Hello I´m pretty new here in the musketeer fandome, so please give me a chance ;)
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Niagaraweasel thanks so much after all the Arrowstories you also translate my Musketeerstory thanks so much.
Rochefort sent a spike of fear through every single bone in her body. His posture, his looks, everything. For the first time since she was on her own, Constance contemplated returning to her old life. But no, after what happened at the laundry, she couldn't go back there. Bonacieux had watched as Rochefort had hit her in the face and all but sentenced her to death without saying a word.
D'Artagnan would have fought for her, she was sure of it, but she had hurt him and sent him away. He hadn't heard Rochefort's threats, he knew nothing about the slap to her face, that she had been in danger of being hanged or that she had sneaked off to Emily with the queen.
He was done with her, of that Constance was certain. Aramis had surely told him, that she had eaten some of the poisoned soup and that she had spent long nights watching over Emily. But he hadn't visited her or inquired about her health even once.
Constance felt cool tears trickling down her face. She missed him and she loved him. Oh how much she wished he would give her another chance, but she didn't deserve it. She had sent him away, taken him back and immediately let him go again.
He was long since over her. Cowardly he had called her; another woman he had kissed. There were no feelings anymore and she couldn't fault him for that.
More tears were running down her face. She needed to get out of the castle, at least for a few hours.
It was late and no one else was awake, except for a few guards. Constance crossed the courtyard as she heard voices. Slowly she crept up to them and saw Rochefort and Milady de Winter.
"It is your task to convince the king that he's better off with you than with the queen."
"You have your eye on the queen and want her for yourself," Milady remarked, "but do you really think she would be interested in a simple, malicious looser like yourself?"
Rochefort grabbed her by the throat, but Milady didn't flinch. "Who do you think you are?"
"The one who will win in the end," Milady de Winter answered.
Rochefort's grip tightened. "Those are big words for a kept woman and a murderess."
Milady drew a dagger and held it against Rochefort's stomach. His grip immediately loosened.
"You just said it yourself, I am a murderess and I will not balk at killing you. Lay one hand on the king and I will kill the heir and make life hell for the queen, while I make it heaven for the king."
Rochefort was boiling with rage, but he stepped back and let Milady go.
Constance tried to hide, but she had no chance, Rochefort had seen her and hurried over to her.
"Madame Bonacieux, what are you doing here at this hour?" The look in his eyes was frightening as always and it immediately made the young woman stumble over her words.
"I wanted to get some fresh air, I couldn't sleep."
"You overheard us," the chief of the Red Guard realized and grabbed her.
"No, I didn't hear anything, really," Constance pleaded.
"Liar," Rochefort said sharply and slapped her face. Constance fell to the ground, feeling dazed. Dimly she felt two more hits and heard a warning not to tell anyone, then he let up on her.
Everything else seemed to happen in a kind of trance. She had no idea how she had managed to reach the city. She didn't want to go to the garrison, she needed something else, something that wasn't suitable for a married woman. She stumbled into a tavern, but the moment she stepped through the door, everything went dark.
People jumped up at her abrupt entry. Athos and Aramis, who had sat in a quiet back corner of the tavern, noticed the commotion too. They put down their cups and joined the throng of people around the door. Immediately people gave way to the Musketeers and they could see someone lying on the floor, shocked when they noticed who it was. Immediately the two men grabbed Constance and got her out of the tavern.
"We need to take her home immediately," Athos said.
Aramis looked at him. "We should take her to our place, what if her husband did this to her. Then we'd throw her right back into the lion's den."
Athos nodded and carried the unconscious Constance to the garrison. "Go and get the doctor."
Porthos and D'Artagnan were still awake, playing cards with Treville. Athos interrupted the relaxed, happy mood, when he opened the door. D'Artagnan immediately jumped up. "What happened to her? Who did this to her?"
Athos placed Constance on the cot. "We don't know. She stepped into the tavern and collapsed. Aramis has gone to get the doctor."
