Chapter 15
Thanks to FizzWizz2011 for your review. I enjoy writing them. I want them to be best friends more a brother/sister relationship. Thanks to the followers and the one who favourited this story.
New Chapter, read, enjoy and review.
The Cardinal asked the Captain to send his musketeers to collect a mother and her child. The Captain sent D'Artagnan and Aramis on this mission. I stayed behind with the other two. Athos was still training me. I was able to stand much longer against him. I was also sparring with the others which helped me to anticipate my enemy's moves. My training session for the day was cut short when the Captain asked Porthos and Athos to accompany him on one of the King's hunt trip. I was free for the day. I should have gone with Aramis and D'Artagnan. Anyway, I decided to pay a visit to my friend Constance. We were cheerfully conversing when Aramis arrived with a redhead woman. Agnes was her name. She was the mother of the baby but the baby boy was abducted when Aramis and D'Artagnan arrived. Constance and I left them alone and went to join D'Artagnan. I was wearing my brown dress and my red shirt and my hair was braided.
"Do you think she'll be alright?" Constance asked me while we were walking.
"She will be alright as soon as we'll bring her son to her." I answered.
"We better hurry up then." Constance replied.
We found D'Artagnan watching an enormous house. We stayed with him all the afternoon and most of the night. I was looking around and walking around the house. I was trying to find out how many way outs and way in there was. In which room they were keeping the baby. Did I tell that my good friend Constance was learning how to fight with D'Artagnan? No, well no one was supposed to know but she trusted me enough with her secret to tell me. I never sparred with her but with D'Artagnan as her professor; she might be a good swordswoman by now. Anyway, if there is a baby they need to feed him, and they probably will need nurses. So, I went to join D'Artagnan and Constance.
"Have you seen the look on Agnes' face when she speaks about Henry?" Constance asked him. "That bond. To value something more than your own life. I want to know a love that strong."
"You'll have children of your own soon enough." D'Artagnan replied. What an idiot! I might have to sit and have a serious talk with that young man.
"I suppose. If it's meant to be." Constance sighed.
"Who are they?" D'Artagnan asked seeing the door opened; one woman went outside and the other went in.
"Nurses." I answered which caused them both to jump. "The baby needs feeding." D'Artagnan had this look on his face, the look he has everytime he has an idea. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" He then looked at Constance. She realised what we wanted her to do.
"Oh, no, no!" She protested. "I can't."
"Why not?" D'Artagnan questioned.
"How can I be a nurse if I don't have milk?" She asked. "And why doesn't she do it?"
"Constance let's be honest, I don't look the part. Plus babies hate me." I smirked. It was true I don't do well with babies. "You'll be better than me for this."
"Just improvise." D'Artagnan added.
The day after we all accompanied Constance to the house. I was back in my usual clothes, just in case. Agnes came with us and gave Constance some indications about baby Henry. Agnes wasn't the only one, Aramis and D'Artagnan was giving her indication on the information that we needed to collect. She knocked on the door and one the men inside opened it and threatened with a pistol. They let her in. All was left for us to do was wait. After a few minutes we saw Constance waving the blanket Agnes gave to her for baby Henry. She waved it nine times for nine men. We kept waiting like that behind the sheets, when we saw a woman and a man arrived. Aramis recognised her and Agnes too. I was lost I wanted who that woman was. We were shortly joined by Athos and Porthos. Apparently they were following this couple since they left the royal palace. She is Marie de Medicis; the King's mother and Philippe's mother. She is the one who ordered the abduction of Henry and Constance was in there with her. I was anxiously watching the door, just as anybody else. Marie and her lackey came out with no baby. We had a chance to take the baby back and return him to his mother. Agnes was to wait for us outside. The musketeers, D'Artagnan and I went inside. I knocked on the door wearing a hood and waited for them to open the door. Athos was crouching in front of the door and Porthos and Aramis was on each side of the gate and D'Artagnan was waiting not too far. They opened the door, Porthos punched the man who fell on the ground. I took my hood off; Athos closed the door. He pushed it gain knocking the man that was behind the door. We got in and climbed the stairs. Porthos took care of the men that were downstairs and Athos, D'Artagnan and I took care of the men that were upstairs. Aramis made a beeline to baby Henry. The men just kept coming. Thanks to Athos' training I was better in a sword fight and thanks to the years I spent on the street I wasn't bad at hand to hand combat. I was catching my breath when I saw Aramis coming with baby Henry in his arms. We went back to the garrison.
"How is that possible?" I asked once we sat at our usual table.
"I don't know." Porthos answered me.
"Henry is of royal blood which makes him the heir of the throne." I whispered afraid of other people hearing what I just said.
"Only if the King comes to his death." Athos added.
"So why Marie de Medicis wants this baby, if she has to wait for the King to die?" I questioned, curiosity getting the best of me. "That makes no sense unless she wants to kill the King which is most unlikely to happen. I mean she would never…would she?" Athos lay a hand on mine.
"There is nothing to worry about." He was trying to reassure me.
"Yes, there is." I vehemently protested. "She will try to take Henry again and we can let that happen."
