Sometimes Salvation is Found in Agony

Chapter Two

Once they arrived at the Bastille, the musketeers guided their prisoners down several dark, tight passageways in order to get to the prison cells and once they arrived at their destination, Porthos and Athos shoved the two men inside, then stood over them, along with d'Artagnan and Aramis, waiting for some answers as to what the men were really up to. They didn't expect the prisoners to talk willingly, but figured that they would try to see if their ominous presence would intimidate them, even it was only a little.

The surviving thieves didn't act afraid in the slightest as one of them chuckled and said, "I suppose we should thank you musketeers for not killing us like you killed the rest of our friends. If you want us to explain why we made a move to rob your precious Cardinal while on your way back from mass, you can forget it. We have nothing to say to you."

Porthos smiled as he stared down at them, then stated, "Actually, you just said a lot to us. You just made it clear that you and your friends are not complete imbeciles, as we suspected you weren't."

"Tell us of your true intentions and we may be able to convince our King to be lenient on you," Athos continued, keeping his head down and eyes down on his pistol as he worked to reload it. "If you don't, you will surely end up as dead as the others that helped you in your suicidal attempt."

"My friend already said all we're going to say," the other prisoner answered smugly. "I suppose the Cardinal, or a few of his own guards will be down soon to talk to us as well. We'll wait for them."

It was then that Aramis suddenly fired his own pistol, aiming in between the men's feet, causing the man to cry out angrily, "Do you think that is supposed to scare me?"

Aramis glared back at the man as he responded coldly, "You claim that you're not, but your eyes tell me otherwise. Look into mine. Do they tell you that I am just trying to scare you? My next musket ball will land in your leg and if I have to fire for a third time, you will be dead and I will continue on with your friend. Tell us what we want to know."

"All right, all right!" the man cried fearfully. "I'll tell you."

"You can't, you coward!" the other thief shouted angrily until he was swiftly knocked unconscious by Porthos with one punch to the side of his head.

Athos looked between his friends, then back at the remaining prisoner and spoke again saying, "Please, continue. What was the reason why you and the others tried to rob the Cardinal in broad daylight, amongst all of us soldiers?"

The man looked back at the musketeer who had shot at his feet earlier and responded, "It was only a test, to see how each of you soldiers would react in a threat made against Cardinal Richelieu and it was as we expected. You musketeers made an attack against us as we charged, while the rest protected the King and Queen. The Cardinal's Red Guards secured him, but made no move to come against us as you did."

"Because we had the situation until control," Porthos replied, still not fully understanding what the man was getting at. "What else would we do?"

"We had to be sure," their prisoner answered nervously. "This was our job; all that we were told to do."

Athos glared at the man as he responded, "There are more of you that plan to attack again."

D'Artagnan asked, "What is it that you're really after?"

"We are planning to assassinate the Cardinal," he replied smugly, as the musketeers looked between each other nervously.

"This is nothing new to us," Athos said after he and the other musketeers left the cell and stood in the passageway. "We are used to people making threats…"

D'Artagnan interrupted, "Making threats against the King and Queen maybe, but not against the Cardinal. The assassins are usually working for him."

Aramis spoke again saying, "It doesn't matter who the threat is made against. It is our duty to find the men responsible and put a stop to their plans before their threat is carried out."

"Since when did you want to defend the Cardinal?" Porthos asked as he and the others looked over at their comrade, who they knew was still suffering, though he refused to talk about it anymore with them or to anyone else.

"Aramis?" Athos called out as their friend simply just turned and began to walk away in silence, but stopped once he rounded the corner in order to be able to listen in on the rest of his friends' conversation, without them knowing he was still there.

Porthos watched him sadly until he was no longer in their sight, then spoke up as he asked again, "How long before we finally do something to help him break out of this hell he's been fighting against inside his mind? I don't know how much more I can take watching him walk around like a ghost. He's hardly eating or sleeping and even when he does, he wakes up in cold sweats from the nightmares. All he does is fight and practice, no matter how exhausted he is."

Athos turned to Porthos and answered, "We've all tried, just as you have. If there was something more we could do, don't you think we would have done it? Sometimes, we have to face our demons alone and there is nothing that anyone can do about it. Aramis will come out of this."

"I hope you're right," d'Artagnan responded sadly. "I have to agree with Porthos. At least I have Constance to help me, even if she does still feel she needs to remain with her husband. Aramis can't ever be with the woman he loves and he knows it."

"The love of a woman isn't the only way back," Athos replied sadly, immediately thinking again of Milady as he began to follow after their friend, who had walked off before the others came around the corner. "We just need to be here for him and encourage him to keep fighting. When he's ready, he'll talk to us again and we'll listen."

As the musketeers were exiting the Bastille, they were greeted by Count de Rochefort, who tipped his hat to them as he dismounted from his horse and then spoke up saying, "It took a little longer for you four to put our prisoners into custody than usual. I suppose you tried to get something out of them too. Did they say anything?"

Porthos placed his hat back on his head as he answered, "One of them had a little spill. The other didn't have anything to say."

"I suppose there isn't any use in wishing you luck with them, is there Rochefort?" Athos asked smugly, knowing that the man had no qualms with beating the men near to death to get them to tell him everything that the one told them. "Try not to kill them before we go to the King. He will want to be the one to decide their fates."

"I understand, gentlemen," the Count responded as he turned to glare at the musketeers before going inside. "Good day."

D'Artagnan mounted his horse, as did the others, then asked, "Should we worry?"

Athos shook his head and then replied, "No, I don't think so. The Cardinal only kills prisoners when they have a secret that could mean trouble for him. He won't mind letting King Louis decide what happens to those two. Besides, they'll most likely be killed anyway."