Memoirs of a King: Knight Takes Queen
AN: I've been watching the Musketeers since it started, and for a while now the relationship between Louis and Anne has interested me so here is my take on it. Constructive criticism is welcome, but no flames please.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Musketeers. Not even Aramis
"Armand! Armand!"
As the king torn up the stairs shouting for his most trusted adviser, his heart was in his throat. The news of the attack on the queen had come as a complete shock and he had returned to Paris as fast as possible. The knowledge that his Musketeers were on their way to defend his queen was little comfort; Louis could already feel ice creeping through his veins, just as it had on that dreadful day, twenty years ago.
'Louis, my son, I have some bad news.'
'What is it, Mama?'
'It's about your father . . .'
If Anne was killed . . .
Flinging his cloak aside, he raced to meet Richelieu.
"What news of the Queen?" he demanded as soon as the Cardinal was in sight.
Richelieu's sombre expression did nothing to halt the icy tendrils creeping into his limbs. "The last we heard, she was still under attack, sire."
"Who would do this, dare to attack my Queen?!"
Louis had been aware his entire life of the threats being king posed, but somehow, despite several attempts on his and Anne's lives, death seemed a distant possibility. Yet, here he was, stuck safely in his palace in Paris while his wife's death was not only a possibility, but a probability when she had only two Musketeers and a convent of nuns to defend her.
"A promissory note was found on one of the assassins. Signed for by Count Mellendorf. Search his luggage!"
The Cardinal's quick accusation took the king by surprise. Ignoring Mellendorf's spluttering denials, Louis watched as Richelieu produced a note which promised Gallagher safe passage into Germany. The shock was quickly replaced by a deep rage unlike anything he had ever felt before and he raised his hand to strike the man who had plotted to take Anne away from him.
'And might have succeeded' a voice that sounded far too much like his mother for comfort whispered in his head.
Charlotte's cry of "Your Majesty!" stalled his hand. He took in her distraught expression, but any favourable thoughts he might have had about her fled as the realisation dawned. With Anne gone, he would have had to look for a new queen and Mellendorf would have made sure his daughter was the first in line.
The boiling rage turned into icy calm.
"Throw them in the Bastille" he said.
Turning away up the stairs he heard the guards grab Mellendorf and Charlotte while the German Count tried to reassure his daughter.
The icy feeling now reaching his fingertips, Louis twisted back to face the Cardinal. "The Musketeers will protect Anne" he stated in a trembling voice. "They will not allow any harm to come to her!"
Staring down at Richelieu, he saw something briefly flicker in the Cardinal's solemn face even as his sight clouded over with tears.
"What would I do without her?" he asked, his voice sounding heartbroken even to his own ears. Retreating to his chambers, the king collapsed into his chair and allowed the tears he had been holding back to fall.
His marriage to Anne had been like many royal marriages; arranged for the good of their countries. In his and Anne's case, their marriage followed the tradition of strengthening military and political alliances between the French and Spanish Catholic powers.
That did not mean that the young king had not grown to cherish his queen. Despite his recent words with the Cardinal, he knew he would be lost without Anne. She had stood loyally by his side for fifteen of his twenty year reign and her wise council had soothed his worries on numerous occasions.
"What would I do without her?" he whispered to the empty room.
When the news reached Louis that Anne was safe and on her way home, the frost finally began to release its claim on his heart. His Musketeers had succeeded and the assassins were dead.
The king strode into the throne room with his attendants behind him only to see his wife walking towards him from the opposite side of the room followed by her ladies and his Musketeers. She halted a short distance away and he paused too. He knew what propriety stated he must do in these situations, but could not stop a small hesitant step forward as Anne curtsied.
"Your Majesty."
As Anne approached, Louis moved forward, grasping her hands in his and pressing his lips to the delicate skin. The queen looked startled at his uncharacteristic display of affection, but smoothed her expression quickly.
"I thought you were dead, and I could not countenance such a thing."
It was the truth and something in his face must have shown this as Anne smiled gently and murmured her happiness at being home.
He kissed her forehead and laced his fingers with hers as he turned to face the Cardinal.
"Your Majesty's safe return is a cause of great rejoicing, and I have excellent news" Richelieu said cheerfully. "The man behind the attack on your life is in custody, pending execution. Count Mellendorf signed a confession, accepting full responsibility for the attack."
The king shook his head. "Mellendorf . . . Who'd have thought it?
Congratulating the Cardinal on his successful capture, Louis pledged to make amends for his years of indifference. Beginning with a token of his affection, he thought as he escorted Anne from the room.
Perhaps another jewelled cross to replace the one she had lost.
The End