Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, or the TV show. All of them belong to their respective owners.

November 29

"Armand, it's gone," a middle-aged blond man whispered, his voice betraying the dread he felt at not being able to prevent what had happened under his nose. The man was Jean de Treville, Guardian of the Zodiac, the thirteenth of the Treville bloodline. He had one task, and that was to seal the spirit of the Serpent Bearer and ensure the terrible prophecy, spoken of since the guardianship of the first Treville, did not come to pass. As he looked down into the ornate wooden chest, at the empty spot where a black stone was supposed to be, he knew that he had failed.

Another man, his hair gray, his eyes icy and his body clad in a fine burgundy coat, looked up from the papers in front of him, stood up from his seat, stepped behind the Guardian and followed the latter's gaze to the chest's velvet-lined interior. Armand de Richelieu was the Astrologer, one who had the power to read the stars and spoke their secrets. By day he was the Archbishop, his demeanor commanding respect and fear from most. In reality however, he was one of merely two people who knew the truth of the Zodiac, a truth that had existed since the beginning of time. It was him who knew the language of the stars, and who bore the burden of keeping its secrets from the rest of the world, a world with a people that both did not believe, and feared its own ruin.

It was for the common good, both men thought, that the prophecy be prevented from passing beyond the doors of the hidden sanctum. Richelieu in particular, opposed the revelation of the augury. He doubted the people's capacity to believe and leave matters to the two of them, for he knew a terrible secret that the stars had whispered to him, a secret he never once breathed to the Guardian, until today.

"You had one job, Jean. One job," he spoke slowly, before placing his hands on the shoulders of the shorter man and turning him around abruptly. Richelieu's eyes were cold with fury, his mouth twisted into an expression of anger.

"Tell me, imbecile, did you misplace it? Or did you let someone with half the brains I have take off with it?" The Astrologer's voice was cold and hard. Treville looked away in shame, not wanting to look into the eyes of the man he considered his only friend.

"I saw nothing and heard nothing, Armand. I'm telling you, this is no normal act of burglary," he admitted, looking back into the box once more, where twelve, rather than thirteen, stones lay. Both of them knew too well which stone was missing – the Ophiuchus stone, the only one that held no spirit within it. Tonight was the night they were to seal it, the night of Ophiuchus' rising, but it appeared that somebody had found out their terrible secret and stolen the vessel.

Richelieu thought about his secret once more. While the Guardian had not been the most watchful, he could not help but hold himself at least partially responsible for hiding things from the man as well. He knew of the Guardian's burden of protecting the Zodiac spirits and seeking out Ophiuchus; and he did not want to add to it. He realized at that moment, however, that it had been a mistake. Only months prior, stars had given him a warning and a name, yet he failed to warn the man, thinking that it was his own duty to deal with the dark sorcerer who bore the dreaded name, the sorcerer who would very soon bring about doom if nothing was to be done.

At that single moment, he realized his own pride, and whose error it truly was.

"Rochefort," he murmured, fear in his once-lofty voice. It was, as he dreaded. "I'm sorry, Jean. I'm so sorry," he apologized, letting go of the Guardian in shame. Treville jerked forward and grabbed the older man's hand, tugging at it roughly. The gray-haired man turned around, the look in his eyes one of regret and pain.

"Why didn't you tell me?! Who is this Rochefort?" Treville demanded, his blue eyes flashing and his usually calm demeanor replaced by one of anger.

"I was proud, Jean. I wanted to spare you the burden; I thought that I would be able to prevent this from coming to pass. Instead, I've doomed this world. As for who he is, I do not know. I do know, however, that very soon, he will absorb the spirit of the Snake Bearer and its vast powers," Richelieu sighed, turning to face Treville once more. "If he is not stopped before the turn of the year, our end will come as he wreaks havoc. The Serpent Bearer's spirit, the element of the void…they are not meant to be contained by anything other than its vessel, and certainly not within one man," he cautioned.

"But the prophecy…it's impossible. How could the twelve spirits of the Wheel be held in four chosen?" Treville asked, his Arian temper cooling down as he saw the remorse on the Astrologer's face. He shook his head and exhaled. "I might forgive you when the end comes, but I'm sure that many others would not. You truly doomed us all, Armand," he murmured, his shoulders slumping.

