Hope you enjoy this one. Sorry it's slightly later than usual but unfortunately my thesis has to come first.
All mistakes are mine and I hope you enjoy it! :)
Chapter Nine
'Aramis? Why him?' asked Rochefort. 'He didn't sleep with your wives did he?' Rochefort smiled but could see the thunderous looks he got in return.
'He is the reason my brother was executed for a crime he didn't commit,' snarled Renard.
'Please explain.' When no explanation was forthcoming, Rochefort said, 'We are about to commit treason of the highest level and I would like to know the reason why you want Aramis.'
'I was a loyal supporter of Marie de Medici,' explained the duke, who was now shifting uncomfortably in his seat. 'I supported her when she tried to obtain power the first time.'
'The first time?' interrupted Rochefort. 'You mean there was a second?'
'Yes, there was a second. Her Majesty told me that Louis was not the true King of France. In fact, she had originally given birth to twins.' Rochefort remained stoic and silent at this news. 'The first born was malformed,' continued the duke, 'and Louis was the second born. Her first son, Phillipe, was raised away from prying eyes and very few even knew of his existence. He was raised by the priest that had been there at the birth. She asked me to support her in her mission to become reagent for her grandson. She was adamant she could prove him the true heir and promised power and wealth for my support.'
'My brother was Vincent, one of her closest allies. He was involved in finding the child and proving Marie should be the reagent for her grandson,' explained Renard quietly, looking down at his hands in his lap.
'The child was found and brought to Paris but the musketeers couldn't leave well alone,' said the duke with his temper rising. 'They took the child and tried to help the child's mother escape with him.'
'Aramis had the chance to hand the child over but he refused!' shouted Renard. 'He threw the child into the river. The BASTARD!' Rochefort raised his hand to calm Renard.
'Let me get this straight. You believe that Aramis threw a child into a river? With all respect the man does not have a sinister streak and would never purposefully kill a child, of that I am certain,' Rochefort looked directly at Renard, waiting for him to contradict him.
'Ok. He didn't throw the child into the river on purpose. My brother told me that Aramis refused to hand over the child and when they tried to take the child by force the baby slipped from his grasp into the river,' Renard eyed Rochefort for his reaction.
'That makes far more sense. So, your brother and his men tried to take the baby from Aramis and unfortunately the child fell into the river.' Renard nodded. They sat in silence for a while and Rochefort's mind was whirring. He knew the musketeers well and while they may cause him many problems, he knew at heart they were resourceful and honourable men. Aramis would never have taken the child into danger, so it was far more likely that the event was staged and the child was safe. The child was still alive.
'It doesn't change the fact that if Aramis had handed over the child my brother would not be dead,' Renard said with pure anger in his voice, interrupting Rochefort's thoughts. 'He was executed for trying to kill Marie. They had used a threat of assassins to gain entry to the palace in the first place, Renard added, 'and the musketeers and Cardinal Richelieu sent him to his death to protect her!'
'Had Aramis handed over the child Marie would be ruling this country in the name of her grandson, the true king. Far better that than the idiot Louis. I would be a trusted advisor and Renard would still have his brother,' concluded the duke, offering his support to his man.
'So will you hand him over?' asked Renard.
'Your reasons are your own. Who am I to question them?' smiled Rochefort.
'Some of my brother's men weren't executed and, as far as I know, are still in the Châtelet. We could trade them for the queen?' asked Renard, looking to the duke.
'Yes, ok. Men are easier to hide than money as they can melt into the countryside,' the duke said dryly.
'If you give me their names, I will check if they are still in the Châtelet,' settled Rochefort. 'As for Aramis, he is still a rather large pain in my arse,' confirmed Rochefort with a smile. 'I will have him deliver a letter to you next week. Do what you want with him.'
'Surely, that will make it obvious that we are to blame for his disappearance?' questioned the duke.
'All you need do, is say he delivered the letter which you can show to anyone who comes looking. Without evidence they can't accuse you of anything,' Rochefort paused for a moment.
'A word of advice. Physical pain is not the best way to torture him,' Rochefort looked to the duke and Renard, seeing the puzzled looks on their faces. 'Emotional pain will be a far greater torture. Tell him what you are doing to his friends. Make him feel helpless.'
'But we won't have his friends?' asked Renard, still clearly confused.
'But he won't know that, will he?' A smile crossed Renard's face as he turned to the duke, who was also smiling.
The musketeers ate the meal with gusto as the training they had done earlier had truly tired them and left them hungry. Sophie and the other cooks had prepared a meal of chicken stew with freshly baked rolls of bread and they had apple cider to wash it down. Fortier was in his element as he explained many moments when, as a young man, he had fought he way out of situations and how he often needed the help of his older brother. The musketeers secretly wondered what had happened to Fortier's brother.
