Cécile: Gates of Gold

When Sparrows Fall

Within the hour, the King is alerted, and they bring in priests to perform a rushed baptism of the boys. They both are so weak they cannot stand on their own two feet, and need to be held by nursemaids. During the baptism, they are both renamed “Louis,” as Sons of the Blood of France.

After the baptism, the Doctors begin to perform care. They begin with Bretagne, who seems to be weakest. They lay him down in his bed, and he looks so small and frail. Cécile hears him beg for them not to bleed him, but Doctor Fagon is insistent.

Cécile knows they cannot allow the Doctors to perform care on poor Anjou. These boys were not poisoned, which means the Doctors will try any remedy possible to rid the boys of infections. If the Doctors get their hands on Anjou, they may very well kill him. Madame de Ventadour agrees with Cécile in this. She motions for about half the nursemaids to follow her and Cécile into a bathroom to the side of the nursery.

Once inside, Cécile bolts the door shut. She sits down in front of it, and they place Anjou in her arms. With his fever burning, they undress the boy to a silk shift, and he slowly drifts to sleep. Cécile knows she could get sick, too, but her own health is the furthest thing from her mind.

Outside the door, there’s yells and wailing. “Noooo! Bretagne is dead!” Cécile can feel her heart drop in her chest. She would’ve given her life for the dear boy to live. Without a minute passing, they hear Doctor Fagon’s thunderous voice from the other side of the door. “Where is he? What’s going on in there? Is Anjou in there?”

Slowly, Madame de Ventadour responds that yes, he is, and that he is receiving good care. Despite Doctor Fagon’s demands that they release the door bolts, the nursemaids, Cécile, and Madame de Ventadour hold their position steady and refuse to let the Doctors inside. And there, they remain the rest of the night.