The Dauphin

The ride back to Paris was slow in progress. It gave him plenty of time to think over all what happened to him yesterday.

He lost someone who was a very important memory but then he found someone who became the most important person in the world. He always loved women, but he was very rarely in love. Other two times when he was in love, he felt happy, exuberant and hopeful for the future. True, both times it ended badly. Isabelle was dead and Adéle chose the Cardinal, as he thought at the time. Nevertheless, the beginnings were full of promise. Not this time though. For obvious reasons this love seemed doomed from the start. Not only in all probability it was not reciprocated but it was a treason, something that he never considered happening to him.

Yet it seemed so clear to him why he fell in love. She was not like any woman he had ever known, she just dazed him. But he had to face the truth, all that did not really matter, she was the Queen and he was fated to love her from afar, their night together was to be his only happy memory.

Athos brought his horse closer again. "There are some things that need to be clear," Athos said in his usual, emotionless voice. "We both try to forget that you had slept with the Queen."

"It was more than that, Athos," he interrupted.

"Nevertheless," Athos continued unperturbed, "we will forget about it like it never happened. Secondly you will stay away from the Queen as much as it is feasible. And lastly, what we will focus on now is finding the proof that the Cardinal was involved in the assassination attempt. Is that understood?"

"I understand," he replied quietly.

"I need more from you than just your understanding," said Athos through his teeth.

"That's all I can offer now." He was saved from the certain wrath coming from his friend as Porthos and d'Artagnan got nearer to them.

"What are you two whispering about?" asked Porthos.

"The Cardinal and his mysterious lady," he replied quickly. He was unhappy to lie to Porthos but limiting the number of people who knew about him and the Queen to the absolute minimum was the guarantee of her safety and that was paramount in his thoughts. After all, she committed treason, too.

VVV

They finally entered Paris and headed for the palace. There they waited for the Queen to change into more appropriate clothes. Tréville wanted them to stay and escort the Queen when she would meet the King.

He could see that Athos was not particularly happy about it but he was relieved that his friend restrained himself from commenting. As for Aramis, he was readying himself for the last opportunity of seeing the Queen up close for a very long time, he was certain that Athos would try his best to make sure he would not be seeing the Queen.

They saw her coming from her chambers, surrounded by her ladies-in-waiting. She was back in her armour - her elaborate dress and even more elaborate coiffure. She did not look at him once even if she graced Tréville and Athos with pleasant smile.

Their party entered the throne room just as the King's party was coming in from the other direction. He watched the King and the Cardinal closely. The King seemed to be happy to see his queen. And when they finally got closer His Majesty eagerly kissed her hands and her forehead. He knew it was irrational and unreasonable but he felt a pang of jealousy seeing the familiarity shown by the King towards her.

She had her back to him so he could not see her reaction, but when she turned and faced them he could not take his eyes off her. She looked confused and somehow lost. She reminded him of a little bird that was put in a birdcage, not understanding where its freedom had gone.

The Cardinal informed the King in a loud voice that he had apprehended the culprits, some Count Mellendorf and his daughter were in the Bastille. The cheek of the man! However, the King congratulated the Cardinal and forced everyone to give Richelieu an ovation. As she was politely clapping her hands, she suddenly looked straight into his eyes. He missed those eyes so much and it had only been few hours.

He tried to read her face, what he thought he saw almost broke his heart. She was saying goodbye and she was distraught. He could only comfort himself with the thought that perhaps he was not entirely indifferent to her. But he felt that this episode of his life had just ended.

Unhappy and angry at the world, when the royal party left the room, he relieved his frustration in urging his friends to confront the Cardinal. They convinced him, however, that the time of reckoning would come when they had a proof of Richelieu's duplicity.

VVV

However, over three months passed and they did not manage to find any concrete proofs to condemn the Cardinal. Instead they planned their different schemes to entrap him. That involved a lot of wine and deep conversations stretching long into the night. It suited him, he could focus on something else. To the eyes of the rest of the world he was the same Aramis, happy, full of energy and with a gentle sense of humour. The only times he took off this mask was when his head hit the pillow. She was in his prayers and in his thoughts. Athos was very diligent in keeping him away from the palace. In all this time he only saw her once from afar as she was walking with her ladies in the gardens. She seemed her usual self, his heart was aching for her but he finally accepted that this was the price for the short moment of happiness.

