Author's Note: Some of my stories are starting to fall into my own a timeline. This particular piece fits in after 'Not Easily Broken'. I simply can't thank Mountain Cat enough for all her help on this story. We have been working on this piece for close to a year and at 50 chapters it is like a small novel. She has proofed it, kept continuity, encouraged and greatly assisted when I wrote myself into a corner. You have no idea how supportive and wonderful it is to have such a great beta reader. I hope you enjoy. I'll do my usual post one chapter a day (because I love to read new reviews each day). If you are a binge reader come back in 50 days.

CHAPTER 1

The regiment met up with the Spanish soldiers three leagues from the village, heading deeper into French territory. The musketeers, fifty strong, were sorely outnumbered by the Spanish, but they were better equipped, better trained, fighting for their homeland and in the end that was enough for the musketeers to take the day.

Overall, Treville led his men to a resounding victory, with only three deaths and two career ending injuries amongst his troop, though to Treville, the loss of even one musketeer was one too many. However, considering the Spanish force was twice as large as had been reported, the Captain felt blessed his regiment's death toll wasn't higher. None of his musketeers escaped the cuts and bruises that come with a vicious battle, that was part of being a soldier, but thankfully very few had met their maker today.

In the slowly fading light, Treville set his men to create order from the chaos on the battlefield that surrounded them. The site was checked over one last time for survivors before the Spanish dead were stacked to one side to be buried in the morning. The three deceased musketeers were carefully wrapped in blankets and gently placed in the back of a wagon to be brought home to Paris for a proper burial. The wounded from both sides were receiving aid and, come morning, the musketeers that couldn't ride would be placed in wagons for the journey home. The prisoners too would have a bumpy wagon ride to the jails of Paris, though they, unlike the musketeers, would be bound for the trip. Showing mercy to one's enemies only went so far.

The musketeers' campsite was coming into being, with cooking fires being lit, bedrolls being arranged and the horses groomed and staked out. Treville was proud to see his regiment going about their duties with minimal direction from him. He wanted them, needed them, to be self-sufficient as he wouldn't always be there to guide them. Allade, one of his Lieutenants, was doing an admirable job overseeing the regiment; he was an asset for the company. Not all of his officers possessed his capabilities.

Thinking on the regiment's assets, the Captain's deliberations turned to the trio that had become a unit about four months ago; two of his experienced soldiers, Porthos and Aramis, and the Comte turned musketeer, Athos, though only Treville knew of the swordsman's past life. At Athos' request, Treville had kept the secret of Athos' birthright to himself, though he wondered how long the taciturn man could keep his status as the Comte de la Fére from his two inquisitive teammates.

They really were young men still Treville mused, though he tended to forget that because the trio performed like seasoned veterans, more so than some of the soldiers who had served with him for years. Aramis and Porthos had seen the harsh environment of combat; not merely duels, brawls, or barroom battles, but honest to God 'I need to kill you or I will be killed' war. A fight over a piece of land, an ideal, or sometimes simply a perceived slight where there was a winner, but mostly an unacceptable number of causalities making both sides really losers. The third member of the trio, Athos, was new to the harshness of actual combat against trained soldiers, which was what had occurred here today.

The trio's bourgeoning partnership was gradually flourishing, though it still had many awkward moments. After Athos had finally agreed to join the regiment and received his commission, Porthos and Aramis had taken the reserved, moody recruit under their wings to teach him the real world of soldiering. While Athos was book-learned and quick to pick up on things, hardening and field experience was something that only came with time, and Porthos and Aramis were guiding him in this journey.

And what a journey it had been so far. In the few months Athos had been officially part of the musketeers, Aramis and Porthos had involved him in brawls with the Red Guards, barroom battles and even a duel if the Captain's sources were correct. Treville at one point wondered if the two were a bad influence on the Comte turned solider. But rumors, and his own eyes had shown him Athos was no saint himself under that seemingly calm facade. When in the mood, Athos could be quite the instigator himself, as the Red Guard had found out the hard way, or so he had heard from the Cardinal himself in a rather loud and heated conversation. While the man in red was not able to say exactly how things came to be, the incident between the Red Guard and the musketeers did not sit well with the religious leader and First Minister of France. Cardinal Richelieu was absolutely furious because his guards were made to look the fool by the musketeers in a very clever and public manner. The whole incident had the fingerprints of Aramis and Porthos all over it, but with a heightened level of sophistication which Treville was willing to bet was Athos' influence. It wasn't the first and would surely not be the last time he wondered if teaming the three up was a good idea.

Though Aramis and Porthos were mentoring Athos, there was no doubt in Treville's mind that the swordsman was becoming the de facto leader of the trio, as he had known would eventually occur. Athos had an innate leadership quality, even if the man did not yet realize it himself. This was both good and bad, for in most situations, without trying or even meaning too, Athos assumed the leadership role. Men sensed the natural leader in him, and gravitated towards him, often away from the person who actually had been put in charge. It had caused some hard feelings already, Treville knew, when a leader of a task suddenly realized that all his followers were not listening to him, but rather to Athos.

