Sometimes Salvation is Found in Agony

Chapter Ten

"A musketeer?" Claudette stated coldly as she glared over at the man she had brought into this large scheme under the impression that he was as cold and emotionally wounded as the rest of the people here in the camp. "After everything I've confessed to you and you're nothing more than coldhearted, unfeeling musketeer? Is this true?"

"I was a musketeer, I confess," Aramis responded dejectedly as he looked between Claudette, Renee, and the man appearing to be in charge of everything going on between these people. "I am a musketeer still, though I admit I haven't much felt like one as of late. I never lied to you about how I feel towards the Cardinal. I do hate him and long for the day that his tyranny is ended. However, it cannot be done like this. Innocent people, including many of you, if not all of you, will be killed."

Claudette scoffed and replied, "You're nothing, but a liar. And I'm guessing that Alastor isn't your real name either?"

The musketeer shook his head and then answered, "If you truly wish to know, I am called Aramis."

"Your name is irrelevant," Renee responded coolly as a group of men surrounded Aramis and knocked his knees out from under him in order to knock him hard to the ground, then held him down while the confrontation continued. "I know the kind of man you truly are, even if you feel for the Cardinal the way you claim. You spared my life that day when you had a right to take it and even gave me your own money so I could buy food and new clothes. Even your friends would have had no qualm with having me thrown into the Bastille along with the rest of the murderers and thieves like us. A man with your kind of compassion is not one of us. Don't pretend like you care or want to help."

"Take him to one of the empty tents and bind him, then keep him guarded," the leader replied coldly as the men pulled Aramis up roughly, not caring that he cried out because of the pain that was growing worse in his wounded shoulder. "Make sure he doesn't escape. I'll deal with him later once I decide what to do with him. He may still come in useful."

Aramis looked at the man before being taken away as he said sternly, "What you are trying to accomplish here, I promise you will not succeed. The Cardinal is far too powerful to be beaten by a revolution such as this and his Red Guards, as well as the musketeers, will fight you, destroying each of you until you are all dead."

Claudette answered, "Then you have proven me right about your regiment. You musketeers are just as uncaring and ruthless as Cardinal Richelieu."

"We will not stop," the leader responded angrily and then backhanded him hard across his face, knocking him back further against the men who held him. "Take him!"

From a distance, both Porthos and d'Artagnan watched their friend's interactions with the band of criminals below and when the situation changed, as they watched Aramis being forced to the ground, then struck by the man in charge, Porthos stood quickly and started to break from his cover until d'Artagnan pulled him back before they could be seen.

"We can't just charge down there and fight," the young Gascon said in frustration. "They'll kill us both before we can even get close to Aramis. We need to head back to inform Athos and Treville that our plan has failed and that he's in trouble. You heard the man in charge, they're not going to do anything to him now. We have time."

Porthos replied angrily, "We can't just leave him alone down there! He's counting on us to protect him."

D'Artagnan released his friend and answered, "Fine, you stay here and keep an eye on the camp, but one of us has to go back to get reinforcements. Do not go down there unless you see that Aramis' life is in immediate danger. Do you understand?"

"I am not a child and seeing as you are the newest of us musketeers, I don't think you have the right to tell me how to perform my duty," the larger man growled. "Get out of here and hurry back."

"There's no need to be cross with me," d'Artagnan responded as he smiled and then began to run back to his horse, so that he could do what needed to be done, neither of the musketeers knowing that a far bigger threat was coming.

Back in the camp…

Some time later, Renee slowly walked inside the tent where Aramis was still bound, his arms tied tightly behind his back and his leg chained to the middle post keeping the tent up. She walked around him as she observed his badly bruised and dark features, which soon softened as he finally raised his head to look at her.

He spoke first as he asked quietly, "What happened to you? From what I understand, you came back to be sure I was all right after you risked your life to find my friends and tell them how to find me in your village. I thought we were friends?"

She crossed her arms as she stood before him and replied, "We were never friends. I take my debts very seriously. You spared my life once, so I owed you, but I repaid that debt and now, circumstances have changed. My real friends and I have been planning to kill the Cardinal for a long time and have brought down any of his supporters along the way. I…"

"That explains it then," Aramis interrupted as he thought back to that night being held captive and tortured while in the village.

"Explains what?" Renee asked in confusion.

Aramis continued, "They told me that after they found me, your village was attacked by a small army, who slaughtered most of the people living there. My friends also told me that when you found them, they asked you to take them to your village, but you said you couldn't go back there. Instead, you told them where to go and how to get inside. None of us found out what happened or why your village was attacked, but now I think I understand. You knew that the attack was going to occur, which is why you couldn't go back. And just now, you said that you and these criminals have been taking down as many of Richelieu's supporters that you can find in this revolution of yours. You were with that small army, these thieves and killers here in this camp, and you helped slaughter your own people. The question is, why?"

Renee answered angrily, "I don't have to explain myself to you! My people were working and helping the Cardinal to grow even stronger, but I have seen firsthand the cruelty and evil he has spread. I begged my people along with a few others to stop feeding his hunger for power, but they wouldn't listen. So I found these people here, who have become my family and see the way I see."

"And what about Claudette?" the musketeer asked sadly. "She said that her entire village was slaughtered and seeing the anger and intensity in her eyes, it happened not long ago. She belonged to your village too, didn't she? She's living here, among the very people that murdered her family and her people because she's under the impression that the Cardinal is responsible for the attack."