In the meantime, his mind was embroiled in the scheme they came up with and to which they all agreed. To entrap Milady de Winter and the Cardinal, they devised a plot where d'Artagnan was supposed to have killed Athos. It seemed to work, as the news of Athos's death spread and reached the Queen, she demanded personal explanations from Tréville.

He was the only one in the courtyard, waiting for the return of their Captain. When he finally saw the familiar figure on a horse, he ran towards him.

"What did the Queen say?" he accosted Tréville before the Captain even dismounted his horse.

"What's the urgency?" asked Tréville surprised.

"Just tell me, Captain." He was starved of news of the Queen and this was the best he could get.

Tréville slowly explained that he had to divulge their scheme to the Queen, that she took it well and eagerly agreed to participate. He smiled at this, he trusted her wisdom and judgement. She was so much better at this than the King.

"The Queen also asked me to keep it secret from the King," continued the Captain. "I feel uneasy about that part, if I'm honest."

"It's a wise choice," he replied in her defence. "Until we have a full confession it would not be practical to tell the King." He felt almost jealous of Tréville that he had the opportunity to talk to her one on one.

VVV

Their scheme worked even better than they had expected. The Cardinal felt cornered and thus he fell into their trap easily.

For the promise of getting a letter of confession from Gallagher, the leader of hired assassins, the Cardinal spelled it all out loud and clear.

"The Queen is barren," he spat his fury into Aramis's face. "If the King dies without the heir, France will be plunged back into the civil war. Is one woman's life worth sacrificing to avoid such a catastrophe? I think it is. I ordered her death because I alone can face the truth that no one else can stomach." He could have killed him right there and then if only for treating the Queen like a brood mare. But part of him acknowledged the brutal truth the Cardinal was spewing. He disliked the Cardinal with all his heart and yet he was stung how cruelly brilliant man he was. He thought then as he knew for certain now that the world of politics was more bloody than soldiery.

And yet at that moment they outwitted that genius politician as in came the Queen in all her resplendence. He bowed at her entrance but as usual he kept his eyes on her. Her eyes were cold and focused on the Cardinal but to his eyes she looked as beautiful as ever.

It was the only time he ever saw Richelieu crushed in spirit as it dawned on him that the Queen heard his confession. The Cardinal kneeled in shock.

"Look into my face, Cardinal," she said calmly. "The face of a woman you tried to kill."

He admired her calm and poise. She had just found out the depth of the Cardinal's treachery and yet she was composed and focused. She was extraordinary, but then, he already knew that.

The Cardinal raised his head and looked at her. He begged for her mercy, explaining in a voice full of humility that what he did, he did solely for the interest of France.

"It is only because I believe that you are sincere in your devotion to the country," she paused dramatically, "that I have decided to spare your life. France needs you and the King loves you. Your treachery would break his heart. If you were ever to fail in your duty again, I will not be so lenient. You have been warned, Cardinal," she finished icily.

He swelled with pride on hearing her speech and he looked at Porthos who was not entirely happy with the outcome. He understood his friend, the Cardinal had tried for so long to destroy the musketeers but she was absolutely right. With the poor quality of mind shown by the King, Richelieu was badly needed for the good of France. Besides now the Cardinal was in her debt. She played that extremely well. She rose over the personal insult; not many people, or especially royals for that matter, would be able to accomplish that. For a thousandth time he had a proof that he loved an extraordinary woman. He was fortunate and unlucky at the same time.

VVV

"Athos, Aramis, Porthos and d'Artagnan, make yourself presentable," ordered Tréville. "You're coming to the palace today with me."

"Why? What happened?" inquired Porthos and d'Artagnan.

He felt Athos's gaze but he refused to look at him. He would see her again and that was the most important thing. He accepted his fate of loving her from the distance but he thought he deserved some pleasures in life. Since the night at the convent, he only kept the company of the musketeers and, to the surprise of many, he did not chase after women as he did previously. For some reason he did not feel the need. Porthos teased him about it often but the stings were met only with a gentle smile from him.

As they gathered in the throne room with many other courtiers, he only looked at her. She looked especially radiant today, there was a small smile on her lips but she did not look at anyone in particular. They were waiting for the Cardinal who had just been summoned.

He looked at the King who just seemed impatient, so he could not fathom the reason for this sudden gathering.

