Philippe
saw his Mother talking quietly with her elderly brother, Felipe, the King of
Spain. Next to them, the Prince Charles stood listening.
They rose up when they saw Philippe.
Philippe bowed to his Uncle.
"Thank you for coming, Sire," he said. "We appreciate your help
at this time."
The old man smiled.
"Family is family," he replied. "You have grown, young man. I
have not seen you since you were an infant."
Philippe blushed.
He saw his brothers standing off to one side. Louis looked more than a little
anxious as he waited nervously for any hint of the King's intentions towards
him.
"Captain," Philippe said, turning to D'Artagnan, ignoring Louis.
"What is the latest?"
D'Artagnan bowed.
"Sire," he said. "Our spies say that the King crossed the border
on the coast. They also have ships in the channel with back up."
"Then we should set out immediately," Philippe said.
He looked to his Uncle for approval.
"Alas, my boy," Felipe IV replied. "I am getting old. I would
much rather stay here with your Mother, while Charles will lead our
battilions."
He beckoned to the Prince.
Philippe nodded.
"Then it is settled then," he said. "We will ride immediately. I
will take command of the musketeers with D'Artagnan of course."
D'Artagnan bowed.
"You shall ride beside me, cousin on the right," he told Charles.
"It will be an honour, Sire," Charles replied.
The King now swung round to his brothers.
"Philippe," he said. "I would like you to take command of the
French ranks on the left." he said.
Philippe looked pleased, but uneasy at Louis's ommission.
"Yes Sire," he said.
"And Ahmed, I know that this may be a little presumptious..."
"I will lead the vanguard Sire," the Arab replied. "It will be
my pleasure."
"Thank you Monsieur," Philippe replied. "There are not enough
thanks we can express to you."
Ahmed bowed.
Philippe nodded and smiled before he turned to Louis....
"Well
Louis", he said, "you have accepted my conversion?"
Louis nodded.
"I have alrealy told you yesterday", he replied.
"I forgive you", the king said, "but I can't let you go without
any penalty. Afterall you have commited treason."
"And what penalty are you talking about?", Louis demanded.
The king thought for a moment.
"I think twelve blows will be enough", he said.
Louis swallowed.
"D'Artagnan", the king said, "you will carry out the
penalty."
"No, I can't", D'Artagnan stammered, "he is my son. You can't
force me to hit my son."
"You will do it", the king replied sternly.
"Come on, father", Louis said, "only twelve blows. That won't be
so bad."
"Are... are you sure, son", D'Artagnan asked.
"Yes", Louis replied, "let us pass this quickly."
And Louis took off his shirt and knelt down.
"What are you waiting for?! Do it.", he called bravely.
One of the musketeers gave his captain a stick. D'Artagnan didn't know what to
do. He felt helpless.
"I can't do it", he said.
"Captain, even Louis himself wants it", the king replied, "so do
it."
"No! That's cruel", D'Artagnan protested.
"Sire", Philippe said to the king, "you must stop this. You
can't force D'Artagnan to do this."
"Louis needs his penalty", the king replied.
"Yes. But let someone else do it. Not D'Artagnan."
"I want Louis to see how it is if you are hurted by someone who you
love", the king said, "I was betrayed by my own brother. Now my
brother will gets his penalty from his own father."
"I understand what you mean", Philippe replied, "but this way
you will also punish D'Artagnan. And he has done nothing wrong."
"Hey father! I'm waiting!", Louis called.
D'Artagnan sighed.
"If you really want this, son, then I will do as you want", he said.
Philippe
shook his head.
"I can't watch this," he said.
"Stay!" the King commanded.
"No!" his brother replied. "I won't. And if you really do this,
then I won't follow you anymore."
"Don't get involved Philippe," Louis said. "The King is right. I
deserve punishment for what I did."
"Maybe so, but not like this," his twin replied. "I won't watch
it and futhermore if it goes ahead i'll...."
"You'll what?" the King demanded.
"I leave...Me and Claudine were happy at my old estate. I don't need to be
here and to risk my life in a silly war which has only come about through both
of your pig-headedness."
The King was angry now.
"Do it, Captain!" he cried. "And you," he told Philippe.
"I command you to watch."
"NO!" Philippe replied and headed for the door.
"Philippe please..." Anne begged the King.
"I forbid you to open that door!" the King screamed.
Philippe ignored him and opened the door.
The King did not know what to do for a moment....
"Bring
him back!", he called then.
But nobody moved.
"I say bring him back!"
"Sire, please calm down...", one of the advisors said.
"No! I won't calm down", the king replied, "everyone here
disregards my orders. So am I king or am I not king?!"
"You are king, but not a good one", Louis, who was still waiting for
his punishment mocked now.
"Not you too, Louis!", the king exclaimed, "I thought that you
have understood your fault. But now you are naughty again."
Louis stood up and turned to his brother.
"I have understood my fault. But you are excessive and sadistic. Is it
that what your new religion orders you to do?"
"No. It is my own decision. And I hate it, when nobody respects my
decision!"
Louis shook his head and took on his shirt again.
"I would have accepted my punishment", he said, "but now I see
that you have only gone mad. And I don't accept a punishment from a mad
man."
"Louis, I warn you..."
"Oh God! Can this never stop?!", D'Artagnan called at this moment,
"Philippe was right. We only have these troubles because certain persons
here are acting like children."
"I only see one person who is acting like a child", Louis replied stubbornly.
"Maybe, but all in all nobody of you is better than the other one",
D'Artagnan replied.
"Well, if I'm so bad as you are saying, why have scruple to hit me,
father?", Louis demanded.
"Yes. Why?", the king echoed.
D'Artagnan (and everyone else) felt so helpless. This all was just a farce.
Then the king spoke again.
"You Louis, on your knees again. And you captain, do what I have said and
gave him his twelve blows. I want to pass this now. After all we have not much
time."
For a moment, Louis considered what to do. Then he followed his brother’s
order.
"Come on, father", he said, "let us do what his Majesty wants.
Otherwise we will discuss here until the Day of Judgement."
"No", a voice interrupted. It was Ahmed. "Your Majesty", he
said to the king, "do you respect me as your teacher?"
The king nodded.
"Yes, Ahmed. You have shown me the Koran. I respect you as my
teacher."
"Then listen to me, Sire. Don't force D'Artagnan to hit his son. Your
brother Philippe was right. D'Artagnan has done nothing wrong. So he deserves
no penalty. Louis needs his punishment. That's right. But order someone else to
carry it out instead of D'Artagnan."
The king seems to calm down now finally. He nodded again.
"All right", he said, "D'Artagnan, gave the stick to one of the
musketeers. This man will carry out the punishment then. And you Louis, are you
ready?"
"Yes, I'm ready, Sire", Louis replied.
"You have heard it, captain", the king said, "now give the stick
to one of the musketeers here."
D'Artagnan nodded. Then he gave the stick to a musketeer who stood next to him.
"I
would like to leave," Anne said. She was close to tears.
The King nodded and waited whilst his Mother rose. She looked at Philippe, then
Louis and shook her head before she withdrew to the door.
After she had gone, Philippe turned to the musketeer.
"Do it!" he said.
Louis took all twelve blows bravely, managing not to cry out. D'Artagnan
overted his eyes whilst it took place while the King watched intently.
When it was over Louis sank to the ground.
"Take him to his rooms," Philippe commanded.
The musketeers went to Louis to raise him to his feet but the young man dragged
himself up.
"No!" he said through griited teeth. "I won't go to my rooms. I
am coming with you."
"Don't be absurd Louis," his father said. "You cannot ride
now."
"I can and I will!" Louis replied stubbornly. "Even if you
command that I should ride right at the vanguard Sire, I will come."
The King looked at his brother.
"Very well," he said. "As you wish brother. You may ride with
Ahmed."
"I really must protest Sire," Ahmed said.
Philippe ignored him.
"It's settled then," he said. "We leave in half an hour."
When Anne
had left the room, she met Philippe outsite.
"Mother", the young man exclaimed, "what is going on inside
there?"
"Oh Philippe", Anne moaned, "D'Artagnan will not have to carry
out the penalty, thanks Ahmed. The king ordered a musketeer to do it. But I
can't watch it anyway."
Philippe listened for some moments.
"Louis must be very brave", he said then, "I don't hear him
crying."
"I would prefer it, if Philippe had just canceled the idea to punish
Louis", Anne replied.
Philippe nodded.
At this moment the door opened and the others came out of the throne-hall: The
king, Ahmed, D'Artagnan, Louis and everyone else. D'Artagnan was supporting
Louis.
When Anne saw her son, she ran to him.
"Oh Louis", she sobbed, "you look terrible. Does it hurt very
much?"
"I'm allright, mother", Louis replied, "What are twelve blows?
Nothing."
"You don't have to play the hero, son", D'Artagnan said, "you
need a doctor now."
"Your father is right, Louis", Anne replied.
"No", Louis protested, "I must come with you and fight against
the Dutch."
"The king has said, that we will start off in half an hour. So in the
meantime there will be enough time for the doctor to treat you at least in a
makeshift manner."
"Well... okay", Louis replied.
________________________________________________________________________________
The king went back to his rooms. He wanted to be alone for a while before they
started off. He was surprised when he opened the door and met Marie who was
already waiting for him.
"What are you doing here?", he exclaimed.
"I wanted to see you", she replied.
"Who had let you in?"
"One of the valets", Marie replied, "please don't be
angry..."
The king smiled.
"I'm not angry", he said, "just a bit surprised."
"I don't want you to go", Marie said, "what if you won't come
back? If the Dutch would capture or even kill you?"
Philippe shook his head.
"That will never happen, Marie. We will defeat the Dutch and I will come
back to you as a winner. And then I will marry you."
"You mean me and the spanish princess."
"Yes, but you are the one who has my love."
"Oh, don't say this", Marie moaned, "don't forget that
Marie-Therese has feelings, too. You could hurt her, if you prefer me to much
over her. If you have two wifes, then you must also be nice to both of
them."
Philippe
stroked her hair.
"If that will make you happy, Cherie," he said gently. "But know
that in private you will always be my favourite."
And he kissed her passionately.
"Please don't go!" she whisphered.
"I have too, Cherie," Philippe replied.
"Then let me come with you."
"The field of battle is no place for you."
"Why? Because I'm a woman?"
She drew away.
Philippe smiled.
"I wouldn't dare to suggest such a thing," he said. "I only
meant that if the Dutch were to discover my fiancee in camp then they may
kidnap you."
He stroked her face.
"I could not bear that!" he said softly, kissing her again.
Marie softened.
"Alright," she said. "But you promise me that you will be back
soon?"
"I swear I will be back in a month and then we will marry."
She smiled and hugged him.
"I love you, Philippe!" she exclaimed.
"And I love you," the King replied kissing her one last time before
he stood up.
"Au revior, My Queen."
"Until next month, My King."
******************************************************************************
Once the King was dressed in his armour he made his way down to the courtyard
where the senoir trops were assembled. The Courtiers had come out on the steps
and the balconies to see their men off and the sound of cheering and good byes
was deafening.
The trumpets annouced the King's arrival and the Court bowed.
Phillippe waved them at ease and a hush feel to allow the King to speak....
"Friends",
he called, "we have gathered together here to fight against our enemies
against the Dutch!"
The crowd cheered.
"The Dutch want to conquer
Applaus again.
"But we all must thank our friends from
Everyone cheered while the king mounted his horse. He raised his hand and the
crowd became quiet again.
"Now lets start off!", he called, "We will win!"
And the armed forces started moving.
Louis rode next to the king.
"Louis, how are you?", the king said.
"Better", Louis replied, "these twelve blows were nothing
compared to what I have beared before."
The king smiled.
"You are still so proud and stubborn as before, Louis", he replied.
"Of course, Sire", Louis said with a grin.
Both were quiet for a while, then Louis spoke again.
"Sire, is it right that you have met Marie, before we have started
off?"
"Yes, in my room. She has waited for me there. But from where do you know
that?"
"Well, at the palace it is not easy to keep something private", Louis
replied.
"I see", the king said, "And?"
"Has she told you the news?", Louis asked.
"No. Which news?"
"Oh, hm... I know it from Philippe. Marie has told him, but she was not
sure if she should tell you before you come back. She thought that it could
divert you and she wants you to concentrate on the war now. But..."
"Now stop being indecisive, Louis", the king said impatiently,
"What the heck are you talking about?"
Louis smiled.
"Well, I don't know if I'm allowed to tell you..."
"I command you to tell me!"
"Okay, okay", Louis replied, "Marie is pregnant. That's the
news..."
Philippe's
eyes were wide.
"Preg...pregnant?" he stammered.
Louis smiled.
"Congratulations little brother!" he said.
The King shook his head.
"Why didn't she tell me?" he demanded. "I have a right to know
such things, don;t I!"
"Of course, but she was only thinking of you."This battle will be
difficult for us all and I'm sure she wanted to keep the news for when you
returned victorious."
"I have to see her!" Philippe exclaimed, drawing his horse to an
abrupt halt.
Louis did the same.
"Don't be absurd!" he exclaimed. "You're going to stop the whole
army to see your mistress?"
"She's my fiancee Louis!" the King replied. "And I'll do as I
wish."
By now many of the troops nearby had stopped.
Philippe rode over to his brothers.
"What is wrong Sire?" he asked with concern.
"I have to see Marie," the King replied.
Philippe looked at Louis.
"You told him?" he demanded.
"Well, he commanded me too," Louis replied.
"Marie entrusted me to keep that safe until the Kings safe return and I
trusted you. What were you thinking?"
"I told you, he made me tell him!"
"Shut up both of you!" the King said.
The brothers fell silent.
"Louis," the King said. "I appreciate your honesty. I will
return to the Palace with a small troop of musketeers and D'Artagnan and you
will continue on towards
Louis bowed his head.
"With pleasure, Sire," he said.
"D'Artagnan!" Philippe called.
The Captain came over.
"What is is Sire?" he asked.
"Gather ten of your best men. You and they shall be my escort. We are
returning to the Palace."
"Sire?" D'Artagnan questioned.
"Don't worry," the King replied. "I'll explain on the way."
"I understand
nothing, but... Yes, your Majesty... as you want", D'Artagnan replied and
rode away to gather his men.
"That's so silly", Louis mumured.
"What is silly? That I want to see my pregnant fiancee?", the king
demanded.
"No", Louis replied, "only that you want to see her now."
"Louis, I have just entrusted you the command of the armed forces",
the king said, "whatever you may think about my decission to return, I
hope that I can trust you."
Louis nodded.
"Of course, of course, Sire", he replied, "we are just a bit
puzzled."
"Indeed", Philippe echoed.
"Well, well. I will be back as soon as possible", the king replied,
"but now I must see Marie."
At this moment D'Artagnan came back with ten other musketeers.
"We are ready, your Majesty", he said.
"Allright", the king replied, "wait a moment."
And he rode through the lines and stopped infront of the armed forces.
"Listen to me!", he called, "I have got some very important news
from the palace. My fiancee Mademoiselle Marie is pregnant (The soldiers
cheered) I have to go back and see her. D'Artagnan will come with me. The rest
of you will continue on towards
"YES!", the soldiers called.
"Good."
Philippe rode back to D'Artagnan.
"Okay, captain", he said, "we can go... Goodbye my
brothers."
"Goodbye, brother", Louis and Philippe replied.
The king kicked his horse and rode away. D'Artagnan and his musketeers followed
him.
"Men who are in love seem to lose every common sense", Philippe
moaned.
"Well, let him be with his fiancee. He needs it now", Louis replied,
"we have to fight against the Dutch now."
And he turned to the soldiers.
"Allright. Keep going!!!"
The men
looked at one another. Some of them were more than a little reluctant to follow
to the Prince who they still saw as a traitor to
The army moved on.
***************************************************************************
Philippe and D'Artagnan arrived back at the Palace about an hour later. The
King had filled his Captain in on the reasons for wanting to return and as soon
as they reached the Courtyard he dismounted from his horse, not even waiting
for the servant to assist him.
He sprinted into the Palace and up to Marie's rooms.
"Sire!" one of the Ladies in Waiting exclaimed as he burst in. She
curtseyed.
"Where is Marie?" Philippe asked.
The maid beckonned to the door and Philippe rushed in.
Marie looked up.
"Philippe!" she exclaimed. "I don't understand! I..."
He ran to her and hugged her.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked lovingly.
She looked uncertain.
"I thought you might be angry..." she replied.
"Angry?" Philippe exclaimed. "Why would you think that? It's
wonderful!"
Marie smiled.
"Well I just thought that...well...you would have wanted your first child
to be with Marie-Therese...since that child will be your Heir. And I did not want
you to think about anything but the battle..."
Philippe stroked her hair.
"I don't care about Heirs," he said. "All I care about is that
you're happy."
He touched her stomach.
"Both of you."
Marie kissed him.
"I'm
so happy", she said, "but do you think that your soldiers don't need
you?"
"Don't worry", Philippe replied, "Louis is leading them
now."
Marie grimaced.
"Louis... I still don't like him."
The king laughed.
"Oh I think it is time for both of you to forget the events of the
past", he said.
"But Louis always makes trouble", Marie exclaimed, "Not just
what he had done to my family, but now he had also betrayed you. And..."
"Shhh. I don't want to talk about Louis now", Philippe said, "I
only want to talk about us and our baby."
And he kissed her again.
________________________________________________________________________________
In the meantime Louis and the armed forces were still on the way. Philippe were
riding next to Louis and they were talking.
“I’m not excited about that our brother has left us”, Philippe said.
“Don’t start it again”, Louis replied, “we already had this subject.”
“Yes, but…”
“Philippe wanted to see his pregnant girlfriend. He’s the king. We can’t forbid
him anything.”
“Yes”, Philippe replied, “but if you hadn’t told him…”
“Oh come on”, Louis protested, “I’ve already told you, that he has command me
to speak.”
Philippe smiled with an expression of superiority.
“Well, he wouldn’t have command you, if you hadn’t made hints”, he said, “Admit
it, Louis. You have made hints.”
“Okay, okay. You’re right”, Louis moaned, “Can we stop this subject now?”
Philippe wanted to answer something, but just at this moment the musketeer who
was riding next to the Princes fell off his horse.
“Hey! What…” Louis exclaimed.
But just one second later other soldiers fell to the ground, hit by bullets.
“This is an ambush! An ambush!”, Philippe called, “Defend the flanks!”
But the soldiers get in panic. They were in a forest and the Dutch used the
trees as covers. More and more French soldiers were killed. Only Ahmed and his
Arabs put up a good show.
“Fight! Fight!”, Louis called angrily, “Don’t allow them to slaughter you like
animals!”
But at this moment he heard Philippe shrieking next to him. Louis turned his
head and could just see how his brother fell off his horse.
“Philippe!” he exclaimed.
Louis dismounted and knelt down next to his brother.
“Philippe, oh my god…”
Philippe bit his teeth.
“They have hit me… at the shoulder… We must surrender, Louis.”
“No. No. We’re going to get you to safety and then we will defeat these
cowardly Dutch”, Louis exclaimed.
“Don’t be a fool Louis.”
But Louis
was not listening.
"Andre!" he cried.
The Lieutenant was busy defending himself against two Dutch soldiers and was
powerless to come to the Princes' aid.
Louis looked around helplessly seeing the men being outnumbered everywhere.
Now another Dutch soldier rode quickly towards the brothers.
"Louis!" Philippe exclaimed just in time as Louis raised his sword
and slayed the man. He feel from his horse.
Trembling the Prince looked at his twin.
"Do you think you can walk?" he asked.
Philippe tried to sit up but he gasped in pain and sank down again. Now Louis
could see the scarlet puddle staining through his brothers' sleeve.
Now two more Dutch soldiers seized their opportunity.
Louis jumped to his feet and fought with them both. It took some effort to slay
the one with a blow to the neck, the second he missed but hit the horse. The
animal staggered for a moment before it fell heavily to the ground, right next
to the injured Prince.
"Philippe!" Louis exclaimed anxious that his brother had not been
further harmed. But before he had time to check the Dutch soldier staggered back
to his feet and began to fight with Louis.
It took over a minute for Louis to win the duel and he ran to his twin.
"Philippe!" he cried.
Luckily the horse had landed just an inch from his twins head.
"Thank Heaven!" Louis exclaimed. He looked around again searching for
any way to get his brother from the field safely.
"Surrender Louis!" Philippe begged breathlessly. "Or we'll all
be slayed."
Louis shook his head.
"I can't!" he half sobbed, desperately.
Just then a voice cried "Your Majesties!"
Louis lifted his head to see the sweat and blood drenched Andre on his horse.
"Philippe is hurt!" he exclaimed. "We must get him to
safety."
Andre nodded and jumped from his horse.
Together he and Louis lifted the injured young man and laid him across the
horse...
"We
must take him away from the battlefield", Louis gasped.
And they
lead the horse away from the battlefield and it was like a miracle that they
managed it without being attacked.
André and
Louis took Philippe off the horse and laid him down onto the meadow.
"I
will stay here with him", Louis said, "you go back and support our
soldiers."
"Your
Highness, the battle is almost lost", André replied, "maybe we should
surrender."
"That's
what I have said, too", Philippe gasped.
"No.
Never", Louis exclaimed, "we won't surrender. We have the Spanish and
the Arabs as allies. We actually have three armed forces altogether. We can't
lose."
"But
it looks so", André said.
Louis shook
his head.
"The Dutch
have profited from the surprise effect", he said, "but now our
soldiers must finally wake up. If they wouldn't run around like frightened
chicken, they could win this battle easily."
"I
don't know...", André began.
"Go
Lieutenant", Louis interrupted him, "I want my men to fight
now."
The
Lieutenant sighed.
"Yes,
your Highness."
André rode
back to the battlefield. And Louis turned to Philippe
"I
must see your wound", he said.
Louis
carefully touched Philippe's arm, but his brother moaned in terror.
"Don't
touch it", he exclaimed, "it hurts so."
"I
have to", Louis replied.
He took a
dagger and slit open the cloth of Philippe's sleeve over the wound. Then he
examined the wound.
"That's
not good", he said, "it looks like the bullet is still sticking in
the flesh. I can't remove it now because I'm not a doctor. But I can at least
dress the wound."
Louis took
a piece of cloth and dressed the wound. Philippe moaned.
"Not
so strong", he gasped, "that hurts."
"Don't
be a baby", Louis replied, "it must be so strong. Or do you want to
bleed to death?"
"No",
Philippe exclaimed.
"Then
let me do my work", Louis replied.
Philippe
gritted his teeth while his brother tightly tied his arm with the cloth.
"All done," Louis said at length.
"Promise me you'll never be a doctor," Philippe joked weakly.
Louis smiled.
"That's gratitude," he said. "I almost got myself killed
rescuing you brother."
Philippe moaned weakly.
Louis looked around. He knew that it would not be long until his brother would
require medical attention and he was not inclined to wait until the battle was
won or lost. That could take hours or days and he knew that his brother could
soon die from blood loss or infection.
To the south, Louis could still hear the noise of the battle. Obviously to go
back that way would be crazy. So he looked around. Off to the north he could
see, set upon a small hill, some smoke rising from a chimney. He knew that was
Philippe's only hope.
He looked at his brother, seeing already the blood beginning to appear through
the cloth.
"I've got to go for help," he said.
"No, don't leave me," Philippe moaned.
"I have to," Louis replied. Even though he knew it was a risk to
leave his brother for fear of scouts from the Dutch lines or the battle moving
in that direction, he knew he had to get help.
"I won't be long, I swear," Louis said, rising up.
"Louis please..."
"I have to!" Louis replied. "I'll be back in an hour," he
said. "I promise."
*******************************************************************************
By now the King and D'Artagnan were back on the road. As they came round a
turn, up ahead of them, they saw and heard the noise of battle.
"They have ambushed us!" the King cried.
D'Artagnan looked at the King. He looked very worried.
“We must
help them”, the king said.
“Well, we
won’t be a great reinforcement”, one of D’Artagnan’s men joked.
“But it
will motivate the soldiers again, when they see their king”, D’Artagnan
replied.
“Exactly,
D’Artagnan”, the king said, “Come on. Attack!!!”
They kicked
their horses and stormed towards the battlefield. When the soldiers saw their
king and D’Artagnan, they cheered.
“The king
is back! The king is back! And the captain, too!”
That
encouraged the soldiers again and they began to attack their enemies with full
force.
The king
and D’Artagnan lashed about with their swords and killed many enemies. Then the
king noticed Ahmed and he called.
“Hey
Ahmed!”
“Hey!”
“Let us
beat up the Dutch now!”
“Yes,
Sire!”
The fortune
had now changed the sides and the Dutch were forced more and more on defensive.
But Louis didn’t notice that. He also hadn’t noticed that the king and
D’Artagnan had come back. He was just worried about Philippe.
Now he had
arrived at the housing estate on the hill. It was a very small settlement.
Three houses, an inn, a forge and a well. That was all.
Louis went
to one of the houses and knocked at the door.
A man
opened him. He looked very surprised.
“Your…
Highness”, he gasped.
“Our army
was attacked by the Dutch and my twin brother has been wounded. He is still
near the battlefield and waiting for me to come back. Please, do you have a
doctor here? He has been hit by a bullet.”
The man was
obviously not very well informed.
“Your
army…. The Dutch…. Attacked…. What…?”
“I have no
time to explain. Do you have a doctor here?” Louis demanded.
The man
shook his head.
"No Your Highness," he replied. "The nearest doctor is two
villages away. It would take an hour to reach him."
"An hour!" Louis exclaimed. "But we don't have time for
that."
"Well," the man said. "My wife has sometimes done nursing of
patients for him here in the village. If we bring the Prince here then she
might be able to help him while I send my sons for the doctor."
Louis nodded.
"Thank you Monsieur," he said.
"Yvette! Claude! Armand!" the man cried.
A woman emerged from the back room.
"Your Highness!" she exclaimed.
The man's son's arrived and were similarly shocked.
"No time for explanations," the man said. "The Prince Philippe
needs our help. He has been shot. Now boys I want to ride for the doctor."
"Yes Father!" the boys chorused and ran from the house to the small
stable.
"Come then!" the man said to Louis. "Let us go and rescue the
Prince!"
*******************************************************************************
By now the balance of the battle swayed greatly towards the French troops. The
isolated pockets of Dutch resistance were being closed down and surrounded on
all sides.
"They have to announce the surrender soon!" the King called to
D'Artagnan.
The Captain nodded. By now the more senior officers were beginning to regroup.
D'Artagnan was becoming more and more anxious that his sons had not yet
appeared. Then a weary and blooded Lieutenant Andre rode towards the King.
"Sire!" he exclaimed breathlessly. The Dutch Cavalry on the left have
just surrendered."
"That is good news," the King replied.
"Unfortunately Sire," Andre said gravely. "I also have some bad
news."
"What is it?" the King asked.
"Your brother, the Prince Philippe was wounded in the arm. Prince Louis
has taken him off to the south to try to find help."
"My God!" the King exclaimed. "D'Artagnan!" he exclaimed.
"Make a search party. It is or first priority now to get Philippe to a
doctor!"
Louis and
the man whose name was Serge arrived at the place where Philippe was lying. The
prince was very weak and almost unconscious.
“Louis”, he
said weakly, when he saw his brother.
Louis knelt
down next to him.
“Don’t be
afraid, brother”, he said, “I have brought help. This is Serge. We will bring
you to his house now and his sons are riding for a doctor just now.”
“Where… is
his house?” Philippe asked.
“There on
the hill. Come on now. Don’t worry. His wife is a nurse. She will treat you
until the doctor arrives.”
Philippe
grimaced.
“You know,
I can’t walk, Louis”, he said bitterly.
“No
problem. I will carry you, your Highness”, Serge said.
Philippe
nodded weakly.
Just then,
they saw a group of riders coming.
“The
Dutch?!” Philippe exclaimed.
“No. These
are our musketeers”, Louis replied joyfully.
“Hey!
Here!” he called.
The
musketeers rode towards them. Their leader was D’Artagnan. The captain was so
delighted and happy, when he saw his sons.
“Thanks God,
we have found you”, he gasped.
“Father!”
Louis exclaimed.
“We must
bring Philippe to doctor”, D’Artagnan said.
“I know. I
have already seen to it. By the way, this here is Serge. He is helping us.”
“Bonjour,
Captain”, Serge said.
Serge was a
more than a little bemused by meeting the Princes and now the Captain.
D'Artagnan smiled.
"Thank you for your generousity to my family Monsieur," he said.
Serge blushed and bowed his head.
Two of the musketeers now climbed down and lifted Philippe, who moaned with
pain.
"Be brave son," D'Artagnan said.
Philippe gritted his teeth and nodded.
"How is the battle going?" he asked weakly.
"We are beginning to look victorious," D'Artagnan replied.
"Wonderful!" Louis exclaimed.
"That's wonderful," Philippe added.
*****************************************************************************
The musketeers carried Philippe to Serge's house on the hill. During the
journey, D'Artagnan and Louis walked by his side, giving him encouragement. But
Philippe was getting more and more weak and inspite of their best effots to
keep him awake, he drifted into unconciousness....
"We
must hurry", Louis said, "Philippe is..."
"I
know", D'Artagnan replied, "come on."
They
arrived at Serge's house. Serge opened the door and the musketeers carried
Philippe into the house. D'Artagnan and Louis followed them.
Inside
Serge's wife was already waiting for them.
"Oh,
the poor prince", she said when she saw Philippe.
Then she pointed
onto the big table in the middle of the room.
"Put
him on the table", she said, "We will use it as a operating table.
Our sons must come back with the doctor soon."
The
musketeers did as Yvette had said. Philippe moaned quietly when they lyed him
onto the table, but he didn't wake up.
Louis
stroked his brother's head.
"Everything
will be well, brother", he whispered, "don't worry."
Yvette had
already prepared a dish with warm water which she put onto the table next to
Philippe now.
Just at this
moment the door opened and the two sons and a doctor entered.
"Thank
you so much for coming", D'Artagnan said when he saw the doctor.
The man put
his bag onto the table and opened it.
"We
have no time talk", he said while get the set of instruments out of his
bag, "take off his shirt."
Louis and
D'Artagnan did it.
The doctor
walked around the table and removed the bandage at Philippe's arm. Then he
examined the wound...
___________________________________________________________________________
In the
meantime the battle had continued. Lieutenant André and Ahmed had the command
now.
"These
Dutch are fools", André called, "they should finally surrender. Or do
they prefer to die?"
"Maybe",
Ahmed replied and killed another soldier with his scimitar.
But then
they saw the white flag.
"We
surrender!" a young dutch officer called. And the soldiers threw their
weapons away.
"Finally!"
André moaned.
The French,
the Arabs and the Spanish erupted with jubilation.
"See
that the Dutch King does not leave here," Andre told his men. "He
must be brought to the King."
The musketeers nodded and regrouped.
Andre looked at Ahmed and smiled.
"Your Highness," he said. "Will your men be responsible for
guarding the prisoners until we have orders from his majesty."
Ahmed nodded.
"I will see to it immediately," he said.
And Andre rode to inform the King of the good news.
******************************************************************************
When he had finished the doctor wiped the blood from his hands and looked at
Louis and D'Artagnan.
"The wound is cut to the bone and very dirty," he said gravely.
"I will clean it the best I can and sew it up, but I fear that infection
is almost inevitable."
"What does that mean?" Louis demanded.
The doctor lowered his head.
"Well that depends, Your Highness," he said. "If we can control
it and stop the spread then he stands a chance of a full recovery."
"Stand's a chance? It's just an arm wound. We've both suffered much
worse."
"With respect Your Highness," the doctor replied. "The wound is
full of dirt. I cannot guarentee..."
"What are you saying then?"
Louis was more angry now.
"I'm saying My Prince," the doctor replied. "That your brother
will likely lose his arm or worse..."
"Worse?"
"If the infection cannot be isolated then he might die..."
Louis was shocked.
He shook his head.
"You're just a provincial doctor. We will bring the Royal doctors and see
what they say..."
D'Artagnan touched his son lightly on the arm.
"I'm afraid that the doctor is right, Louis," he said in a choked
voice. "I have seen such wounds in battle before and...."
He bit his lip.
Louis shook his head and blinked away his tears.
"No!" he said. "Not Philippe! He doesn't deserve this!"
D'Artagnan tried to hug his son.
Louis pulled away.
"This is all my fault!" he sobbed. "If it wasn't for me
then..."
"Louis no..." D'Artagnan said. "This is not your fault
son."
"Then whose is it?" Louis demanded. "Philippe tried to keep the
peace and we drag him into this? If he dies I'll never forgive myself or the
King!"
"Louis son you have to be strong now. Philippe needs you."
Louis sniffed and wiped away the tears.
"You're right," he said hoarsely.
The doctor cleared his throat softly.
"Umm...WE should get started," he said.
D'Artagnan nodded.
"Of course Monsieur," he said. "Thank you for your
service."
"It would be better if you leave the room," the doctor said. "It
is said that the less people around at such important times reduces the chance
of infection."
"I'm not going," Louis said in an anguished voice.
"We'll just wait outside," D'Artagnan told his son. "And say
some prayers for your brother. Alright?"
He looked Louis intently in the eyes.
Louis managed to nod....
"You
can come into the kitchen", Yvette said, "if you want, I can also
prepare a meal for you."
"Yes...",
Louis murmured.
They all
left the room and let Philippe alone. In the kitchen Louis, D'Artagnan and
Serge sat down at the table, while Yvette began to prepare a soup.
But the
sons didn't sit down.
"We
still have to do some work, father", Armand said.
Serge
nodded.
"Yes,
yes. Of course. Just go."
The young
men nodded and left. The athmosphere was very low.
"Philippe
must not die", Louis sobbed, "He can't!"
"Shh,
son", D'Artagnan said and placed a hand on Louis' shoulder, "your
anger won't help. Didn't you want to say some prayers for Philippe?"
Louis
sniffed.
"Yes",
he replied. He got a rosary out of his pocket and began to pray.
After some
minutes they heard the noise of a knock at the front door.
"Looks
like we get a visit", Serge said, "wait here. I will see who it
is."
He stood up
and left the kitchen. Just a few moments later he came back very agitated.
"It is
the king", he exclaimed (Yvette dropped a ladle).
Then the
king entered the kitchen.
"My
god. I have seen Philippe", he exclaimed, "he looks so pale."
"Your
Majesty. How did you...", D'Artagnan said.
"We
have won the battle", Philippe replied, "then I have heard what has happened
to Philippe and I came as quickly as I could."
Louis now
interuppted his prayer and looked up.
"It is
not good, brother", he said, "the doctor
"You
must be really desperate, that you are even willing to pray together with me,
an 'unbeliever', Louis", the king replied.
"Shh!",
D'Artagnan said angrily, "Philippe is very ill. This is no time for
childish teasing."
"I
know", the king said ashamed.
He sat
down.
Together the King, Louis and D'Artagnan sat in silence, waiting and praying.
Yvette busied herself again making the soup, but was now totally shocked and
kept on dropping things. But the Princes barely noticed.
At lenght Louis spoke.
"What's taking so long?" he moaned.
D'Artagnan smiled sadly.
"These things take time, Louis," he councelled. "We must be
patient."
Louis shook his head.
"It just isn't fair," he said. "It shouldn't be him in
there..."
He was disturbed by the door opening. All three men looked up expectantly.
"Is he going to be alright?" Louis asked.
The doctor lowered his head.
"He'll live," he said.
"That's great news!" the King exclaimed.
The doctor bit his lip and looked uncomfortable.
"There's more, isn't there Monsieur?" D'Artagnan asked.
The man nodded gravely.
"I'm afraid the Prince has already developed a fever," he said.
"That is a sign that infection is setting in."
"What does that mean?" Philippe asked.
"Sire, if we cannot stop the fever, and it seems unlikely, then there will
be no choice but to amputate his arm."
"No!" Louis sobbed.
"How long until we know?" D'Artagnan asked.
"We should have to make a decision by the morning."
Oh, I can't
allow that Philippe loses his arm. LOL
_______________________________________________________________________________
"I
want to see him", Louis exclaimed.
"I
know, but it isn't possible", the doctor replied.
"Why
not? Why should only the doctor be allowed to see Philippe?" Louis
protested.
"Because
it is necessary that I treat him", the doctor replied, "but any human
contact should be avoided."
"That's
cruel", Louis exclaimed, "I want to see him!"
And he
stood up and went to the door. But the doctor seized him.
"No",
he said, "your presence would be dangerous for your brother because of the
infection. You won't do him a favour if you leave this kitchen here."
"Infection,
pah! I don't believe that my presence will be bad for Philippe. This is an old
wives' tale! And now let me go!"
"No!"
Now
D'Artagnan stood up and seized Louis, too.
"Louis,
be reasonable", he said, "if the doctor
Louis gave
up and allowed D'Artagnan to lead him back to his chair. But he sobbed.
"I
want to see Philippe. I want it", he whined.
"I
know. We want it, too", D'Artagnan replied, "but we must stay here.
This is better for Philippe. And we all just want the best for him.
Right?"
Louis sniffed.
"Right",
he replied.
"The
soup is ready now", Yvette said, "Serge, will you help me to set the
table?"
"Yes,
of course", her husband replied.
Some
minutes later everyone, including the doctor, was sitting at the table and
eating soup.
"Hm, the
soup is very good", the king said.
Yvette
blushed.
"We
also have a bottle of wine here", Serge said, "Maybe you want a
drink..."
"Oh,
absolutely", Louis replied. D'Artagnan nodded, too.
Only the
king shook his head.
"Not
for me. I don't drink wine anymore, but just give the others a drink."
"You
don't drink, Sire?" Serge said surprised.
"Well,
you know that he has converted to Islam", D'Artagnan explained, "and
this religion forbids alcohol."
"What...
ahm... now. I know nothing", Serge exclaimed.
D'Artagnan
smiled.
"Well,
obviously news haven't arrived here yet. Well it is a long story. Give us a
glas of wine and I will tell you."
"I'm
very curious", Serge said.
He got the
bottle of wine and five glasses (for Louis, D'Artagna, the doctor, Yvette and
himself). After Serge had full the glasses, D'Artagnan began to tell.
"Very
interesting", Serge said, "so this is the reason for the war and
everything."
"Exactly",
D'Artagnan replied.
"Well,
God must have a strange humour", Serge laughed.
"Philippe
is very ill", Louis scolded, "This is not funny."
"Apropos,
I think I should take a look at our patient again", the doctor said.
He stood up
and left the kitchen.
When he
came back, he looked very happy.
"I
have good news", he said, "the infection has gone down a bit."
"What
does that mean?" Louis asked hopefully.
The doctor smiled.
"We may yet be able to save your brothers arm," he said.
"That's wonderful!" the King exclaimed.
"Yes...but not definate," D'Artagnan councelled. "We should not
yet hope for such miracles, should we doctor?"
The doctor nodded.
"You are right Captain," he replied. "But certainly the
situation is looking more promising."
Louis looked at his Father and the King.
