Summary: Interlude for 2x10: "To lie after swearing such a sacred oath is to damn your immortal soul for eternity. Do you understand?" He does.
A/N: Thank you UKGuest, Guest, Uia, and Laureleaf for your reviews! Samara was cool, Uia. I would have liked to see more of her in the show.
Given the depth of Aramis's faith, I thought the moment when he knowingly risked his soul to protect Anne and the Dauphin by lying under oath had to be quite the tribulation for him. Dialogue from 2x10 "Trial and Punishment"; they're not mine.
"Faith"
"We are here to establish the facts of the Queen's infidelity. You are accused of seducing the Queen at the convent in Bourbon-les-eaux. And of fathering her child. Do you swear to give us the truth of this sordid encounter?"
The Bible is extended to him, an ornate cover gilding the sacred text. The prompt to take an oath rings in Aramis's ears. He lifts his hand heavily to rest upon the book.
"I do."
"To lie after swearing such a sacred oath is to damn your immortal soul for eternity. Do you understand?"
He does. He understands that the God he serves is one of love, not retribution. That is what he believes in, and it is his only comfort in this moment, that he hopes his God will deem protecting the innocent a more righteous act than following the letter of the law.
"I understand that God is with us now, in this room. We will all be judged for what is in our hearts."
"Very true. Do you love the Queen, Aramis? Will you confess?"
It's a cruel world where love is a crime.
"I will."
He confesses the truth of Rochefort's actions and his allegiances as a Spanish spy. He rages against the treachery and injustice and declares that Rochefort should be the one on trial.
Rochefort cannot be goaded though. He's learned too well how to patiently play his hand, and he's ingratiated himself too far with the King that no one will listen to the lowly musketeer.
"So you deny the charges?" he asks calmly.
Aramis's breath hitches in silence. To deny it is to break a sacred oath, yet to do otherwise is to damn the Queen and their son.
"If you really do love 'er, there's one thing you can do to prove it. Deny it ever happened."
Aramis would gladly give his mortal life to protect Anne and their son. But now he's being asked to give his immortal soul over to eternal damnation for them. While his heart quails with a fear so deep it threatens to shake him apart, it is not a difficult choice.
"I do," he utters.
And his condemnation is complete, not in the eyes of man's law, but in God's. His innocence will never be proclaimed in this court anyway, but it's hardly material anymore.
As Aramis is led back to his cell, his thoughts are solely consumed with his own fate. He will be executed, and from there… Surely God will be merciful, will understand the intentions of his heart and judge him accordingly, just as Aramis proclaimed.
He prays, and he bargains.
"God, if you spare her, and by some miracle I'm allowed to live, I vow to devote all my remaining days to your grace. I will renounce all worldly temptations. I will…" His heart gives a pang. "Even my duty…"
An outer door clanks.
Aramis curls forward and groans in despair. "I'm not worthy…of your mercy," he pants.
His sins were not out of malice but of love. He knows it does not excuse them, but surely it is enough to warrant grace instead of wrath, a chance at redemption instead of eternal fire.
Another door grates open, followed by footsteps.
Aramis closes his eyes and steels himself. "My soul is prepared."
For wherever he may end up.
It's not the guards who come to his cell, though the woman who does can certainly be characterized as an agent of the devil.
"God works in mysterious ways, does he not?" Milady says and unlocks the door.
Aramis doesn't know what to make of the message. Is it a sign from God, a divine acknowledgement that sometimes what is righteous is not lawful? Is his escape the Lord's will, to grant him a chance to yet save Anne and their son? Aramis immediately ducks his head in chastisement at his presumption. He will not presume that his soul is saved as of yet.
But as Milady unlocks the chains, he promises to do whatever he can to save those he loves. Anne. Their son. His brothers. It is his actions that have endangered them all and he still has much to atone for.
And if by God's grace he manages to succeed this day, if his prayers are answered, he will give it all up, as he vowed to.
The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Anne and the Dauphin are not his to love. They never were. And through his pursuit of them, Aramis has forfeited his family, his found brothers.
Perhaps sparing his life is the punishment he has been sentenced to. It is no less than he deserves though, and penance is not meant to be easy.
But he believes in redemption. Stepping out of that cell, Aramis knows the greatest battle is yet to come, and now he prays for the strength to see it through.