Chapter 23. His Reign Will End
The journey out of Paris had been long and difficult. Leaving in the dead of night made acquiring a carriage impossible and even if they had, they were wanted throughout the city as criminals. The driver would have taken them straight to the castle. Frequent stops were necessary to make sure Louis hadn't torn his stitches, even while leaning on Aramina and Corinne for support.
Once outside the city, they had been able to rest for a bit longer that before. After several hours, the sight of the manor against the tree line had everyone sighing with relief. What little was left of the night became devoted to uneasy sleep.
At the first light of dawn, the four of them had gathered in the kitchen. Hélène put together a simple breakfast of bread and cheese, along with some apples from a few of the trees. Louis watched as Corinne thanked her quietly and tucked herself into his side. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, grateful she was no longer angry with him.
"Philippe has to be stopped." He said with more force than necessary.
"Yes," Hélène replied. "I agree." Louis smiles triumphantly. "However."
He groaned. Hélène continued. "We need a plan. You can't just storm into the castle and hope for the best."
"And we can't just leave Viveca and Renée in the dungeon!" Her daughter spoke up.
Well, they could, Louis thought, for a little while at least. But Hélène would never stand for it.
"We could use the passageways," Corinne suggested.
"Oui, ma chère. Although, my cousin knows about them."
"What? How?"
"He was trying to kill me then too."
She looked at him with such sympathy and compassion it made his heart ache. His sweet little love. How could he have gotten her caught up in this mess? She deserved so much better than this! Better than him!
"Corinne," he began slowly, "you don't have to be part of any of this. You can still go-"
"Go?" She threw his arm from her shoulders. "Oh, no. You don't get to ask me to step aside when things get rough. You don't get to send me away. We're in this together, or not at all."
"Corinne, I-"
"You want to protect me. But who will protect you?" Her voice quieted. "I can't lose you, Louis."
Louis was taken aback by her words. He would die if anything happened to her. But he never thought that she would fear losing him. So fierce, yet so fragile his sweet love was. He took her hand in his. "All right." He knew there was no use arguing with her. "I'll protect you, and you'll protect me. We'll stop Philippe together."
She smiled. "Together."
Aramina sighed. "Oh, that is so romantic. Returning from exile to save the day and rescue our friends."
"But how do we get to them?" Corinne asked. "There's probably dozens of new guards."
"We use the passageways." Louis said simply.
"The passageways? I thought you said-"
"Yes, ma chère. Philippe knows about some of the passageways, but not all of them. There are hundreds of tunnels under the palace. I even constructed a few of them myself." He grinned proudly.
"That's perfect! Count Philippe won't know what hit him!" Aramina cheered. Her mother however, remained silent.
"Hélène," Louis turned to the woman who had raised him. "You've been quiet. Is something wrong?"
"I simply hope you fully understand the implications of this plan."
"I see." He let out a deep breath. "This has to be done, Hélène. I assure you that I am completely aware of my actions."
Hélène nodded. "All right. Aramina and I will free Viveca and Renée from the dungeon. You and Corinne will handle the Count. We leave in two nights." Louis opened his mouth to protest as to why they couldn't leave tonight, but she shushed him. "You've pushed that wound enough for one night. Get some rest. Heal. Worry about the Count later."
"Hélène, I'm f-"
"Now."
Louis took a step back. Were all the women in his life so fierce? Just two more nights. He waited for ten years. He could wait two more nights.
...
Sorry I'm a day late! I was at camp all week and had almost no time to write, then I babysat the minute I got home, and then worked a five and a half hour shift this morning. :P But I did it and managed to write the chapter. I'm just going to try and finish this story now and hopefully post updates twice a week. ;) So, we'll see! Hope it was worth the little extra wait.