Between the women he was famous for his good looks and irresistible charm.
But in the ranks of the Musketeers he earned appreciation for his steady hands.
No matter how hard a target was to hit, he never missed. No matter how much blood seeped through a wound, his needlework was still one of the finest.
So it was even more interesting, somehow even disturbing to him, that his hands shook NOW.
Aramis remembered only a few times in his life where his hands had betrayed him. But none of the situations was anything like this one. This one wasn't as dangerous or as painful as his memories.
So why did his hands shook so hard that he feared to let his precious freight fall?
"Thank you, Monsieur."
The light voice of the Lady in Waiting rang in his ears as if she screamed at him. Her soft smile seemed so evil and her idle hands seemed way too rough as they wrapped around the small bundle in his arms.
He felt his heart skip a beat and the warmth that had spread in his stomach changed to something much heavier, that pressed on his chest and stopped his breathing.
His fingers felt clumsy as he let them loose, not able - nor allowed - to speak back to the Lady in Waiting. His feelings and thought are treason enough, he didn't need to rouse any more suspicion.
So, reluctant, he let the child being carried away by the woman, leaving him alone in the entrance hall of the Queen's chambers.
The mere minutes in which the Lady in Waiting had been gone to fetch some fresh towels, in which he was able to hold the child - Louis - his son (no, he wasn't allowed to even THINK about it. It was a sin. Treason.)- in his shaky hands seemed like an eternity as well as a fleeting moment at once.
He breathed in deeply, trying to get the storm of feeling that raged in his body to calm down, put his shaking hands into the pockets of his trousers and walked out of the chambers, out of THEIR life's, to continue the one as a childless Musketeer. And once he had left the chambers, had greeted his brothers with a easy, wide smile and slipped into his doublet, his hands were steady again.
Actions