The Key to Salvation

Chapter One

"You have been found guilty of the crime of which you are accused. The sentence is five years in prison. Take him away."

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Athos entered the Bastille, passing easily through the security checkpoints, before arriving at his destination. The jailor unlocked the door to the cell and stood back.

"Fifteen minutes," he said gruffly.

Once Athos had stepped into the dark, dank cell the door was locked behind him. He heard Aramis before he got a clear view of him. His friend's cough was worsening and he saw the effort it took for Aramis to rise from his bed to greet him.

"A month already?" Aramis asked. His clothes hung from a body which was severely emaciated and his dark eyes seemed to dominate his thin face. His hair hung limply and was far longer than Athos was used to seeing. His normally immaculately trimmed beard was now bushy and uneven.

Athos walked forward and opened his arms. When Aramis all but fell into his embrace he could feel his friend's ribs under his hands. "How do you fare?" he asked.

Aramis pulled away reluctantly. In the lamplight his face looked grey, his normal tanned complexion overcome by the enforced darkness of his cell. "No better and no worse than the last time you visited."

"We continue our efforts to free you," Athos said.

Aramis looked at him sadly. "It has been ten months since I was condemned. If you were going to find any evidence of my innocence you would have done so by now."

"We will never give up."

"Whoever planted the Queen's necklace in my rooms was cunning and resourceful. You will never track them down." Aramis made his way back to the bed and sat wearily. He tired easily these days as his muscles weakened from lack of use and malnutrition.

"If we knew why you were chosen we might have a clue as to the culprit. Are you sure you can't think of anyone who would want to see you disgraced?"

"I wish I could, but no-one comes to mind." Aramis began to cough, his body wracked by tremors. Athos was immediately there to rub circles on his back in an effort to alleviate the symptoms. Once the fit had passed he surreptitiously wiped his eyes to rid himself of the tears that had accumulated there. "Tell me of Porthos and d'Artagnan. Are they well?"

"They are, although they miss you. Porthos has taken your confinement particularly hard. He throws himself into his work with an unwholesome enthusiasm."

"Tell him not to risk his health," Aramis begged. He feared that if anything happened to Porthos it would destroy him.

"I will."

"The Queen? The Dauphin?"

"Both are in good health." Athos didn't add that the Queen carried an air of melancholy around her. It would do Aramis no good to know that she missed him so badly. "Treville continues to petition the King for your release."

"The Captain is a good man although I fear he wastes his breath." Aramis' expression turned heartbreakingly sad when he heard the key turn in the lock. "It seems our time is at an end, my friend."

Athos gripped Aramis' shoulder. "Don't despair. We will get you out of here."

"I know you will try." There was no hope left in Aramis' soul. He didn't doubt that his friends would do everything possible for him but after so long without news he no longer believed that he would be spared the full extent of his punishment. His one solace was prayer and the belief that his God would never abandon him. It was the only thing keeping him from descending into the darkest desolation.

Each parting was harder than the last and, after Athos had left, he sank back onto the bed, hunched forward and miserable. Apart from his jailor he wouldn't see another living soul for a month. No news would come from the outside world. He would spend each day in isolation with only his bible for company. His hand sought it now, caressing the worn leather. The words of Psalm sixty-two came to his lips:

"For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation."

TMTMTM

Athos wasn't surprised to find Porthos and d'Artagnan waiting for him on his return to the garrison. He alone had been permitted to visit Aramis and even that was an indulgence which could be snatched away from them without warning.

"How is he?" d'Artagnan asked before Athos had even dismounted.

"He has given up hope," Athos said bluntly. "It is understandable."

"He thinks we have abandoned him?"

"No, Porthos, but he no longer believes we will find the true culprit."

"We 'ave to keep lookin'"

"We have tried everything. We have spoken to the guards and the servants and no-one saw anything unusual. The only thing they agreed on was that Aramis was seen near the Queen's chambers the day the necklace disappeared."

"Any one of us could have had a perfectly valid reason to be in that vicinity," d'Artagnan argued. "You know that."

"And, of itself, that wouldn't have been sufficient to condemn him. It was, however, enough for the King to order his rooms searched."

"One of the Red Guard could have secreted the necklace there."

"To what end, d'Artagnan? What would be their motive?"

"You almost sound as if you think he's guilty," Porthos said accusingly.

"I will never believe that Aramis stole the necklace but we need more than our faith in his innocence to clear his name."

"Perhaps one of the servants stole it."

"That is certainly a possibility but they would have had to be in the pay of someone else. If they had stolen it for themselves they would have broken it up and sold the stones." Athos sat down at the table in the yard. The emotions he felt when visiting Aramis always exhausted him. "We need to face facts, gentlemen. Aramis' best hope is for a pardon from the King."

"Even if Louis agrees he will never restore Aramis' commission. What would he do if he was released?" d'Artagnan sat next to his mentor.

"I fear he would leave Paris. Soldiering has been his life. If he cannot serve in the King's regiments he will have to seek out other employment."

"Become a mercenary?" Porthos asked. "Aramis fights for honour, not money."

"There will be few choices open to him." Athos sighed heavily. "It's pointless speculating. We are no nearer securing his release than we were when he was first arrested. D'Artagnan, do you still have the list of those on duty on the day?"

"Yes, of course."

"Then we will return to the beginning and see if we can root out the truth."

Tbc