"Are you going to stay here tonight?" he asked.
D'Artagnan shrugged.
"I would certainly like to," he said. "But unfortunately I think
the King will need to return soon to give orders regarding the prisoners."
Louis sighed.
"I will stay," he said. "If that is fine with you
Monsieur?"
Serge nodded.
"It will be an honour Your Highness," he said.
"I will send Andre to be with you," D'Artagnan replied. "And I
will return just as soon as we have things sorted. Doctor, will Philippe be
able to travel tomorrow?"
"Everything will depend on the fever," the doctor replied.
"Until we know if infection has developed I will not know what we need to
do next."
D'Artagnan nodded.
He looked at Louis.
"You must follow the doctors orders, son," he told him. "I know
that you want to be there to comfort your brother, but I'm sure this is for the
best."
Louis nodded.
"I will Father," he said.
Philippe finished his soup and thanked Yvette. She was overjoyed that the King
had enjoyed it.
"It's gettin dark," D'Artagnan said. "Sire, we should return to
the
"Just a while longer," Philippe moaned.
"Sire, if we don't return before the light goes, we risk the chance of a
Dutch ambush. Who knows how many mercenries we have yet to round up."
Philippe sighed.
"You are right, Monsieur," he said, reluctantly rising to his feet.
He looked
at Louis.
"Goodbye,
brother", he said, "I hope that we all will celebrate our victory
together at the palace soon."
"I
hope so, too", Louis replied, "keep an eye on yourself, little
brother."
And the
brothers embraced each other.
"Your
Majesty, we must go now", D'Artagnan said.
"Yes,
captain", the king replied.
Philippe
embraced Louis a last time, then he followed D'Artagnan.
_______________________________________________________________________________
When they
were alone, Serge began to speak.
"Your
Highness", he said to Louis, "it is a pleasure for me and my wife to
have you and your brother as our guests here. But, there's a little
problem..."
"Which
problem?" Louis asked.
"We
aren't rich people and we only have one vacant bed. And as your brother is ill,
I think that..."
Louis
smiled.
"Of
course Philippe can sleep in the bed", he replied, "I will sleep on
the ground then."
"Your
Highness!"
"It's
no problem. Really. If you just have a blanket for me, then I'm
satisfied", Louis said.
"Of
course I have a blanket for you", Serge replied happily.
_______________________________________________________________________________
At the same
time at the palace:
Anne and
her brother, the king of
"I
hope that my sons will come back healthy", Anne said.
"Of
course they will", Felipe replied, "don't worry, my sister."
Just at
this moment the door bursted open and Marie-Therese stormed in.
"Father!"
she exclaimed.
"My
dear", the king said, "what can I do for you?"
"Father,
you have told me that I shall marry king Philippe."
"Yes."
"But
you didn't tell me that I won't be his only wife!" the princess exclaimed.
"My
little cherub...", the king began.
"I
can't accept that the king will have another wife next to me",
Marie-Therese said stubbornly, "And who is this girl?! A commoner! I can't
accept this."
"My
dear, you don't seem to understand, but the decision has already been
made." the King said.
"But this is shame!" the girl exclaimed. "I won't do it! It's
obvious that he loves this commoner, so where does that leave me?"
"You will be his wife," the King said more coolly. "And you will
produce the heir to continue our blood line here in
"I accept that!" the girl replied. "But why do you still consent
to this when you heard about this other marraige. The King has converted to
Islam! You expect me to do the same?"
"I expect you to become a virteous Catholic Queen," the King replied.
"My dear sister will give you guidance on that."
He smiled at Anne who looked more than a little uncomfortable.
Marie-Therese looked at her Aunt.
"The King loves this other girl, does he not, my Lady?" she asked.
There were tears in her eyes.
Anne nodded.
"I believe he does, my niece," she replied sadly. "But he will
treat you with all the proper respect afforded a Queen, I will see to
that."
Marie- Therese lowered her head and laughed bitterly.
"I same respect that was given to my mother? The same that was given to
you? Is that lonely, miserable life one I am supposed to desire? And with the
added shame of being his second wife? I can't do it! I won't do it!"
Felipe now became angry. He stood up.
"You dare disobey me girl?" he cried raising his hand.
Anne stepped inbetween the father and daughter.
"Felipe, please, allow me to speak to the girl alone," she pleaded.
"I'm sure I can convince her."
The King looked at his daughter crying and trembling behind Anne.
"You better had change her mind, my Sister," he said coldly. "Or
she won't be a daughter of mine anymore."
And he walked from the room.
***************************************************************************
Louis was just bedding down for the night on the kitchen floor when the doctor
came into the room to get a drink. The Prince sat up again.
"How is he?" he asked, wiping the sleep from his eyes.
“No
change”, the doctor replied.
“Is this
good news or bad news”, Louis said uncertainly.
“It is good
news”, the doctor said, “if his condition doesn’t get worser until tomorrow,
then I’m certain that we can safe his arm.”
Louis
smiled.
“Thank you,
“But you
should sleep now, your Highness.”
“Yes, of
course…”
Anne looked
at her niece, trying to find the right words.
“I won’t
marry the king, if he also marries this commoner”, Marie-Therese said
stubbornly.
“My dear,
you must reasonable”, Anne said, “this is not only a matter of family, it is
politics.”
“I hate
politics”, the princess exclaimed.
“I know”,
Anne replied, “it is often irritating. But we are from
“I would
marry him”, Marie-Therese replied, “that’s not the problem. The problem is that
I won’t be his only wife.”
“Yes, but…”
“… And then
his conversion… My God, my father could offer me to the Sultan for his harem
just as well! That’s unworthy for the princess of
Anne
sighed.
“I see what
you mean, my dear”, she replied, “but we are not talking about a harem. My son
will treat you with all respect. I promise.”
“It’s
really a pity that Louis isn’t king anymore”, Marie-Therese moaned, “he is a
good Catholic. I would have liked to marry him. He would
Anne cleared
her throat.
“Well,
first Louis is already married and second I could swear that he would have had
not a second wife but mistresses, if he had marry you. I know my son. Would you
have liked that more?”
“Hm… no”,
the princess replied.
“Please,
marry the king”, Anne said, “do it for our families and for our countries.”
Marie-Therese
considered.
“
Anne
sighed.
"I'm sure Philippe will not expect you to convert, my niece," she
said. "But as to the wedding...."
"If the wedding is not Catholic then I cannot do it. It would be like as
though we never married in God's eyes."
Anne nodded.
"I understand," she said. "Perhap's the King will agree to take
part in two ceremonies, surely you could accept that?"
Marie-Therese shrugged uncertainly.
"I suppose so," she said.
Anne smiled.
"That's good," she said. "I will make sure that Philippe
realises just how lucky he is to have a wife like you."
Marie-Therese smiled uncertainly.
******************************************************************************
Louis was awakened by the dawn as the strong sun filtered in through the gap in
the shutters.
He swinted and turned over moaning at the stiffness of his body after a night
on the cold floor.
The cold floor. The events of the previous day came flooding back. He sat up
sharply to see himself alone in the smal kitchen.
He twisted his back to try to relieve the stiffness before he rose to his feet.
He had to see how his brother was.
Louis made his way into the hall and to the door of the other room where
Philippe was. The door was slightly ajar.
Louis hesitated remembering the doctors words.
He edged closer to the handle.
"Monsieur!" he called quietly and waited.
There was no answer.
He tried again.
"Monsieur!"
Nothing.
Louis was too worried to wait any longer. He pushed open the door.
The doctor was asleep in the corner of the room. Louis turned and looked at his
twin....
Philippe
had opened his eyes!
"Philippe,
you are awake!", Louis exclaimed when he saw it.
"Louis...",
Philippe moaned weakly. He was still too weak to say more than that.
Louis went
to the bed and took his brother's hand.
"I'm
so happy", he said, "how are you, brother?"
"I
don't know", Philippe whispered, "I feel very weak."
"I'm
sure you will feel much better soon", Louis replied joyfully, "the
doctor has obviously made a good job."
At this
moment the doctor woke up, too. He stood up.
"Your
Highness", he yawned.
"Doctor,
I thank you", Louis exclaimed, "you have saved my brother."
The rubbed
his eyes and looked at Philippe.
"Aha,
the patient has woken up", he said, "well, let me see your arm,
boy."
The doctor
touched Philippe's arm.
"Does
this hurt?", he asked.
"Only
a bit", Philippe replied.
"Well,
the arm is not red... it looks like the infection has continued to go
down."
"That's
wonderful", Louis exclaimed.
"I
will change the bandage again", the doctor said and took his bag.
Then he
removed the bandage from Philippe's arm.
"Ah,
yes. That looks already much better than yesterday", he said when he saw
the wound, "we don't have to be worry about your arm anymore, your
Highness."
"My
arm? I don't understand", Philippe replied.
"Well,
if the infection hadn't gone down, I would have been forced to amputate your
arm", the doctor replied.
Philippe
swallowed while the doctor dressed his arm with a new bandage.
"But
now everything is alright again", Louis said.
Anne and
Marie-Therese left the room and met the king of
"And?",
Felipe demanded.
"She
will marry the king,... if the wedding is Catholic", Anne said.
"Well,
I think you will be able to arrange that", the king replied.
Anne
nodded.
"We
will speak to the archbishop but it should be no problem and if my son is not totally
stubbornly then we will have the Catholic wedding."
"Good",
Felipe replied, "and you my daugther, you will be a good Queen. I want you
to do our family and
Marie-Therese
just nodded.
Marie-
Therese left the room not the best humour. She had hoped that her Father would
be on her side regarding the whole 'two wife' issue and was shocked at the
realisation that he had agreed to the wedding when he already knew that fact.
She felt the tears well up in her eyes and hurried to wipe them away, incase
anyone should see. She had always imagined that her wedding would be a
wonderful fairytale moment but now she was going to have to face marrying a man
who was married to another girl, a commoner, who had his love. She hated her
father for this. It seemed to her as if he cared far more about politics than
he did about her...
"Hey!" a voice exclaimed as the young Princess collided with another
figure coming along the corridor, since she had not been looking where she had
going.
She looked up to see Louise looking at her with a lot of concern.
"Are you alright, Your Highness?" the Princess asked.
Marie- Therese nodded.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I guess I was not looking where I was
going."
"You seem upset," Louise said. "Would you like to talk about
it?"
Marie-Therese bit her lip.
It would be nice to talk and Louis's wife seemed really nice, for a commoner.
She nodded.
"That would be nice," she said.
Louise smiled and put her arm around the younger girls shoulder.
"Come to my rooms," she said. "We'll talk there and you can meet
Pascal."
******************************************************************************
The King had had a long night, giving instructions to his troops and officials
regarding the victory. He decreed that all the men who had surrendered be
allowed to return home under escort while he sent out a troop of musketeers to
try to catch the Dutch King before he escaped across the border.
It was already light when all these tasks had been accomplished.
He yawned as D'Artagnan came into the tent and bowed.
"You should get some rest now Sire," the Captain said. "Before
we set out for the Palace."
The King shook his head.
"No," he said. "I want to see Philippe. I need to see if he's
going to be alright. And I won't return to the Palace without him."
D'Artagnan nodded sadly.
"Then we shall go now?" he asked.
The King nodded and rose from his chair while D'Artagnan sent one of his men to
prepare the horses.
******************************************************************************
Louis sat by his brother's bedside helping him eat some soup that had been left
from the previous evening.
Philippe was in some pain but was well enough to talk with his brother who
reminded him of the events of the previous day.
"So we won then?" Philippe asked.
"Yes. Philippe returned just in time to inspire the men to victory,"
Louis replied.
Philippe sighed.
"That's good," he said. "Perhap's this time all the bad times
will truely be over and we will be allowed to live in peace."
Louis smiled.
"I promise I won't be the cause of any more trouble," he said.
"I've learned my lesson."
"So lets hope the King has too," his twin replied.
"And that there are no more crazy half cousins like Francois around,"
Louis added.
Philippe smiled at the joke, before he became more serious.
"Speaking of Francois," he said. "I wonder if the King has
decided what to do with him in the long term?"
The conversation was interupted by the sound of approaching horses....
"Who
is it?", Philippe said.
"I
have no idea", Louis replied.
Just then
the door opened and the king entered. D'Artagnan followed one moment later.
"Father!
Philippe!" Louis exclaimed.
"Your
brother didn't want to go home without Philippe", D'Artagnan said.
Louis
smiled.
"I
see", he said.
The king
looked at Philippe.
"How
are you, Philippe?", he asked.
"Better",
Philippe replied, "but it still hurts a bit."
"I'm
so thankful that you are okay", the king replied, "we all have feared
that you could die."
"What
is going on at the camp, father?", Louis demanded.
"Well,
we have sent the soldiers who had surrendered home with an escort",
D'Artagnan explained, "and we have sent out a troop to catch the dutch
king."
"Good",
Louis replied.
"What
do you think, Philippe", the king asked, "are you well enough to
travel?"
_______________________________________________________________________________
Louise and
Marie-Therese were in Louise's room now. Louise had Pascal on her lap and was
playing with.
"Oh,
he is so cute", Marie-Therese said.
"Isn't
he? Louis and I are so proud of him."
"You
are so lucky that you are Louis' wife", the princess said, "I must
marry an unbeliever who will marry another woman, too."
"I think
you are too severe", Louise said, "the king is a good guy. He doesn't
deserve such abuses."
"But
he isn't interessted in me", Marie-Therese exclaimed, "he only wants
to marry me because he needs an heir. He will also marry a commoner who has his
love and he is no Christian anymore. Could it be more worse?!"
Louise
sighed.
"You
remember me of my husband", she replied, "Louis also couldn't accept
the king's conversion first. But now he has accepted it. You should do it, too.
Philippe has not changed. He is still a nice boy."
"I
don't know...", the princess moaned.
"Give
him a chance, your Highness", Louise said, "you won't regret
it."
"Maybe
he will have this time now, when he comes back from the battle",
Marie-Therese said.
"I
hope so", Louise replied, "we had much trouble in the last time.
Actually I can't remember any smooth times since I know Louis."
"But
at least you have married a man who you love", the princess replied,
"I must marry someone who is like a stranger to me and who even doesn't
love me at least a bit."
"That's
the lot of royal scions", Louise said.
Marie-Therese
sighed.
"I
wish I would be a commoner, too", she said, "maybe the king would be
more interessted in me then."
"But...
Don't think that the king loves Marie just because she is a commoner",
Louise protested, "that's an absurd idea."
"Sorry,
but I feel so humilated", the princess replied.
Louise
sighed.
"I
think we should finish this discussion now", she said, "it only makes
you unhappy. You need a bit diversion. Maybe we could play with Pascal at the
castle garden."
Marie-Therese
nodded.
"Yes.
A bit diversion would be good", she replied.
The
brothers were waiting at Serge's house. D'Artagnan had left to get a carriage
because so they could move Philippe.
"Imagine
Philippe, soon we will be at home and see our families again", Louis said
impassionedly.
Philippe
just smiled weakly.
"You
know what?", the king said, "I don't trust the peace. I could bet
that we will have new problems with treason or something else at least after
two weeks again."
"Don't
paint a black picture of the future", Louis protested, "Maybe that
brings bad luck."
At this
moment Serge came from the kitchen.
"Yvette
is just preparing some food for the journey for you", he said, "Do
you need anything else?"
"No,
no", the king replied, "thank you very much. You have already done us
a great service. By the way, how can I reward you?"
Serge
blushed.
"Well...
your Majesty... I..."
"Just
say what you want, Serge", the king said, "I will grant your's every
wish... if I can."
"Your
Majesty, you know that my wife does now a bit about nursing. She is very
interessting in it and it is her big wish to become a doctor. But as a woman it
is almost impossible for her..."
The king
smiled.
"I
have understood", he replied, "no problem. I will give order that
Yvette becomes the assistant of one of my royal doctors. Then she can learn
everything and become a doctor herself one day."
"Your
Majesty!"
"But
what can I do for you personnally, Serge?", the king asked.
"Hm...
if you ask me so... We live at the end of the world here and it is a dull life.
If I could get a job at the palace and if we all could live near the palace,
then..."
"Good
idea", the king replied, "if Yvette will become the assistant of my
doctor it would be better for you to live near the palace anyway."
Louise
lifted her son and went with the Princess out of the room.
"We should see if Claudine wants to come too," Louise said.
"Then you could meet the twins."
"That sounds wonderful," Marie-Therese replied.
So they went to Claudine and Philippe's rooms and knocked on the door.
"Come in!" Claudine called.
Louise opened the door.
"Louise!" Claudine exclaimed. "It's wonderful to see you. You
too Your Highness."
Louise smiled.
"Aunty Lou!" Marcel cried, jumping up and down.
"Hey Marcel!" Louise said. "Pascal wants to know if you want to
come to play in the garden."
"Yeah!" Marcel cried and clapped his hands. "
"Of course!" Louise replied.
Marie-Therese smiled.
"He's so sweet," she said.
Claudine nodded.
"They're so wonderful at this age, I think. Although sometimes the
enthuaism can get a little much, especially from this young man."
She tickled her son and he laughed happily.
"Mama!" Chalotte said shyly tugged on her Mother's dress.
"Come on
"'Ello'"
"Hello
The little girl shyed away.
The Princess's laughed.
"I see she's nothing like her brother then," Louise joked.
"They couldn't be more different," Claudine replied.
"Pepin! Pepin!" Marcel exclaimed as the little monkey ran into the
room and jumped on the bed.
Marie- Therese screamed.
"It's alright," Louise said. "It's only Pepin."
She held out her hand and Pepin jumped up onto her shoulder.
"Oh so you want to come out too then?" Louise asked.
The monkey made some little sounds and jumped up and down.
Claudine picked up
"Marcel," she said. "You go with your Aunty Marie ok?"
"Ok!" Marcel said.
And they went outside.
They went
to the garden and stopped on a big meadow.
"I
think we can play here", Louise said, "do you agree?"
"Yeah",
Pascal cried while Marcel already began to toddle across the meadow. Only
"I
think they agree", Claudine said, "Come on, girls. We can sit down on
this bench there."
They went
to the bench and sat down. Claudine hold
"Hey
The girl
just shook her head firmly.
"She
is so introverted, I think she will become a poet later", Marie-Therese
said.
"Oh,
did you hear that Charlotte... my little poet", Claudine laughed.
"And
Marcel will become more like Louis", Louise said.
"This
isn't possible", Claudine replied, "Philippe is his father, not
Louis. Pascal must become like Louis actually."
"Yes,
but the Queen has told me that Marcel always reminds her of Louis when he was a
baby", Louise replied.
"Oh..
God! Not a second Louis! One is really more than enough", Claudine
exclaimed, "Well I will prevent that and make Marcel a good boy."
The other
girls laughed.
Then Pascal
was crying.
"Mama!"
Louise
looked up and saw that Pascal and Marcel were fighting over something.
"Hey
boys!", she exclaimed and run to them. Claudine and Marie-Therese followed
her.
The object
of the quarrell was just a little stick which had lyed on the meadow but both
boys wanted to have it. Marcel was the stronger one of them and scratched
Pascal at his face.
"Marcel,
stop!", Louise cried angrily and picked up Pascal.
She looked
at Claudine.
"He is
really a little Louis", she exclaimed.
"Pah!
He is only full of energy", Claudine replied.
Then she
looked at Marcel who was now playing with the stick peacefully as if nothing
had happened.
"Marcel,
you must not hit your cousin", she said sternly, "this was not nice
what you have done here. Do you understand me?"
"Yeah",
Marcel replied and smiled his most beautiful smile with an air of innocence.
Even Louise
had to laugh now.
"My
God, what a little rascal", she said.
Just at
this moment a servant came running.
"Miladies,
Miladies!", he exclaimed.
"Monsieur,
what has happened?", Louise asked when the man has stopped infront of
them.
"Your Highness...
a carriage has arrived... the king and the princes are back", the servant
gasped.
Claudine
and Louise looked at one another and hugged and jumped for joy.
"We must go and meet them!" Claudine exclaimed.
Louise nodded.
"Come Pascal!" she said. "Daddy is back!"
She swept her son into her arms.
Marie-Therese hung back.
"Thanks for a lovely time," she said.
"Don't you want to come and meet the King?" Louise asked.
"I think the King would rather see Marie," the Princess replied.
"I will see him later."
Louise nodded and smiled sadly.
Claudine picked up
"Come Marcel!" she said.
"No!" the boy replied. "I want to play!"
"Daddy's back!" Claudine said.
The boy dropped the stick and his eyes lit up.
"Daddy!" he exclaimed and waddled off in the direction of the Palace.
Claudine laughed.
Wait up Marcel!" she said as she and Louise followed.
******************************************************************************
"I can see the Palace!" Louis exclaimed. He turned around on his
horse and shouted to his brother lying in the carraige. "Soon be home
Philippe!"
Philippe smiled weakly. The journey had made him feel worse, but the thought of
seeing Claudine and the twins again buoyed him.
*****************************************************************************
There was great amount of cheering as the King led the victorious army up the
long drive to the Palace.
"I can see Louis!" Louise exclaimed excitedly. "Look Pascal.
It's daddy!"
"Where is Philippe?" Claudine said, scanning the calvary carefully.
"Where's daddy! Where's daddy!"
Marcel was jumping up and down filled with excitment.
Claudine sobbed.
"I just know something aweful has happened..." she said.
Anne placed her hand on her daughter in law's shoulder.
"Hush, we don't know that. Perhaps he rides further back. COme, you don't
want to have tears on your face when he see you, do you?"
Claudine
sniffed and did her best to control her emotions. But when the procession came
closer, she still couldn't see Philippe.
"I
can't see him", she said nervously.
"Don't
worry", Anne said. But actually she began to feel nervous now, too.
"Hey,
there's D'Artagnan!", Louise called.
Infact the
captain came riding towards them now.
"Hey!",
he called and waved.
He stopped
his horse infront of the women and dismounted.
"D'Artagnan!",
Anne exclaimed, "thanks God, you're back. I'm so happy to see you."
(For you, sara *g*)
D'Artagnan
hugged the Queen gently.
"I'm
happy, too", he replied, "we have defeated the Dutch. It was a hard
job because they have atttacked without warning. But God was with us. We have
won."
"But
where's Philippe?" Claudine interrupted "I can't see him."
D'Artagnan
smiled.
"Don't
worry, young Lady. Philippe was hurted at the shoulder during the battle. So we
had to move him in this carriage there. But he is alright. I think he will be
happy to see you."
"Philippe!"
Claudine exclaimed and run towards the carriage.
"Mama!"
Marcel exclaimed and wanted to follow her, but Anne hold him back.
"No
Marcel", she said, "the horses. They could hurt you."
"I
want Mama!" the boy protested.
"Your
Mama will come back soon with your Daddy", D'Artagnan said, "In the
meantime you will stay with your grandmother. Okay?"
"Okay",
Marcel replied.
"Don't
call me grandmother", Anne said, "or I will call you
grandfather."
D'Artagnan
laughed.
"Well,
that's what we are, Chérie", he exclaimed.
Next to
them Louise giggled.
"By
the way, she said. Have you both ever thought about marriage?" she said.
"What?
Marriage? Well, you know that's impossible, Louise", Anne replied.
"Why?"
the girl replied "the old king is dead. Your relationship is accepted by the
courtiers and the people. And the king will allow it certainly."
"He...
is right, Chérie", D'Artagnan said, "I have never see it so, but she
is infact right."
Anne shook
her head.
"It is
impossible", she replied.
"Tell
me a reason", Louise demanded.
"The
Queen-mother and a soldier. No. We would only provoke the king's enemies."
"Who
cares about them, Anne?" D'Artagnan replied "Just imagine. We could
marry at the same day, when the king marries Marie and the princess. That would
be like in a fairy-tale."
Anne kissed
him on his cheek.
"My
dear", she said, "I would love to do this, too. But this is not the
right moment to discuss such things. The king is coming."
D'Artagnan
looked up. Now he saw the king on his horse infront of him.
"Hey
captain" the king said "Looks like you couldn't wait to see your
sweetheart again."
"Yes",
D'Artagnan replied, "please, forgive me."
"There's
nothing to forgive", the king laughed, "I can't wait to see Marie,
too."
"Your
Majesty, we, your mother and I, must talk to you", D'Artagnan said.
"Of
course", Philippe replied.
Anne gave
D'Artagnan a dig in the ribs.
"No",
she whispered. But the captain not let himself be swayed.
"We
must talk with you alone, Sire", he said.
"Oh.
Of course. No problem", the king replied.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Claudine
sat now in the carriage infront of her husband. She stroke his head gently.
"Oh
Philippe, I'm so happy. For a moment, I have thought that something terrible
had happened to you."
Philippe
smiled weakly.
"I'm
alright, Chérie", he replied, "but if Louis, Serge, his family and
the doctor hadn't helped me, we wouldn't be together now."
"Who
is Serge?" Claudine asked.
"He
has accommodated me and Louis at his house, when I was hurted."
At this
moment the carriage stopped. Louis looke through the window into the carriage.
"Hey,
we have arrived", he said.
Philippe
and Claudine listened to the shouting and cheering of the crowd outside...
_______________________________________________________________________________
An half
hour later the D'Artagnan and Anne were alone in the Queen's room and
discussing.
"We
must speak to the king now", D'Artagnan said, "he is already
waiting."
"No",
Anne replied firmly.
"He
will allow it. Don't worry."
"I
don't doubt that he will allow it", Anne replied, "but it is not good
for
"I
thought that you love me", D'Artagnan said now more loudly.
"Yes.
But try to understand me. I'm also the Queen, the mother of the king of
"But
the king will marry a commoner, too", D'Artagnan replied, "so why
can't you marry me?"
"Don't
be unfair, D'Artagnan. You know exactly that the king will also marry
Marie-Therese and that she will become the Queen, not Marie. And furthermore
I'm a woman. Things are more complicated for us than for men."
Anne began
to sob and D'Artagnan was devastated. He embraced her.
"Oh
Chérie, I didn't want to hurt you", he said, "I'm sure we will find a
solution. Just let us talk to the king."
Anne
sighed.
"If that is what you really want," she said.
"You don't?" he asked with worry.
"I just think we should wait a few days. Give Philippe a chance to settle
down again."
D'Artagnan nodded.
"I suppose you're right. I was just so excited to see you again, I wanted
to act impulsively. But yes, the King has a great deal to think about. We
should wait."
Anne nodded.
He hugged her again.
"I really did miss you, Cherie," he said.
"I should hope so," Anne said with a smile.
They kissed.
Their embrace was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"His Majesty, the King!" the servant annouced.
Anne looked at D'Artagnan.
The Captain rose to his feet.
"Sire!" he said.
"We did not expect you so soon, son," Anne said. "I thought that
you would want to rest. You look tired."
"I am," Philippe replied. "But it seemed that you have something
really important to discuss with me. Did something happen while I was
away?"
"No, nothing like that," Anne replied. "And about our
discussion, it can wait until you have rested. It isn't urgent."
"Mother please!" Philippe exclaimed. "I took myself from my bed
to be here. The least you could do is to tell me why."
D'Artagnan looked at Anne hopefully.
She nodded.
"Alright," she said. "We wanted to talk to you about our
future."
"Future?" the King questioned.
"We were hoping that we would be able to make our love official in some
way, Sire," D'Artagnan put in, squeezing Anne's hand.
"Official? What like marraige?"
"Something like that."
Philippe beamed.
"Well that would be wonderful!" he exclaimed happily. "We could
have a joint wedding."
Anne looked up in suprise.
"You don't mind?" she asked.
"Mind?" the King replied. "I'm over the moon!"
"But what will your enemies think?"
"The same they think about my coversion, undoubtedly, but who cares. I
want you to be happy. Both of you."
"At
least Louis won't make trouble this time", D'Artagnan joked.
Anne didn't look very convinced.
"Are you sure?" she said.
"Of course", D'Artagnan exclaimed, "Louis is completly tame now.
And by the way, what should Louis have against our marriage?"
"Well, I don't think that Louis is completly tame now", the king
laughed, "that would be not him. But you are right, D'Artagnan. I also
don't see why he should be a problem. When I talked about my enemies, I was not
talking about Louis."
Anne sighed.
"Oh please, don't get me wrong. I didn't want to denounce Louis. I only
wanted to say that I think that he is not predictable. But you are right, he is
not the problem. But you have enough other enemies who would feel provoked by
such a marriage."
"Mother, mother", the king exclaimed, "don't be so serious. This
is a wonderful day for our family. And your wedding will be wonderful, too. I
don't care about enemies."
"But you should", Anne replied, "you have already converted. A
muslim king in the midst of Christian nations on the throne of a country with a
long Christian tradition. Do you have any idea how much this must provoke the
european Great Powers? Well, it looks like they have accepted it, but I'm not
sure if they will also accept a marriage between me and D'Artagnan. Maybe this
will be too much for them."
"Anne, don't be a spoilsport", D'Artagnan replied, "I think you
love me. And now you are only talking about politics again."
"I love you, D'Artagnan", Anne replied, "but I also love my son.
And I want him to become clear of possible consequences before he makes his
final decission."
"I agree with D'Artagnan", the king said, "forget the politics
for a moment. I'm clear of possible consequences. And? If someone attackes us,
then I will defeat him. But you both, you will marry."
D'Artagnan beamed.
"You have heard it, Chérie", he exclaimed, "it will be
wonderful."
Anne
sighed.
"Of course it will be wonderful. I just hope that we don't live to regret
it."
D'Artagnan squeezed her hand.
"We won't," he said.
"I hope you're right, because I honestly cannot bear for anything else to
happen to this family. We've been through enough in the last year."
"Yes, Mother," Philippe said. "But think of all the wonderful
things that have also happened this year. We got Philippe back, you and
D'Artagnan can declare your love, your sons have all fallen in love and you
have beautiful grandchildren."
Anne smiled.
"You're right, son," she said.
"Then we will make an annoucement tomorrow," Philippe said. "At
the victory party."
"We should tell Louis and Philippe first though," D'Artagnan said.
The King nodded.
"Of course," he said. "I will invite them both to join us for
dinner tonight."
"But will Philippe be up to it tonight?" Anne asked.
The King nodded.
"You're right," he said. "We will visit him before dinner and
tell Louis to meet us there."
D'Artagnan beamed like a teenager.
"Then it's settled then," he said shaking his head. "I would
never have dared to believe this day could ever come."
Philippe yawned.
"I really should get some sleep," he said, standing up.
Anne kissed her son.
"Thankyou," she said softly.
Philippe just smiled.
"Son," Anne said. "There is something else I wanted to ask
you."
"What is it?" Philippe asked.
"It's Marie-Therese. She would like a Catholic wedding."
"Well,
if the Church goes along, it shouldn't fail because of me", Philippe
replied, "but there could be one problem."
"Which
problem?", Anne asked.
"I
must talk with Marie, too first. If she wants a Catholic wedding, too, what is
possible, then we will have a problem because the Church will give me the
sacrament of marriage only one time."
"You
mean that you will have to chose between Marie-Therese and Marie then",
D'Artagnan said.
The king
nodded.
"Yes.
I hope that it won't happen. Marie doesn't seem to be very religious, but who
knows... Well, I hope that she won't demand a Catholic wedding, too."
"And
if she does, who of the two will you do the favour then?", D'Artagnan
demanded.
"Oh,
don't ask me this", the king replied, "it would be a terrible
scenario, because I see that I would have no chance than to prefer the princess
in such a situation. But I love Marie and would fear that I could lose her...
No, I even don't want to think about such a scenario."
"I
also think that Marie will be reasonable", Anne said, "if it is true
that she isn't very religious, then there will be no problem. Did she ever
talked to you about a possible Catholic wedding before?"
"No",
Philippe replied.
"Just
as I thought. She doesn't care about the type of the wedding. So I think she
will have no problem with an Islamic wedding."
Philippe
smiled.
"That's
what I'm thinking too, mother. Now I have to leave you. I'm really tired."
"Yes,
son. Sleep well and thanks again."
"Goodnight,
your Majesty", D'Artagnan added.
The king
left the room.
_______________________________________________________________________________
But there
was someone with who they hadn't reckon on. It was the archbishop. He was
really not excited about the idea that the king would marry two women and he
said this to Anne, when she met him at the next day in the morning.
"Your
Highness I can't do that", he exclaimed.
"But
Excellency, it must be. The spanish princess wants a Catholic wedding.
Otherwise she won't marry my son."
"With
all respect, but that's your problem, Madame. I'm indebted to the Church, the
pope and God, not the the politics."
Anne was
desperated and also a bit angry now.
"Monsieur,
you are ignorant", she exclaimed, "we have real problems here and
you... (She took a deep breath) I thought that the Church allows a marriage
between a Catholic and follower of a different faith."
"Your
Highness, that's not the problem", the bishop replied, "the problem
is that the king wants to marry another woman, too. The Church can't accept
this. If we give him the sacrament of marriage, then we expect that he won't
have any other wife next to the one with who we have married him. Anything else
would be a farce, yes adultery! We can't go along with it. I'm really sorry but
that's impossible."
Anne
couldn't believe what she was hearing. Everything seemed to be alright and now
this. She was so angry that she would have liked to shake the bishop...
Instead she
sighed.
"Then the King will have to appeal directly to the Pope himself," she
said.
The ArchBisphop bowed.
"As you wish Your Highess, but I'm certain that his Holy Father will think
in exactly the same way."
"Perhaps. But we must try. Without a Catholic wedding then Marie-Therese
will return to
"I am sorry for this Highess, but the Church cannot condone such as
decision as that which the King has made."
Anne nodded.
"I will tell my son of this," she said.
*******************************************************************************
Meanwhile, the King was in his rooms when he was roused by a knock on his study
door.
"Yes?" he asked, raising his head from the documents he was studying.
The servant entered and bowed.
"Sire," he said. "The Spanish Princess is requesting an audience
with yourself."
Philippe stood up, feeling his heart leap a little. This would be the first
time he spoke privately to his future wife.
"Of course," he said. "Bring her to the lounge and see she is
comfortable. I'll be through shortly."
The servant bowed again and left to carry out the King's orders.
******************************************************************************
Philippe entered the room somewhat aprehensively.
"Bonjour dear Princess," he said, a little shyly.
Marie-Therese who sat on the counch smiled a little, her cheeks blushing
crimson.
"Bonjour, Sire," she said.
"Call me Philippe," the King said. "You know...since we're going
to be married."
"...Alright."
There was a short, awkward silence, which Philippe broke.
"So, did my Mother tell you that I have no objections to a Catholic
wedding?" he asked.
"Yes, she did. I thank you for that, Si...Philippe."
"Oh, you're welcome. I want you to feel happy with this."
Marie-Therese just nodded.
"I
know that it is not easy for you", Philippe said, "but I will be nice
to you and treat you will all respect."
The
princess sighed.
"Well,
I wish I could have more than just respect... love."
"I
understand you", the king replied, "What can I say? That's
politics... But if you ever find a man who you love, then I won't be angry if
you have a relationship..."
"What
are you thinking?!" Marie-Therese exclaimed "I'm a good Catholic. I
don't commit adultery. Or does your religion allows adultery?"
Philippe
shook his head.
"No.
It it strict forbidden", he replied, "but I'm also human and so I
could undertand if..."
"Forget
it. I will be faithful", Marie-Therese exclaimed.
Philippe
smiled with little confidence.
Then the
door opened and Queen Anne entered.
"Mother",
the king exclaimed.
"Philippe,
I must talk with you", Anne said.
She looked
at Marie-Therese.
"Is it
okay for you, your Highness?" she said.
The
princess just nodded.
"Okay,
mother", the king replied, "let us go outsite."
_______________________________________________________________________________
When they
were at the corridor, Anne spoke.
"Philippe,
I fear I don't have good news for you."
"What
is?" the king demanded.
"I
have spoken to the Bishop. He refuses to give you and Marie-Therese the
sacrament of marriage, if you marry another wife, too."
"What?!"
"He
"I
can't believe that", Philippe exclaimed.
"I have
already said to the Bishop that we will appeal directly to the Pope now",
Anne replied.
"And
you think that helps?"
"We
must try it. Otherwise Marie-Therese will refuse to marry you and we will have
a problem."
Philippe
sighed.
"You
are right, mother. I will write a letter to the Pope personally. I only haven't
much hope that he will be more obliging than the Bishop..."
Anne hugged
her son.
"I'm sure the Pope will understand, son," she said. "We should
not tell Marie-Therese about this yet..."
"But if the Pope refuses, then..."
"It is better we wait until that happens. For now we should continue with
the preparations."
The King sighed.
"If you think that is best," he said. "Then I will do it."
Anne nodded and smiled.
****************************************************************************
The King sat alone in his study, trying to put the right words down on the
paper. He had tried and failed more times than he could count and now he was
really annoyed.
He was disturbed by a knock on the door.
"Yes what is it?" he asked.
The page entered with a message.
"The bringer says it is urgent, Sire," he said.
"Thank you," the King replied and opened it.
As he read the words he sank on his chair.
"Sire?" the page asked.
"Bring me D'Artagnan," Philippe managed to say. "Quickly!"
The Page nodded and hurried from the room.
******************************************************************************
"Sire?" D'Artagnan said as he hurried into the room. "Is
everything alright?"
The King shook his head and handed the note to the Captain.
In a hastily scrawled note he read.
'Siege at Exiles. The Dutch King and his men have regrouped and liberated
the traitor Francois and killed the Governor. They ride for the
border.'
"They...
killed the governor", D'Artagnan said flatly, "but, that means
that... Oh no! Claudine's father!"
The king
nodded sadly. The fact that the Dutch had freed Francois was inferior at this
moment for both of them.
"I'm
so shocked, D'Artagnan", Philippe said, "I don't know how I have to
tell Claudine this."
"I
fear Louis was right", D'Artagnan replied, "we shouldn't have spared
Francois' life. This boy is a threat for us as long as he lives."
"Infact",
the king exclaimed, "and this time he will be executed. But above all I
want the head of the Dutch king! Catch him, D'Artagnan. Take as many men as you
need. I want this monster to regret what he has done!"
"Yes,
Sire", D'Artagnan replied, "do you want me to start off right
now?"
"Of
course. What a stupid question."
The captain
bowed.
"As
you want, your Majesty."
And he
left.
The king
moaned. He wanted to cry. He knew that he had to inform Claudine, but he didn't
know how he could do that. These news would be a shock for her.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Philippe
and Claudine were in their room and playing with the children. Louis was also
there.
"Can
you hold
"Yes,
yes", Louis replied and took the girl.
"I'm
just going to prepare a drink for us", Claudine said and went to a little
table where different carafes with juice stood.
Louis
looked at Philippe who was playing with Marcel on the bed.
"Hey
"No",
the girl replied.
"But
you are heavy. I can't hold you the whole time."
"Oh
come on, Louis. You have hold her only two minutes now", Philippe laughed.
"Maybe
she should move a bit more. Then she wouldn't be so heavy", Louis replied
sharply.
Philippe
cleared his throat.
