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Saturday Story: Richelieu
Enjoy!
"It belongs to a musketeer named Aramis."
Richelieu immediately knew who that was; a very handsome young man with dark wavy hair and a perfectly-kept mustache and beard. It would be easy for such a man to attract the attention of any lady he chose, especially when he flashed his annoyingly-charming smile.
Richelieu sat and studied the pistol in his hand, barely noticing as Milady slunk away. It was obviously very expensive; seemingly too much for a musketeer to afford. He knew that Aramis was the best marksman in the regiment, and suddenly recalled that he had been the only musketeer to return from the Savoy massacre. He remembered being surprised that there had actually been a survivor, and he'd considered killing Aramis in case he knew that the Duke of Savoy had been responsible for the attack, but Aramis had returned with a severe head injury that had addled him for so long that Richelieu had eventually decided that Aramis knew nothing.
But now, he wished that he had killed him. Who would've thought that five years later, Aramis would take something so important that belonged to him? Oh, Richelieu knew that Adele already had a suitor before he even met her, but he hadn't known who, and didn't expect her to carry on with the man afterwards.
It hurt.
Richelieu sighed and put the gun down on his lap. Why was he so surprised? Adele was young and beautiful and wanted love; real love. He knew that he couldn't give Adele what she really wanted; he was an old man...the First Minister of France and a catholic priest! He was no competition for a dashing, debonair musketeer.
Richelieu looked at the pistol again and made a decision: Aramis had to die. He could pay Milady to seduce him and slip poison into his wine, or perhaps slide a blade between his ribs. She would be the best tool; no one would ever discover the truth.
But then, he realized that as the musketeer's best marksman, he was needed. Only a week ago had Aramis saved the king's life when a stag unexpectedly charged him during a hunt. He'd pulled out his gun and shot the thing before anyone even had a chance to blink. It had amazed everyone present, including Richelieu himself.
Suddenly, he had a chilling thought. Had the whole thing between Aramis and Adele been planned? Was she spying on him for the musketeers? Richelieu had let many things slip when speaking to Adele, convinced that she would never betray him if she wanted to continue her lavish lifestyle. Was it possible that the things that he shouldn't have told her were getting back to Aramis, therefore back to Treville and then King Louis?
Richelieu stood to his feet so quickly that the pistol fell to the floor. Perhaps he was plotting to kill the wrong person. Adele needed to be silenced before she told Aramis too much...if she hadn't already. Killing Adele meant that he needed to let Aramis live; there was no doubt that the other two musketeers—Athos and Porthos—knew about the relationship between Aramis and Adele. If they both were killed, the murders could get traced back to him, no matter who did the deed.
The thought of Adele being killed was terrible, and Richelieu sat back down again with a sigh. He didn't want her to die, but she'd sealed her own fate by betraying him. As for Aramis...the young musketeer had better not cross him again, or someday, he would seal his own fate...
THE END