The Brocade Baby (Rewrite) Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Treulich geführt

31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.

Ephesians 5:31

 

The police quickly swarmed the town of Amable and were horrified to see the damage. So many buildings were destroyed, so many lives were lost and all because of one man's insatiable greed. Raoul and his (surviving) men were quickly arrested and with witnesses confirming that it was indeed him who caused this mess, he was to be imprisoned for good. Before he ended up getting arrested, Aldo decided that he wasn't finished with him yet and knocked him over again just so he could clamp his jaws on his nose.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Raoul screamed in pain as he felt the dog's teeth sink into the skin around his nose, leaving bloody marks on it. "My nose, oh my beautiful nose!"

"Oh grow up," Barnim responded dryly. "You'll live. Besides, it's worse than what I would have done to you."

Meanwhile, Timotheos and the Larues stayed at the hotel with Louise and Ambroise, who were finally reunited at long last, and gradually became close friends with her. The police were able to track down the remaining criminals that were hired by Raoul into killing her and the baby, thus ensuring that she would be able to walk outside in Brussels again without having to worry about being ambushed. Julien himself recovered in the nearby hospital and was in stable condition, with Elio also joining him due to having sustained serious injuries that left him on the brink of death. Timotheos and the others prayed that both men would recover, with Timotheos and Audrey being especially worried for Elio due to him having sacrificed his life to save theirs. The police were able to inform Louise's husband, Janvier Dubois, of the incident that happened recently, with Louise piping in to confirm it. Janvier himself was not pleased to hear about this, especially when he found out that it was his own brother who was responsible for causing this mess in the first place. He immediately arrived back home the next day, which was definitely earlier than what Raoul expected, and went to meet up with Louise and the others at Hotel Mont-d'Or. The moment he saw his wife and son, he immediately pulled them into a tight embrace with tears in his eyes.

"Oh mon amour!" he cried out in joy and relief.

"Ma chérie!" Louise replied as she also began weeping in joy. "I feared that I would never see you again!"

"So did I!" he responded before looking straight at her and his son. "I am so sorry for everything. If I had known Raoul would cause all of this over the inheritance, I would never have left on that business trip. I promise, I will never leave you alone again!"

"It's fine, Janvier," Louise replied in a gentle and reassuring tone. "I know you would never intentionally hurt me and Ambroise. It was just something that neither of us would have prepared for."

"And Ambroise," Janvier responded while looking at his son who was staring at his father. "My son. My child. My everything. I am so glad that you are alright!" As he said this, he took the baby out of his wife's hands and held him in the air in happiness, with the baby laughing all the while. The others melted at the sight of the father and his infant son finally being together again. Timotheos couldn't help but be reminded of his own father and how he would do something similar, at least back when he was alive. Noticing the group nearby, Janvier handed the baby back to Louise before awkwardly approaching them and coughing nervously. He still had an expression of guilt on his face and seemed to have trouble staring at them directly in the face.

"So, you are the ones who took care of my son while me and my wife were away," he asked nervously, to which the others responded by nodding.

"Oui, monsieur," Timotheos responded while being equally nervous. "Well, there was my mother Miranda Blumenthal and my grandfather Barnim Dirk who did most of the work to be honest, hehe."

"Right, and me and my mother as well as my father Julien Larue also pitched in from time to time," Audrey responded with a nervous grin.

"I see," the man responded. "Listen, I am truly sorry for everything that my treacherous idiot of a brother caused for you. I also wish to express my utmost gratitude towards all of you for your assistance in protecting my son for the last few weeks. I am willing to pour all of my resources into rewarding you all in some way and fix the damage that my brother caused."

"Oh um, merci monsieur," Brielle responded with surprise. "That is very kind and generous of you. You are most definitely the opposite of your brother."

"Well, it is my duty to clean up after my brother's mess," Janvier responded dryly. "Though given all the trouble he caused, I do not think of him I will ever see him as a brother anymore nor do I believe my parents will approve of what he has done."

"Right," Timotheos stated in a dark tone. "At this rate, I hope he burns in Hell for what he did to everybody." Brielle and Audrey also nodded and so did Louise as they all came to despise him. Janvier also nodded as even he agreed that Raoul was beyond redemption at this moment.

