April 10, 2009 – Good Friday – The Wedding
He was nervous. He wasn't sure he'd ever experienced this level of anxiety and he was absolutely sure he never wanted to experience this type of panic ever again. It wasn't as though he had cold feet, no, Adele was everything he'd ever wanted and he'd marry her every day for the rest of his life if he could. Still, it was the idea that he was going to have a wife when this day ended and the fact that he was going to be a husband made the future come into sharp focus. It was a jarring thought.
He tried and failed yet again to assemble the bow tie at his neck. Adele had insisted on bow ties for this wedding much to Rene's chagrin. In fact, this whole wedding lent itself a very antique affair, with corsets and bustles and top coats reminiscent of the Victorian era. She'd done an amazing job actually, Rene was duly impressed. He'd never been one for fancy suits, though, much-preferring jeans and long sleeved t-shirts or his nurse scrubs. Comfortable things, those were his speciality.
He tried the bowtie again, growling in frustration when it simply fell apart in his hands. Annoyed he tossed the whole strip of infernal cloth behind him and stretched his arms outwards adjusting his top coat.
" It doesn't paint quite the same picture without a bowtie my friend." A voice said behind him.
" Marsac! Oh, thank God. What am I doing here? What have I gotten myself into?"
" Oh, Rene…" Marsac began, wrapping his hands around Rene's neck and swiftly tying the strip of cloth into a neat little bow.
" How did you just tie that bowtie like that? And no, don't you Rene me. What have I agreed to here?"
" You have agreed to marry the most beautiful woman in the world, despite not deserving her," Marsac responded with a decidedly mischievous grin. "If you are having second thoughts, I'd be glad to make an honest woman out of Adele."
Rene glowered into the mirror he was standing in front of and spun around glaring at his long-time friend. "There is no way you could make any woman honest, Marsac. I chose the wrong man to be my groomsman, that's my problem."
Marsac only chuckled and moved back towards the door to the room. "Your life would be duller without my presence in it, my friend. Now I have been informed that the bride has arrived and that the ceremony is to commence in roughly 15 minutes. Just enough time for me to make the acquaintance of a couple of very hot bridesmaids. I shall be back promptly." Marsac bowed deeply and scurried from the room, a predatory grin on his face.
And so he was alone again. Marsac was a pain the ass, and not for the first time did Rene question the man's sanity, but despite all that, the man had stuck by him during the whole Isabelle fiasco and had fully supported this Adele thing. Rene definitely felt that he owed Marsac far more than the other man would ever understand and it was why Marsac was his best man at his wedding to Adele. And that suddenly brought him back to his earlier panic in regards to this day. He was marrying Adele today.
Adele, his beautiful and amazing redhaired girl. A chance meeting during graduation into nursing school, a short friendship that helped support him through his breakup with Isabelle, and a whirlwind romance that began as a rebound relationship. Neither of them had wanted more than a simple relationship and it had quickly spiraled into a torrid love affair that neither of them had expected. It ultimately had brought them to this day, their wedding day. Thinking back on the last few years, aside from the psycho girlfriend he'd had at the beginning, Rene wouldn't change a thing and it suddenly calmed Rene's pounding heart. This was exactly where he was meant to be, starting his future with this woman.
He turned then, straightening his jacket one last time, and picked up the delicate flower Adele had chosen for the ceremony. It was a yellow daffodil, chosen partly because Adele loved yellow and also because, as she said, it meant rebirth and new beginnings, and that was what their relationship signified.
He pinned the pretty flower to his lapel and glanced at himself in the mirror one last time, relieved to note that the last of the worry lines had erased themselves from his face. His marriage to Adele was the right move and nothing was going to tarnish this day.
March 10, 2016 - Somewhere in France - Aramis
Aramis woke up early the next morning to the sound of someone singing 'good morning sunshine'. It was so out of tune, far too cheery and he knew immediately it was Isabelle. She'd always been a bad singer and would torture him in high school by composing him love songs. It was cute at first but became aggravating when the entire student body started making fun of him.
He was still lying on the ground where the guards had left him after his beating earlier, lacking the care to move. He'd dozed off a couple of times, only to wake up when either one of the guards would shout at him. They finally left him alone in the early hours of the morning, just before dawn. Aramis was glad that they had kept him awake if he was being honest. Keeping him alert meant his mind wouldn't wander off into memories that weren't welcome.
It was getting close to Good Friday and usually around this time memories would begin to assault him. He'd remember the moment when Adele stood at the end of the aisle, gripping her father's arm, preparing to walk towards her future. Memories of his Mom, overcome with happiness, bursting into tears when he and Adele said 'I do'. Memories of his Father, proud as he shook his son's hand and pulled him into a hug. The thought that he would never again see them still hurt so much seven years later.
The downside to him being awake was that his fear of confined spaces had reared its ugly head. Aramis had spent most of the night trying to slow his breathing down. The walls felt as though they were closing in on him and the air thickened. At some point during the night, one of the guards had fallen asleep after an evening of belittling him. It was then that Aramis had a realisation; if these two fools were down here with him unconcerned, then the walls weren't going to actually close in. The air had lightened and the walls reverted to their original places and Aramis had smiled. Maybe he finally had overcome his claustrophobia. Well, he hoped he had, but he would take it as a win if it was, at least, this particular situation he'd overcome.
