It was a catastrophe.
In short, the most unimaginable calamity had befallen the palace, and yet it was so still and tranquil. The king was missing. As I had stood with little Louis whilst the queen took council with Treville and Rochefort, I had all but gaped to hear that the king had vanished during the night whilst he had been dwelling amongst the commoners, having been struck by the notion that he should like to see for himself how they lived. Anne, of course, was outraged. "How could your men have allowed this?" She demanded as she had stridden into a private chamber, everyone hastening to move to the adjoining room, but still the sound carried. Thankfully the other ladies took up their gossip and I ushered them away so that they would hear nothing more of what was to be spoken in confidence.
"The King was adamant he experience Paris as a commoner," Treville explained, feeble a reason as it was which he well knew, but it was all he had to offer Anne as she turned upon him.
"Then they should have made clear to him the utter stupidity of his suggestion." With all the tone and grace of an understanding advisor, Rochefort ventured to insist that the musketeers could not be entirely blamed for the king's disappearance, reasoning that it was almost impossible to refuse the king when he demanded something. Standing by the connecting door, I watched with concern as Anne settled herself and collected her composure. She returned her steely gaze to Treville. "You have searched everywhere?" He nodded adamantly. "Even…the brothels?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Then where is he?!" Turning aside, Anne could not keep herself still. I knew it a trait of hers when she was anxious, and she had great reason to be concerned. I maintained my distance, but every now and then she would look to me, and I would nod my head encouragingly, remaining firm and resolute in my confidence that the king would be returned safely. After all, as Treville most correctly noted, d'Artagnan was with him. The two had vanished together. Now not quite so generous, Rochefort reasoned that despite this, d'Artagnan had yet failed to bring the king safely back to the palace. I watched Constance's heckles raise at this slight.
"If you're implying that d'Artagnan has neglected his duty, you are wrong," she swiftly rebutted, rising to his defence as he was not present to defend himself. "He is the king's champion."
"I don't care if he is alone, or with d'Artagnan, I only care that he is not here!" Although not admonishing Constance for her interruption, Anne's ire was so great that it projected itself upon all present. "The dauphin's christening is tomorrow. Guests are arriving expecting to see the King! His absence will be a scandal!" She rounded upon Treville with a ferocity not often seen in her slight frame. "You will turn this city upside down and find him, wherever he is." Immediately Treville bowed and turned to leave, pausing only when Rochefort spoke again.
"Perhaps, in the meantime, we should let it be known the king is ill, to explain his absence from court."
"Thank you, Rochefort," softening herself, Anne bore herself up as she took several deep, steadying breaths. "Those are the first sensible words I've heard this morning. See to it."
"I will have the Red Guards join the search. We will find the King." Reasoning that this was the end of their discussion, I dared to enter the room as little Louis began to fuss, drawing his mother to him. Wanting comfort, Anne drew her son into her arms and held him close to her as I released him from my grasp. Over her shoulder, I saw Rochefort grasp at Constance's arm, staying her in place. I started slightly, but Constance discreetly lifted her hand to keep me in place, silently telling me that she was alright and not to raise a fuss. Whatever that disconcerting man had to say, she listened with a tight expression before he released her.
I watched them carefully until Rochefort was gone and Constance returned. Only then did I allow myself to breathe. "Your majesty," I finally spoke, clearing my throat lightly as her clear eyes rose to meet mine. "If it will bring you comfort, then I shall also join the search. I know the city well, having lived and worked there for many years. I might be able to uncover something a soldier in uniform might not."
"Go, but be careful. Thank you, Madeleine. This would indeed comfort me knowing you are also searching." Dropping into a curtsey, I then backed away to dismiss myself from the queen's presence, giving a look to Constance before going to receive her reassurance that she was alright. I would ask her later what Rochefort had to say, but for now, finding the king took precedence. I hastened after Treville, calling to him as he continued to stride away.
"Captain!" He turned to me, halting to await my arrival. "Captain, Athos and the others…they have gone searching?" Gravely, he nodded his head. "Where?" For a moment Treville considered me and I thought he might refuse to tell me, perhaps to say that it was too dangerous for me to go. Perhaps there was a fierceness to my expression, or Treville could read the calm resolution in my unwavering gaze, for in time, he did not refuse. He told me where to go, knowing where Athos intended to start the search, and so I breathlessly rose up to kiss his cheek. "Do not worry, dear captain. We shall find him and return him safely. You may leave this matter to us,"
"My heart is already at ease," finally something of a smile returned to his features, and the captain wished me to go in safety. I all but sprinted away to change my garb into something more suitable. Without a care for the gown I wore, I disregarded it upon the floor and adopted instead a looser skirt with no cage to hinder me. I dressed warmly in preparation for the autumn chill, selecting colours of brown and dark green so that I might appear less noticeable, and proceeded to collect my hidden weapons from where I had concealed them.