The conversation ended there when the Captain arrived. We joined him. He announced us that the baby was to go to the Cardinal. Aramis protested and so did I. I mean Agnes had suffered enough she doesn't need them to take her baby from her. The King has actually no claim over the throne. Philippe, Henry's father, is the first born of the previous King and therefore the legitimate heir to the throne and so is Henry. In the hand of Marie de Medicis, the baby would be used against Louis XIII. On the other hand in the hand of the Cardinal; Henry will never see his first birthday. The Captain went up to his office and Aramis and I followed him. He assured us that he would have a lot of paperwork to do all afternoon. He was his way to give us time to get Agnes and her son out of Paris. "Whatever you are planning to do, Aramis, I'll help you." I assured my friend. Aramis and I took Agnes and baby Henry to a traveller's camp. Aramis went to a man to pay him for Agnes' transport. Remember when I said babies hate me? Well, that is changing because baby Henry loves me. I was just holding his hand but he isn't crying yet. He even smiled at me.
"You live in an hour." Aramis told Agnes.
"I already told you, I'm not leaving." Agnes protested. "I'm going home."
"What do you think will happen if you go back to your village?" Aramis asked putting his arm over her shoulders.
"I will carry on with my life, bothering no one, raising my son." Agnes replied.
"Wake up! Marie de Medicis won't stop. She will try to take Henry again." I said to her. "And the Cardinal won't allow this threat to continue. He won't stop as long as Henry is alive. You have to leave, Agnes. You have no choice."
"What if I went to the palace?" She asked. "Henry is of the royal line, the King's nephew. They might welcome him." I shook my head side to side at her plea. "Perhaps we could live there in the palace. Henry will schooling, privileges."
"You'll be dead within a week." Aramis shouted. "Poison in your food. A knife twisted in your ribs in a long empty corridor. You are an expendable nuisance nothing more. At best, Henry will be brought up as the child of another. His life endlessly manipulated by those who have got any wish for power. At worse…" Aramis never finished his rant. Letting us to imagine what could happen to Henry.
"You can never go home, Agnes." I said to her regretfully. "If you want a life with your son…" I started.
"You have to live forever. Now. And never look back." Aramis finished softly. Agnes sobbed and kissed Henry's forehead. Aramis put a comforting arm on her shoulders and kissed her head. I held little Henry's hand. Agnes said nothing but we both knew, Aramis and I, that she made her decision. She accepted to leave this country for Spain. She accepted to make a new home for her and her son. We waited with Agnes. I sat on the ground with her and played with little Henry. I'm going to miss this little baby. I really love him. The other musketeers found us.
"I won't come back." Agnes said to them getting up between them and the baby.
"I'm not handing them over to the Cardinal." Aramis said.
"Aramis, the baby is the heir to the throne." D'Artagnan retorted.
"They could charge you with treason." Porthos added.
"We made her a promise." I put in.
"Well, we better help you." Athos smirked.
"You really thought that we were going to take the baby, did you?" Porthos chuckled. Aramis and I were relieved.
"I thought babies hated you?" D'Artagnan asked me smiling.
"They do but Henry is different. He loves me." I replied.
"If you told us what you were doing we might have helped you to do it properly." Athos remarked.
"Yes, sorry." Aramis apologised.
"No, no. Let's keep it suicidal." Athos reassured him.
"So, what are we going to do?" I asked Athos. We were standing near to the barrels.
"Do you have any idea?" Athos replied.
"No, not really." I sighed.
"Things just got complicated." Porthos called for us. The man who was working for Madame de Medicis just arrived with some of his men. They went to the bridge. I remained with Agnes while the men were discussing our options.
"I want you to cross the bridge and wait for me there." Aramis ordered Agnes. "You will let Henry with me."
"Aramis?"
"If you walk out there together, they'll be onto you in a minute." He explained to her helping her with her cloak. "I will get him across the bridge." Agnes was worrying. "I swear no harm will come to him." Aramis assured her. "Now go. Go!" Agnes left us with Henry and she walked across the bridge. Vincent, Marie's man, gave money to the same man Aramis paid before. "Next time I bribe someone remind me to bring more money."
"So, how should we do this?" D'Artagnan asked. Athos opened one of the barrels and tasted the liquid that was inside.
"These barrels contain brandy. A rather good Armagnac I believe." He informed us.
"Athos!" I whispered shouted.
"Now is not the time." Aramis added. Athos gave us both a look that said "you two idiots." And then it dawned on us. Athos wanted to use the brandy as a mean of distraction. "Oh, I see." Porthos chuckled. Athos, D'Artagnan and Porthos took a barrel each. I was about to do the same but Aramis stopped me and handed me Henry.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked.
"Take him to safety." Aramis ordered me. He took Henry's blankets with him.
"If he cries, what should I do?" I panicked.
"Sing him a song." He answered "Now go."
I put baby Henry into a large basket. There was an explosion and Aramis took off on his horse to the bridge. And Henry and I went back to Paris. We spent the night at the Bonacieux's household. The day after D'Artagnan and the musketeers came to get us. Constance took Henry with her this time and I followed them. We met with Agnes and she was happy to see her son alive. Constance handed her Henry and I got down to say goodbye to the only baby that will ever love me. I am going to miss this little baby Henry. Agnes thanked us for our help and left for Spain. Henry will never be King but he will the happiest boy ever.
