Wooh Yeah to the completion of the first part of the fic! Now the ball gets rolling. Ok, much love to the kind reviewers who have helped me get through all of this stuff! And the author still LOVES reviews! Yes she does! Quick important note for this chapter. The centered italic stuff in the chapter is the letter that Luc wrote broke up into segments for your reading pleasure. Just so you know. I thought you had better know about this stuff. And who doesn't love a nasty letter?

Disclaimer: Scarlet Pimpernel. Totally not mine. Scarlet Pumpernikle cake. Yummy!

Soon the Moon Will Smoulder

Chapter 15: Rush In, We Have To Rally and Win, Boys!

Percy, Andrew, Tony and Armand raced toward Dover as fast as their horses could carry them. They had arrived at the Prince's Palace not half an hour before with their families, Marguerite throwing them all into disarray by her panicking about her missing son. Blake had first gone missing and as soon as he was found, Lucian had disappeared, and the woman was hysterical, refusing to return to a sensible state of mind until Percy had agreed to find the renegade man. No sooner had they arrived, the steward had informed them that the men were to be off to Dover to help the Prince settle an emergency. Being that the entire castle was in quite a state, the men had gone off immediately.

They were greeted at Dover by a battalion of soldiers guarding a small inn, and quickly identifying themselves and telling the head guard that they had been summoned, the soldiers parted for the man, and the group was led to the room that the prince stood just outside of. Quickly approaching the man, Percy breathlessly asked, "What's wrong?"

Indicating with his head in the direction of the room, he quietly said, "Go have yourselves a look if you so dare."

Taking a short breath, Percy quickly nodded, motioned for his men to follow, and pushed the door open. The four men were instantly hit with the heavy, metallic stench of blood, and reeled back instantly, stomachs turning and choking on the air. Firm in their resolve, Percy led the men into the room, and all of their eyes widened in horror, each man gaping and too shocked to speak.

On the far side of the room is what could have at one time been a man, but the body was so badly mutilated, it was really little more than a shapeless heap of blood and flesh. The entire floor was sticky and stained deep red, and on the side wall, written in large, elegant letters in the vile substance, was "Á bas les Aristos".

All men trying their best not to be sick, the four men rushed to the door, fighting each other to get out of the room as fast as possible. When all men were out, Percy slammed the door, breathing shallow and unevenly, and tremulously asked, "What the hell happened here?"

"The Duke of York somehow winded up here and was murdered." The prince said quietly, gazing helplessly at the floor.

"The Duke of York?" Tony repeated, completely stunned. "Henry Cardinal, Duke of York, that Duke of York?"

"The very same, Lord Dewhurst."

"Lord, how could something like this happen?" Armand asked, suddenly becoming very angry. "Was he not of royal decent? Why was the man not better protected?"

"He was not protected at all, Armand. No soldiers were injured. Our little assassin was a clever bastard and had managed to con him away from his protection before murdering him."

"Christ…this is a national disaster…" Andrew said quietly, staring at the floor in disbelief. "This could happen again to any of us…"

"I do not believe we need to be worrying about that quite yet, Sir Andrew. Our killer is not in England." The men collectively looked up, stared at the prince in anticipation of being enlightened. Slowly looking up and meeting their gazes, he barely audibly whispered, "The bastard left a letter. We know who did it. I think it's best that we return to the palace, men. We have quite a bit to discuss, and it not only concerns us. Your family's best know about this as well."

Salutations, Lords of England,

Percy stared in utter shock at the letter he held in his hands. He must have read it a hundred times, and still he did not understand a word of it. The others had been similarly affected by it and were staring awkwardly into space, at the ground, or at nothing at all. Marguerite sat upon one of the couches, holding on to her two children as if her life depended on it and softly weeping; none of this could have happened. The Dewhurst children were hovering about their mother and father, clinging to hand, clothing, anything they could get their hands on. Allison lay weeping in her mother's arms, Andrew absentmindedly stroking her hair back, and Gilled stood by his father, doing his very best to aid his father in comforting the desolate Marguerite. And at the edge of the crowd, leaning against a mantle with his arms crossed over his chest, was Ellison, glaring coldly in to the group with a look of smug superiority upon his face. And all looked expectantly to Percy, waiting for the baronet to say something, anything that could fix the situation.

I suspect that by the time you arrive at this location and witness this spectacle, I will already be well across the Channel.

"He's gone to France," Percy said softly, his voice trembling with rage. He stood up quickly, his temper getting the best of him, and he picked up the nearest object he could find and cast it across the room, shouting in furry. "That damn bastard has gone to France! All the work and trouble I go through to keep him from that cursed country and he escapes to anyway!"

