Disclaimer: The characters of Le Chevalier D'Eon do not belong to me. May contain spoilers for the anime.
Ever wondered if Durand knew what he was headed for when he took off with the Psalms? Or why he met up with his comrades later in the church after he had apparently decided to return to France alone? This one is inspired by the scene where Durand's soul walks off into the light after his death.
Durand: A Game of Patience
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy riven side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure,
Save me from its guilt and power.
The footsteps faded down the narrow alley as my pursuers took off in the opposite direction. My breath comes in ragged gasps. My muscles are protesting. I have to admit that they had reason to. I had not allowed my body to recover from its injuries before setting off for that battle at Medmenham Abbey. I chose to run off while most of my comrades were slumbering off the weariness of the battle. With my one arm, I tighten my grip on the damned book. I fumble trying to tuck it into my coat pocket. I need my arm free if I am to fight. This is going to take some getting used to.
From the time I was freed, I could sense their concern for my well-being. Thanks to the Psalms, the wound had sealed faster than it should. Still, my fighting prowess had indeed suffered with the loss of my left arm. I might have been a liability then at the abbey. I let Lia and D'Eon walk into danger. It is odd to be using only one sword when I am used to fighting with two blades.
There is that other thing…. I reach into my shirt and touch the accursed letters on my chest. NQM. Maximilien's parting gift to me. He should have let me bleed to death then. At least I wouldn't have had to deal with the royal orders. Let the king's poem go to hell. Robin's still a kid, barely older than my youngest sister back home in France. And D'Eon, Lia's little brother. He has his entire life ahead of him, assuming he would live that long. He's incredibly naïve and clueless to the ways of the world. I owe the old master an apology. It was a dirty trick I pulled on him with that handful of sand. I would have never gotten past him otherwise, even if I had both my arms.
I grinned at the thought of those incriminating documents I have secreted behind de Guercy's painting in the embassy. C'est la vie, mon ami. I'll love to see the look on his face when the English soldiers find them. The letter I had left with the lawyer will be opened soon, once I fail to return. I have no inclination or desire of going back to that prison. Till then, my friends will have to lie low and avoid capture. That is the pinch. Teillagory's a wily old fox, assuming I didn't hurt him too badly back there. I expect Robin to be frantic with worry over my disappearance. He should use his worry for himself. D'Eon's the wild card of the pack. There's no telling when or how Lia's soul would react. It was to my relief that that little trick with the whistle was enough to throw the soldiers off their trail earlier. I hope they had found somewhere safe.
Lia. She was always calm and controlled in life. It was out of her character to simply snap and lash out blindly as she did at the bridge to Medmenham. I have never known her to show such rage. Her soul must indeed be in torment, foully murdered and trapped in an unnatural limbo in her brother's body. I pray for peace for her soul every night since her body was discovered. Now I know the only way for her to find eternal rest is to find out the truth.
We were happy then, the three of us, Lia, Maximilien and me. We were all loyal knights of France. It seemed almost another lifetime ago. When did it all start unravelling?
We were sent on our separate missions for the good of France. When I got back from Marseilles, Maximilien vanished and turned his back on France. Lia was murdered and floated down the Seine in a casket in a grotesque travesty of that Arthurian poem she so loved, the Lady of Shalott. Could Maximilien have killed her? I refuse to believe that but I cannot be sure. I thought I knew them. Now I know I knew nothing.
Maximilien had changed the most. He was still as calm as ever, but there is a merciless edge to his calmness that was never there before. Perhaps I had been mistaken from the start. It was nasty shock running into him in Russia. I believe he was involved in the Empress' death. We met at the French embassy just now. Gave me quite a turn to see a 'dead' man walking. Lia had sensed his death but…
I can't think. The mark is burning again.
"Louis will have you killed!" Maximilien had shouted at my back. He had asked me to join him, turn my back on France and my comrades of the past months. I snubbed his offer. I have never seen him so riled up before. Perhaps Maximilien will have me killed instead and save the king the hassle. If he does, I pray that it will be quick and my comrades will be left in peace. Hearing the approach of soldiers, I ran through the gates of a churchyard. I need somewhere to hide and fast. There should be a crypt or two I can shelter in for a bit.
While I draw this fleeting breath,
When my eyes shall close in death,
The crypts are sealed with heavy locks to guard against grave robbers. I drag my weary body up the gravel path to the porch of the dark church. I haven't slept a wink for almost two days, keeping on the move constantly to throw off our pursuers. Only a few more hours to go before my little confession is read and de Guercy receives the morning call of his life. It's only a matter of waiting.
I can't continue further. My body has reached its limits. I flop down on the church porch with my back against the door. I am surprised to hear voices echoing from within at this late hour. They are speaking French.
"But we can't leave Sir Durand," Robin protests. God bless you, lad. Good for a cynical heart to know someone cares.
"The soldiers are after us. We have to leave England. Durand will have to take care of himself…" the speaker ends with a small groan of pain. Old Teillagory. Sorry about your stomach, old chap. You could just pack them onto the next ship out. Hopefully it will be headed for Russia. Empress Ekaterina shouldn't mind putting you lot up till things blow over in Versailles.
"Durand has the Psalms, we can't go back without them," D'Eon's voice cut in. I grab at my chest. The letters are aching as if they are being branded into my flesh. For fleeting moment, I see Maximilien's smiling face as he leans over me that night in the prison cell, his hand clasped on the shredded remnants of my shoulder, using the Psalms to stop the bleeding. He carved those letters into my flesh in that same instant.
"That must be a touching poem, Durand," he mocked me later over the royal orders which had fallen onto the floor of my cell. "Was it from the king who is in God's grace?"
They all read the royal secrets I now have in my coat. I take out the book. It still does not open to me. I have been ordered to kill the three of them, D'Eon in particular. On my return, King Louis XV will have me killed on some pretext. The four of us will compare notes with Lia in purgatory and Lia will kill me over D'Eon. Maximilien will continue on whatever hellish scheme he has up his sleeve… It strikes me then. Lia had seen something or knew something about the Psalms. I must ask her or D'Eon.
"I refuse to believe Sir Durand would run off like that, unless he has a good reason…" Robin says. He sounds like he was on the verge of tears. Oh, don't do this to me… I hate the idea of having anyone shed tears on my behalf.
I struggle to my feet and take a deep breath. The burning sensation on my chest eases a bit. I feel strangely refreshed. They say it is darkness before the dawn. Perhaps things will work out. I can try to convince them to seek refuge somewhere while I report to Versailles. Maybe the king would spare me. The book in my hand, I shove open the church door. Three pairs of eyes immediately swing towards me.
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee
Author's Notes:
Yes, poor guy's being set up to be turned into a gargoyle. Get the feeling Max is manipulating him to some extent.
C'est la vie, mon ami – loosely translates to 'That's life, my friend" in French. Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
The Anglican hymn 'Rock of Ages' which I have used in part for this fic was supposedly inspired when a 18th century pastor got caught out in open country by a storm and was forced to shelter in a crack in a large rock formation until the storm blew over.
The Lady of Shalott – an Arthurian poem about a lady who is cursed never to set eyes on the legendary city of Camelot or she will die. She sees the city one day in her magical looking glass. As she is dying, she sets off down the river towards Camelot in a boat. The boat bearing her corpse floats into the city. On the bow of the boat is carved her name. See the parallels between the poem and the way Lia was found? The French loved their Arthurian romances as much as the Brits in those days. Though this actual poem was written much later during the Victorian era.
Outtake:
D'Eon/Lia: (shaking Durand furiously) Don't die on me yet, Durand! You still owe me for the taxi fare to Medmenham Abbey!
