It was fortunate that I did. When I returned, I found her weeping silently, alarming my when I saw the desolate despair in her eyes. "Ninon! What has happened? Why are you weeping?!" Rushing to the bars, I gripped onto them as I looked at my friend with a deep, flourishing concern. "Ninon? Talk to me, tell me what has happened." A sharp pang pierced my heart. "Was it Anne? Was it Chapelle? What has she done to you?!" Gradually Ninon lifted her head, gazing at me with an emptiness I found unsettling.
"I have written a full confession to witchcraft and claimed responsibility for poisoning the cardinal." All the blood drained from my face as I stared at my friend. "If I did not, then Chapelle threatened to kill all the ladies in my parlour. She told me that she would ensure they burned as witches in my stead."
"Preposterous!" In anger I slammed a hand against the iron bar, but it only clanged in defiance against me. I seethed hotly, swinging from hot to cold flushes as I began to pace outside of Ninon's cell.
"It is no use, dear Madeleine. It is already done,"
"No! It is not done until I say so!" Shaking my head, I began to think deeply over what could be done. If this was Anne's ploy at work, then the confession must be of great importance. The one who seemed adamant to see Ninon burn…but the cardinal was delirious at present. Surely he could not have orchestrated this? I could not determine for certain if Anne was acting on her own terms or was in fact an agent under the bidding of another master. No matter, I could not dwell on such things now. I had to find the confession and remove Ninon from danger. "I will not let them hurt you," I vowed vehemently, "I swear it."
"Madeleine…"
"Trust me in this, Ninon. Do you trust me?" Blinking at me, Ninon stared at me as I faced her. I could not imagine what I must have looked like, exhausted, skirts stained with vomit and bile, hair falling loose from under its cap in wild tufts…I must have looked a frightful state. Yet I was determined. I was calm and confident. If this was what needed to be done, then I would do whatever it took to save Ninon from unjust murder. She did not deserve to die like this. Finally she calmed herself, rising up once more to settle back into her dignified grace.
"I trust you with my life, Madeleine." Satisfied, I promised her that I would return. I left the prison cell in order to attend to the new matter of business. I searched for Anne. At night the monastery became oppressive and haunting, as if dark shadows were poised to lunge at me upon every corner. I found no trace of her, but I kept out of sight of the cardinal's guards and memorised where they were stationed and how they moved. There were very few of them, so it was easy enough.
I returned to the cardinal's room intending to see to his condition, washing him down and soothing his fever, but when I went to fold his arm back underneath the covers, something caught my attention, the rustling of paper. It fell from his hand, giving me pause as the cardinal shifted with a sigh, groaning softly in his sleep. I hummed to him, easing him back to sleep as I carefully tucked his arms under the warmth of his covers then quietly lifted the small scrap of paper. Upon it, a neat and feminine scrawl which I instantly recognised. A confession, signed by the Comtesse de Larroque.
Cardinal Richelieu…somehow, he was connected to Anne. I held my breath, not daring to move as I held the incriminating evidence in my hand. I wanted him, waiting for him to awaken and see me holding his evidence, but he did not stir. Slowly, I took a step away. Still he remained deeply asleep. As silently as possible I slipped the paper into my pocket as the pale light of daybreak began to rise. Sounds and movement began to stir within the monastery, drawing me to the window. From there I could not see what was happening, so I opened it and leaned outside to discover that a pyre was being raised. Of course. With a confession from Ninon, the cardinal was permitted to reinstate the death sentence. I clenched the paper in my pocket.
Leaving the cardinal to endure the last of the poison's residue alone, I felt he deserved every second of suffering that night for all he had done. I still did not know the exact connection he bore to Anne, if there was one at all, but I was not going to allow Ninon to take the fall for another person's schemes. I would not allow Anne to do to her what she had done to my family. At the very least, I could prevent Thomas's fate from becoming Ninon's. I moved quickly, stopping only when I found an open flame to burn the confession to ashes. Without a confession in evidence, there was nothing to hold Ninon accountable to the charges laid against her.
Being a servant, I knew where to look for places such as the laundry room, as often places were designed and organised in the same manner. It was simple enough. I stole a nun's habit and robes for myself and a spare set for Ninon, as well as several linen sheets before returning to Ninon. This time, however, I had to consider the guard at the top of the stairs. The armour would make a noise if he fell, which in turn would drawn the other guards towards the disturbance, and I had to be careful he did not recognise me. Hence, the disguise.
I walked sombrely with my head bowed low, carrying the linen sheets in my arms as I passed the guard. He wore a bored expression, caught mid-yawn as he stood outside the door which led down into the dungeon. He took no notice of me, which was exactly what I required. The moment I was certain that his defences were at their lowest, I launched the sheets into his face and covered his head so that he could not see. Immediately I sought out his mouth and clamped my hand down upon it, muffling the sound of his startled cry before ramming my fist into his gut.
