This is Richelieu's chapter. It covers his treason being revealed and some other thought processes that I think his character may have gone through.

Enjoy. :)

Cardinal Richelieu was pacing in his study, waiting for the appointed time to meet with those annoying musketeers. He knew he was lucky that the musketeers hadn't taken their evidence directly to the King and Queen otherwise he would be pacing in the cells awaiting his execution. Thankfully, the young and idiotic D'Artagnan had killed Athos and the musketeers, for once, had felt that their desire for revenge was more important than treason.

Richelieu stopped pacing at his last thought. Although those particular musketeers were angry and vengeful about the situation, Richelieu had never known them to be disloyal to the crown. Porthos was, quite frankly, a thug in uniform as far as Richelieu was concerned. He had never fully understood why Tréville and Louis had thought the man worthy of being a soldier, let alone in the King's regiment. Aramis, well, the man had charm and from what Richelieu had heard, a deadly aim. He was also the one who couldn't keep his breeches up with Adèle. Richelieu really did hate the man.

D'Artagnan had always been driven by honour and loyalty which made Richelieu suspicious. Athos had been leading the young farmer in his new career but D'Artagnan had sided with Milady. Milady could charm any man, that much was true, but Richelieu still felt a sense of unease. His spies had told him that Athos was indeed dead and buried and both Aramis and Porthos had attended the funeral. Captain Tréville was said to be livid at losing his best swordsman and would likely be happy to see D'Artagnan die.

Richelieu was still pondering what to do with D'Artagnan. Whether to just complete the exchange and leave the boy to his fate or save him for the Red Guard. Richelieu saw the time and made his way to the meeting, picking D'Artagnan up along the way with two of the red guards.

Aramis and Porthos were both present and started rambling while refusing to hand over the letter in a series of annoying gestures and speeches. Richelieu snapped and told them the truth.

'The Queen is barren. If the King dies without an heir, France will be plunged into Civil War. Is one woman's life worth sacrificing to avoid such a catastrophe? I think it is.' Richelieu glared at the musketeers before him. 'I ordered her death because I alone will face the truths that no-one else can stomach.'

Richelieu stared at the two musketeers. 'Give me the letter,' and snatched it from Aramis' grasp. He opened it to find that it was blank.

'How very cunning, you tricked me,' Richelieu said with a sigh but also a sense of relief. They had no evidence against him.

'Into making a full confession, yes,' Aramis smiled looking smug. Richelieu couldn't believe this.

'What use is your confession?' Richelieu was astonished that they thought they had managed to trap him. 'The word of a lowly musketeer against the First Minister of France. Who do you think the King will believe?' These men were truly stupid.

Another voice rang out. 'The King might not believe their word Cardinal...but he will most certainly believe mine,' Queen Anne stepped out of the shadows with Captain Tréville by her side.

Richelieu felt his heart stop and he dropped the fake letter that he had been so desperate to obtain. It seemed that the musketeers were more intelligent than he had thought. His provoked confession by Aramis and Porthos had been heard. Heard by the one person who Louis would believe, especially with Captain Tréville by her side. The musketeers bowed as the Queen approached and Richelieu dropped down to the floor to become as small and humble as possible. She had heard and all he could do was wait for her judgement. He only hoped that she would be merciful.

'Look into my face Cardinal. The face of the woman you tried to kill,' Queen Anne's voice was cold and not at all like her warm nature.

Richelieu looked up to answer her. 'Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy. What I did, I did solely in the interest of France,' Richelieu could feel his heart pounding in his chest. What would she do?

She considered him for a moment.

'It is only because I feel that you are sincere in your devotion to the country that I have decided to spare your life. France needs you and the King loves you. Your treachery would break his heart.' She approached him as he knelt in front of her. 'If you ever fail in your duty again, I will not be so lenient. My influence with the King is stronger than you can possibly imagine. You have been warned, Cardinal,' she stared at Richelieu for a moment and then turned and walked away.

Richelieu felt relief wash over him. He was not going to die for his actions but he knew the Queen would watch him closely and her devoted musketeers would watch his every move. He would not underestimate these men again, but a thought occurred to him as D'Artagnan moved to stand between Aramis and Porthos.

'Athos was your friend. Are you so ready to forgive his murder?' Richelieu asked the musketeers who were wearing smug smiles.

'It's sad but we can always find new friends,' Porthos answered with a grin.