"Come
on,
Louis
placed
"I'm
not too weak. She is just heavy", he protested.
Philippe
grinned.
"Oh
Louis. All babies became more heavy when they are getting older."
"Well,
Pascal is not so heavy", Louis replied, "but he also moves more than
your daughter."
"Do
you want to say that she is corpulent?", Philippe demanded.
"Not
more than other babies. But if she doesn't start to move more, then
maybe..."
Philippe
hit Louis.
"Don't
speak so about my daughter", he exclaimed.
Louis
laughed.
"Your daughter
is a lazy slob. Your daughter is a lazy slob", he sang.
Philippe
jumped on Louis, threw him on his back and hit him with his fists, but not
dreadful.
"Take
this back!" he demanded.
But Louis
continued singing.
"Your
daughter is a lazy slob. Your daughter is..."
Philippe
put a hand on Louis' mouth but Louis just pushed it away and laughed. Now
Philippe laughed, too.
"Do
you surrender?" he demanded.
"Never",
Louis exclaimed.
"Okay
boys, enough of your childish games now", Claudine said, "let us
drink something now."
"Oh
good", Philippe replied.
And the
brothers stood up.
But just
then the door opened and the king went in.
"Hey
little brother. Do you also want to have a drink?" Louis exclaimed
joyfully.
But then
they noticed that the king looked very unhappy.
"What
is, brother?" Philippe asked sorrowfully.
The King
shook his head.
"I have terrible news," he said.
"What is it?" Louis asked.
But Philippe looked at Claudine.
"Perhaps you should get the maids to take the children for a while,"
he said.
Claudine looked worried, but managed to nod. She stood up and went and got the
servants who scooped up the twins, not without some protest from Marcel. After
they had gone Louis spoke again.
"Come on," he said. "What is it?"
But the King looked at Claudine again.
"I think you should sit down Claudine," he said.
"Why?" the girl asked.
"Please," the King said.
Claudine sank down next to her husband. Philippe squeezed her hand.
"I...Your Father is dead," the King said softly, his voice breaking
with emotion. "I'm so sorry."
Claudine looked shocked.
Philippe looked up.
"Dead?" he asked, tears coming to his eyes. "How?"
"There was a seige at Exiles...the Dutch. I'm so sorry."
Claudine absorbed the news for a moment before she began to sob.
"No!" she cried. "No! You must be mistaken!"
Philippe tried to comfort her.
Louis too seemed visably moved.
He turned to the King.
"They freed Francois, didn't they?" he said.
The King nodded.
"I should have killed him like you said and none of this would have
happened," he replied.
Louis did not say anything.
"What about Jean?" Claudine sobbed.
The King started. He had forgotten about Claudine's little brother.
"I...I don't know," he stammered.
"I
must go to Exile", Claudine exclaimed, "I must go and see if Jean is
alright."
"No,
Claudine. You can't go now", the king replied.
"I
have to!"
The king
shook his head.
"It is
still too dangerous. I will send someone to take a look on Jean. But you must
stay here."
Claudine
just sobbed.
"If
Jean is alive, he must be taken to the palace", Philippe said.
The king
nodded.
"I
will give order to Lieutenant André to rode to Exile with some musketeers. He
will see if Jean is okay and bring him to the palace."
"He
should also take the corp of the Governor to the palace", Louis added,
"this man deserves a honourable funeral."
"I
can't listen to this anymore!", Claudine cried.
She stood
up and run out of the room. Philippe followed her.
The king
looked at Louis.
"You
are right, Louis", he said, "I will arrage a state funeral for the
governor."
"He
deserves it", Louis replied, "but I fear that won't comfort Claudine.
Nothing can give her her father back."
Louis began
to sob.
"Louis,
what is?", Philippe said sorrowfully.
"This
is all my fault", Louis sobbed.
"No,
it isn't..."
"It
is! And you know that!", Louis exclaimed, "Claudine's father is only
dead because of this silly war which I have started! How can you say then that
it is not my fault?"
The king
lowered his head.
"But
then we are both the ones to blame. Not just you, Louis. I had sent you to
prison. That was the beginning of everything what followed."
"But
that isn't an excuse for what I have done then", Louis replied, "I'm
responsible for what I've done and nobody else."
Philippe
put a hand on Louis' shoulder.
"It
doesn't help if you reproach yourself now, Louis", he said, "that
won't make Henri living again."
Louis
turned and looked at his brother.
"I
need a punishment", he exclaimed, "you must punish me."
"Don't
say such garbage, Louis."
"You
must. I deserve it", Louis exclaimed, "send me to prison or
anything."
"The
only one who I will punish is the dutch king", Philippe replied sternly,
"and now pull yourself together, Louis."
Louis
didn't say anything, but just nodded.
"Good," the King said. "I need you strong now brother, for I
fear that we will have to endure more bloodshed before this is over."
***************************************************************************
"Claudine wait!" Philippe called, running after his wife.
He managed to catch up with her and embraced her.
The girl just sobbed onto his shoulder.
"Shhh...Shhh..." Philippe said to comfort her.
Claudine continued to cry.
"I'm so very sorry," he whispered, feeling his heart break for her.
He remembered how terrible it had been that day in the tavern when D'Artagnan
had killed the man he had known as father. The reminants of the pain still tore
his insides as he thought of it.
Claudine cried for some minutes, before she looked up at her husband.
"I don't want to be here," she told her husband, between her sobs.
Philippe didn't understand.
"Here?"
"Here...at the Palace," she explained. "Lets go back to your
home."
Philippe was less than enthusiastic to leave his family at a time such as this,
but he could see the look in his wifes eyes.
"Alright..." he said. "We can go for a day or two, until the
funeral."
She shook her head.
"No!" she replied. "I can't bare this anymore. I don't want to
have no more part in your families wars. I don't want to lose you..."
She touched him on the cheek, her voice breaking with the words.
"What are you saying?" Philippe asked.
"I
want to live with you at your old estate for the rest of our lifes... or
somewhere else. Just not here at the palace."
"But I
love my family", Philippe replied, "I can't leave them forever.
That's impossible."
Claudine
started to sob again.
"Please",
she begged, "I can't stay at this place anymore. Here is always happen
something terrible. I'm sick of all these wars and intrigues."
"We
won't be save from the war and intrigues at my estate, too", Philippe
moaned, "but if that is your wish, then we will go. But I must speak to
the king and Louis before."
Claudine
nodded.
_______________________________________________________________________________
The king
had given order to Lieutenant André to rode to Exile and to get the little Jean
and the corpe of the governor. Now he remembered the letter to the Pope which
he had started to write before. It was really not the best moment to deal with
his wedding now, but Philippe had to finish the letter. It was necessary. So he
went to his desk and sat down.
"What
are you doing?", Louis who was still at the room asked.
"Writing
a letter to the Pope", the king replied.
"Do
you have troubles with the
Philippe
shook his head.
"No.
But our bishop has refused to join me and the princess in marriage. He
Louis
nodded.
"I see
it. But what can I say? The bishop is right..."
Philippe
moaned.
"I
knew that you would say something like this, Louis. Thanks", he replied
ironically.
"But
do you really think that this is the right moment to think about the
wedding?" Louis replied "The Dutch, the governor, Claudine..."
"I
know, I know. But it has to be done now. This wedding is very important. Not
for me, for
Louis just
nodded.
At this
moment the door opened and Philippe entered.
"Philippe,
how is Claudine?" Louis said.
"I...
I have to talk with you both", Philippe replied.
"What
is?" the king demanded.
"Claudine
and I want to go to my old estate and live there... at least for a while."
"But...
the war", the king exclaimed.
"That's
the reason", Philippe replied, "Claudine is sick of the war and all
this. She wants in peace with me and the children."
"So it
is actually her and not your wish to leave us", Louis replied.
Philippe
nodded
"But I
love her and I will follow her", he said.
"And
you think that you can live in peace at your old estate?" Louis demanded
"who will protect you there from the Dutch? You should stay here at the
palace. It's much more safe."
"The
Dutch don't know where my estate is. They even don't know that I have
one", Philippe replied.
"But
Francois know it", Louis replied, "Do you have already forgotten how
his men have once burned your estate and kidnapped Perronette and then you? We
had to build up the house again. Did you forget it? And now the Dutch have
freed Francois..."
Philippe
looked pale.
"I...
I have never seen it this way", he stammered.
"I
think what we really have to do is to send a squad to your estate and to get
Perronette to the palace, too, in the interest of safety", the king said
now.
Philippe
nodded sadly.
He hated to have to disappoint his wife at such a time, but he honestly did not
feel as though he had a choice. Philippe was right. His family would be in
danger at his home.
He sighed.
"I'll go and let Claudine know the news," he said.
*******************************************************************************
Meanwhile Andre and other musketeers had arrived at Exiles. They entered
carefully what remained of the citadel, but it was deserted of any signs of
life. All they found were the bodies of the brave men who had fought when
horribly outnumbered by the Dutch King's troops.
Andre turned to one of the sergaents.
"The King will want to see that all these men receive an honourable
burial," he said sadly. "See to the arrangements."
The man nodded.
Andre then took two men to find the governors body. They found him half buried
under the rubble of one of the destroyed towers. The three men paused for a
prayer in the silence.
"Shhh..." Andre instructed suddenly. "Can you hear that?"
The musketeers strained to listen and heard the muffled cries.
"It must be the child," one exclaimed.
They listened again to determine the direction from where it came.
After a moment Andre pointed.
"In there," he said, beconning to the door that led to the low
dungeons of the prison.
The men hurried to the heavy door and began to remove the masonary that had
fallen in front of it.
They finally managed to get the door open to reveal a dark staircase.
They could now hear the cries louder.
The lamp by the door, though dim, held just enough oil to guide them. Andre
snatched the lamp and made his way down the stairs into the vaulted rooms.
There, sitting in a corner on a pile of coats was a young boy of about three or
four.
"Papa!" he cried.
"It's alright," Andre said. "Don't be frightened Jean."
He moved to the boy and saw that his father had left him supplies of food and
drink. There was also a piece of paper in the boys pocket.
Andre bent over the boy.
"Everything is alright now," he said. "Come on."
"Papa told me to wait here!" Jean protested.
Andre nodded.
"I know," he said. "But he told me to come and get you."
Jean looked distrustfully at the soldier.
"Who's the letter for?" he asked.
"My sister," Jean replied.
Andre smiled.
"Come on," he said. "We can go and see Claudine now if you
want?"
"Really?" Jean exclaimed. He stood up and put his hand in that of the
musketeer, just as the last of the oil in the lamp burned out. The flame went
blue before disappearing plunging them into blackness.
It didn't matter for just at that moment a bright lamp cast it's illumination
on the dungeon.
"Well what do we have here?" a voice said.
André
turned and saw a dutch soldier. He threw his sword immediately.
"Our
king had already expected that some musketeers would come to Exile", the
soldier said, "too bad that your little ruler hadn't sent D'Artagnan. He
would have been a perfect hostage. Well, I think the little boy is good,
too."
"Forget
it, you murderer!" André exclaimed "I will kill you!"
"Oh,
do you really think that I'm alone? My men are still overall at the fortress.
You are in a trap, Monsieur."
André bit
his teeth. But then he made a decission.
"Well,
then we will kill all of you", he said.
And he
jumped forward and attacked the soldier. This one was so surprised that he
found no time to defend himself. One moment later he lied dead on the ground.
"Come
Jean", André said and took the boy's hand, "we must go."
The soldier
had been right. There were still many other dutch soldiers at the fortress who
attacked André's men now. The Lieutenant recognized a little battle between
them and his musketeers when he entered the court with Jean.
"I
must help my men, Jean", he said, "stay here and don't move."
The boy
nodded and André threw himself into the fight.
About ten
minutes later the Dutch were defeated. André looked at his men.
"We
must leave immediately. It could be that there are more Dutch
surroundings."
The
musketeers started to prepare their horses. Two of them tied the body of the governor
on one of the horse's back and André took the little Jean and put him on his
horse. The boy was excited to sit on the big horse.
"Yeah!"
he exclaimed and clapped.
André
mounted his horse and sat down behind Jean.
"Hold
on, boy", he said, "... Okay men, let's go!"
_______________________________________________________________________________
In the
meantime at the dutch camp...
The Dutch
king was sitting in his tent and taking a drink with Francois. They were
talking together.
"So
when we have defeated the traitors how will it continue then?" Francois
said.
"Well,
you will rule
"You
mean I will be your vassal", Francois replied, "but I don't like to
be a vassal."
"My
help is not free of charge", the king said.
"Actually
I'm not sure if I want to fight against them again", Francois said,
"I have lost all the fights before and you have already lost against them,
too. Who tells me that we will win this time. On the other hand I could imagine
to leave this country and live in another one. Free and in peace,... maybe in
Italia or so..."
"They
have only won everytime because they have the arabs on their site", the
king replied, "if we could threw the arabs on our site..."
"How will
you manage that? That's impossible!"
The king
smiled.
"Well
the leader of the arabs - I think his name is Ahmed - has family in
"What
do you want to say?" Francois demanded.
"I
will sent a squad to Ahmed's estate in
"Great."
"Only
one of the servants will survive. Then suddenly Dutch soldiers will come and
chase away the 'french' soldiers. They will tell the servant who had survived
that they had known Louis' plan but that they have come too late unfortunately.
And then they will lead the poor servant to France and Paris where he will tell
his master what has happened."
"Oh
you are a genius!" Francois exclaimed.
"I
promise you that Ahmed will suddenly hate Louis and the whole royal family
because the king, Philippe and the Queen-mother won't believe that Louis had
done this of course. And this will make the arab believe that they are all in
the same league."
"Fantastic!"
Francois exclaimed and took a big sip of wine.
Philippe
looked up as D'Artagnan came into the room.
"Is there any news?" he asked anxiously.
D'Artagnan shook his head.
"Not yet Sire. But my men are scouring the countryside. If Francois and
the Dutch King are coming to
Philippe smiled weakly.
"But why am I worried, D'Artagnan?" he asked. "I mean, I know we
have more than enough strength to defeat them with Ahmed and King Felipe on
side, yet I am afraid."
D'Artagnan nodded.
"I understand, Sire," he said. "But like you say, we are much
stronger and we greatly outnumber them."
"It is not always the largest army that wins though is it?"
D'Artagnan sighed and nodded.
"True," he said. "But we have to hope that it will be so, this
time. Have you completed your letter?"
"Hmmm...no, not yet. I want to make sure that I put my case in just the
right way. It would be terrible if the Pope refused. I don't know...I think
I'll wait a while, until this is over."
"That might be a good idea."
"Do you think Lieutenant Andre will return soon?"
"I should think by night-fall."
"See that he reports straight to me when he is back."
"Of course Sire."
******************************************************************************
"Captain!"
D'Artagnan looked up from the papers on his desk to see the Lietenant.
"Well?" he asked, rising up.
"We rescued the boy and brought the Governors body. Exiles is virtually destroyed
and all the men lost. I saw to it that they will receive honourable burials in
the town and then we were ambushed by a band of Dutch soldiers."
"Were you hurt?"
"We received only minor injuries Captain."
"Good...How is the boy?"
"Exhausted. The Sergaent has him, awaiting your orders."
"Take him to his sister. She will want to be with him, I imagine."
"Yes Captain?"
*******************************************************************************
Claudine sat in a chair by the window, staring blankly out of it into the
darkness.
"Why don't you try to sleep, Cherie?" Philippe asked gently, putting
his hand on her shoulder.
"I can't," the girl replied.
"Please, for me?"
"I said I can't, alright?" Her voice was filled with anguish.
"I'm sorry..." he husband said. "It's just the twins need you
and..."
He was disturbed by the door opening.
Claudine jumped up.
"Jean!" she exclaimed, seeing the boy laying in the Lieutenants arms.
She jumped up and ran to him.
"Is he alright?" she asked.
"He's fine, Your Highness," Andre replied. "Just
exhausted."
Claudine leaned over and kissed him.
"Thank God," she sobbed.
"He has a letter from your Father," Andre went on. "It's for
you."
He beckonned to the boy's pocket as he gently laid him on the bed.
"Thank you Lieutentant," Philippe said. "We are very grateful
that you brought him safely."
Andre bowed.
Claudine
took her brother. The boy opened his eyes and yawned.
"Claudine?"
he murmured.
"Shhh.
You must sleep, little brother", Claudine said and put Jean onto the bed.
"I
will go now, if that is right", André said.
Philippe
nodded.
"It's
okay, Lieutenant. You can go... and thanks again."
André bowed
again and left.
"Now
let us see what your father has written", Philippe said and opened the
letter.
"Shhh!"
Claudine exclaimed "Jean has to sleep."
"Sorry",
Philippe mumbled, "maybe I should leave, if I get on your nerves."
Claudine
shook her head.
"I'm
sorry. I didn't want to hurt you. Please stay."
Philippe
didn't answer.
"What
is in the letter?" Claudine asked.
Philippe
started to read it out loudly.
"My
dear daughter Claudine, we have been attacked by Dutch soldiers. I don't know from
where they came and what they want. We all are completly confused and
surprised. My men are fighting bravely, but we are horribly outnumbered. I
don't know if I will survive this battle. If not, then I want you to look after
Jean. And if I die, I want to be buried near to Exile, because there was my
home. Send Philippe and the royal family my regards. I love you. Your father
Henri."
Claudine
sobbed.
"He
wants to be buried near to Exile", Philippe said, "so we will have to
bring his body back there. But at this time we can't do this. It is too
dangerous. We must wait untill the war is over... I think I will speak to the
king."
Claudine
didn't listen to her husband. She hold the letter in her hands and sobbed. From
time to time she kissed the letter. Philippe left her alone and went to see his
brother.
_______________________________________________________________________________
"He
wants to be buried near to Exile?" the king exclaimed "But we have
just get his body from Exile. And now we shall bring it back again?"
"I
think we should respect the governors last wish", Philippe said.
"Of
course. That's no question", the king replied, "it's just a bit
complicated. I think we should embalm the body because it can be a long time
untill we will be able to bring him back to Exile."
"Yes.
That's a good idea", Philippe replied.
_______________________________________________________________________________
In the
meantime the Dutch king (@Janey: Do you know how to spell the king's name in
english?) and Francois were preparing everything for their evil plan. The king
gave instruction to the soldiers who had to attack Ahmed's estate, dressed as
french soldiers.
"I
hate this french uniform", one of the soldiers said.
"Yes.
It stinks", another one said.
"Silence!"
the king called "Okay, stop these jokes now. You have an important
mission. So, kill everyone at the estate except for one servant or slave
because we need a witness who can tell this Ahmed what has happened. When the
other squad comes, you will just run away. Have you understood?"
"Yes
Sire!" the soldiers called.
"Allright.
Then go. A ship is already waiting for you at the harbour. May God be with
you."
"You
look tired, brother," Philippe told the King.
"Hmmm...I guess I haven't slept very well the past few weeks. It's getting
to feel like all this will never end."
Philippe sighed.
"I feel this way too," he said. "But I suppose we have to remain
optimistic."
The King nodded.
"It would be nice to know what Francois and William are up to. I mean, it
scares me that they have not showed themselves by now."
"Maybe Francois just wants to leave
"Perhaps..." Philippe replied. "But somehow it just doesn't seem
their style. I think they have some scheme and that makes me nervous."
"Well, we're safe enough here," Philippe told his younger brother.
"And if you don't get some rest soon, then you won't be in any state to be
of use if they do show up."
The King smiled.
"Alright," he said. "I guess it would be a good idea."
*******************************************************************************
Meanwhile at the port two of the Kings spies watched as the French soldiers
boarded the ship. Their names were Anton and Baptiste.
"Have any orders for a departure come from the palace?" Baptiste
asked.
Anton shook his head.
"Then they are imposters. Where is the ship heading?"
"Arabia."
"
"We should inform the King of this."
"Yes, but I fear by that time it will be too late to stop this."
"Stop what?" Anton asked.
The young Baptiste sighed.
"By the time we return to Paris and get orders they will almost have
reached Arabia."
"So?"
"Well I fear they might be attempting some plot against the Prince
Ahmed."
"Ohhh? What should we do then?"
Baptiste thought.
"You go to
"But what will you do?" Anton asked.
Baptiste shrugged.
"I guess I'll have a little while to decide," he said. "Now get
their attention while I sneak on."
Anton looked sceptical.
"Do it!"
The Dutch
had also reliesed Francois' mother. Now she was in a tent with her son and
talking with him.
"What
have you talk about with the king?" she demanded.
"We
have made a good plan how we can weaken our enemies. But that's our
secret", Francois replied.
"Come
on, boy. I'm your mother", Florentine said, "have no secrets from
me."
"Well...
okay", Francois said and told his mother the plan.
But she was
shocked.
"You
can't do this, Francois", she exclaimed, "that goes too far."
"Why?"
Francois demanded cooly "Ahmed is our enemy aswell as the little
bastards."
"But
not his family! You will kill innocent people just to split the party of our
enemies."
Francois
was not impressed.
"I
don't know what you have, mother? You knew that I can be very cruel. This is
nothing new for you."
"I
demand you to give up this plan", Florentine exclaimed.
"Oh,
that's funny, mother. Are you on my site or not?"
"I am
on your site, but I can't accept what you are doing..."
Francois
stood up.
"If
that is so, then I have to see you as a traitor, mother", he said,
"and then I will also have to threat you like a traitor..."
"You
wouldn't dare that. I'm your mother."
"Oh,
you can be sure that I would. Now be carriful mother. I'm going to watch
you."
Florentine
didn't know what to say. She felt like this boy wasn't her son anymore. She had
always supported him, but now she doubted that this was still the right way...
_______________________________________________________________________________
Baptiste
was watching the sea and listen to the talks of the soldiers. They were
speaking in Dutch what proved him that they were not french soldiers but Dutch
imposters. the only problem was that he couldn't understand alot as long as
they were speaking in their own language. He himself had nothing to fear. The
Dutch just believed that he was a member of the crew.
Baptiste
thought how he could get informations about the plans of the Dutch. As he
wasn't able to understand their language, it was useless to listen to the
soldiers. But then he had an idea. He could creep into the cabin of their
leader. Maybe he would find some information there.
So he went
below deck. Nobody payed attention to him.
Some men
were in the galley preparing food, but Baptiste carefully sneaked past the door
and towards the officers cabins. He checked around to make sure no-one was
nearby and then tried the handle of the door. It opened and Baptiste smiled; he
had half expected it to be locked.
He went inside and quickly began to look through the papers on the desk.
Finally he found what he was looking for; hand written instructions from the
dutch king. He read the words, his eyes becoming wide with disbelief over the
aweful plan.
He shook his head. How would he ever be able to prevent something such as this?
He quickly returned the paper to it's spot, before he left the cabin and
hurried back up on deck before he was caught. Alone, in a quiet corner, he sank
to the deck, his mind swimming with thoughts.
*******************************************************************************
Florentine sat alone in her tent, thinking about what her son had told her. She
did not know what to do. For one thing, she did not want betray her son, but
she also did not want to see such terrible things done to innocent women and
children.
She called her young Dutch maid over.
"Cornelia," she said.
"Yes, my Lady?"
"Ummm...I was just thinking. Do you think you could get someone to take a
letter to an old friend of mine?"
"Yes, My Lady. The King will allow this."
"No, no, we do not need to trouble the King with such trivality, do
we?"
"I...I suppose not, My Lady."
"Then just a young servant. It is only a day's journey."
"Alright, my Lady."
Florentine sighed. She wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do, but she had
decided to write to an old friend who had lived near to her in the village
where Francois had been raised.
(Hm... I
have no idea what this friend can do at the moment. So I continue with the
other topic first.)
Baptiste
was still thinking. He alone could do nothing against the Dutch. His only
chance was to arrive at Ahmed's estate earlier so that he could warn the family
there. He was sure that there were soldiers who guarded the estate and if they
would be warned, they would have a good chance to defeat the Dutch soldiers.
Baptiste
smiled. That was a good plan. But then he remembered that he had no idea how he
could reach the estate before the soldiers. He also didn't know where the
estate was. Baptiste moaned. It seemed to be hopeless.
But then
suddenly he had an idea. It was absolutely mad but he saw no other chance. If
it was necessary then he would sacrify himself...
_______________________________________________________________________________
So Baptiste
went below deck again. He went to the cargo space. There were many boxes but no
human for miles around. Baptiste smiled. That was good because nobody had to
see him. He took a lamp and began to explore his surroundings.
Finally he
had found what he had been looking for. Some barrels with gunpowder. He would
make sure that this ship would never reach
He looked
around himself and saw an axe. He took it and began to knock a hole into one of
the barrels...
_______________________________________________________________________________
Louis and his
wife were sitting together and talking. But Louise looked not very good.
"You
look pale Chérie", Louis said, "Are you ill?"
"No,
no. I feel just a bit weak at the moment", Louise replied.
"Shall
I get a doctor?"
Louise
smiled.
"Don't
overdo it, Louis. As I said, I only feel a bit weak. But I could need some rest
now."
Louise
stood up and went to the bed. But suddenly she began to stagger. Louis just
managed to cushion her. He lied her down on the bed.
"Chérie,
what is?" he said shocked.
"I
don't know. I feel sick. Maybe you should yet get a doctor."
"I
will be back immediately", Louis replied.
_______________________________________________________________________________
The doctor
was examining Louise while Louis waited outsite. He only hoped that it was
nothing bad.
Finally the
doctor came out of the room. Louis saw the smile on his face and was puzzled.
"What
is wrong with her?" he demanded.
"Nothing",
the doctor replied with a grin.
"Stop
grinning! That isn't funny!" Louis scolded angrily "and now tell me
which illness she has!"
"No
illness, your Highness", the doctor replied, "except for if you would
call a child an 'illness'."
"A...
child...?"
"She
is pregnant again. That's why she feels sick. That's normal."
Louis was
beaming when he went back into the room.
Louise smiled softly.
"You are happy?" she asked.
"Of course I'm happy, Cherie," he said, going to her and kissing her
forehead. "It's wonderful."
"I was worried that you would not be happy with everything going on."
Louis shook his head.
"Nothing else matters, appart from you, Pascal and this little one."
He touched her stomach.
"So you won't go to battle again, if Francois comes."
Louis sighed.
"I hope it will never come to that," he said.
"But if it does?"
Louis didn't know what to say....
******************************************************************************
Baptiste's hand was shaking as he held the oil lamp above the exposed
gunpowder. Above on the deck he could hear the sailors moving around but they
sounded so far away. But he knew he could not linger. Soon, someone would come
down.
He closed his eyes and thought of his mother, and his fiancee, waiting for him
to return to her. He sighed sadly, and paused for a moment. His heart was
pounding so loud, it felt as though it was about to explode. Although he did
not want to die, he knew there was no other choice, if he was to stop a bloody
war in
Slowly, an image of his Michelle in his mind, he dropped the lattern....
(I just
thought, if Philippe has two children, then Louis must have two, too. LOL!)
There was a
great detonation. Baptiste was skidded backwards by the shock wave. He lost
consciousness immediately.
The other
people on the ship had no chance. It was burning everywhere and the hull was
completly wrecked.
The crew
and the soldiers were running around all over the place, totally disorientated.
"What
has happened?!" One soldier said to a ship's boy.
"A
detonation, idiot", the boy said angrily, "leave this ship. Some of
the lifeboats are still intact."
But just
then there was another detonation which was the final straw for the ship.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Louise looked
at her husband piercingly.
"What
are you going to do, if Francois comes?" she repeated her question.
"I
would like to stay with you then", Louis replied, "but if needs be, I
will have to fight, too"
Louise
shook her head.
"When
we have the emergency, then it will be too late anyway and you won't be able to
change anything. Just stay with me. Don't fight."
"I
don't want to be a coward", Louis moaned.
Louise
smiled softly.
"You
have already proved your courage many times, Louis", she said, "nobody
will think that you are a coward, if you don't join the battle. You must look
after your family."
"Well...
okay... persuaded", Louis replied.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Baptiste
opened his eyes slowly. At the first moment he thought that he was in Heaven.
But then he saw the men who were standing around him. He heard them talking and
noticed that there were speaking english. He knew that language, so he could
understand them.
"It's a
miracle that he has survived with these wounds", one of the men said.
"Well,
I'm a good doctor."
"Oh
yes, but don't boast so about it."
"Hey,
he has woken up", one exclaimed.
"Where...
where am I?", Baptiste murmured.
"His
accent... he is french", one of the men said. Then he turned to Baptiste.
"you are on a british trading ship. We have found you in the water,
between many corpses and pieces of wreck. What has happened."
Baptiste
thought that it was better to not tell the englishmen the truth. He couldn't
knew on which site the british were.
"We
were traveling with a trading ship, too", he said, "and suddenly
there was a detonation. I believe it was an accident with the barrels of
gunpowder."
"Well,
we will bring you back to
"Sire,
there's someone to see you."
The King looked up from his papers.
"A man called Anton. Say's he has riden through the night from Marsaille
with important news."
Philippe felt a jolt of fear.
"Send him in immediately," he ordered.
After Anton had completed his report, Philippe looked pale.
He nodded to the man.
"Thank you for your service, Monsieur," he said. "Go and take
some time with your family, until you are summoned."
Anton bowed.
"Thank you your Majesty, but I would rather go back to Marsaille and wait
for news of my friend Baptiste."
The King nodded.
"Very well," he said. "Go then. And thank you."
"Sire."
After the man had gone, the King called for his Captain.
D'Artagnan was just as worried by the news.
"What do you think they plan to do in
D'Artagnan shook his head.
"This man Anton, did he say how many there were of them."
"Not many, perhaps twelve or fifteen."
"Then they cannot be planning any kind of seige. I fear that it is a trap
they are trying to set, Sire."
"How do you mean?"
"I believe they are going to kidnap and murder those close to Ahmed in
your name."
"No!" Philippe exclaimed. "We must prevent such an
attrocity."
"I fear it may be too late," D'Artagnan said. "Unless this
Baptiste has managed to achieve something."
Philippe dropped his head into his hands.
"What could one man do against 12? So now Ahmed must suffer for this
terrible war. This is all my fault. How am I ever going to tell him this?"
He was close to tears.
"I could tell him for you, Sire," D'Artagnan offered.
Philippe shook his head.
"No, this is my responsibility," he said. "I will tell him.
Organise a force of twenty and send them to
D'Artagnan nodded gravely and left the room.
*****************************************************************************
Amid the wreckage of the ship, a young Dutch solider, dressed his his French
uniform clung to a piece of wood as he drifted in the ocean. His name was Frans
and he was exhausted.
Just then, in the distance he spied a ship, seemingly heading straight towards
him. His weary heart leapt. Perhaps he would yet be able to complete the
mission for all his dead comrades...
"Hey!
Hey!" he called when the ship came closer. But he wasn't sure if they
heard him.
The ship
came closer. Now it was just a fiew metres away from Frans and he cryed as loud
as he could.
Finally the
men on the ship noticed him.
"Hey!
There's someone in the water!" someone exclaimed.
Two men began
to climb down the ship's hull on rope ladders. When they were down, their feets
almost touched the water.
"Hey,
you! Come on! We are going to bring you on deck!" they called.
Only now
Frans noticed the english ship's flag. For a moment he was not sure if this was
good or bad for him. But he had no choice. There wasn't anyone else who could
help him. So he swam towards the ship with his last ounce of strength. When he
arrived, the two men took him at his arms...
_______________________________________________________________________________
On deck
everyone was looking at Frans.
"A
french soldier", someone exclaimed.
"What
is he doing here?"
"Are
the french our friends or enemies?"
"They
are not our best friends, but at the moment we have peace with
Frans
wasn't sure if it was a good idea to answer. Because once he would open his
mouth, they would notice that he was not french by his accent.
"I
have asked you a question!" the man exclaimed.
"Hey,
hey! What's going on here?" a voice called. It was the captain.
"We
have saved a french soldier, captain. But he doesn't speak."
The captain
looked at Frans.
"I
think he is just in a state of shock", he said, "bring him below deck
and give him new clouds and something to eat."
"Yes,
Sir!"
The captain
looked at his mate who stood next to him.
"What
a day", he exclaimed, "this is the second Frenchman who we have saved
today."
"Maybe
they are from the same ship", the mate replied.
"Yes.
That is possible. Poor guys."
_______________________________________________________________________________
Baptiste
wasn't really sad about the fact that he had losed his left leg. Afterall he
had been certain, that he would die and now he lived. He had saved the life of
many innocent people and he had survived. So the lost leg was a low price for
it in Baptiste's eyes. He was proud of himself. Baptiste already thought about
how the king would reward him. In his imagination he imagined how the king
would give him a title of nobility and an own estate...
_______________________________________________________________________________
Ahmed was
in his room. He relaxed and drank some tea. But then there was a knock on the
door.
"Come
in", Ahmed called.
A servant
entered.
"Mylord,
the king want's to see you", the boy said.
Ahmed
smiled.
"Wonderful," he said, rising up.
"Sire!" he exclaimed. "You are somewhat early for your lesson.
What is wrong?"
Philippe sighed.
"I have bad news," he said gravely.
"Bad news?"
"I fear that Francois and William are conspiring to do harm to your
family. My spies in Marsailles saw a ship leave for
Ahmed looked pale.
Philippe shook his head.
"I'm so sorry, my dear friend," he said. "I wish I had never
involved you in all of this."
"Have you sent men after them?" Ahmed asked.
Philippe nodded.
"I have, but it may be too late. But there is a hope...one of my men,
Baptiste de Marsilly has stowed away on the ship."
"I will have to return home," Ahmed said. "I cannot just wait
here for news."
Philippe nodded.
"Of course," he said. "I will see to the fastest transport to
the coast."
"Thank you, my King," Ahmed replied. "Of course, I will leave
most of my men here under the command of my cousin Mohammed."
"I would understand if you didn't."
"Shhh..." Ahmed replied, placing his hand on the young KIng's
shoulder. "None of this is your fault," he said. "And I will
never blame you, whatever the outcome. May Allah bless you."
"And you too," Philippe replied through the tears which came to his
eyes.
He watched as the Prince left the room.
Some
minutes after Ahmed had gone, Louis stormed into the room. He looked happy.
"Philippe,
I must tell you something!" he exclaimed.
But then he
saw the his brother's glance and he interupted himself.
"Is
there something wrong?" he asked.
The king
lowered his head.
"I
feel so helpless", he said.
"Why?"
And
Philippe told Louis everything. Louis was shocked.
"Francois
is a devil!" he exclaimed "I hope that he will once burn in
hell!"
"We
shouldn't wish other people that", the king replied.
"Why
not? He deserves it!"
Philippe
only moaned.
"I only
hope that my soldiers or Ahmed will be able to prevent a disaster", he
said.
"I
hope so, too", Louis replied.
For some
minutes both of them were quiet. Then the king spoke again.
"By
the way, what did you want to tell me, Louis?"
"Oh...
I think this is not the right moment now", Louis replied.
"Come
on... I want to hear it."
"I'm
going to become father a second time", Louis said.
"What?!"
Philippe exclaimed "Oh, congratulation!"
Louis
smiled.
"It
was a real surprise", he said, "First I thought that Louise is ill
because she didn't feel well, but then the doctor has told me the truth... By
the way, how is Marie and her baby?"
"They
are fine", Philippe replied, "I can't wait untill the birth."
"There's
something which interessts me", Louis said, "Which religion will your
children have?"
Philippe
grinned.
"Don't
worry, Louis. The children which I will have with Marie-Therese will be
Catholics. She won't allow me to bring them up as Muslims."
Louis
looked satisfied.
"And
the little one?" he asked.
"Which
little one?"
"Yours
and Marie's child", Louis said.
"Oh...
yes. Well, Marie isn't very religious. I believe she doesn't care about
religion. So I will have a good chance to bring our child up as a Muslim. But I
will talk with Marie before."
"This
could become dangerous", Louis said, "if some of your children will
be Catholics and some Muslims, then this could include the risk of a civil
war."
"Oh
please, not politics again!" the king exclaimed "You and your
theories, Louis. The last time when you had feared a civil war, Philippe hat to
suffer in a dungeon in an iron mask..."
"Okay,
I was wrong about Philippe", Louis replied, "he is an absolutely
peace-loving guy. But not everyone is like Philippe."
"Are
you talking about yourself, Louis", the king mocked, "afterall it was
you who has land us in the war with the Dutch..."
Louis gave
a forced smile.
"And
now I want to finish this discussion", Philippe said, "you have asked
me a question and I have answered you. That's enough."
Louis
conceeded. In truth he was too overjoyed with the news that he was to be a
father again, to get into another heated discussion with his brother.
He stood up.
"Well I will go then, brother," he said. "I have to tell
Philippe the news anyway."
The King nodded.
"If there's anything I can do..." Louis said.
Philippe sighed.
"Nothing less than praying for a miracle, I'm afraid," he replied.
"I will do that, then."
*******************************************************************************
Meanwhile on the boat, the Captain went to check on Baptiste.
Although the young man was in a lot of pain, he was happy for the visit.
"I thought you'd be pleased to know, young man, we just rescued one of
your comrades."
Baptiste's heart leapt.
"Really?" he stammered. "Is he alright?"
"Very weak, but he'll be fine."
Baptiste forced a worried smile.
"Has he said anything...I mean...has he told you his name."
The Captain shook his head.
"He was so exhausted that he just took some water and fainted. Our doctor
says that he should wake up soon though."
"That's ....great." Baptiste said, thinking quickly.
He was worried. If it was one of the Dutch, then he might well tell the English
of his plan in the hope that they might side with them and complete the
mission. He had to find a way to stop this happening...
But what
could he do? He was so weak. Actually he could do nothing except for telling
the captain the truth.
"Could
he be a member of the crew?", he asked the captain.
"I think
not", the captain replied, "he is wearing an uniform."
Now
Baptiste knew enough. This man was a Dutch, no doubts.
"Captain,
I... I must tell you something", he said.
"Speak,
my friend."
"This
man isn't a comrade of mine. He is a Dutch soldier", Baptiste said.
"I
don't understand", the captain replied, "he wears a french uniform,
not a dutch one."
"He is
only dressed as a french soldier. This is a conspiracy."
"What
kind of conspiracy is it?", the captain demanded.
And now
Baptiste told everything. He knew it was his only chance because otherwise the
Dutchman would do it instead of him earlier or later and try to get the English
on his side. When he had finished, he waited. He had no idea how the captain
would react...
_______________________________________________________________________________
At the
palace Louis was telling everyone the news that Louise was pregnant again. In
the meantime the king decided to finally write his letter to the Pope. He
called Aramis to help him.
"You are
a priest, Aramis", he said, "tell me, what must I write to get a
positive answer?"
"Make
a propose", Aramis replied, "if you would marry Marie-Therese before
Marie, then the Church could act as if this will be your only marriage and
ignore the fact that you want to marry another girl, too. Everything what you
will do after your marriage with Marie-Therese is not the buisness of the
Church."
"But..."
"And
they also can't harm you, when you marry Marie then, because you are no
Catholic anymore."