Soon the meal was finished and Fortier rose from the table, 'I'm going to have nap. After all that excitement this morning, I'm rather worn out. Not as young as I used to be,' he said with a smile.
As the musketeers rose from their seats, Fortier waved them down, 'Gentlemen, you are supposed to be relaxing and you have had too much of my company today. That wasn't the idea. Now have a good afternoon,' he waved to them.
'Good afternoon,' they replied in unison.
'Any ideas,' asked Aramis.
'I'm going to sit here and drink this wonderful cider,' replied Athos dryly.
D'Artagnan had noticed Bouchard practising his swordsmanship against an imaginary opponent, 'I'm going to go and spar with Bouchard. He needs someone to practise with,' before rushing off.
The other three musketeers watched him go as Porthos commented, 'The boundless energy of youth,' shaking his head. Aramis couldn't help but roar with laughter while Athos snorted into his cider, clearly amused.
'Right, I'm going to go exploring,' announced Aramis. 'I fancy finding the orchard.'
'I'll come too,' said Porthos as he leapt up from his chair. 'Dubois said he left our horses in one of the fields. They'll be enjoyin' that.'
They both looked to Athos who just lifted his glass that contained the cider to indicate he was staying put.
'Suit yourself,' said Aramis who had clearly understood the gesture.
'Oh Aramis,' called Athos. 'Don't shoot any birds,' he added with a wry smile. Aramis glared while Porthos laughed heartily.
Athos watched as D'Artagnan gave advice to Bouchard on the best way to hold his sword and not to hold it too tightly. As the sparring began Athos could see that Bouchard was not unskilled and recognised many of the techniques D'Artagnan was using as one's he had used on the Gascon himself. Their youngest member had certainly learnt a lot since he arrived in Paris.
Aramis and Porthos wandered for a while, commenting on the beauty of the land and the day being warm and sunny. Soon they came to the orchard and in the distance they could see their horses roaming in a field.
'See you later, I'm gonna check on t'horses,' said Porthos as he left Aramis at the edge of the orchard.
Aramis started moving between the trees and noticed a particularly ripe apple which he plucked from the branch. He was sure the Comte wouldn't mind as he bit into the apple and tasted sweet flesh with a hint of sharpness and continued to wander while eating. Soon he could hear the sound of running water and as he came to the edge of the orchard he could see a stream with fast flowing water and then a deeper section which was still. He threw the apple core onto a compost pile that was nearby and made his way towards the stream.
He sat down on the bank and was soon tempted to scoop up some water with his hands and wash his face. It was cool but wasn't cold. Aramis looked around but there was no-one in sight.
He quickly removed his boots and socks and dipped his feet in the water and found it to be refreshing. He looked around again and then removed his weapons belts, his shirt and breeches and rolled his braies over his knees. Carefully he stepped into the fast-flowing water and stopped when it came up to his knees. He looked around taking in the scenery and listening to the sounds of the countryside.
Porthos quickly found himself leaning on the fence watching the horses run gleefully through the field. The horses never got much leisure time and spent most of their time in the stables at the garrison or tied up when they were travelling. They were truly enjoying their freedom. Flip had noticed his rider and trotted over to say hello.
'Hello you,' Porthos soothed as he stroked Flip's nose. The horse closing its eyes lazily in enjoyment at Porthos' touch. Soon Flip was joined by the other three and Porthos took turns in stroking their noses as well. All four horses looked happy and relaxed and soon returned to chasing each other around the field. Porthos reflected on how their horse's friendship seem to resemble their human's.
Porthos wandered back to the orchard wondering where Aramis was. He too picked an apple and ate it while walking. He threw his apple core in the same compost pile Aramis had used and then saw something that made him smile.
'Oi Aramis!' he shouted, hoping to startle the marksman who was wearing only his braies, standing in the stream. It almost worked as Aramis lost his balance slightly but soon regained his composure.
'Porthos!' he scolded, while the larger musketeer made his way down to the stream grinning.
'Nice day for a swim,' commented the larger musketeer. 'What's it like?'
'It's not cold just cool. I think it gets deeper over there,' said Aramis pointing to the darker still water.
'Aramis, you know I'm not the best swimmer.'
'Well here,' he indicated the water up to his knees, 'you don't need to swim,' he finished cheekily. Porthos answered with a scowl as Aramis started wading into deeper water.
'Come on. It's nice,' encouraged the marksman.
Porthos finally decided to join Aramis and quickly removed his clothes until he too was only dressed in his braies. He dipped his foot cautiously into the water and headed towards Aramis. Suddenly Porthos slipped and went splashing face first into the water. He got his hands down but the water still covered his face and the front of his body and he was dripping as he stood up again.