The guard doubled over, wheezing as I continued to hold him under my control, face covered with the sheet. A second blow saw my elbow to his back, winding him effectively before I carefully lowered him to the ground, struggling with his weight before striking the final blow. There was a quiet clatter of his armour as his body jerked, my fist having found his face from under the sheet, and the guard went utterly still. I exhaled deeply. Now came the harder part. Getting him down the stairs without making any noise.
If Porthos had been with me, he would have just carried the man downstairs. As such, I had none of Porthos' strength, and so I had to improvise. Collecting the sheets, I used them to wrap up the man as much as possible before using them to drag him through the door after finding the keys on his belt. I let myself inside then began to laboriously drag the unconscious guard inside. I closed the door after us, then once we were at the top of the stairs I rolled him onto his side and propped him upright, moving to descend a few steps. "Madeleine? Is that you?" Hearing Ninon whisper for me, I turned back to the guard.
"Just a moment," assuring her that I was coming, I frowned at the guard, still wrapped and covered in linens, before finding one of his arms and pulling him towards me. From my lowered height, I was able to pull him directly under the arms so that only his feet hit the steps as I descended, moving carefully as not to trip over because if I went, then this oaf was going with me and I did not much care for being crushed by his weight and armour. Ninon watched from the bars of her cell, startled to see me dragging an unconscious man down the steps and to her door. "Do not worry, he is only unconscious."
"I am surprised he is anything at all, how did you manage to overpower him?" Chuckling with pride, I rattled the keys which hung upon a metal hoop in front of her.
"With my wits, of course." Delighted, Ninon waited until I had unlocked her door before she helped me to drag the guard inside whereby we managed to raise him onto her bed and remove the helmet and breastplate, hiding them from sight so that we could cover his body to make it seem that Ninon was sleeping inside the coverings. So long as no one looked too closely, or the guard did not wake up before we left, then the ruse would suffice for now. To make certain of this, I bound the man's feet, wrists and gagged him with strips of linen. "Here, put these on." Giving Ninon the nun's habit and robes, she did not hesitate to do as I asked.
She pulled them on over her own clothes, moving quickly and silently as I helped to tuck away her hair so that it was out of sight and did not immediately give her away. "Are you certain of this? If you are caught…" Ninon fretted as I took her hand to lead her away from the cell and back into the light.
"Perhaps I can simply claim that you bewitched me," I teased, making Ninon smile nervously. "Trust me. I will hide you for the time being. If we leave immediately then they will simply track us down. There is only one road out of here, and we would not make it very far, not even on horseback. The only way is to convince them that you have run away, direct their gaze elsewhere. Whilst they are misdirected, we shall slip away safely."
"You have planned this well,"
"I am not a musketeer's sister for nothing, rescuing damsels in distress does not necessarily have to be a man's task." Squeezing her fingers, I brought Ninon to the place I had found for her to hide. The nuns' cloisters. She would be safe there for the time being as the guards would not be allowed to enter so recklessly, and it gave me time to enact the rest of my plan. I bid Ninon stay hidden and keep her head bowed, to go to chapel with the other nuns and disappear amongst them until I came to fetch her again. She promised to do so.
My heart hammered wildly in my chest as I promptly left Ninon in relative safety to rush back to the cardinal's chamber, discarding the nun's robes as I did so. The funeral pyre was almost complete as I walked quickly past the courtyard, glaring at it angrily before making my way back to the cardinal's side. I was out of breath when I rushed inside, flinging myself into the chamber to slowly and softly close the door behind me. Only then did I allow myself to catch my breath. I pressed my brow against the solid wood, resting against its solid frame until I was calm and collected once more.
Soon they would realise that Ninon had escaped. Had I more time, then I would have released a horse from the stables to make it appear she had taken flight, but with the courtyard so busy such a thing was impossible. I returned to the cardinal's side and resumed my seat, seeing him sleeping peacefully. The poison must have lost its potency at long last. A scowl twitched upon my face. "If you are in league with Anne, Madame de la Chapelle…then I shall ensure that the indignity you endured tonight will be a fragile concern in comparison to what I will make you suffer." My threat fell upon deaf ears, but it eased the tension in my chest enough to allow me to settle.
Taking one of the books from the cardinal's bedside table, I began to read to him as I had no other way of spending my time until he awakened. He needed to see me there when he finally opened his eyes so that it would be harder to prove that I had been absent when Ninon was found missing. From outside, I heard shouts beginning to rise. Shouts of panic and alarm. It seemed they had discovered Ninon was not in her cell where she ought to be. How strange indeed.
Chuckling to myself, I continued to read aloud to the cardinal who was continuing to sleep peacefully. I would have been content to continue like this, for it was truthfully not so bad. However I felt a sense of trepidation slowly arise within me as the back of my neck tingled. I continued to read aloud without breaking pace, but now my senses were entirely focused upon the space behind me. I heard the door almost silently open, the latch creaking being the only indication it had moved. I continued to read.
