned in your favour! You’re a strikingly handsome man, a fact that has not escaped the attention of a certain Marquise de X. She currently enjoys the King’s favour and has put in a good word for you. You made sure to thank her for that whenever she wasn’t occupied by His Majesty.
At last, the long-awaited news arrived: the King has appointed you as one of his Gentilshommes Servants! You may now present His Majesty with a glass of wine or water at the royal table, whenever he requests it. Admittedly, he does not actually look at you while you do so, but that is entirely irrelevant.
All that matters is your brand-new three-room appartement in one of the palace’s side wings far end! It may not offer quite the comforts enjoyed by a duke but it has an antechamber, vaulted ceilings, and magnificent floor lenght windows! You had to go deeply into debt to pay for all the gildings and furnishings, especially THE CHANDELIER ADORNED WITH CRYSTAL PEARL STRINGS, but you’ll win it all back at the gaming tables (surely…).
Gone are the days when you were forced to share a converted broom cupboard with Mother and Father. Now your true life can finally begin! Let's hope the King’s favour lasts - for at the Court of Versailles, many have risen high, only to fall even further…
