Author's note: This is based on my own prompt from the last few lines of my story; 'The First Mission.'

It is set pre-series. There is no d'Artagnan, sorry.

Athos is in charge again, Aramis gets hurt (again) and Porthos just might get the girl.

Chapter One

Aramis wandered into the garrison yard. He had worked late the previous day so had not been expected until nearly midday. The garrison was quiet with most of the men out on patrol or guard duty. He was planning a day in the infirmary, checking supplies whilst it was quiet.

As he walked across the empty yard he glanced up to see a young man standing on the steps looking towards Treville's office. The Captain was leaning over the balustrade reading a letter. Treville looked shocked. His curiosity piqued Aramis climbed the stairs and approached the Captain.

'Sir? Is everything alright?' he asked as he stopped a few feet from Treville.

After a few seconds, Treville looked up from the letter. He sighed and handed the paper to Aramis who took it and read.

'I write to ask you for help my friend.

Do you remember my cousin, Corentin? He has finally taken his hatred of my position into his own hands. He forcibly removed me from my home and has effectively ousted me.

My tenants are harbouring me, I am safe at the moment. But, my friend, he has taken Sarah. He has kept her at the chateau. I am not a violent man, I have no resources to rescue her. My dear daughter is in danger. The villagers have offered to try to get Corentin out, but I fear they are not equipped against him and the hired thugs he has brought with him.

My friend, I need your help. I do not know where else to turn…'

Aramis looked up, Treville was watching him.

'I gather you are good friends with this...Comte Babineaux?'

Treville nodded, 'we grew up together, I would say he was my best friend at the time. We got up to all sorts of trouble,' Treville paused smiling at the memories, 'but he must be desperate to ask me for help. He's not violent, a very gentle man, peaceful. He looks after his tenants well, he is respected and loved by them.'

'Do you know this cousin, Corentin?'

Treville's expression darkened, 'he's a little older and has always hated his cousin. I remember once I stood up for Ben, knocking Corentin down. I'm not sure he likes me either.'

'What are you going to do?'

'I'd like to help him, Sarah is my goddaughter. She's a lovely young lady. I hate to imagine what they might be doing to her,' said Treville shaking his head in disgust, 'but whatever I do won't be official.'

'Then do it unofficially. Your friend has been attacked and his daughter is in danger.'

'What can I do alone?'

Aramis smiled, 'Captain, please, do you actually think you would be doing this alone? There will be volunteers amongst the men to help. I will certainly help you. You do so much for us, we will gladly return the favour.'

Treville looked away for a few seconds.

'The King is away,' continued Aramis, 'a group of Musketeers going off training for a few days will not cause a stir.'

Treville nodded, 'you're right. Thank you,' he looked at the young man who was still waiting at the top of the steps, he waved the man forward.

'Alain,' Treville said, 'will you be able to return now? Or do you need to rest?'

The young man, who looked a little intimidated, spoke hesitantly, 'I stopped for a few hours overnight, sir. But my horse is exhausted, I perhaps pushed her too hard. I doubt she'll be able to cope with leaving straight away…'

Aramis spoke before Treville could, 'we can lend you a fresh horse,' he said.

The young man nodded.

'Aramis will take you to the mess, you can eat whilst I write a reply,' Treville turned to Aramis, 'see that he has food for the return journey and pick one of our swiftest mounts for him.'

Aramis nodded with a smile as he shepherded the young man back down the steps. He glanced back to see Treville returning to his office.

'Will Monsieur Treville help the Comte?' asked Alain as they walked towards the mess.

'Yes, he will,' replied Aramis, 'how long ago was the Comte ousted?'

Alain thought for a few moments, 'four days. He is very worried about his daughter.'

'I'm not surprised. Do you know how many men have taken over his chateau?'

Alain shook his head, 'the first we knew about it was when Monsieur Babineaux arrived in the village. He is kind to us, we hid him from some men who had followed him. I was sent with the letter the next morning.'

'My Captain, will sort this out for you and the Comte,' said Aramis with conviction, 'he will make sure everything is alright.'

Aramis wondered how they would go about helping Treville's friend, but he did know they would do all that they could.

MMMM

The men who Treville had chosen for the clandestine mission were grouped in the garrison mess. Athos had watched earlier as Treville had been forced to turn several of the volunteers down. But they were to perform an important duty whilst the rest of them were away. They were to maintain the story that the group that were to leave were on a training exercise. The mission was not authorised and Treville did not want suspicion to be raised.