Aramis howled with laughter but had forgotten how close to the deeper water he was. He took a step back to find nothing there and plunged into the water and for moment was completely submersed. He came up for breath spluttering with his dark curls now stuck to his forehead. Now it was Porthos turn to laugh.
'It's a bit deeper over here,' smiled the marksman.
'How deep?' asked Porthos.
'I can just about get my feet on the bottom.'
Porthos move warily into the deeper water while Aramis was now floating on his back in a star shape. Aramis realised that his braies were now practically see through, but he wasn't bothered. Due to various injuries they had all seen each other naked before and there was no-one else about.
'You have to relax to float,' Aramis told Porthos, who was struggling to float on the water. Soon though, both musketeers were floating until Aramis disrupted the peace by kicking water towards Porthos and both men started splashing wildly.
Both men were oblivious to the figure leaning against a tree watching them, with his arms folded across his chest.
'I'm surrounded by children,' the figure muttered under his breath as he moved closer to the splashing pair.
Athos reached the bank and sat down, bending his legs and resting his elbows on his knees watching his brothers.
'Hey Athos!' Aramis had noticed him. 'You should come in. It's lovely.'
'Yeah, really refreshin',' added Porthos.
'No, thank you. I'd rather remain dry,' said Athos with his usually droll.
'Really?' came D'Artagnan's voice from behind him, startling the swordsman slightly. 'Looks great,' the young man added as he started to strip off.
'Hey, D'Artagnan!' chorused Aramis and Porthos.
'Coming,' was the reply, while Athos shook his head in amusement. Splash! The Gascon was in the water and splashing around with his brothers.
Athos took his eyes off his brothers and lay flat on the bank with his head resting on his hands. He stared up at the blue sky and the wispy white clouds floating across it. He closed his eyes and dozed off. He was woken by a drop of water hitting his face. Surely it couldn't be raining, he thought.
Athos opened his eyes to see his dripping wet brothers standing over him with evil grins on their faces. In a flash, Porthos had picked him up under his armpits while Aramis had his left leg and D'Artagnan his right.
'Put me down,' Athos ordered in panic and he was duly laid on the bank again. 'What do you think you are doing?'
'Well, we've decided you're comin' in whether you like it or not,' stated Porthos with a grin.
'So, you have two options,' explained Aramis. 'First, you get undressed and come in with us.'
'Or second, we throw you in fully clothed,' continued D'Artagnan with large grin.
'Make yer choice Athos,' Porthos moved away to give Athos some room.
'I don't suppose there is a choice where I can stay dry?' questioned Athos. His reply was slow shakes of the head from his brothers while grinning.
Slowly Athos started removing his boots and soon was undressed and venturing into the water. They were right it was nice. Porthos could hold off no longer and sent a massive splash of water towards Athos who was soon splashing back with gusto. Four grown musketeers acting like children, splashing around in their underwear.
Suddenly, Aramis disappeared under the water before coming back up spluttering. Within moments Athos too had disappeared. Aramis regained his composure as Athos surfaced and both shouted, 'D'ARTAGNAN!' who surfaced close to Porthos with a mischievous smile on his face.
Porthos turned to look at the younger man, 'Oh no, yer not getting me. No way,' and continued to watch and warn the Gascon. Porthos had turned his back on Athos and Aramis, so didn't see the look that passed between them. Quietly they approached the larger man and with Aramis on Porthos' left shoulder and Athos on his right, both men simultaneously pushed Porthos' shoulders under the water and swam away in haste.
'Alright! Who...dies first?' shouted Porthos as he spluttered for air. D'Artagnan was too busy laughing and watching the others and didn't see Porthos until it was too late. Porthos lifted him over his shoulders and threw him into the water with a massive splash.
'Now Porthos, you don't want to do anything hasty,' Aramis tried to soothe his friend.
D'Artagnan came up for air, 'What….did…I…..do?' he spluttered.
'You didn't stop them,' was Porthos' simple reply.
Aramis and Athos were better swimmers than Porthos and swam in opposite directions, but Athos managed to hit his fingers on a rock causing him to stop momentarily in pain and Porthos seized his chance. The swordsman went flying and landed in the water with a splash close to D'Artagnan.
Porthos turned his attention fully to Aramis who was able to outswim his friend easily, until two sets of hands grabbed him and held him in place. Athos and D'Artagnan kept their grip on Aramis as Porthos approached.
'Some friends you are,' Aramis remarked.
'And yet, you will still call us all brothers by the end,' said Athos dryly, while D'Artagnan smiled. Soon Aramis was in Porthos' clutches and was thrown, like the others, into the water with a splash. As Aramis surfaced the four musketeer roared laughter, including Athos, who realised that he was having fun.
A/N: Something I read mentioned that the Duke of Épernon being an ally of Marie de Medici. I don't know if this was true but I used this as a base for the character. :)