Sword and dagger, as well as a pistol with a pouch of bullets and powder sachets, and finally, the bow and quiver of arrows gifted to me by Treville. For a moment I took a breath, running the feathers through my fingers before hastily arming myself, buckling the belts so that everything settled neatly upon my body, then concealed the more archaic weapon under the folds of my cloak. All that remained was to commission a horse, and as a lady in waiting, my request was immediately fulfilled.
I secured the bow and arrows to the saddle, collecting things which I deemed might be useful or necessary such as rope to tie up anyone we caught who proved responsible for the king's absence. With them, I also selected a long barrelled rifle, a spyglass and compass, as well as some pouches of watered wine. Whatever state I found the king and d'Artagnan, I hoped to be well prepared for them. Once my horse was ready, I swept myself up onto the gelding's back and spurred him away, making directly for the tavern the king had frequented the night before. Following my instinct, I directed my horse to the back alley, reasoning that if a man were to vanish mysteriously, even a king, it would most likely occur in the quiet back alley away from prying eyes.
There was no sign of my brother, but I noted that the ground had recently been scrubbed and cleaned. Having done my fair share of cleaning alleyways behind taverns, I knew exactly what I was looking at. It had been done recently, but there was a slight discrepancy amongst the cobbles. I dismounted, soothing my horse as it snorted and tossed its head, taking the reins over its ears to tether it to a wagon so that it would not easily stray. I went to where someone had rooted around in the ground, inspecting it for a moment before wondering if this was where the king had been taken.
Cleaning back alleys was not uncommon, but I found it mightily convenient that the kind and d'Artagnan would vanish from this very same tavern and the alley behind it had been meticulously scrubbed. It was almost as if someone had attempted to erase the evidence. Rising back to my feet I went directly for the door, presuming it to be a back entrance to the tavern. There was no handle from the outside. Curious. With no other choice, I simply hammered my fist upon the wooden beams and withdrew my pistol, loading it so that when the tavern owner cursed as he opened the door, his eyes had to cross together to see the end of the barrel pressed between his eyes. His curses fell silent. "Three musketeers were here not long ago, where have they gone?" Staring at the pistol, the tavern owner slowly swallowed.
"Beggin' your pardon miss, forgive the slip of the tongue there…I've had quite a tryin' day you see…" not having the patience for his blathering, I pressed the pistol more firmly against his brow, leaving a rounded imprint upon his flesh. "Yes…apologies…they said something about Poupart, miss."
"And what did you say for them to mention such a name?"
"Well, you see, they was asking about some friends of theirs who went missing…lots of folks going missing these days…" still out of patience, I urged him to reach the point of his babbling. "Their friends were taken, see miss, I had no choice I swear, my own life was in danger if I didn't comply. I just sends them out the door when they're good and drunk, which I told those fine young soldiers I did, and they asked what happens to the people I send out, and I said they most likely were robbed and their bodies tossed into the Seine…"
"I see," eyeing the man before me carefully, I waited to see if he broke further under the threat of a bullet to the head. Beads of sweat rolled across his clammy skin, his eyes now pressed tightly shut, but he offered nothing further. "Thank you for your cooperation, good sir." Withdrawing the pistol, I promptly kicked the door shut in his face and strode away. Poupart was the city's chief investigator for uncertain deaths. If a body appeared under mysterious circumstances, it came to Poupart.
I went directly to where he was situated, tethering the horse once more and as I went down into the underbelly of the city where the corpses of the lost were kept, I passed a woman and her child. One look upon her face told me that she was suffering, her gaze hollow and pained as she clutched at her daughter's hand. Considering her state, I gladly gave way to her. A small consideration was the least I could do, for all I knew she had found a loved one down there. She struggled for breath, but uttered a bleak thank you as she rose up the steps and moved past me. For a moment I watched her go, whispering a silent prayer for her and her daughter.
Returning from my distraction, I made to go down only to come face to face with Porthos at the entryway. We all but collided with one another, though of course being of smaller frame my recoil was far worse than his. Had Porthos not caught me by the arms to hold me upright, I might have fallen back onto the steps. For a moment we stared at one another, then his face split into a broad grin. "Well, ain't you a sight for sore eyes, darlin'?" Porthos immediately pulled me towards him and hefted me up, catching me in one arm to perch me like a bird upon his forearm. "What you doing here?"
"Madeleine?" Looking around Porthos' frame, my brother blinked at me in surprise as Aramis promptly appeared also. I smiled to them all.
"The queen has sent her own agent to assist in your search," I announced as I naturally rested myself upon Porthos, lacing my fingers over his shoulder to remain balanced as he continued to hold me in one arm in the doorway of the mortuary. "I hope you do not mind the intrusion."
