Disclaimer: I do not own Albert the Fifth Musketeer or the characters.
Notes:Okay, we never really learned how Albert's first mission with the Musketeers went, but somehow, the thought of writing this one would not leave me alone. I'd noticed in the series that while Athos, Porthos and Aramis are still close to Albert, he seems closer to D'Artagnan, so I knew I needed to write a fic to explain why.
There is no slash, it's just friendship and brotherhood between Albert and D'Artagnan.
The Three Musketeers (plus two) returned to their headquarters, the mansion owned by Monsieur de Treville. It had been a very tough mission, it seemed like Milady was going to get the upper-hand, meaning victory for the Cardinal. But, thankfully, things worked themselves out in the end.
The newest recruit of their squad, a young man who only stood over 3-feet tall, including the feather in his hat, felt awful. This was his first mission with them, the infamous Three Musketeers (plus D'Artagnan). He'd heard many things about them, many good things. He'd hoped to prove to them that he had what it took to be in their squad, to show he had what it took to be a Musketeer of His Majesty, but everything seemed to be going wrong.
Certainly, he was fantastic with the sword, he was able to take on a Guard of the Cardinal twice his size. But, because he hadn't wanted to overshadow them, being the newest recruit, he'd kept his ideas to himself. What if he'd voiced them? Would things have turned out different?
The young Musketeer returned to his quarters in a foul mood, not wanting to talk to anyone. He was angry with himself for letting everyone down, and he was upset.
"Has anybody seen Albert? He suddenly vanished again," Athos commented.
"He wasn't in the best mood when we were returning from the Louvre. Our mission was a success, why is he so down?" Porthos questioned.
Aramis turned to D'Artagnan. "Maybe you should talk to him, my friend, and put those feelings of doubt to an end."
The chocolate-haired Musketeer nodded. He knew what it felt like to be the new boy in the squad, as it wasn't long ago he'd joined. Of course, his day was much worse than what Albert had experienced. For one thing, the young man was greeted warmly, nobody wishing to challenge him to a duel. But, D'Artagnan knew that his comrades were having a difficult time the day he'd applied to join the squad, so it was just lashing out after a bad day.
The blond sighed as he hung his hat on a hook near the door and removed his sword, still in its sheath. "Maybe I don't have what it takes to be a Musketeer..." He jumped slightly as he heard a knock on the door. "Who is it?"
"It's me, D'Artagnan. I'm come to talk to you about today."
He feared what his older comrade had to say, but it would be better to get it over and done with quickly. "Alright, you can enter."
The door opened, and in stepped D'Artagnan. He noticed right away that Albert really did appear disheartened. "What's wrong? We succeeded in our mission, you should be celebrating!"
He shook his head. "I can't. Our mission today, we only succeeded through the fates being kind to us. Otherwise, the Cardinal would've come out victorious."
"It always happens like that, don't worry about it."
"But, I'd heard that you and the others have skills that couldn't match another man. I'd heard that you were all a force to be reckoned with. I was excited to be joining your squad because I felt I would be with men I looked up to...and no, I don't mean literally." He let out an awkward chuckle at that before becoming sombre again.
"We beat the Cardinal's Guards once and rumors like that spread all around France? Well, I don't know what to say to that..."
"And so, when I was on this mission with you, I felt it was time to show that I had what it took be a Musketeer, to be part of this squad with heroes of France. But, I let everyone down."
"When did you let us down? You were incredible against that Guard, I wasn't expecting your skills to be that good."
The smaller male sat on the bed and sighed. "I need to admit something."
"What is it?" D'Artagnan found a chair and sat on it. "What do you need to admit?"
"I had a plan. Many times. But, I feared that if I spoke up, I would overshadow you...and what if my plans failed? Things would become much worse. So, I didn't say anything about them. But, what if they did work? Then, my silence only slowed things down."
"You can always feel free to say something, Albert. A part of being in a team is to contribute in any way you can, and we'd listen. And what nonsense is this about overshadowing? We could've used all the help we could get! We would've appreciated your suggestion! And so what if it didn't work? We'd find a way to fix it up together, right?"
"I guess so..."
"Where has your confidence gone, my friend? Don't think I didn't notice how confident you appeared as we all rode off, ready to complete our mission."
"I'm afraid my confidence is in the chamber pot."
"Well then, we'll just have to get it back. Why else do you feel you've let us down?"
"All I had with me was my sword. If I had something else, maybe I could've handled more Guards, then Milady would not have escaped so quickly. But, I'm still working on my marksmanship so a blunderbuss or musket isn't right."
"Well, why don't you make something you could use?"
"Make something?"
"Sure. I mean, you've got to be a clever gent if you kept coming up with ideas throughout our mission."
"But, what should I make?"
"Anything! What do you think you could use? What do you think would give you the advantage over the enemy?"
"Maybe..." He brightened a bit. "Maybe I can come up with something I could use!"
"There. Your confidence is slowly returning. Now, why don't you tell the others about what was troubling you? Of course, I'm sure they'd all say the same thing. After all, what is our motto?"
"One for all, and all for one."
"Exactly. We're a team now, and we're always open to what each of us has to say, no matter how absurd it sounds."
"You're right. Thank you, D'Artagnan."
"You're welcome, and if you have any more concerns, feel free to pull me aside for a talk."
"But, why is it that you were the one who agreed to talk to me?"
"Well, it wasn't long ago I joined the squad, so I know how it feels to be the new kid. But, I can assure you, your first day has nothing on mine."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, let's just say the others and I got off to a very shaky start. I was to duel all three of them over an hour and a half."
"Really? Then what happened?"
D'Artagnan recounted his whole day to Albert, hoping it would show the newest Musketeer that he really did have nothing to be upset about. So the mission went awry, it's alright if it worked out in the end, and in the future, Albert knew that he could speak up about any of his ideas, and shouldn't be afraid of overshadowing his comrades, as they were all one, and how can one overshadow themselves?
Albert's respect for D'Artagnan grew that day, and he knew he really would have no problems going to him to seek advice.
From that day, Albert and D'Artagnan were closer friends, and were always ready to look out for each other in any circumstances. Yes, they also considered their other comrades dear friends, they just felt they were closer to each other. Albert looked up to D'Artagnan like an older brother, even if he later learned the older male had a tendency to show his ever-expanding ego. That didn't matter to him, what mattered was D'Artagnan was a friend he could trust with his life, and he not only knew that, he returned the unspoken promise.