"You mean
we should cheat?" the king replied.
"You
must", Aramis said, "you can only cheat in this situation. This is
the only chance... Oh, and of course you should send a gift together with the
letter, something valuable..."
"So
your propose is too bribe the Pope so that he cheats a bit together with
me."
"A
gift is no bribery", Aramis replied, "but if you have a better
idea..."
"Okay,
okay", Philippe exclaimed, "give me feather and ink."
Philippe
had finished his letter and decided on a donation, with Aramis's guidance, of
two valuable religious paintings from the family's personal collection. He
sealed his letter and handed it to the priest.
"You will deliver it for me, Monsieur," he said. "I have a
feeling that your influence will be positive."
Aramis smiled and bowed.
"It will be an honour, Sire," he said. "Could I take my friends
with me?"
The King nodded.
"Of course," he said. "I think I would be foolish to send you
sounth with the Dutch around, all alone. But I'm confident that together you,
Athos and Portos can reach the
*******************************************************************************
Baptiste's heart was lightened by the look of disgust on the Captain's face as
he finished his story.
"Well?" he asked cautiously.
"Of course us English are hardly the closest allies of the French since
the King's conversion, but such an underhanded deed against this Arab
Prince..."
He shook his head.
"We will take you back to
Baptiste smiled.
"Thank you MOnsiuer," he said. "You are a good and honourable
man and I will see to it that my King knows it to be so."
Sleep a bit
now, boy", the captain said, "it will still be a long journey."
Baptiste
nodded and closed his eyes.
The captain
left the room and went to the room where Frans was.
When he
entered, the young soldier stood up from his bed.
"Captain",
he exclaimed.
The captain
looked seriously at him and Frans felt that something was wrong.
"Is
there something wrong?" he asked.
"Now I
know everything about you and your evil plan", the captain replied.
"Wh...
what?"
And the
captain told everything what he had heard from Baptiste.
Frans shook
his head.
"From
where do you know this?" he demanded.
"It
doesn't matter", the captain replied, "but from now you won't leave
this room untill we have reached
"No",
Frans exclaimed, "we could be allies. Think about it."
"Forget
it!" the captain said and left the room.
_______________________________________________________________________________
For a moment
Frans was just shocked. Then he began to think. The captain knew the dutch
plans to attack Ahmed's estate. So he must have heard it from someone else. But
from who?
Frans
thought hardly and then he suddenly had the insight. There must have been a spy
on their ship and obviously this spy had survived too and was also on this ship
now.
"Maybe
this spy was even responsible for the detonation...", Frans said to
himself.
Then he
gave himself a slap on his forehead.
"Yes,
yes! That's it", he exclaimed.
Then he
thought what he could do. He couldn't leave this ship, but he could at least
ensure that this spy would regret his act...
Frans
waited until it was all quiet and it seemed like all but the night watch had
gone to bed. Then he slipped from his bed and went to the door. But it was
locked. Frans cursed the Captain. He knew he was a prisoner now.
Unless...
Frans looked at the jug on the dressing stand and a thought struck him. He
lifted it from it's hollow and dashed it against the wall as quietly as he
could.
It broke into pieces and the young soldier smiled as he bent to pick up one
shard, as sharp as a knife. Quickly he gathered the rest up and pushed it under
the bed. Then he slid back into the bed and hid his knife under the covers.
**************************************************************************
He had to wait until early morning for a visit. One of the young sailors
entered carrying some bread.
"Here!" he said.
Frans did not move.
The sailor went closer to the bed.
"You alright?" he asked.
Frans held his breath until the man was leaning right over him and then quick
as lighting he slit the man's throat. It was all over before he could scream.
Frans then quickly stripped the man of his clothes and flung off his own rags -
the red of the French scum.
He dressed quickly and then cautiously slid out into the corridor. He smiled.
It had been so easy and now perhaps he spied a small hope of being able to
achieve more than just killing the spy...
He hurried down the corridor to the weapon store.
When he
reached the weapon store, he took a saber and a dagger. With the saber in his
hand and the dagger in his belt, he left the room.
Frans
looked around himself. Now he noticed that he had a little problem. There were
many cabins below deck. How should he know in which one the spy was?
But then he
saw a ship's boy coming along the corridor. Frans smiled. That was the
solution.
He went
towards the boy.
"Where
is the frenchman who you have on board?" he demanded.
The boy was
confused by Frans' dutch accent. For a moment he was just puzzled, but then he
saw through the situation.
"You
are this Dutchman", he exclaimed.
Frans
quickly put his saber onto the boy's throat.
"Where
is he?" he demanded again.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Louis was
excited about becoming a father again. He still walked through the palace and
talked with everyone who he met about it.
Finally he
met a young maid.
"Your
Highness seem to be happy", the girl said.
"Very
happy because my wife is pregnant again."
"Congratulation."
"What's
your name?"
"Michelle."
"Could
you bring me a drink to my room", Louis said, "I'm a bit tired and I
think I go and relaxe a bit now."
"Of course",
Michelle replied.
_______________________________________________________________________________
When Louis
was in his room, Michelle came with the drink which he had demanded.
"Here,
your Highness", she said.
Louis took
the drink.
"Thankyou,
Mademoiselle."
He looked
at the girl. She was beautiful. He actually didn't want it but his hormones
overpowered him and he kissed her.
For a
moment Michelle was surprised but then she kissed him back.
The only
bad thing was that Louise entered the room just at this moment.
"Louis,
I..."
She
interuppted herself when she saw what was happening. Louise was totally
shocked. She couldn't belief what she saw.
Louis
regretted his act immediately.
"Chérie,
it is not like it looks...", he began.
"Not
like it looks?!?!", Louise exclaimed loudly.
Louis
wanted to sink into the ground...
"Please,
Cherie, let me explain..."
Louise felt the tears spring to her eyes.
She burst out crying and ran from the room.
"Wait, Cherie!" he exclaimed jumping up.
But when he reached the door, she had gone.
"Louise!" he called.
******************************************************************************
Philippe and Claudine were sat together on their couch watching
Marcel grabbed the doll off his sister.
"Marcel!" Philippe scolded. "Give it back!"
"No!" Marcel replied. "I want the dolly!"
Now
Claudine sighed.
"Dear oh dear," she said. "When will they ever get on."
Just then they were disturbed by loud knocking at the door.
"Who is it?" Philippe called.
Louise burst through the door.
"What's wrong!" Claudine exclaimed.
"Can we talk?" Louise sobbed.
Claudine looked at Philippe, who had just taken the doll of his son and now had
two screaming toddlers to deal with.
He nodded.
"I'll be fine," he said with concern.
Claudine put her arm around Louise and led her into the other rooom.
When they
were alone, Claudine spoke.
"What
is wrong?" she asked again.
"Louis...
I... I saw him with another girl", Louise exclaimed.
"What?"
"A
maid... he was kissing her!"
Louise
burst out into tears again.
Claudine
didn't know what to say. She was also shocked. On the other hand she was
certain that Louis actually wasn't really interessted in this maid.
"I
think it was just an oversight", she said.
"An
oversight?!" Louise exclaimed "He knows that I'm pregnant again and
then he kisses this girl!"
Claudine
who didn't know the news yet hesitated.
"You
are what?... Oh, congratulation!"
"I
feel so bad. How could he do this to me", Louise sobbed.
Claudine
tried to find the right words.
"I
believe he wasn't thinking, when he was doing this. Men are doing such silly things
sometimes. The hormones... you know? I'm sure he only loves you."
"If he
loves me, then he wouldn't have done this!", Louise exclaimed.
Claudine
moaned.
"I'm
sure that he loves you. And if you love him too, then you will forgive him.
Come on, speak with him. Give him a chance to explain."
"No! I
don't want to see this adulterer!"
_______________________________________________________________________________
Philippe
was eavesdropping to the talk at the door. Just then Louis came into the room.
"Philippe,
have you seen Louise?" he asked.
"Oh,
there comes the great Catholic", Philippe mocked, "I find it funny
that you have created such a big hoo-ha about your religion in the past and now
you are betraying your wife... what is absolutely against your religion! You
hypocrite!"
"So
she was already here", Louis replied, "Is she maybe in this room
there?"
Louis went
towards the door but Philippe blocked it.
"Let
me in", Louis demanded.
"No.
She doesn't want to see you. Go."
Louis looked
at his twin.
"I have to see her," he said. "Let me pass!"
Philippe shook his head gravely.
"You need to give her time to calm down," he said. "Getting her
upset more will be no good for her or the baby."
Now Louis became angry.
"You can't stop me from seeing my wife," he said angrily. "Just
because you think of yourself as some kind of saint, it doesn't make me so
terrible that I can't even see Louise!"
He grabbed Philippe's arm and roughly went to push him out of the way.
Philippe pushed his brothers arm off and punched him in the face.
"You're not going to see her until she is ready to see you!" he said
strongly. "Accept this!"
******************************************************************************
Meanwhile on the boat the boy was terrified. He looked around for help but
there was no-one there.
"Scream and you're dead," Frans said. "Now take me to the French
man."
"I...I don't know where he is..." the boy said.
Frans became angry.
"Take me there now," he hissed. "Or I'll put a bullet in
you."
The boy trembled.
"He's...he's down here," he stammered.
Frans followed him.
******************************************************************************
Baptiste lay on his bed. He heard people outside the door and had a sudden
fear. He sat bolt upright...
The door
opened and Frans and the ship's boy entered. Baptiste hadn't seen Frans before
and so he first thought that he was a member of the Crew. So at the first
moment he was delighted, but then he saw the saber and the frightend glance of
the boy...
"So
there you are... you dirty spy", Frans exclaimed.
Baptiste
recognized the dutch accent. Now everything was clear for him. He looked around
himself in panic. What could he do to defend himself? He was helpless. He
wasn't even able to stand up since he had lost his leg.
"Ah, I
see the fear in your eyes", Frans said, "Now you will pay for what
you have done to my comrades. You were responsible for the detonation on our
ship. Right?"
"Yes",
Baptiste replied as strongly as he could, "and I'm proud of it. I have
stopped evil bastards and I have prevented the death of many innocent
people."
"But
you haven't prevent your own death. Now I will kill you and take revenge for my
comrades!"
Frans went
towards the bed.
"Help!
Help me!" Baptiste cried.
"It is
too late", Frans said.
He raised
the arm with the saber but suddenly he stopped. His eyes dilated and he looked
a bit surprised. Then he fall onto the ground. A knife was sticking in his back
and the ship's boy stood above his body.
"Are
you alright?" the boy said.
"Yes",
Baptiste replied, still shocked.
"I
think he has underestimated me", the boy replied, "I must inform the
captain now."
_______________________________________________________________________________
"You
dare to beat me?!" Louis exclaimed.
"I
said go", Philipped replied.
"That's
absurd", Louis called, "it was just a kiss, an oversight. And you are
making a drama out of it!"
"You
have really no idea how Louise feels now", Philippe exclaimed, "An
oversight, Pah! Go now."
Louis
considered a moment, then he stormed out of the room. He had to see his father.
Maybe he would understand him and give him some comfort...
"Captain,"
the boy said breathlessly, running up the deck.
"What is wrong William?" the Captain asked with a lot of concern.
"The Dutch...he escaped from his cabin and threatened to kill the French
man. He would have done too if I hadn't..."
"What? Speak boy!"
"I stabbed him, Sir. With my pocket knife."
"Is the Frencg young man alright?"
"Fine Captain."
"And the Dutch traitor?"
"I don't know Sir, I came straight up here."
The Captain smiled.
"You've been very brave son," he said. "You have permission to
take a nip of rum for your shock."
"Thank you Captain."
"John fetch the doctor and bring him below," the Captain instructed.
"We want to deliver this Dutch man over to the French alive if we
can."
The sailor nodded and hurried to obey the order. Just as the Captain was about
to go below the look out called
"Land ho!"
"We'll be at Marsailles in an hour," the Captain said. "Prepare
the ship!"
The boat sprung to life as the Captain went below.
*****************************************************************************
Aramis, Athos and Porthos rode together again, a lot more slowly than in their
youth along the road leading south to
As they rode each of them scanned the horizon fearful of Dutch ambushes. They
had dressed as civilians for fear of such an attack but were still wary.
They were about to cross the
"My friends," Aramis said with a slight smile. "I think we may
have just spied ourselves the Dutch camp."
Athos looked uneasy.
"Perhaps," he said. "But if we can see them..."
"...
then they can maybe see us, too?" Porthos added.
Athos
nodded gravely.
"Don't
worry", Aramis replied, "if they can see us, then they will only see
three civilians. They won't harm us."
"But
I'm sure they know our faces", Athos said.
"Hey,
come on. We are still too far away from their camp. From there they can't see
our faces. Or do you think that they have eyes like eagles? We just have to see
that we don't meet anyone of them."
"And
what are we going to do now?" Porthos asked.
"Continue
our trip of course. But one of us should turn and inform the king about the
camp. If he knows where the Dutch are, he can maybe start a surprise
attack."
"I will
go", Porthos said.
"Good",
Aramis replied, "may God be with you."
"And
with you."
_______________________________________________________________________________
At the ship
the doctors were treating Frans. He was delirious and saying weird things.
"I'll
kill him... I will kill all the bastards...", he murmured.
The doctors
ignored it and continued their work.
"I
think he will survive", one of them said.
"Yes,
but if he dies, I wouldn't be sorry for him", another one replied.
"True.
But the captain wants to offer him to the French alive. So we will do what we
can to save his life."
At this
moment the door opened and a sailor entered.
"We
have arived", he said, "come on."
_______________________________________________________________________________
D'Artagnan
was in his room at the musketeer's barracks. He was just studying a map, when
he heard a knock on the door.
"Come
in", he said.
The door
opened and Louis entered.
"Oh
son, what are you doing here?" D'Artagnan exclaimed happily.
"I
must speak with you, father", Louis replied, "I need your
advice."
D'Artagnan
rolled the map away and beckonned to a chair.
"Come then," he said with concern. "Sit down. Would you like a
drink?"
Louis shook his head.
"Father, I've done something stupid."
"Go on," D'Artagnan replied.
Louis sighed.
"Louise told me she is pregnant again."
"Well son, that's wonderful, isn't it?" D'Artagnan looked worried.
"Of course it's wonderful," Louis replied. "It's just I was so
happy, I wasn't thinking..."
"What did you do?"
"I..I kissed a maid. Louise saw me and now she won't talk to me. I don't
know what to do."
D'Artagnan shook his head.
"You don't exactly make life easy for yourself, do you son?" he said
with a slight smile.
"Father!" Louis exclaimed. "If you're only going to poke fun
then..."
"Shhh! Louis, give her a few hours to calm down and then go to her with
all her favourite gifts - flowers, scent...then I'm sure she'll forgive
you."
"I don't know," Louis replied. "She seemed pretty angry with
"Trust me son," D'Artagnan said.
Louis smiled uncertainly.
"I guess I can try," he said. "Thanks Father."
"You're welcome Louis," D'Artagnan replied. "I really am happy
to hear about Louise's pregnancy."
Louis nodded as he rose up.
"I guess I'd better go and arrange some gifts then," he said.
*******************************************************************************
"What's your purpose in Marsailles?" the customs official asked.
"We are here to return a young French man we found wrecked off the Italian
coast and to hand over a Dutch soldier we believe to have been raising a
conspiracy against your Allie, Prince Ahmed."
"Indeed," the official said. "I'll have to send for the Port
Master."
The Captain nodded.
"Of course," he said.
Louis was
giving orders to the servants.
"You,
go and buy a bunch of roses... And you! I want you to go the a jeweller's store
and buy a necklace. But take only the best what you can get. I want to see
quality for my money..."
At this
moment Philippe (the twin) passed.
"Hey
Louis, what are you doing there?" he said.
"I'm
trying to get Louise back... after you have stopped me from talking with
her."
"With
jewellery? How superficial", Philippe exclaimed.
"Pah!
Women love jewellery", Louis replied.
"Yes,
but are you sure if this will work. Afterall you have betrayed her. So if I
would be Louise, I wouldn't be fobbed off by jewellery."
"Because
you are not a woman, Philippe", Louis said, "of course you don't care
about jewellery. But women do."
Philippe
moaned.
"You
haven't understood me, Louis", he replied, "I mean it must be
something more personal, and not cold precious stones."
"Do
you have a better idea?" Louis demanded touchily.
"What
about a self-written poem..."
"...
or even a song. Do you want me to make myself look like an idiot?!"
"Well,
I would do everything to get my wife back", Philippe replied, "and as
for the poem, I think it is a wonderful idea. Some of the Arabs could help you
with it. They are usual excellent poets."
"Forget
it", Louis exclaimed.
"Then
do what you want. This is not my problem", Philippe replied.
And he went
away.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Baptiste
had been taken to the house of the Port Master where he was resting at a kind
of guestroom now. At the hall the english Captain was talking with the Port
Master. Baptiste could hear what they were saying.
"So
where is this other guy now?" the Port Master asked.
"He is
still on our ship. Do you have something like a prison here?"
"Yes,
we have a detention cell here."
"I
think you should install him there for some days since he has recovered a
bit", the captain replied, "and as for the boy, it is nice that you
have accommondated him."
"You're
welcome", the Port Master replied, "I think at the moment none of
these two men is in the condition to travel. So we will have them both stay on
here for some days and send a messenger to the king in the meantime."
"Thankyou,
Monsieur."
The King
was alone with Marie in his rooms. Their intamacy was disturbed by a loud knock
on the door.
Philippe sighed.
"Leave it!" Marie told him.
"I wish I could, Cherie," the King replied. "But what with
everything, it could be really important."
He slipped out of bed and put on his robe, before going to the door.
It was D'Artagnan and Porthos.
"Sorry to disturb you Sire," the Captain said. "Porthos has
brought improtant news."
"I thought you had gone to
Porthos bowed.
"I did Sire, but on the way we were fortunate enough to stumble upon the
location of the Dutch camp. I returned to inform you immediately."
Philippe smiled.
"That's wonderful news!" he said. "D'Artagnan have the armies
assembled immediately. We will make a suprise attack and finish this now."
"Sire, I would suggest some caution. It will be likely that the Dutch will
have some spies at court and be able to report our movements. We could be led
into a costly trap."
Philippe punched the doorframe in anger.
"I want this finished before my child in born." he said. "So I
am willing to take that risk. Assesmble all the forces we have at our
disposal."
D'Artagnan bowed.
"As you command, Sire." he said.
*****************************************************************************
Meanwhile Ahmed had reached Marsailles, awaiting a boat to take him home to
"Your Highness," the Port officail said. "You will have to go to
the Port Master to confirm your paparwork is in order. I'm sorry."
"That's fine," Ahmed said. "Will you direct me?"
"I will bring you there, Your Highness."
At the Port Masters house, Baptiste was feeling well enough to sit up and look
out of the window. The garden was lovely and quiet and beyond the trees, he was
able to see the sea, brilliant blue in the sun.
He was disturbed by the sound of a carraige approaching...
Who could
this be? The street was on the other site of the house. So Baptiste couldn't
see anything. He listenend. Some moments later he heard how someone entered the
house.
"Monsieur,
here is someone who wants to leave
Baptiste
picked up his ears.
"Who
is he and what is his intention in
"I'm
Prince Ahmed, the king's ally. And I must look after my family in
Now Baptiste
was really as if he had been electrified. It was Ahmed and he also knew what
Ahmed wanted in
"I
finally need a prothesis", he said angrily to himself looking at the stump
which had once been his left leg. So he called.
"Hey
Prince! You don't have to go to
_______________________________________________________________________________
"Who
was this?" Ahmed demanded.
"Oh,
this was my guest", the Port Master replied, "he was brought here
together with a dutch prisoner by an english captain. It's a long story."
"I
must see him."
"Well,
as you want, Highness."
_______________________________________________________________________________
The door
opened and Ahmed and the Port Master entered.
"Prince
Ahmed, you don't have to go to
"Wait,
wait", Ahmed said, "Slowly. What's your name?"
"Baptiste.
I'm one of the king's spies", Baptiste replied and then he told Ahmed the
whole story.
"You...
you have saved my wife and my children", Ahmed stammered touchedly, "I
don't know how to thank you, my friend. May Allah bless you. If you have some
wish, tell me."
Baptiste
grinned in embarrassment.
"Thankyou
Monsieur", he replied, "but at the moment I have no wish and I think
the king will already reward me well."
Ahmed
nodded.
"It's
alright", he said, "but you will always have my gratitude. And I
would always do everything for you."
Then Ahmed
turned to the Port Master.
"So
where is this Dutchman now", he demanded grimly, "I would like to see
this little devil."
Aramis and
Athos meantime had arrived in
"We'd better hurry," he said. "If we are to see the Pope
today."
Athos sighed and managed to nod. He kicked his horse and followed Aramis to the
stables.
******************************************************************************
Frans was huddled in the cell in the basement of the Port Masters house. He
could not help but be afraid, even though he wanted to be obtimistic that his
own countrymen would be victorious before he was delivered over to the King.
The noise on the stairs worried him even more. Perhaps they were coming to take
him already...
The door opened and the Dutchman looked up to see the Port Master and another
man; an Arab.
"What do you want?" he asked with a voice filled with venom.
"Can I see him alone?" Ahmed asked.
The Port Master nodded.
"Of course, Your Highness," he said. "I will be outside."
And he went out and closed the door.
"Get up!" Ahmed said calmly.
"You don't command me!" Frans replied.
Ahmed drew his dagger slowly.
"I said get up," he repeated.
Frans smiled through his fear.
"You wouldn't dare hurt me," he sneared. "I'm too precious to
King Phillippe aren't I?"
"I'm sure the King will understand that this is personal - between you and
I. Now stand up!"
Seeing the anger in Ahmed's eyes, Frans struggled to his feet. Ahmed just
looked at him with disdain.
"It's a good job that you're injured," he said. "Because
otherwise, now I might make you dagger fight me, to the death."
Frans fought to maintain his bravado.
"But I won't," Ahmed said. "As far as I'm concerned you're
nothing but a solider following orders. It's your King I want to face. He's a
coward and I want to see the fear in his eyes when I run him through with my
dagger."
"How dare you speak like that of our good, Christian King!"
"Good?" Ahmed scoffed. "A man who will send his men to slaughter
innocent women and children? There is no honour and goodness in that, young
man."
Frans paused, and did not reply again.
Ahmed's tone softened.
"Now I can plead with the King for your life, to spare you torture, but
only on one condition."
Frans looked up. He spied a certain hope....
"Which
condition?" he said.
"You
have to bring me to your king", Ahmed replied, "so that I can take
revenge personally."
"What
do you mean with this?" Frans demanded distrustfully.
"I mean
that I want to take your king's life personally."
Frans shook
his head.
"Pah!
You can't do this without the permission of the french king. He won't approve
of such a solo effort."
"Well,
I think king Philippe will be grateful, if your evil king is not able to harm
him anymore", Ahmed replied.
"It
doesn't work so", Frans said, "we are at
"Oh.
Look, look. So young, but already well-versed in politics", Ahmed mocked,
"but maybe you are right. So you will just help me to kidnapp your king,
so that I can offer him to king Philippe."
"Forget
it!" Frans exclaimed.
"The
other possibility is that I'm going to slaughter you here and now", Ahmed
replied coldly.
"No,
no! Please no!" Frans exclaimed "... What do I have to do?"
Ahmed
smiled.
"That's
easy. You will go to your king and tell him that his plan has been carry out
succesfully. I will come with you and pretend to be your prisoner. You just
have to bring me into the tent of the king. I will do the rest."
"But
you can't kidnapp my king alone", Frans replied, "That's impossible,
even for an excellent fighter."
"Don't
worry, I have thought about this, too", Ahmed replied, "Some of my
men will dress as dutch soldiers and accompany you and me. Together with these
men I will be able to overpower your king."
"Your
men dressed as Dutch soldiers?" Frans exclaimed "You are stealing our
plan!"
Ahmed
grinned.
"Well,
I'm a good pupil. Am I?"
Frans
snarled.
"I
suspect that I have no choice", he said.
"Well,
your choice is death or treason", Ahmed replied.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Aramis and
Athos met a Swiss Guard.
"What
do you want?", the man demanded and blocked their way.
"We have
to see the Pope", Aramis replied.
"Oh
yes, of course", the young man mocked, "Do you really think that
everyone can just come and meet the Pope?"
"Well,
I can because king Philippe of France has sent me", Aramis said.
"So do
you have a testimonial", the Swiss Guard demanded.
"Not a
testimonial, but I have a letter from my king which I must offer to his
Holiness."
"Alright,
give it me. I will deliver it."
"Oh
no, no", Aramis replied, "I must hand it out personally.
The man
moaned.
"Just give
up, boy", Athos said now, "my friend here won't relax untill he gets
his private audience with the Pope."
"I
can't let him in without a testimonial", the young soldier said.
"Stupid
bureaucracy", Aramis exclaimed.
"You
would think a messenger from the King of France would have more sway. It's
amazing how times change." Aramis said shaking his head. "Young man,
tell me your name so I might report it to the King when I return to
The young soldier looked mortified.
"I...I...Wait here," he said. "I will speak with the
Captain."
Aramis turned to Athos and smiled.
"How well you know me," he said.
"Being predictable is perhaps not the best character trait," Athos
replied. "But at least our journey will not be in vain."
The waited some minutes before the soldier returned.
"Well?" Aramis asked.
"The Pope is saying mass for the cardinals and has a full evening
schedule," he said. "But you may see him in the morning."
"Excellent," Aramis replied. "Now could you direct us to a good
inn?"
******************************************************************************
"Alright," Frans said. "I'll do it, but only because you give me
no choice."
"I gave you a choice," Ahmed replied. "It's not my fault that
you are too much of a coward to take the second option."
"I only wish to return to my family, for without me they will have no
support."
Ahmed looked grave.
"Then I will tell you young man that i will personally ensure your
familie's well-being, if you are loyal to me in this mission. Of course, you
and they may have to leave Holland."
"You have my loyalty," Frans replied. "But how do you plan get
me out of here without orders of the King?"
Ahmed smiled and produced a papar from his robes.
In French, Frans read.
'To all this letter may concern, Please procure to my loyal friend Prince Ahmed
anything he may request or demand in my name. Philippe of France.'
Frans
nodded.
"Good",
he said, "but I don't think that your king had such an act in mind, when
he gave you this document."
"Of
course not", Ahmed replied, "but when I offer him this Dutch bastard
as a prisoner, he will be extremly grateful. By the way, it is not your job to
rack my brain. You only have to do what I'm saying."
Frans lowered
his head.
"Yes",
he murmured.
"Then
I will speak with the Port Master and prepare everything now", Ahmed said,
"and you should not break your promise because if I will only see a sign
of treason, I will kill you immediately."
And Ahmed
left the cell.
_______________________________________________________________________________
"But I
have already sent a messenger with the news to the palace", the Port
Master said to Ahmed, "maybe the king wants to see this prisoner then, and
if you take him with you now..."
"No
problem", Ahmed replied, "then you will just send a second messenger
to the king and tell him about my plan."
"Do
you think he will accept this plan?"
"He
will. Because with this document he has given me a free hand to act in his
name."
"Alright",
the Port Master replied, "then I will send another messenger now."
_______________________________________________________________________________
At the next
day Aramis and Athos met the Pope in the morning. The Pope was not very excited
to see them.
"Who
are you that you waste my time?" he demanded.
"We
are messengers from the king of
"Ah
yes... the king. I must say, I was very angry about his conversion."
Aramis
smiled.
"Well,
your Holiness, and that's exactly the problem why we are here", he said,
"the king wants to marry princess Marie-Therese from
"A
second woman?!" the Pope exclaimed "That's simply outrageous! The
bishop is totally right!"
"Well,
I'm a priest, too", Aramis replied friendly, "so I know better than anyone
that you can't accept just a thing from your theological point of view. On the
other hand rules can be circumvented..."
"You
mean I should cheat?" the Pope demanded.
"It is
easy", Aramis replied, "you only have to do as if you don't know
about the king's intention to marry a second woman. Then you can give your
approval to a Catholic wedding."
"And
why should I do that?"
"Well,
do you want to risk a conflict with the king of
The Pope
considered for a moment.
"I believe that your King has more pressing concerns than conflict against
the
Aramis smiled.
"Of course that is true, Your Holiness. But nevertheless I believe it
would be in the
"Monsieur!" the Pope exclaimed. "I don't it is proper to speak
of money in such a circumstance."
"But Holy Father, if it were not for the donations of the Holy Catholic
Church in
"I will not bow to black mail, Monsieur," the Pope replied.
"This in a matter of Faith and what is right, and your King's actions are
against God's teachings. Just as my predecessors were right to forbid Henry of
Englands divorce and I certain I am right to forbid a bigamious wedding, King
or not."
"Holy Father..."
"No Monsieur, I will not hear anymore about it. The
Aramis conseeded. Even he knew when he was beaten.
"Thank you for your time, Holy Father," he said. "I will deliver
the news to the King."
The Pope nodded.
Aramis and Athos turned to leave the room.
"Damn it!" Aramis exclaimed. "This is bad news, my friend."
Athos could only nod.
*****************************************************************************
Ahmed and Frans ha dmet up with Ahmed's men in Marsailles and now were on the
road North, heading towards the Dutch camp.
Ahmed rode next to Frans giving him instructions.
"When we arrive at the camp, you and I will sneak in under cover of
darkness and steal some uniforms. Then we will return with my men and demand an
audience with you King. Is that clear?"
Frans managed to nod.
"Clear",
he replied.
"And
don't try to betray me", Ahmed said, "because you won't survive it. I
promise you."
Frans
swallowed. He didn't doubt that this Arab was serious.
"Yes
Mylord", he replied.
_______________________________________________________________________________
"Wait.
You have forgotten to give him the letter and the king's gift", Athos
said.
"Oh
yes", Aramis exclaimed, "I'm an idiot."
He turned.
"Your
Holiness..."
"What?"
the Pope exclaimed angrily.
"I
have forgotten to give you the king's letter and this gift."
Aramis
offered both things to the Pope who took them.
"Thanks",
the Pope said, "but this won't change my opinion. Now leave."
Aramis
nodded and left the room with Athos.
A cardinal
who had stood in a corner of the room the whole time came closer.
"What
a kind of gift is it, Holy Father?" he asked.
The Pope
removed the packaging.
"Hm,
two religious paintings", he said, "must be very valuable."
Now the
Pope's secretary also came closer.
"They
look beautiful", he said.
"Infact",
the cardinal replied, "I would love to have them in my study."
"Forget
it. These are my paintings now", the Pope said.
"Well...
maybe we should do this french king a favour after he had sent you such
beautiful paintings, Holy Father", the cardinal said.
"Pardon!"
the Pope exclaimed.
"He is
right", the secretary added, "Actually we couldn't need a conflict
with
"The
king has already provoked [i]us[/i] with his conversion", the Pope
exclaimed.
"Yes
and that's why we shouldn't aggravate the situation...", the cardinal
replied.
The Pope
sighed.
"My
God, you both are real irritating", he said, "okay take them back. We
will see if we find a solution."
The
secretary nodded and left the room.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Louis stood
infront of the door to his wife's room. In the right hand he was holding a
bunch of roses and in the left hand a casket with a valuable necklace. He
knocked at the door.
"Come
in", he heard Louise saying.
Louis took
a deep breath and opened the door.
Louise was sitting
on the bed. Of course she wasn't very excited to see Louis.
"What
are [i]you[/i] doing here", she exclaimed cooly.
"I...
I wanted to apolognize to you", Louis said and hold the bunch of roses out
to her.
"And
you think that you can make me forgive you because you have got some servant to
bring me gifts. Trust you to think I am so fickle."
"Louise, please...Let me explain."
"No Louis, no!" she replied angrily. "If you think so little of
me and our children that you will go and kiss the first maid who comes on to
you then I have nothing to say to you."
"Louise..."
"You don't get it do you? Don't you see that it doesn't matter what excuse
you have, I will always know that you kissed her and who knows what else you
would have done if I hadn't come in when I did."
"Please Cherie you know I would never cheat on you..."
"Do I Louis? Do I really know that? I don't know what I know anymore. But
one thing I am sure of is that you will never make me play the dutiful wife
while you convort with Mistresses. I should have know really. Afterall you
stole me from Raoul, didn't you?"
Louis felt a stab to his heart.
"That's not fair Louise," he said with a lot of feeling. "I
never wanted those terrible things to happen."
Louise paused feeling the guilt wash over her at the harsh words. But she could
not bring herself to take them back.
"Louis, please leave," she said.
"Just give me a chance to explain..."
"No!" Louise exclaimed. "Now go, please!...Arghh!"
She gripped her stomach and sank onto the chair next to her.
Louis ran to her.
"What is it?" he asked.
"It hurts!" Louise sobbed. "Oh my God, what if it's the
baby!"
"Don't worry," Louis replied. "I'm sure it will be alright. I'm
going to go and send for the doctor , alright?"
"No Louis, don't go," Louise replied. "I'm scared."
"COME QUICK!" Louis called, hoping one of the servants would hear.
Luckilly the door opened.
"Your Highess?" the lady in waiting asked.
"Go for the doctor, quick!" Louis exclaimed.
The servant nodded and ran from the room.
Louis took
his wife and carried her to the bed.
"It
hurts so", Louise moaned.
"Shhh...
it will be well", Louis said.
"I
don't want to lose the baby...", she sobbed.
Louis shook
his head.
"You
won't lose it. You won't. Please, try to relax, Chérie."
At this
moment the door opened and the lady in waiting came back with a doctor.
"Let
me see", the doctor demanded.
Louis
nodded and stepped aside. The Doctor began to examine Louise.
"Well,
I think the baby is okay", the doctor finally said, "but you should
rest now. What has happened."
"We
had a quarrel", Louis replied.
"Oh,
too much agitation is not good for her", the doctor said.
Louis
lowered his head.
"I
know", he said, "it is all my fault. If I hadn't kissed this maid,
Louise would have had no reason to be agitated..."
"Well,
I think this is something between you and her", the doctor replied,
"I shouldn't disturb you any longer."
He took a
small bottle out of his bag.
"Here.
If the pain comes back, just drink a bit of this here", he said to Louise.
Louise
nodded and the doctor left.
"Do
you feel better, Chérie?" Louis asked sorrowfully.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Ahmed and
Frans had stolen some dutch uniforms from the dutch
"Okay",
Ahmed said, "you know what you have to do. You will pretend that I'm your prisoner
and bring me to the Dutch king now. When we are at his tent, we will arrest
him. Everything clear?"
"Yes,
Mylord!" the Arabs called.
Frans only
nodded.
"Very
well. So come on."
The camp
was suprising quiet and they entered with little trouble. It was only when they
approached the tents of the King when two gaurds stopped them.
"Where are you going?" one asked.
Frans spoke in Dutch.
"I have captured the Arab Ahmed. I wish to bring him to the King."
The men looked at Ahmed and saw that he spoke the truth.
"Very well," one said. "But only you and him can enter. Your men
will have to wait here."
Frans nodded and the men stood back.
As they passed closer to the King's tent, Ahmed spoke.
"Well done," he said in a low voice. "You will be well rewarded
for this.
Frans just sighed...
*****************************************************************************
Louise nodded.
"I was so afraid Louis," she said.
"I know," he replied gently, stroking her hair. "But the doctor
says everything will be fine if you rest."
"Louis, I don't want to fight anymore. I know you didn't mean to kiss the
maid. It's just...it's you. You can't help doing silly things, but I love you
because of that."
"Oh Cherie," he replied happily.
"So you can send back those silly gifts, alright?"
Louis smiled.
"Alright," he said. "Anything for you."
"Looks
like Philippe was right", he said.
"What
do you mean?" Louise asked.
"He
said that flowers and jewelleries would be superficial."
Louise laughed.
"Oh
yes, he was right."
"But
it was our father's idea", Louis said and grinned.
"Really?"
Louise exclaimed "Well, maybe he had once won your mother with
jewelleries."
"Louise!"
For a
moment both were quiet. Then they bursted out into laughter.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Louis
stayed with his wife untill she fall asleep. Then he left the room quietly.
He was on
his way to his study, when he suddenly met the maid Michelle.
"Hello
your Highness", the girl said joyfully.
Louis tried
to ignore her.
"Hey",
Michelle exclaimed, "I said hello."
"Hello",
Louis murmured.
"Why
do you ignore me?", the girl demanded, "Am I not good enough for
you?"
"Mademoiselle..."
"But
at this afternoon when you had kissed me I was good enough. Or what?"
Louis
moaned.
"It
was a mistake", he replied, "I wasn't thinking."
"You
weren't thinking?!"
"Mademoiselle,
you are talking with the prince", Louis exclaimed angrily, "actually I
should give order to lash you for your impudence."
"But
you have kissed me and now you ignore me", Michelle whined,
"Why?"
"It
was just an oversight. I'm married and I love my wife. She has just forgiven
me. So please leave me alone now. I want to forget this oversight."
"This
oversight?!", Michelle exclaimed, "so you have only played with me?!
I was just a toy for you?! Oh you mean guy!"
And she
slapped him round the face.
Louis was
confused...
He rubbed
his cheek and fought against the anger which rose in him.
"Madamoiselle," he said. "I will overlook that as you'r clearly
upset but..."
"I should have listened to the other girls. They said you were fickle but
I thought you were different..."
"I'm sorry, Madamoiselle," Louis replied. "Really I am. I never
meant to upset you."
"So you thought I was a cheap whore? That I would be flattered by your
attention? I really liked you, and I thought that you liked me!"
"I'm happily married. You just caught me at a good moment when Louise told
me she was pregnant again. I'm sorry, Madamoiselle, but your feelings are not
returned and I suggest you avoid me, for I will not be so forgiving should you
strike me again."
And Louis walked off quickly, leaving the girl close to tears.
*******************************************************************************
"What is it?" King William said as one of his advisors approached
him.
"Sire," the man said with a bow. "The squad you sent to
"A prisoner?" the King demanded. "What the devil are they doing
with prisoners? I told them to kill the damn lot of the Arabs." He shook
his head and sighed.
"Best send him in then," he said.
"Yes Sire."
*******************************************************************************
Frans and Ahmed were escorted into the tent.
Ahmed gave his young allie a shove to remind him of his oath, since he seemed
overawed by the pressence of his King.
"Sire..." Frans stammered. "My name is Frans and I bring you
this prisoner from the Arabian mission?"
"Where is your Lieutentant?"
"He...he was drowned. Our boat was wrecked and only I...I mean...some of
us survived. We did not get to Arabia Sire, but instead we apprenhended him at
Marsaille. He...he's Prince Ahmed the French King's ally."
"Indeed? Well it seems your mission was not a total failure afterall young
man," the King replied.
Ahmed looked up.
"You think so?" he asked...
"Shut
up. You will only speak when you're asked" William exclaimed.
"No",
Ahmed replied, "you will shut up now because you are my prisoner."
"Are
you kidding?!"
At this
moment Frans threw his sword and pointed it at his king's chest. The king was
shocked.
