Disclaimer: This is something I've been working on for a long time and have never gotten around to putting it up. Please be kind and leave me no flames. Constructive criticism is welcomed. Please read and review! I own nothing but Danielle (my OC).
Chapter 1
The carriage Danielle d'Artagnan took to Paris stopped by her request at the musketeer headquarters. She picked up her small bag from where the coachman had dropped it on the ground, and stood for a moment outside the massive building, collecting her courage before she walked through the front doors.
Inside the entrance way it was noisy and crowded, as groups of men were fencing and gambling. A few of the men paused to give her a puzzled glance; it was uncommon for a woman to be seen inside the headquarters.
"Excuse me sir, do you know where Louis d'Artagnan is? "
She posed this question to several different men, but each one shook his head.
As she moved past the fencers, one of them yelled
"Mademoiselle, watch out!" but she did not move fast enough and as two sword playing men leapt across the room, one of them fell on top of her, knocking her to the ground. He apologized profusely, and helped her up, and moved on. Fascinated with both the large building and its many occupants, Danielle made a few steps backward and then realized that she had ran squarely into a musketeer who was leaning against the wall. He had a darkly handsome face with black hair, beard and mustache; he was also bleary eyed. His right arm was in a sling, and he was holding his arm gingerly and cursing at her.
"What the devil do you think you are doing?"
"Excuse me, sir, but I did not see you."
"You would not, unless you have eyes in the back of your head."
The man's voice was elegant and cultured, and also quite angry.
"I am sorry, but you are rather in the way." Danielle said, bristling at both his tone and words.
"In the way? Do you have any idea who I am. girl? I shall have you whipped for impudence."
"Sir, if you should try to touch me, I must warn you –"
He waved his hand dismissively, and interrupted her, "Don't flatter yourself. You are obviously a country girl - Mon Dieu - look at how you are dressed - and no doubt carry several diseases. Of course I would not touch you, but my word is law here and I can have any number of servants punish you however I see fit."
Danielle looked around and then back at him as though he were mad, "You are drunk. And you have no servants here."
That made him roar in anger and he reached for her, saying, "Then I shall do the job myself."
She nimbly moved away from him, "But you shall have to catch me first."
As he lunged towards her, he fell to the ground, and she moved into another room, where she spied a small bench in the corner and moved to sit on it. She watched the people coming and going, hopeful that her brother would appear. But as more time passed she began to feel fearful that she would not find him and tears welled up inside her. Wanting to get away from the noise and confusion, she walked up the nearest staircase and opened the first door she came to, entering a small, dark room. She moved into the corner and found a chair to sit on. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light she saw that a large bath tub stood in the center of the room. Just as it dawned on her that she was sitting in a bathing room, the door opened again and the musketeer whom she had run into entered the room. As Danielle sat, paralyzed in disbelief, he quickly stripped off his uniform and got into the tub, which was filled with water. The man gave a long sigh as he settled in, flexed his right arm gingerly, and leaned his head back against the rim of the tub. His eyes were closed and he was still for several moments. Danielle felt certain he had dozed off to sleep and she reached down to pick up her bag, intending to slip out the door. As she stood up, she suddenly sneezed loudly. The musketeer's eyes opened immediately, and Danielle froze.
"What the devil!" he muttered. He leaned over to reach for his clothes, and his movement was misconstrued. As his sword clattered to the ground, Danielle pulled a small dagger from her sleeve and moved forward.
"I warn you, sir, I will fight you and I am quite skilled."
"I am not in the habit of fighting women, or as in your case – children. And I am not in the habit of fighting naked. Pray leave me."
"I cannot leave. I don't want to go out there amongst those rude men. Although to be truthful, you were the worst of them. I just want to find my brother."
Her voice had the smallest hint of a quiver, and the musketeer ignored the insult and replied in a voice that he hoped would be calming.
"If your brother is a musketeer, I can help you find him. Now tell me his name."
"Louis d'Artagnan. He is from Gascony."
Upon hearing the name, the musketeer began to laugh. "But of course. I should have known."
"What do you mean? Do you know him?"
"Yes, I do." The musketeer then called for the attendant, who came into the room quickly, looking at the two with a puzzled expression.
"Bring Aramis and Porthos here immediately. I believe they are downstairs losing their purses in a game of chance.
The musketeer then re-addressed Danielle.
"Now, I am going to get up, not to hurt you, but to get dressed. You may continue staring at me, or you may turn your back."
Danielle blushed deeply and turned her back. The musketeer put his pants on and was buttoning his shirt when his two companions came into the room.
