Chapter 2

The boy didn't fight at all as Armand wrapped him in his cloak and gently tried to help him to his feet. The struggle with the guards'd probably taken a lot of energy, as the young man seemed extremely tired. The cardinal brought him to the Louvre as swiftly as his wounds would allow, practically carrying him the last part. Managing to avoid meeting anyone, he brought the boy directly to his rooms. It was quite annoying not to know his name... but untill he was strong enough to tell him, he'd just call him Gabriël, after the archangel the youngg man reminded him of.

First things first, his wounds needed attention. Apparently, Gabriël sensed Armands good intentions as he tried to work with him the best he could as the cardinal stripped him, not able to resist the temptation of looking at that magnificent body. How could an archangel be so sinfully beautyful? He gently laid the young man down onto the red sheets of his four poster, then quickly made his way to the bathroom, getting relatively warm water and a cloth.

As he reentered the room, his eyes roved over the young man's body once again, not stopping at the chest and flat belly this time, but looking at everything. He imagined himself, his head on that formidable chest, the white of his hair in sharp contrast with the boy's tan. Those strong arms wrapped around him... and his hands gently stroking the other man's erection, which must be quite big, considering the size even in this state. He nearly moaned aloud before snapping out of it and sitting down on the bed beside the boy, who looked at him with inquiering, but accepting sapphire blue eyes.

"Since I don't know your name yet, I'm going to call you Gabriël, I hope you're okay with that," he said, making the cloth damp and looking which wound to treat first. Apparently, the young man didn't mind the name, since no sound of protest came from him. "I'm cardinal Richelieu, but you can call me fa..." No, not father... "Just call me Armand, it's my name, after all." He started washing out some wounds on the young man's shoulder and chest, who's somewhat indifferent and accepting look went over in a slightly pained one, obviously because of the contact of the fabric with the wounds.

As the wounds Armand treated got closer to the young man's groin, fear and panic became evident in those intensely blue eyes, but due to his exhaustion he was barely able to make it noticed. A tiny panic sound made the cardinal look up. "Don't be afraid, Gabriël, I won't hurt you, I promise. I'm just going to treat your wounds, that's all." His deep brown eyes made contact with the boy's, begging for his trust and lighting up with pleasure and happyness as the boy hesitantly nodded his acceptance.

Making quick work of the shallow wounds, partially because he was afraid he wouldn't be able to resist the temptation of the young man's beauty for too long, Armand finished treating the wounds, glad none of them were bleeding anymore. "I'll bathe you tomorrow, for now, I'll get some food so you can eat a little and get some rest." He offered the boy a small smile, resisting to leap with joy as it was returned with great effort, and went to get something to eat from the kitchens.

When he came back, he found the young man still awake, apparently waiting for him. He set down the plate of food on the boy's knees and watched him eatl, it was clear that the boy was hungry and Armand felt a great pleasure to see how the boy appreciated his efforts. When the young man was finished, he picked up the plate and made to leave the room. "Sleep well, Gabriël, you need your rest." He thought it better to sleep in another room for now, but stopped in his tracks, his hand on the doorknob, as the young man spoke for the first time, in a hoarse, but beautiful voice; "Stay."