At last the Cardinal arrived. The King began his speech in quite a sombre tone, so he felt a little uneasy. Did she change her mind and told the King the truth about the Cardinal?

But then the mystery was solved, the King announced happily that the Queen was with child. He felt a bolt of lightning going through his body. A child! Was he the father or the King? His head was spinning. He tried to keep his face straight, he did not want anyone to notice anything, there was no reason for the news to be received by him more emotionally than the presumed parents. He exchanged a quick look with Athos. Apparently very similar thoughts went through his friend's head. He had a problem with focusing. He hardly heard that the Queen insisted on freeing and pardoning Mellendorf and his daughter. Of course, she had thought of that. She knew the truth and her kind heart would not stand for such injustice. She deftly found a believable reason to pardon them, her pregnancy was a perfect excuse for mercy. He could not admire her more if he tried. But his thoughts reverted again to the expected child. If he never talked to her again, how would he ever know?

The King announced that the Queen wanted to rest in private. She stood up and slowly walked towards the door. As per his custom, he bowed but his eyes stayed on her. Just as she was passing him she looked at him intently and she gave him the tiniest of unnoticeable nods. He knew then the child was his. He felt almost dizzy but conscious enough of an angry stare from Athos.

The King and the rest of courtiers left soon after, and the musketeers were slowly filing out of the room, suddenly he felt a hand on his arm stopping him in place. When they were left alone, Athos turned to face him. "I will definitely kill you for this," Athos said matter-of-factly.

"For what?" he asked innocently.

Athos growled and asked through his teeth, "Are you the father?"

He could not look into his friend's eyes. He quickly nodded and fiddled with his hat but again was spared the reaction from Athos as one of the Queen's ladies-in-waiting came into the room.

"Monsieur Aramis?" she looked between the two musketeers as if she did not know whom she should be addressing.

"Yes," he replied with a forced smile.

"Her Majesty requests a private audience with you. Would you follow me, please?"

He started to follow but again he was briefly stopped by the hand on his arm. "Just say goodbye. This is too dangerous for you, for her and for the child."

He nodded and quickly followed the disappearing lady.

As they were walking towards the Queen's chambers, he was thinking furiously what he should tell her. And he knew that Athos was right. They were all in danger. He had to be extremely careful now. She was taking a huge risk, trying to talk to him. The palace had eyes and ears, mostly hostile ones.

When he entered the vast room she was standing in the middle of it. The lady who brought him stood some paces behind her. He sighed with relief. It was safer that way. They were not alone so the tongues should not be wagging too much.

She was gently smiling and looked more beautiful than ever.

"Monsieur Aramis," she began. "I have asked you here to thank you for risking your life to save mine and I hope you will thank your friends on my behalf."

"We were only doing our duty, Your Majesty," he replied formally with a slight bow. He had to admire her. She thought up of a scheme that was believable and not too suspicious.

"Be that as it may but I just wanted to say how much I appreciate it, especially now as we are expecting a new life." He just drank her words, he had no reasonable reply. She then turned and walked towards the window. He hesitated. Was the audience finished? But then he heard her voice again.

"I'm convinced that this baby will be born strong and healthy," she said. He dared to move a few paces closer to her. "Like his father," she added and his heart almost stopped. A wave of emotions run through him. If he could, he would take her in his arms and showered her with kisses. It was easy to say for Athos that he should try to forget what happened. It was impossible for him.

She turned her head and looked at him, then she assumed her former position in the middle of the room. She put her hands protectively over her stomach. There was only a distance of few steps between them and yet to him it felt like an enormous, deep ravine. If he made a step forwards he would fall.

"It will be a boy," she said with a smile, looking deeply into his eyes. "I'm certain of it." He suspected it earlier but now he was convinced that it was her way of telling him that he is the father of her child. And she seemed ecstatically happy.

Her back was to the lady-in-waiting so she did not have to control her face, but he had to. Instead he tried to tell everything with his eyes. He hoped he was successful. "I pray that he'll have his mother's great wisdom and judgement."

"And his father's courage," she replied, looking at him very keenly.

He knew he should not but without thinking he took three more steps towards her. "I will watch over your son," he said and he kept walking until he was within the arm's reach of her. He could hardly control his hands, he ached to touch her, so instead he played nervously with his hat. "I will guard him with all my strength and heart." This was his declaration of love for her and her son as far as he was concerned because he could not say more in those circumstances. Her eyes glistened. "I will lay down my life for him, if necessary. He will have no more devoted servant." He did not know if she loved him back, but he was convinced that she looked at him longingly and that was enough. He had enough of love inside him for both of them, and for their son.