"Athos, what have you been doing?" the larger of the two men asked, winking suggestively.
"I came in here to soak and to try to get rid of this hangover. When I did, this young woman threatened me within an inch of my life. And now you must guess who she is related to."
"D'Artagnan!" the two men answered in unison.
"But how could you possibly know that?."
"We met your brother under similar circumstances; each of us were set to duel him. But in fact we became the best of friends: Aramis, Athos and Porthos and d'Artagnan are known as the four inseparables."
"If you are inseparable, then where is Louis?"
"Well, that's the thing; he is gone from Paris just now."
The information caused Danielle to immediately begin to cry, though she dashed the tears away angrily as they fell.
"I do apologize, it's just that I have had the longest and most difficult of days, and I know no one else in the city…Do you suppose I could be allowed to just stay here for the night? I don't want to go out into that mob again. "
Athos, who had sat on a chair to pull his boots on, gestured to Porthos, who addressed the crying girl in a voice that was booming and at the same time, soft.
"Danielle! That is your name, isn't it? Your brother has spoken of you many times…Mon Dieu! Is that the thing you threatened Athos with?" Porthos took the small sword from her hand to examine it with curiousity, "Do you think you could do much damage with this? It looks rather like something used to slice fowl."
Another impatient gesture from Athos caused Porthos to take Danielle's hand and begin to pat it, much as he had just been patting one of the several dogs that ran around freely on the first floor of the headquarters.
"Now listen to old Porthos, my dear. You do not want to stay here all night; it gets even worse when more of the men are off duty. But we shall take care of you."
"You said you had a difficult day, what has happened? Has anyone harmed you?" Aramis asked.
"No, but he – Athos, is it? - ran into me and then threatened to beat me." Danielle pointed to Athos, and her tears stopped, as she added with a smile, "But I got away from him."
"Threatened to beat d'Artagnan's sister did you? He won't like that one bit." Porthos said.
"I believe you ran into me."Athos corrected Danielle with a smile.
"You were drunk ." Danielle replied, "And besides, only a bully threatens a girl for such a small offense."
"By God, she is much like her brother. Bold."Porthos said with approval.
"If Athos is dressed, let us go to supper." Aramis suggested.
"I have no money, I'm afraid. I spent my last sou on my carriage fare."
"Do not worry, child. With us it is one for all and all for one. I have just won a great hand at dice and we shall dine well tonight."
Porthos continued to hold her hand and Aramis picked up her valise,
"Are you quite decent now Athos? Let us go."
As they left the headquarters they could hear the evening church bells ringing, and Danielle asked if they could stop.
"I want to give thanks for getting here safely, for finding companions to help me." She explained. As they entered the church, Danielle lifted her shawl from her shoulders to cover her hair and went forward to pray.
"What the devil have we gotten ourselves into?" Athos asked, as they stood watching her from the back of the church.
"Whatever can a girl like that have to confess?" Porthos asked, as they watched her move into the confessional.
"I'm sure I can't imagine." Athos replied. When she came out, she next moved to light candles, four in number.
She then came to them with a brilliant smile, causing each of them to smile in response.
"I prayed for my musketeers. For the safe return of Louis and my new found friends. God will protect all of you. Now may we eat? I am famished! "
"Porthos, you want to take her in here?" Athos asked in a whisper when he saw the establishment that Porthos had chosen.
"They have food as well as - entertainment." Porthos said defensively.
"But do you think it is wise –"
"There's nothing much to see, at least not in the front rooms."
"We are all hungry, let us just go in." Aramis said.
But they were stopped at the front door by a large man who seemed to be guarding the door.
"You cannot bring her in here; you have to use our own girls."
"Oh, we are only here for our supper. This is d'Artagnan's sister, and we are looking after her."
"And doing a wonderful job." The man said drily, moving aside for them to enter.
As they sat down at the table, Danielle carefully looked over the décor of the room.
In drawings all along the walls and ceilings, cavorting men and women were depicted.
"Is this a place of sexual assignation?" Danielle asked curiously, pointing to the paintings.
"Well, I had never noticed those before." Athos said, avoiding an answer.
When the food was set before them, the men watched in awe as Danielle began to eat with gusto.
She realized they were staring at her and said a bit self consciously,
"I have not eaten for two days."
"Two days?" Porthos asked incredulously.
"Yes, my last day at the convent was a fast day. And I have been on the road all day today, and I had no money even if I had the chance to eat."
"Then make sure you get your fill now," Athos said, placing another piece of meat on her plate.