"Nah, we'd welcome an intrusion from you any day of the week." Pleased to hear him say so, I allowed myself a mellow smile as Porthos set me back upon my feet and promptly ruffled my hair. I basked in the familiar sensation, even as my face expressed one of resignation at being subjected to such teasing.
"How is she?" Aramis ventured to ask, drawing my gaze towards him as my brother naturally gravitated towards me, touching my arm and murmuring my name amidst a kiss to my hair. "The queen, I mean."
"As one might expect, she is greatly distressed." Now stepping back, carefully placing myself upon the lowest step so that I was then of equal height to them all, I crossed my arms in front of me. "What have you learned thus far?" They shared a taut expression amongst themselves.
"Nothing good." Well, I could not say I expected any positive news. Inviting them to share with me all they knew, we all climbed back up the steps together whilst I was silently glad I did not have to enter that place. Broken bones, lacerations and streams of blood did not affect me, but the sight of a deceased person shook at my nerves down to the last. Something about the notion that I was standing in a room with little more than an empty shell…unnerved me.
"We suspect that the disappearances might have something to do with a convicted criminal by the name of Sebastian le Maitre," my brother informed me as we moved towards our horses. "Two years ago, he was caught stealing commonfolk off the streets and selling them to Spanish galleys as slaves."
"If he was caught, why do you suspect he has returned? What was his punishment?"
"Hard labour in the colonies," Aramis supplied, and I shuddered at the thought. I had heard rumours. Such a life was not worth living, especially if you are regarded as less than human as most if not all convicts were. "We are not certain if le Maitre has returned, but we do know that his brother is a blacksmith who still forges in the city."
"One of the bodies down there had iron cuffs around his ankles. Could mean something," Porthos further offered as I took in all of their information even as we mounted and began to ride to where this blacksmith was located.
"And you suspect that the king and d'Artagnan have been caught in this scheme?"
"It is our best lead at present, so that is what we are chasing." Reasoning that this was sound logic, I prompted my horse to increase its pace to keep up with the men, eager to see this venture through to its end with the king safely returned to the palace. The sooner Anne's mind was set at ease, the better. When we arrived at the blacksmith, I heard the rhythmic clanging of a hammer against metal as I brought my horse to a halt. No sooner had I leaned forwards, Athos was by my heel and extending his hands towards me to lift me down.
Despite the gravity of the situation, I smiled to myself as I pressed my hands against his shoulders and slid myself down from the saddle, allowing my brother to support my weight until I was safely down upon the ground. "Perhaps you should wait here," he suggested, brushing a strand of hair out of my face. I clicked my tongue with an indignant arch of my eyebrow.
"Perhaps you should wait here," I returned then promptly turned on my heel and ducked under my horse's neck striding first into the blacksmith which forced Aramis and Porthos to leap after me as to not let me enter alone. "Good day, sir. A moment if you will." Signalling with a lift of my hand, the blacksmith looked up from his work to find a woman and three men behind her entering his forge. Immediately his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"We're looking for your brother." Not hesitating to get straight to the point, Athos firmly anchored himself beside me as the blacksmith eyed us all warily. He told us to search the Americas for the man we sought. "We've heard he's back in Paris."
"If he was back here I'd know," the smithy answered gruffly, his voice thickly accented. "He'd have come to see me. I wouldn't tell you about it, but I'd have seen him. Which I haven't." Immediately my suspicions began to rise. Why suggest that you would not tell us you had seen your brother but then deny seeing him altogether? It was a foolish thing to do. If anything, it only convinced me that le Maitre was indeed back in Paris by some unfortunate mishap in his deportation.
"We think he might be up to his old tricks again," Athos continued to venture, also not taking the blacksmith's word without certainty. Hearing the clinking of metal shifting, my gaze was drawn to where Aramis had drawn back a covering to reveal a mound of shackles piled atop one another. Had Porthos not mentioned a deceased man wearing such confining decorations?
"Exactly what kind of horses wear these?" Seeing that he was caught, the blacksmith lunged for an iron poker, the tip of which was glowing a vivid hue of red, promising a burning heat upon the touch. Athos immediately drew me back away from the threat, thrusting his shoulder in front of me to shield me from potential harm but I was not even ruffled by the blacksmith's rather foolhardy attempt. We outnumbered him four to one and he only had a hot poker. In terms of physical strength and armament, he was far out of his depths.
With a smooth, unhindered motion Porthos grasped a chain and flung it around the blacksmith's legs, wrapping them up in the unforgiving links before with a firm tug, he dragged the man's feet from out underneath him, landing him heavily upon his back. I winced at the sound of his grunt, air being forced out of his lungs. Taking up the fallen poker, Porthos blew upon the glowing tip before levelling it at the blacksmith's face. "We need to talk," he announced simply. "Where's Sebastian le Maitre?" The smithy froze in terror.