Their Captain had spent some time explaining what he wanted from the volunteers. They were to travel early the following morning to an area on the outskirts of Babineaux's land. There they would set up camp and liaise with the Comte. Treville wanted to send a small team of three into the chateau to rescue Sarah before they began their main assault. Athos had been surprised when Treville had picked him to lead Aramis and Porthos on the important mission. He had been given some leadership roles, but this would be by far the trickiest since his first time in charge. He knew that Aramis and Porthos would have every confidence in him as their leader. But he was still filled with trepidation.

Athos had watched Treville when the men that wanted to help him had all arrived. Treville had been overwhelmed with the offers of help. Only a handful of men had not volunteered, and Athos suspected that was only because they had seen the sheer number of others who had turned up to the meeting. Treville was a good captain, he treated his men firmly but fairly. When Athos had joined up, it was Treville who had seen that he would be a good fit to round out the already teamed up Aramis and Porthos. Athos was the one of the three of them who was prepared to take a step back and look at the situation pragmatically. Where Aramis might have rushed in, and Porthos would have over strategised; Athos balanced the two.

Now he was being given the chance to prove himself again. He had been a little disappointed with his first mission in a leadership capacity, he looked forward to redeeming himself. Even if he was only redeeming himself in his own eyes. Both Aramis and Porthos thought he had done a fine job, despite Aramis being left injured.

As they filed out of the room Porthos managed to grab his arm and steer him towards the garrison gate. Athos noticed their friend had also caught hold of Aramis in a similar fashion.

'If we are to embark on a mission early tomorrow, we need to have a proper meal tonight,' Porthos said as he guided his friends towards the tavern.

'Do you think only with your stomach?' asked Aramis with a chuckle.

Athos was content to be led by Porthos, to allow his friends to dictate what he did. They had learned when he was amenable to such behaviour and when to let him take his own path. Athos needed his solitude on occasion, Aramis and Porthos knew when to leave him alone and when they could cajole him into sharing their company.

Tonight, Athos was going to let them take charge, before he took charge the next day.

MMMM

Porthos methodically checked his tack and saddlebag. He noticed the extra food that Aramis had somehow rustled up had been slipped into his bag and not Aramis' own. How Aramis managed to charm extra's out of Serge was beyond Porthos. The man seemed to be able to make friends with little effort, although he knew that Serge has a soft spot for Aramis.

He glanced about, the other men who were to help Treville's friend were doing much the same as he was. Checking their equipment and talking quietly to one another. They had seen a few of them at the tavern the night before, but all had sensibly turned in at a reasonable time, ready for the early start the following day.

Porthos watched Aramis teasing Athos about something, he could not hear the conversation, but Athos rolled his eyes before replying to Aramis in such a manner that had his friend laughing and wandering off in search of another target to provide him with entertainment.

Porthos found himself smirking at the memory of one of their slightly raucous nights out a few months before, when a slightly drunk Aramis had pestered Athos one too many times about his past. Athos, who had been drinking steadily for several hours had punch Aramis hard enough to leave the marksman on the floor wondering what had happened. Athos had regretted his actions immediately despite Aramis' own apologies for pushing him too far. The two men had wandered off at the end of the evening as friends again. Porthos remembered following them both, just to make sure they got to their destinations without falling out.

Their bond was now such that they had acquired the moniker of 'The Inseparables' which had amused Porthos greatly. Despite the odd disagreement between the three of them they had come to know and understand how they each worked and were able to anticipate each other's moves.

Porthos could not think of anyone he would rather work with.

MMMM

As they cantered along in formation, having left the narrow streets of the city Treville observed his men. He had been moved by the number of men who wanted to volunteer. He knew the men respected him but had not realised how much they were prepared to give back. The men with him were about to go into battle for someone they had not met before just because he was friends with their captain.

Athos had moved to ride next to him, Treville made a mental note that if everything went according to plan he would ensure the man got the promotion he deserved when they were back in Paris. Athos had already proven himself, Treville would begin subtly preparing him to take over the Musketeers as their captain. Treville could not think of a better person for the post.

'How much do you know about this cousin?' asked Athos, 'anything you know could prove useful to us when we are in there.'

Treville nodded, 'I only met him a couple of times, he's a little older than Ben, and always thought he should have been the Comte. I often wondered if, given the chance, he would have tried to kill Ben. Corentin would have been next in line to inherit the title if Ben were to die. But when he married he had two children, a son, who is away a lot of the time and a daughter, Sarah.'

Treville paused lost in thought for a few moments.

'I was more than happy to be her godfather. It was an honour. Ben had always seen me as an equal, despite my being of lesser noble stock,' Treville chuckled, 'but Corentin, I can only describe him as nasty. When we were young he would think nothing of tormenting creatures and killing them. He liked to have power, which I suppose, is what he is doing now...How can he expect this to succeed?'

'He probably has not thought that far ahead. He is enjoying the moment. Despite being a grown man, he sounds as if he has the mind of a child...we will do all we can to rescue Sarah and return Comte Babineaux to his proper place.'