"Frans",
he exclaimed, "but..."
"I'm
sorry, your Majesty", Frans mumured.
"Well
done", Ahmed said to Frans, "now give me the sword."
Frans
obeyed and Ahmed continued to keep the king in check with the sword. William
seethed with rage.
"Okay.
Now fetter and gag him."
Frans
moaned. Actually he wanted to help his king. But he knew that Ahmed would kill
him as soon as he would call for help. And this Arab didn't seem to care about
consequences for his own life. So he did as Ahmed had said.
When he was
ready, Ahmed gave him order to bring the other Arabs into the tent. So Frans
went to the entrance and gave them a sign to come in.
When
Ahmed's soldiers saw the Dutch king, fettered and gagged, they cheered.
"Great!
It worked!", they exclaimed.
"Shhh!
Not so loud", Ahmed scolded, "now we must find a way how we can leave
the camp with him unnoticed."
"Oh,
this will be impossible", Frans said triumphantly, "our soldiers are
everywhere at the camp. You can't leave unnoticed."
"Too
bad for you", Ahmed replied, "because then I will have to kill you
and your king now."
One of the
Arabs grabbed Frans and hold a dagger at his throat.
"Oh
no, no. wait", Frans stammered, "I can bring you out of the
camp."
"Well,
that sounds better", Ahmed replied.
_______________________________________________________________________________
The maid
Michelle walked through the gardens. She was upset and wept. Suddenly she met
Philippe and Claudine who were playing with their children on a meadow.
"Hey
Mademoiselle, what's wrong?" Claudine exclaimed.
Michelle
looked up. Only now she noticed the both. She curtseyed.
"Oh
your Highness. I'm sorry, I didn't see you."
"What's
wrong?" Claudine repeated.
"He is
so mean!" Michelle sobbed.
"Who?"
"The
prince... Louis."
"Louis?"
Philippe exclaimed.
"He
has kissed me and now he
"So
you are the maid who he had kissed", Philippe replied, "oh this silly
clumsy oaf! Doesn't he know that women have feelings, too?"
"Philippe,
you are talking about your brother", Claudine said sternly.
"Clumsy
oaf!" the little Marcel echoed and giggled.
Philippe
stood up, hugged Michelle and tried to comfort her.
"Shhh,
it's alright. Just forget Louis. He acts without thinking."
Michelle
smiled softly.
"Thank you Your Highness," she said.
Philippe nodded.
"You're welcome," he said.
"Michelle!" a voice called.
The girl pulled away and hurriedly wiped away her tears.
"That will be Madame Leger," she exclaimed. "I must go!"
And she ran off towards the Palace.
Philippe shook his head.
"Sometimes I fear what Louis will do next," he said.
Claudine looked less than amused.
"I think perhaps you are fond of this maid too," she said crossing
her arms.
"Don't be silly, Claudine. She was upset."
"Hmmm....Well don't make a habit of hugging other women, because I
guarentee I will not be so forgiving as Louise evidently is."
Philippe smiled.
"I'd be crazy to have eyes for anyone but you, Cherie," he said
moving closer to her and lying her down in the long grass. He began to kiss her
passionately.
"Philippe! The children!" Claudine protested.
Philippe reluctantly conseeded and sat up.
"Tonight then," he said with a cheeky grin. "Prove to you I'd
never want anyone but you."
******************************************************************************
Frans spotted a large coffer in the corner, his mind beginning to work quickly
in order to survive.
"So, what's your plan?" Ahmed asked.
"We will bring him out in the coffer," Frans said.
"I think they will be a little suspicious," Ahmed said sceptically.
"No! We will say that the King has sent us on another urgent mission that
will require us to be in possession of a large quantity of coin. A coffer would
be the only suitable way to transport that. I know, I've carried money before,
with my regiment."
A look of sadness passed over his face at the realisation that they were all
dead.
Ahmed considered...
"Well,
it seems to be our only chance", he finally said, "but we will have
to leave the camp quickly. I don't want him to be suffocated in the
coffer."
"Of
course", Frans replied. This was the first time that he agreed with Ahmed.
Ahmed looked
at this soldiers.
"So
put him into the coffer", he ordered.
The
soldiers obeyed. The king tried to struggle but it was useless. The Arabs
roughly bundled him off the coffer and closed the top.
"Now
come on", Ahmed said, "and let us pray that the plan works."
Two of the
Arabs lifted the coffer. It was very heavy.
Ahmed
turned to Frans.
"You
will go first and lead us", he said sternly.
Frans
swallowed. Then he nodded.
They left
the tent...
_______________________________________________________________________________
After the
secretary had get them back, Aramis and Athos had discussed with the Pope
already about two hours. It was not so easy to find a solution.
"Well,
if the king will offer you more gifts and money...", Aramis said.
"Do
you think I'm venal?!" the Pope exclaimed angrily.
"Everyone
is venal, if the sum of money is high enough", Aramis replied.
"That's
a barefacedness!"
"But
money would be really good. Your Holiness can't deny that money would be
good", Aramis said.
"Aramis!
That doesn't work", Athos exclaimed.
Aramis
moaned.
"So
what exactly has the king to do to get your blessing for two weddings, Holy
Father?" he asked.
"Well,
there is something", the Pope replied, "I always have trouble with
the Catholic kings of
"I
think that is possible", Aramis replied, "we will bring the news our
king and ask him for his answer."
The camp was
extremely quiet and Frans led the Arabs quickly to the boundary. The two
soldiers charged to carry the coffer struggled to keep up and so the others had
to hang back. This was bad news, as the patrol suddenly appeared.
Frans looked at Ahmed.
"Tell them we have been sent on another mission by the King, and that it
is urgent," he hissed.
Frans nodded fearfully. He knew already that he had gone to far with the Arabs
to be able to foil the plot now.
The men approached.
"What do you have there?" one asked.
"We have been charged by the King to deliver this chest," Frans
replied.
The men looked suspicious.
"We have received no orders about this," the other one said.
"That is because it is urgent," Frans replied. "We need to get
this chest to it's destination before tomorrow."
"Well you will wait while we clear this with the King."
Frans could feel his heart thumping in his chest.
"Fine," he said. (At this point Ahmed gave him a deadly look)
"But the King will not be happy...if we are late we could put the whole
battle in jeopardy."
The men considered.
"Plus..." Frans went on, "The news we bought earlier was hardly
good and I suspect His Majesty may be in a bad mood. But we will wait, if you
command it."
"No, no comrade," the one soldier said. "It will be fine."
"But..." the other began.
"Come now Pieter," the soldier said. "No Dutch man would betray
his King."
Frans forced a smile.
The other man conseeded and they were allowed past.
As soon as they were out of earshot, Ahmed looked at the young man.
"That was brilliant son," he said. "I guarentee your forture
from this."
******************************************************************************
It was nearly midnight at the Palace and almost everyone had retired. However
the young maid Michelle was awake walking quietly down the corridor adjoining
the royal rooms. She checked that no-one was around before she lifted a
tapestry and slipped into the secret passgeways.
She knew these passageways by heart, since her Mistress had often charged her
to clean them, but now Michelle was there for a different reason. She got her
bearings and tiptoed towards the room which she wanted to go to...
She
couldn't forget him. She had tried it, but it was useless. Michelle had worked
the whole day to be diverted. But she couldn't get Louis out of her mind. She
was really in love...
_______________________________________________________________________________
Louise was
already sleeping, while Louis sat on an armchair at the window and was reading
a book. Pascal's cradle stood next to the double bed. Louis could hear his son
breathing regularly. He smiled happily.
Then
suddenly he heard a noise. First he didn't know from where it came. He looked
around himself but didn't notice anything. He shrugged and continued reading.
But then he
heard a noise again, now a bit louder. He turned and now he saw the maid
Michelle standing at the wall behind him.
Louis
shrieked quietly. For a moment he was scared to death. Michelle had entered the
room like a ghost. Then he noticed that she must have used the secret
passageways.
"What
are you doing here?" he demanded quietly because he didn't want to wake up
Louise or Pascal.
"I
wanted to see you", Michelle said.
"Leave",
Louis replied.
"No,
no. I love you. I can't leave. I want to be with you."
"Michelle..."
"Why
can't I be your girlfriend?" Michelle sobbed "Why? Because I'm only a
maid?"
"Because
I don't love you", Louis said angrily, "and now leave before I get
the guards."
"No!"
"Shhh.
You're waking up my wife and son."
But
suddenly Michelle had a knife in her hand. Louis was shocked. He thought that
the maid wanted to kill him now and he moved backwards.
But instead
Michelle pointed the knife onto her own chest.
"If I
really don't mean anything to you, then I also don't want to live
anymore", she exclaimed.
"No!
Don't do this!" Louis called.
At this
moment Louise woke up. She yawned and rubbed her eyes.
"Louis,
what..."
She
interuppted, when she saw the scenario...
Michelle
looked from Louis to Louise, the knife poised ready at her heart.
"What's so special about her?" she sobbed, looking at Louise.
"Michelle," Louis said softly. "Please put the knife down."
"No!" she shouted. "Not until you admit that you love me!"
Louis's mind was racing. He did not know what to do.
The shouting had woken Pascal who began to cry loudly.
"Look what you've done!" Louise cried angrily. "You must be
crazy to come here like this in the dead of the night. They should put you in
an asylum."
And she stood to go to Pascal. As she passed Michelle turned and caught Louise,
positioning the knife on her throat.
"No!" Louis cried, his voice filled with anguish. "Leave
her!"
"She's not right for you Louis," Michelle said. "Now admit it,
or I will cut her throat."
Louis moved towards his wife.
"Stop!" Michelle called. "Or I'll kill her!"
Louis stopped. Louise looked terrified.
"Michelle," he said calmly. "You don't this. Let Louise go and
we'll talk."
"Tell me you love me, not her!"
Louis was certain her had no choice.
"I..I love you," he lied. "Now let her go, for me."
Michelle's eyes were wide with joy.
Louis waited...
(OMG! This
girl is totally mad!)
"I
knew you love me", Michelle said, "you were just afraid to admit it
because of her."
"Please,
let her go now", Louis demanded.
"She
is holding you captive, Louis", Michelle replied, "you are not able
to show your real feelings and we can't be happy together as long as she
lives."
Louis
became pale. Michelle was mad. She was a psychopath. He shuddered, but he also
knew that it was his fault. He had only made the girl a psychopath.
"Michelle",
he said softly, "that's not you. I know you are actually a nice girl.
Please let her go."
"No!"
Michelle exclaimed "You've just said that you love me. So you don't need
her. You need me!"
"Louis,
please help me", Louise sobbed.
"Shut
up, you witch!" Michelle squealed "you have already prevented our
luck too long!"
Louise
trembled, Pascal was crying loudly and Louis was desperated and didn't know
what to do. It was a real chaos.
'If only
anyone would hear us and come' he thought.
Then he
tried it another way.
"Michelle,
I really love you", he lied, "but I couldn't love a murderer. Leave
her alone, please."
"Only,
if you promise me that you will get divorced from her and that you will send
her away from the palace", Michelle replied.
That was
too much. Louis could see the anger in his wife's eyes and also he was angry about
so much impudence. Now he lost all compassion which he maybe had had for
Michelle. He resorted to a trick.
"Okay,
I promise you", he said and moved forward, "I will get divorced from
her and send her away. Then we both will be happy together."
"Oh Louis,
I love you", Michelle exclaimed happily.
And she
released Louise.
"Please,
give me the knife now", Louis said, "this is nothing for delicate
hands."
Michelle
nodded and gave Louis the knife. But as soon as he hold the knife in his hand,
his glance changed. Michelle got a fright.
"You
won't touch my wife again, you psychopath!" Louis called.
And with
this he stabbed the maid with the knife. For a moment Michelle looked
astonished at the knife in her chest. Then she fell to the ground. She was dead.
Louise
shrieked.
"Louis,
what have you done?!" she exclaimed.
"She
was mad and a danger for us", Louis replied.
"But
you have killed her. Oh my god! She should have been arrested, but not been
killed..."
"If we
had sent her to prison, then an endless discussion would have started if we
should give her a pardon or not", Louis replied, "my twin would get
on our nerves the whole time to give her a pardon... No, it is better so."
"But
she was upset."
"Louise,
she wanted to kill you. Have you already forgotten this?"
"No
and I'm still shocked", Louise replied, "but I'm even more shocked
about what you have done."
Louis
looked down at Michelle. Suddenly he remembered the young Yves. He had once
stabbed this boy, too. And he had lyed infront of his exactly the same way like
Michelle was no lying in front of him. Louis shivered with himself...
Just then
the guards burst into the room, D'Artagnan with them, swords drawn.
D'Artagnan stopped when he saw the body.
"W..What happened?" he asked. "Are you alright?"
"She was going to kill Louise," Louis managed to say. "I stabbed
her in the struggle."
D'Artagnan put his arm around his daughter in law.
"Come...lets get you and Pascal next door," he said.
He turned to two of his men.
"Take her next door and rouse her maids to assist her. The shock could be
bad for the child otherwise."
The men nodded and helped Louise and carried Pascal to the door.
Once they were gone, D'Artagnan went to the body.
"Louis, son," he said, "She's dead."
"I...I know, Father," Louis replied.
"I'll send someone to inform the King. But come Louis, sit down, you look
terrible."
"This is my fault," Louis said shaking his head.
"You were protecting your family, son."
*******************************************************************************
At roughly the same time this was occuring, the Dutch camp was in disarray as
they realised their King was missing.
Francois was summoned from his bed along with the generals.
"When was he last seen?" on of the Captains asked.
"About an hour ago, when he received the return party from the Arabian
mission."
"And where are they? Send for them, question them!" Francois put in.
"We can't, Your Highness. They...they left again on another mission,
straight away. The patrol said they carried a coffer with them."
"A coffer? Was it searched?" the Capatian asked, looking somewhat
alarmed.
"No, they did not search it."
"You don't think..." Francois began. "Damn Philippe!"
"What will we do?"
"I don't think we have a choice. If the French really have taken the King,
then we must march full force to
"All those in favour?"
Every hand was raised.
The Captain
looked at Francois and the boy nodded.
"Alright",
the captain said to the others then, "prepare everything. We will march in
half an hour."
_____________________________________________________________________________
Philippe
(the king) was informed by a musketeer about what had happened at Louis' and
Louises bedroom. He was shocked by the news.
"Oh my
God. Are they alright?" he exclaimed.
"Yes,
Sire", the musketeer replied, "but the maid is dead. The prince
stabbed her."
Philippe
sighed.
"I
can't blame him for it", he said, "but this is also typical for
Louis. Sometimes his temper makes us all worry."
Then he
stood up and left the room. He wanted to see Louis now.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Louis was still
pale and D'Artagnan tried to appease him.
"Louise
is right. I shouldn't have killed the girl", Louis said, "I have
overacted."
"She
wanted to kill your wife, son", D'Artagnan replied, "I can understand
your act."
"Yes,
but... this is not the first time that I have overacted. I began to be afraid
of myself. Who knows what I will do next."
"Shhh...
There's no need for you to blame yourself, Louis", his father replied,
"I think many people would have reacted the same way."
Louis
sighed.
At this moment
the door opened and the king entered.
"Louis,
I have heard the news", he said.
"Will
you punish me now?" Louis asked sorrowfully.
"Punish?
Why?"
"Because
I have killed the girl..."
"Are
you kidding, Louis? She wanted to murder Louise. It was your right to kill her.
Otherwise I would have judged her to death."
Louis
smiled, but he didn't feel very better.
"You
are right", he replied, "the problem is that it wasn't actually
self-defence anymore. She had already given me her knife. She was unarmed. I
have just cracked up."
"I
see", Philippe moaned, "I will find out who the parents of the girl
are. Maybe you should speak with them and try to comfort them, Louis."
"And
if they want revange?"
"Of
course you will not go alone but with an escort", the king replied,
"but you should really speak with them. Believe me, it will be
better."
Louis just
nodded.
Just at
this moment a servant entered.
"Excuse
me, your Majesty", he said, "but Prince Ahmed has come back. He
Philippe
nodded.
"Can't it wait til the morning?" he asked.
The man bowed.
"With respect Sire, Prince Ahmed told me you would want this gift
immediately."
Philippe sighed.
"Very well," he said. "Louis, you and Louise should take one of
the guest rooms for tonight. D'Artagnan would you please inform the girls
family and ensure they have enough for an honourable burial. I will speak to
you both in the morning."
"Thank's Sire," Louis said in a heartfelt voice.
Philippe nodded and left the room.
*****************************************************************************
When he returned to his study Ahmed was already there waiting for him. Philippe
yawned and went inside.
"It's good to see you," he told the Prince. "Any news of your
family?"
Ahmed smiled.
"Their fine," he said. "There was a shipwreck at sea, thanks to
one of your spies. Only one of the Dutch troops survived. This is he."
He beckonned to the young Frans, who bowed to the King.
"Is he your prisoner then?"
"Sire, he has been most helpful. I would like to ask that you pardon him,
but for now I have more exciting news."
"Oh?"
Ahmed went to the door.
"Bring him in!" he called.
The door opened and two of Ahmed's men led King William into the room.
Philippe could not believe his eyes.
"How!!??" was all he could manage.
Ahmed smiled.
"We
managed to capture him with a trick. Frans was a great help."
"You
are a genius", Philippe exclaimed.
He turned
to William.
"Finally
I meet you", he said, "So you are the man who had incited my brother
against me..."
"No",
William replied, "It was yourself who had incited him against you. I can't
stand this little Catholic bastard, but at one point he is right. Your conversion
is a scandal."
Philippe
shrugged.
"Louis
has accepted it now and as for you, you will pay now for everything."
"You
won't dare to harm me", the Dutchman replied, "I'm a king. If you
kill me, it will cause a crisis in
"I
didn't say that I will kill you", the king replied, "I just want a
part of your country, you have to destroy your fleet except for a few ships and
of course I want ransom for you. But first your army has to leave
William
snorted with rage.
"Forget
it!" he exclaimed "I won't humiliate myself before you."
"You
are my prisoner. I think you have no choice."
"I
won't submit. My men will come and free me."
"Well",
Philippe replied, "I can wait. In the meantime our dungeons will be a good
accommodation for you."
The king
looked at Ahmed.
"Bring
him to the Bastille. And I want that two of your own men will guard him there.
I will write a note for the governor there."
"As
you want, Sire", Ahmed replied, "Ali and Mustafa can guard him at the
Bastille. They are very reliable."
"Good."
Philippe
went to his desk and quickly wrote a note for the governor of the Bastille.
Then he gave the note to Ahmed.
"Give
this note to the governor and he will do everything what you say."
"Allright",
Ahmed replied, "Do you want me to leave immediately?"
"Yes,
please. But take an escort with you. I don't want him to run away on the way to
the Bastille."
Ahmed
nodded.
He gave his
men a signal and they left left the room together with the Dutch king, who
cursed loudly.
Frans also
wanted to leave now, but the king called him back.
"No.
You stay", he said.
Frans
obeyed. He was afraid to look at the king, so he lowered his head.
"Look
at me", Philippe demanded.
Frans
raised his head. Philippe could see the fear in his eyes.
"You
don't have to be afraid", he said, "I give you a pardon. Tell me, how
can I reward you? Do you want money? Or a title? Maybe an estate?"
Frans
considered. The king's offer was very tempting and he really began to like this
king. On the other hand, he suddenly became aware, that he was alone with the
king now. A king, who actually was his enemy...
He had to
consider his options quickly. On one hand, if he were to kill this King could he
be certain that he would escape to see his family. On the other, he found it
diificult to think of himself as a traitor to his homeland.
"Well?" Philippe asked. "There must be something you want,
Monsieur. Come, please tell me what it is?"
Frans drew a sigh and drew his sword.
"I want to be a hero among my people," he said raising the weapon
higher, so it was positioned by the young King's throat.
Philippe froze.
"Monsieur," he managed to say. "You must be crazy. There's no
way you could get away with such an action. Put down the sword."
"No," Frans replied. "I will not be a traitor!"
"You already are," Philippe replied. "Do you really think that
your people will accept you back after what you have done?"
"They will, if I return to them, having murdered the hethan King of
France."
And he pushed his sword further forward. "Now shut up!"
Philippe was really scared now. He knew that if he screamed then the soldier
would kill him instantly, and he knew that his own sword was hung above the fireplace
where he could not reach it. But then a thought struck him. D'Artagnan had
insisted that he have a loaded musket conceeled under his desk.
It was a long shot, but if he could just keep Frans talking long enough, he
could get a chance to reach it...
"Don't
be a fool", he said while he slowly moved towards the desk, "if you
kill me, my men will kill your king."
"I
will free him", Frans exclaimed.
"Alone?
You are kidding."
Frans bit
his lips.
"Then
I will use you as a hostage and only release you, when they have released my
king", he replied.
"You
have no chance", Philippe replied, "my musketeers and soldiers are
everywhere. You won't be able to escape with me."
Frans saw
that the king was right.
"Then
I will kill you", he exclaimed, "I don't care about the
consequences."
But at this
moment Philippe had reached the desk. Suddenly he took the pistol and pointed
it onto Frans' heart. Frans flinched.
"Drop
your sword", he demanded.
"No!"
Frans exclaimed.
And they
threated eachother with their weapons. The question was only who would be more
quickly.
"I
warn you", the king said, "if you don't drop your sword in 5 seconds,
I will shoot you."
Frans
didn't move.
"One...
two...", Philippe began to count.
But suddenly
Frans stabbed. Philippe screamed and shot. Frans fell to the ground.
Philippe
looked down at himself. The sword was sticking right below his left clavicle
and the point protruded out from his back. He moaned in terror. Then he took
the sword and tried to pull it out. But that wasn't so easy. He screamed
because the pain was overwhelming.
Finally he
managed it. His shirt was covered with blood and he felt how he lost his
strength. He had to get help quickly.
Philippe
went to the door and left the room. He hadn't looked if Frans was dead or still
alive. He really had other problems at the moment.
_______________________________________________________________________________
D'Artagnan
was coming along the corridor when he saw the king coming towards him. When the
king came closer, D'Artagnan saw his bloody shirt and that he was bad wounded.
"Oh my
God! Your Majesty!" he gasped.
"Get a
doctor, quickly", the king moaned, "and go to my room. There's a
Dutchman. See if he is still alive and if yes, arrest him."
D'Artagnan
supported the king.
"I...
I don't understand", he stammered, "I will bring you to your room and
get a doctor."
"No,
not to my room. The Dutchman is still there. Take me to another one..."
And with this
Philippe lost consciousness...
"Help!"
D'Artagnan called out, along the empty corridor, as he cradled the King in his
arms.
It seemed like forever before the night patrol rushed around the corner.
"Go for a doctor!" D'Artagnan ordered one of the men.
"Quick!"
Then together, D'Artagnan and the other soldier lifted Philippe who lay limp.
"We have to get him help quickly," D'Artagnan said gravely."He's
losing a lot of blood."
The nearest rooms were those belonging to Philippe and Claudine and D'Artagnan
knew that there was no other choice but to bring the young man there as he was
too weak to be moved much further.
"In here," he commanded, as they opened the door and entered his
son's sitting room. The Princes page stood up hurriedly.
"Is..is that the King?" he stammered.
"Go quickly and wake up His highess," D'Artagnan said.
The boy nodded and ran off toward the bedroom, while the musketeers laid the
King out on the couch. D'Artagnan ripped open the King's shirt, his hands being
stanined scarlet by Philippe's blood. His heart began to beat more quickly. It
was clear that the situation was grave.
"where is that doctor!" he said desperately, and pressed the wound to
try to stop the blood flow.
Just then Philippe entered the room, half asleep.
"What happened?" he asked as he spied his brother.
"I'm not sure..." D'Artagnan replied. "He's been stabbed. He
said something about a Dutch man but I...I don't know."
The Prince ran to his father's side.
"Oh my God!" he said. "That's bad, isn't it? What can I
do?"
"Go and get all the help you can. If Philippe is right, then the man who
did this him might still be loose in the Palace."
Philippe nodded, got his sword and ran from the room. As he came out, he met
the first of the Royal doctors.
"In there!" he said, beckonning with his hand. "Quickly!"
Once they went inside, he headed off in the direction of the King's room...
Frans
opened his eyes and saw the ceiling above him. He felt a bad pain in his right
shoulder where the bullet had hit him, but it could have been worse.
He saw his
sword lying next to him on the ground. He took it and stood up.
Now he had
to think about what to do. The king wasn't at the room anymore. So he must be
still alive, at least he had managed to leave the room. Frans was quite
dissapointed about this, but at least the king must be bad wounded.
Frans began
to get dizzy. Obviously the wound at his shoulder took it out of him more than
he had thought. He had to escape before the guards would arrive.
But just
then the door opened and Philippe (the twin) stormed in, his sword in his right
had. Two musketeers followed him.
Frans
brandished his sword.
"Don't
get closer!" he cried.
_______________________________________________________________________________
The doctors
were treating the king's wound.
"How
is he? Will he survive?" D'Artagnan exclaimed.
"We do
our best", the first doctor replied, "but I can't guaratee
anything."
"What
does this mean?"
"It means
that he could survive, but also that he could die..."
"Oh my
God!" D'Artagnan choked out.
"I
think you better should get a priest, only as a precaution."
"But
he is no Catholic anymore", D'Artagnan replied, "that's so sad. Now
he even can't get the last rites."
D'Artagnan
sobbed quietly.
"Hey,
maybe he won't die", the doctor tried to comfort him, "but you should
inform his mother and Prince Louis."
"Yes,
I will do that", D'Artagnan replied and stood up.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Ahmed, Ali
and Mustafa arrived with their prisoner at the Bastille. The governor was more
than surprised when he saw the king of the
"Mon
Dieu!" he exclaimed "The Dutch king!"
"We
have managed to capture him as you can see", Ahmed said, "I have
order from the king to put him up here."
"So
follow me, please", the governor replied.
He lead
them into the Bastille and to one of the cells. He opened the door.
"Get
in" Ahmed said to the king.
"You will
regret this", William hissed. Then he went into the cell because he had no
choice.
The
governor closed the door behind him again and locked him up.
"Well
done", Ahmed said, "now the king wants that Ali and Mustafa here will
guard him."
And he gave
the note to the governor. The soldier read it and nodded.
"Alright",
he said.
Ahmed
looked at his two friends.
"Don't
dissapoint me", he said.
_______________________________________________________________________________
At the
meantime the Dutch army was on their way to
Philippe
looked with a lot of hate at the Dutch man.
"Put down your sword," he commanded.
"No!" Frans replied. "I don't have to do as you command. You're
nothing but the bastard of a soldier."
"Monsieur," Philippe replied. "I would recommend that you put
down your weapon now, as although I am a patient man, I can guarantee that you
will not escape this room alive, unless you surrender."
"Surrender? Pah!" Frans replied. "Why would I do that? So you
can have me killed on the scaffold?"
Philippe swallowed hard.
"I think you have pretty much determined your own fate Monsieur when you
stabbed a King."
"Is he dead?"
Philippe had to shrug.
"I don't know," he said.
"If is is, then Francois will be the King!"
Philippe bit his lip.
"Whatever happens to the King, the fact remains that you will never leave
here alive. But your family could be provided for...do you have children,
Monsieur?"
Frans looked at the Prince.
"I have two boys and a girl," he replied.
"And your wife? Surely you would want them to be safe?"
Frans shook his head.
"No, it's a trap isn't it? You just want you to tell me where my wife and
children are so you can have them murdered."
Philippe shook his head.
"I'm trying to help," he said. "You have my word that your
family will not be harmed if you surrender now."
Frans considered for a moment....
"But
if I surrender, I will end up on the scaffold", he exclaimed, "so you
will kill my anyway. Where's the difference?"
"Well,
if you surrender, you will have at least a little chance to get a pardon",
Philippe replied.
"That's
absurd! I will never get a pardon and you know that. And if I really have to
die, then I want at least die in a fight!"
Frans
raised his sword.
"Think
about your family...", Philippe warned him.
"I
have a brother. He will look after them", Frans replied, "I don't
fear the death. I will die as a hero of my people!!"
And he
stormed forward.
Philippe didn't
want to risk a fight and got out of the way. Instead the two musketeers
attacked Frans. It was a short and intensive fight. Then one of the musketeers
hit Frans at his right wrist so that he had to drop his sword. The other
musketeer hit him at the site and Frans fell to the ground.
The
musketeers wanted to give him the rest, but Philippe interuppted them.
"No",
he said, "arrest him and bring him to the Bastille. He will get his
penalty later."
"Yes,
your Highness."
The
musketeers fettered Frans.
"Come
on, traitor", they said.
Frans
moaned in pain.
"And
get a doctor for him", Philippe said before he left the room.
_______________________________________________________________________________
The doctors
were still looking after the king, when the door opened and two of the advisors
entered.
"We
have heard the news", the first one said, "it's terrible."
"We do
our best, but I already said to the Captain that I can't guarantee
anything", the doctor replied sadly.
"Then
we must maybe thing about the possible consequences, if he dies", the
advisor replied.
"That's
not the right moment", the doctor protested.
"But
we must know who will become king then."
At this
moment D'Artagnan came back with Anne and Louis. Anne ran to her son
immediately.
"Oh
Philippe", she sobbed, "Who has done this to you? Please, don't die.
You can't die."
D'Artagnan
pulled her back.
"We must let the doctors to it Anne," he said. "Come, let us go
to the other room."
Louis looked at the advisor.
"You are right, Claude," he said. "We should discuss the
sucession."
D'Artagnan looked at Louis.
"It will wait," he said. "No-one outside this room should know
anything about this until they need to, which I pray God they won't."
"But with the Dutch, someone should be in charge. Afterall, anything could
happen."
"Claude is first minister and we are all members of the war council. That
will be enough for now."
Louis sighed. He realised his father was right. It wasn't just about politics,
his brother was fighting for his life.
He nodded.
D'Artagnan helped Anne next door to where Claudine waited.
"How is he?" the Princess asked.
"We're not sure," D'Artagnan said. "But I would like you to stay
with Anne and comfort her."
"Of course," Claudine said. "Where's Philippe?"
"He'll be back soon, my dear. Don't worry."
Claudine nodded and helped Anne to the sofa.
D'Artagnan and Louis went back into the other room.
Just then a soldier entered.
"Captain!" he said breathlessly. He stopped when he saw the King.
"What!!??"
"What is your news that you must come so quickly?"
"Ummm...The Dutch on on the move. They are just four hours from
Paris."
"All of them?" Louis asked.
"Yes," the soldier replied.
Louis looked at his father.
"I think we need to call the war council now," he said.
D'Artagnan
nodded.
"Yes.
I will arrange that", he replied.
"And
hurry up."
_______________________________________________________________________________
15 minutes later
the war council was gathered. They had chosen D'Artagnan's study for their
meeting. The ministers were there, the advisors, the officers, D'Artagnan,
Louis and Philippe who had been informed about the news in the meantime.
Louis
spoke.
"Alright,
Messieurs. The king is ill and not able to give orders at the moment. So I will
stand in for him in the meantime. Does everyone agree?"
The others
nodded, also if some of them didn't like it how Louis had just attracted the
power. But this wasn't the right moment to argue about such things.
"Good",
Louis said, "now the Dutch are coming to
"We
must gather our troops and and resist them", one minister replied.
"Of
course we have to do that", Louis replied irritatedly, "that's
natural. I'm talking about a concrete battle plan."
One of the
officers spoke.
"I
think the majority of our army should come to meet the Dutch army. But some
units should curve round the enemy and then stabbed them in the back, when the
battle starts. The Dutch must not notice these units before."
"That's
a good plan", Louis replied, "I think our arabian allies can take
this task... By the way, where is Ahmed. As the leader of our allies he should
be here, but I don't see him."
"Maybe
he just deals with an order from the king and isn't able to join this meeting
at the moment", D'Artagnan replied.
Now Louis
remembered that the servant had said something about Ahmed having a gift for
the king. He nodded.
"Yes,
that's possible", he replied, "but I really need him now. If anyone
meets him, inform him that I want to see him immediately."
But just at
this moment the door opened and Ahmed entered. Louis looked surprised and
lightened.
"Sorry,
Messieurs", Ahmed said, "I had to carry out an order of the king. So
I have only come back now. A servant told me that the war council meets
here."
"Yes",
D'Artagnan replied, "the Dutch army is on their way to
"So
obviously they want their king back", Ahmed replied.
"What
are you talking about?" Louis demanded.
"Don't
you already know this? I have managed to capture king William from the
Louis and
everyone else gasped.
"So
this was the 'gift' whicht this servant had talked about", Louis finally
said.
"Yes",
Ahmed replied, "Hasn't the king informed you in the meantime? And by the
way, where is he?"
Louis
sighed.
"Well,
that's the problem. The king has been stabbed by an assassin. The doctors don't
know if he will survive."
"Yes,
it was a Dutch soldier. We have no idea how he came into the palace",
Philippe added.
Ahmed
became completly pale now.
"Oh my
God! Frans!" he exclaimed.
"What?"
Louis demanded.
"This
soldier, his name is Frans. It is a long story, but he helped me to capture the
Dutch king and as a counter I spared his life recommended him to the king. My
God, I should have never let him alone with the king."
"There
you hear it!" an officer cried "he has brought this assassin to the
palace! He is his accomplice! He is a traitor!"
"No,
no. You have misunderstood it", Ahmed protested.
But the
crowd shouted: "Traitor!
Traitor!" ...
And they
gathered around Ahmed.
Philippe stood up.
"Leave him alone!" he cried, stepping infront of the Arab Prince.
"Without this man our King would be a slave in a far distant land and you
would now be ruled by Francois or worse - the Dutch. He's no traitor."
"But he has admitted that he brought the Dutch man here. He is responsible
for what has happened."
"That may be true," Philippe said. "But you will not harm him.
Only the King will decide what is to be done with him."
"But the King could be dead soon!" someone called.
"How dare you speak like that!" D'Artagnan said. "The King needs
our prayers not such comments."
He looked at Louis.
"It's up to you son," he said quietly. "Call them off Ahmed.
There's no way that he meant for this to happen."
Louis stood up.
"Your Highness," Claude said. "Say we must punish the Arab
traitor."
Louis scanned the room, searching to see what the right thing to do was.
"Louis, tell them that Ahmed is our friend," Philippe pleaded.
Louis could not decide which would be best...
He didn't
believe that Ahmed had anything to do with the attempt on the king's life. That
was absurd. But the crowd was furious and he didn't know how they would react,
if he would take Ahmed's side.
Finally he
spoke.
"I
don't think that our friend Ahmed is a traitor", he said, "afterall
he has captured the Dutch king for us. That's a great succes. And why would he
have done this for us, if he would be a traitor, eh?"
"Maybe
he just wants to liquidate everyone who is in his way", someone replied,
"and this would include the Dutch king, too... Yes! He wants the power. He
wants to make
"I
have never heard something more stupid!" Philippe called angrily.
"But
it's true, your Highness. Look, it was Ahmed who has got the king to convert to
Islam. Now everything makes sense. He only wanted to make the king his
marionette."
"Well,
well", Louis replied, "on the one hand he wanted to make the king his
marionette and on the other hand he has brought an assassin to the palace to
kill him. You contradict yourself. Will you finally make a decision!"
"Maybe
the king has found out the truth now and this was the reason, why this traitor
has decided to kill him. He was no longer useful for him", the man
replied.
"Your
Highness, I swear I'm not a traitor", Ahmed said.
"Your
Highness", Claude said, "you were always against the king's
conversion and you were right. The king was only the marionette of this Arab
and now he has become his victim. Please take the consequences now, your
Highness."
"Ha!",
Louis exclaimed, "just a few weeks ago I was a traitor for you. And now
you tell me that I was right the whole time?! You all are so ridiculous. Ahmed
is our friend. And I won't dare to harm him."
"Thankyou,
your Highness", Ahmed replied.
"But
your Highness..."
"Shut
up! Go and prepare everything for the battle now. We have no time to argue...
Idiots!"
The crowd
cursed loudly, but they did as Louis has said and left the room. Philippe,
D'Artagnan and Ahmed also wanted to leave but Louis called them back.
"No",
he said softly, "please stay."
The three
men turned.
"Ahmed",
Louis said, "I fear that I haven't manage to convince the others that you
are innocent. Please be carriful. Maybe some of them will get up
mischief..."
"I
know what you mean", Ahmed replied, "I will be carriful."
"Louis
is right," D'Artagnan said. "I will send some of my men to guard you
tonight."
Ahmed shook his head.
"That won't be necessary," he replied. "My personal bodyguards
will be sufficient."
"Yes, but the musketeers will be more of a deterrant to a French
man."
"It will be fine, my friend," Ahmed replied. "I sense I will not
sleep tonight anyway with worry over the young King. Anyway, I'd better go and
get my generals briefed."
The Princes and D'Artagnan watched him leave.
"We should check on Philippe," Philippe said quietly, after the Arab
had gone.
D'Artagnan touched his son lightly on the arm.
"The doctors will inform with any news, son," he said. "For now
we should not disturb them. This time will be critical."
Louis looked at the Captain.
"Father," he said. "I want you to be honest with me. Do you
think...I mean..."
He could not get out the words.
D'Artagnan looked grave.
"I'm going to be honest with you," he said. "All of you. And say
that in my experience of such injury, there's only a fifty percent chance. But
you must not tell this to your mother."
Louis managed to nod.
Philippe shook his head.
"I don't want to go with the troops. I want to stay here and be with
Philippe and Mother."
D'Artagnan nodded.
"Of course," he said. "I was going to suggest it. One of you
should stay."
Louis nodded.
"Then I will go and tell Louise the news. I know she will not want me to
either after...what happened."
The image of the dead maid flashed infront of his eyes. What with everything
with the King he had almost blocked it out. But now it was back, vivid and aweful.
"What happened?" Philippe asked. "Is Louise
alright?"
"She
is alright", Louis replied, "but..."
"But
what?"
Louis
swallowed.
"The
maid Michelle has come into our bedroom this night", he said, "she
was so mad because I didn't love her."
"And
what happened then?", Philippe asked curiously.
"She
has threated Louise with a knife. She wanted to kill her."
"Oh my
God", Philippe gasped.
"Louise
is alright", Louis replied, "but the maid... she is dead. I've killed
her, with her own knife."
Philippe
kept quiet. The news shocked and confused him and he didn't know what to think.
"But...
it was self-defence... Right?" he finally stammered.
Louis
lowered his head.
"No,
it wasn't", he replied, "I have just lost control of myself again. I had
already convinced the maid to give me the knife. She was unarmed. But I was so
angry and then I've killed her."
Louis shook
his head.
"I
always make the same mistakes", he moaned, "I'm really a danger for
my fellow men."
"No,
you are not, son", D'Artagnan replied, "Don't say such things."
"But
this was not the first time when I have lost control of myself", Louis
replied, "you know that. And I'm afraid that sometime I will do something
what I will regret for the rest of my life. I'm afraid that I could hurt my
family sometime."
