Final Lessons
By Mirror and Image

Note: This won't follow the anime exactly. Call it, artistic license.

His Royal Highness, the Dauphin Auguste was extremely sad as he wandered the halls of Versailles. His beloved grandmother, Queen Marie was dead. His beloved attendant, Anna Rochefort was dead. His two best teachers were no longer with him, and he was bereaved. Nobody would tell him how they had died, but Auguste, as Anna had often praised him, was a clever boy. He listened. His grandmother had been poisoned, and his attendant had been stabbed by a sword, no doubt for seeing his grandmother die.

Auguste paused at the end of a hall, looking left and right down the splendor. He had told his attendants that he'd wished to be alone, and they looked at him with such sad and sympathetic eyes that he'd run away. The grief, it was too much to bear. If this is what it meant to be king, to take such heavy blows and still function, Auguste wasn't sure he wanted it. He could not even voice these thoughts to anyone, for Anna was no longer there.

Looking around again, the young prince realized that he was near Anna's apartment. Even if it was only to lie in her bed and smell her reassuring scent, Auguste started toward the room. It was self-delusion, he knew. But right now, he just didn't care.

He turned another corner and saw someone in a dark cloak limping hurriedly towards the very room Auguste was heading towards. The prince was suddenly angry. Who would dare go to Anna's rooms so presumptuously? Nobody had that right, she was a proper lady who deserved respect. Not thinking of all the possible dangers it posed to follow a cloaked man, Auguste hurried forward as well.

He peeked through the door, as it had been left open, and glared at the tall man who had entered Anna's rooms with such little regard for her person. And then, Auguste saw. It was D'Eon de Beaumont, Anna's fiance. D'Eon looked different than when Auguste last saw him, but then, the young prince rarely saw the young knight since D'Eon was rarely at the palace. What's more, he had been making Anna worry for months while he was away on a mission for the king, so placing D'Eon's face took a moment for the young prince. The knight, to Auguste's mind, had always been very pretty for a man, but the beauty seemed to have become stronger in some way that the young prince couldn't identify.

D'Eon stood, at Anna's desk, staring down at it. The Dauphin Auguste started to feel angry once more. Was it impossible for a man outside of Auguste himself, to love someone? The young prince was very observant. He'd seen his parents shower his older brother with love and affection until he died at the age of ten. Auguste hadn't understood what he'd seen, he had still been to little, but he was eleven now. He was the Dauphin. He could look back and see. Just as he saw that after his father, Dauphin Louis, died of tuberculosis, he'd watched his mother Marie-Josephe wither away until she could join him. His mother loved his father so much, that she couldn't live without him. There was no question that women could love deeply, but young Auguste had yet to see a man love with so much.

Similarly, he knew, without question, of the deep love and affection that Marie had for Louis XV. His grandmother's love seemed to radiate from her whenever she spoke of France and the king. Auguste knew it. His grandmother would do anything for his grandfather, and Auguste was in awe of how much emotion his grandmother could convey about the king with just a small smile, and a faraway look. But the young prince had also spent time with the king. He liked to go hunting with his grandfather, and he had never seen the king express the same feeling for the queen. Instead, Auguste felt that his grandfather was alone, despite having a loving wife right beside him.

Even now, Anna, his most precious attendant, spent the last months of her life loving her fiance from afar. Auguste knew she was worried about whatever dangerous mission D'Eon was on. She fretted about him and there were times when the young prince would spy her looking out the grand windows of Versailles, as if she could somehow see whatever her beloved was doing and was trying to send him all the love she had. There was no denying that D'Eon's letters had been far and few between, and in many cases, far too brief as far as Auguste was concerned. If you loved someone, was it impossible for a man to express it? Was it only a woman who could show the vast depths of their feelings? Did D'Eon even love his fiancee as he claimed?

If he didn't, it was just too sad. Tears once again streamed down the Dauphin's face. D'Eon just stood there, staring at the desk that Anna where had written her letters to him. Auguste slipped into the room and shut the door behind him.

"Anna!" D'Eon turned around and then looked down, to see the young prince.

"Why?" Auguste asked. "Why did you not return sooner?"

The knight's face was slack in shock, his jaw open in a gape before energy seemed to leave him and he swayed sideways as he slammed into Anna's table.

"Why?" Auguste asked again, fighting back sobs. If you loved someone, should you not stay with them? That's what Auguste planned to do. Even if Anna married this young knight, the Dauphin planned to keep visiting her, because he loved his attendant. She was family to him.

D'Eon said nothing as he sank to his knees.

There was silence for a while, Auguste leaning against Anna's door, crying, as D'Eon, her beloved knight bowed on the floor.

Nothing but silence.

And then, with a great groan, D'Eon de Beaumont sobbed and hugged his shoulders. "Anna!" he cried out. "Anna!!"

Auguste stared, shocked.