Treville brought a bowl of water and a cloth. "Whoever it was hit her pretty hard. Looks like she has a concussion."
The youngest of the Musketeers knelt beside her and gently stroked her hair. He could feel rage growing in his chest at the sight of the woman he loved lying unconscious before him.
"What's she doing here in the city? She was supposed to be safe with the queen," he asked, looking up at Athos. Before the Musketeer could answer, the door opened and Aramis entered with the doctor. Everyone except D'Artagnan stepped aside.
"Looks like broken ribs and a concussion," the doctor said, taking a bottle of smelling salts out of his bag and holding it under the young woman's nose.
Constance started to stir and tried to raise her head. "Ouch," she said, opening her eyes and looking slowly around the room. "How did I get here?" the cloth merchant's wife asked when she saw the Musketeers.
D'Artagnan held her hand, his thumb gently tracing across the back of it.
"We brought you here after you collapsed at the tavern. What were you doing there?" Athos asked.
Constance pulled her hand out of D'Artagnans and tried to sit up. Her ribs hurt and her head as well. "I….ahhhh…" she stopped for a moment. The young Musketeer was by her side immediately. "Constance, lie back down again, you need to rest."
It pained her to see the worry on his face, it pained her that she had broken his heart. "I can manage, thanks. I needed to get out of the castle and I overheard Rochefort and Milady. Rochefort surprised me and I don't know how I managed to come here."
The others shared a look. Aramis spoke up. "Rochefort did this to you?"
Constance nodded. "Rochefort is in love with the queen and Milady is supposed to see to it that the king choses her. If she can't, Rochefort wants to kill the king and if that happens Milady has threatened to kill the heir."
Aramis stiffened. His son and the woman he loved in Rochefort's hands. Every muscle in his body tensed. "We have to go to the castle immediately."
"It's the middle of the night," Athos said.
"What if something happens to her tonight?" Aramis asked, worried.
"Aramis is right, Athos, we need to go to the castle," Porthos agreed with his friend.
All eyes were on Treville. "I'll go with you to the castle and D'Artagnan can take Constance home. Let them know at the castle that she's with us."
Aramis grinned at D'Artagnan, before he left the garrison with the others to saddle their horses.
"Come, I'll help you up," the Musketeer said.
"That is not necessary, thanks. I can manage on my own," the young woman said, pressing a hand against her ribs as she tried to get up.
D'Artagnan helped her anyway. "Why must you be so stubborn, I only want to help you."
"You don't have to. Why would you help a coward?" Constance answered bitterly.
D'Artagnan gave her his nicest smile. "I didn't mean it. I was hurt that you had decided against me. I know I have nothing to offer you, my lands are gone, I have no house, but I can give you something more important – love, safety, adventure."
Constance almost lost her balance. Her head hurt and she sat back down on the bed. "Please don't send me home. Bonacieux doesn't love me, I know, I've seen it at the laundry. Why weren't you there? Why didn't you look for me after I ate that poisoned soup?"
The pain in her voice almost broke his heart. "I thought you didn't want me any longer and I wanted to respect your wish. It was hard for me not to go straight to you after Aramis told me what had happened. What did happen at the laundry?"
"I brought the heir to the laundry and Bonacieux betrayed me to Rochefort. He caught me at the laundry and he just stood there while Rochefort hit me and he didn't say anything. He was just afraid to tarnish his reputation." Constance wiped a tear from her face. "He wouldn't have done anything if I had been hanged."
D'Artagnan's rage increased immeasurably at that. "Rochefort will get his just punishment and as far as Bonacieux is concerned, he doesn't deserve you." Gently he kissed her. "I won't let anything happen to you. Leave your husband. Speak to the queen, live at the palace and spend your free days with the one person who truly loves you with all of his heart."
D'Artagnan's words were like a balm for her soul. He loved her and she loved him more than everything else.