AutevielledelaFere

In the following days, Milady had been in and out of the city more than ever, paying her promised visits to Orianne and reporting to Richelieu in order to maintain appearances, but giving him almost nothing with regards to information. Buckingham had finally wholly tired of waiting and was no longer willing to give Richelieu time to complete his own affairs on the land. It was growing near to the time to act. She had watched the Englishman with curiosity as messages were passed via the coloured flame signals, blue and green and yellow but never red, and saw airships moving into new positions. It was at dawn of the third day of preparations th

Meanwhile, over the passing three days, Athos was not the sole person occupied with Orianne's welfare, when Loanne and Rudolf found themselves returning home the day of her escape with nothing to be found of their youngest child's presence. They stomped around, shouting her name as if this alone would make her appear from the air, and when she did not they became furious. "How dare she leave without my permission?" demanded Loanne, glaring at Rudolf as if he had been the one to allow their daughter leave. "You have not taught her obedience, obviously," spat Rudolf, glaring back at his short, plump wife. "Should you not be out in the streets

Milady's carriage rolled swiftly along the bumpy cobblestone street, its passenger quite content with herself. She played her fingers on the pommel of her walking stick, tracing the rippling design in the gold and chuckling slyly to herself. Now that Athos had made such a move as kidnapping the young woman he was so interested in, it made her plans much easier as he would suffer right away when, not if, she went missing. For now, her plot was to be put aside in favour of her visit to the Cardinal to deliver Buckingham's positive response to Richelieu's treaty conditions, which she had neglected doing for quite some time now. The Palais Cardi

Louis warily finished signing a parchment, the last of a large stack that was placed to his right on his personal desk. He sighed, yawned widely and glanced out the window, where the first sunrays were already showing over the horizon. The third night in a row, in which he had not slept a moment, had just gone by. He rubbed his creased forehead with his hand and stood, walking around his desk to go look at Anne, who, despite his insisting that she go to bed, was still sprawled on the chair near the wall. She was fast asleep, tucked under the king's mantel that he had placed on her at around two in the morning. Her blonde curls, usually so met

The overcast clouds predicted an oncoming summer shower but until mid-morning, they had not broken. Athos smirked as he looked out the window at the distant ships amongst those clouds and felt a sense of vindictive pleasure at the thought that Buckingham was up there getting soaked along with his men. Serves them right for laying siege to Paris. Orianne's voice cut across his thoughts. "Is there something funny outside?" she asked randomly, turning in her seat and tilting her head to look at him. He blinked at her a moment or two then left the open window. "No, nothing at all," he said, approaching her. "Show me how you've done with those l

Rain lashed the windows in a sudden summer storm and Richelieu's office in the Louvre was layered in shadows made by the flickering candles. The figurines set up around the map of Europe on the floor appeared slightly menacing in their stillness, banners frozen and caught in a non-existent wind, soldiers bearing down on one another's borders with cavalry and infantry war ready and violent. His own secretary, Father Joseph, stood close to his desk, practically at his elbow, passing him each document silently. The quill scratched incessantly, sometimes pausing over documents to study them further before signing. Some documents he set in a separ

The sun was setting on Paris and the musketeers' lodging on Pont Notre Dame was full of activity. Porthos' laugh was boisterous, aided by the wine he had consumed thus far. Aramis was chuckling lightly as well, a pen in one hand and a book in front him, wet ink still shimmering on the page. Athos sat in his usual place by the door to his room, his back against the wall, a half full cup of wine in his hand. Roderic sat stiff and awkward next to D'Artagnan, his hands wringing in his lap. Roderic had been invited for dinner but had really only came for his weekly visit to inquire about Orianne's well-being. It was Porthos who had insisted that h

"How did you get in here?" "Through the window, Your Eminence. You really should have your men trained to look to the sky sometime instead of only at street level." Milady was perched on the edge of Richelieu's desk, plucking her gloves off one finger at a time, her hat plumed hat pinned at a jaunty angle on top of her copper curls. Richelieu gave her a brutal, icy stare in a fierce expression of his displeasure. "I would wonder why you came back after your failure in the affair of the diamond studs but your boldness does not surprise me." Milady set her removed gloves on the desk and reached down the front of her dress to pull forth the s

Buckingham sat at his table in the cabin, peering at the tiny scroll between his fingers with a half smirk brushing across his face. The message was from Richelieu, of all people, and it was very short. But he was able to derive from its well-chosen words that the Cardinal was looking for a truce to protect himself from the Duke's efforts against the King and against France. Buckingham hummed to himself as he pulled a piece of parchment towards him. He phrased his words carefully, neither giving his full acceptance of the truce nor denying the offer. If Richelieu too was held in his power then Buckingham would have free reign to seek his rev