Whether by God's intervention or sheer luck, Emilie did not envision the queen's execution. She allowed Anne and Constance to go with Aramis to escort them, even permitting to go with my supposed husband as to not separate us. Her only condition was that Anne secure an audience with the king for her, which Anne readily promised. Upon hearing this, I allowed my body to go lax as Constance and I gathered our cloaks and made to leave, eager to remove Anne from danger.
I sensed Anne and Aramis linger, taking a moment of privacy after all others had left the tent Considering the danger Anne had faced, I reasoned a small moment of indulgence was not unwarranted. When Constance turned back, however, the motion caught my eye and a flash of fear powered through me. "Constance!" Gasping, I made to catch her arm, but I was already too late. She lifted the folds of the tent and saw Aramis embracing our queen, their lips locked together in a moment of passionate weakness. Devastated to have not been more careful, I pressed my hand over my mouth as Constance quickly turned back with an expression of shock.
The fold fell behind her, concealing the lovers within, and Constance stared gapingly upon me. After a moment Anne appeared, whereby she grasped at Constance's arm with a quiet imploration of her gaze. "You know all my secrets now," she murmured softly as Constance gradually settled with the burdensome weight of this newfound knowledge. "You carry my life in your hands." There was no hiding it now. Constance was now counted amongst the small number who knew the truth of Anne and Aramis.
The revelation settled uneasily upon Constance, and so I rode beside her as we made our return to Pairs. Eventually, she broke the silence between us. "You knew?" Unable to hide it, I nodded my head. "For how long…?"
"Please, Constance," I begged softly, "I cannot bring light upon a subject better left to the dark." Swallowing nervously, Constance nodded in agreement. "We are the queen's women; our duty lies first and foremost to her. All her secrets are ours to keep, for she trusts us with such confidence."
"I understand, and I'll never say a word. I promise." Reaching across to her, I took her hand to squeeze her fingers lightly. I knew that Constance would keep her word, and so we returned to the palace without speaking further on the matter. We escorted Anne directly back to her apartments whereby I summoned the chambermaids to tend to her and replace her commoner's dress for something more befitting her station as our queen. Aramis lingered to tell me that he had asked Constance to fetch Professor Lemay to the garrison to test a sample of soup he had taken from Emilie's tent.
"You think there is something suspicious with the soup?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow as he showed me the gourd containing the soup which I took and opened to test its scent. There was nothing obviously wrong with the smell, the cold soup merely carrying the scent of meat and broth.
"Constance shared the same bowl meant for Emilie and suffered nightmares. Perhaps I am wrong, but I would like to know for certain." Nodding in agreement, I secured the stopper and returned it to Aramis.
"I will go with you, my mission is not yet over until the threat these visions of Emilie's pose are dealt with." With a word to Anne to inform her of where I was going, I went with Aramis back to the garrison to await Constance. She brought Lemay promptly, and he greeted me in a friendly manner upon noticing my presence. I returned the cordial greeting, but wasted no time in inviting him inside and set down his equipment so that we might begin.
"We think there might be something in it that gives you nightmares," Constance explained after we had given the broth to Lemay who studied it inquisitively, pouring it into a bowl to observe and scent.
"And how do you expect me to establish that?" He questioned, looking between us as Aramis reasoned that he was a man of science, insinuating that if anyone would be able to determine the truth, he would have the best chances. "I'm a doctor, not an alchemist," Lemay corrected, but with a glance to Constance, he agreed to help us. "But I will do what I can." Glad to hear it, we thanked Lemay before leaving him to his craft without disturbances or interruptions.
"No one else is here," I noted, having gone to search for Athos only to be told that he was with the captain on business, d'Artagnan and Porthos too. They had been ordered to protect the Spanish Ambassador and had yet to return. With so many rioting in the streets braying for Spanish blood, I expected they would be occupied for some time. "Shall we look in on Lemay?"
"Indeed," no sooner had we thought to check on the physician, Constance came running into view, calling our names to summon us to help. Lemay was sprawled across the table, shivering and groaning in a spellbound sleep. "Get him up!" Together, Aramis and I rushed to Lemay and grasped him under each arm, lifting him out of his chair and all but dragged him outside as he began to come around. "Get some fresh air," Aramis instructed as we brought him to rest against a post, "breathe."
"Thank you…" struggling for breath, Constance brought a drink for Lemay to help clear his head.
"Are you alright? What happened?"
"I tried your soup." My head snapped to the room we had rushed away from, recalling the bowl of soup on the table. Hurriedly I turned back and retrieved it, wanting to ensure that no one else mistakenly sampled it and were also subject to the symptoms it now clearly delivered upon consummation. I returned just as Lemay was describing what he had experienced. "Minutes after I sampled it, I experienced a series of remarkable delusions." I looked down with disgust upon the soup and promptly discarded it. "I believe the broth contains a powerful narcotic drug, probably derived from a species of wild mushroom."
