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When they arrived at the Cardinal's study, Aramis knocked on the door.

'Come in,' the older man called.

The four men entered.

Cardinal Richelieu looked surprised. 'Where is the assassin?' he asked.

'She managed to elude us,' Aramis said slightly sulky. 'Twice. But she did tell us how we can get her here.'

'Ah. And how is that going to happen?' the Cardinal asked.

'She told us she has the tendency not to believe anything until it is proven to her, so we had to get her proof,' Athos said.

'What kind of proof?'

'A note, written by you, with your personal signature and seal, Your Eminence,' Aramis said. 'And the guarantee that she can walk in and out of the palace without being arrested or killed.'

Cardinal Richelieu nodded. 'That won't be a problem.'

He took a piece of paper and a pen. A few minutes later, he folded it up and sealed it with his personal seal.

'There you go,' he said and handed it to the Musketeers.

'Thank you, Your Eminence,' Aramis said and took the note.

Then the four Musketeers left the study again.

'I expect more result soon, gentlemen,' the Cardinal called after them.

The men walked down the stairs and left the palace.

'So how do we get that note to her?' D'Artagnan asked.

'That old man,' Aramis said.

'So he pointed us in the wrong direction on purpose,' Porthos grumbled.

'I think it's quite possible she threatened him into doing so,' Athos said.


In the meantime, they had arrived at the same tavern.

'Hello again, Jean-Luc,' Aramis said.

The old man looked up and recognised the Musketeers. In the dark space behind him, the albino assassin smirked soundlessly.

'Can I help you, gentlemen?' Jean-Luc asked.

Aramis handed him the Cardinal's note.

'Can you get this to the Nameless Assassin?' he asked.

The old man glanced at the paper and the seal, nodded and looked over his shoulder.

Emmanuelle stood up and emerged from the shadows.

'A note for you,' Jean-Luc said and handed her the piece of paper.

Emmanuelle smiled and studied the seal.

'Hmmm, his personal seal… interesting…' she muttered before she broke it.

Then she read the letter.

'To the Nameless Assassin,

I sent these four Musketeers to collect you for a very simple reason: I have a job offer for you.
This matter however, is too delicate to discuss over mail or out on the street, so I would like you to meet me in my study. I would prefer if you let the Musketeer escort you, but I can understand if you will not let them.
I do hope you at least will consider my offer. If you accept, I will drop all charges against you. If you do not, of course I will not.
Whatever decision you make however, I will guarantee that you will be able to walk in and out of the palace without being arrested or killed.
Hoping that this will suffice,

Sincerely, Cardinal Armand Jean de Richelieu'

'And his personal signature…' she mumbled.

She then threw the letter in the fire and waited until it was nothing but ashes. She put two gold coins in the old man's hand.

'You're done, old man,' she said. 'Get lost.'

Jean-Luc stood up and scurried off.

'Did you even know his name?' Aramis asked.

'Of course,' Emmanuelle said slightly offended. 'And the names of his family members. In case, he did not do his job and I needed to kill them all. As I said, I don't like loose ends….'

The Musketeers did not know what to say to that.

'So…' the assassin said after a while. 'What shall we do now…?'

'You come with us to the Cardinal,' Athos said.

'Yeah, that is not going happen…' Emmanuelle said calmly. 'I don't like escorts.'

She glanced past D'Artagnan and smirked.

'You might want to duck,' she smiled.

The young man looked behind him and ducked immediately.

Emmanuelle veered to one side, dodging the projectile.

'Good afternoon, gentlemen,' she said calmly. 'I will see you later. In the palace, perhaps?'

She then walked right past them and disappeared into the maze of Paris again.

The Musketeers were too busy holding off the angry drunk from before to notice where she went. The angry drunk was too busy trying to get past the Musketeers to notice her even leaving.


The assassin walked to the palace, sticking to the shadows.

Unseen, invisible, as if she did not exist.

She observed the building. In a side street was an entrance for servants. It was not frequently used. The door was not locked either. It would appear it was no longer in use. Then she saw why.

A few yards away, another door was being used quite frequent. Servants and servant girls walked in and out almost all the time.

Emmanuelle looked around to see if no one would see her cross the street. Then she dashed to the other side of the road.

She crept closer to the unused door. When no one was looking, she opened it.

It led to a staircase, which led to a corridor that joined the two doors. She walked up the stairs and turned to the right.

A servant girl walked past without noticing the figure in the shadowy recess.

She opened the door on the left of the top of the staircase.

It was a cupboard full of sewing supplies.

Suddenly she felt a hand covering her mouth and a sharp dagger on her throat.

She wanted to scream, but of course, the hand over her mouth kept her from doing so.

'That dagger against your throat is poisoned,' the assassin growled. 'Scream and you die.'

The girl nodded trembling.

'Tell me exactly how to get to the Cardinal's study,' Emmanuelle snarled. 'If you lie, I'll know. I will come back for you and I will kill you. Got it?'

The poor girl nodded again.

'Now tell me.' The assassin removed her hand from the girl's mouth.

The servant gave her very precise directions.

'Thank you…' Emmanuelle said softly and let go off her.

The girl wanted to walk away, but a hard blow of a dagger's haft on her head turned her world dark.

The assassin lifted the unconscious girl up and hid her in the recess. Then she walked through the door, up the stairs, sneaking past everyone.

She followed the servant girl's directions and ended up at a closed door. That door led to a small hall with one door at the other end, the door to the Cardinal's study.

A few Red Guards were sitting in the hallway. They hadn't noticed her yet. Suddenly they stood up and walked to the door.

Emmanuelle hid herself behind it, careful not to make a sound. The guards walked right past her, not noticing her at all. They walked down the hallway through which she had come.

She slipped through the door.

A sudden hard blow on her head rendered her dizzy.