Chapter XXVIII

"This is all your fault!"

Aramis was confused. He did not understand what was wrong with his wife. She had not been herself since they'd come back from the Louvres, but she would not say anything to him. Now she was accusing him?

"What did I do? Is it because I left to go with the King? Elise... you know I love you, but...I am a Musketeer and when I am given orders, I always obey."

She dismissed it with a wave of her hand. If only she would look at him, it might make things easier.

"It has nothing to do with the King. Well...it could but it has nothing to do with what you did today."

"I don't understand." Elise eventually turned around, and there was so much fury in her eyes, he was afraid for a second.

"I saw the Dauphin. I. Saw. The. Dauphin," she spat the words, pushing against his chest. She felt so angry at him. Aramis took the hits until she started to push too hard and he feared she would hurt herself. He grabbed her wrists gently, holding her close to him. She fought him for a few seconds, but when it was clear that he was not letting her go she stopped.

"He looks just like you, Aramis. I looked at him and it was as if I was looking at you. He's you. I'm terrified of what is going to happen. I see it, the Queen sees it. Others will do."

"You know me like nobody else does, Elise. You saw the resemblance because you've been spending a lot of time with me. You must understand that when I'm on duty at the Court, I am like a statue to the courtiers and the aristocrats. They don't see me, they look through me. I know you are worried, but I promise you nothing will befall you."

"It is not my future that terrifies me. It's yours." Her voice was quaking, as was her whole body. Aramis hugged her, rubbing her back to calm her down. "I don't want you to die."

"Oh, Elise...Why would I die?"

"Because if the King finds out..."

"Look at me." He grabbed her chin so she would look up. Her eyes were glistening with tears, whether they were of anger or sadness, he could not say. "If one day, I have even the slightest suspicion that someone may say something, we will be out of Paris and out of the country in a matter of hours. I will always be by your side to protect you. I promise. Do you hear me? I promise, and if I have to make this promise every day, I will."

The Musketeer kissed her cheeks, catching the tears with his lips as they were running down. He kissed her mouth for a long time, somewhat reassured when she did not push him away. Instead, her hands were clutching his arms. It felt like she was hanging on for dear life.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked, their lips still touching ever so slightly. Elise put her arms around his neck.

"I'm still angry. I'll never understand how you could put yourself, and the country, at such risk." Aramis had no answer to that. There was no point in discussing the past. She would never understand his motivations and he did not intend to waste time trying to make her see his side of the story. It was enough that she supported him in the present day.

"But are you feeling better now?"

"Yes...I think so. I need you and I never want to be apart from you." He could sense the despair in her voice. Even though there was no doubt she enjoyed being married to him, and being in Paris, he sometimes almost forgot that she lost both her parents less than six months ago. She was attacked and hurt, and in many ways, she was still very weak. She greatly needed him.

He carried her to the bed, lying her down gently. Elise was still clinging to his arms, looking at him as he ran his fingers through her hair. Aramis kissed every inch of her face, her neck and her shoulders until she sighed. It was a sigh he knew all too well.

He made love to her in the slowest way possible that night. It was pure passion and torture at the same time and every single part of her body felt on fire. Her satisfied moan when he rested his head on her belly later on and her hand stroking his face set the world back in order. They would be fine. Yes, there would be times when it would be more complicated and Elise would hate him for the Dauphin, but in the end, as long as they had each other, they would be fine.

A royal invitation arrived for Elise and Aramis the following afternoon. The Musketeer was delighted to see that he would not have to be on duty for the entire length of the festivities. He would be a guest for at least one day. It was a good distraction for Elise as well. Aramis did not want to wake her up when he left the house for the Garrison and when she finally opened her eyes, it was midday. The events of the previous day had consumed much of her energy. Finding an outfit to wear for the Queen's birthday occupied most of her time.

Constance's was too happy to help her friend and provide good advice. They enjoyed choosing the fabric and the shade of what would become a ballgown. The seamstresses working with Mr Bonacieux were quite efficient so the garment was ready in a couple of days. Aramis had told her many tales about the events taking place at the Palace every night when he came home. Elise could not wait to witness it by herself.

"Aren't you excited about tonight!" Aramis laughed when she all but stumbled down the stairs in her new gown.

"Aren't you?"

"Oh well, I spend almost more time over there than here anyway...," he sounded so blasé until he laughed some more when her face fell. "I'm joking, Elise! I cannot wait to spend the evening enjoying myself while Porthos will have to watch us."

"Will there be dancing?"

"It's called 'a ball', my love. I think it means dancing will have to be involved at some point." Her grin was priceless. He had taken to calling her "love" when they were alone, and she must admit that it was a sweet improvement.

"Will we dance?"

"Do you want to dance?"

"Yes. It feels like I have not done so in such a long time."

"Then we will." A bigger smile and a kiss on the cheek showed that she was satisfied by his answer.