"Percy, please don't…" Marguerite sobbed softly, tightly clutching her brother's hand.

"Don't?" Percy asked in disbelief. "Don't? I will do so all I wish! Have you not the faintest idea how bad this is, woman?"

Quite the surprise, is it not, that the eldest son of Lord Percy Blakeney could become a killer such as myself.

"He is a child, Percy!" Marguerite cried, much louder than before but choking on her words.

"He is a murderer!" Percy shouted at the top of his lungs, his breathing heavy in absolute fury. "You did not see the body, Marguerite! I could not recognize it as a man or animal! Your son is a killer!"

"You helped me raise him, Percy!"

"Which was my first mistake!" the baronet growled, standing in the center of the room, fists clenched at his sides. "I should have killed him when I had the chance!" His light blue eyes suddenly turning to ice, he coldly whispered, "That boy is no son of mine."

Stiffening slightly, and nuzzling against her mother, Helouise softly asked as she began to weep, "Mother, did Luc really kill a man?"

"Hush, my dear."

"Helouise." The stern, firm voice caught her attention and quickly looking in the direction of her father, the baronet whispered, "Lucian is no longer a part of this family, do you understand?"

Sobbing quietly, she buried her head against her mother's chest and whispered, "Yes, father."

Of course, he knew all along that I was not his child and he was raising instead the result of his wife's affair with another man.

"So…" Tony began timidly as he approached the enraged baronet. "Lucian is not your son?"

Standing in silence, rage choking his words, Percy finally managed to force, "No, he isn't."

"Damn it, Marguerite. We knew you were unfaithful to Percy, but why not tell us about Lucian?" Armand asked quietly, not quite angry but very quickly becoming so.

"Wait, I don't understand," Blake interrupted, all eyes turning on him. "Luc's not my real brother?"

Gently bringing the boy to her, Marguerite softly stroked his hair and whispered, "He is, Blake."

"He isn't, son." Percy growled, causing the boy to tense nervously. "That fiend is no more your brother than Satan is!"

"Don't you speak that way about my son, Percy!" Marguerite shouted, standing up from her place on the couch. "Lucian is still my first child!"

"He is a murderer, Marguerite!"

"He is a boy! You know as well as I that boys will make mistakes!"

"Mistakes, yes, but killing people? Marguerite, you have spawned a demon no better than his father!"

"I love him, Percy, and I will not have you speaking about my boy in such a manner!"

"Oh, of course you love him, Marguerite," Percy scoffed, sneering viciously at the proud woman. "He's all you have left of your dear, sweet lover! Well might I remind you that the demon of a man crippled Andrew and shot me! And now his son is going about killing people? Marguerite, your damned infidelities are costing people their lives!"

The lot of you are fools for not seeing this sooner, for I am told I look so much like my father.

"That's not fair, Percy…" Marguerite said softly, quietly beginning to sob again.

"I say that the both of you are to blame," Tony snapped, finally losing his patience with the bickering couple. "It was both of you that kept this secret from us! Had you said anything, we may have been able to prevent this!"

"Don't you dare try to pin this on me, Tony…" Percy began.

"I agree with Lord Dewhurst," Armand said sullenly, coming to stand beside the man. "We all knew that Margot had an affair, Percy. Would it have been so hard to tell us about the child?"

"It would have been far more insulting!" Percy snapped at his stunned brother-in-law. "I thought I could raise him properly and eliminate any evil that his father passed to him. What difference would it have made if he had turned out right? Why plague him with the knowledge that he was the son of a killer?"

"He wouldn't have had to know, Percy," Andrew stated quietly from the place he sat with his wife and daughter. "We could have kept it from him and collectively raised him. It probably would have been better for us all."

"Why are we discussing this?" Tambre asked, irritated. "What's done cannot be changed so there is no point talking about hypothetical situations.

"How could we not see it?" Armand asked, eyes looking down at the floor. "Those eyes…he looked so much like him…"

"Never mind that," Tambre stated firmly. "What are we going to do about this?"

Did you honestly believe for a moment that I was as daft as yourselves? I am not blind, lords, and I am intelligent.

"What else can we do but find him?" Tony meekly suggested.

"What, look for that boy in France?" Armand scoffed. "Have you no idea how big France is, Tony? We have no idea where he is going. Even assuming that he goes to Paris, the city is huge. It would take months to find him if we could ever get a lead. He's smart. No doubt he already planned for us to come looking for him and has taken steps to make sure we can't find him."