Someone must have entered, deciding to leave the door partially open as to not risk it making a sound and alerting me to the intruder's presence. The harrowing sense of danger deepened, but still I read on. One could not interrupt a good book for trivial matters, after all. I turned a page and continued as if there was nothing wrong, all the while listening to the intruder's approach. They were quiet, but I heard the brush of a robe rustle, giving me a rough judgement to their location. About halfway between the door and my seat.
I counted the steps, judging the gait and timing until they were standing directly behind me. Stirring, the cardinal opened his eyes. Then they widened with a start. Behind me I heard the intruder intake a breath of air, signifying their intent to attack and so I took this opportunity of their diverted attention upon the cardinal to retaliate. One hand shot upwards as a knife was driven down towards the cardinal, grasping hold of the intruder's arm to stop him from slaying the cardinal who cried out in alarm and threw up his hands to shield himself.
Rolling my weight from the chair I powered my shoulder into the intruder who wore a monk's robe, using my lowered stance to throw the man backwards against the bedside table which made everything rattle and shake, the glass shattering when it struck the floor. The man grasped at the table as he veered back, finding a two pronged fork which he hastily claimed and thrust towards my heart. I caught the other wrist, wrestling with bared teeth as I struggled to maintain my ground. I was deceptively strong, but this was still a man I was fighting against, and he was also deceptively strong.
Suddenly the door burst open and my brother fell inside, catching sight of me wrestling with a man who held a dagger and fork in either hand. "Sastini!" Diverting his attention, the man, Sastini, lost his focus upon me. I kicked at his shin then kneed him in the gut, dragging him around with all my strength as Athos raised his pistol. I heard the shot like thunder breaking in the skies, ringing in my ears as Sastini jolted violently, arching his back away from the pain of the bullet.
I felt him go lax before my very eyes, staring at one another as the life drained away from him. Loosening his grip upon his weapons, they clattered to the floor, no longer of any danger to anyone. Catching my breath as my arms burned from the strain of fighting him off, I pushed him away. "Madeleine!" Athos sprinted to me and swept me into his arms, pulling me away from Sastini and gripped at my face to look me over.
"I am unharmed," I promised, nodding my head meekly as I recovered from the ordeal. My blood was still racing throughout my body, recovering from the sudden surge in energy to protect both myself and my patient. The cardinal, however, did not seem overflowing with thanks.
"You're late!" He gasped as he raspingly flung back his covers. Athos, having reassured himself that I was not injured, hastened to turned to the cardinal.
"We're glad to find you well, your eminence."
"I doubt that," he rasped, "but thank you for the sentiment." At this moment, Aramis, Porthos and d'Artagnan appeared by my side. They each drew me further away from Sastini, as if concerned that he would suddenly rise from the dead and attack once again. They formed a circle around me, Aramis and d'Artagnan at my side and Porthos at my back, his large and comforting hand nestled upon my shoulder as the other rested against my arm.
"You know it was Sastini who tried to poison you?" Athos questioned as I observed silently, watching the cardinal lift the lid of his box to reveal a piece of bone inside.
"A sacred relic soaked with poison," he explained. "An old papal trick." I grimaced in distaste. "I should have guessed earlier." Uninterested in the particulars of how the poison had been administered to the cardinal, Aramis reminded us all that time was running out and that soon, Ninon would be dragged onto the pyre the moment she was found. I smirked to myself. Turning to the cardinal, my brother knelt himself down as the cardinal sat, having moved away from the body of his fellow holy man.
"You don't need to kill her," Athos pleaded, sincerely desperate and even willing to humble himself to beg for Ninon's life. "Please!" I held my tongue, as well as my breath. "You can have everything you want, and still let her go free." The cardinal considered my brother's plea, relenting his usually austere exterior in the wake of his harrowing escape from death.
"This is all very Dark Ages, isn't it?" He murmured, where I was surprised to hear such resignation. "A glimpse of your own mortality does make one rather less eager to harry others to their doom. I'm not a cruel man, just a practical one." We may beg to differ on such a notion, however I was not about to raise an argument in this instance. The cardinal faced my brother, willing to listen to his suggestion. "What do you propose?"
"Spare her life," Athos immediately answered, thinking of Ninon's welfare first and foremost. "Let her live somewhere quiet and secluded, somewhere she will not be heard of or recognised. So long as she lives." Several heartbeats later, the cardinal nodded.
"Very well. You may retrieve her from the pyre, put an end to this madness."
"Actually," speaking for the first time, the eyes of every man in that room turned upon me, where I felt Porthos' fingers tighten slightly, ready to pull me away from the cardinal or any other danger that might present itself. I smiled to them all. "That will not be necessary."