I adore this couple. There is just so much potential.
Takes place between seasons 1 & 2.
She's walking in the gardens when it happens.
"Oh," she gasps in surprise, a hand fluttering to her swollen belly. Her eyes widen in amazement as she comes to a halt.
"Your Majesty?" The panicked voices of her ladies trail around her, but pays them no heed. She feels joyous laughter bubbling in her throat when the child kicks once again.
"Oh," she breathes. She can hear a commotion around them and impatiently silences her simpering ladies. A smile plays on her lips as she rushes to soothe them. "Calm yourself, the child is moving." There's another kick, and she lets out a peal of laughter. Despite her claims that she was sure that the child would be strong just like his father, she still cannot help the lingering doubts that plague her late at night.
She sits herself on a bench and dismisses her ladies with a wave of her hand. So absorbed in the feel of her child's gentle kicks, she does not hear the voices of two men arguing. She does not notice one musketeer trying to restrain the other until he eventually gives up and allows the other to pass.
It is not until a shadow looms over her does she look up.
"Aramis," she whispers, and damn her but she can't help but widen her smile at the sight of him. Standing quickly, she looks around for curious eyes but finds only the musketeer who guarded her in the convent, Athos, she recalls suddenly. He watches them with careful eyes, all the while scanning the gardens for intruders.
She turns back to Aramis and feels her heart beat erratically. Her memory has not done him justice. It has been months since she was this close to him, and the very memory of him makes her breath catch in her throat. She remembers rough, calloused hands upon her soft skin, the husk of his voice as he whispered her name, the firm press of his lips, the weight of his strong body above hers.
She stares at him and feels a blush rise to her cheeks as he studies her changing body. There is something about him that makes her feel like a foolish little girl. But when his eyes meet hers once again, all she can see is kindness and warmth in his eyes.
Never taking his eyes from her, he removes his hat and bow. "Your Majesty."
She stops herself from flinching at hearing him address her by her title. "No," she says gently. "Please don't call me that. Call me by my name."
Aramis smiles grimly. "I have been commanded to behave myself accordingly, Your Majesty."
"Oh," she replies. "Very well." She struggles for something to say to him, but she cannot help but notice his intimate gaze dropping down to her swollen belly every few seconds.
"Are you well?" he says eventually. Anne nods politely, all the while feeling foolish.
"I just-" Aramis exhales sharply. "I saw you earlier and I could not help but worry."
Warmth fills her chest. "The babe is well, Aramis. He moved for the first time, that is all."
Joy flickers in his eyes for a brief moment, but it dims quickly. She knows how difficult it must be for him, to know that his child will never truly be his. Aramis will gladly protect his child, even die for him, but he will never here the child call him father.
Her heart breaks for him.
She blinks away tears and tries to smile at him. But he sees through her once again and his face falls. Aramis takes a step closer to her and reaches out a hand to her, but he drops it when they hear Athos hissing his name in warning.
Anne shoots Athos a dark look and holds out a hand for Aramis.
He takes it without hesitation.
Anne places their hands on her swollen belly and waits in heated silence. Aramis does not take his eyes off of their hands, and she does not take her eyes off of him.
She knows the risk that they are taking, but she cannot help herself. She may not be able to give him this child, but she can give him this moment.
And when the child finally kicks against his hand, the smile on his face is entirely worth it. Aramis laughs in disbelief and looks at her in wonder.
Ever since the pregnancy has been announced, she has been careful to keep her distance from him. Unable to control herself around him, she thought it best to cut ties with the man before anybody found out their secret, for their own sakes and the future of their child. If they were ever found out, they would be disgraced, and without a doubt executed for treason.
She is a Queen, and her son will one day be a King.
Nobody will ever know the truth.
But in that moment, she let's herself consider her future if she were not Queen.
She would be free to love him, and proudly bare his children. There would be no need for stolen glances and secret smiles. He would be allowed to touch her swollen belly and feel their child move. They would decide on a name for their child, something strong and courageous. She would proudly present their child to him, and she was certain that he would have no care if the child was a boy or a girl.
But she is Queen.
And she will never share that life with him.
As a child, her mother had told her that she would learn to love her husband. And perhaps she does love Louis in her own way. But he will never possess her very being the way that Aramis does. One night in his arms has ruined her for the rest of her life. The morning she had awoke to his strong arms wrapped around her soft body, she had pitied her mother, because in that moment she felt loved more so than all of the years of her marriage. Love is not something you learn, it is an uncontrollable emotion that knocks you off of your feet.
It should not be like this, she thinks as her baby kicks gently against her belly as though agreeing with her. He should be with her throughout this.
But he cannot.
For she is a Queen, and he will forever be her subject.
Aramis drops his hand.
Seeing that he has reached the same conclusion, she holds out her hand for him with a sad smile.
But Aramis does not bow and press a kiss to her hand.
He takes her hand in one of his and clasps their hands to his chest. And before Athos can stop him, he is pressing his mouth against hers. Despite her surprise, she kisses him with her entire being. She grips her free hand in his hair and pulls him closer until he is pressed against her stomach. He consumes her until she has no idea where she begins and he ends.
She refuses to believe that this is goodbye.
"Anne," he whispers against her lips. Aramis grins wickedly and steps away from her.
She closes her eyes so she does not have to watch him walk away once again.
A hand flutters to her stomach.
You are a Queen, she reminds herself.
But even Queens need somebody to love.