Versailles: The King's brother

Chapter 9: Longing

Louis

"Cassel will come, I assure you of that." Louis had had a rough welcome following his return from war. The bloodshed had ended, yes, but had it truly? Back on the Kings road a shipment cart had been stripped of valuable, its riders killed like swine. This would nearly be the eighth ransack of royal transports within the past two months and whomever was to blame for these crimes has yet to be caught. Louis had grown weary and more cautious due to this, his advisors were kept under surveillance and his meetings now had fewer guards present in the room, leaving only his most trusted council present when matters of supply transports came into subject.
"And if he doesn't sire?", one of his council members asked. He did not care to look or use his energy to decipher who it was that spoke. In truth, Louis was tired, exhausted even. He had hardly been getting any sleep, often times he would find himself awake in the late hour of the evening, thinking. From the moment he rose in the morning to the second he closed his eyes for rest  - on the occasion he receives it - people were asking things of him, awaiting orders, waiting to be heard. Sometimes it seemed that time was irrelevant, that all Louis XIV would be was a King on a throne ironically at the service of others for all of eternity. In this moment, he longed to be back on the battlefield, that he had delayed signing the treaty just a while longer. For it was there he had the most peace of mind. It was there he knew who his enemies were. Back home, they were everywhere, shadows passing by him unnoticed. Like vengeful spirits woken from the grave, he recalled one night how he thought he could hear their soft whispers through the walls, how they planned to murder him disguised as those he loved. As though still haunted by the thought, he shook the memory from his mind.
"If he does not, then you can be assured neither de Havilland, de Menthon, de Gagnac, nor any of the other Northern nobles who are all clients of de Cassel's. You will be all alone, sire", Louvois voice processed in his mind. Louis sighed, remembering them all. If only the damned Cassel bastard would attend the celebration held in honor of winning peace for France, perhaps Louis could sleep better. Ever since the ransacking started, the noble house of Cassel had ceased to reply or follow suit to any of his royal orders. Cassel had neither made a trip to Versailles, nor presented his proof of nobility, nor even have the courtesy to reply to the invitation sent to him regarding the party. Since then, Cassel had been presumed a prime courier of the misfortunes befalling the palace and its noble families. Although he had no solid proof, Louis was sure Cassel had something to do with all. He was tied into it somehow, he just needed the proof.
"How kind of you to remind me", Louis spat at Louvois.
Noticing the King's unrest, Bontemps spoke up, "Good God, man, watch your tongue! Unless you're twice the idiot I already take you for."
Louvois only cocked his liver spotted head to the side, " Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought we won the war", he retorted.
Suddenly the doors to the council room swung open, Louis only sat back into his chair, preparing himself for whatever came next. "We would have, if you had only let us", Philippe stormed in and assumed the other end of the table, hands placed firmly on the wood. Advisors on Philippe's end stepped aside cautiously, knowing full well of the sibling rivalry yet to commence. Louis promised himself he would do his best to keep that from happening.
"Official business, brother", Louis said in an attempt to dissuade his brother from lingering, "Let the men do their work."
"But I think everyone knows the full reason why the war is over", Philippe threw up his arms in showcase, he eyes looking around the room, " You are standing in it." Biting the inside of his cheek, Louis held back the urge to flip the very table.
"Sire, your brother has returned to court without remembering, perhaps, where he is?", an advisor asked. "Unlike Louvois, my brother knows exactly where he is standing. Of that I am sure", Louis said firmly.
The brothers never broke eye contact, and it had seemed that all members of the council had now receded to the edges of the room, making room for the battle. "Three cheers, then", Philippe smiled, " Let us dance on the broken backs of your bravest men."
"Cease", Louis warned, feeling the fiery rage begin to flush his face. He was in no mood to hear threats from his younger brother, but then again, he did not ask to ensue this quarrel either. Deep down, Louis wished to confide in his brother all that troubled his mind, he wished to share his burden and share each other's council and advice. When they were younger, perhaps Louis could have groomed Philippe into being that way, and perhaps their bond would ten times stronger that they were now and France would be all the better for it. Yet he knew his brother, and he knew from the moment he was born Philippe would always choose the sword over the quill.
"Sorry, what was that?", Philippe questioned. The sound of a small gasps trailed throughout the room. "Oh, you mean, 'Halt!'. Now there's a command", he challenged.
"Sire, it is clear your brother is not himself", Bontemps entered.
"If not himself, then who is he?", Louis asked, annoyed. The impulse to simply leave the room and make his way to his chambers was more than intriguing by the point, but his raging pride would not let his younger brother win the situation, and so he remained. Accepting the challenge, Philippe straightened himself, outstretched his arms and in a low voice announced, " I am the sound of distant thunder."
"Leave us", Louis commanded. Without needed further allowance, the party of council members quickly departed the room, leaving only Louis and Philippe.
'I am the eldest', Louis reminded himself, ' I am the King of France. I will not stand and be threatened. Brothers should not fight as men, rather explain their difference and come to a solution. We are no longer children, I no longer a child, and it is my duty to find what troubles my brother and cease the fire within him rather than fuel it.'
"Your first act on return is to mortify me, brother?", Louis questioned, clinging onto acting cool and reserved, though since it was just the two of them he supposed he could act his true self. "You took my victory. So I take from you, your pride..",  Philippe began making his way across the room to where Louis stood, " Your victory?", Louis asked, "..Your glory..", Philippe continued, " Your victory?", Louis asked again, raising his voice, "..And everything you hold dear."
"You are not well", Louis admitted.
"If only you could look at yourself. Deaf to advice, blinded by sin, indifferent to everything but your own dreams. No matter how great, you will have your palace."
"What did I tell you in the wood?", Louis asked, "You said that you could be trusted!"
"Good men died in the lie that you spun", Philippe replied.
"You said that you could be trusted", Louis felt the love he had for his brother becoming shrouded by darkness. Almost as if coming true, Louis began remembering the shadows whispering that night, how they planned to murder him disguised as those he loved most. If frightened him to think that that omen might be coming true.
"You were sure of the outcome before the first cannons fired. A game!", Philippe shouted.
"You said you would have my back!", Louis cried out, turning away as he did so. He understood what he did, he had betrayed his own brother, turned him into a pawn to be used for his benefit. Louis knew his brother was right, he was revealing the truth to him, but he would not stand to see it. Louis felt Philippe's eyes looking down on him sadly, it took everything in him to hold back tears. Moving to his back, Philippe spoke softly, "Where am I now?", then left the room.
It was all too much. Louis flung the papers lying adjacent to his hand off of the table, listening to them whirl to the floor as he watched the waters in his garden glisten in the afternoon sun. This is what he wanted, he thought to himself, this is what he was determined to fulfill. But at what cost and at what means was he willing to get it? Philippe was right about everything. It was all a game, a web spun by his own hand, if only he could trust Philippe enough to share the truth, the whole truth, maybe his brother could understand. Unknowingly, his mind began trailing to the Beaumont family. It had only been less than two weeks since he visited them, and deep down he knew there was something special about their family. Perhaps something he longed for within his own, for one, the way the Beaumont siblings cared for one another was certainly something Louis admired. Not only that, but the words he had shared with Renee and the council he had unconsciously received from her was something he found himself longing for in this moment. He wondered what she would say of all of this, he wondered if she would throw her hair down in spite the same way she had done back on the shore of their lake. Louis smiled, remembering that.
He hoped by now she had convinced her family to join him at Versailles. He had hoped to pay her visits during times like these, perhaps they would come to form a beneficial relationship. Realizing where his mind was going, he took a seat and shook the thoughts from his head.

[Written August 9th, 2018]