'And to be honest, he was a little moody,' Aramis chimed as D'Artagnan, Porthos and Tréville nodded.

'One more thing,' D'Artagnan spoke for the first time in a while. 'We want Milady.'

'She too has to account for her crimes,' Tréville added.

'She's yours,' Richelieu had just escaped an execution and Milady would only hinder him now. 'She is of no further use to me.'

Richelieu watched them leave as his heartrate started to slow. He had come extremely close to being arrested and executed. The Queen would always wield this power over him and so would the musketeers. He could only hope that Milady would find a way to kill them all. Athos was already gone.

No, Athos wasn't gone, he sighed as he finally sat in his chair. Aramis, Porthos and Captain Tréville would never allow D'Artagnan to remain a musketeer if that was true. They had planned this very well. Milady herself had also been played. The pretend shooting, the funeral, D'Artagnan coming to him so that he could relay the information about the non-existent letter and confirm their suspicions.

'Well played gentlemen,' Richelieu said to himself quietly as he poured some brandy. He knew that he wasn't safe and would have to be careful in his approaches now. He also knew that the Queen would not want to upset the King unless she felt she had to.

Richelieu was surprised to hear from his spies that Milady wasn't dead but had left Paris. She had concocted an ambush which had clearly been led by imbeciles, in Richelieu's opinion, as all of the musketeers had survived. Athos had apparently shown mercy to his estranged wife which Richelieu secretly thought the musketeer would come to regret.

A week or so passed and Richelieu noticed the constant looks Queen Anne sent his way. It made him uncomfortable to know that she held an axe over his neck permanently. He tried to shake off the looks as well as the slightly smug look Captain Tréville often sent his way. The Captain and his musketeers would always remember.

When the Red Guard Captain entered his office in haste Richelieu deliberately stopped him with a flourish of his hand. It always did well for men to remember their place. However, when he was told that the King wanted to him about 'a matter of great importance' Richelieu wondered whether the Queen had finally decided to tell Louis the truth about the attempt on her life.

He tried to counter it as he had always thought the Queen would keep her word. His unease didn't abate when he saw the presence of the musketeers. Those musketeers.

'I never expected this Cardinal. Not after so long,' the King stated with seriousness that made the Cardinal feel slightly sick with fear. The Queen was staring at him as well. 'The Queen is with child.' Louis' beam lit up the room while Queen Anne continued to stare at the Cardinal. Her look very clear. 'I am not barren'.

Richelieu felt a wave of relief rush over him. The Queen would be unlikely to divulge his secret now and another child, which would hopefully survive, was a great gift. He was very aware of the irony, as was the Queen.

Richelieu found himself wandering the corridors. It seemed that the darkness surrounding him had lifted and he now hoped that the future of France would be secure. Unfortunately, his mind had other ideas. It was three months since the attempt on the Queen's life and Louis had been raging about the lack of intimacy between himself and his wife. Richelieu tried to shake the thought but, as with most thoughts, it would not go away.

He hadn't been watching where he was going and found himself in the Queen's apartments. There he saw it. The unmistakable form of the musketeer Aramis kissing the Queen's hand. Richelieu thought back to Adèle and how Aramis had wooed her. Adèle had died declaring her love the musketeer and Richelieu was well aware of his reputation. Surely not.

The Queen looked slightly surprised to see him as he congratulated her and Aramis' longing look after her did not go unnoticed. Of course, it would be very difficult to prove and would cause havoc if his suspicions were true. Was Aramis the father of the child that the Queen carried? It wasn't as preposterous as it may have first seemed.

Richelieu returned to his office. It was true that this could be the advantage he needed over the Queen. Place them back on level ground so to speak. Richelieu knew that the paternity of the baby could work in his favour but proving it would be difficult. He doubted either party would just admit it!

His thoughts turned to Louis, the young King that he considered to practically be his son. France would suffer without an heir. Perhaps it would be best to not pursue the matter, at least until a second child was born. The child may even be a girl and that would mean that she would not inherit the throne and there would be no problem. Only a son in France could rule as sovereign.

He sighed and poured himself a brandy. Only time would tell the best course of action. For now he was safe and France was his first priority. Could a musketeer's bastard son rule France having been brought up as the son of King Louis XIII be the best option? Right now, Richelieu didn't know. Only time would tell.

A/N: These will be slowing down for a while but any other short prompts will be added here when they are ready. :)