"It is only what I would expect…" she paused for a smallest of seconds, "…from a King's Musketeer."

There was nothing more he could say. She looked very emotional and he hoped that it was meant for him to see.

"God go with you," she said giving him her hand which he took immediately, "Aramis." She closed her eyes saying his name and he was suddenly transferred to that sparsely decorated room at the convent. She said it the same way as she kept repeating it then. He kissed her hand tenderly not taking his eyes off her. It was a prolonged kiss, definitely not in accordance with the etiquette but he was hoping to convey his message that he longed to kiss her precious lips. He felt almost certain that she understood him, as she caught her breath and looked at him just the way she did that night.

The sound of the Cardinal's voice was never more jarring in his ears than at this moment. Despite his polite words, he understood that the Cardinal must have observed that kiss and his suspicious mind started working. Richelieu was talking about the miracle of her pregnancy and he knew that even if the Cardinal had no proof, they should be very careful around him. She left the room with her lady, and two men had a short staring contest.

Again he had to agree with Athos, it was too dangerous.

VVV

Even if he had not seen her for many months now, he was thinking about her every day. He was restless, snappy and often lost in thought. Both Porthos and d'Artagnan asked him often why he was behaving strangely and each time, he checked his behaviour and tried very hard to be his former self.

He was cleaning his pistols in the courtyard when he was joined by Athos. "Aramis, you have to stop this."

"Stop what?" he asked.

"Brooding," Athos replied in a tired voice.

He had to stop himself from laughing out loud. A man famous amongst the musketeers for his constant brooding now reprimanded him.

"Well," he smiled at his friend, "I can't stop doing something that I haven't even begun."

Athos sighed deeply and asked in a resigned voice, "Do you want to see her?"

The smile disappeared from his face. He was touched that Athos was worried about him but deep down he knew that his friend was right, it was too dangerous. He shook his head. "No, my friend. I've accepted that I should not be seeing her." He paused. "Out of sight, out of mind, as they say," he tried his best to sound as light-hearted as he could.

Athos sighed loudly again. "The King is on the hunt in Versailles, the Cardinal is apparently sick in bed. On King's orders the Queen is to be guarded day and night by at least two musketeers. I can put you on palace assignment for a while. Obviously with me as a company."

He was silent for a while. "You don't have to do this, Athos."

"I know," Athos sighed, got up and went back to the main hall, leaving him lost in thought with a silly smile on his face.

VVV

He was excited like a child. He was to see her soon. According to the musketeers he and Athos just relieved, she was to take her daily walk in the gardens. They were waiting for her at the entrance to the Queen's apartments.

The door was finally opened by the palace guards and she emerged in company of a lady-in-waiting. When she saw Athos and him, her face showed a surprise for a short moment and she slightly hesitated but she continued down the corridor.

Her pregnancy was really showing and even if he expected that, he was amazed to see the change in her figure. To him she looked beautiful and his love for her swelled in his heart even more.

He did not have to talk to her, just to be in her presence was enough to make him happy. She looked well, so he hoped she was healthy and thus her child was healthy. He could feel that Athos was observing him, he looked at his friend and gave him the happiest of smiles. Athos shook his head and sighed deeply.

They walked slowly but they managed to venture far enough from the palace that it seemed that the gardens were only for the four of them. Suddenly she swayed slightly, stopped and put her hand on the arm of her companion. He was immediately worried that she did not feel well. They should not walk that far, no wonder she was tired.

"Marie," she said in a weak voice to her companion. "I think I had too much of the sun. Please, bring me a parasol, while I'll wait here."

The lady-in-waiting looked at Athos and him hesitatingly. "Our orders are not to leave the Queen's side," Athos responded to an unspoken question from the lady.

"Go, Marie," the Queen said gently. "I will wait for you here. Don't worry, I shall be quite safe with my musketeers," she added with a smile. Lady Marie had no choice and slowly walked back to the palace. She did not look particularly happy.

The Queen turned and moved into a small grotto that was in the shade. She slowly sat on the bench. Athos and he took their positions outside, standing with their backs to her.

