This chapter is coming rather soon after the last one compared to the last few, but I really felt that I wanted to get this posted. I'm working my way up to some rather fun events (at least in my mind) and posting these chapters will let me get there sooner for you guys! Again, I ask that you all review once you've read the chapter to let me know what you think, because I'd absolutely love to hear where you think the story is going or who you think is going to cause some trouble for our friends!
Chapter XV
"Is everything in order for tonight then?"
Philippe waved his hand to signal that all of the other servants were to clear out of the room as Aramis approached him and bowed from a slight distance, an indication that they needed to speak without having witnesses to their conversation. He rose after a moment and gave his King a firm nod, a hand lightly coming to rest on the thin shirt he wore over his stomach.
"Nearly, Your Majesty. There are but a few little details I wish to discuss with you before we proceed."
The invitations had been sent and the kitchens had been busy preparing for the feast that would happen following the ceremony itself, which would not take place in the middle of the day as they had initially thought it would, but in the early evening hours. Philippe wondered what it was that Aramis desired to ask him as he crossed the distance between them slowly, keeping the mannerisms of being King until he was sure that everyone had cleared from the room as ordered.
"What is it, Aramis?"
There didn't seem to be a trace of worry in his face, so his immediate thoughts of D'Artagnan had been laid to rest. It was hard, not referring to the man as being his father when he knew the truth of the matter, and while he had been unable to see much of him because of the time he had to spend going over matters of state, Philippe knew that he was in safe hands.
"This might seem a rather strange question," Aramis began, moving both of his hands to cross over his chest. "But I must know how much time you have been spending with Katherine."
Philippe blinked, rather taken aback by the nature of his question. In truth, he hadn't spent nearly the amount of time with her that he might have liked, for their stolen moments of talk in the garden had opened his eyes to a few things he hadn't thought of before and reminded him of just how much he truly needed to learn if he was to govern his people fairly. And more than that, while he knew that to utter such a thing aloud would probably be an offense to her, he thought of her to be brave and charming in her own way, remembering just how frankly she had spoken during their first real meeting. He could never truly repay the debt he owed her, first for saving his life and then for saving the life of his father, whom she clearly loved as much as her own. But that second meeting had brought forth a whole new bundle of thoughts and emotions for the young King, who felt his heart flutter a little at the very mention of her name. He wanted to be honest with Aramis and tell him of the last time he had spoken with Katherine, but his mind immediately put an end to such a thing and silently insisted that there was much more to learn before he could speak to his advisor of such a thing.
"About as much as I have been able to spent alone," he told Aramis, clearly confused. "We spoke in the garden a few days ago about the details we had worked out to cover up the entire situation, and I confess that much of what I brought you the next day were of her own thoughts."
Well, that accounted for that, thought the old priest. Katherine had grown up around him and his friends, where she had no doubt picked up a thing or two about politics and schemes due to the nature of their job. She would have thought about the fate of those who had hatched the plot, all the while ignoring that a worse fate would have awaited them if they had actually been caught and imprisoned.
Still he worried about the things that he had discussed with Athos and Porthos before, noting a change in his daughter that he had not seen until recently, which only added to his growing concern for her and the time that she spent with Philippe. But he sensed that Philippe was still looking at him with a look of confusion, and so spoke with a lie he had created for such a circumstance.
"I merely ask because I have not seen her much myself," he said as smoothly as anything. "It seems that she goes about tending to D'Artagnan and then hides herself away from everyone else, and it pains me to see her so recluse."
Tension immediately left Philippe's face as he allowed a smile to shine through, nodding his head in understanding. "I see. You need not worry, Aramis. You will see her tonight at the ceremony."
Now it was Aramis' turn to look upon the young King with uncertainty, not fully grasping the weight of his statement. While preparations had been made in order to get the evening off without any problems, he had not given much thought to those who would appear and partake in the generousity of the King.
"I asked her to be there," he explained. "Mother insisted that she be present, and I needed someone I could trust to watch over D'Artagnan as I cannot."
He had expected, of course, that Katherine would find a hidden place from which to watch the presentation happen, knowing full well that his daughter was not a lady one would normally see at court, nor had she appeared overly anxious to be seen by any of the nobility who would attend. And with D'Artagnan determined to be well enough to endure the walk on his own, she seemed more than happy to bow out of sight.
