A Woman's Scorn

After another 2 weeks Lorelei was released from the hospital. Each evening Armand visited her and they talked and laughed, played cards or he read to her. There was a lot of quiet times to when he just held her and also lots and lots of kissing ofcourse...ok and a bit of fondling to but only because she asked him to do that. Armand lived in the commons in a nice, clean third story apartment. It wasn't large but it was nice and it had a large balcony. There she convalesced but they both agreed that they would be careful considering Severin was still out there and he left loaded pistols near the door and in the bedroom for her so she could get at them if she needed them. Each night Armand returned to her and they would take walks or dine out with her new friends, other Musketeers that quickly grew to adore her or attend the theatre which he liked a lot. The healing was slow but more and more she regained her strength and her...flexibility and their nights grew progressively more and more hotter.

In the middle of the 4th week however D'artagnan appeared instead of Armand and he had told her that another attempt had been made on his life. He escorted her to the hospital and this time it was Armand in the bed and Lorelei wondering if he'd ever wake again.

Lorelei was more than ready to get out of that hospital. There she and Armand didn't have quite the privacy she would have liked, even though she knew she still couldn't really do anything. She moved into Armand's apartment, which was rather scandalous since they weren't married, but neither of them cared. With Severin still after them it was decided that them remaining together in one place was better. Lorelei was impressed by Armand's apartment. It wasn't very large, but it was clean and nice looking in it's appearance. However, it was also clear that only a man lived there and Lorelei decided to add some of her touches to the apartment. With Severin still out there going out too much was not an option, but when they would go out Athos, Aramis, Porthos, and D'Artagnan would remain with them just in case something should happen. Lorelei loved the theatre and they went as often as they could. They still hadn't done much besides heavy kissing and some fondling, but Lorelei's strength had nearly completely returned and the wound was nicely healed which mean that soon they would be able to unleash the pent up passions that had been building for so long.

That day Lorelei was in Armand's apartment relaxing when D'Artagnan appeared and she was horrified to learn that Severin had made another appearance and this time Armand had been shot. Lorelei rushed to the hospital and walked into the room. Tears filled her eyes when she saw him laying on the bed unconscious. She walked over to him and sat on the edge of the bed and took his hand in her own. She just stared down at him for a while before leaning over and kissing him gently. She then stood up and walked out of the room. She said not a word to any of the other Musketeers, but she went back to Armand's apartment and gathered as many pistols as she could and several knives. She then walked out of the apartment and procured a horse and then rode quickly out of the main city and towards Severin's house.

For nearly two months Severin wallowed in his own hatred of himself and self pity that alternated each time he thought about Lorelei. He was a lonely man, one that had been forced to let her go when the powers that be had discovered that he had the painting he had Lorelei steal from the Cardinal’s office. A fence had been questioned by the militia and only a little rough treatment had him singing like a canary to them about Severin.

However Severin quickly discovered that they weren’t interested in him, only the thief. He gave her up easily but later, alone in his home he wept and drank himself into unconsciousness. He had abused Anne so badly she had to be hospitalized but he hardly noticed or cared. His Lorelei was gone and likely going to be hanged. But she hadn’t been he quickly discovered, something was going on he knew and only a few well-placed bribes exposed the truth.

So, she had made a deal...a full pardon? All of his influence with her was about to become null and once more, his watchers had told him that she had been seen with one of the Musketeers. In a jealous rage Severin smashed up his library, books and book shelves tossed and many books, her favorites torn into shreds. He went into her rooms as well but he could not bring himself to touch anything. He closed and locked her door and never went back into them again.

Severin knew what the deal was that she had made with the Cardinal. He also trained her and knew the night she’d likely attempt her task. He had staged a protestant riot outside the church during the Bishop’s mass and he saw Armand there and decided to make his move. It wasn’t a moment later that Lorelei appeared and as he smiled at her he drew out his pistol then shifted to show her what defying him meant and fired. However she had put herself in front of his shot and he could not hold back from pulling his trigger. He fled with everyone else and returned home believing he had killed her.

But he hadn’t he discovered, the Musketeers were guarding her at the hospital. She had won her pardon and had effectively escaped him. Something he could not just allow. He’d make her pay before he was done. This Armand would pay...with his life and she would know the same pain he felt right then. The pain of being alone.

After weeks and weeks of looking for him one of his searchers found him at a flower shop and he had told Severin that he went there often. It was only two more days that he cased the small shop that Armand returned there and he shot him in the back then fled. He knew Lorelei would be coming for him and he had hired two men to protect him at all times. He and his thugs had been waiting for her but he knew not how and when her attack would come.