"It's true," Janvier responded. "He sealed his fate the moment he decided to target my wife and son. I will make sure that he stays in prison where he belongs while also making sure to remove him from my will for good."

"Good to hear!" Brielle responded. "Let's just hope nothing like this happens ever again."

For the next few weeks, Raoul's insane scheme hit the news and even reached international media as he was now seen as an irredeemable monster who tried to kill his own family members all because of an inheritance issue. The death of Eulalie was also investigated by the police and Elio for a few days and they eventually found her body close to the Forest of Shadows of all places. The fact that nobody noticed it, due to her having been hastily buried by her killers, made the discovery even more terrifying but at the same time tragic. She was given a proper funeral the day after she was found by Louise, Elio and the others as a way to remember her sacrifice. The judge agreed that a man like him was not worthy of being released, not even on parole, and sentenced him to life in prison, much to his horror and despair. Raoul had bandages on his nose along with having his leg wrapped around where Aldo had bit him and was a sight for sore eyes. The Blumenthals along with the Larues and Louise were present, all glaring daggers at the disgraced noble. Ambroise was sleeping peacefully in Louise's arms despite the rather aggressive and tense case that was happening in the court room. Janvier was also present during the trial and held nothing but contempt for him as well as shame and disappointment. Despite this, the idiotic little twit somehow had the nerve to try and beg for mercy and even beg his brother to somehow bail him out.

"Janvier, please!" Raoul cried out in fear and despair. "Please don't let them send me to that place where all the disgusting low-lives are waiting for me! Please! Dear brother! I beg of you!"

"Brother?" Janvier responded in a cold tone that immediately shut up Raoul. "Since when did you think you have the right to call me brother after what you did? After all the chaos you caused over a small sum of inheritance money? No Raoul, you and I stopped being brothers the moment you dared to attack MY family along with the innocent families who had nothing to do with you!"

"But WE'RE family!" Raoul cried out. "Aren't I your family member?"

"Not anymore you aren't," Janvier responded in a furious tone. "You are no longer my brother let alone my family member! I trusted you to at least get along with my wife and child yet you couldn't even do that! As of this moment, you are DEAD to me and will no longer be considered a member of the Dubois Family!"

Hearing this made Raoul even more upset to the point where he began throwing a tantrum in court and started screaming in agony, prompting the nearby police offices to restrain him.

"NOOO!!! NOOO!!! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!!!" he cried out as he watched his brother and the other 2 families leave the courtroom. As they left, Janvier slumped onto the ground while covering his face so no one could see his tears. Barnim could only place a comforting hand on his back in an attempt to console the man.

"I can't believe that happened," Janvier stated in a somber tone. "I trusted him and he betrayed me. That was the most difficult thing I have ever done in my life."

"You did the right thing," Barnim replied in a gentle tone. "It was necessary after all."

"I know," Janvier replied. "But still, it hurt having to do that to my br-I mean Raoul."

Everyone could only look on in sympathy and pity as they saw how much Janvier cared for Raoul despite everything he did. Even Louise couldn't help but feel sorry for her husband, especially since he and Raoul used to be close until Raoul's greed corrupted him to the point of no return. Eventually, Raoul was placed in prison where he would suffer for the rest of his life whereas the Dubois Family and the others moved on without him. The Blumenthals and the Larues ended up staying at the Dubois Family estate for a couple of weeks while Janvier hired the best workers to quickly rebuild the town of Amable, allowing Timotheos and Audrey to spend more time with Ambroise to their happiness. The adults would check up on the status of the building process for the next couple of days to make sure that everything was going smoothly. Timotheos and Audrey became a lot closer as they were no longer simply just friends but lovers as well, to the joy and amusement of everyone. Miranda, Brielle and Louise found themselves becoming very close friends almost to the point of becoming more like sisters. They even went on their own little shopping spree as a way to kill time and get a new wardrobe for themselves and their family members. Barnim, Julien, Janvier and even Elio would discuss with each other over the crazy turn of events that occurred over the past month and found themselves getting along with each other. Elio himself stayed with the 3 families and found himself viewing them as the closest thing he had to a family. Sadly, once August had passed and September was right around the corner, he had decided to leave as he still felt that he was to blame for the mess that happened in Amable, much to everyone's dismay.

