Fall of the Cardinal

Part 1 : First temptation

Fanfiction story of the children show: Dogtanian and Three mukehounds 1994. I found the series again, and I remember adoring the wolf/fox/shakal cardinal Richelieu in it. (They are still actually selling DVD's of the show, I shall get some.) And this story is about him and his servant/friend/companion, Milady and the relationship between them..

Silence reflected from the walls, as he closed his eyes - sitting in front of his desk, in the comfort of his throne. He put a moment to his thoughts since there was nothing to do anymore as the letters had been sent, contracts signed. And finally he had some time for himself - though, there was nowhere to put it. He was a holy man; his life was about his work and for his work. He didn't have anything else to live for.

He leaned his bony head toward his hand; let his sharp nails sweep the light brown fur on his face - sighing deeply, just before he heard the door opening. He raised his sight, facing the masked face of "his" lady, Milady. The one person who made him feel more than a Cardinal - made him feel like a man, even though there was nothing between them. There was only a tense, formal friendship. Something that allowed him to walk in his garden with a woman, a lady, without people constantly judging him of betrayal. He was the Cardinal after all.

He nodded to Milady, with a little, superficial smile on his thin, pale lips. His lady did the same with a little bow - yet her smile was somewhat more real than his. She cleared her throat softly and opened her soft, smooth voice:

"Good day, my dear Cardinal," she said, blinking her eyes in a way that made the Cardinal's stomach turn, as he answered with a cold, formal voice:

"I'm delighted that you care to join me, my dear lady," he said.

"Would you care to join me in the garden," he decided to add right away.

And his lady nodded softly, bowing slightly again. She put her hands against each other, following Cardinal's every single move with her eagle sight, as he slowly rose from his chair, grabbing the little, hard covered Bible from his desk. It was his protector - at least I thought it was. It made his thoughts always come back to God himself when he was standing on the edge of the abyss - lust, joys of the flesh, corruption, women.

He didn't offer his hand to Milady - no way would he. It was too risky for a man in his position to do fragile things like that. They would make his lady think something that would never happen - at least from his behalf. He just bowed to her, opening the door ahead again, letting her walk first, following her steps right after. And there was no talk, no conversation until Milady turned her soft sight to him and said:

"I see something is bothering you, my dear Cardinal," and her voice was rather flat as she said it - very formal, tense, yet very soft to the Cardinal's ears.

Though, for him, his lady was all about softness, flawless perfection and mysteries.

She was perfect for him, with every single detail. He just didn't admit it to himself.

"It's nothing, Milady. I have just been ... thinking about my position, my values," he answered, choosing every one of his words very carefully, making them sound flawless, cold and formal.

You could tell that he was all about status, as he stepped to the garden from the main pair of doors in the back of his glorious palace that was bathing in the Eastern sunlight. And oh, how warm it was - how bright it was. He was forced to shut his eyes for a short moment so they would get used to the warm and bright sunshine that was covering his beautiful garden. And it was silent, only one or two birds were singing in the background. You could only hear the steps that were striking the ground like a relaxed heartbeat.

Milady was beautiful in the sunshine, even tough the Cardinal thought that the soft, shimmering light of the pale, white moon suited her soft, mysterious features better. And he had to admit that he liked the moonlight better compared to sun, that made his eyes ache for a moment. Moon was more gentle, softer -- erotic.

And a little bit he was frightened by his wandering mind back then. Decided to turn his attention elsewhere, since he couldn't really keep up with his thoughts. But he didn't have to say or ask anything; his lady did it for him.

"Do you think your status has somewhat weakened then?" she asked.

In his mind, the Cardinal doubted for moment.

"Well ... yes and no, my dear lady," he answered.

Milady smiled softly, leaned down to smell the fragile smell of the wild rose, which was growing aside of the little garden path. She touched the leaves gently, asking:

"So what is bothering you then?"

There was no proper way to express the feelings, thoughts he had had. At least for him there wasn't. So he took his time thinking about it, choosing the correct words carefully so he wouldn't make a clown of himself - even though he felt that he had already done it to himself. But still the cold, formal presence stood tall upon him, as he answered:

"I have not been thinking clearly lately. My mind has been elsewhere."

Milady stood up slowly, with soft movements of her body - the Cardinal spotted it even though he wouldn't have wanted to. His lady smiled with a little sinister look in her mysterious eyes, as she said to him:

"Has my Cardinal become somewhat "unholy" of his mind?"

The Cardinal moved his thin eyebrows with an insulted soul. He felt insulted, yet he was trying to hide it as well as he simply could. He was a patient man - at least he liked to think that way of himself. He bit his tongue and rolled his eyes a bit, opening his voice again.

"I don't know the meaning of the word," he snapped silently, turning his head away dramatically.

Milady raised her pale, thin fingers and took the black mask off her face, revealing the soft cat features around her fair, beautiful eyes, which kept stealing the Cardinal's attention from time to time. She smiled with a smile that was full of mysteries unsolved, words unsaid, as she gently told him:

"Oh, don't be ashamed, my dear Cardinal."

She took a slow step, stepping ahead of him, slightly sweeping the Cardinal's bony cheek with her cold touch of tempting softness, making the air shiver with a hint of unreleased temptations in the holy man's mind. A little uncontrolled blush stroke his cheeks as his lady continued by whispering:

"We all have them from time to time."