"He was," Renee responded curtly. "I am sorry it had to come to this, Aramis. I did like you and I was grateful for the kindness you showed me, but I never thought I would see you again. Now that I have… I can't let you stop what we have been working so hard to accomplish. And we won't let your friends stop us either. If your musketeers come for you again, they too will be killed. Goodbye."

And with that, the girl was gone and Aramis was once again left alone as he worked to try to break himself free. However, it wasn't long before he could hear the sound of horses charging not far off in the distance, then shouting and panic as an attack upon the camp suddenly began, making Aramis work faster and harder as his pain flared and his blood began to trickle through the bandages Claudette and her men had wrapped around his shoulder and chest the night before.

All of sudden, two men charged inside the tent and Aramis quickly discovered that the attackers were Red Guards, sent by the Cardinal to wipe these criminals out before they could complete their task to kill him. The soldiers before him laughed upon recognizing him, then one pulled a pistol and aimed it toward the musketeer, but before he could fire, Aramis thrust upward as he kicked the post down against them, knocking one to the ground unconscious, then turned to face the other, who charged again using his blade to fight. Aramis dodged the blows of the man's sword and was finally able to break his hands free from the ropes when the blade came at his back, allowing the musketeer the second he needed to pull out Porthos' dagger from his boot and drove it into the guard's stomach, then pulled it back out and slid it across his throat to finish him.

As soon as his immediate threats were taken care of, Aramis quickly used his dagger to free his leg from the chain, then ran from the tent and began to fight his way through the masses of soldiers and revolutionaries in his way as he searched for Claudette, as well as the leader in order to bring him to justice, if he wasn't already dead. He also hoped that whichever of his friends who were there watching over him, were somewhere amongst the fighting and unharmed. It wasn't long before the musketeer came face to face with the leader, who smiled when he saw that his prisoner had broken free.

The man drew his sword to fight Aramis as he spoke up saying, "You are far more resilient than I gave you credit, musketeer."

Aramis raised the sword he had taken off the dead soldiers he fought minutes ago and replied smugly, "We musketeers are always underestimated by our enemies. The Cardinal's soldiers, not so much, but they did surprise you today. I can help you if you just lower your sword and come back with me. You will answer for your crimes, but I can talk to the King on your behalf and you may have a chance to live; please."

"Even if we are killed, our rebellion against Richelieu is not finished," the leader answered. "There are more of us and when they learn of our fall, they will come and finish what we've started. The Cardinal will die!"

"I can only hope you're right, but that day will not be today and it will not be like this," Aramis responded resolutely and their battle began as their blades clashed.

Meanwhile, as soon as the attack began, Porthos swiftly ran down to join in the fight and fought any man that came upon him, hoping that he'd be able to find his brother before anything happened to him, not knowing whether or not he was still a captive, or if he was somewhere among the battlefield. Knowing Aramis, Porthos had a feeling he was fighting as he was.

Both Aramis and the man he fought against were evenly matched in skill, but because he was already injured, Aramis was losing his strength and if their battle continued for much longer, he knew he was going to lose, so he knew that he needed to finish the man off quickly. It was then that the leader suddenly overpowered him and shoved him downward, forcing Aramis on his back against the ground as he knelt over him and attempted to thrust his sword deep into the musketeer's chest or throat.

Aramis held his assailant off for as long as he could and when he felt his strength leave him, the musketeer swiftly reached with one hand out to grab a pistol lying within his grasp and prayed that the weapon was loaded as he aimed and fired, the musket ball striking the man square in his chest, forcing him to fall back as he stared at Aramis in surprise until he fell all the way to the ground dead.

From nearby, Claudette screamed out, "No! Reynard, no! You killed him!"

Aramis slowly got back to his feet as the woman aimed her own pistol directly at the musketeer, who had just killed her leader and friend, but did not fire, even when Aramis weakly moved toward her with his hand raised to try to calm her, then he pleaded, "Let me help you. My friends will… be here soon. Come with me and…"

"I should kill you, just like you killed him," she cried angrily, both of them ignoring the rest of the battle still continuing on around them.

"But you won't," Aramis replied. "There is more going on than you know. Please, allow me to… to explain. I want to… to hel…"

Suddenly, Porthos came rushing forward when he finally found his comrade and caught Aramis as he began to collapse to the ground, but he didn't lose consciousness. The larger man held him close, then looked up at the woman nearby, who slowly lowered her pistol and stared at the two men until she became startled by an explosion that blew nearby.

Aramis spoke the best he could as he tried to reach out to her saying, "Come… let my frien… friends… help…"

Porthos finished for him as he carefully pulled Aramis off the ground and lifted him into his arms again to carry him, then he looked at the woman as he continued angrily, "It's obvious he cares enough to want to save you, so if you want to live, follow me and shoot anyone who gets in our way as we all try to get out of here alive."

"You won't have to do it alone!" Athos shouted as he, d'Artagnan, and Captain Treville suddenly came charging into the camp on their horses, followed by a number of other musketeers, as they fought their way through to surround their friends. "Get him out of here, Porthos! We'll take care of the rest."

"You heard him," Porthos answered as he turned back to the woman, then moved to leave the camp. "You coming?"