Locker for my Rose of Versailles fan fictions

Princess and the Pea — Ch.3 Birds of the Same Feather 28 June , 2009

Posted by Athos in The Princess and the Pea.
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Andre was wringing dry the towel after wiping Oscar’s face and hair, when Bernard showed the doctor into the room.
Andre’s face brightened immediately, “Great that you could come!”

“Victor!” Andre extended his hands to the doctor, who took hold of them warmly.
“Long time no see!  I stayed in Paris last fall, but you were away in Normandy then.  Seems that we always miss each other!” The doctor exclaimed.

Andre nodded in quiet dignity, “We can catch up with each other at the bar downstairs later.”  Turning around to gesture towards the bed, “I have someone here who urgently needs your help.”

Andre turned to Bernard, “You had a long night.  Go to your room and have some rest.  I won’t need you till this evening.”
“Thank you, sire!” and off he went.

Victor moved closer to look at Oscar, and started to unbutton his overcoat, “What happened to him?”
“According to his companion, they were driving a carriage in the thunderstorm.  Thunder struck, the horses were shocked and he was thrown off board.” Andre’s eyebrows knitted.

“Andre!” Victor gasped all of a sudden, when he saw the binding cloth showing under Oscar’s wet shirt.
“That’s why I asked Bernard to leave.” Andre responded calmly.
Then he produced a silver necklace from his inner pocket, and held the finely crafted pendant under the rays of the morning sun.

Victor gasped again at the sight of a tiny gold dagger hugged by a lion with magestic sapphire eyes.
“How did you come across her?” Victor inquired gently, while checking for any injuries Oscar might have sustained.
Andre turned his head in silent response, “I just picked her up on my way here last night.  Her mistress wouldn’t want any mud in the carriage.”
“Can she stay with you?  For I need to rush to Calais the day after.” Andre pleaded.

Victor went silently to open the door to check if they were being eavesdropped, before bolting it shut.
“Andre, do you know what you said just now?  I don’t own a big castle where I can hide a woman away without generating any gossips.
Besides, we do not know if she stole this from the Jarjeyes or not…” Vincent was downright worried.

“But my instinct told me she’s the Count’s daughter.” Andre tried to reassure him.
“Since you asked, do I really have a choice?” Victor sighed, ” I’ll take her as my patient. As far as I can tell, apart from badly bruised shoulders, she didn’t sustained any major injuries. But I’m more worried about her fever.”
Andre handed a few gold coins to Vincent, “If this is not enough, I’ll repay you when I return.  I hope I can talk to her before I leave.”
“Don’t worry about money.  Remember I’m doing this for you!  But we need to move her to my place as soon as possible.  She needs a bath, which can only be done by my sister.”
“Could you go downstairs to arrange for a carriage?  My horses are exhausted.”
“Sure.”  And off went the doctor.

 
It was late afternoon already, and Andre was walking back and forth in the guest room in Victor’s home.

“Wat….er…..wat..er” Oscar moaned.

Andre quickly poured a cup of water, and tried to get her lean against his chest.  As he put the cup against her lips, Oscar opened her eyes slightly.
“Hey, open your mouth.” Andre patted her jaw lightly.

After a few sips, Oscar gradully opened her eyes.  Startled, she tried to free herself from Andre’s embrace.  But the sharp pains from her shoulders impeded her.

Looking gently into her eyes, Andre joked, “Hey, I would want to drop you on the floor ever since I entered this room!  You’ve been sleeping in my arms since you fell off the carriage.”

Oscar was bewildered, and thought, “Who is he? How come he looks so much like ‘him’ ?”
To err on the safe side, she said instead, “Thanks for your help.  But where am I?  And where’s my mistress?”
So Andre explained to her briefly what happened, as he laid her back down.

“In that case, could you bring me back to them?” Oscar asked.
“Why such urgency?  You’re merely a coachman.  You can get a few days rest if you stayed here.”  Andre tried to test her.
Sensing the suspicion from the strikingly handsome man in front of her, Oscar touched her neck to search for the necklace.  It was gone!
“But I’m also the security guard.  I won’t get paid if I falied to perform my duties.” Oscar tried to hide her fear by speaking as calmly as possible.