"Do you really have to go?" Audrey asked him as he sat in the living room to discuss his plans with everyone. They were all saddened to see him go and didn't want him to leave.

"I'm afraid so, kid," he responded in a sad tone.

"Look, what happened in Amable wasn't your fault," Miranda explained. "Sure you may have accidentally led those thugs to us but it wasn't like you intended to do it."

"Even so, I still put you all in danger, Especially the children," Elio responded. "There's no way I could ever forgive myself for making such a reckless mistake like that, especially since it nearly broke my code of honor. That and I couldn't even save the life of Eulalie or the lives of those who chose to stay in Amable." The others showed pained expressions when they heard this as they recalled how Eulalie along with those other townspeople sacrificed their lives to save Amable and Ambroise.

"But you still defended us when you had no reason to," Timotheos pointed out. "That has to mean something."

"True, but it was still my recklessness that almost led to you all being put in danger."

"Still," Louise pointed out. "Even if you weren't the one who led those men to the town, chances are they would have eventually found out where my son was and targeted the town anyway. If anything else, it's my fault for not keeping my child safe and secure from the hands of Raoul and his men."

"Don't say that," Miranda responded as she laid a comforting hand on Louise. "We all wanted to keep Ambroise safe and we certainly don't hold it against you for what happened to our home."

"Merci," Louise responded with a soft smile as her guilt slowly dissipated.

"There is also one more reason as to why I can't stay," Elio began. "I just don't feel like I belong here. I'm afraid that if I stay here with you guys, I will end up attracting more enemies who will stop at nothing to kill me. I have made many enemies in the past as a result of me destroying their criminal empires and disrupting their corruptive business practices and I don't think they would let me leave in peace. There are also plenty of other people who may require my assistance when it comes to dealing with more scum that need to be taken out and I can't just sit here and ignore their cries."

"How long will you be gone?" Miranda asked.

"I don't know..." Elio responded. "I really don't know. I've been doing this for a long time by now and don't know when I'll be able to stop."

"But you will come back and visit right?" Timotheos asked.

"Sure I will kid," Elio replied with a rueful smile. "Sure."

"Well, if you need to go, do what you can," Barnim responded. "But just know that we are all grateful for what you have done for us."

"Thanks," Elio replied. "I... really appreciate it."

The next morning, Elio was ready to leave and was currently standing outside of the entrance of the Dubois Family home where the others were standing there with tearful, sad expressions. Janvier handed Elio a black suitcase that had money in it as well as other supplies that he will need for his journey.

"Here you go," he stated as he gave it Elio. "Consider it a reward for protecting my wife and child."

"Grazie," Elio responded before tipping his hat to the others as a sign of farewell. "Well, it was nice meeting you all and getting to know you. I know this is hard for all of us but I'm afraid this is where.... we part ways." As he said this, he showed signs of tearing up and looked as if he too was going to burst into tears at any given moment. Seeing this, Timotheos and Audrey teared up as well before rushing towards him and pulling him into a deep embrace, shocking the hitman.

"We're gonna miss you too!" they cried as they held onto him tightly, to which he nervously but gently returned their embrace. The others watched with smiles and tearful expressions as they saw how deeply attached the 2 teens had become towards Elio. The hitman finally let his tears flow down his cheeks as he smiled over how he was able to form a deep bond with the children as well as the other families that were present. Once they let him go, he pulled himself together before giving one final nod to the families before picking up his suitcase, turning around and walking away. The others could only watch as he slowly walked further away from them and waved to him while saying their farewells. They watched as he further away to the point where they couldn't see him anymore. It was a very emotional and bittersweet moment for everyone as there was a chance that they may never see him again despite his claim that he would return.

Elio, Miranda thought to herself with tears in her eyes. Wherever you go, know that we will always miss you.

I'm gonna miss him, Timotheos thought to himself. This couldn't possibly get any more sad.

He would quickly be proven wrong.

Sometime after lunch, there was a knock at the door, prompting Janvier to get up and answer it. Timotheos and the others remained at the dining table but were able to overhear a bit of the conversation that Janvier engaged with the person outside.

"What? Really? That's wonderful! I'll inform them right now! Merci!" Janvier responded before running back to them. "Everyone, I have received great news!"

