Treville stood there, stunned. Dead! What in the world?!
"When did this happen? Why was I not informed?"
"The world does not revolve around you, Treville," responded Valmont, continuing on his way to the door.
In several swift strides, Treville caught up to the odious official and grabbed his arm.
Valmont stiffened at the content. "How dare you!"
"I will dare a great deal more ifI don't start getting some answers", Treville stated. "I am responsible for the royal family's safety. When someone as immediate to His Majesty dies, I need to be informed in order to do my job."
"The Red Guard…"
"Are worthless, and you know it. Tell me what happened…now!"
There was a considerable pause. Treville knew the man was weighing the possible repercussions for himself. Whether Valmont thought Treville had a position above the nobility of the Court, which he himself was a member of, or not, he knew how much Louis thought of this man before him.
Finally, the man spoke in a resigned voice. "We don't yet know, other than that there were no signs of foul play. He was found dead in his bed two hours ago by his valet. He seemed to be at peace by his facial expression."
"Why was I not informed, Valmont," Treville reiterated his earlier question.
"His Majesty is keeping the news contained within the palace for as long as possible. He fears in-fighting among the aristocracy to be chosen to take Richelieu's place, as has happened in other countries over the centuries. For now, the news does not leave these walls, Captain."
Treville said, "I need to see His Majesty now."
"He is not holding audiences at the moment. He is in mourning. He…"
"I am not seeking an audience to curry favors, and you know it. What I need to see him about is of vital importance."
"As I have already stated, Treville, he is not …"
Treville turned abruptly while Valmont was still speaking, and marched out the doors fuming, leaving them to slam closed, the sound echoing through the halls of the palace.
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At the garrison, a package was left at the gate, with no name as to who it was for. Since Treville was away from the garrison at the moment, Athos absent, and Aramis sleeping per physician's orders, the Musketeer on duty hailed Porthos, who was headed for breakfast, he being next in line.
Taking the package, he slit it open with his main gauche. On top was a note. Opening it, he read 'Athos will be executed in two days if Aramis is not given to us. It will not be a pretty sight'.
Porthos, feeling something else underneath, dug deeper and felt fabric. Pulling it into the light, he saw that he held Athos neck scarf, smeared with blood.
It confirmed what they already believed, that Athos would be a bargaining chip to get what they wanted-Aramis. His mind immediately thought 'we've got to keep this from Aramis', only to hear an anguished voice directly behind him.
Porthos whirled around, finding his brother staring at the scarf, tears running down his face. "This is my fault-all my fault. I …"
Porthos interrupted him. "How can this possibly be your fault, mon ami?" he asked in a gentle voice.
Aramis responded, "It's me they want. They hurt Athos to get me."
"That still doesn't make it your fault, Aramis," d'Artagnan said, having arrived at the little group unnoticed amidst the reactions to the package.
"Yes, it does," Aramis insisted. "Richelieu wants me punished. Athos did nothing, and will die if I…"
"You are not giving yourself for him, Aramis. Look what happened to you when you took off when d'Artagnan was kidnapped. They weren't going to release d'Artagnan once they had you. Laurent told us his brother planned to kill the only witness anyway."
"I…"
"We are going to watch you like hawks, mon ami. You are our brother, and we love you. We will find another way," Porthos said adamantly. "It's not going to happen again."
"Let's go see what we can eat this morning," d'Artagnan said, slinging his arm around Aramis' shoulder and heading for the mess tables. D'Artagnan steered Aramis along, the marksman walking as if in a daze at the shock he had received again.
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'Valmont probably assumed that I obeyed his strictures and went back to the garrison,' Treville mused to himself. "How little he knows me. I know this place inside out, and far better than that pompous man ever will. Now where is that concealed door that Louis uses to escape all the palace hangers-on?"
He walked along the palace wall one more time before he found and pushed open the clever hidden entrance Louis' father had created when he ruled France as Henri IV.
As soon as he walked through the door, he heard, "Treville! What are you doing?" emphasizing 'are' in a voice of surprising good humor.
"Majesty, I come on a matter of great importance," Treville began. "I regret that I have to impart this news at the present time, though."
Louis was intrigued, as Treville knew he would be by the way he had phrased his opening comment.
"I am all ears, Treville," Louis responded, happy to have a diversion from his current feelings of devastation.
"I am not quite certain where to begin, Majesty," Treville said.
"How about at the beginning, Treville," Louis suggested, greatly amused by his own witticism.
"Very well," Majesty," the Captain responded. "I will preface what I say with telling you that the matter is likely to make you quite angry at first," here he paused, "at me."
Louis was now quite curious as to what Treville had to tell him. "You know how much I hold you in esteem, Treville. Pray, proceed."
Treville then filled his monarch in on the whole affair with Richelieu's and his hired men. He had known that Louis would become angry as soon as he mentioned Richelieu's name in connection with the kidnappings an near-death of Aramis.
The Captain had patiently waited out Louis' tirade, then explained that the brother of the ringleader carrying out Richelieu's orders had himself heard his brother bring up the Cardinal's name several times while still a member of the group.