"Even if that is the case," Andrew said firmly, "the boy must be brought back at all costs. No telling what he will do if we don't keep him under tight watch."

"He cannot be too difficult to find," Helouise said quietly, coming out of her daze, and all eyes were on her. "No one I have ever known but him has eyes like those, and everyone notices them. And if…if his father had the same, he should be easily recognized, right?"

"I don't care how long it takes," Marguerite said softly, "just bring my boy back home to me, Percy."

Did you truly believe, Percy, that you could hide the truth from me? Pitiful man. I must thank you, though, for providing me with everything I needed to launch my vendetta.

Percy hung his head and stared at the ground in defeat. "This is all my fault…" He hadn't spoken loudly, but everyone in the room had heard and was staring at him intently. "I hadn't raised him right. I…I had always loved Blake more. How could I not? Blake is my first son, and he…Lucian was a stain against my honor…If only I tried a little harder, he may not have turned out the way he did…"

Marguerite slowly approached the man and slipped her arms about his waist, leaning her head against his chest. "Hush now, Percy. It's alright. We all understand. There is nothing you could have done…"

Sighing heavily, he held the woman tightly. "My love, you don't understand. He came to me just yesterday and asked about his father. And I…I lost my temper. I couldn't help myself…and I told him, indirectly, that he was not my son…that I hated him for it, and I…he had this look on his face, and he…he looked just like him, Margot."

Smiling sadly, gently brushing her husband's cheek, she softly said, "Do not blame yourself for that, darling. He must have known before then. I mistakenly told him that his father and I were lovers before I married you."

"But that doesn't explain how he knew about your affair and his conception therefore."

"No, but he's a smart boy, Percy. I am sure my talk with him gave him the evidence he needed. He must have known we were hiding something from him."

Are you at all ashamed, Lord Andrew, for not heeding the warnings of your son before this happened? You should be. Imagine, this could have all been stopped before it had begun if you had merely taken the boy even a bit seriously instead of brushing it off as mere child's play.

"Percy…" Andrew said timidly, looking at the floor. "I do not believe either of those are the reasons for Lucian's knowledge of all of this. My son had told me about this two years ago." Hanging his head, shoulders shaking, he quietly said, "I'm sorry. I should have told you."

"I told you you should have." All eyes turned to Ellison for the first time that evening. The boy was indeed looking very smug, despite the circumstances. Everyone now turned to him for guidance, just as the little devil said they would. They needed him. "I even told you before then that I thought he was bad news, but no. Let us not listen to little Ellison. He's not the charming golden boy of the English court. Yeah, well he isn't the son of the murderer and the whore either." Smiling slightly, and approaching the devastated group, he smugly stated, "I know all of the little bastard's plans."

I have the full support I need, gentlemen, to carry out the full extent of my plans with little difficulty. You have seen what I have already done here right under your noses. Imagine what I shall be capable of doing with all of France at my every beck and call.

"What do you know, Ellison?" Percy asked quietly, looking at the boy with firm, blue eyes.

Grinning in satisfaction, Ellison slowly stated, "I know what he intends to do, and that is only the start. He has told me his entire revenge agenda."

"Revenge?" Percy asked, stunned. "He's doing this all for revenge?"

"All of it for revenge," the boy softly restated. "Revenge for his father's murder against the Pimpernel, against the run-away aristocrats of France, and against yourself, Sir Percy."

Percy blanched. "What?"

"You heard me, Lord Blakeney. Revenge against the Pimpernel for killing his father. Revenge against the aristocrats for eluding the Guillotine with the Pimpernel's help." Turning to Suzanne, he coldly stated, "You're on the top of his list, mother."

Andrew gasped, fell back slightly. "No…that can't be…"

"You had better believe it is so, father. I do not know why he is after you, Sir Percy. He merely said that he had a personal vendetta against you, but I can only assume that it is because he never had the father that he wanted."

The group was in shock. Finally, Percy managed a weak, "What do we do?"

Can you see the amount of havoc I can wreck for being something as simple as the son of France's beloved saint? Think of the amount of power I will soon be able to wield, all of which will be used against you lot to bring about the destruction of the enemies I have already marked for death.

Ellison grinned almost maliciously. "That is easy, Lord Blakeney. We kill him."

Blake instantly jumped up. "No! We can't! I don't care what my father says, Luc is still my brother, and I know there is good in him. I have seen it!"

"There is no soul in that man, Blake," Ellison said coldly.