"They are looking for you, Rene. Did you know that?" Isabelle asked. She entered the room and walked back and forth in front of the cell, dragging her finger over each bar as she passed. She carried a large basket in her other hand and swung it back and forth as she walked.
"I am not sure how you expect me to know that it's not like I have been allowed access to information. But I imagine that they would be looking for me," Aramis responded. He was facing her, watching her every move and reading her expression to determine what she wanted. It had been so long since he had last seen Isabelle and he had no clue where her frame of mind was these days.
"I figured you would be more… hopeful?" Isabelle inserted the key in the lock and moved towards Aramis. She set a large red blanket on the ground and sat down on it just out of Aramis' reach. She then placed the basket she was carrying off to her side, though still within Aramis' line of sight. The blanket corner had been placed close enough to Aramis and subconsciously he moved his fingers to caress the edge. It was soft.
"I want to know why you aren't reacting to my news. Don't you want to know how I know they are looking for you?"
Aramis sighed and gripped the edge of the blanket a little more firmly. He was trying so hard not to think about the people he left behind yesterday, albeit not by his own choice. All throughout the night, when he wasn't thinking of Adele, his thoughts would dwell on his friends. He knew they would be worried and he knew they would be looking for him. He just couldn't decide if that was a good thing or not, he didn't like them looking into his past without him there guiding them. They'd have to delve pretty far into his past to find anything and it wasn't going to be quick or easy. Everything before the Savoy fire was sealed and wiped away; Aramis had made sure of that.
"Fine, I can see you aren't interested," Isabelle said. She opened the basket and began pulling out various items of food. Aramis's mouth immediately began to water as she laid out cheeses, meats and pieces of bread. He hadn't eaten since breakfast yesterday morning and was starving. "I thought we could have a nice picnic and discuss terms. Now sit up, your chain is long enough to allow you to perch on the edge of this blanket. And I won't be so gracious a second time."
"Discuss what terms?" Aramis asked. He sat up, scooted a little bit forward and crossed his legs; his neck chain was stretched close to its limit.
"Yes, terms. I have one single goal in mind, your complete and utter devotion to me. I have a lengthy timeline of events and when they should occur. So to keep this as organised as possible I have laid out an elaborate rewards and punishment system."
She placed several items of food on a plate and handed it to Aramis, never breaking his gaze.
"What do you mean by punishments?" He asked. He swallowed nervously and reluctantly took the offered plate.
"I am hoping it doesn't come to that. Knowing your penchant for causing trouble, though, I am sure there will be plenty of that coming. But I don't want to talk about such unpleasant things like punishments; I want to talk about the rewards. Oh, my love, I am going to give you everything you have ever wanted, I just need your co-operation."
Isabelle leaned forward and took Aramis' other hand, bringing it to her face. She purred as his cold hand met her cheek, and she closed her eyes for just a moment as if savouring it.
Aramis stilled, it was all he could do not to yank his hand back. He still needed to determine just how far she was going to go with these terms and so, allowed her this concession.
"Rewards?" He asked with a shaky voice.
"Oh," Her eyes popped open as if she had forgotten where she was and what she was doing. She pulled her hand back and cleared her throat. "Behave, do what I want and you'll have everything. Despite our shaky beginning yesterday, you have been remarkably docile since. Your reward is this lavish breakfast with me, as well as this blanket to keep you warm. I have also left a change of clothes in the bottom of this basket. Those scrubs you're wearing are hideous! Going forward, if you don't do as I ask, I will make sure your life is a living hell. I will start over again and destroy everything you have loved since Savoy."
Aramis, startled by the sudden vehemence in her voice, backed off the blanket and moved away from her. The food he'd just eaten weighed heavy in his stomach and he felt like being sick. The situation he was in couldn't be more clearly laid out before him and with a horrible sinking feeling, he realized he might not come out of this in his right mind. If he even came out of this at all.
"What do you mean by start over again? What does Savoy have to do with this?"
Isabelle smirked, her face twisting into a frightening smile that made Aramis even more nervous.
"Oh, love, a slip of the tongue on my part. Now, I have things to attend to and I won't be back today. Take this time to think over our conversation. And to answer myself from earlier on how I know they are looking for you. This is your punishment for moving away from me just now." Isabelle reached into the back pocket of her jeans, pulled out a picture and handed it to Aramis.
She laughed when he refused to take it and let it flutter to the ground in front of him.
"Have a wonderful day my gorgeous man!" She said. She walked out of the cell and left the guards to relock the door as she climbed the stairs out of the room.
Aramis looked at the picture that had landed face down on the ground. With a shaking hand, he flipped the small piece of photo paper over and gasped at the image. It was a picture of Porthos, sitting alone in his office, holding Aramis' cross in his hands. The expression on Porthos' face was devastatingly sad and made his heart shatter at the sight.
Oh Porthos, Aramis thought, please find me.