After years of living with Severin, Lorelei knew he was a very smart man and would most certainly be waiting for her retaliation. She also figured he would hire some body guards since he knew what she was capable of. She made him wait for several days. She wanted to torture him a little by not making her move right away. She got a good look at the guards and decided poisoning them was her best option. The servants of the house hated Severin and she was able to intercept one of them and easily convince him to help her. The servant told her that the guards remained with Severin at all times, but weren't necessarily right at his side. She gave him the poison and instructed him to slip it into their food that night. She had no doubt that the guards wouldn't notice it. They seemed like the types to eat extremely quickly. She also told the servant to get the other servants and as much of her possessions and her dogs out of the house before midnight. She planned to burn the house to the ground.

The servant was to give her a visual signal when the guards were dead. She waited on pins and needles and was starting to think that something had gone wrong until she spotted the signal. She knew Severin would be in the library having a drink. She slipped inside the house and went to the kitchen. She grabbed a few burning candles and began to torch anything that would easily burn. She knew the me would be limited so she quickly left and went up to the library. With a pistol in hand she walked inside and glared at Severin.

"I've waited for this moment for so long. I'm going to finally be free of you Severin."

Severin turned quickly, shocked that she could get past his guards. It was then he smelled the smoke. KNowing he was as good as dead he sat back in his chair but his sleeve knife was ready to throw.

“So...you will kill me after all Lorelei...I...Severin who saved your miserable life from prison and death. I, who taught you how to use that pistol you hold and much much more. I who took you in, provided for you and taught you how to provide for yourself. I am the father of all that. You who would have died long ago in prison or in the streets, a pathetic wretch that the rats would not bother to lower themselves to consume. A fine price you pay me in return. Your Betrayal cuts at my belly as a sword. And you stand there angry because I took your man from you. How small you’ve become,” he said dryly then he ripped a few buttons from his shirt and exposed his chest to her.

“Make it a good shot my dear, kill me and live with the guilt of who you would have been without me,” he said angrily but she could tell he was very sad as well. He didn’t want to die but he also did. When she seemed to pause he lowered his arms and went down onto his knees before her. He leaned forward and leaned his head onto her pistol. “Come on, do it!” he said, his voice cracking due to his fear and urgency. “Do it or I will take you into my bed and make you mine once more...do it girl, do it!” he snapped.

Lorelei just glared at Severin. She kept the pistol up and aimed at him. She would kill him, but she wanted him first to know all of the pain he had caused her. She watched as he got down onto his knees and put his head against her pistol. She cocked the pistol, but then paused.

"You think I'm pathetic? You're the one who could only get a woman into bed by blackmailing her, or forcing her. You think I should be grateful to you for everything you've done for me like you are some guardian Angel? The Devil is more like it. I may have died alone in the streets without you, but at least I would have known who I was. You took me and twisted me around and turned me into the monster you needed me to be. I once believed you actually cared about me...perhaps even loved me, but no one would betray someone they loved as you betrayed me. However, I know that Armand loves me and he still lives. After all of the pain you have put me through the monster you created to kill others for you will now kill you. One last kill before I leave this life forever."

He cackled evilly almost maniacally at her words and then like a snake he shifted. However Lorelei was prepared for his tricks, she was his student after all and knew well the trick to lull one that had the upper hand into relaxing then taking advantage. Before he could free his dagger from his sleeve her pistol fired and its bullet put a hole through his brain. He fell back as she calmly lifted the pistol, it’s barrel billowed smoke into the air as a ceiling timber fell behind her. Severins eyes were wide open and his mouth was locked in that evil laughing expression for eternity or until the fire that grew larger behind her consumed his corpse. An expression that she would see in her nightmares until the grave.

The building burned and it was some time before the fire brigade had been able to get there. By that time the whole building was consumed and Lorelei looked down at what she held in her hands. Severin’s ledger and cypher. The servants thanked her profusely for her generosity and kindness and begged her to take them on as her own. They told her that Anne had been taken to the hospital days ago and how Severina beat and abused her to put her there. They had suitcases and bags and boxes of her affects, a fortunes worth along with her dogs.

At the hospital Armand laid there unmoving but the doctor could give her no assurances that he would wake anytime soon if at all. The bullet passed close to his spine he had said but he had cracked his head as he fell and that was what he had been concerned about due to that his brain had swelled and such injuries were hard to judge. He could wake in an hour, a day or a year, he simply did not know. Fellow Musketeers were there when she was not and D’artagnan stood and bowed to her when she arrived. He kissed her hand and hugged her tightly, they all did that as she had found her way into their own hearts and they knew how much she loved their companion Armand. As she fluffed his pillow Armand smelled a familiar scent, Gardenia. He knew that meant that Lorelei was there though he wasn’t sure where ‘there’ was. The last thing he remembered was shopping for those flagrant flowers for their table. He had taken to doing that often as he had grown to love their scent as he had grown to love the woman that wore it. It made him happy and she saw as his mouth turned up into a smile as he took in her scent.

