Chapter Thirty - Caregiver

Aramis (with Queen Anne and the Dauphin)

Louis walked ahead of his mother. They had escaped from everyone else and were exploring. Louis liked exploring. He loved the Palace, it was big with plenty of hiding places but there was always someone nearby. But out here, in the gardens, they could find places where there was no one else.

He skipped ahead, being careful not to go out of his mother's sight. She would call out to him if she could not see him and that would draw the attention of the guards. Louis did not want anyone else around today. He did not want to be important today. His father always told him he was very important and had to be kept safe. But today Louis was enjoying the freedom. His father was away. When his father was away his mother seemed happier and let him run around; as long as she could see him.

Louis kept walking, looking around when he heard the cackling call of a bird, but he could not see the bird, perhaps he could search for it? A muttered curse made him look ahead again. Louis always pretended he did not hear his father cursing and never said such words himself. His mother told him off once for cursing and Louis did not like to upset his mother.

The rose bushes were moving. Louis had worked out what had happened before he rounded the corner of a neat hedge to fully see the bushes. Someone had become caught on the thorns. It had happened to him once. His mother had told him he was naughty for trying to get through the bushes, but she had also told him he was very brave for not crying as she untangled him.

One of the soldiers, with his back to him, was trying to peel a branch off his sleeve. Louis could see that the man had already pulled the thorny branches off his doublet, but had somehow still managed to get caught on the sleeve and hand.

Louis stood and watched for a few seconds until he was aware of his mother having caught him up.

'What is the matter Louis?' she asked as she stopped next to him.

He pointed forwards as the man caught in the rose bush turned around, yelping as he did so. The action of turning quickly pulled the thorns from his sleeve but also cut across his wrist and hand in the process. Louis screwed up his face imagining how much it must have hurt the soldier as the prickly thorns scratched across his hand.

The soldier, a Musketeer Louis realised, looked shocked. He quickly bowed, trying to hide his now bleeding hand behind his back.

'He's hurt, mama,' said Louis quietly.

His mother looked shocked. She did not say anything, merely stared at the man in front of them.

'Then we should help him,' she said after a few seconds.

'Majesty,' said the Musketeer, 'there's no need.'

The Musketeer took a couple of steps backwards, almost back into the rose bush. Louis giggled.

'You'll get stuck again,' he said.

The soldier glanced behind before taking a step forward. Louis watched as his mother closed the gap between them and reached out, taking the Musketeers hand in hers and inspected the injury.

'Louis, you know Aramis...he's one of the bravest Musketeers.'

Louis walked forward and stopped in front of the two grown-ups.

'Why were you trying to get through the rose bush?'

Aramis looked down at him for a few seconds. Louis could not work out what sort of expression the man had, it reminded him of the way his mother looked at him. But his father never looked at him in quite the same way.

'We've had reports of a man hanging around the outside of the palace grounds. I've been checking for any possible ways for a man to get through to the gardens.'

'And did you find any? Are we safe?' asked his mother looking around as she spoke.

Aramis looked at his hand for a few seconds before replying, 'I'm sure no one is going to get in through here.'

Louis saw that the scratches to Aramis' hand were deep and still bleeding. He knew that bleeding was not a good thing. He had once slipped into the physician's rooms and hidden behind a curtain watching as the doctor had bandaged up a cut to the hand of one of the kitchen staff. Louis knew what he had to do.

He reached up and took Aramis' hand from his mother and pulled out his handkerchief. The handkerchief was clean, he had not needed it that day. Louis carefully wrapped the square of white silk around Aramis' hand, covering the worst of the scratches. He glanced up and saw that Aramis was looking at his mother. They were looking at each other in the same way that his mother looked at him. In the same way that Aramis had looked at him a few minutes ago. He decided he liked the expression. He wished his father used it.

'Thank you, Majesty,' said Aramis when Louis had tied the handkerchief firmly. 'I'm not sure I will be able to return your handkerchief.'

Louis looked up, 'that's alright, Aramis,' he said, 'I have plenty of others.'

His mother was trying to hide a smile. Louis did not understand grown-ups.

He decided he did not want to.

Aramis bowed to them both and said, 'I shall continue my search for any potential gaps in the perimeter...and if I have any more problems...I'll know where to come.'

Aramis smiled at Louis, who smiled back. His mother rested her hand on his shoulder as Aramis walked past them. Louis saw his mother watch Aramis go. It was not until the Musketeer was out of sight that she turned her attention back to him.

'We had better get you another handkerchief,' she said, 'you never know when you might need one.'

Louis thought that was a good idea.

The End.