Treville also told him that Aramis' had been brought before Richelieu when he was kidnapped, and that the Cardinal had 'visited' more than once to see if his orders were being carried out as he wished.
Two witnesses gave Louis pause, and Treville lost no time telling him they needed to go after the gang as soon as possible. Treville then asked for permission to search the recently-deceased Richelieu's apartment in the palace to see if there was anything that could assist them in tracking the men down.
As he had expected, Louis vehemently objected to conducting a search through the possessions of someone who was barely dead yet.
"Majesty, we do not know if the leader of these men has been in Richelieu's apartments. If he has, and if he hears that the Cardinal has died, he may return and get rid of any evidence that could incriminate him. I know you will never besmirch Richelieu's name publicly, as you loved him while he lived. But we need to move fast, before an innocent life is extinguished."
Curious again, Louis wanted to know who it was this time.
Treville told him, "He has now taken my lieutenant, Athos, in hopes of forcing either Aramis to give himself to them to save his brother's life, or possibly hoping the regiment might make a trade, to both of which I say 'over my dead body'."
Louis had gasped as Treville's had said Athos' name. He knew the man had the demeanor of an aristocrat, which automatically made him more worthy in Louis' eyes, but the man was also Treville's right-hand man.
"It is also a matter of importance to apprehend these men whose usual way of living is to attack, rob and often murder their victims in our great city. We need to protect your people who love you so much, Majesty."
The silence stretched for several long minutes, before Louis finally said, "Very well, Treville. You have your permission. But I want it done very quietly. I do not want the whole palace to know. I need some time to consider the Cardinal's replacement before the wolves start circling, wanting to be his replacement." He was talking about a number of noblemen's of his Court, who would dearly love to be the new First Minister of France. The power. The glory. The riches!
Treville was beyond glad it had gone better than he had feared. "Never fear, Sire. No one will know of it. There are tunnels and other concealed doors in this palace. We will use them to keep everything under wraps. Majesty," he concluded, bowing deeply to his sovereign before exiting the room the same way he had come in.'Tonight, he thought, already making plans. It could never be done in daylight with the sheer number of servants and members of the Court wandering around the palace.'
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Athos had discovered what might turn out to assist him in escaping whatever prison this was. He had found a small chink in the stones of his cell. It was difficult trying to maneuver his body enough to try getting the piece loose, as the chains holding him to the wall allowed him barely any leeway.
But, at least, it was a possibility. He had known there was next to no chance of getting out of the shackles, but if he could get the chink out, he might have a way to overpower one of the men who visited his cell bringing the meager food and water.
It gave him hope and a plan, which was what he needed.
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Aramis found that Porthos and d'Artagnan were his constant companions. If one of them left for a bit, the other replaced him. They were not about to let him take off again, and if he was in either of them's shoes, he wouldn't either.
'But there had to be a way', he thought, as he lay stretched out on his bed, head laying on his upstretched hands. 'He couldn't just let Athos be executed without trying to stop it.'
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Treville told him, "Better than I thought, Porthos. Better than I thought. I went to the palace to see Louis, and tell him about Richelieu's involvement in this whole sordid affair. But I first found out that Richelieu is no longer involved."
Porthos interjected, "What?! He had a change of heart? Don't sound much like him. He's a weasel that needs his comeuppance, Captain."
"I wholeheartedly agree, Porthos. But he got it today, in a very unexpected way."
Porthos was very curious now, his brows raising in question.
"He's dead, Porthos. Our nemesis is no more."
Shock covered Porthos' face now. "How?"
"We don't know, except to say his man found him dead in bed in the wee hours of the morning today. Louis is keeping it quiet til he can figure out who will replace him. You know the frenzy this is going to cause." Treville saw Porthos' quick nod. "Let us keep it along ourselves for as long as possible."
Porthos followed Treville up the stairs, wanting to talk to him in the privacy of his office about Aramis and his once again feeling he needed to sacrifice himself, and Treville wanting to discuss the search of Richelieu's apartments later.
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Aramis finally thought he saw his chance when d'Artagnan briefly nodded his head from exhaustion. He felt bad for his brothers, bearing the brunt of taking care of him as he healed, staying one step ahead of Mattieu, and now guarding him.
But he didn't see that he had a choice. He couldn't just let his dear brother be the next victim of Richelieu's revenge.
Seeing d'Artagnan's continuing to catnap despite himself, Aramis slowly eased his way out of bed, slipping his feet into his boots. He was already mostly dressed, and it didn't matter if it wasn't Musketeer standard where he would be going. They would probably tear half of them off anyway, as they did last time.
He shuddered despite himself. His memories and dreams kept a vivid picture within his mind of his ordeal at their hands.
Persistently shaking off the visions, he made his way to the door. Not a creak was made as he lifted the latch. He opened it just far enough to slip through, then moved out into the night.
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Someone has powerful as Richelieu has indeed caused the type of frenzy Louis was talking about. I just used that fact in Richelieu's death aftermath. We also don't know how he is supposed to have died on the show, as they just had the Musketeers talk about him being dead. In real life, he died of tuberculosis, the white death, which Louis died of also.
Thanks for reading my story, and let me know what you think whenever you can. I hope this story isn't too long for you!