"Wild mushrooms are readily obtainable if one knows what they are looking for," I reasoned, glancing to Aramis as I tossed aside the now empty bowl. "If Emilie already suffers from the fainting sickness, prone to delusions and dreams, then such a concoction might only enhance her symptoms."
"Enough to convince her that she is receiving God's own wisdom?" We looked to Lemay for answers.
"I could not say for certain without knowing the exact ingredient, but potentially…yes. I have read records of fellow physicians detailing the effects of various herbs, poisons and such. Some proved to alter the reality of the patient quite radically." This being all we needed to hear, I thanked Lemay gently and offered him a place to rest and recover. He gladly accepted which I was glad for, as he remained still quite pale and weak.
I brought him to a guest room and settled him to rest, telling him to call if he required anything. He was so drained from the effects of the nightmare soup that he only just managed to express his gratitude before he was fast asleep. Having little more we could do, we waited for Treville to return. It was an agonising time. I could not keep myself still, pacing endlessly with my thoughts rattling in my head.
Finally when I heard the clattering of hooves, I rushed into the courtyard to greet everyone upon their return. "Madeleine!" My name arose like a chorus from them, creating a brief smile as I lifted my hands to catch hold of the reins of Treville and d'Artagnan's horses. I greeted them warmly, holding the horses steady so that they could dismount.
"Is there any chance Emilie did kill Perales?" My brother questioned which made me lift my head towards him. Perales was the Spanish Ambassador. He was dead?
"No," Treville answered, his hand brushing against my face as Jacques and the other stableboys led the horses away. "Rioting in the streets I can believe. This is too subtle."
"Perales is dead? What happened?" Following Treville, d'Artagnan clipped my chin lightly with a finger, knocking against me lightly as everyone gathered.
"We were tricked into moving him, and someone poisoned him in broad daylight, right in front of us." Drawing in a breath, I looked to Athos who nodded his head to silently confirm, he and Porthos joining us. My brother touched my shoulder and leaned in to kiss my cheek, a feather light brush as Porthos dropped a heavy hand onto my head, mussing my hair as was our routine whilst asking who did kill Perales if not Emilie.
"It doesn't matter. Our orders are to arrest her."
"They won't give her up easily," d'Artagnan reasoned, to which I lightly intoned that they would not give her up at all. The commonfolk were fiercely devoted, venerating her as a saint. They would defend Emelie to the last. Suddenly I felt Porthos drop his heavy arm around me, leaning upon me slightly.
"We're outnumbered ten to one," he said whilst using me as a support. Folding my arms, I turned my head underneath his hand to look at him. Sensing my look, Porthos looked down and grinned at me.
"I know her secret," emerging into view, Aramis drew all our attention upon him. "And I know a way she'll come willingly. We give her what she most wants." When I looked to Treville, his expression did not appear keen, as we all knew what Emilie wanted more than anything was an audience with the king. "We tell her the king has granted her audience, and bring her back to Paris, alone. If we can draw her away from her followers, perhaps we can reason with her."
"You want to reveal to Emilie the fact that her visions are mere hallucinations driven by the narcotic substance she has been consuming." Realising Aramis's intention, I stepped forwards as I lightly lifted Porthos' arm from my head. "She will not readily believe us."
"That is why I think we need to bring her here alone, and show her the truth. We purge the drug from her." In all truth, it was the only option we had. At best, we could only hope that Emilie would be willing to come alone. I imagined her mother, Josette, and how deeply she had her claws sunk into her own daughter. However, I recognised that this was our only choice.
"I will return with you," I immediately decided. "She will feel more at ease seeing us together still, and to have another woman present."
"I would not have it any other way," Aramis smiled handsomely, so I nodded to the captain who suggested that d'Artagnan went with us. He did not want to startle the masses by sending too many musketeers, but he would feel more at ease knowing that there was at least someone else there to help us should things become dire.
"Already running off to danger only just to return the next moment?" Athos questioned with a small curl of his mouth as he regarded me, stepping back slightly as if to behold me in a new light. "Your wings have grown larger and stronger of late, sister." Intrigued by these words, I looked at my brother curiously as his features relaxed further. "I am proud of you." Starting slightly, I did not expect such praise to be voiced with no apparent cause for it. "But that does not mean I will not worry for you…or that you should be reckless. Be careful, Madeleine."
"I shall," satisfied that he had spoken what he needed, Athos kissed my face before letting me go altogether.
"Your brother's right," Porthos agreed with a light clap against my back, looking at me warmly. "If it comes to it, you can sacrifice the both of those guys to the mobs and escape. Just make sure you get home." Amused by such a sentiment, I folded my arms in front of me to regard him with a quirk of my eyebrow.
"Sacrifice Aramis and d'Artagnan just to save myself? That does not sound like an honourable thing to do."