"Don't
tell nonsense, Louis", D'Artagnan replied, "this will never
happen."
Just at
this moment one of the doctors came into the room.
"Your
Highness, the king has woke up", he said, "and he wants to see you
both."
"How
is he?", Philippe exclaimed.
"Well,
we still can't say if he will survive", the doctor replied, "now
please come with me. I think it is urgent."
_______________________________________________________________________________
When they
entered the bedroom, they saw the young king in the bed. He was pale and very
weak, but he had opened his eyes. Marie was with him now.
"Louis,
Philippe... nice to see you", he said weakly.
"How
are you?" Philippe asked.
"I don't
know. I don't feel very good... I wanted to speak with you both because, it
could happen that I will die..."
"No,
no!", Philippe exclaimed, "You won't die. Never."
"Shhh.
I wanted to clear up something. Philippe, if I die, then I want you to become
king and rule
"What?!"
Louis exclaimed
"I
don't know if I will manage that", Philippe sobbed.
"I'm
sure you will", the young king replied, "please promise me, that you
will become king, if I die."
"I
promise you", Philippe said quietly.
"Oh
no. Wait a minute", Louis exclaimed, "What is with me? Why should he
become king and not I? I was king before you. So I should get the throne, if
you die."
"Please
don't take it personally, Louis", the king replied, "but I think that
Philippe is more suitable. He is calmer than you."
"That's
outrageously!" Louis scolded.
Philippe
looked at his twin.
"Louis!" he exclaimed. "This is not the time to be thinking of
yourself."
"Well you would say that," Louis replied. "He's chosen you,
hasn't he?"
"And you're talking like you wish he was dead already!" Philippe
replied. "I pray to God that I will never have to do this. I think you
should do the same."
"Oh so now you think I want the throne bad enough to wish my brother dead!
I think you both forget that it was me who chose to abdicate the throne."
"Louis..." The King began, before he seemed to be seized with a
terrible pain.
"Philippe!" Marie exclaimed, beginnning to sob.
Philippe ran to the door and flung it open.
"Come quickly!" he told the doctors. "Something is wrong!"
The doctors came running in and surrounded the bed.
Louis and Philippe watched them work, listening to Philippe's cries and moans.
Suddenly everything went quiet.
"What is it?" Louis managed to say, with terror.
"The King is in a coma," the head doctor exclaimed.
"What does that mean?" Marie sobbed.
"It means that he's gone into a very deep sleep."
"Sleep? Does that mean that he'll be alright?"
"Sometimes people wake from these sleeps. Sometimes they never do. And I'm
afraid there is nothing we can do for him now, except hope."
Marie began to sob. Philippe went to her to comfort her, while Louis left the
room.
"How
can he talk like this?!" Marie sobbed, when Louis had left the room.
Philippe wanted
to answer, but he didn't knew what to say. Louis' behaviour had really confused
him.
"I
don't know", he said, "Louis is a bit..."
"He is
a power-thirsty monster!" Marie exclaimed.
"Don't
say this", Philippe protested angrily.
"But
you have heard him. He will never accept you as the king of
Philippe
shook his head.
"Marie,
Louis is my brother, not our enemy. And Philippe will survive."
"You
don't know if he will survive", Marie sobbed, "And as for Louis, how
do you want to know, what he will do with you, if the king dies?"
Philippe
swallowed. He knew what Marie wanted to say. Now he remembered the prison and
the mask... But that was impossible.
"No",
he exclaimed, "Louis will never harm me again. He loves me."
But Marie
didn't look very convinced.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Louis went
to his room, where his wife was waiting for him. Louise was happy to see him.
"Oh
Louis, it's good that you have come back. I can't forget the dead maid."
"It
was a tragedy", Louis replied, "but now we have other problems."
"What
kind of problems?"
"First,
the Dutch army is on their way to
"Oh my
God!" Louise sobbed.
"Yes,
but before he had asked Philippe to become his successor, if he dies",
Louis exclaimed, "Do you understand? He asked Philippe, not me."
"And?"
"I
deserve the throne!"
Louise was
shocked.
"Louis,
you can't be serious! I pray that the king will survive. But if he really dies,
then you have to be loyal to Philippe."
"I had
allowed Philippe to be free. I had given my little brother the throne. I have
done everything for my family! And now I must allow them to kick me out?
Never!"
Louise
looked at her husband.
"What exactly are you saying Louis? That you intend to fight your twin for
the throne?"
Louis bit his lip.
"If that's what it takes," he said stubbornly.
"You're serious?" Louise asked. "You would really risk your
life, my life and those of our children, just so you can get your own
way."
"And don't you think we'd be in danger anyway, even were I to do nothing.
Philippe will not trust me to remain quiet, of that I'm sure."
"Philippe would not harm you or us," Louise replied. "You're
talking foolish."
"Oh am I? I forgot that you consider my twin to be such a saint. Perhaps
you now think you married the wrong one!"
"How can you say such a thing, Louis? You know I love you - that I could
never love anyone else. But you're a fool if you really believe that Philippe
will harm you."
"Maybe I am. But I won't take the risk."
"So what are you going to do?"
"No-one witnessed the King's little speech to Philippe except me and
Marie. So if I can make it so there are no witnesses then it will just be my
word against Philippe's should the worst happen."
"You want to harm Marie? I won't let you do that Louis."
"Not harm her, no," Louis replied. "Just get her out of the way
until things are settled one way or another."
"Kidnap her?"
"I was thinking more along the lines of a little gentle persuasion to
leave the Palace. And I believe I know how to do it."
"How?"
"The Spanish Princess would undoubtly consider the removal of her rival an
unexpected blessing. As would the King. And with Philippe as he is, it is the
perfect opportunity, don't you think?"
Louise shook her head.
******************************************************************************
Philippe's head was spinning as he left the King's room.
His brothers words had been so unexpected that he stuggled to comprehend what
such a major responsibilty would mean if the worst was to happen. He just had
to get some advice, so he headed to find his Father, in the midst of battle
preparations.
D'Artagnan
was happy to see his son, but when he saw the young man's glance, he knew
immediately that something was wrong.
"Philippe",
he said, "why are you looking so worried? Is it because of the king?"
"Yes...
that, too. But now I also have a new problem", Philippe replied.
"Oh
no", D'Artagnan moaned, "we really can't need any other problems at
the moment. Speak son. What is it?"
"The
king has asked me to become his successor if he dies", Philippe explained,
"but Louis isn't very happy about it. Infact he has reacted very
angrily."
"What
did he say?"
Philippe
swallowed.
"He
said that he deserves the throne", he replied quietly.
D'Artagnan
shook his head.
"This
is not good", he said, "This is absolutely not good."
"Please
father, I don't know what to do now. I need an advice. I'm afraid that Louis
could become my enemy, if the king dies."
"You
must speak with Louis", D'Artagnan replied, "that's the only
possibility."
"I
fear that he won't listen to me."
"We
can speak together with him. Afterall it would be a personal tragedy for me
too, if my sons would become enemies. Because I would not know which one I
should support."
_______________________________________________________________________________
Louis
received the officers at this room where they shew him the final plans for the
battle.
"Alright,
this is good", he said when he looked at the map.
"Then we
will use these plans?", the first officer asked.
Louis
nodded.
"Yes.
Now go and fight. May God bless you."
"Won't
you come with us, your Highness?"
"No.
I'll stay at the palace."
The
officers bowed and left the room. Louis just wanted to go back to his wife,
when a servant entered.
"Your
Highness, the musketeers Aramis and Athos have come back from
Louis was
surprised by these news. Then he nodded.
"Let
them in."
_______________________________________________________________________________
"Goodafternoon,
your Highness", Aramis said when he saw the prince, "we have asked to
speak with the king, but they've told us, that the king is ill. What has
happened?"
"That's
a long story", Louis replied. Then he told them what had happened.
When Louis
had ended, Athos looked very worried. Aramis instead seemed to be very
interessted.
"And
what will happen if the king dies?" he asked.
"He
wants Philippe to become king then", Louis replied. Aramis could hear the
anger in his voice.
"By
the way, what has the Pope said now", Louis demanded.
"Oh he
would agree with the double wedding on one condition. But I think this can wait
now. See you later, your Highness."
"Wait.
Will you fight at the battle?"
"Of
course."
And the two
musketeers left the room.
_______________________________________________________________________________
"Louis
isn't very excited about the possibility that his twin could become king",
Aramis said to Athos.
"What
do you want to say, Aramis?" Athos demanded.
"I
think that the old feud between them could break out soon again. And we should
decide on which side we want to fight."
"Well,
I suspect that you will prefer the alliance which will be most advantageous for
you", Athos replied sarcastically.
"Well
it never will do to be on the losing side. That's why it is wise to consider
our options regardless of whether anything actually happens."
Athos shook his head.
"What's to think about?" he said. "The King has asked Philippe
to be King, so we should see to it that his wishes are carried out. Afterall,
he's a wise young man. Philippe would be a better King than Louis could ever
be."
Aramis shrugged.
"Would he?" he asked. "Louis has some qualities that endeared
the most succesful of leaders."
"What? You're talking about conquerors and tyrants aren't you?"
"Of course not."
"I think that the Roman sun has gone to your head, old friend. Either that
or you've developed a taste for the
"I can't honestly say I'd thought of that," Aramis replied coolly.
"But regardless, I'd much rather be a servant of a bad King than lying on
his executioners block."
"Well I hope any thoughts you have aren't needed. The King is young and he
will be fine."
"I hope you're right," Aramis said. "But like I said, it is
always good to consider one's options."
And with that they resummed silence as they made their way to the soldiers
barracks to prepare for the battle.
*******************************************************************************
Philippe left his father not much clearer on how he felt about the king's request.
Immediately he returned to the King's chamber only to find the King still in
the coma with no change for the better.
Anne was sitting by his bedside, along with Marie.
"Philippe," she said, with a sad smile. "Where have you
been?"
"I had to see Father," the Prince replied.
"Have
you talked with him about Louis?" Anne asked.
Philippe
nodded.
"Marie
has told me everything", Anne said sadly, "but I don't want my sons
to argue."
"Louis
has startet it", Philippe protested, "don't blame me for his
behaviour."
"I
don't blame you, Philippe. I'm just sad. We were a happy family, even if we had
some troubles. But now I fear that my sons will become enemies again. And my
youngest son is in coma... I don't know what to do."
Anne
sobbed.
"I'm
afraid, too", Philippe replied, "I'm afraid of the prison and the
mask. I would even let Louis have the throne voluntarily, if Philippe hadn't
asked me to promise him that I will be his successor."
"You
must talk with Louis", Anne said.
"I
know", Philippe replied, "father has said this, too."
_______________________________________________________________________________
Louis was
alone in his room and thinking. The army would start off soon and he was very optimistic
that they would win the battle. But what would happen after the victory? The
king was in coma. He was alive but nobody knew if he would ever wake up. And so
the question was who was the ruler of France in the meantime.
Louis was a
bit afraid of himself. Bad ideas came into his mind and he shuddered. But he
had to made a descission.
"Well,
maybe it is not always useful to be a nice guy", he finally said to
himself.
He had to
persuade Philippe somehow to fight in the battle. This would be a perfect
opportunity to make him disappear and everyone would believe that the Dutch had
killed or kidnapped him. And there were alot of remoted prisons at
Louis
shuddered.
"I'm a
monster", he thought, "... but I have to be one."
Just at
that moment there was a tap on the door. Louis jumped from his day-dream.
"...Yes, come in!" he called.
The door opened and a sheepish looking Philippe stood in the doorway.
"Can I come in?" he asked.
Louis was somewhat taken aback by seeing his twin so soon, but he managed to
nod.
"Yes...yes of course."
Philippe came inside.
"Louis," he began. "I hope you know that I was as suprised as
you were with what the King said."
Louis raised an eyebrow.
"Really?" he asked.
Philippe nodded.
"I really don't want us to fall ouot over this Louis," he said.
"But if the King wishes me to take the throne, then what can I do?"
Louis made a silent decision. He raised his head and forced a smile even though
he felt terrible deep inside.
He nodded slightly.
"I've been thinking about it and now I see Philippe was right," he
said.
His twin looked somewhat shocked.
"Really?" he asked.
"Yeah," Louis continued. "He's right. You would do a better job
than
"I don't think he meant..."
"Yes he did," Louis replied. "But honestly, I'm fine with it.
Like you say, it's not going to be an issue anyway, but even if it is, I
promise you that I'll support you any way I can."
Philippe smiled.
"Louis, you have no idea how wonderful it is to hear you say that,"
he said. "I was terrified that we would become terrible enemies or
worse."
Louis forced a laugh.
"Something like this can't come between us now," he said. "Would
you like some wine?"
Philippe nodded.
"That would be great."
Louis went to the table and poured two glasses from the jug.
"So, anyway I was just thinking about the battle," he said.
"I was too," Philippe replied. "To be honest, I'm a little
worried."
"Me too. I must admit, I'd feel much better if one of us were leading the
troop. I wish it could be me, but Louise is at such a complicated time in her
pregnancy that I fear it might make her bad, if I went. Then there is the whole
thing with the maid I need to deal with. And you of course, you want to be
there for Mother."
"Well I suppose you could be there for Mother," Philippe said.
"I suppose I would feel better overseeing things...And Father could stay
here too."
"But what about Claudine?" Louis asked. "WOn't she mind
terribly?"
Philippe sighed.
"I'm sure she'll understand," he said.
Louis shook his head.
"No...you shouldn't go, we'd all worry so. I'll go."
"But Louise..."
"I'm sure the baby will be just fine."
"You've already had one scare though haven't you. No Louis, it must be me.
I insist."
Louis sighed.
"I suppose you're right," he said, feigning reluctance. Inside his
heart was hammering. The plan was working too well...
"Don't
worry, Louis", Philippe said, "I will defeat the Dutch and come back
healthy."
"I
hope so", Louis replied. But inside he thought that his twin won't come
back.
"I
must prepare myself for the battle now", Philippe said, "so I must
leave you now."
"It's
okay. I will pray for you and our soldiers."
Philippe
nodded and left the room.
Louis took a
deep breath. That was done. Now he needed someone who would carry out the deed
for him. He needed someone who was unscrupulous and absolutely discreet and who
would do everything for money.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Louis left
the palace and rode to a special house at
Louis dismounted
from his horse and knocked at the door.
After some
minutes a man opened the door. He was very surprised to see the Prince but he
bowed.
"Your
Highness", he exclaimed, "Welcome. Please come in."
The man
knew that the Prince must have a contract for them, otherwise he wouldn't have
come to their house. And nobody of the thiefs wanted to miss such an
opportunity to earn alot of money.
Louis
entered and the thief closed the door behind him. Louis looked around himself.
There were about twelve men in the room.
"I
have a contract for you", he said.
"Please
tell us what it is, your Highness."
And Louis
told them what he wanted.
"So
you want us to let your twin dissappear", the leader said.
"Exactly",
Louis replied, "you will get uniforms and come with our army dressed as
french soldiers. Then during the battle you must find a good opportunity to
kidnapp him. Then bring him to Chateau D'If and give the governor there this
note (Louis gave the leader a letter). It
"But
what will the governor say, when he sees the Prince?" the leader said.
"He
won't recognize him", Louis replied, "Wait a moment."
And he left
the house. Some moments later he came back with the iron mask in his hands.
"Put him
in this mask", he said, "and I will make everyone believe that the
Dutch had kidnapped and later killed him."
"But
he will tell the governor and everyone that he is the Prince."
"Then
just say that he is mad."
The leader
nodded.
"And
what will we get for this?" he demanded.
Louis gave
him a bag which was filled with golden coins.
"Would
that be enough?"
The leader
grinned.
"More
than enough, your Highness. We have a deal."
"Good",
Louis replied, "now go to the palace and tell D'Artagnan that you are
volunteers. He will give you uniforms."
"Alright,
your Highness."
An hour
later the army had gathered. Philippe mounted his horse and with Andre and
Ahmed at his side he rode out infront of the men.
"Loyal soldiers of
The men gasped.
"But we have now their King captive and that is why they march to
"Long live the King!" the men chorused.
Philippe nodded and kicked his horse forward.
*******************************************************************************
It was about an hour from
"Your Highness," he said. "May I speak with you?"
"Of course," Philippe replied.
Athos smiled.
"It is good for the men that you have chosen to lead us, but I must ask
you to permit me to say that I fear you are in danger."
"Danger Monsieur? We are all in danger."
"I don't mean from the battle...It's just that if something were to happen
to the King...God forbis it of course, but if something were to happen..."
Philippe smiled.
"Monsieur," he said. "I no longer worry. I have spoken to my
brother and he has told me that he will support
"...Really?"
"Yes, really Monsieur. And I trust him."
Athos smiled and nodded, trying to look convinced.
"Of course, Your Highness," he said.
Just then one of the frontriders hurriedly galloped up to the Prince.
He pulled his horse to a halt.
"The Dutch are about two miles ahead, Your Highness!" he gasped.
Philippe nodded.
"Prepare the men!" he commanded.
A bit later
the two armies stood opposite each other.
"Give
us back our king!" the Dutch general called.
"Never!"
Philippe called back "Go home! Then you will maybe get back your
king!"
"Okay,
you had your chance! If you don't want to give us back our king, then we will
free him! Attack!!!"
And the two
armies started to move towards each other. As soon as they met, a bitter fight
started.
During the
first minutes both parties still tried to hold their lines. But soon it was a sole
chaos and bitter single combats were raging everywhere.
Philippe
was sitting on his horse and fighting against the Dutch soldiers who surrounded
him. He killed one after the other one, but there were always new enemies
coming.
Finally he
managed to make a bit space for himself. He looked around himself. What he saw
was an inferno. He couldn't say which party had the upper hand at the moment.
The battlefield was way too unclear.
Just then
Philippe saw four of his soldiers coming towards him. They pulled their horses
to a halt infront of him.
"Your
Highness", their leader said, "you have to come with us
quickly."
"Are
you crazy? The soldiers need me here. What could be more important than the
battle at the moment?"
"Your
friend Athos is bad wounded."
"Oh
no!" Philippe gasped "bring me to him."
"Please
follow us."
The four
soldiers kicked their horses and Philippe followed them. They lead him to a
place something at a distance from the battlefield. But there was no Athos.
"Where
is he?" Philippe asked.
"Well,
I think he is fighting somewhere" the leader replied.
"You
have said that he is wounded."
"Oh, I
have lyed."
Philippe
was confused.
"Why?"
"Because
we only wanted to lure you away from the battlefield. By the way, best wishes
from your brother."
The man
grinned. Now Philippe understood everything and he go pale. But before he could
say or do anything, the man had knocked him out and Philippe fall off his
horse...
Meanwhile
on the field the battle the French were beginning to gain the upper hand. The
weary Dutch finally conceeded.
"Where is Philippe!" Athos gasped. "He is the one who should
accept this from the generals."
Everyone began to look around, but there was no sign of the Prince among the
surviving officers. Athos drew a deep breath and turned to look at the field
littered with bodies and stained with blood.
A cold feeling assended him.
He beckonned with his hand.
"Go and search every inch of that field," he ordered.
"Quickly."
By now Aramis had arrived at his side. Athos looked at his old friend and shook
his head.
"How can we return to the Palace and tell D'Artagnan his son is
dead?" he said.
Aramis shook his head and just looked at the sea of dead and dying men.
Both watched as the soldiers hurried forward in search of the Prince.
*******************************************************************************
Louis was pacing up and down in his study, deep in anguish.
No matter how he tried to reason it, he could find no satifactory way to
justify his decision. He had tried to think of his family; try to imagine that
Philippe would hurt them, but he knew that this would never be true.
Part of him hated Philippe for being a better man than him; but another part of
him hated himself for such a low down act.
He sighed. There was no going back now.
*****************************************************************************
Philippe gradually began to wake up. The first thing he noticed was his
spliting headache. He shifted slightly and winced with the pain. That's when he
felt the familiar dreaded feeling of metal against his face....
He shrieked
with fright. He wanted to touch his face, but he couldn't because his hands
were fettered on his back.
"Please
be quiet boy", he heard a voice saying, "you are going to prison now.
we will arrive there soon."
Now
Philippe noticed that he was lying on the bench in a carriage. Infront of him
he saw two of the men who had speak to him on the battlefield.
"You
aren't soldiers", he said quietly.
"No.
We are thieves and your twin has given us alot of money for this."
Philippe
sat up. He couldn't believe what he heard. Louis had lured him into a trap. He
felt how hatred welled up in him.
"Where
are you taking me?" he asked.
"To
Chateau D'If. Be quiet now."
_______________________________________________________________________________
The
musketeers came back.
"We
couldn't found him. He is not here."
"That's
impossible", Aramis exclaimed, "he must be here, dead or alive."
"I
swear we have searched the whole battlefield for the Prince..."
Aramis
shook his head but Athos flinched. He had a terrible suspicion...
_______________________________________________________________________________
The
carriage stopped.
"Okay,
we have arrived", one of the men said.
They got
out and then dragged Philippe out of the carriage. They were at the coast and
Philippe could see the island with the prison in the distance.
The thieves
lead him to a boat which had already waited for them.
"Ah.
So you have him", the helmsman, who obviously belonged to them, said.
"Yes.
Everything worked perfectly."
They pushed
Philippe into the boat and sailed. Philippe was despairing.
After half
an hour they arrived at the island where they were received by some soldiers.
"Who
are you? What do you want here?" they demanded.
"The
king has sent us. We have a prisoner..."
Philippe
seized his moment.
"The King has not sent them!" he cried desperately. "They are
bandits sent by my traiter of a twin Louis!"
He was hit hard in the stomach which winded him badly.
The leader of the bandits laughed.
"He's crazy!" he said calmly. "Thinks he part of the royal
family. Here's the order."
He handed the paper to the soliders forged by Louis.
The men read it.
"Everything seems in order," one said. "Better take him to the
governor. As if we haven't got enough crazy ones aswell."
The bandits laughed.
"There's something else about him," the leader said pulling off the
hood over the Princes head.
"Jesus Christ!"
"Mon dieu!"
The soldiers were shocked by Philippe's appearance, trapped behind the mask.
"It cannot be raised," the bandit explained. "The King was quite
clear about that."
Philippe was still fighting for his breath, powerless to make any more pleas.
The soldiers now seemed a little reluctant as they took hold of Philippe and
led him into the dark prison.
"P...please!" Philippe gasped desperately.
"Shut up!" one of the soldiers said, giving him a second blow.
*******************************************************************************
Athos looked at the other officers.
"Perhaps the Dutch have double crossed us," he said. "I think
they have taken Philippe to use as randsom for their King."
"You might be right," Aramis said. "We should demand an audience
with Francois and find out his intentions."
Athos nodded and looked at Ahmed.
"I will see to that immediately," the Prince replied.
*******************************************************************************
Philippe was led into a large room with bright windows over looking the sea. A
man seated at the desk looked up.
"What is it?" he asked.
Seeing Philippe he swore under his breath and crossed himself.
"A new prisoner, Monsieur Leger," the soliders said. "By order
of the King."
"No,
no", Philippe gasped, "I am..."
One of the
soldiers hit him again.
"He
thinks that he is a member of the royal family. The men who have brought him
have already told us that he is a bit crazy."
"I'm
really a member of the royal family", Philippe protested, "I'm Prince
Philippe. Or what do you think why I'm wearing this mask? Louis has hatched a
conspiracy against me!"
The
governor scratched himself at his forehead.
"Well",
he said, "but even if you are right, do you really think that I'm so crazy
to pick an arguement with Louis? No, I won't interfere in anything."
"Please
help me", Philippe begged.
"No...
Take him away."
The
soldiers grabbed Philippe and dragged him out of the room. Philippe cried and
struggled, but they lead him down the stone steps.
"Shut
up and don't get on our nerves", one of them said.
They
stopped infront of a cell. One soldier opened the door. Then they cut the robes
which had bind Philippe's hand, pushed him into the dark cell and closed the
door behind him.
"Alright",
the first soldier said, "now I need a drink."
"Me,
too", the other one replied.
And they
went away.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Athos went to
the general of the Dutch who was guarded by two musketeers.
"We
want to speak with Francois", he said.
"You
have maybe won this battle and we have surrender", the general replied,
"but I won't betray Francois."
"We
don't want to harm him. We just have to talk with him. We can't find Prince
Philippe. You have kidnapped him and we want to know what Francois' demands
are."
The general
gasped.
"We
have what?!"
"You
don't have to dissemble..."
"I
swear we haven't kidnapped your Prince", the general said, "at least
I don't know of such an act."
"Yes?
Well it's just the kind of thing that Francois would do with or without your
knowledge. Now let us meet him."
"You think we're fools? After what your Arab friend did to the King, you
expect us to trust you?"
"I will come alone," Athos said. "No guards, no weapons."
"Athos..." Aramis interupted.
Athos turned to his friend.
"There is no other way," he said. "And I for one certainly
cannot return to the Palace with such terrible news for D'Artagnan."
"But you really think Francois will let you return to us?"
"He has Philippe," Athos replied. "He will allow me to return to
deliver the randsome demands."
Aramis nodded.
"I suppose you're right," he said.
"So you're coming are you?" the Dutch General said.
Athos nodded and unbuckled his sword, throwing it to his friend before he
kicked his horse.
******************************************************************************
Alone in the dark cell, Philippe called out desperately.
"Please!" he cried into the silence. "I am Prince Philippe. You
must help me!"
After a while his voice became hoarse and he realised no-one was listening. He
sank to the damp floor filled with desperation and anger. He had to escape. He
had too...And this time Louis would pay for his deception...
Philippe
thought about it. He had to wait untill someone would bring him food. That
would be a good opportunity to escape.
But then he
remembered that he was on an island and that he needed much luck if he wanted
to escape from there. Actually it was almost impossible. Philippe shook his
head. It was unrealistic to tackle this alone. He needed an ally, someone who
would help him.
_______________________________________________________________________________
About one
hour later the door opened and a jailer entered the cell, carrying a tray.
"Your
food", he said and placed the tray on the ground.
Philippe
looked at the jailer. He was still very young, not much older than Philippe,
maybe 17 or 18.
Philippe
spoke.
"Listen,
my friend. You must help me. I'm Prince Philippe and..."
"They
have already warned me that you would tell me something like this. And they
have said that I must ignore it. You are only mad."
"I'm
not mad", Philippe replied, "it is the truth. I'm Philippe and my
twin Louis is responsible for this. He has sent me here. It is all a great
conspiracy."
The young
jailer became uncertain.
"But..."
"What
is your name?" Philippe asked gently.
"Gerôme",
the young man replied.
"Listen,
Gerôme. I swear that I'm Prince Philippe and that everything what I say is
true. Look at me. I'm wearing this mask because Louis doesn't want anyone to
see my face because than they would notice that I'm really Prince
Philippe."
"Okay,
that sounds plausible", Gerôme replied, "but what can I do?"
"You
have to smuggle me somehow out of this prison", Philippe replied.
_______________________________________________________________________________
The general
lead Athos to the Dutch camp where Francois was waiting in his tent.
The camp
was almost empty. Just a few guards were. The rest had gone into battle.
The general
lead Athos to Francois' tent.
"Here
is it", he said. And they entered the tent.
Francois
was there together with two soldiers. He gasped, when he saw Athos.
"Isn't
this one of the king's famous musketeers?" he said to the general "Is
he your prisoner?"
"No.
He is here as a negotiator", the general replied.
Francois
first looked a bit dissapointed, but then he smiled.
"Well,
but we could make him a prisoner", he said.
"Maybe
you should first listen why I'm here and what I have to say before you make any
rash decisions", Athos said.
"Speak."
"We know
that you have the Prince and we will be willing to make an exchange for your
King provided that you show me now that Philippe is well."
Francois looked puzzled for a moment and looked at the general.
"I already told him, Your Highness, that we do not have the French
Bastard."
Francois shook his head, thinking quickly. Obviously the Prince was missing and
he hoped that he would be able to use this to his advantage.
"You're right," he said with a smile. "We do have your Prince
captive. But you cannot see him."
Athos sighed. It was as he feared.
"Is he well?"
"He's fine...for now. But unless our King is returned to us in twenty four
hours your so called Prince will be dead."
"I need orders," Athos said. "I will have to get his majesties
permission to free the King."
"I thought your King was in a coma?...Yes Monsieur I know everything that
occurs at the palace. But I'm sure Louis will want to save his twin, yes?"
"Give me the order."
Francois smiled and hastily scribled on a piece of paper.
******************************************************************************
Gerome became afraid.
"No...no I cannot do that," he stammered. "I would lose my job
and maybe worse."
"I will not let that happen," Philippe replied desperately. "As
soon as I return to
"I...No, no I cannot. It is too much of a risk for me. My family rely on
my wage since my father died."
Philippe despaired.
"Please..." he begged. "My family need me too. If you would just
agree to get a message to my mother..."
"No, I cannot!" Gerome snapped. "Now don't mention such things
again or I shall tell the governor and he shall have you whipped!"
Philippe
swallowed. He really had no desire to be whipped once more.
"I
will go now", Gerome said and went to the door.
"No,
stay. Please", Philippe begged.
"Shut
up!!!"
And Gerome
ran out of the cell and slammed the door behind himself. Philippe was alone
again.
Philippe
sobbed. He had lost every hope now. It was impossible to escape alone and if
nobody would help him, he stay at this prison for the rest of his life.
He
shuddered. Now he could only hope that his friends would somehow find out, what
Louis had done to him. But he had no idea how this could work. Louis would tell
them that he had died in the battle or so.
Philippe
felt the hatred and the despair. Then he looked at the tray with the food.
Actually he had no appetite but he had to eat something. He was maybe
desperate, but he had no desire to die.
So he took
the tray and begann to eat. It was a soup with a piece of bread and a cup of
water. It was a bit complicated to eat under the mask, but Philippe already
know how to do that.
_______________________________________________________________________________
In the
meantime at the palace Louis had received a message from the bandits.
Everything had worked well and Philippe was at the prison now. Louis was
relieved but also nervous. How should he tell Claudine and his mother the news?
It would be hard for him to see their sorrow and despair.
Just when
he was thinking, there was knock on the door.
"Come
in", he said.
The door
opened and someone entered. It was Athos.
"Oh
Athos", Louis exclaimed, "how was the battle?"
"We
have won", Athos replied, "but there are also bad news."
"Speak."
"The
Dutch have kidnapped Philippe."
Louis tried
to look shocked.
"Oh my
God!" he exclaimed.
"But
Francois wants to exchange him for their king", Athos said, "so
there's a good chance to get Philippe back well and unhurt. We just have to
fulfil the demands. By the way, here is the letter from Francois."
Athos gave
the letter to Louis. Louis considered what to do now...
Louis had no
intention of fulfilling Francois's demands as he knew that the young man was
just trying to gain what he could from the French. But he had to play along,
otherwise Athos would relise something had happened.
He read the letter.
"Return to Francois and give him everything he has asked, but only if he
lets you see Philippe first."
"But what if he refuses?" Athos asked.
"Undoubtedly he will, but we must make sure he has Philippe."
"You doubt it?" Athos said.
"I hope he does have him." Louis said sharply. "Because the
alternative does not bear thinking about."
"It strikes me that it would be rather convinient for you," Athis
replied. Some thing did not seem quite right to the old soldier and he wanted
to see what the Princes reaction was.
"How dare you!" the young man replied. "To suggest that I would
wish Philippe ill because of what the King has decreed."
Athos bowed.
"Apologies Your Highness." he said.
"Go quickly, Monsieur," Louis replied. "Before I allow my temper
to rise. Remember, you must see Philippe before you give Francois
anything."
Athos nodded and left the room.
After he had gone, Louis called a servant in.
"Bring me a plain cloak," he ordered.
"What ya want?" the bandit asked.
"It's me," Louis said lowering his hood.
"Your Highness, what more do you wish?"
"I would like you to aqquire a body for me."
"That will cost."
"Of course I will pay anything."
"And what do you want us to do with this body."
"I would like you disfigure it sufficently so that it is unrecognisable.
Do you still have my brothers clothes?"
"Yes. You said we must not dispose of them until things have calmed
down."
"Good. Dress the body in the clothes and take it to where you kidnapped my
brother."
"Yes Your Highess. I understand."
Louis handed him a bag of gold.
"A second when the deed is done," he said.
"A pleasure doing business with you again, Your Highness."
Louis nodded and left the room. He felt aweful, the thought of the heartache he
would bring o his mother overwhelmed him but he knew he had no choice...
Athos
arrived at the Dutch camp again. He was lead to Francois immediately.
"So
what is the answer?" Francois demanded when he saw Athos.
"Prince
Louis is willing to fulfill your demands, but only after I have seen Prince
Philippe", Athos replied.
"I've
already told you, that you can't see him."
"Well,
then your king will stay at the Bastille."
"And
your so called Prince will continue to be my prisoner. Or maybe worse..."
"If
you kill Philippe, we will kill your king", Athos said.
Francois
thought. Actually he wouldn't be so sad if King William died because he thought
that then he could become the ruler of the
"First",
he replied, "he isn't my king. He is the king of the
"What
do you want to say?" Athos demanded.
"I
would regret to lose an important ally, but I could cope with the king's death.
On the other hand I doubt that you could cope with Philippe's death. So I think
I have an advantage... So give me the king back!"
Athos bit
his lips. He understood that Francois was right at this point. But he had to
see Philippe before.
"We
will do what you want", he replied, "but before I have to see Prince
Philippe."
"No!"
Francois exclaimed "And now go, before I give order to arrest you."
Athos
looked at the dutch soldiers around him and decided that it was infact better
to leave now.
"Okay",
he said, "I will speak with Prince Louis again."
And he
left.
_______________________________________________________________________________
On his way
back to the palace Athos met two musketeers. They looked very agitated.
"Oh
Monsieur Athos" they called "Good that we meet you. We... we have
made a terrible discovery."
Athos
looked at the two men. They were completly distraught.
"What
is it?" he demanded.
"We
will show you. Please follow us", one of the replied.
They lead
Athos to the field where they had fought against the Dutch army. In the
distance he saw someone lying on the meadow. The guy seemed to be dead. When
they came closer Athos gasped. The man was wearing Philippe's clothes...
Athos felt
his heart sink. He looked down at the body of the young man, obviously badly
wounded by the dutch cannons. He felt sick. Another young life wasted, just
like Raoul. He fought back the tears.
"Wrap the body and bring him to the palace," he managed to say.
"But say nothing until I have spoken to his parents."
The men nodded solemnly.
***************************************************************************
Philippe, the King, stirred and moaned quietly. Anne, who was sitting next to
his bed leaned over.
"Philippe!" she said hopefully. "Can you hear me?"
The boy stirred more.
"Where am I?" he asked breathlessly.
"In your room at the Palace. You've had us very worried."
The boy opened his eyes and looked up at his mother.
"Who are you?" he said, his face confused.
Anne was shocked.
"It's me, Mother," she replied.
Philippe looked frightened.
"You're my Mother?" he said. "Why am I at a Palace?"
Now Anne did not know what to say.
"I...I..I should call the doctor," she said. She went to the door and
called the man in.
"Who..who are you?" Philippe asked.
The man looked puzzled. The King knew his personal physician well; he had cared
for every cut and scrape since childhood.
"My lady," he said. "Let me examine the King alone. But do not
be alarmed. I'm sure this is nothing for you to worry about."
Anne nodded and left.
******************************************************************************
Athos rode reluctantly into the courtyard and dismounted. The thing he was
about to do was the worst thing he could ever imagine having to do in all his
time as a musketteer. He made his way into the barracks and to the office of
D'Artagnan...
D'Artagnan
greeted Athos friendly
"Athos,
how are you?" he said.
Athos
lowered his head.
"I'm
well", he replied, "but I also have terrible news."
"What
is it? have we lost the battle?"
"No,
we have won. But..."
"What?"
D'Artagnan exclaimed "What can be bad, if we have won?"
Athos
swallowed. He didn't know how to say it.
"Is
something wrong with Aramis?" D'Artagnan asked.
"No",
Athos replied, "he is alright... Philippe is dead."
D'Artagnan
was thunderstrucked. For some moments he didn't say anything and didn't react.
Then he grabbed Athos at his coat.
"No!
No!" he exclaimed "This can't be! You're lying! He isn't dead!"
"I'm
not lying", Athos said sadly, "It is true."
"No!"
D'Artagnan sobbed. He was maybe a famous musketeer and a brave man, but now he
was crying like a child.
Athos tried
to comfort his friend, but it was useless also because he had to cry, too.
_______________________________________________________________________________
About an
hour later D'Artagnan stormed into Louis' room. Louis saw his father, totally
distraught and obviously drunken.
"Philippe
is dead!" D'Artagnan exclaimed "This is all your fault!"
"My
fault?!" Louis demanded.
"We
only had trouble with the Dutch because of you! And you have sent Philippe into
the battle against them and now he is dead! Are you satisfied now?!"
"You're
telling nonsense, father", Louis replied.
D'Artagnan
hit Louis so hard that the Prince fall over.
"So
I'm telling nonsense?!" he exclaimed "The king is in coma and
Philippe is dead. So it looks like all power belongs to you now. You must be
very satisfied, you little bastard!"
Louis
became a bit frightened now.
"Father,
you are mad", he said, "and by the way, I have heard that the king
has woken up now."
D'Artagnan
looked sharply at his son.
"The King is awake?" he said.
"Y...yes," Louis replied uncertainly. "But the doctors are still
with him. I...I don't know how he is."
"Let's hope he is well soon," D'Artagnan said coldly, looking at
Louis.
The young man did not know what to do. He relied on the support of his Father
and now with everything he needed it more than ever. He felt the guilt tear at
his insides and knew that he did not deserve his Fathers support.
D'Artagnan shook his head.
"I can't bear tp look at you at the moment," he said. "And now I
need to go and tell your mother and Claudine what has happened."
"Is that a good idea?" Louis asked. "I mean..."
D'Artagnan became angry again.
"How dare you of all people suggest that I am incapable to bring these
news to the people who meant the most to Philippe! I mean, look at you...You're
not even upset are you?"
"Of course I'm upset," Louis answered. "But you've hardly given
me a chance the way you've come in here blaming me for his death...You forget
that he volunteered to go."
"That doesn't change the fact that you brought the Dutch here in the first
place. It should have been you that died on that field and not Philippe...not
Philippe."
D'Artagnan sank to the ground sobbing again.
Louis moved towards him.
"I...I know you're upset Father and that you need someone to blame. Let
that be me if you want. But at least allow me to be there to help you tell
mother."
D'Artagnan struggled onto his feet.
"I don't want to see you Louis," he said in a choked voice before he
left the room.
****************************************************************************
Claudine was with Anne trying to reassure her while they waited for the doctors
to finish examining the King.
"I'm sure he'll be fine, Mother," she said.
Anne sighed.
Just then the door opened and the doctor came in.
Anne stood up.
"Well," she asked.
"Physically he's much better than we could have hoped," the doctor
began.