A split second...that was all it took. It happened so fast Lorelei almost didn't believe it had happened. However, there he was, lying dead on the floor. Blood was streaming down from the round hole in his forehead. Lorelei found she was trembling as she looked down at his face. His eyes wide and that evil grin still on his face. She dropped the pistol as an overwhelming feeling of relief came over her. Tears began to stream down her cheeks. It was over. She was free.

The fire was spreading quickly and she knew she would need to get out of there. She dug through his pockets and located his ledger and the cypher. She didn't know why but she pocketed them instead of throwing them into the fire. She quickly exited the house and stood back and watched as it burned. All of the servants had gotten out and while would have liked to have taken them with her she knew that she could not. Besides, they held too many memories for her of times she wanted to forget. She thanked them for helping her and gave them money and some money for Anne. She prayed that she would be alright. She then had a cart brought around and all of her things were loaded and her horse was hooked up to the cart. She then headed back to Paris with Armand front and center in her thoughts.

She immediately went to the hospital and was disappointed to hear there had been no change. She nodded slightly and walked into the room. She stood there a moment looking at him before slowly walking over. She fluffed his pillow and leaned down and kissed his forehead.

"We're free Armand," she whispered softly to him.

When she pulled back she would see his brown eyes looking at her. Soft eyes, affectionate eyes. Eyes that she knew loved what they saw. Armand rarely held any other look for her when she saw him looking, all the proof she needed to know he belonged to her. Though hearing him say the words was nice...he said them often, especially when they made love. For the first time that is what being with him was like. It was more than just a physical experience, their hearts were connected when he made love to her. And before he had been shot their bedroom had become an altar of fiery passion. Well, there was also the floor, the lounger, the couch, the chair, the balcony, the stairs and the kitchen table... mostly the bed though...mostly.

As he took care of her she took care of him. His spine was not damaged and he quickly was able to walk and his strength was returning. The dogs had involved a ‘discussion’ but when he discovered how important they were to her he was more than happy to accept them into their home. Another thing she loved about Armand was that once she stepped foot into their apartment it no longer belonged to just him, it belonged to them both. He never referred to it as ‘his’ apartment, it was ‘their’ apartment even though he paid for it. It wasn’t ‘his’ money it was ‘their’ money and he wanted her to make their apartment her own and so she had. And so to was it with the dogs who he had grown to love just as she had. Armand’s wages were not a fortune but he had lived simply and as a result had saved a tidy sum and more due to his gambling. However he no longer gambled save for when she wanted to watch him and she hovering over him scantily clad, the while doing her darndest to distract him.

Armand was gone most days, sometimes for days at a time when he had to be. He taught her how to cook a few meals, they were still discussing getting a servant or two, and shared in the cleaning as well. The days she was alone were her own and sometimes, even though she knew Severin was dead she paused before going out their door to look over at the pistols criss-crossed above the mantle. And there were the nightmares as well. Usually when Armand was away they came and she would wake terrified and shivering. When he was there and they happened he would hold her tightly to him and she would snuggle up into his arms and drift back off to sleep.

Lorelei was extremely relieved and happy to know that Armand was alright and was going to be fine. She took care of him and made sure that he had everything he could ever possibly need or want. Finally, he was able to return home. She hadn't told him about the dogs, but explained to him that the three dogs, who were Russian Wolfhounds, meant the world to her. She had had them since they were puppies and they had been her closest companions. Upon hearing that he was more than happy to have them. They took to Armand quickly and he grew to love them as she did.

Lorelei had never been 'domestic'. Severin had always had servants and cooks. However, she knew she would need to do some things and was actually happy to learn. She got bored easily and Armand would quickly learn that she needed things to do otherwise she might get herself into trouble again. She learned to cook a few meals and was quite proud to be able to serve something not only edible but quite delicious to Armand and the others.

Lorelei was laying in bed with Armand one night after a passionate love making episode. They were kissing lightly as they cooled down and she pulled back slightly and looked at him.

"Do you think I might be able to help you and the other Musketeers with anything? I know I'm a woman and I could never actually become one, but I am quite skilled and very smart, if I may say so, and to be perfectly frank I am bored."