"I was not aware," Aramis said slowly, wondering why it was that Katherine had not come to him to tell him the news. "But it is perhaps wise. I do not believe that D'Artagnan is yet strong enough to endure the whole night alone, and while I know he will try, it will be good to have Katherine there to watch over him."
They seemed to be in agreement that the captain would try his best to make his first public appearance appear normal, not wishing for anyone to see that he had been wounded and put out of commission for even the shortest period of time. The people of Paris knew him well for the many times he had intervened with the King on their behalf, and when news travelled that he had been hurt in his haste to protect the King, there had been mixed feelings among them. Some were proud of him and yet sad to learn that such a noble man had been placed in danger like that, while others were upset with Louis, feeling that it was his fault D'Artagnan had had to step in the way that he did. And knowing D'Artagnan as Aramis did, he was more than aware of the fact that his old friend would be rather stubborn in wanting to appear before the people in full health.
"Now, if you will excuse me," Philippe said, straightening his posture and moving his hands around his back in a regal manner. "I think I have a few more things I need to oversee before I am stolen away to be dressed."
The process of dressing a King for such a public event would no doubt take a long time to accomplish, and so Aramis bowed low again in case there were others present to see their interaction. "Your Majesty."
With a small nod and a kind smile, Philippe moved toward the door at the opposite end of the room, leaving Aramis to stand alone in the middle of the ballroom. The time was fast approaching when he too would need to return to his room and ready himself for the moment when the four of them would walk down the carpet together to kneel before the throne, but there were a few other things that he needed to see through first. Chief among those things was a chance to return to the chapel and pray that nothing went wrong with the ceremony that evening, along with a silent wish that Katherine might eventually tell him what terrible thing plagued her heart. With a sigh of resignation he carried himself from the room, hoping that nothing would happen until after the night was through.
Her heart was beating violently in her chest as she was lead through the various corridors of the palace and into yet another section that she was unfamiliar with, up the winding staircases and across halls that were littered with servants trying to clean before guests began to arrive for the ceremony. Katherine had only just returned to her room from laying out D'Artagnan's things for the night when someone had quickly pushed themselves into the room and gestured for her to come with her, stating only that the Queen had asked to see her. A hundred different questions began to form in her mind as she panicked, wondering what it was that could possibly have led to this meeting. Had the Queen learned of the time that Katherine had spent in the garden with Philippe and been displeased by it? Was she no longer satisfied with the way in which her lover was being cared for? Or perhaps she had done something else entirely without knowing that she had offended the Queen? The servant said not another word as she ushered the poor girl around until at last they approached a set of large wooden doors, mahogany by the look of them, and pulled her through them into a smaller chamber. There Katherine had been instructed to wait and the servant had vanished through yet another pair of doors.
It felt like an eternity had passed before someone reappeared, nodding for her to approach. She smoothed her skirt out of habit and cautiously stepped forward, hearing someone announce her name before she heard the doors close behind her and Katherine found herself standing in a much larger and nicer room than the last.
"Good, they found you," Anne said with her heavy accent as she rose from her chair and moved toward her.
Katherine dropped herself into a painful curtsey, which was met with an amused laugh before she was touched by the Queen and rose to her feet once again.
"There is no need for that in here."
Katherine remained motionless, her bright eyes still scared as she absorbed the gentle look that Queen Anne gave to her, noticing the strange state of dress that she was in. "Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I did not realize that you were looking for me. I was helping my Uncle with-"
"Yes, I know," came her soft voice with a motion for Katherine to calm herself. "Tonight is an important night for your father and uncles. However, I think that you and I both know that D'Artagnan is still not in the best of health."
The girl nodded slightly, breathing slowly to push away the dizzy feeling that threatened to overtake her body as the heat of the room swept over her. "Whether he would like to admit it or not," she murmured a little, smiling to herself. "He can be rather stubborn when he so desires."
Laughter once again fluttered about the room as Anne looked down at the girl, inspecting her with her eyes. "He will need your help," she stated simply, turning to move back toward the chair from which she had just risen. "And so I believe that you may need mine."
Stunned by this apparent observation, Katherine watched the Queen silently as she moved away and blinked at her in confusion. What help could she possibly require from the Queen? Only when Anne motioned for her to follow did the girl dare to move, turning slightly to watch a number of other ladies she had not noticed before continue to move about the room.