"Thats good news then, see!" Claudine said.
"There's more isn't there?" Anne asked.
"It seems that the King is experiencing some memory loss," the doctor
explained. "Of course this may only be a short term thing but..."
"Memory loss?" Anne asked. "What does that mean?"
"The King can't remember anything before the attack. He's very confused
and afraid so we've given him something to help him sleep."
"He doesn't remember who he is?" Claudine asked. "Oh poor
Philippe!"
"Like I said, this sometimes happen. We need to wait and be patient and
hopefully his memory will return."
Anne nodded. Just then D'Artagnan burst through the door.
Anne looked
at him and knew immediately that something terrible must have happened. His
eyes were read from crying.
"D'Artagnan.
What...?"
"Philippe",
he sobbed, "Oh, Philippe!"
"You
don't have to be worry anymore, D'Artagnan", Claudine said, "the king
has woken up now. He just has a little problem with his memory, but I'm sure
this will pass, too."
"No,
you haven't understood me", D'Artagnan replied, "I'm not talking
about the king. I'm talking about my son."
"What
is with him?" Anne asked sorrowfully.
"Yes,
what is with im?" Claudine echoed.
"He...
he is... dead. He died on the battlefield", D'Artagnan choked out.
For a
moment Anne and Claudine didn't believe what they have heard. And they thought
that D'Artagnan would tell them any moment that it was a joke. But they just
saw his sad face and then they realized, that it was no joke...
"No!!!"
Claudine cried and sank to the ground. She felt as if she was dying inside.
Anne
instead said nothing. She was so shocked that she only moaned and lost
consciousness. D'Artagnan was just quick enough to seize her.
_______________________________________________________________________________
In the meantime Louis was thinking. He was very puzzled. It had been hard for him to see his father's despair about Philippe's "death". And he could imagine that his mother and Claudine would be even more sad than D'Artagnan. How could he bear to see their tears?
There was
another problem. The king had woken up. So he was able to rule
Louis
really thought about to put this to an end and to tell his family the truth.
But he was also afraid because of the consequences for him. He expected a hard
penalty. But the penalty would maybe be even harder, if they would find out the
truth alone...
Louis
swallowed.
"I
have to do it", he said to himself, "before it is too late for
me."
And he
stood up and went to the king's room.
He entered
through the side door, to see his father, mother and Claudine. D'Artagnan had
laid the Queen mother out on the couch and was trying to revive her, while
Claudine just sobbed in a heap on the ground. Louis felt aweful. He entered the
room.
D'Artagnan looked up.
"I thought I told you I didn't want to see you!" he sobbed.
"Father, please," Louis replied. "I have to talk to you
all..."
"Well we don't want to hear what you have to say," the Captain
replied. "Isn't it bad enough that your twin is dead and that the King may
never be fit to rule again."
"W..what do you mean?" Louis asked. "I thought the King had
woken up."
The doctor spoke.
"The King has no memories. We don't know what this will mean."
"So you have what you wanted," D'Artagnan said coldly. "You will
rule again."
Now Louis did not know what to do. He hated to see everyone so unhappy, but he
could not supress his desire for power.
He looked at the doctor.
"Can I see the King?"
*****************************************************************************
Philippe woke up suddenly, his heart pounding in his chest. He sat up quickly,
feeling the soreness of his body from lying on the cold, hard floor. The pain
from his head made him wince.
His jailer was in the room. Philippe had not dared to speak to the other young
man since the threat of the whipping.
Gerome put the tray down and looked at the prisoner. The food was exactly the
same as every other meal had been, meagre and tasteless.
"You cold?" he asked.
Philippe raised his head. A glimmer of hope entered his mind. If the jailer
cared enough to worry about his physical well-being perhaps he might somehow be
able to persuade him to send a letter to his Father.
He nodded his head cautiously.
"Yes I'm cold," he replied.
"I'll ask if you might have a blanket, since you've been good and all and
stopped speaking about things you should not."
He turned to leave.
"Umm..Gerome?" Philippe said.
The jailer turned around.
"I...Thank you."
The young man nodded and went out, closing the door.
Philippe sat still for a while, thinking. He knew it would take some time, but
he could see that Gerome was a possibility. But he knew he needed a back-up
plan. He took the old spoon from his tray and looked around himself in the
twilight. Four forbidding stone walls surrounded him. It might have been easier
to gauge wich way to begin to dig had there been a window, but without it, he
had noway to tell which wall led to freedom.
He threw the spoon angrily against the wall. It was hopeless...But then a
thought struck him. It had possibilities. If he could convince Gerome that he
was ill enough, then undoubtedly he would be allowed to speak to a confessor
and just possibily be able to get a message to Aramis..
The doctor
lead Louis into the king's bedroom. The king was still sleeping. Louis went
closer to the bed and looked at his little brother.
The king
looked very peacefully and Louis felt qualms of conscience again.
"How
are the chances that he gets back his memory?" he asked.
"I
have no idea", the doctor replied, "we can only hope and pray."
Louis
thought about it. It was possible that the king would get his memory back soon.
But it was also possible that this would never happen. Louis decided to didn't
tell the truth before the king hadn't got back his memory.
"By
the way, what did you want to tell us before?" the doctor asked now.
"That's
not your buisness", Louis replied, "it is only my and my family's
responsibility."
"I'm
sorry, your Highness."
______________________________________________________________________________
Anne opened
her eyes. She saw D'Artagnan who looked worried.
"D'Artagnan",
she moaned.
"How
are you, Madame?" the musketeer asked. He had still tears in his eyes.
"I
want to see my son", the Queen said.
"The
king is sleeping."
"No. I
mean Philippe. I want to say goodbye to him."
Anne sobbed
quietly.
"I
don't know if this is a good idea", D'Artagnan replied, "Athos said
it is no nice sight."
Anne shook
her head.
"That
doesn't matter", she replied, "a son will always be beautiful in his
mother's eyes. And I want to see my son a last time and say goodbye to
him."
D'Artagnan
nodded
"Alright",
he said.
_______________________________________________________________________________
D'Artagnan
lead the Queen to the room, where they had layed out the body. Some doctors
were there who just wanted to start to prepare the body for the funeral.
"Your
Majesty", they said and bowed.
"I
want to see my son", Anne said.
The doctors
looked unsecure but D'Artagnan nodded.
"Do
what she
The doctors
nodded and one of them removed the cloth over the body.
Anne went
closer. She looked at the body, which was terrible disfigured. She looked at it
for some moments. Then she shook her head disbelievingly.
"This
isn't my son", she said.
"What?"
D'Artagnan exclaimed.
"This
isn't Philippe. I can feel it."
"Your
Majesty", one doctor said, "it must be hard for you to have lost your
son, but..."
"Do
you think I'm mad or what?" Anne exclaimed angrily "A mother knows
her children better than anyone else. And I swear that this is not Philippe. I
have no idea who this poor guy is, but he is not my son."
D'Artagnan
was impressed. He believed what Anne said.
"But
if this guy isn't Philippe... what has happened to Philippe then?"
"He
was wearing the Prince's clothes", one doctor said unsecurely.
D'Artagnan
nodded seriously.
"This must
be part of a conspiracy", he said, "and I'm sure that this time
Francois or the Dutch haven't anything to do with it."
He thought
for a moment.
"Louis!"
he suddenly exclaimed "oh this damn little bastard!"
Now it was
clear for him that Louis was the only one who had a motive for such a
conspiracy beside Francois and the Dutch who were ruled out as suspects this
time. He had no proofs but his instict told him that it was true.
And he
stormed out of the room. Anne and the doctors were quiet puzzled.
Louis had
returned to his study and paced up and down. He knew the next few weeks would
be very difficult for his conscience, but he could not stop now. Not while
there was a chance that he could rule.
Just then the door burst open.
"Where is your brother?" D'Artagnan demanded angrily.
Loius's heart leapt.
"The King's in his room, isn't he?" he stammered.
D'Artagnan grabbed his son by the collar.
"Don't you lie to me," he said. "You know I'm talking about your
twin and you're going to tell me what you've done to him, now!"
Louis shook. He felt threatened by his Father, but knew that he could not own
up. The punishment for his actions would be much worse than just a beating,
especially as Philippe freed would rule.
"I...I don't know what you're talking about," he said. "Now let
go, please, you're hurting
"I know you've done something Louis. I've known you all your life. End it
Louis, before you destroy this family."
Louis considered...
Anne burst through the door.
"Let him go!" she said, seeing the way D'Artagan held Louis.
D'Artagnan did so.
"Tell me what's going on," Anne sobbed. "I want to know what you
think Louis has done."
"I think he has done something to Philipppe, because the King wanted him
to rule."
Anne looked at her son.
"No," she said shaking her head. "Louis wouldn't do something so
terrible. I know my son, D'Artagnan, just as I know that poor boy isn't
Philippe. Louis tell your Father you know nothing of this."
With both parents looking at him, each demanding a different response, Louis
was torn...
"I...
I don't know what father is talking about", he stammered.
"Don't
lie!" D'Artagnan exclaimed "I can see that you are not telling the
truth. Where is Philippe?!"
"D'Artagnan,
please..." the Queen begged.
"I'm
sorry, Anne", D'Artagnan said, "but this has to be now. I will show
you that he is lying."
And he
grabbed Louis again and squeezed him up againts the wall.
"I ask
you again. Where is Philippe?"
"I
have no idea!" Louis choked out.
Suddenly
D'Artagnan took his dagger and hold it at Louis' neck. Louis flinched.
"D'Artagnan,
what are you doing there?!" Anne protested "Leave him alone!"
But the
captain ignored her.
"Listen
Louis", he said, "we knew now that the dead boy, which we have found,
is not Philippe. So I want to know now what has really happen to my son."
"Leave
me alone", Louis gasped, "I know nothing."
"Where
is he?!?!" D'Artagnan shouted "Don't force me to hurt you."
"If I
tell you the truth, you would hurt me even more", Louis exclaimed. But at
the next moment he flinched, because now he had blabbed.
"Ah!
What is this truth?" his father demanded.
"I..."
D'Artagnan
hit Louis and threw him to the ground. Louis writhed.
"Stop
it!" Anne exclaimed.
"I finally
want an answer!" D'Artagnan called.
Louis had
lost all power.
"Chateau
D'if", he exclaimed, "he is at Chateau D'if."
Anne was
shocked.
"And
apart from that?" D'Artagnan demanded.
"I
have paid some bandits who brought him there. They were dressed as soldiers and
have kidnapped him during the battle. I ordered them to bring him to the prison
and..."
"And
what?!"
"...
and... and put him into the iron mask."
Anne sank
to her knees.
"He's alive," she sobbed. "Thank the Lord, he's alive."
D'Artagnan shook his head.
"YOu are no son of mine," he said coldly. "How could you?"
"Because I had too!" Louis sobbed. "I had to rid of him, before
he got rid of
"Your twin would never harm you."
"Yeah, because he's the good one, isn't he? You know I wish I'd had him
killed when I had the chance."
D'Artagnan slapped him again.
"Stop it!" Anne cried. "Stop it now!"
D'Artagnan looked at her.
"He was going to let you believe that Philippe was dead. He was going to
make Claudine a widow and the twins fatherless, because he wanted to rule. How
can you want me to leave him alone."
"Because he's also my son," Anne replied sadly. "And I will love
him no matter what he has done."
Louis looked at his Mother.
"I'm sorry..." he choked out.
"Oh I'm sure that you will be," D'Artagnan replied. "When
Philippe decides how you should be punished."
He turned to Anne.
"You will need to rule by proxy until Philippe returns. For now I would
suggest that we confine Louis to his room."
"But..." Anne began.
"You have to do it, Anne. I cannot, but you must, for Philippe and the
King."
Anne considered before she nodded slightly.
"Louis," she said, "Please go to your rooms. I do not wish to
make this difficult for you, son."
Louis stood up and nodded his head.
"I'm so sorry Mother," he repeated.
Anne could only nod.
After he left, D'Artagnan nodded.
"I'm going to get our son, Anne," he said. "If I ride through
the night, then I can reach Marsailles by the morning."
Anne sobbed.
"Sent someone else," she begged. "I need you here."
"Anne, I..."
"Please D'Artagnan," she pleaded. "I don't think I can cope with
this, without you."
Seeing the fear in her eyes, D'Artagnan nodded.
"I will send Athos and Porhtos." he said.
"Thank you."
Louis went
to his room. For a moment he had considered to escape but than he had given up
the idea. Whatever he would do now to resist, it would make everything only
worse. So he just went to his room as his mother had said.
He met his wife
there who was delighted to see him.
"Oh
Louis", she sobbed, "I have heard this terrible news about
Philippe... and that the king has no memory..."
She began
to cry louder.
"Shhh",
Louis replied, "Philippe isn't dead."
Louise
raised her head.
"What
did you say?"
And Louis
told her the whole story.
"I
believe D'Artagnan has already sent someone to get Philippe back", he said
when he had finished.
"Oh
Louis, how could you...?"
"I had
no choice", Louis replied.
"No,
you had a choice and you know this", Louise said, "Philippe was no
danger for you."
"Please,
don't turn away from me", he begged.
"I
won't", Louise replied, "but what shall happen now. What will they do
with you. I'm afraid to lose you. But I need you, we need you."
And she
hugged him and cried again.
Suddenly
the door was opened and D'Artagnan, Athos and Porthos entered.
"Athos
and Porthos will go and get Philippe back", D'Artagnan said, "but we
have decided that it is better, if Louis comes with us. Because otherwise the
governor there may don't believe us."
"But
bring him back to me then", Louise exclaimed, "don't let him
there."
"Well,
this would be infact a good idea to just let him there", Athos said,
"but don't worry. We will bring him back again."
"Does
mother know about this?" Louis asked.
D'Artagnan
nodded.
"Good",
Louis said and stood up, "I'll come with you."
Porthos
took hold of him.
"Better
fetter him, to be on the safe side", Athos said.
Porthos did
so.
"Don't
hurt him", Louise begged.
Louis sat
inbetween the two old soldiers dreading having to face his brother again. Deep
down he was afraid, not just for himself but for his family. Even though he was
pretty sure that his brother would not hurt his wife and child, he was pretty
certain that Philippe would punish him. And he was not sure how Louise would
react if he was sent to prison.
He sighed and stole a glance out of the window.
"I'm hungry," Porthos moaned. "Do you think we could stop for a
while at the next village?"
Athos shook his head.
"Sorry old man, but I swore to D'Artagnan that we would not stop until we
reached the prison. Plus what about him? How would people react if we went into
some country inn with a cuffed Prince of France in tow."
"Don't need to talk like I'm an idiot," Louis interjected.
"I'd rather not talk to you at all," Athos replied coldly.
He looked at Pothos.
"There's some pastries and water under the bench," he pointed.
"Water?"
"D'Artagnan made me promise no wine. He remembers the disaters we had in
the past due to drink, no doubt."
Porthos nodded but still looked glum.
"I suppose I could manage a few pastries."
And he leaned over and began to dig in to the food.
"Hey, hey! That needs to last till tomorrow."
"I need to...you know," Louis said.
"Well, you'll have to wait. We'll stop later, where the road is
quieter."
******************************************************************************
Philippe lay on the floor awaiting the visit of Gerome. He had to convince the
young jailer that he was ill and hope that he was convinced.
His heart began to beat faster as he heard the footsteps outside and the sound
of the bolts being drawn out of the sockets.
"Food!" Gerome said.
Philippe did not move, lying awkwardly to try and make him believe that he was
more than just asleep.
"Come on, wake up," he said louder. "I bought soup. Reckon it
tastes better while it's still remotely warm."
No response.
Gerome put down the tray and knelt down next to the teenage prince.
"Come on," he said, reaching over and pulling Philippe round. He
flopped around limply.
Gerome touched Philippes' hand and saw that it was still warm. He shook him.
Philippe moaned.
"Confessor..." he mouthed weakly.
"Huh!?"
"....Con...con...confess."
Now Gerome understood.
He touched the young prisoners hand.
"I'll ask the Governor," he said. "I'll do my best."
He got up and left the room. Philippe felt a flicker of hope...
Gerome quickly
walked along the corridor but suddenly he stopped. How could it be that the
prisoner was suddenly so ill. He had been well the whole time and now...
"Damn!
He has tried to cheat me!" Gerome exclaimed.
And he run
to the office of the governor.
_______________________________________________________________________________
The
governor was surprised when the young jailer bursted into the room.
"Hey,
what's up, boy?" he demanded.
"A
prisoner has tried to cheat me", Gerome said, "he pretended to be
very ill and demanded a confessor. But he had been well the whole time. I think
he has a plan."
"And
which prisoner are you talking about?"
"The
one in the iron mask", Gerome replied, "he also once asked me to help
him to escape. So you see that I can't trust him."
The
governor stood up.
"I
think I have to teach this prisoner a lesson", he said.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Philippe
heard footsteps. He wondered if Gerome had gotten a confessor so quickly, but
he lied down on the ground again.
Just then
the door opened and two persons entered. One of them was Gerome. But the other
guy was no priest but the governor.
"So
you have tried to cheat this boy here", the governor said.
Philippe got
a fright but he tried to continue playing his role.
"I...
What do you mean", he replied, trying to sound very ill.
"You
have already asked him once to help you to escape", the governor said,
"and now you have tried something again, pretending that you are
ill."
"I'm
really ill", Philippe moaned, "I feel so weak."
"You
are a damn bad actor", the governor mocked, "but I will get you to
return to reality. Gerome, bring me a whip."
"Yes,
Monsieur", Gerome replied and went away.
"No,
please", Philippe begged.
"You
have to learn that it was not right what you have done", the governor
replied, "actually you can be thankful because a lashing is still a quiet
lenient penalty for what you have tried."
Some
minutes later Gerome came back. But not with a whip, instead with a message.
"Hey
where is the whip?" the governor demanded.
"Monsieur,
there are two old musketeers who want to see you", Gerome said, "they
say it is very important."
"Later.
Now bring me the whip."
"But
the Prince Louis is also with them and it looks like he is their prisoner. I
don't know what's going on there but you should really meet them."
Philippe
raised his head a little. Had he really heard right?
The Governor nodded and sighed. He was a cruel man and enjoyed hurting the prisoners
in his charge but did not wish to incur the wrath of the royal family. That
might lose him his job.
"Alright," he said. "But get that whip ready. As soon as I
finished dealling with this he'll get his lesson."
Gerome nodded and left the room with the Governor, closing and locking the
door.
*******************************************************************************
"What is it?" the Governor asked as he entered his office.
Uncertainly he bowed to the young prince in the chains.
"Your highness?!!"
Louis nodded a little.
Athos spoke.
"Prince Louis has raised a conspiracy against his twin Philippe, and had
him imprisoned here against the wishes of the King."
"But we do not have the Prince here."
"You have a masked prisoner, do you not?"
"On what authority do you demand state information, Monsieur."
"I demand it in the name of the King," Athos replied. "Who has
appointed Prince Philippe his proxy. Take me to that prisoner and I will get
your authority."
The Governor considered.
"I am not permitted to let you see a prisoner without a sighed
order," he replied sttubornly.
Athos sighed and took the order placing it in Louis's hand. He took a pen and
dipped it in the ink.
"Sign," he told him.
Louis took the pen...
"What
if I refuse?" he said.
"I
wouldn't do that", Athos replied, "you have already enough trouble.
So be a good boy and sign."
"Don't
call me 'boy'", Louis protested.
"I
call you as I want", Athos said coldly, "now sign it. We haven't much
time."
Louis saw
that it was infact better for him to sign the order. So he did it. Athos gave
the signed order to the governor.
"Here
you have it", he said, "now bring us to the prisoner."
"Well...
the signature was obviously made under duress", the governor said, "So
I could say that this order stands void."
Now Athos
became angry.
"Bring
us to the prisoner now!" he exclaimed.
"Why
should I? You said that Prince Louis has raised a conspiracy against his twin.
But to me it looks more like you have raised a conspiracy against Prince Louis.
Or what should I think if you come here with a fettered Prince and without an
order from the king???"
Athos
seethed, but now Louis spoke.
"What
they say is true", he said, "I have infact raised a conspiracy against
Philippe. Please, bring us to him now."
"Well...
okay", the governor replied relucantly.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Philippe
heard footsteps again. He sat up and waited expectantly. Then the door was
opened and four persons entered. It were the governor and Athos and Porthos.
Louis was also with them, put in chains. He had lowered his head because he
didn't want to look at this twin.
Philippe
thought if he was dreaming.
"Athos?...
Porthos?" he said timidly.
"Your
Highness", Athos exclaimed movedly and bowed.
'No I'm not
dreaming,' he realised.
"Are you alright?" Athos asked.
"Have...have you come to free me?"
"Of course Your Highness," Athos answered. He took the key Louis had
held for the mask and opened the lock. Philippe pulled off the mask.
"Thank you," he said in a heartfelt voice.
Athos nodded.
"Are you strong enough to walk?"
Philippe nodded.
"How did you figure out I was here?" he asked.
Athos beckonned to Louis.
"He told D'Artagnan what he had done."
Philippe looked at his brother. He felt an overwhelming sense of hatred
overcome him, a feeling that he was nt accustommed to. It frightened him.
He pulled his gaze away.
"Is Claudine alright?"
Athos nodded.
"Unfortunately she was led to believe that you were dead, but she will
know better by now."
"The twins?"
"They're fine...missing daddy no doubt."
"And the King?"
Athos sighed.
"The King has woken from his coma, but he does have some memory loss. You
will rule until he is well enough."
Philippe shook his head.
"No," he choked out. "I don't want to rule."
"But the King has requested it," Athos said with suprise.
"I know, and I want to but I can't."
Louis now looked up at his brother, confused by his decision.
The Governor spoke.
"Can we hurry this along a little Highness, I have things to do."
"What?" Philippe said. "TO beat some poor unfortunate?"
The Governor bowed.
"Your Highness..."
"Don't bother," Philippe replied coldly. "WE're going."
And he walked from the cell.
Athos and Porthos, leading Louis followed.
They
arrived at the palace in the evening. Of course the excitement was great, when
the courtiers heard that Prince Philippe had come back. Everyone came to greet
him.
"Your
Highness, how are you?" ... "Good to have you back here" ....
"We have miss you."
Philippe
had to shake alot of hands but he was happy to be at home.
Louis stood
on the sidelines guarded by Porthos. He felt very uncomfortable.
Finally Anne
arrived to see her son.
"The
Queen mother", someone called and the courtiers stepped aside.
Anne run to
Philippe and hugged him.
"Oh
Philippe!" she sobbed "Oh Philippe!"
She wasn't
able to say more because she was so moved.
"It's
alright, mother", Philippe said, "I'm back now."
"We
all have missed you so much. For some moments we even thought that you were
dead."
"Yes,
because of him", Philippe exclaimed angrily and pointed onto Louis.
Now
everyone was looking at Louis who wished that he could disappear into thin air
now.
"Traitor!"
they shouted.
Some of
them spat on Louis, others even slapped him. Louis tried to protect himself as
good as he could with his fettered hands.
"Hey
stop!" Porthos protested, "don't touch him or I will become very angry.
And you shouldn't make me angry. Believe me."
"But..."
"Normally
the king will decide what shall happen with him. And as long as the king isn't
able to rule it is Prince Philippe's decission. And you, don't act like a
rampaging mob."
"He is
right", Athos said.
He looked
at Porthos.
"We
should better confine Louis in one of the detention cells at the musketeers
barracks, to pretend that they lynch him", he said.
Porthos
nodded
"I
will do that", he replied and lead Louis away. Louis was not unhappy to
leave this place.
Anne wanted
to protest but Athos put a hand on her shoulder.
"It is
for his own protection", he said.
Anne sighed
and nodded.
"I
can't believe that you are still worried about him, mother, after what he had
done", Philippe said.
"Philippe..."
"You
know, this is like an insult for me", the Prince exclaimed angrily.
Anne
sighed.
"Speaking like that Philippe, you sound just as your brother sounded when he
first put you into that mask. Yes Louis has wronged you, but it takes much more
of a man to not hate and do what is right."
"You just expect me not to punish him. After this?"
Anne lowered her eyes.
"All I want for you to do Philippe is not to act rashly. You must know the
consequences of quick decisions, having seen your brothers make such
mistakes."
Philippe realised that his mother was right. He was angry with Louis and in no
state to make a decision.
He nodded.
"I understand what you are saying mother," he said.
"You do?"
"Yes. You are worried that I will do something bad to Louis, just because
I am angry with him. Well I won't. I will let Louis remain in the barracks
until I have a chance to decide on a suitable punishment."
"Thank you Philippe," Anne said.
The young man nodded. It was really difficult not to command something bad,
feeling the hatred for his twin burning his insides.
He kissed her hand and then spoke to the crowd.
"Thank you for your kind reception, but I am tired now and wish to spend
some quiet time with my family."
He left the room and made his way up to his chambers anxious to see his wife
and children.
Claudine
had already heard that her husband had come home. She waited at their room and
was excited to see him again. The children were playing on the bed in the
meantime.
Finally the
door opened and Philippe entered. He and Claudine just looked at each other for
some moments, not sure what to do.
Finally
Claudine run to Philippe and hugged him.
"Oh Philippe,
I have missed you so much", she sobbed.
“Ssh… it is
okay”, he replied, “everything is alright again.”
“Daddy!”
Marcel exclaimed.
Philippe
looked at his son.
“Hey, nice
to see you again, little man”, he said.
_______________________________________________________________________________
In the
meantime Louis was in his cell and waiting for his brothers decision. He had no
doubt that it would be a hard penalty.
Suddenly
the door was opened and a musketeer looked at him.
“You have a
visit”, he said.
Then Louise
entered. Louis smiled and the musketeer let them alone.
“Oh Louis,
what shall happen now”, Louise moaned.
“I don’t
know”, Louis replied sadly, “but it can’t be anything good. Philippe is so
angry with me.”
“He can’t
kill you”, Louise sobbed.
“I’m pretty
sure that he won’t because of mother. But I think that he will send me to
prison, maybe even for the rest of my life.”
Louis
lowered his head.
“Then I
will come with you”, his wife exclaimed.
“What?! Are
you crazy?”
“I rather
live with you at a prison than free without you”, she replied.
Louis was
really touched.
He stroked his wifes growing stomach.
"And what about Pascal and this little one?" he asked lovingly.
Louise shook her head.
"We'l find a way," she half sobbed.
"Let's wait and see what Philippe does," he said. "Then we will
decide what to do. But whatever does happen, you know that I love you,
yes?"
Louise nodded.
***************************************************************************
Philippe was taking the time to spend with his family. He sat close to Claudine
watching the twins play. Marcel was so happy to se his father that he kept
trying to impress him.
"Daddy look at my toy!" he called out.
"It's lovely." Philippe said.
Suitably convinced his father was watching Marcel returned to his play.
"They're so glad to have you home," Claudine said. "Promise me
you won't go again."
Philippe sighed.
"I wish I could," he said. "But right now, what we everything
that's happened, I don't think I can make you that promise, Claudine. I wish I
could."
Claudine nodded.
"I understand," she said. "I just wish it could be different...I
sometimes think it would be better if you weren't..."
"I think that too sometimes," Philippe replied. "But if it had
not been for who I am, then we would never have met."
She squeezed his hand.
"There is a promise that you can make me...."
"Anything, Cherie."
"Don't ever go off by yourself again!"
Philippe smiled.
"I promise," he said, and yawned.
"You're tired?"
"A little...but I need to see the king."
"It could wait until the morning."
"You're right, but I just feel like I should see him. Maybe it may help
him remember."
Claudine nodded.
"Well don't be long," she said.
Philippe nodded.
A doctor
was just changing the king's bandage when Philippe entered the room.
"Your
Highness", he said.
"How
is he?"
"Well,
it is alright..."
Now the
king turned his head and looked at Philippe.
"Who
is this? What is he doing here?" demanded.
Philippe
lowered his head. It was hard to see that his brother didn't remember him.
"This
is your brother Philippe, Sire", the doctor explained.
"Philippe?"
"Can't
you really remember anything, brother", Philippe asked.
"What
should I remember?"
Philippe
moaned.
"I'm
sorry", the doctor said, "you can't do anything there, your
Highness... except for praying."
Philippe
nodded sadly
"Well,
then I will go back to my room now", he replied, "my wife is already
waiting for me. Tell me if the king remembers something."
"Yes,
your Highness."
And
Philippe left the room.
Philippe
awoke early the following morning, disturbed by his troubled mind. He slid from
the bed quietly and dressed himself so as not to disturb his sleeping valet.
Even though it was still dark, Philippe knew it was almost morning, as he had
often awoke this early to go fishing when he was a child.
He sighed as he thought of this. Life had been so simple then, and now,
especially today, he had so much difficulty to deal with.
He stood up and went into the other room, getting a drink, before he went to
the window. His eyes automatically went to the musketeers barracks, where a
single light burned. He automatically imagined Louis sitting in a dreary cell.
He looked away defiantly.
'I'm not going going to fell sorry for him,' he thought. 'He deserves to be
punished for what he has done to me.'
He sighed and went to the couch. Yes Louis deserved to be punished but the
trouble was that Philippe did not know how he could punish him without
upsetting his mother or punishing Louise as well.
He was disturbed by the sound of someone slidding in through the door. Philippe
looked up to see his valet. The young man was about his age and named Cesar.
"your Highess," the young man said. "You should have woke
me."
Philippe smiled.
"It's fine," he said. "i just wanted some time to think."
"You want me to leave?"
"No stay...Do you have a family Cesar?"
"Yes Your Highness."
"And you are close to them?"
"Yes, but...I don't see them now...not since they emigrated to the
American colony."
"Oh! They have been there for long."
"Two years Your Highness. Life was very difficult for them in this
country. After my father was injured in a battle, he could not work, so we
lived in a small room. Now they have a house with six rooms and enough land to
grow everything they need."
"Why did you not go with them?"
Cesar blushed.
"There's a girl a love, she works in the Palace. I want to raise enough
money to marry her and pay for her passage too."
"How much would that be?"
Cesar told him.
PHilippe smiled.
"You have served me well, Cesar," he said. "And you shall have
the money. Today."
"Your Highness...I couldn't!"
"Yes you can. You deserve it. You've done me a great service...Given me an
answer to my problem."
Cesar looked confused, but he was so overjoyed that he fell to his knees.
"Thank you, Your Highness," he half sobbed.
Just then Claudine came in.
"What's going on?" she asked.
Philippe smiled.
"cesar has just helped me decide how to punish Louis," he said.
"Oh,
and how?" she asked.
"He
will go into exile for one year (I hope I have understood this right, Janey),
maybe to
"Interessting.
Do you think your mother and Louise will cope with it?"
"If
they know that Louis will come back after one year, yes. I think after one year
in exile he will be reformed and won't do stupid things any more."
"But
it could also happen that this will make him even more angry and
vindictive", Claudine replied.
"I
don't think so. Louis knows that he deserves to be punished. And this will be a
good therapy for him. I will allow him to be corresponding with mother and
Louise. So it won't be too hard for him."
"Well,
I hope that's the right decission", Claudine replied.
"So I
will inform Louis now", Philippe said.
"Don't
you think you should speak with your mother and Louise first?"
Philippe
nodded.
"Maybe
you are right. I will speak to them first."
_______________________________________________________________________________
Louise was
awake. She had tried to sleep but actually it hadn't really worked. She was too
agitated.
Then there
was a knock at the door.
"Come
in" Louise called.
A servant
entered.
"Madame,
Prince Philippe wants you to come to his room. He wants to tell you
something."
In the
meantime another service was delivering the same message to Queen Anne...
"Philippe?"
Anne said, as she entered the room.
Philippe turned around and smiled sadly.
"Mother," he said.
"You want to tell me something?" she asked anxiously. "Have you
made a decision about Louis?"
"Can we wait until Louise arrives?" Philippe asked. "I want you
to hear this together."
Anne nodded.
Just then though, Louise entered.
"Philippe?"
"Louise...Please come in. Sit down. How are you?"
Louise came in.
"Fine. The baby is strong. I want you to know I'm sorry for what Louis did
to you."
Philippe nodded.
"Thank you. I'm sure you know that my decision regarding Louis has been
difficult. I don't wish to make you suffer for his actions, neither of
you."
"Does that mean you have made a decision?" Anne asked.
"Yes, I have."
"Philippe?"
Philippe sighed and told his mother and Louise what he had decided.
Louise's eyes filled with tears.
"A year?" she sobbed. "But what about the baby? Louis won't be
there."
Anne put her arms around Louise's shoulder.
"I know it's difficult Louise, but Philippe's decision is a fair one.
Louis does deserve to be punished. But this, yes it's difficult, but we will
get through this, together."
Philippe looked at his mother, grateful for the support. He hated to see Louise
upset and had to bite his lip so as not to change mind.
"Where will you send him?" Louise asked.
"The
Louise considered....
"Could
it be less than a year?" she finally asked "Maybe a half one, so that
Louis will be back before the baby comes?"
Philippe
shook his head.
"But
why not?" Louise sobbed "a half year will be more than enough."
"No,
it won't", Philippe replied.
"Then...
can I maybe come with him?" Louise asked.
"But
then it wouldn't be a real penalty for Louis any more if you come with him. And
I want him to suffer at least a bit so that the penalty also deserves it's
name."
"You
are cruel" Louise cried.
"Hey,
that's not fair", Philippe protested, "I could have also sent Louis
to a prison where he would suffer much more."
"Well,
at a prison I could at least visit him."
"Who
said that I would have allowed you or anyone to visit him at prison?"
Louise just
sobbed.
"Philippe,
come on. That's mean now", Anne said.
"Well,
Louis will go to
"But
can't you see that Louise is desperate?"
"Don't
try to change my mind!" Philippe called "Louis deserves it!"
"But
Louise doesn't deserve it. Please, let her come with Louis, if she wants
it."
Philippe
bit his lip. He really believed that sending Louis into exile for a year was a
great idea for a punishment, but he had to admit that he understood Louise.
He knew how terrible he had felt seperated from Claudine and the twins for any
lenght of time. And he knew Claudine had suffered too. It wasn't fair to punish
Louise like this too...
"It will be very difficult if you go too," he said. "There
aren't the luxuries there that are here. Pascal and the new little one would
find it tough. The voyage will be long and difficult."
"Then don't make him go!" Louise sobbed. "Because if he does, I
will go too."
"I have a suggestion," Anne said.
Philippe looked at his mother.
"I won't change my mind," he said firmly.
Anne nodded.
"I know, and I think that you have chosen a good and just punishment for
Louis, even though I wish that you would not impose it. I have an idea though.
A dear old friend of mine is the Governor of the French colony in
Louise looked hopefully at Philippe.
The young man slowly nodded.
Louise smiled.
"Thank you," she said.
Philippe
nodded.
"You
should write your old friend a letter now and inform him about the news,
mother", he said.
Anne
nodded.
"Yes,
that's a good idea", she replied.
"Maybe
this Governor can also keep an eye on Louis while he is in
"That
should be possible."
"Alright.
Then I will tell Louis now what I have decided", Philippe said.
"I
will come with you", Louise said.
"Me
too", Anne replied.
"Well...
okay", Philippe replied.
Together
they left the room.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Louis was still
sleeping on the hard bed in his cell. For someone who had to expect a hard
punishment for his act, he slept quite well.
But then he
was awaked by some noises. Louis yawned and sat up. For a moment he didn't know
where he was, but then he remembered it. He heard footsteps coming closer.
Louis rubbed his eyes and waited expectantly.
Some
moments later the door was opened by a young musketeer and Louis saw Philippe,
his mother and his wife entering the cell.
"Okay",
Philippe began immediately before Louis could say anything, "I have made
my decission how to punish you, Louis."
Louis
swallowed. He felt the fear which suddenly overcame him.
"And...?"
he asked worriedly.
"It's
been a tough decision, Louis, because I felt it was important not to punish
Louise or Mother for your actions. So I have decided that you will be exiled to
Louis's eyes were wide.
"
"Yes. I hope that living the life of a pioneer, having to raise your own
food and provide your own shelter, will give you something that you have never
experienced before."
Louis nodded.
"It's better than prison I suppose," he saidglumly. "But a
year?"
Louise placed a reassuring hand on her husbands shoulder.
"Philippe has agreed that me and Pascal can come with you. We will stay at
the governors house and be allowed to visit you every week."
Louis looked up at his brother.
"Thank you," he said and he was really grateful. "I...I don't
think that I could be so leniant were our roles reversed."
Philippe nodded and looked away, still fighting the intense hatred which burned
his insides.
"You will sail next week," he said. "Louise will follow the
following week on a boat which will ensure her comfortable passage. For now, it
is best I think that you remain here, for safety."
Louis nodded.
Philippe turned to his Mother.
"I will go now. You're free to visit as much as you want, until Louis
departs, Mother."
Anne nodded and smiled sadly.
"I know this is difficult, Philippe, but I think that Louis would
appreciate being reassured that this punishment will lead to your
forgiveness."
Philippe bit his lip.
"I'm not certain I can promise that," he replied.
"I
know it is hard for you", Anne said, "and nobody expects you to
forgive right now. But I hope that you can forgíve in a year."
"Maybe,
maybe not", Philippe replied.
"I
will pray that you will forgive me", Louis said.
"Then
you must pray alot", Philippe replied cooly.
Suddenly a
servant burst into the cell. Everyone was very surprised.
"Your
Highness! The king's mistress, she... the baby..."
"What
are you talking about?" Philippe demanded "Are you talking about
Mademoiselle Marie?"
"Yes,
your Highness. Her baby... it is coming!"
"What?!"
Philippe exclaimed "Are the doctors informed."
"Of
course, your Highness."
Philippe
looked at his mother and Louise who were not less surprised.
"That's
really surprising and exciting news", he said, "Come on. Let us see
Marie."
"Can I
come with you?" Louis asked.
"No",
Philippe replied and left the cell.
Anne and
Louise hesitated a moment. They looked at Louis, then they followed Philippe.
_______________________________________________________________________________
When they arrived
at Marie's room, the doctors were already there. They stood around her bed and
were very busy...
"Philippe!"
she cried. "I want Philippe!"
Anne went to the bed.
"Philippe cannot be here, Marie. You know he is still to ill. You must be
brave."
Marie sobbed.
Philippe spoke to the doctor.
"How is she?" he asked.
"The baby is very early, Your Highness," he explained. "We are
not sure if it will live."
Philippe lowered his head.
"Is there anything I can do?" he asked.
The doctor shook his head.
"Nothing but pray," the man replied gravely.
"May I stay?" Louise asked. "To support Marie."
The doctor nodded.
"Let me know if there is any news," Philippe said before he left and
went into the adjoining room where the courtiers waited.
He found a quiet corner, sat down and began to pray.
It was over an hour later when the door opened and the doctor came in.
Philippe stood up...
The doctor
was completly exhausted.
"What...?"
Philippe asked worriedly.
"The
baby is still very small and weak", the doctor replied, "but it
lives."