"What is it?" Barnim asked out of curiosity.

"The town has been fully rebuilt and your homes are as good as new!"

This caught everyone's attention and made them all excited as they were finally able to return to their original homes. Though they enjoyed their time with the Dubois Family, they still felt homesick and wished to go back to Amable.

"That's great news!" Miranda responded. "When do we go back?"

"They told me that you can go back tomorrow if that's alright with you," Janvier replied.

Everyone celebrated as they were finally able to return to their original lives in Amable. However, Timotheos was the only one not celebrating as he realized that he may not be able to see Ambroise for a while. Sensing that he was upset over not being able to see Ambroise as much anymore, Audrey wrapped an arm around his shoulder in a comforting manner as she knew how much Ambroise meant to him.

"It'll be alright, Timmy," Audrey said in a soft tone. "I'm sure you can visit him again someday."

"I know but it just won't be the same," Timotheos said as he sniffed. "I'm.... gonna miss him."

"I know, Timmy. We all will."

The next day, which was early in the morning, Janvier had his chauffeur drive all of them back to Amable in his limousine. He explained that it was best to say goodbye to them while they were in their hometown. The trip was quite short (though Timotheos wished that it would be longer) as the town wasn't too far away from the Dubois estate along with the limousine being quick enough to arrive at Amable in just a few minutes. As soon as they arrived at the entrance of Amable, the chauffeur was able to find the nearest parking spot to the newly rebuilt Blumenthal residence. Though the Blumenthals were happy to see their home again, it felt incredibly bittersweet as that meant saying goodbye to the Dubois Family for now. The Larues felt the same way as they had grown fond of Louise and Janvier despite the awkward first meeting.

"I'm gonna miss you so much!" Brielle cried as she clung onto Louise with tears in her eyes.

"I'll miss you too Brielle," Louise responded with tears also in her eyes. "I'll also miss you too, Miranda."

"Yeah," Miranda responded with a sad smile and tears. "You too, Louise." The 3 women all hugged each other, with Ambroise still being held by Louise and looking at the crying women with curiosity in his eyes.

"Well, it's been one heck of a ride with you," Barnim responded with a jovial tone that hid his sadness as he placed a hand on Janvier's shoulder. "Hopefully we get to see each other again."

"I hope so," Janvier responded. "Maybe we can travel through Belgium or other parts of Europe together for a guy's trip or something like that."

"Yeah, that sounds nice," Julien said in a wistful tone.

"Besides, I don't want to miss the impending wedding of your grandson and his girlfriend over there," Janvier said with a sly grin, causing the other 2 men to start laughing, prompting the 2 teenagers to give them strange looks as to what they were laughing about. "Oh, and one more thing."

As he said this, he went to the back of the limousine and opened the trunk to pull out another suitcase before bringing it to Barnim and Julien. He then handed it to Barnim with a smile on his face, causing the others to become curious over what was inside.

"Um, Janvier? What's the deal with this?" Barnim asked in confusion.

"Well," Janvier began. "Open it and find out."

As Barnim opened the suitcase, he, Julien and the others nearly had their eyes bugged out from shock over the contents of the suitcase. As it turns out, there were stacked piles of euros inside the case. They were so busy spending time with Ambroise and his family that they completely forgot about the reward that they had given out to anyone who was willing to care for him.

"I.... I.... I can't believe this," Barnim finally responded in shock.

"Neither can I," Julien agreed. "I've never seen so much money packed away like this!"

"You didn't think we'd forget our promise did you?" Janvier asked with a slightly mischievous grin. "When my wife told me about her intention to reward you in some way, I was more than happy to agree and pitch in as much money as I could for you all. Consider it our gratitude for taking care of our son for so long."

"We figured that you would be too humble to ask us for a reward but decided to give it to you anyways," Louise explained. "It's the least we could do after everything that happened."

"Are you sure?" Miranda asked. "I mean, it's really not necessary..."

"Please take it," Louise responded. "We would never forgive ourselves if we didn't give you some kind of compensation for what happened to you and your home."

"Well...." Barnim stated. "If you really insist, then we'll take it. Merci beaucoup."

"De rien," Janvier replied. "Well, we would love to stay and chat more but I'm afraid this is where we part ways for now."