"Don't worry about it, only thing that matters is you being safe." Touched by Porthos' concern, I allowed myself to feel warm and rosy before drawing myself up. As the others went to prepare fresh horses, Porthos glanced away, his eyes flitting to Treville who had already made his return to his office. "Listen, I uh…can I ask you about something?" Brow furrowing at this sudden change in Porthos, he shifted a little closer to me. Concerned with how serious he had become, I naturally agreed to whatever Porthos might need. "You remember General de Foix, right? You cared for him, treated him before he went back to his home."
"Of course I remember," memories of my time caring for the general crossed my mind and the pretty compliments he had paid me. I recalled too what he had spoken of in regards to Porthos, and a cold suspicion began to gnaw at the insides of my stomach.
"Well…truth is…he passed away. I don't know if you knew," hearing this, I grew a little despondent and shook my head. No, I had not known. The news had yet to reach me. "He left me a legacy." So quickly did my expression change that Porthos tilted his head in regard, studying my surprise. "Did he say anything to you about me? You were with him for some time. I only met the man the first time we were ordered to rescue him, and none of the others were left anything of his estate. Why did he single me out?" He looked at me closely. "Do you know anything?" Sensing that I was starting to step into a place far beyond my depth, I swallowed back the nerves which were cloying my throat.
"He asked of you, in truth," I finally admitted, knowing that it would not do well to lie, and I could not bring myself to be deceitful to dearest Porthos. "The general asked if I knew of your background, but I could not answer him, for I myself know little, and anything I do know is a matter of your private affairs. I told him nothing and gave my reasons as to why." Concerned for the troubled look Porthos bore, I reached for him gingerly. "Does this really worry you so? Perhaps it is only a kindness he intended."
"But why me?" To this I could not answer, for I had no inkling of the truth myself. I did not want to bandy wild theories or unfounded thoughts for fear of their repercussions. "I asked Treville, thought perhaps he might know something."
"And what did he say?"
"That I shouldn't worry about it and just accept the legacy," but something was still weighing upon Porthos' mind, I could see it clouding his wistfully dark gaze. "I think de Foix knew something of my parents. I can't explain it, but the way he looked at me when he first saw me…he recognised me somehow." Straightening but keeping my hand upon Porthos' arm, I tried to rationalise what all this could mean.
"Treville denied it?"
"He's a terrible liar, so I know he's hiding something." This was exactly what I feared would happen. "How can I trust a man who won't even tell me the truth?"
"You turn your trust to those you know whom you can place your faith upon without reservation," reasoning with him gently, I took his other arm in mine and slowly graced my fingers down to cup his hands, curling my fingers into his until I felt his grasp secure upon my own. "You maintain your trust in your friends, but most importantly, you maintain trust in yourself. If all else seems uncertain, then always believe in your own character, Porthos. I know not a man more loyal or fearless as you." Hoping to offer him comfort, I brushed lightly at his face, feeling the bristling hairs under my fingertips. "Always trust in yourself, dearest Porthos." Finally, the cloud of trouble passed over his expression to reveal the bright smile he possessed.
"Sometimes I wish I had a way with words like you do, darlin'. Everything seems to make more sense when you explain it." Chuckling softly, I only claimed that it was owing to an excessive habit of reading that I had such a command over language. "Thank you, sweetheart. I knew I could confide in you, and thank you for being honest."
"Always, I would never lie to you." And it was the truth. By then, the horses were ready and both Aramis and d'Artagnan were waiting for me. "I must go now. We will return soon."
"Be careful out there, and watch your back." Warning me sternly, Porthos escorted me to my own horse but as I reached for the reins, he gathered them up himself and lay the excess over the horse's neck then lifted me up effortlessly by the waist. He set me upon the saddle sideways on, holding me steady as I naturally swung my leg over the neck to sit myself astride. "Still need some more meat on you, darlin'."
"I think only a diet of cream and honey for the rest of my life would build me to the weight and size of your satisfaction, Porthos," amused at his teasing, I took up the reins he had gathered as I found the stirrup with my one foot and Porthos took the other, neatly placing it upon the stirrup which he adjusted for me, making the length more comfortable before he then went around to do the other. It was only then that I had noticed Aramis and d'Artagnan had moved their horses away towards the entryway of the courtyard, seemingly to give Porthos and I some privacy. It was a curious action on their part, but I did not think to question it at the time.
Porthos fixed my other stirrup strap then tightened the girth, securing the saddle now that I was sat upon it until finally he patted the horse's neck. "Come back soon," he instructed, so I beamed at him fearlessly.
"As swiftly as the wind, my sweet." Squeezing his hand one final time, I urged the horse out of the courtyard and dashed past the other two, charging directly into the streets in order to make for the city gates with all due haste and speed. There could be no further delay. We had to get Emilie away from her mother, and then pray she would take heed of our discovery and allow us to help her. Just to be safe, I made a sincere prayer to God, and also prayed for General de Foix soul. Wherever he may be, I prayed he had passed painlessly, and the guilts of his conscience no longer plagued him. Now, he was finally at peace. May God rest his soul.