Athos, for the most part, didn't deliberately set out to take over any group he was part of and more typically remained in the background. However, he did have the intrinsic ability to be in the right place, at the right time, with the right answer, and suddenly people were looking to him to lead. Treville also knew, if Athos was uncomfortable with a decision of his leader, he wasn't afraid to ask questions, having a sense of sureness about him that came from growing up as a Comte. However, to the outside world, especially another leader, these questions, which almost had the appearance of challenges to their authority, were annoying and many leaders thought a sign of insubordination.

This insubordination had been noted and commented upon by the leaders of a few groups to which Athos had been assigned. Most of the time it was unintentional Treville felt, a by-product of Athos' upbringing and natural leadership. But since no one knew he was a Comte, they thought him uppity.

Occasionally, though, Treville had noted it was deliberate; that Athos was going out of his way to consciously dance on the edge of insubordination, especially if he felt the leader was wrong and doing something dangerous. Or if the leader was being a cultural elite and picking on people he considered below his station; this seemed to really bother Athos, who treated men by their actions not their rank. And sometimes Athos was defiant, Treville swore, simply because he could be and he enjoyed being the rebel that no one suspected behind his cool, indifferent façade.

Treville had called Athos to the carpet a few times on his recalcitrant behavior. He tried to get the new musketeer to realize he was inadvertently building a reputation as being an insubordinate troublemaker with some of the regiment's leaders, especially the high-ranking nobles who found Athos to be an enigma who didn't show enough deference to their social status. One, Lieutenant Roudon, particularly seemed offended. Athos' attitude of indifference coupled with innate superiority left the others wanting to crack-down hard on him as a perceived way to keep him in line.

Since Treville had brought Athos into the regiment, there had been those that had questioned him on whether it was a wise move. It hadn't helped that Athos ended up friends with two of the regiment's other renegades and social misfits. That had been one of Treville's concerns when he paired them all up; that a portion of the regiment might turn against the trio. However, for as many men as turned away from the odd trio, others showed respect for the best swordsman, marksman and fighter in the regiment.

Treville pondered more on the trio. During practice in the garrison, working as a unit to defend against all challengers, they had impressed the Captain and he wasn't disappointed when he watched them fight in battle today. Already, they were instinctively watching out for each other and were a mighty force with which to be reckoned. Their unique specialties, the swordsman, the marksman and the streetfighter made them an unpredictable, deadly combination. And the growing bond between the trio made them three times as dangerous; woe be to anyone that tried to hurt one of them, for the others would respond in kind and it wouldn't be pretty.

Off the battlefield, the group was also interesting to observe. They tended to ride near each other and slightly away from the main body, especially Athos and his touchy black stallion, Roger, both of whom gave the distinct impression that company was neither required nor appreciated. But Roger's stablemates, Fidget and Flip, and their riders, blithely ignored the 'do not trespass' signs and were always nearby, just on the edge of crowding the duo. And, from what Treville observed, he thought Athos, if one ignored his outward appearances, inwardly was enjoying having them there, at least on some levels.

Scanning the surroundings for the three musketeers, the Captain found them, one by one, for they each were tackling different jobs. Aramis was the easiest to locate because Treville knew the medic-musketeer would be assisting with the wounded. The best marksman of the regiment was also a surprisingly skilled medic and his needlework on wounds was unmatched. Porthos also was easy to spot. The strong musketeer had the unenviable job of hauling the dead bodies of the Spanish to the place where they were to be buried in a communal grave come morning. His natural strength and fortitude made him well suited for the job, though that didn't mean he enjoyed it. Within that well-muscled body beat a generous heart that felt more than most people ever realized, especially those who judged him solely on his appearance.

A hint of a frown crossed Treville's face when he finally spotted his newest recruit, alone on the battlefield, simply standing. As self-assured as Athos might seem, Treville was sure the young man had never faced such carnage as he had here today. Reading books about famous battles was one thing; participating in a real one was totally another. Rubbing a hand over his stubbly chin, the Captain debated if he should approach Athos now, or later, to try to reassure him his feelings were normal. A very private person, the swordsman would not appreciate an audience as he obviously struggled to make sense of the world about him. However, Treville knew at some point he had to talk to the young man, guide him, help him get over the shock of his first battle. It was all part of being a soldier and the feelings he was sure were coursing through Athos' body were natural, not something to be embarrassed or ashamed about, but rather a lesson to be learned.

Treville never wanted any of his men to stop feeling remorse or compassion for their enemy, for if they did, they became no better than mercenaries. But he did expect them to process their deaths, then move on, not bottle their feelings up and let them fester away at their souls. And that was the lesson he needed to impart to Athos, as he had done countless times before to other young soldiers.

He also wanted to address the times where he felt Athos had overstepped his bounds and not listened to what his leader had told him today. The young man had been a little headstrong and while it worked out, it also could have had a direr outcome. He had no doubts that Lieutenant Roudon would catch his ear at some point to complain about Athos.

As he was preparing to head in Athos' direction, Lieutenant Allade appeared at his side informing him of an issue requiring his immediate attention. With a quiet sigh, Treville turned away from the lonely man on the battlefield and followed Allade. He'd have to address his issues with Athos later.