"Right," Julien responded. "We're gonna miss you."

"And we'll miss you too," Janvier responded with tears in his eyes. As he said this, all 3 men fell into a group hug with tears flowing from their eyes and the sounds of sobbing being heard from both of them. The 3 women along with the 2 teenagers watched the emotional moment with sad smiles on their faces as it finally dawned upon them on the fact that they wouldn't be seeing the Dubois Family for a while. Louise looked towards Timotheos and noticed that he was struggling not to cry as she knew what he was thinking about.

"Timmy," Louise said, prompting the young man to look at her.

"Yes?" he asked in curiosity.

"I believe there is someone who wishes to say goodbye to you," Louise replied as she held her son to him. Timotheos was taken aback by this sudden act but with Louise's encouragement, he was able to carry the baby in his arms once again. Ambroise looked up at him and giggled while placing his hand on the young man's cheek, causing Timotheos to almost burst into tears right then and there. Nonetheless, he was able to keep himself composed as he carried the baby in his arms one last time before they parted.

"I'm gonna miss you, kleiner bruder," Timotheos said in a wobbly tone as he tried to smile away the tears. "I really will. But don't worry, I'll come visit you. I promise!"

"T-Timmy."

To say this moment was shocking would be an understatement as everyone clearly heard what Ambroise said. Timotheos was the most shocked as he did not expect Ambroise's first word to be his name. Tears started to stream down his eyes as he laughed while also blubbering over the baby's words.

"He said my name!" Timotheos cried out in joy and sadness. "His first words! Were my.... *sniff* name!" He quickly handed the baby back to Louise, who was still surprised but looked on in pride and sympathy as not even she expected her son to say his first words so early. Though I would have liked it if he said mama or papa but Timmy is close enough, she thought to herself with a slight giggle. As Timotheos continued to cry in joy, Audrey held him into a deep embrace despite also having tears in her eyes and so did Miranda. They were both happy to see that Ambroise said his first word and that it happened to be Timotheos' name. Barnim was also quite happy to see his grandson's close bond with the baby come to fruition, especially since he knew how emotional their separation will be.

Louise and Janvier went back to the car, with Ambroise in hand, but not before opening the window so they could say goodbye to their friends again. Timotheos and the others waved back with tears in their eyes as they bid farewell to the Dubois Family as their limousine started to leave.

"Au revoir!" said Brielle.

"We'll miss you!" Julien shouted.

"Bye Louise! Bye Janvier! Bye Ambroise!" Audrey said as she waved at the departing family.

"Goodbye!" Miranda shouted.

"Auf wiedersehen!" Barnim shouted as he also waved.

"Bye!" Timotheos shouted as he continued to weep.

Louise waved goodbye through the window and so did Janvier. Ambroise was kept inside the limousine but Timotheos knew that deep down, the baby was also saying goodbye to him. Timotheos watched as the car drove away to the point where he couldn't see it anymore while also witnessing the sun rise up and shine upon them, as if to comfort him. He looked up at the sky and smiled as he saw that as a sign of hope for better things to come. Don't worry about me Ambroise, Timotheos thought to himself. I'll be okay. As he looked at his family and friends, he took a deep breath before deciding on what to do next.

"Alright everyone," Timotheos stated. "Let's go see what happens next."

 

5 years later...

 

Audrey and Timotheos continued to see each other for years as their bond grew closer by the day. They stopped caring about the teasing remarks that they got from their peers as they were too in love to notice let alone care. Miranda and Brielle were more than willing to give their approval to the young couple and so were Barnim and Julien. Even Janvier and Louise also saw how close the young couple was and were eager to see when they would get married. Ambroise continued to stay close to the 2 families while also maintaining his close bond with Timotheos and Audrey to the point where he saw them as older siblings, something that touched them deeply. Timotheos found himself becoming more of a teacher and decided that was what he wished to do in the future whereas Audrey herself saw that she liked cooking and decided to become a chef. Both their families were supportive as long as their future careers proved to be productive and something that they actually enjoyed. Elio would also visit from time to time, though his arrivals were often unexpected and unannounced due to him not wanting to attract too much attention. Overall, everyone has happy and able to find some kind of purpose in their lives. However, Timotheos and Audrey's story wouldn't end just yet as there was one more thing they had to do.