Richelieu stood silently, taking in the gravity of the Guardian's words. How indeed, could twelve spirits reside in the body of but four? Treville had told him of the Spirits' nature – powerful, volatile and unpredictable. For one to house a Spirit was already a risk. How much more dangerous was it for four people to house twelve Spirits? For a few moments, the Astrologer could not think of anything, until he recalled a phrase his father and mentor always repeated.

For like attracts like, Richelieu thought, remembering the nature of the Spirits. Three were of Fire, three were of Earth, and three were of Air and three of Water. The prophecy had spoken of the four chosen wielding the four Elements alongside bearing the twelve Spirits. If like truly attracted like, perhaps there was a way.

"Jean, recite the part in the prophecy about the chosen, " he urged, desperate to find an answer. The younger man nodded as he closed his eyes and opened his mouth.

The Harbinger will bring the end

Lest four Chosen by the Elements and the Constellations

Come together as one

Water, mysterious and deep

An enigma, unyielding as the waves, hard as ice

Air, tender yet fierce

Gentle as a zephyr, ruthless as the tempest

Earth, strong and sure

Steady as the ground, a diamond in the rough

Fire, passionate and wild

A bright flame, near impossible to tame

Treville finished, looking expectantly at Richelieu, as if to ask him if a solution had been found.

"Like attracts like, Jean. The Spirits are drawn to individuals whom they are matched with, Air to one of Air, Earth to one of Earth. Do you get where I'm heading to?" Richelieu spoke, his voice holding a certainty that the Guardian could not ignore. The latter nodded his head slowly.

"Each person has three important signs, Jean. There is the Sun Sign, the Moon Sign and the Ascendant. Three affinities. Each of our chosen four must have three different affinities with the Zodiac, all of the same Element, within him or her. Each of our four must be associated with a different element," he explained, before turning around and heading to his desk to pick up one of his charts.

"If like attracts like, I have a theory that this is how the chosen will arise," he continued, pointing at the twelve glyphs on the wheel, first the ones of Water, inked in blue, then the silver ones of Air, followed by the green ones of Earth, and lastly, the red ones of Fire. Treville nodded in understanding, before turning his head towards the chest once more, looking down at the twelve stones that served as vessels for the Zodiac Spirits.

"That actually might work," he began, before shaking his head. "But we only have until the turn of the year, Armand. How could we be sure that it wouldn't take that long for the Spirits to choose their hosts?"

"You forget that as the Astrologer, I could enchant them, direct them to their paths. They will find their way," Richelieu replied rather smugly.

"Before you get any ideas, Armand, I will not be one of them. My burden is already a difficult one," Treville warned, giving him a dark look.

Hello, readers! I'm Rose and I just recently got addicted to this show! Alas, I'm no skilled writer, so I'm happy with writing crack fiction, where I can go wild with weird plots and OOC moments!

This idea came to my head when I wondered what signs the Musketeers would have, being into astrology myself. I then decided that using the Zodiac is a crazy crack idea, hehe! I posted this somewhere else as well, but I keep forgetting to make an account on here! Nevertheless, here it is! Enjoy!

The setting is modern, though I did not specify the year, as it would be very hard to get the Zodiac data right if I did, considering that the characters have birthdays, ages and even times of birth (I consulted some ascendant charts to give roughly appropriate birth times).

Here are Treville's and Richelieu's Zodiac data, for references, head canons and whatever! I'll be posting important characters' Zodiac data after every chapter!

Jean de Treville | Guardian of the Zodiac
Age: 44
Birthday: April 13, 5:38 AM
Sun Sign: Aries
Moon Sign: Libra
Ascendant: Taurus

Armand de Richelieu | Astrologer
Age: 54
Birthday: September 9, 9:34 AM
Sun Sign: Virgo
Moon Sign: Pisces
Ascendant: Scorpio

And…who are these Chosen Four of the Wheel? Who will be chosen by the Elements to stop Ophiuchus?