It had to be the best night of Elise's life. She did not know where to look. There were lights everywhere in the gardens: candles floating on water in the fountains, lanterns hanging from the trees, candlesticks on the statues. Her eyes could not stop moving from one guest to the other as she marveled about the dresses and the jewellery, and the way the ladies wore their hair.

To Aramis, she was the most beautiful in her blue gown. He especially liked the sleeves: they still covered most of her shoulders, but by some miracle, Constance had convinced his wife to make them less bigger than before and he could see her scar. Elise complained about it, yet she was beginning to accept it.

The Queen was radiant as always, clearly enjoying her birthday celebration. Their eyes crossed once when she arrived with the King. There was no sign to acknowledge that she had seen him, but it had been the same for the past days. Sometimes he wondered what had truly happened between her and Elise to lead to him being ignored in this way. Tonight was not the night to bother too much, though.

Elise was inexhaustible but after dancing for a long time, he requested a moment to rest. His ankle was starting to throb and he did not wish to push his luck. Instead, he retreated to a darker corner of the park where Porthos was keeping watch.

"How very nice of you to remember your old friend."

"Are you brooding because you did not receive an invitation?"

"What invitation? I do not need an invitation. I am attending every single event. As a statue." He rolled his eyes, stretching his limbs.

"A very convincing statue. I doubt anyone has noticed you were here."

"At least one of us is having fun," Porthos stated, pointing at Elise who was in deep conversation with another young woman she had been introduced to earlier. They were laughing as if they had known each other for years.

"I am quite enjoying myself, too, if you must know."

"You seemed to, yes. Your dancing is quite...entertaining," he smirked at Aramis.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, merely that you are a...remarkable dancer."

"Well, then, you should try it someday. The ladies quite like it when they can watch a dashing young man in a uniform dance."

"I hope you are not referring to yourself when you say 'dashing.'" Aramis punched his shoulder.

"Children, behave yourselves," Athos' dry voice said. He had appeared out of nowhere, standing with his arms crossed next to Aramis. "Is everything fine, here, Porthos?"

"It's a rather quiet night, if you forget the racket these musicians are making. Where is d'Artagnan?"

"The last I've seen of him he was attempting to fight off a swarm of courtesans by the fountain." The older Musketeer seemed to find this inconvenience rather entertaining.

"Do not tell me nobody has tried to lure you into their bed yet!" Aramis exclaimed, a hand on his heart as if he was truly shocked. Athos stared at him hard.

"I do not drink and I do not waste time in gallant conversation when I am asked to guard the King and the Queen. Some of us have to remember their position in order for the company to prove its value."

"And you are sober! I am afraid I must ask: are you feeling well or should I seek a physician?"

Porthos' boisterous laughter echoed around them. It startled a couple of guests who were passing nearby and had not seen the three Musketeers in the shadows.

"And you were saying he was growing soft," Athos muttered.

"Who is growing soft?" Aramis inquired. His friends pretended not to hear him and became suddenly very interesting in their duty. "Am I growing softer? Is that what you mean?"

"Let's say that you are not the same old Aramis as you used to be. I'm not saying it's a bad thing!" Porthos added quickly. "It's simply different. You don't see it, do you?" His friend crossed his arms.

"Please, enlighten me."

"To begin with, you never stay long when we go for drinks. You always leave after a few hours. And we have considerably less time to practise at the Garrison. We used to wake up at dawn, but now...d'Artagnan sleeps like a baby and I have to wait for ages before he decides to show his face."

"Porthos, my friend. Are you jealous of Elise?"

"No."

"Yes, he is."

"Shut your mouth! I am not jealous of her." This time, it was Aramis' turn to laugh loudly. He slapped his friend's shoulder. He was jealous.

"I have to say, you are adorable. You are my best friends, you, Athos and d'Artagnan. So yes, things have changed a little, but wouldn't you neglect your comrades if you knew you had such a fine woman waiting for you at home?"

"Perhaps I would. Still, this one's often too drunk to fence," he mumbled, looking darkly at Athos. "And do not call me adorable ever again," he added, his white teeth almost glowing in the darkness.

"Fine! I will come to fence with you some mornings. However, do not come complaining when my wife assaults you because I leave her freezing by herself in our bed before the break of dawn."

Porthos stifled a groan, flexing his muscles to show that he was not scared of such a short woman. His demeanour relaxed at his friend's words. Aramis clasped his shoulders roughly unable to stop laughing.

"You will always surprise me. I'm sorry I've made you feel abandoned. Should I ask Elise to prepare the second bedroom so you can come and be closer to me whenever you feel depressed?"

"Go back to your ludicrous dancing before I make this party less boring by breaking some bones."

"As if you scared me! You better be waiting for me tomorrow at first light or else I'll come hunting you down!" The Musketeer shouted, making his way back to the guests and to his wife.