He had been wrong to think that D'Eon didn't love Anna. He had been wrong to think that men could not express their feelings the same way as a woman could. Because now, D'Eon was crying out in grief the same way Auguste had when he'd heard of his grandmother's and attendant's deaths. The knight's sobs varied from deep cries to high catches, but there was no denying the sorrow and ache. It was something that Auguste was very familiar with. He could not take it any more. Too many members of his family had died in his life, and despite what all his teachers had said about him being too clingy, he ran forward and wrapped his small arms around D'Eon's neck as they both shared in grief.

At first D'Eon didn't seem aware, but then the Dauphin was wrapped in an embrace as warm as Anna's, and Auguste cried all the harder.

The young prince was uncertain how long he and D'Eon shared their sorrow together, but the sun was starting to sink into late afternoon, washing the room in a warm golden glow. It made Auguste think of the warmth that Anna had always seemed so willing to give, and tears welled his eyes once more. He pulled away from the young knight, rubbing fiercely at his eyes to try and stop the tears from leaking forth.

D'Eon placed a hand on the prince's shoulder before standing stiffly. The knight looked around the room with a visage of pure loss. D'Eon looked lost as he turned in Anna's room, a room she would never grace again with her presence. Almost mechanically, he straightened Anna's desk from where he banged it. He took a handkerchief that held some flower petals and stared at it.

Anna hadn't known it, but the Dauphin knew what those purple petals meant to her. He had figured out that they were a gift from D'Eon, her beloved knight, and when she was alone in her room, Auguste would peek inside and see her smiling down at them. He knew that they were Anna's treasured possession.

D'Eon stared down at them and fresh tears slid down his face. With stiff movements, he threw off his cloak, revealing his blue dragoon uniform, and unbuttoned the jacket and vest. He folded the handkerchief and petals with great care before tenderly placing them in a pocket over his heart, and refastening his vest and coat. Also from the table, the young knight took a letter, addressed to him and limped over to Anna's bed sitting, his sword poking out awkwardly.

Tears flowed once more down D'Eon's cheeks and his hands trembled as he read the letter. Finally, he placed the letter in a coat pocket and buried his face in his hands, as grief swallowed him once more.

Auguste watched, knowing that D'Eon loved Anna with every fiber of his being, just as the Dauphin did. Walking over, the young prince climbed into D'Eon's lap, being careful of the leg that limped, and was once more swept into a warm embrace that as so like Anna's.

"D'Eon de Beaumont," Auguste sobbed. "Tell Us. Will you find the one who took our dear Anna from Us? Will you please kill the murderer for Us?"

The young knight took a moment to compose himself before looking the Dauphin right in the eye.

"Your Highness," D'Eon said with a quiver in his voice. "I vow that I will find the one responsible for Anna's death." And in the knight's eyes, Auguste saw firm resolution and grim determination. "But I can make no promises about what I will do when I find him."

Auguste was part angry and part disappointed. "Because you are injured? Then We will call on the doctors here at Versailles so that you may be fit when you--"

"No, your Highness, there will be no time for that."

"Then We may lose you as well?"

D'Eon sighed, his voice lightening. "I do not know what will happen when the confrontation occurs. I cannot see the future." His voice deepened. "But what occurs will be my responsibility. You, your Highness, have a different responsibility to Anna."

"And what is Our responsibility to Our beloved Anna? We love her and grieve for her."

D'Eon gave a light, almost effeminate laugh. "That responsibility," he said in his deep voice, "I'm sure we will both continue until our last breaths." He looked at the Dauphin with serious eyes. "But the responsibility of which I speak is to her memory. Engrave Anna's kindness, her thoughtfulness, her--" the knight's voice hitched briefly, "her love of you, me, and France on your heart. Those are Anna's lessons to us all. To treat all people kindly."

Auguste blinked. Anna and Queen Marie were the only people who ever spoke to him from their hearts. Most attendants and people at court only told him what they thought he wanted to hear. Anna, whenever she disagreed, was always unfailingly polite and gentle in her chiding, but Auguste knew when she was displeased. She and D'Eon were well matched, then, because he also spoke from the heart.

"Your Highness," D'Eon continued in a light voice, "To take another's life will always be a heavy duty to perform. If it was the good of France, I would kill whomever was necessary, but only if there was no other way."

His voice deepened again. "Remember, your Highness, someday you will be France. You will represent our country and its entire people. In any situation you find yourself in, think first of what Anna would do. Would our beloved Anna want you to stain France's hands with blood if you did not have to?"

The Dauphin looked down. There was more behind D'Eon's words. Something the young Auguste couldn't pinpoint. Something from hard experience that he didn't understand. The knight was correct; Anna loved him as an innocent child and always tried to ease his worries. She would not want him to bear the burden of another person's life.

"But," Auguste replied. "But, should not bad people be killed?"

"Am I a bad person, your Highness?"

"Of course not!" the Dauphin protested. "You are the one Anna loved with all her heart! Despite the distances between you, you returned to be with her, did you not? You are a most loyal knight and noble!"