"Easy there, Porthos," I soothed, adding my voice to the air to still the tension and ease everyone's spirits as I moved aside from my brother to go to Porthos. The moment my hand touched his, he allowed me to move the poker away from the blacksmith, releasing it into my grasp so that I could toss it into a barrel of water. A steaming hiss followed, like the sound of snake baring its fangs. Patting the sweet giant's arm, I turned to the blacksmith and shook my head at him. "I apologise for this sir, they can be quite unruly at times. Perhaps you should sit up, you cannot very well answer our questions laid upon your back, can you?" I ensured that my tone dictated that our questions would absolutely be answered.
"Allow me to assist you," catching onto my intent, Aramis stepped around the blacksmith and dragged him up, forcing him into a sitting position but remained standing behind him, the lingering shadow of a threat looming over his shoulder as I crouched myself down in front of the man. I smiled sweetly.
"There, isn't that better?" He grit his teeth, setting his jaw into a stubborn jut.
"I'll not answer anything you ask, you've wasted your time coming here."
"Oh, I think not. You see, we are not so uncouth that we would subject you to torture in your own establishment," continuing to speak as sweetly as honey, my smile grew increasingly more menacing as the men all crowded closer, blocking any means of escape for the blacksmith, hands lingering upon their weapons. "That is to say, there is nothing stopping us from arresting you for perverting the course of justice. I cannot say for certain, but I am fairly confident that there are a vast assortment of torture devices used to loosen the lips of those who might otherwise prove obstinate, would you not say so, gentlemen?" They all hummed and nodded in agreement.
"You would not…"
"My dear friend has been taken," cutting the blacksmith off, my tone lost its sweetness and any trace of a smile vanished from my expression. "He is precious to me, and I will stop at nothing to see him safely returned. Therefore, I would say it is in your best interests to tell us everything you know of your brother, and do so quickly." Reaching for my belt, I drew the small stiletto knife and slowly moved the blade back and forth in front of his face. "You are now testing my patience." Darting his gaze upwards to look at the others, no one offered him a saving grace. Finally, it seemed to dawn upon him that he was utterly trapped.
"Very well, I will tell you, but only because you've given me no choice." He scowled at me darkly. I only put the knife away. "My brother never made it to the colonies. He was set to be taken, but he bribed his gaolers to turn a blind eye to his disappearance. They were to file the paperwork as if he had been sent away, but he never even set foot on the ship. He's been lying low for the past two years," the blacksmith complied with our request and told us everything we needed to know. Clearly, we had all been fooled.
"What else can you tell us of your brother's operation?" Athos questioned as I rose to my feet, Aramis giving his hand to assist me upright like the gentleman he was. "Where does he take the people he captures?"
"He takes them by the sea to Spain, then he sells them. I don't know which port, I just know he uses a ship to transport them."
"One cannot hope to conceal so many captives so easily in a land where slavery is forbidden," I reasoned calmly, "how does he get them to the port?"
"He takes them on foot, keeps away from the cities to avoid detection." It was a plausible ploy, however this meant that we were an entire night and morning behind the king and d'Artagnan. At the very least we knew that they were on foot, which meant there was still a chance we might be able to reach them on horseback. "That's all I know, I swear!"
"For your sake, you had best hope so," leaving with the lingering threat in the air, Athos drew me away so that we could pursue this new information. I risked a look behind us. The blacksmith picked himself off the ground and dusted himself off, but his expression was troubled. It read as something more than a man fearing retribution for his brother's actions…I had an inkling in my gut that he truly did know more than he had told us.
Returning my attention to face forwards, I swiftly mounted my horse and wheeled its head around, sitting neatly in the saddle as we all spurred forwards to return to Treville and make a report. Or at least, that was where the men were headed. Once we were out of sight of the forge I drew up the reins and tilted my hips forwards, bringing the horse to a dead stop in front of the others. It forced them to slow and halt also as I drew the horse around to face them. "Madeleine? What is it?" Athos frowned to me, moving his horse forwards so that we were side by side.
"I have business of my own to attend to, do not wait for me. Report to Treville and follow the leads where they take you," I instructed them, but immediately all three of them bore expressions of concern as they came closer.
"Let one of us go with you, we might be of service," Aramis suggested, but I gently refused. "What is this business of yours?"
"As you have your superior to whom you report, so too do I. As I said, do not wait for me. Time is of the essence, now more than ever." Moving my horse around them, I was conscious of their eyes lingering upon me as I urged the horse to leap into a fast pace, cantering back down the street and turning at the first opportunity as if to make for the palace. I did not go. The lie tasted bitter in my mouth, but I had to know if my instinct was true.
I stabled my horse at a waystation out of sight of the forge, but I watched and waited quietly until eventually the blacksmith appeared from within. Then, it was only a matter of following him. Oh, if only I knew where such an endeavour would take me at the time.