"There is! There must be another way. Luc is not a bad man, and I am sure he is awful sorry for what he is done. We can't just kill him! If we can save him, I think we should try all we can to do so."

"Impossible. He will fight with all he's worth until we are all dead or he is. There is no other way to stop him. He is ruthless, and so must we be. Lucian Chauvelin must die."

"No…he can live…"

"What do you suggest we do, Ellison?" Armand asked cautiously.

Gazing coldly at the man, Ellison stated, "I say we revive the Scarlet Pimpernel. Lucian wants revenge against the hero, and I say bring him down the same way he brought down the agent. Of course, that requires knowledge of who the hero is, as we seem to be in this together." Glancing about the room with an air of authority and supremacy, he coldly stated, "I am hoping that one of you can tell me who the man is. We are all in this together, and his identity is essential to our success."

Fidgeting nervously, Tony hesitated slightly, and with a nod from Percy, stepped forward. "We do know the Pimpernel, Ellison."

Grinning in satisfaction, he quietly stated, "Very good, Lord Dewhurst, but do not speak quite yet. We have traitors among us." The entire room froze, and in a voice colder that ice, he quietly said, "The traitorous snake has told me himself that both Tacey and Tambre Dewhurst, Gilles St. Just, and Allison Ffoulkes are working in his service."

Do you hate me, Lords of England? I hope so. But your meaningless feelings toward me pale in comparison for the utter loathing I have for you. Be prepared, gentlemen, for mark my word, I will return and bring you suffering like you have never known.

The room was dead silent, and the adults were shaking; it couldn't be so. Swallowing hard, Percy managed to ask, "Children, is this true?"

"No! He's lying!" Tacey cried, firmly holding her ground, but neither Gilles nor Allison could speak.

Sighing heavily, Tambre quietly said, "I cannot speak for Allison or Gilles, but what Ellison says is true of my sister and I."

"Oh God…" Tony slowly sank to the floor. His own beloved daughters had helped create this monster…

"Tambre, what are you saying?" Tacey asked quietly between clenched teeth.

"I am done being used by that boy. The last time I saw him, he had declared me of no further use to him. I don't know what that means, but I imagine that it cannot be anything good. Please, I cannot help you much, but I can help a bit."

Smiling smugly, Ellison quietly ordered, "Have the other three taken away. They are no friends of ours."

"No, wait!" Armand cried. "My son…I can straighten him out! Let him stay!"

"I believe you doubt the persuasive powers of that snake, Armand. Consider your son lost."

"No…"

"Take them away." Without further complaining, the three children were led out of the room by the soldiers that were summoned. "Now," Ellison said quietly, turning to the group, "who is the Pimpernel?"

Sighing heavily, Percy stepped forward, chest held high. "I am."

Until we meet again,

Lucian Chauvelin

"No way! Dad, you're the Pimpernel?"

"So it would seem, Blake."

"That's really neat!"

"Enough!" The room fell silent, and all eyes turned back to Ellison. "Percy, I trust you will lead us in our battle against this man, but I believe a new Pimpernel is in order. If there is no objection, I will rise to the cause."

"No way, Ellison!" Blake said firmly. "My father was the Pimpernel, so I should be the next one!"

"This is not a title that is to be passed down, boy," Ellison said, growling. "The most qualified man should be. You don't have what it takes. You cannot fight, and you do not have the heart to destroy the foe."

"And you do not have the heart to save him! Where's your sense of compassion, Ellison? Don't you see that Lucian has gone through a lot? He doesn't have to die. This whole thing is one big misunderstanding. If we just talk to him-"

"He would slaughter you. He must die, and I am the one to do it."

"He can live, and I can save him!"

"I shall be the Pimpernel."

"I shall be!"

"Enough!" The two boys were silenced. Percy calmly stated, "Listen, boys. You are both right. Blake, you do not have the fire that you need to do this. But, Ellison, you don't have the mercy that is essential to the role. I propose that you boys share the title. I will lead you and teach you what I know, but for God's sake, neither of you can do this alone."

There was silence, and Blake quietly asked, "We will both be it?"

Frowning in distaste, Ellison asked, "How will that work?"

Percy smiled softly at the two of them. "We will find a way. We always do." Quickly turning and facing the adults, he firmly stated with the fire and resolve that he was so known for, "All of us have been affected by young Chauvelin's actions, but we can make it through this. I will contact the rest of my men and tell them that we have a new threat to face." Smiling triumphantly, the Pimpernel proudly stated, "The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel is needed again, and, by God, we will rise!"