Summary: Aramis helps little Louis with his fear of spiders


"Love is Patient"

Aramis was never one to be lax in his duties, but between the novelty of being with Anne and watching over his son, he was, admittedly, not as absorbed in being First Minister as were his predecessors. And so on more than one occasion, a messenger had to track him down in the gardens with paperwork for him to sign.

Aramis regretfully turned his attention away from little Louis to review the documents. The messenger had brought a tray of writing instruments, and it was with a beleaguered sigh that the young man turned to provide his back as a desk. Aramis signed the form and then applied his seal. He almost smudged the whole thing when a cry went up from the garden and he whirled in search of Louis.

The boy's nursemaid reached him first and hurriedly looked him over. His terrified gaze was fixed on something in the hedges. The nursemaid looked and made a face, but then chastised Louis for screaming like a little girl.

Aramis frowned and hastily handed the document back to the messenger and then went over to his son.

"What's this now?" he asked.

"Nothing," the nursemaid said dismissively, then looked down at Louis. "A king mustn't cry over a little spider."

Louis's wide and terrified eyes were still trained on the perceived threat, and Aramis followed his gaze and scanned the hedge for the spider. It was a rather large one, which probably seemed even bigger to a small boy. Aramis moved in and carefully caught the arachnid in his hands. It ran in frantic circles up and down his palms but was unable to escape. He waited until it calmed down and went still, then he carefully opened his hands to show Louis.

"It's harmless," he said. "See?"

Louis made a distressed sound and clung to his nursemaid's skirts.

The woman scoffed and opened her mouth, and Aramis could tell she was about to reprimand Louis again for being afraid, so he interrupted before she could.

"Give us a few minutes," he commanded.

She huffed and strode away.

"I promise it won't hurt you," Aramis said kindly to Louis. "You can touch it."

The little boy squirmed and looked ready to run, so Aramis backed off and carefully adjusted himself to take a seat on the ground, cupping the spider in his hands again when it got wily. When it settled down, he opened them up again.

"It's just as frightened of you as you are of it," he said.

"It looks like a monster," Louis replied.

"It's unfair to judge things based on their outward appearance. Spiders have important jobs in nature. They eat insects that would destroy all the pretty flowers in the garden."

Louis's nose scrunched up in doubt. "They move too fast and come after me."

"They are fast," Aramis agreed. "But they're not coming after you. They're just trying to escape, but they're so small they can't see where they're going, and sometimes that means they end up running right at you. And then you both are in for a jolting surprise."

Louis worried at his bottom lip.

"Why don't you sit down here and I'll make sure it won't get near you," Aramis suggested.

Louis hesitated but then slowly sat down and crossed his legs. His wide eyes were still stuck on the spider, evaluating the threat.

"It's not easy being small, is it?" Aramis said conversationally.

Louis gave a small head shake.

"This spider was minding its own business, and here this big giant human comes along and plucks him up," he went on. "But I'm not hurting it and it's not hurting me. We can just co-exist."

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Aramis spoke again.

"I'm going to put him back now. Do you want to touch him before I do?"

Louis's pupils rounded again and he frantically shook his head.

"Okay." Aramis shifted and lifted his hand to the hedge, then encouraged the spider to crawl back onto it. "You never have to get close to one if you don't want to," he told Louis as he took his hand and helped him to his feet. "You can just let spiders coexist in your space."

"Or the servants can kill them."

Aramis gave his son a sympathetic look. "They could. Or they could take the spider and put it back outside where it belongs. Maybe even one day you can do that. You might think of spiders as your subjects too. They do live in France, after all."

Louis looked thoughtful. "You're saying I should protect them?"

"The Lord knows they could use it, given how many people are scared of them and would rather kill them on the spot."

Louis pursed his lips. "I'll think about it."

Aramis smiled. "That is an important quality for a king—to consider all matters carefully. Let me know what you decide?"

Little Louis nodded and looked up at the man he would never call father. "If I see one again, can I call you?"

Aramis's heart warmed, and he put a hand on his son's shoulder. "Of course. Every time."