"Would I be correct in saying you have never attended something like this?"
Katherine nodded, not trusting herself to speak for fear of saying something that might sound ignorant. But Anne simply nodded in return and signalled to some of the ladies behind her.
"Good. Then we shall begin with a bath."
A bath? Had she heard right? She had been whisked away from her own room and pushed through various corridors and passageways so that the Queen of France could insist that she took a bath? If Katherine hadn't been confused before they had ushered her into the room, she was certainly confused now, watching as ladies hurried forward with a metal tub and set it before the fire, pouring jugs of hot water into it. Another hurried forward and began dropping rose petals, while yet another was adding a container of water that smelled as if she had bottled up the whole garden of roses and somehow turned them into a liquid form. Katherine watched it all happen in awe as Anne took her place in her chair once more, moving a hand silently to signal for someone to step forward and help the girl remove her clothes. The first touch made her jump when she felt hands attaching to her skirt, a blush appearing on her cheeks. Anne couldn't help but laugh softly.
"It is alright," she said. "You need not be shy."
But she was shy, for who in their right mind would remove all of their clothes and stand before the Queen in such a state? Well...perhaps there was one person who would, but their reasons for doing so were completely separate from having a bath she was sure. The skirt was removed from her body so quickly that Katherine did not have time to miss it before someone else was beginning to deal with her shirt, pulling it from her. With the skirt gone, those hands quickly busied themselves with unplaiting her hair, and thus coming into conflict with the woman who tried to take her shirt.
It was then that Katherine remembered the horrible marks on her side from the night in the Bastille, frantically thinking of how best to cover it from the Queen's eyes. Her arm flung across her body and held tightly to both her side and stomach as she tried her best to steel herself against the burning that she felt yet again, pining her other arm down tightly to her side as soon as she had been stripped of her clothing. Now fully naked and at the mercy of her Queen, Katherine fidgeted with obvious discomfort.
"Come, child. We must make you presentable for tonight."
She walked over with small steps until she stood at the edge of the tub, looking down at the steaming water with a hesitant glance. Lifting one foot, she slid it into the water first to make sure that it was alright before the rest of her body began to follow, her arm still wound tightly around her. Her wound stung even more viciously as the water lapped around it, and it was only by clenching her teeth that Katherine did not cry out in pain. But no one else seemed to take any notice, and that was the most important thing. It would not do if Anne or any of her ladies were to see the marks, and Katherine would do almost anything to keep her injury from her.
"Relax," came the Queen's soft voice as she leaned over the top of the tub and pet Katherine's hair lightly. "I promise you will feel much better once you are clean."
Not wishing to do or say anything that might offend the woman after the kindness she had already shown her, Katherine nodded quietly and did her best to relax despite the desire she had to scream out against the agony she felt churning in her body. Instead she tried to focus on the activity around her, watching as other women moved around her and began to gently scrub away at the bottoms of her feet and legs, moving their way up her body. As they approached her torso however, she jerked away from them a little and caused the water to ripple around her.
"My sides are incredibly ticklish," she said as she heat rose in her face.
But Anne only nodded with that same small smile and told her ladies to work around her sides. Soft cloths ran along her belly and between her breasts as they washed away the dirt and grime, more hot water being added every so often to keep the tub at a comfortable temperature for the occupant. They cleaned everywhere they could possibly reach, even taking hold of her arms one at a time to scrub them down, which she allowed as she quickly covered her side with her remaining arm. If Anne noticed her strange behaviour she said nothing, but from the way that the Queen was speaking to a few of her attendants in the background, she hadn't taken much notice of anything Katherine had done since climbing into the tub. But that was alright, it suited her just fine for things to go on that way.
"Now," came the voice of the Queen with the same gentle authority as before. "We need to wash your hair, so just lie back and close your eyes."
Still unaccustomed to the way in which the Queen spoke to her so normally, Katherine nodded slowly and leaned backward, closing her eyes as instructed. "Yes, ma'am."