D'Eon gave a small, sad smile. "But to the people that I stop from harming France, I am a bad person. So how do we know who the bad people are?"

Auguste frowned. He understood what the knight was trying to say. It was part of what the Marquise de Pompadour's teachers were trying to tell him about diplomacy. One must understand what both sides wants and go from there. But right then and there, Auguste didn't want to think about the other side. Someone had killed Anna and there was no reason that could justify that. None whatsoever. An adult might be able to see both sides and forgive the killer, but the Dauphin was a child.

"But We don't want to forgive this murder! He took Our beloved Anna and Our beloved grandmother, Queen Marie!"

D'Eon looked down sadly. "I'm not asking you to forgive him, your Highness." His voice lightened. "But vengeance will not let the soul rest. Vengeance will not bring back the dead. Vengeance, like taking another's life, is a heavy burden to take. It will only bring more sorrow until the task is complete, and hurt others along the way."

The sun continued to sink beyond the tall windows.

"D'Eon de Beaumont, We just want our Anna back!" Auguste collapsed once more into sobs in the knights arms. D'Eon held him close, tears streaming down his face as well.

"I know, your Highness. I want her back too."

That was how the Dauphin's attendants fond them. Hugging each other and crying in grief over lost loved ones. The three ladies in waiting who found them, glanced amongst each other, tears of sympathy welling in their eyes.

Auguste pulled himself away once more, aware that if his teachers heard about this, he would be chastised for being clingy. He slid off D'Eon's leg and stood before the brave knight who had returned too late.

"We wish to see Anna one last time to say goodbye. Would you join Us, D'Eon?"

The ladies in waiting gasped at the Dauphin's lack of title for the knight, and D'Eon himself, looked surprised. He kneeled stiffly before the prince.

"I would be honored," he said.

The sun was setting, the sky aflame with evening as they made the long walk from Anna's apartment to the chapel. D'Eon's limp seemed to fade as he walked on it, the stiffness fading. The knight remained respectfully behind the young prince. Mourners for the Queen were dispersing from the chapel, making their way home as Auguste and his small entourage arrived. As the chapel emptied, D'Eon walked briskly forward, any signs of his limp and stiffness completely erased. Auguste stayed his own respectful distance away, tears once more flowing down his cheeks. One of his attendants put her hands lightly on his shoulders as D'Eon removed the coffin's lid with almost practiced ease. Instead of praying, he reached down and lifted Anna's lifeless body. The knight studied the attendant's limp head with agony etched on his face and whispered something before hugging her even closer than he had the young prince and kissing he cold blue lips.

The sight etched itself onto the young Dauphin's mind and heart. There was a lesson in D'Eon's very being. Auguste promised himself that he would not let people suffer the way Anna suffered while D'Eon was away. People would not suffer as D'Eon was suffering. Auguste didn't know how he would do it, but he would try his hardest not to harm anyone.

Behind him, the young prince heard on of the ladies in waiting sob, their own grief and sympathy, as well as his own, somehow being expressed by D'Eon and then some.

Standing, D'Eon placed Anna gently into her coffin once more, arranging her neatly, before replacing the lid. The knight wiped his face with his gloves and strode up the steps to kneel before Auguste's grandmother, Queen Marie. He clasped his hands in quiet prayer before standing, a rigid set to his shoulders.

D'Eon walked back and kneeled before Auguste.

"Your Highness has shown me much kindness today, and I am honored. Know that you and France will always have my undying loyalty. I will find the one who killed Queen Marie and our beloved Anna. I do not know if I will survive, so I make one final request. Remember Anna's kindness. I believe it to be her greatest lesson to both you and me."

Auguste heard the solemnity. The determination. "Rise D'Eon. We will remember. We merely ask that you remember, when you face her killer, that We as France support you."

The attendants gasped, but D'Eon did not even blink. He bowed even lower, no more tears shedding from his eyes. The Dauphin understood. Wherever D'Eon was headed, he was confronting more than just the killer of Anna. It had something to do with his mission and D'Eon was going to try and put France right again. Such loyalty to their country, Auguste could only support.

The brave knight D'Eon de Beaumont stood, bowed, and strode off into the night, in pursuit of the one responsible for so many deaths at Versailles.

"Come, We are tired and wish to go to bed."

Fin

Author's Note: After waking up with all the emotion of this story pounding in my brain, I attempted (rather pathetically) to put it all down. I was interrupted halfway through to do other things and lost all the feeling I was trying to emote for the rest of the story. When D'Eon kisses Anna one last time, I started to reach that level of feeling again, but it fizzled shortly afterwards. I would also like to note, trying to figure out when all this happens and how old everyone is, was thrown out the window very quickly, since the Marquise de Pompadour died years before Queen Marie and D'Eon's in his twenties so that means the Dauphin Auguste hasn't even been born yet. Similary, given that Auguste is the Dauphin, that means his father is dead and that he is at least eleven years old as a result. Given that the anime played around with dates, I made some adjustments as well. I still wish I had kept the feeling I was going for. .