Clothilde has a minion!

Minion the Saphite

Work in progress

Story :

Paris, Belle Epoque.

Clothilde is a girl from a penniless aristocrat family whose name and pride are the only remnant of their past glory. Her only future seems to marry a rich bourgeois wanting to get a better genealogy. She drew up a plan to make her parents think she was taking dancing lessons at a private tutor's. In fact she was cross-dressing to attend medical studies. When she was younger she would already cross-dress and learn tricks and acrobatics at a circus when she was supposed to be with her aunt. Her parents brought her to parties as often as possible. Clothilde is graceful, cultivated and can be quite charming. But her low voice, her thinness and her uncommon face seemed to be a barrier for many young men. No matter how hard she tries, people only see the last descendent of the cadet branch of a ruined family. These parties grieve her a bit more each time.

One day she met an extraordinary man. His charm was magnetic and every woman wanted to dance with him. He seemed a real gentleman and came from an old noble family which made fortune in the colonies. In short, Raoul de Lambailly seemed a very suitable match. He offered her a drink with a smile and they talked a little. He was very witty and cultivated. He seemed to know a lot about painters, furnitures, legendary jewels and History. During a waltz, their eyes met. She noticed something shiny. He was putting phlegmatically a diamond necklace in his pocket. As she stared at him with a shocked expression, he winked at her. She thought she was mistaking, after all he was very rich, this necklace was nothing for him. He left saying he was sorry but had to go at a dinner at the British embassy. Later in the evening, the lights went out. People screamed, later they would say they felt someone was touching them. A woman touched her neck and fainted. Her precious necklace had disappeared. It seemed the most valuable jewels had vanished into thin air. Clothilde was taken aback. Nobody had noticed the jewels were robbed before the light went out. Nobody thought of Raoul de Lambailly. The girls who were mocking her earlier were desperate. Months later, the newspapers were shouting the truth at everyone. Raoul de Lambailly was the fake identity of a very well-known robber. She would follow his exploits until the end.

As the family financial situation worsened, she managed to convince her parents she had to work. They finally agreed and she got a part-time job at a library. Of course she never told them it was part-time. Her parents never thought she was getting money in another place, they were too proud to even evoque her job. At night, a cape on her shoulders, a top hat on her head, a monocle and a fob watch in her pockets, she would cross-dress and follow the path of the man who did such an impression on her, robbing rich aristocrats of their jewellery when they were too busy admiring her face. Sometimes she would bring a pick-lock with her and play the locksmith when everyone was sleeping. Funnily, under her fake identity as Raoul de Lassidy, rich explorer who just came back from Canada, she had gotten many marriage propositions. But she was only interested in improving her parent's comfort, building up her dowry and donating to various charities without getting noticed. She met Raoul de Lambailly a couple of times. He didn't seem to recognize her, but she would recognize him no matter how disguised he was. And each time her heart would race...

Side note : Raoul de Lambailly is in fact Arsène Lupin.

About the canne de combat : it's a french martial art born in the 19th century and is contemporary of the savate (french boxing). It used the cane that was part of everyday man outfit back in the day (well in upper society) as mean of defense. The book L’art de la boxe française et de la Canne by Joseph Charlemont was published in 1899. It used to be part of the police training. It's till practised, but in a different form and with protextive gear with jedi-like moves (seriously). example with at the beginning a choregraphy in 19th century clothes.

Art/references :

As a woman

• ♠ Persuasion by Leonard Taylor Campell
• ♠ X
>
• ♠ Femme à sa toilette by Caillebotte
• ♠ Elégante accoudée à une balustrade by Paul Louis Delanc
• ♠ Danse en ville by Renoir
• ♠ L'ambitieuse by Tissot
• ♠ art 1 by Riyoko Ikeda
• ♠ art 2 by Riyoko Ikeda

As a man

• ♠ 1
• ♠ 2
• ♠ 3
• ♠ 4
• ♠ 5

Others

• ♠ Sarah Bernhardt in Lorenzaccio
• ♠ Sarah Bernhardt in Hamlet

To do :

• ❍ Treasure chest : expensive items *cries* jewels, 1900's things, cocktails
• ❍ Overlay (change at hovering, male with a cape instead of the wings, a tuxedo (?), a monocle and a top hat; female in a dress, stole...)
• ❍ Develop some aspect of the story (this pet is going to be a "tribute" to the french Belle Epoque. It was a busy period so MUCH research is needed...some keywords : Sarah Bernhardt, Mucha, Affaire Dreyfus, Etretat)
• ❍ Layout/coding