It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and the church building was rebuilt and expanded so that more followers and guests would come to the congregation. It was a lot more spacious in the main chapel, which was convenient given that was where Timotheos and Audrey's wedding was currently taking place. The decorations were all a soft white and light blue color with streams of ribbons, veils and flowers being placed at the top, giving the chapel an almost ethereal yet gentle atmosphere. Most of the townspeople were invited to the ceremony, with Janvier, Louise and their son being invited of course, and everyone was excited. Barnim was the most excited as he had been hoping to see his grandson get married to the woman of his dreams, with Miranda being just as excited and proud. Brielle and Julien were just as eager to see their daughter get married, especially since Audrey had asked her mother if she could wear her old wedding gown to which her mother gladly agreed but not before putting in a few tweaks to fit her daughter. As for who would be the ring bearer, Ambroise was basically the first choice due to his young age as well as his endearing personality being fit for the occasion. It also helped that he was cute as a button and was still very close with Timotheos and Audrey along with everyone unanimously agreeing that they should have him carry the rings to the newlyweds. As for the flower girl, Audrey's cousin Katell had a daughter named Cara, who was roughly around the same age as Ambroise, who everyone saw was fit for the role. It helped that Ambroise and Cara got along with each other (making the others joke about them being a couple in the future), thus making preparations for the ceremony a lot easier for everyone. However, even though they managed to invite most of their friends and family members, there was one person they were unable to contact for the invitation: Elio. Though they understood that he was busy with his job and most likely wouldn't make it to the wedding ceremony, they hoped that he would at least show up for the reception or even before the wedding began. Unfortunately, it seemed as though he wouldn't make it after all, much to the dismay of Miranda and Barnim who had grown quite fond of him.

"Hopefully he at least got the message we sent him regarding Timmy and Audrey's marriage," Miranda mused as she sat in the front pews alongside Barnim.

"Don't worry about it," Barnim replied in a calm yet somber tone. "I'm sure he knows about it and would be just as proud as we are to see your son finally grow into a man."

"Yes indeed," Miranda responded with a wistful smile. "Isn't that right, Jarem? You would have been proud too wouldn't you?" As she said this, she looked down at the empty spot beside her where it had a folded label with the name "Jarem Blumenthal" written on it as if it was saved for him. Even though Miranda and Timotheos had come to terms with Jarem's death, they still missed him after all these years and wished to include him in spirit at least. Despite Miranda not believing in ghosts, she felt as if her husband was still watching over her in some way and was expressing pride at his son finally being all grown up.

Eventually, the ceremony began as everyone stood up to watch Audrey being walked down the aisle by Julien, who was struggling to hold back tears of joy, with Ambroise holding the pillow where the rings were secured and Cara scattering flowers right behind Audrey. Miranda brought her boombox for this occasion so it could play the traditional bridal chorus, "Treulich geführt" for when her future daughter-in-law would walk down to. Ambroise made sure not to drop the rings, as he was told by his parents that they were very important and that losing them will make Timmy and Audrey very sad, which he certainly wished to avoid. Timotheos was standing there beside the other groomsmen with the bridesmaids standing on the other side and the reverend standing in the middle so he could marry the 2 soon-to-be newlyweds. Though the young groom was understandably nervous when it came to marrying his childhood friend/lover, the encouraging stares that he was given from his family was enough to calm him down and smile as he saw Audrey in her beautiful gown approach him. As per tradition, the reverend began the ceremony and had the couple state their vows before having them be given their rings by Ambroise (to which Timotheos patted his head in appreciation). After that was done, the 2 finally sealed their union with a kiss, causing everyone to cheer and clap with delight.

Overall, it was a happy day though the others were saddened by the fact that Elio couldn't be here to witness this wonderful union. Unbeknownst to everyone however, there was a shadow watching the others from outside the entrance of the church. He had just arrived to witness the 2 kids that he met 5 years ago finally tie the knot and could only smile with pride as he saw them all grown up.

"Well, well," he whispered to himself with amusement in his tone. "Looks like they finally got together after all. I'm proud of you kids."

As everyone else was too distracted by the kiss, Ambroise was the only one who noticed Elio watching from outside and waved hello to him without an ounce of fear to which the hitman could only smile and wave back.