After a short while, the Queen gave a small cry. They both turned and he took a step towards her but was stopped by a strong grip of his elbow.

"Are you all right, Your Majesty?" Athos asked in a deep voice.

"Yes, thank you, Monsieur Athos" she replied with a smile.

Athos actually made him turn away from her. He thought that his friend might have regreted his generous gesture.

But the Queen was not finished. "Monsieur Aramis," she called.

He exchanged a look with Athos. His friend was positively glaring at him but he only shrugged his shoulders and walked resolutely towards her.

"Majesty," he bowed, taking off his hat. They were within Athos's earshot. He had to be very careful.

"Come closer, please," she said smiling at him.

He gulped. "Your Majesty?"

She repeated her plea. He looked nervously at Athos, but his friend was standing with his back to them. After a short hesitation he took a few steps towards her. His heart was beating very loudly. He was sure everyone could hear it over the gentle babble of the small fountain in the grotto.

"Give me your hand, Aramis," she said softly.

"Ana…" he whispered beseechingly. He tried to warn her but she just smiled and reached for his hand. Before he could say anything, she placed it on her stomach and covered it with her hand.

He was about to say something when he felt it. Gentle at first, then stronger movement. The child was kicking. He gave a muffled laugh and kneeled. In the corner of his eye he saw Athos turning his head towards them but he did not care at that moment. He was the happiest man alive.

"Did you feel it?" she asked, her voice showing emotion.

He nodded energetically, he choked and the tears welled up in his eyes. He did not care if he was to face the wrath of Athos later, he could feel his child moving, he was close to the woman he loved. Nothing else mattered.

"Sit next to me, Aramis," she whispered. He looked at her lovingly and he saw that her eyes glistened too. He knew perfectly well that he should not acquiesce to her request but it was beyond his control. He sat next to her, not taking his hand off her belly. They looked deeply into each other's eyes for a long moment. Without thinking, he put his other hand around her waist and then kissed her forehead. "Thank you, Ana," he whispered into her skin.

As his reason came back, he pulled slightly away and looked into her eyes. "Just tell me, are you well? Is everything going all right?"

She smiled and a happy tear started to flow on her cheek. "Don't worry, Aramis," she said softly. "We are both well and are doing fine. He will be born in September."

He took her both hands into his and kissed them tenderly. "I pray for the health of both of you every day." She squeezed his hands in reply.

"Aramis," he heard a warning voice of Athos. "Mademoiselle Marie is coming back," they both looked in Athos's direction.

"Ana, I don't know when we will have another opportunity to speak freely, so-" he began.

"I know," she interrupted. "But I had to… I wanted you to have this experience… I…" her voice faltered. He raised his hand and gently brushed away the tear from her cheek.

"I know," he whispered and stroke her hand. "And you can't comprehend how grateful I am for this gesture. And for the quickness of your mind," they both smiled. "But we both know that it is dangerous. No one can suspect. I don't care about my life but I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you." He kissed her hands again. "The Cardinal's spies are everywhere. We have to be very careful. You both are my whole world, I can't let anyone hurt either of you. We have to promise each other…"

"I understand, Aramis," she replied quietly. "I was just desperate to see you. But I promise," she smiled wanly.

"And I promise," he kissed her hands again and he got up. His heart was breaking at her sad face but then she smiled, so he leaned in and kissed her tenderly. Their kiss was stopped suddenly as Athos loudly cleared his throat. He quickly joined his friend and put his hat back on. The Queen's lady-in-waiting was approaching quickly but to his relief she could not have seen him coming from the grotto.

VVV

"You will be a death of me," Athos said suddenly as they were slowly riding back to the garrison. "Literally. Because now I have also committed treason. I don't have to go to the confession to seek any penance from a priest. You are the punishment for all my sins."

"Your soul should be light then," he replied with a smile.

"As a feather," grunted Athos as a reply.

"You may be angry with me as much as you like but you made me very happy today, thank you, my friend," he became serious. "I will never forget it."

"Don't fall in love with me now," said Athos grumpily.

"Too late," he laughed.

"But I appreciate that you were talking some sense back there," said Athos after a while. "You're not as stupid as I thought."

He smiled to himself. "Don't celebrate too soon. Perhaps I am. But for now I'm happy, I felt it moving, Athos! The greatest miracle of life," he took his cross out and kissed it.

His friend looked at him and just patted his back.