Andre raised his eyebrow, but kept looking out the window, where he saw Victor’s sister returning with a basket of food.
“With those injuries of yours?” Andre chuckled, “You can’t even guard yourself.  Besides, aren’t you afraid of being recognized?”

“Since you already found out I’m a woman, I only hope it’s not you who bathed and changed me.”  Oscar responded with quiet dignity.

Tired of the guessing game, Andre went for the kill, “I believe alot of men out there would not mind doing that. That’s one of the surest way of becoming Count Jarjeyes’s son-in-law.”
“You’ve got my necklace, right?” Oscar asked feebly, as the fever was making her rather dizzy.

Andre pulled the necklace out from his inner pocket slowly, and dangled in front of her, “I discovered this while helping you out of your mud-soaked coat.”

“Who are you?  What do you want from me?  You don’t look like you are in need of money.” Oscar struggled to keep her eyes opened, but failed. 
The exhaustion from the journey, together with her injuries, worn her out.

Andre turned around immediately upon hearing the last sentence, only to see that Oscar had fallen back asleep.
“What a tough woman.  You’re lucky it’s me.  How can a normal man could resist taking you as his woman after holding you in his arms for several hours.” Andre thought, as he carassed her soft golden hair.

A soft knock on the door caught Andre’s attention.
Entered Cecile, Victor’s sister.  She curtsied to Andre, who bowed in return.

“How is she doing?  I could have come earlier, but my mother insisted I stay while the seamstress was fitting the evening gown on her.”
“That’s alright.  She’s still having a fever.  I’ve got to leave.  Don’t let her leave this place until I come back.  Tie her down if necessary.”

“Who is she?  You seem dead serious!” Cecile pressed her dainty hand on her lips.
“Ever heard of the ‘Ice Rose’?”
“Count Jarjeyes’ youngest ‘son’?  Cecile darted a glance at Oscar. “My God.  I can’t imagine what would happen if a beauty like her appeared at the ball!”
Noding in agreement, Andre said, “Please keep her safe and sound while I am away.  See you on Sunday.”  He then put on his cloak and left.

 
Oscar was stroking the fire in the living room when Victor returned. 
Victor was immediately entranced by the sight.  Dressed in a white linen shirt and long trousers, her whole person was imparted a burnished tone by the warm firelight, which was in stark contrast to her sapphire blue eyes.

“Doctor, could you tell me why am I held hostage here?  It’s been 5 days since I woke up.”  Oscar words brought him back to reality.
“As I’ve said before, the situation is quite complicated here.  My friend Andre saved you and brought you here.  He asked me with utmost earnestness to take care of you till he returns.”

“Sir, while I owe you and your friend for saving my life, I am a free person.  May I know what is the reason behind this?”
“It is for your safety.”  Victor then handed a sealed note to Oscar, whose eyes widened upon seeing the seal.  She turned around to open the note.  In her father’s own handwriting, the note said, “Stay with Victor.  He knows Rohan.”

“Do you have any proof of your identity?”  Oscar asked.
Victor undid his collar and took off his gold necklace to show Oscar the pendant.

Oscar looked at it in disbelief, “Why aren’t you living at your father’s castle?”
As he put the necklace back into hiding, Victor laughed, “To make a long story short, I defied his wish to join the military.  So he kicked me out.” 
“Then who’s Cecile?”
“My sister.  She’s very smart and tight-lipped.  Actually I taught her fencing and shooting when my father was away in the battles.(*)  It’s a secret between me and her.” Victor winked at Oscar, who was still perplexed.

“Then why didn’t you reveal your real identity earlier?”

“I wasn’t sure of your identity until this morning.  Besides, because of the ball, there are spies everywhere.”
“But I still do not understand why you have to keep me here.  If I were away for too long, the people who travelled with me will suspect something’s gone wrong.”

“Don’t worry, Andre sent them a message that said you’ve got some bones broken.  By the way, are you suspicious of the maid?”
Oscar raised her right eyebrow, “Seems that you know more than I do.  Are you one of my father’s agents?” 
“Yes.  Now I know why Andre wants to keep you here.”
“Why? Who is he?”
“My best friend. And someone who has the ability to …”  Victor stopped, for he heard the faint galloping of a horse approaching.

 

(*) This story is set in France in 17th century, during the Thirty-Years War.