Again she felt the warmth of the water overtake her as it cascaded down the curves of her body, making her hair cling to the sides of her face and back. Then there was the sensation of something else, something cooler, being poured onto her head before a pair of hands gently began to massage it into her scalp. In an instant she could feel her body beginning to relax a little as the motions continued over her skin, inhaling the sweet scent of whatever they had poured into her hair. Everything about that moment was soothing to the girl, allowing her to relax even further as more water was run over the top of her head and the massaging continued from there. Any bathing she had done in the past had been of her own making and always a little more complicated because of the length of her hair. But as she sat there quietly in the tub that had been placed before the roaring fire, allowing someone else to take charge and clean her body of the filth she had accumulated since last she had cleaned herself, Katherine felt herself enjoying the idea of being pampered in such a way. And since it was highly unlikely for it to happen again, she knew that she could enjoy it all the more. For several more minutes she sat like this, allowing her hands to be taken up one at a time and scrubbed until the dirt under her nails had vanished entirely.
Once they had rinsed the soap and other smelly liquids from her body, Katherine slowly opened her eyes again and watched a pair of women motion to her with a sheet of material, signalling that it was time to rise from her bath and dry herself. Conscious of the eyes that would be upon her form the girl wrapped both of her arms around her sides and braced herself for the chill that would overtake her body once she had removed herself from the warm water, moving quickly to hide in the fabric as it soaked in the loose water. She turned herself around just in time to see the Queen rinse her hands in the water, shaking them a little to rid herself of the droplets before she rose to take a smaller piece of material and dry them. It was then that Katherine realized who had been behind her, massaging the oil into her scalp to clean her hair. Anne must have done it herself! The Queen looked over at the young girl with upturned lips before she motioned to someone else to step forward, a young attendant who swiftly set a box at the feet of her mistress that looked all too familiar to Katherine's eyes.
"I was hoping to see you wear this tonight," Anne told her, bending forward to push the top of the box aside to reveal the beautiful garments beneath it.
"Your Majesty, I...I..." But she was entirely lost for words.
"Yes, of course," Anne said smoothly, stepping in to cover the air between them when she saw the stunned expression light on Katherine's face. "You have never worn such a thing before. I understand. That is why you are here."
To say that she did not understand how to wear the gown that she had been given would have been a massive understatement for her part. She knew that it would have layers, several pieces that fit together as if one was attempting to paint a work of art to be on display for all time. And she knew it would be nothing like dressing herself back at the monastery, where simplicity was far better than anything material that would be worn by the ladies at court. And yet Katherine understood that she could not appear anywhere near the celebration that was due to happen in the clothing that she would customarily wear, which Anne had seen almost as soon as the girl had strolled through those doors on her first day.
"Why?" Katherine murmured softly, earning herself several shocked looks from the ladies who fluttered around her. "Why is Your Majesty doing this for me?"
While nobody said a word, she knew that she would be the talk of the servants by the end of the evening for daring to ask such a bold question of their Dowager Queen, but she could not help herself. In her eyes, Katherine had merely done what any decent human being would have done when it came to saving a life, and D'Artagnan meant far more to her than a common stranger. Yet she could see in Anne's face that there was something more, something she probably could not say in front of those who were present. It was like a secret lingered in her eyes, a secret that would forever be linked to her heart.
"There are many reasons for why I do this," she said slowly, allowing the weight of the words to sink in without dispelling their true meaning. "But most of all, I wish for you to feel comfortable...and realize how beautiful you are."
Hearing such a comment made at her yet again was beginning to make Katherine feel a little uncomfortable, unsure of how properly to respond without saying that the notion sounded completely ridiculous to her ears. People simply did not pay her the same attentions that they did to other girls her age, and no man had dared to approach her with words of her physical being before, aside from her uncles. Katherine dropped her eyes and held the sheet a little more tightly around her body, feeling a shiver course up her spine and bring forth the tiny bumps on her arms and legs.
"Come now, my dear," Anne told her as she reached a hand forward. "Let us get you dressed."
There was but a moment of hesitation before she allowed herself to step forward and within arms reach of Anne, who nudged her gently toward the box and picked up a silk shift from the bed to begin the dressing process. Realizing that it would mean exposing her side to the Queen's eyes, she feigned embarrassment and hunched over her covering a little until they permitted her to slowly place both of her arms into the shift and work it down over her body. Only then did she remove the sheet and allow someone to take it away from her, now safe in the knowledge that nobody could see the ugly mark her skin now bore. Anne smiled down at her again, looking rather interested in the prospect of helping the young woman prepare for her first public engagement.
"Yes," she commented lightly as she looked Katherine over. "Yes, I think the dark blue was a good choice."