"Thanks
God!" Philippe exclaimed "Do you think it will survive?"
"Yes,
I'm very optimistic. By the way, it is a girl."
"Can I
see her?" the Prince asked.
"Of
course, your Highness."
_______________________________________________________________________________
Marie was
exhausted but happy. She was holding her baby which was still so light that she
could almost hold it with one hand. But the little girl was alive and breathed
smoothly.
Marie saw
how Philippe entered.
"How
are you?" he said.
"Quite
well", Marie replied, "but I wish that Philippe could see his
daughter."
"He
will", Louise said, "as soon as possible."
"Do
you already have a name for the girl?" Philippe asked.
Marie smiled.
"Yes",
she replied, "Her name shall be
Pauline."
Marie
Therese, the spanish princess, was in her rooms when her maid arrived.
"Your Highness," she said with a bow.
"What is it?" the Princess asked. She was bored. Being at the
"Marie has given birth, my lady."
"Already?" the Princess asked. "The baby early."
"yes, Your Highness, but I hear that it is healthy. It's a girl."
Marie Therese nodded, feeling a pang of jealousy. She hated that the man to be
her husband had already given his heart to this common girl who had less than a
satisfactory past.
"A girl? Well I suppose that is some comfort," she replied with a
sigh.
"Will you visit, My Lady?"
Marie-Therese shook her head.
"No," she said. "I think I will visit the King."
******************************************************************************
The doctor was suprised to see the Spanish Princess enter. She had rarely been
seen at Court, too humiliated tobe able to accept her status, at least until
she could call herself Queen.
"Your highness," he said with a bow.
"Is the King up to visitors?" she asked.
The doctor nodded.
"A short visit should not hurt, Your Highness, but I would not talk about
your marraige until he was to mention it. He's very confused and sudden
important news shocks him. He's still trying to come to terms with being
King."
Marie-Therese nodded.
"I understand, Monsieur," she said.
The doctor brought her to the door to the King's bedroom.
"Sire?" he said.
Philippe looked up. He still looked very pale.
"Yes?" he said. Then his eyes fell on the Princess. A blush painted
his cheeks.
"Madamoiselle," he stammered.
"This is your cousin, Marie - Therese the Spanish Infanta."
Philippe raised his eyebrows.
"You're a princess!" he said. "You look like a Princess."
Marie-Therese smiled.
"Thank you, I guess."
"Please sit, Marie-Therese," Philippe said. "I will
welcome your company."
The girl did so...
"Do
you think I'm beautiful?" Marie Therese asked.
"Ahm...
yes. Very beautiful."
The
princess smiled. The king was still puzzled and still hadn't really gotten his memory
back. So he also didn't know Marie at the moment. Marie Therese thought that
this was her chance to win the king's heart.
"I
would do everything for you, Sire", she said, "if I could just stay
close to you."
Philippe
blushed. He was a bit confused by this flirt-offensive.
"Thank
you", he replied, "you are nice."
The
princesse smirked.
"I
just had to imagine what a great couple we would be", she said.
The young
king laughed.
"Oh
yes", he exclaimed, "a beautiful princesse like you as my wife and
Queen, that would be cool."
Marie
Therese was very satisfied. conversation was going on very well.
"Yes,
that's a nice idea", she said, "you know what's good for you. Forget
this common girl..."
But Marie
Therese shouldn't have said this because at this moment Philippe's memory
suddenly came back.
"Common
girl?! Are you talking about Marie? Don't dare to bash her!"
The
princesse was confused.
"I...
I..."
"My
God, now I remember everything", the king said, "you are jealous
because I'm in love with Marie. And now you wanted to use my memory loss to
talk me out of Marie. Shame on you!"
Marie
Therese sobbed.
"I
just want you to love me, too", she cried, "I feel so alone at this
palace. The idea that you will marry another woman next to me is humiliating,
exspecially because you love her and not me. And nobody cares about me. How
should I feel there?!... And now this damn girl has even given birth to a
child. So you will only pay attention on her from now and I..."
"She
has what?" Philippe exclaimed...
Marie-Therese
stood up.
"I hate this," she sobbed. "You humiliate me and I don't have a
choice! I hate you!"
And she stormed from the room.
Philippe gritted his teeth and managed to stand up. He had to see Marie...
Just then the doctor came in.
"Sire!" he exclaimed. "You should not be out of bed yet."
"I have to see Marie...I remember...arghh."
The doctor caught him just in time as he fell. He helped the young King back
into his bed.
"You remember, Sire?"
"Yes. Marie, I love her. Has she had the baby?"
"Yes Sire, she has. It's a little girl."
"I must see her..."
"You have to rest."
"No...she will need me there. Please, I want to be."
"Then of course Sire. I will arrange for a bed to be set up in the room
and we will take you there."
"Thank you Monsieur."
*****************************************************************************
Alone in her room, Marie-Therese had dismissed the servants and sobbed into her
pillow.
She hated the King. She hated Marie. She hated
It was hopeless, she realised.
She would have to stay in
She was
thinking about suicide, but she also had fear. She wasn't sure if she would go
to hell, if she would commited suicide. Your mother had once told her something
like this.
Finally
Marie Therese shook her head. She didn't want to risk the salvation of her
soul. But she could run away. Marie Therese imagined how it would be to live in
the woods. And she became a bit romantic. She imagined how she would live in a
little hut. She would be like a Saint because she had prefer to live as a poor
woman over becoming the second wife of an unbeliever, what would be a sin.
The
princesse really worked herself up into it. She already imagined how the Pope
would canonize her. She had infact become a bit mad.
So she
decided to run away this night. Now she had to prepare everything...
_______________________________________________________________________________
Marie was
very surprised when some servants carried another bed into her room.
"Hey,
what's going on here?" she laughed.
"The king
wants to be with you", one servant said, "but he has to stay in bed.
So we bring the bed to your room."
"Philippe
wants to see me? Does this mean that he has his memory back?"
"I've
heard so."
Marie was
excited. Her eyes were shining. First the birth of the baby and now the king
had gotten his memory back.
"Today
is my lucky day. Thanks God!" she exclaimed.
She looked
at her little daughter.
"Hey
Pauline", she said, "soon you will see your Daddy."
"Philippe!"
Marie half sobbed as Philippe was wheeled into the room.
The King smiled weakly and dismissed the doctors.
"I'm so sorry, Marie," he said.
"Sorry!" she exclaimed with worry. "Why are you sorry?"
"I wasn't here for you...for you and..."
Philippe paused. He did not know what the baby was called.
"I thought we could name her Pauline," Marie said. "If you like
it."
"I love it," the King replied.
Marie smiled.
"It was so horrible when you did not remember me," she said.
"And I didn't believe I could make it through the birth without your
support but your Mother was wonderful."
"I wish I could have been here."
"It doesn't matter. You're here now."
And Marie stood up, lifted Pauline and brought her to her husbands bed.
"Pauline, this is your Daddy," she said, with a voice filled with
pride.
She placed her daughter into the Kings arms and watched his heart melt. She
smiled happily. Suddenly her pain and tiredness did not matter anymore as she
too lay down next to her lover.
"She
is so cute", the king said, "I almost can't believe that I'm a father
now."
"I
wish my mother could also see her", Marie replied, "What do you
think? Can my mother visit us?"
"Of
course she can. And the rest of your family, too... if they want."
Marie
smiled.
"Thank
you", she replied.
At this
moment the door opened and D'Artagnan and Philippe entered.
D'Artagnan
bowed.
"Your
Majesty", he said, "we are sorry to disturb you at this very special
moment, but we have heard that you have gotten your memory back and I think you
should know what has happened in the meantime."
The king
nodded.
"Yes",
he replied, "I could infact need an update. So has happened anything
important in the meantime."
"Absolutely",
Philippe replied, "Louis had cracked up once more."
"Oh
no. What has he done this time?"
And
Philippe told the whole story.
"My
God", the king exclaimed, "That's really outrageous. I'm so sorry for
you, Philippe. If Louis wouldn't be our brother, I would... By the way, where
is he now?"
"We
have locked him up in a cell at the musketeer's barracks", Philippe said,
"I have decided to exile him to
Philippe
sighed. He looked at D'Artagnan.
"What do you think Captain?" he asked.
D'Artagnan looked suprised at the question.
"Umm Sire, I think that Louis needs to be punished. Philippe has
considered long and hard about the best way to do this, and the exile seems
fair. He has even consulted your Mother and Louise and they have agreed. I hope
the Louis will learn a lot in this year."
The King sighed.
"I don't want to make another mistake concerning Louis," he said.
"But you saying that you agree with Philippe convinces me Captain."
D'Artagnan bowed.
"Very well," the Kign said to Philippe. "Louis will be exiled for
a year."
Philippe bowed.
"Thank you Sire," he said. "There is something else you should
know..."
"Yes?"
"We have captured the Dutch King William. He is in the Bastille."
"Really?" Philippe exclaimed. "That's wonderful news. Put's us
in a good bargaining position, does it not? Where are his troops?"
"Camped about twenty miles south of
"I will meet with the King this afternoon." Philippe said. "Can
you arrange to have him bought here, D'Artagnan?"
"Of course Sire."
"And also arrange for Louis to some and see me before he leaves..."
"Yes Sire."
About one hour
after Philippe and D'Artagnan had left, the king got another visitor. It was
Ahmed.
"Ahmed,
nice to see you" ,he greeted him.
The Arab
Prince bowed. Then he looked at Marie who was holding Pauline.
"I
have heard that you have a daughter", he said.
Philippe
beamed at the Prince.
"Yes",
he exclaimed, "her name is Pauline."
"Congratulations",
Ahmed said. But the king saw that the Arab was in a thoughtful mood.
"Well
Ahmed, you don't look as if you have only come to congratulate me", he
said.
Ahmed
nodded.
"So
what do you want to tell me?"
"Your
Majesty", Ahmed said, "I have been here at
"You
want to go home."
The Prince
lowered his head.
"Yes",
he replied, "I have been away from home for so long and I'm sure my family
miss me, too."
The king
smiled.
"I can
understand you, Ahmed", he said, "there is not much left over of the
Dutch army. I think we should be able to defeat the rest of them also without
the help of your army."
"So
does this mean that you allow me to go home?" Ahmed asked hopefully.
"Yes.
Actually you are not one of my subjects and so you can go whenever you want.
But I'm very thankful that you have stayed here so long. You have been a great
support."
Ahmed
smiled.
"Thank
you, Sire", he replied, "you can be sure that I will never forget
you. And if you need help sometime, just send a messenger to me. You and your
family, you will always be my personal friends."
"That's
very nice of you, Ahmed", the king replied, "we also will never
forget you. Keep an eye on yourself."
Ahmed
bowed.
"Thank
you", he replied, "I will start the preparation for my departure now.
But I think we will meet eachother again before I leave and say goodbye."
"Of
course we will. I will give you a royal parting."
"May
Allah bless you, Sire."
"And
you too, Ahmed."
The King
had a wonderful morning with Marie and Pauline. He briefly stayed when Marie's family
arrived but then he left her to be with them while he went to prepare to meet
with King William.
But he would have to wait a few hours.
He decided to take the opportunity to rest but then there was a knock at the
door.
"Come in!" Philippe called wearilly.
The door opened and one of his advisors entered.
"Sire, you should know that the Spanish Infanta is missing."
Philippe looked up.
"Marie Therese?" he asked. "Missing?"
The man bowed.
"Her servants have not seen her since last night...and some of her
personal pocessions have gone too."
Philippe sighed.
He remembered the last conversation he had had with the Princess.
"Sire? What shall we do? Should we inform the King of Spain?"
Philippe shook his head.
"No," he said. "Not yet, you should see if we are able to find
her first..."
"Where might she have gone, Sire?"
Philippe shrugged.
"I don't know," he said. "I honestly don't know."
Marie Therese had left the Palace just before light and had headed out into the
forest. She had a good parcel and food and essentials with her and was feeling
pretty excited and brave at her actions.
But after a couple of hours walking, she had began to feel weary, cold and
hungry. Just as she began to doubt herself she spied a sight that made her feel
better, a small log cabin appeared nestled between the trees....
When she
came closer, Marie-Therese noticed that there were two other log cabins behind
the first one. She wondered who lived there.
Marie-Therese
went to the first log cabin and knocked at the door. She wanted to ask if she
could stay there for some days.
After a
moment a man opened her.
"Oh, a
young Lady", he said, "What do you want?"
The
princess looked at the man. Actually he didn't look very trustworthy.
"I...
I... can I maybe stay here for one or two days?"
"Stay?"
"I
will pay for it."
Now two
other men appeared at the threshold.
"Hey,
who is this?", one demanded.
"I
have no idea, my friend."
The men had
never seen a painting of the spanish Infanta and so they didn't recognize
Marie-Therese. But what Marie-Therese didn't know was that these men belonged
to the same group of bandits who had onces kidnapped Louis and his little
brother. They had managed to escape, when the musketeers had attacked their
hideout.
"Please,
you must help me", Marie-Therese said, "it's cold outside and I don't
know where to go."
"Tell
me, what is a distinguished young Lady like you doing in the woods?" one
of the bandits asked.
"I
have escaped from home because they want me to marry someone who I don't want
to marry."
"Oh,
that's cool", the man said, "hey guys, do you think she can stay here
with us?"
"Yes,
why not. Afterall the it will be nice days with such a beautiful young Lady...
Please come in, Mademoiselle."
Marie-Therese
smiled.
"Thank
you", she said and entered.
"Do
you want to drink something?"
"Ahm...
yes."
_______________________________________________________________________________
So
Marie-Therese and the bandits were celebrating the next hours. They were eating
fried fish and drinking beer. Marie-Therese was excited. She had never been so
boisterous and she liked this way of life.
"You
know what", she said, "it's great here. Much better than it was at
home. My life has been so boring before."
"Thank
you, Mademoiselle. By the way, I have noticed that you are speaking with a
spanish accent. Is your family maybe from
"Oh
yes", the princess replied.
Then she
whispered: "Can you keep a secret private?"
The bandits
nodded.
"I'm Marie-Therese,
the spanish Infanta. My father wants me to marry your king, but I don't want
because the king has converted to Islam and wants to marry a second woman,
too... a commoner. That's why I have run away."
The bandits
were really surprised. They looked at eachother and then at the princesse...
Then the
leader spoke.
"That's aweful, Your Highness," he said. "Of course you may stay
as long as you wish here."
"Thank you Monsieur," she replied. "Thank you all of you."
"You're welcome, now why don't you rest, you must be exhausted."
"You are very kind Monsiuer."
"You can take my bed. It is the only one private. Armand will show you the
way."
Marie- Therese was exhausted and nodded.
She left with the youngest bandit.
After she had gone, the men looked at the leader.
"You are not going to make her our prisoner?"
"Why bother? She has no-where to go. But I guarentee we will get a sound
randsome when we tell our King and the King of Spain that she is our
captive."
The men laughed.
*****************************************************************************
Louis lay on the hard bed, thinking about the following day when he and his
wife would set sail for
The door opened and two musketeers entered.
Louis looked up.
"The King wishes to see you."
Louis stood up.
"Now?"
"Yes now. You will come with us."
Louis
nodded and followed the musketeers out of the cell.
They lead
him to the king's room. One musketeer knocked at the door.
"Come
in", they heard the king's voice saying.
The
musketeers lead Louis into the room. The king was sitting in a comfortable
armchair. He was still a bit pale.
"On
your knees!" one musketeer said and pushed Louis down.
Louis
grimaced angrily.
"Tell
them that they don't must treat me like this", he said to his brother.
"Why?"
the king replied cooly "After what you have done, this is only
harmless."
"Well,
I have heard that the baby has come. Is it alright?"
"Louis,
I'm saying the questions here and you will answer", the king said,
"... yes it is alright. It's a girl. We have named her Pauline."
For a
moment Louis saw the pride and the joy in his brother's eyes. Then the king
looked sternly at him again.
"So
what were you thinking when you had done this to Philippe?" he demanded.
"I...
I don't know", Louis replied, "I was confused, angry and
afraid..."
"Do
you regret it?"
"Maybe."
"I
want a yes or a no!" the king exclaimed.
"What
do you expect me to do now?" Louis exclaimed "Do you want me to
humiliate myself before you? Do you want me to grovel before you, eh?"
"I
just want an answer", his brother replied, "it's sad Louis that you
already see it as a humiliation to regret a crime and to confess it."
Louis
lowered his head.
"I
really regret it", he said, "but you must not demand this so
imperiously. I also have my pride."
The king
smiled conciliatorily.
"Yes, yes.
Your pride, Louis, that's exactly the problem. If you wouldn't be so proud, we
won't always have so much trouble with you. Maybe you could try to control
yourself in the future."
"I
will try it", Louis replied, "but why exactly do you wanted to to see
me now?"
"I
just wanted to see you a last time before you are going to
"That's
all?"
"That's
all...In spite of everything, you're my brother and I am going to miss
you."
"Then don't make me go," Louis replied. "You could stop this is
you really wanted to."
"I could, but Philippe is right. This trip will do you some good I'm sure.
There has already been too much suffering in this family."
"And you think I'm to blame?"
"I think you have actly rashly too many times, yes."
"And you haven't?" Louis replied.
"Be careful Louis, you forget your place..."
"Believe me, I know my place exactly. I was even more clear when you
decided to name Philippe your heir, over
"I'm sorry you had to learn that, Louis, but I did it for a reason. You
see I wanted the both of you to live in peace should anything ever happen to
me."
"So you named Philippe your heir, because you imagined he would not harm
me?"
"Exactly Louis. It had nothing to do with who would make the better King...In
fact you would both be equally as good, just in different ways."
Louis smirked.
"You only say this to try to make me feel better."
"No I don't. I do think you would be a good King, better than Philippe on
many ways. You know that we are sometimes forced to make difficult decisions in
this office...do you think Philippe could make these decisions?"
Louis shrugged.
"You seem very impressed with the decision he made about
"I am, but being leanient is not always the correct course, as we have
learned with Francois. Yet in your case, it is. Like I said, I believe this
trip will make you a better person. And I hope you will treat it as such and
not as a punishment."
Louis nodded.
"I will try." he replied.
"Thank you, Louis. Take care, alright?"
Louis nodded.
"And you to little brother," he replied.
Philippe called the guards back into the room.
"You can take Louis back to his cell," he said.
"Will you let Mother visit me tonight?" Louis asked.
"Of course," the KIng replied. "That goes without saying."
After Louis had gone, there was a knock.
"Come in," Philippe said.
A servant entered.
"There is a letter for you Sire," he said.
"Thank you," Philippe said, taking the envelop.
He dismissed the servant, before he opened the note....
The writing
was very scrawly and the letter included many spelling mistakes. It was
defenitly not written by a refined person.
But the
king managed to read it. While he was reading he turned pale.
Philippe
swallowed. Then he called a servant.
"Send
D'Artagnan to me. Quickly", he ordered.
"Yes
Sire."
D'Artagnan
entered the room about ten minutes later.
"Your
Majesty, you wanted to see me?"
"Read this
letter. Marie-Therese has been kidnapped by some bandits and now they want
ransom."
The king
gave the letter to D'Artagnan who read it.
"That's
terrible", he said, "what must we do now?"
The king
lowered his head.
"I
think we should pay the ransom first. I don't want to risk her life."
D'Artagnan
nodded.
"This
is all my fault", Philippe sobbed, "if I wouldn't have been so
unfriendly to her, she would have never run away."
"No
Sire, it isn't your fault", D'Artagnan replied, "these bandits are
responsible for this and nobody else."
"You
say this to comfort me, D'Artagnan. But actually you know that I share the
blame for this."
"Well,
Marie-Therese has also been very careless..."
The king
nodded sadly.
"Do
you think we should inform her father now?" D'Artagnan asked.
The King
shook his head.
"I fear that he will be very angry about this and blame me if anything
happens to her. It could begin a war. We could not fight Spain."
"Your Uncle will not begin a war, Philippe. Although I do fear it will
damage relations between France and Spain."
"Then we should not tell him?"
"Alas, I don't think these bandits are stupid. They know who Marie-Therese
is, they will also be demanding randsom from your Uncle. We must send someone
immediately to let him know we are not keeping anything from him."
Philippe sighed.
"You are right. I would ask you to do it, but I think you will want to
ride to Marsailles with Louis tomorrow."
D'Artagnan bowed.
"That is my wish Sire."
"Then perhaps Athos, Aramis and Porthos could go. You could leave Andre in
charge of the musketeers."
D'Artagnan nodded his head.
"Do you also want to send more men to search for Marie-Therese. I suspect
she may be in the same woods where the bandits were before."
"That is a good idea. Thank you D'Artagnan."
The musketeer bowed.
****************************************************************************
Philippe (The twin) sat alone in his study absently messing with a quill.
He was thinking about Louis, looking out across the gardens towards the
musketeer barracks.
Part of him wanted Louis to suffer, but part of him wanted them to reconcile
before Louis's journey. Philippe knew that if anything were to happen to either
of them in the following year then he would be really sorry that they had not
made up...
He sighed and tried to decide what to do.
Finally he
sighed and stood up. Then he left his room to see Louis.
On the way
to the musketeer barracks Philippe thought about what the could say to Louis.
Actually he had no idea. He was still very angry about his twin and not sure if
he could find some nice words for him.
Finally he
arrived at the barracks. At the courtyard he met a musketeer. The man bowed.
"Your
Highness."
"I
want to see my brother", Philippe demanded.
"Yes
of course, your Highness. I will bring you to him", the musketeer replied
hastily.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Louis was lying
on his bed and trying to sleep a bit. But then the noise of footsteps woke him
up.
Louis
yawned and sat up. Obviously someone was coming to his cell. He wasn't very
excited about this because actually he had wanted to rest a bit.
Then the
door opened and Philippe entered.
Louis
became embarrassed when he saw his twin. He didn't know how to react. So he
prefered to turn his head and to look away.
Philippe
saw that and became angry.
"Look
at me Louis", he demanded, "or haven't you recognize me?"
Louis
forced himself to look at his brother.
"What
do you want from me?" he asked.
"Actually
I wanted to try if we could reconcile", Philippe replied, "but after
your reaction now I have almost lost the desire again."
"I'm
sorry", Louis said, "but can't you understand that it made me
embarrassed when you have entered... after all what has happened?"
"You
are just cowardly, Louis. Because you didn't dare to look at me. You have not
only done these terrible things to me, now you are even acting like a coward."
"Well,
I thought you wanted to reconcille. But what you have said untill now doesn't
sound very conciliatory."
"It
isn't easy to face you Louis. At the very least you could appear sorry!"
Louis looked at his brother.
"I regret what I did." he said quietly.
Philippe looked at him.
"How do you regret it?" he asked.
"What do you mean? I said I regret what I did."
Philippe shook his head.
"But that could mean anything," he said. "You regret what you
did, or you regret that it did not work out right."
Louis thought.
"Both, I guess. I must admit that it probably was the most cowardly thing
I've done. I was afraid of what you'd do to me, and I know that's not an
excuse. I should have been brave enough to face you and talk things through."
Philippe sighed.
"Then why didn't you do it?" he asked. "Surely you know that I
would never have done anything to you should anything have happened to the
King."
"Do I know that?" Louis asked. "Honestly, can you say that you
know that?"
Philippe was suddenly confused. Perhaps Louis was right. Maybe he might have
imagined Louis was a threat...He fought the thoughts away, horrified by them.
He never wanted to be that kind of person.
"I would never have hurt you!" he blurted out.
But Louis could see his brother was affected.
"I know what power does, Philippe," Louis said. "It's made me do
things I regret."
He shook his head.
"I know Philippe, and that's why I did what I did."
His voice was soft and filled with regret.
Philippe honestly did not know how to answer....
"Maybe
it would have been better if we were not born as princes but as common
people", he finally said.
Louis
nodded.
"Yes.
Maybe. But then we would maybe have other problems. The life of common people
is not easy. They often haven't enough food."
"I
would prefer to be hungry sometimes, if I would have a happy family in
return", Philippe replied sadly.
"You
are maybe right", Louis said thoughtfully, "but now we are what we
are, and we have to cope with that."
"Do you
think that your character will change during the next year while you are in
"Well,
you have decided to send me to
"I
have good reasons to be sceptical", Philippe replied, "I thought so
many times that you had learned your lesson and that you had changed. But you
always prooved me that I was wrong. So how can I know that it will be different
this time."
Louis shook
his head.
"I'm
not a prophet", he said, "and I can't say what will happen during the
next year. But I can promise you that I will endeavor to improve."
"You
should do that, Louis", Philippe replied, "because I don't know if
this family will cope with it, if crack up another time."
"Yeah.
But can't you even try to understand me? I was king. The old king knew that I
was not his son. Yet he accepted me as his successor. He agreed with me
becoming king. So I was a legitimate ruler. Yet I gave the throne to our little
brother. Just because I wanted you to be free, Philippe! I have done without
the throne in favour of you, Philippe!"
Philippe
bit his lips.
"And
then our brother has neglected me", Louis continued, "Can't you
really understand how I felt at this moment? I did everything to make our
family happy and then I was thrown on the scrap heap. At least I felt so. Now I
knew that Philippe had other reasons, but at this time I felt betrayed and
exploited."
Philippe
lowered his head.
"I'm sorry that you felt like this," he said quietly. "And I am
grateful for what you have done for this family...I'm really grateful, but this
still does not excuse the way you behaved."
"But it is an excuse. I was hurt, Philippe. I was afraid that you would
make me even less of a royal than I already am. That's why I did it."
This only made Philippe feel angry again.
"So you honestly were willing to punish me, my wife and children just so
you could feel power again?"
"...I never meant it like that..."
"Really? You know what I think Louis? I think you now regret giving up the
throne and you would take any opportunity to seize it back. Afterall it's only
been a year and a half and you've tried twice!"
Louis shook his head.
"Maybe I should regret it!" he said. "Maybe it would be better
if you were back in prison, because if we're being honest this family didn't
have any problems until you came on the scene."
Philippe felt the words like a kick....
"So it
was my fault?!" he exclaimed "it was my fault that you have sent me
to prison?!"
Louis
regret what he had said immediately.
"I
lived at my old estate peacefully", Philippe continued, "and then suddenly
one day I was taken to prison and I had no idea what was going on! I had done
nothing, but you had sent Aramis to arrest me! That was the beginning of
everything. And now you want to blame me for your crimes?! You can't be
serious!"
Louis knew
that he had said something very stupid and wrong. But he was to proud to admit
it and to apolognize. So instead he continued to adopt a confrontational course
towards his twin.
"Well,
well... but it is true that we wouldn't have any problems, if you wouldn't be
there", he said.
Philippe
inhaled.
"Louis,
be carriful about what you are saying!" he exclaimed "I could change
my mind. Afterall there are still other ways to punish you."
"Oh
yeah. I forgot that you are the master now and I'm the accused. So I should
better shut up and only say "yes" and "Amen" to you",
Louis mocked.
"That's
enough!" Philippe shouted "You won't go to
"Hey,
hey. Calm down, brother", Louis replied, "we are both just a bit
agitated."
"I'm
serious, Louis."
"But...
I'm sorry."
"Yeah,
I believe that you are sorry now", Philippe said coldly, "the idea of
a dark dungeon must be frightening. Goodbye."
And
Philippe left the cell and slammed the door behind himself.
Louis was
thunderstrucked.
"He...
he won't do that... He is just angry", he finally said to himself.
_______________________________________________________________________________
When he went
back to the palace, Philippe met D'Artagnan. The captain saw that his son was
very angry.
"Philippe,
what has happened?" he said "Why are you looking so angry?"
"Louis.
He doesn't deserves such a lenient penalty", Philippe exclaimed, "he
will go to prison now. That's what he deserves!"
D'Artagnan
was puzzled.
"But...
What has happened, for God's sake?"
Philippe
shook his head.
"He tried to blame me for everything that has happened to this family! Can
you believe that? He actually thinks that without me you would all live in
peace."
"Louis said that."
"He said that. But it was him who brought me into your lives, wasn't it?
That makes it all his fault."
"Are you sure Louis said that, Philippe? I mean I know you're annoyed with
him. Maybe you misunderstood..."
"You don't believe me, Father?" Philippe asked angrily. "Perhaps
you take his side and believe this to be true?"
"I would never think that you are in any way to blame for what has
happened to us, Philippe. But I fear that ytour anger is making you act rashly,
just as Louis would do in your position."
"But Father, don't you see, even a year in exile will not change him!
He'll come back and act in the same way as he has always acted!"
"What are you saying Philippe? It was your idea to send him to
America."
"He deserves to go to prison though! He does deserve to be punished, not
just for what he has done to me but what about this girl he has killed, what
about Marie's family, what about all the troops who have died fighting the Dutch
because of him! How many more will have to die, just because he is a Prince!!!
Does that make him above the law???"
D'Artagnan had never seen his son so angry. Philippe was almost hysterical, and
it frightened the Captain.
"Philippe," he said gently. "I have killed many people in my
life. Should I then, be in prison?"
"But you have only killed when you fight for what is right...You are
nothing like...HIM."
"His name is Louis, Philippe and he is and will always be your brother, no
matter what happens. And as for me..the truth is I have killed many times
people who did not deserve to die. Your Papa is the one I regret most..."
D'Artagnan felt the guilt of that moment again.
"But that was an accident..." Philippe sobbed.
"Yes and do you think that Louis has made mistakes. He never meant to be
responsible for these deaths that you mention, either."
"How do you know this, though! How come, everytime we try to live in
peace, it is always him who brings more trouble?"
"Louis acts rashly, it's true, but he has a good heart, Philippe. You
would still be at Exiles were it not for Louis abdicating the throne."
"He has said this too, like I should be grateful,but the truth is, I
cannot be grateful."
"You are angry Philippe. You will calm down soon and realise that your
original idea of Exile is the correct one."
Philippe shook his head.
"I doubt it," he said. "I think I will speak to the King. Make
him see that Louis deserves a harsher punishment!"
"But what about Louise, Pascal and the new baby?"
"I..."
"You have forgotten them?"
"He did not think of Claudine and the twins when he sent me to St
Marguerite!"
"Like I said, Louis acts rashly. Do not become like this, my son. Reflect
before you act."
"I will wait until the morning," Philippe replied. "But I will
still feel the same then."
"Perhaps you will, but I have faith that you will do the right
thing."
"You have too much faith in me, Father."
Philippe walked away leaving his father alone. Suddenly D'Artagnan was
afraid...
Then a musketeer came running in.
"Captain!" he gasped. "News from the troops. They have the last
of the dutch surrounded and Francois is with them..."
D'Artagnan stood up.
"has the King been informed?" he asked.
"Jean is doing that now!"
D'Artagnan strapped on his sword. There would be no sleep tonight and no chance
to see Louis...He sighed and made his way out of his roooms and towards the
Palace....
At the
palace the generals and officers had already gathered when D'Artagnan arrived
there. Everyone was very agitated.
"Captain",
a general said, "Francois and the Dutch are trapped. What do you think
that we should do now?"
"That's
not my descision", D'Artagnan replied, "I'm only the captain of the
musketeers. Actually you are above me, Monsieur."
"Yes,
but your opinion is important for us, Captain."
"Well,
I think we should wait for what the king
At this
moment a young musketeer arrived.
"Messieurs",
he said, "I have order from the king. He wants us to start the attack immediately."
"Has
he said, what we have to do with Francois?" D'Artagnan asked.
"His
Majesty said that you must kill him immediately if you get the chance. Don't
make him your prisoner. His Majesty thinks that Francois will be a danger as
long as he lives."
D'Artagnan
nodded.
"I
understand", he said, "I think we all will be relieved when Francois
is dead."
Actually it
made D'Artagnan shudder that he was saying something like this about a little
boy. But this boy wasn't a normal child. He was a little devil.
The general
spoke.
"Alright.
So we should start off immediately. Our troops are already waiting for
us."
Everyone
agreed and they left the palace and went to the stables.
_______________________________________________________________________________
The king
had just dismissed the musketeer Jean, when there was another knock at the
door.
He sighed.
"Yes.
Come in", he called a bit stressed.
It was
Philippe who entered.
"Oh
Philippe. I thought it is another soldier or servant", he said, "but
to see you is always nice."
"I
have to talk with you about Louis", Philippe said.
The king
noticed the anger in Philippe's voice.
"I
suspect there has happened something", he said.
"Louis
is so impudent and corrupt", Philippe exclaimed, "he deserves a
harder punishment. He has to go to prison."
"One
moment, please. First you wanted to send him to
"I
said that he is impudent."
"That
is no answer, brother. What has exactly happened."
Philippe
moaned and told his brother the whole story.
"Can
you believe that he has said that", he exclaimed, "he is completly
unreasonable and incorrigible. There's only one way. He has to go to prison. Or
we will have trouble with him after one year again."
The King
sighed and shook his head.
"I'm sorry, Philippe, but I cannot agree with you."
"But..."
"but nothing, Philippe. You are angry, Louis is angry and neither of you
in this frame of mind can make rational decisions."
"But..."
"Philippe, your first idea was right and just and that is the only
punishment I will consent to...."
"But what about this girl he had killed? What about Marie's father?"
"Louis has acted rashly in the past, but so have I. Do you want to reflect
in a few weeks or months and think the same? Don't you see that sending Louis
to prison would do far more harm to your relationship?"
Philippe shook his head.
"I don't believe me and Louis can ever have a relationship, Sire. Not
properly."
"That makes me sad, Philippe," the King replied. "I don't
believe that we cannot work this out."
"I don't think we can. And I don't believe Louis can be a better
person."
"I know you don't mean that, Philippe! And I for one will never give up on
this family. Louis will go to
"But..."
"My final word..."
Philippe lowered his head.
"I think it would do you good to go with D'Artagnan now and oversee the capture
and execution of Francois."
"Execution?" Philippe replied.
"Yes.
Our troops have surrounded the Dutch and Francois. I have given order to
attack."
"And
you want to kill Francois?"
"Yes",
the king replied, "then he can never harm us again."
"But
he is a child..."
The king
looked angry at Philippe.
"Philippe,
on the one hand you want to send Louis to prison, your own brother! And on the
other hand you have sympathie for this little devil. That's absurd."
"You
can't compare these things", Philippe protested.
"Oh,
of course I can. Louis has done bad things, but what Francois has done is far
more worse. Louis is our brother, Francois is not. Yet you have sympathie for
Francois, but not for Louis. Do you see the inconsistency?"
Philippe
lowered his head.
"I
will not give a pardon to Francois this time", the king said, "I
won't do this mistake another time."
"I
don't think I will join the battle", Philippe said, "I have no good
memories from my last battles. And I would like to be with my wife and children
now."
"As
you want."
Philippe
turned and went to the door.
"You
know what?", he said, "Francois and Louis have at least one thing in
common."
"And
that is?"
"They
are both incorrigible and you can't trust them."
"Philippe,
stop insulting Louis!"
"Oh
yeah, I forgot that he is such a nice guy. I mean he has only sent me to
prison. Of course this is not so bad... Damn!"
And
Philippe ran out of the room.
The king
shook his head sadly.
_______________________________________________________________________________
D'Artagnan
and the others arrived at the place where the french troops had surrounded the
Dutch. The first officer of the troops spoke to D'Artagnan.
"They
haven't notice us yet. Shall we attack them?"
"Yes,
we have order from the king. Do you know where Francois is?"
The man
pointed onto the biggest tent."
"Inside
this tent."
"Alright",
D'Artagnan said, "the king wants us to kill Francois. So I think we should
send a special unit to this tent while the rest of us will attack the Dutch. I
don't want Francois to escape."
"Alright",
the officer replied.
"But
Captain D'Artagnan," the officer replied. "Perhaps you should lead
this special unit, to make sure the King's wishes are carried out."
D'Artagnan felt his heart leap at the thought. Although Francois had caused a
lot of suffering to his family he could not imagine killing a child. But it had
to be done.
He managed to nod.
"You are right," he said. "I will lead this special unit. Please
can you assign two men to assist me?"
The officer nodded and went to obey the order.
A minute later two men approached the Captain. D'Artagnan nodded.
"It is our mission to storm that tent," he said. "And to kill the
traitor Francois. He must not escape."
The two men nodded.
D'Artagnan drew his sword and nodded his head.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Yes Captain."
The Special unit moved quietly towards the tent. They reached it without any
interruptions. Obviously the remains of the army loyal to Francois were
small....
D'Artagnan signalled to the others to follow before he quickly rushed into the
tent.
Francois looked up at the interruption. When he recognised the Captain he
smiled.
"Well if it isn't D'Artagnan," he scoffed. "You took your time.
Your bastard sons with you, are they?"
D'Artagnan swallowed hard and walked towards the boy.
The other men stayed near the entrance.
"So you're going to arrest me?" Francois went on.
D'Artagnan raised his sword.
Francois's eyes filled with fear suddenly, as he realised the mans intention.
"NO!!!!" the boy's mother cried, running into the tent.....
Florentine
stepped between D'Artagnan and her son.
"If
you want to kill him, you will have to kill me first", she said bravely.
D'Artagnan
moaned. That was really the last thing what he could need. As if it was not
already hard enough for him.
"He
must die", he said, "as long as he lives the royal family won't be
able to live in peace."
"Oh I
think the royal family also won't live in peace as long as Louis lives",
Francois scoffed, "yeah, I know what's going on at the palace. I'm not
stupid."
"Shut
up!" D'Artagnan called and moved forward.
"No!"
Florentine begged "Please, don't harm my son."
"It
has to be done. Please, I don't want to hurt you, Madame."
"But
he is just a child", she cried, "why can't you spare his life? We
will leave this country and never come back."
"We
have spared his life before and it was a mistake. We won't make this mistake
again", D'Artagnan replied.
"Please!"
D'Artagnan
felt how he torned. Francois was an evil guy, but his mother was alright. Had
he really the right to kill her son?
"I...
I have an order", he finally said, "the king sends me. I can't ignore
his order."
"Oh, you
can", Florentine replied, "you are the father of the twins. The king
won't harm you, if you spare my son's life."
D'Artagnan
bit his lips. Now he doubt that it has been a good idea to lead this special
unit personally. Another leader than him would have had not so much scruple.
But
suddenly Francois had a pistol in his had and aimed at D'Artagnan.
"Well
mother", he said, "I think our friend D'Artagnan won't kill anyone
here."
...
Florentine
looked at her son.
"No Francois" she said. "You should not do this either....If you
kill him then you will have no chance of being spared."
The boy and the man looked at each other, each with their guns levelled at the
other, with Florentine inbetween.
"Move out of the way Mother," Francois instructed.
"No Francois," Florentine half sobbed. "This is not how this
should end..."
"Mother! He's no-one! My fathers brother would have been grateful that I
should kill this traitor...send his body back to the palace in pieces..."
"But Francois...you will not survive this. There are many of them and they
will kill you too."
"At least I will have my revenge," Francois said coolly.
Quickly he pushed his mother out of the way.
Both D'Artagnan and Francois seized the moment, the guns discharged....
Florentine screamed...She could not bear to look.....