'Thank you, I really cannot begin to express my gratitude to you and the men.'

MMMM

They found a clearing large enough to accommodate them all and, with practised ease, began to make camp. The horses were tended to and fires were lit.

It was not long before one of the men who had been sent to scout the immediate area returned with the Comte who had been eagerly awaiting their arrival. He greeted Treville warmly.

'Jean,' he said, 'it's been too long...I hate meeting you again like this...it's just been…' the Comte's voice faded off as emotion got the better of him. He looked away for a few seconds as he tried to compose himself.

'Benoit,' replied Treville, 'I am here, and I will do whatever I can to help you.'

Treville glanced back at Athos, Porthos and Aramis who had approached the two friends.

'We are going to get your daughter out first before we attack and remove Corentin and his men. These three,' he indicated the Musketeers, 'will infiltrate the chateau and rescue Sarah. I know they will succeed.'

Babineaux turned to the men, 'thank you...I cannot thank you enough...I should be capable of dealing with this myself but...I...I am not.'

Babineaux looked down, Aramis thought the man looked ashamed. Athos took a couple of steps forward and rested his hand on the man's arm.

'Not all men are soldiers, monsieur,' he said, 'some men are thinkers and leaders. You have nothing to be ashamed of. Let us do our job.'

Babineaux nodded, 'thank you,' he said quietly.

'Can you describe the chateau for us?' asked Porthos, 'do you have any idea where your cousin will be keeping your daughter?'

'Yes,' said Babineaux who had recovered a little from his feelings of inadequacy, 'I've not been idle whilst I awaited your arrival. Once Alain returned with your letter I drew up some plans of the building for you.'

The Comte handed a roll of paper to Athos who unfurled it, holding it so that Porthos and Aramis could see. The Comte had outlined each floor and marked each room, including his daughters.

'This will be most useful monsieur,' said Athos glancing up at the Comte.

'When will you leave?'

'How far is the chateau from here?' asked Porthos.

'A thirty-minute walk, maybe a little less for you.'

Athos glanced at Porthos and Aramis who both nodded.

'We will leave as soon as we have gathered what we will need for the rescue.'

MMMM

They had made use of the brisk walk to the chateau to plan their assault. They had decided that they would enter the building from the servant's quarters at the rear and work their way up to the second floor where Sarah's bedroom was. If she was not there a methodical search of the building would begin. They had contemplated splitting up to search but decided that there were likely to be too many hired men to risk moving about alone. The search would rely on stealth. They wanted to enter and leave without the majority of the men knowing they had been there. Any men they met would have to be dealt with swiftly and potentially lethally. They could not risk the alarm being raised as that would jeopardise the forthcoming attack by Treville and the rest of the Musketeers. They had been given a two hours head start. Treville did not want to take the chance that their element of surprise would be lost.

As the chateau came into view Aramis could not help reacting to the sight. The building was impressive. Its many windows reflected the low afternoon sun, its grand main door stood ajar allowing them to glimpse the main hallway which held stylish furniture and large paintings. Aramis guessed the life-sized portrait that held pride of place above the hallways hearth was one of the Babineaux ancestors. The gardens leading up to the property were well kept although the few days they had been neglected were obvious by a scattering of fallen leaves and the length of the grass.

The three-storey building was symmetrical with the ground floor and the first floor being the same size and smaller second floor centred over the main doorway. The floor plan they had indicated that there were 16 bedrooms across the two upper floors with enough rooms for servants in the basement floor.

Babineaux had indicated that none of his servants had managed to escape with him. Unfortunately, the servants were not the Musketeers priority, something which had annoyed Aramis slightly, but Porthos had pointed out that the servants, provided they did as they were told by the new occupants of the chateau were probably not in as much danger as the Comte's daughter.

Porthos led them around the side of the building. Athos and Aramis kept a constant eye on the chateau, they were watching for any indication that they had been seen. They did not believe that Corentin would not have set up a watch on the grounds. He would know that there was a good chance the Comte would mount a rescue attempt for his daughter, and possibly try to take back his home. What the Musketeers were hoping was the Babineaux's cousin would not be expecting a group of highly trained soldiers to be mounting the attack.

Porthos paused at a point close to the servant's entrance, they would have to cross several yards of exposed ground. They crouched down and carefully scanned the windows. When each man was satisfied they were not going to be seen they hurried across. It was dangerous to try to gain entry in daylight, but they hoped the men inside the chateau would not be expecting a daytime infiltration.

They reached the door, Porthos tried the handle, it was unsurprisingly locked. Without missing a beat Porthos began to pick the lock. Aramis and Athos kept watch.

The lock undone, they quietly entered the building.

MMMM