Sometimes Salvation is Found in Agony

Chapter Twenty-Two

Aramis was quiet while Valentin, Marque, Ines, and the rest of their men spoke as they readied themselves for a fight against Anjou and his men, should their plan of attack go wrong. All the musketeer had to do is take Anjou out with his long range rifle, as they knew he wasn't in any condition to enter into a battle, but Aramis didn't know what he was going to do. He wasn't a cold blooded killer and he wasn't about to become one for these criminals, especially since he didn't plan to really kill the Cardinal either. He expected time to be able to come up with a plan, but these men and women were just as anxious as the musketeers were for this revolution to end and time wasn't on his side.

Ines finally walked up behind the musketeer as she spoke up saying, "So, are you ready, love? Are you really as good of a shot as you claim?"

Aramis looked back at her as she began to stroke his hair and quickly took a few steps to move away from her as he responded, "I guess we will see in just a few hours now, won't we?"

"I guess so," she replied as she kept on advancing on him while he continued to back away. "What's the matter, do you not like me? Do you not, find me attractive at all?"

"It isn't that, it's just… I'm…" Aramis tried to answer until a knock on the door interrupted him, causing everyone in the room to become dead silent as another of the women with them raised her pistol, then moved to open the door.

When she did so, Claudette was standing there and she said, "It's good to see that the rest of you haven't given up our fight, though I have to say your plan is ludicrous, if what Antony says is true."

Marque quickly moved forward and embraced her, then responded, "I am so glad you're alive. I thought… I thought you were dead. What about Renee and Reynard? Are they with you? Are they all right?"

"I don't know about Renee, but I'm afraid that Reynard was killed," she replied sadly. "I'm so sorry, Marque."

"How did this happen?" the right hand to the leader of the criminals asked angrily. "Who killed him?"

Claudette quickly glanced over at Aramis, who gently shook his head as a way of pleading for her not to say anything, then she looked back at the man she loved and answered, "I don't really know. The Red Guards somehow found our camp and we were attacked. Most of us were killed and the rest were taken and arrested. Only a few managed to escape, as I did. I was hoping that Renee did too, but…"

Marque cut her off as he spoke again saying, "I'm sure she got away too. She's just as strong as you."

"Reynard failed to find a safe place to set up camp and it led to his death," Valentin responded coldly. "We will head to Paris like we should have gone in the first place, but after I see to it that Anjou is dead as well."

"And you think that a musketeer, a sick and wounded musketeer, will help you do this?" Claudette asked as she moved to stand in front of Aramis and swiftly slipped a parchment into his hands behind her back without anyone else noticing, then turned around to look at him and scoffed. "What skill can this man possibly possess that makes you think he can kill Anjou while in his condition?"

Valentin replied, "We'll find out soon enough."

A few hours later…

It was almost noon when Anjou and his men walked out from the building they resided in and began to walk through the streets toward the prison, escorting the two drunkards to lock them up for disturbing the peace the night before. On top of the prison's roof, Aramis positioned himself carefully and peered through the sight, waiting for his target to move in the perfect position. Valentin and Marque had positioned themselves on a rooftop across street in order to keep watch, waiting to see if the musketeer really could pull this off as he claimed.

While he waited for Anjou to leave the prison, Aramis looked down on the rest of the men with the leader, then suddenly caught sight of his three friends, Athos, Porthos, and d'Artagnan, who were wearing their usual clothing, though without their fleur de lis carved into their shoulder pads so that they wouldn't be given away as musketeers.

Aramis smiled as he pulled the parchment he had been handed by Claudette from inside his boot, then peered down at the words written by Athos and said to himself softly, "They are fools for coming after me, but I'm certainly glad they did."

The words read, You're not alone. All you have to do is aim and fire. We've done this once before. Remember my death. It was beautiful.

It wasn't long before Anjou and his own right hand walked out again and when the time came, a shot was suddenly fired and the right target collapsed to the ground as the three musketeers in the crowd quickly surrounded him and covered his chest in animals' blood to make him appear dead, just as they had done with Athos when d'Artagnan had to kill him for Milady. It was then that several of Valentin's men charged out into the streets and began the inevitable attack, while Aramis carefully made his way off the roof in order to join with the men he had deceived.

"Why can't we just end this all here and now, so that we can find Aramis and bring him home with us?" Porthos asked as he swiftly fired his pistol to kill a man about to charge d'Artagnan from behind and then he and Athos worked to carry Anjou's not so dead body away from the fight in order to keep up the appearance.

"Until Valentin is dead or we can take him prisoner, Aramis' cover must remain intact, or his life will be in danger should he learn Aramis tricked him," Athos answered gruffly. "We need to find him and Marque too. I know Claudette deserves answers, but Marque is just as dangerous as Valentin. Take him alive, if at all possible and find her. It doesn't matter what happens to Valentin. I'll find Aramis, to make sure he stays alive."