"Yes, I love to see a woman with a hearty appetite, it often means –"
Aramis kicked Porthos under the table, and he changed the end of the sentence to,
"that she is very healthy."
"I will pay you back, or Louis will. I intend to earn my keep; I wonder if I could find work in a place such as this?"
"Oh, no, I am sure that would not be best for you," Aramis replied, as they watched Porthos pat the bottom of a passing serving girl with familiarity.
"You get the worst kind of people in places like this. People like Porthos." Aramis observed.
"And you would not want to associate with the kind of women who work here, either."Porthos added.
Danielle laughed at that, and replied, "But you men have no problems associating with them; you seem to know them quite well, Porthos. I am not stupid, I quite realize these girls are prepared to offer you much more than plates of food. You probably assume that because I come from a convent I know nothing of the world. But I know much more about the life of a whore than any of you do, I am sure, and I certainly have no fear of them, only pity. I cared for and befriended many pregnant and ill girls who came to us at the convent after making a living on their backs."
The men winced at her frank language, but Danielle continued speaking in a very matter of fact tone.
" You think those girls deserve the life they have because they are loose. And you use their services but still feel morally superior. But – having to support oneself like that is a circumstance that any girl could find herself in; a poor girl whose family loses their farm because they can't pay the taxes, or a wealthy girl who is turned out for some offense can find herself with no other option. It is sad, really. I would never condemn a woman who has to sin to eat; I enjoy eating too much."
"You are quite a surprising young woman." Porthos said thoughtfully, before downing half of his mug of ale.
They were then interrupted as a woman approached Porthos and slapped him mightily across the face.
"You know what that is for." She said, and turned on her heals and stomped off.
"I am sure that I do not." Porthos said, and rubbed his cheek with a puzzled expression on his face.
As they continued eating presently another young woman made her way to the table, this time slapping Porthos on both cheeks. As she stormed off, Danielle asked with a wry smile, "I suppose you didn't deserve that either?"
"No, that I did deserve, I'm afraid. I am not perfect, after all."
Danielle grew comfortable in their presence, and talked easily, at least in part due to the fact that Porthos was ready with the wine jug, keeping her flask constantly filled to the brim. Athos signaled for him to slow down and said to him in a low voice,
"Porthos, please tell me you are not trying to get her drunk. "
"No, of course not…it's just force of habit."
After they had been at the tavern for over an hour, a messenger arrived at the table with a note for Aramis, which he read silently with a smile, and announced,
"It is from my confessor. We are writing a theological treatise on the Virgin, and he needs to speak to me immediately. I am sorry, Danielle, but I must leave you in the hands of Athos and Porthos."
"It is curious." Danielle noted with a twinkle in her eye. "The message had a lovely perfumed scent to it. And the handwriting was quite feminine."
"A treatise? I do not recall Aramis working on anything of the kind."Porthos said.
"But – a treatise on the Virgin. Or at least some kind of work on a virgin. Now that makes sense, doesn't it?" Athos said.
"Ah yes, that does. We know of Aramis' great love of virgins."
"I have been around more of them than I care to remember." Danielle said abruptly,
:At the convent, you know. Many of them seem quite unhappy with their lot in life. Perhaps Aramis could go there and do a world of good all around."
This caused Athos and Porthos to laugh so hard they had to wipe tears from their eyes.
Danielle continued speaking in a more serious vein.
"The sisters at the convent were good to me, really. They gave me a home after my father died and I had no where else to go. But I had to make a decision to either stay and take the veil, or leave. You understand why I left don't you? I do not feel the call to take the veil."
"Yes, of course. Aramis struggles with a call to the religious life. It is just that he enjoys the worldly life too much to give it up. And a young girl like yourself naturally wants to be a wife."
Danielle's face darkened at that and she said adamantly,
"I would just as soon prostitute myself here than with a husband. At least these girls have a say in what they will do. Marriage turns a woman into a servant at best, an object at worst. I have no intentions of belonging to any man; I may no longer be at the convent, but I am just as committed to a virgin life."
Danielle's words again took the men by surprise, and they sat in stunned silence which was interrupted when one of the women who had slapped Porthos returned to the table. Porthos flinched as she reached him, but instead of slapping him again, this time she placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Is she with you?" she asked, pointing a brightly painted fingernail at Danielle.
"Ah yes, I mean no, not like that…She is a family friend who has been entrusted to my care for the evening."
"Isn't that a bit like asking the fox to guard the henhouse?" The woman laughed, and then she bent to whisper in Porthos' ear, leaning against him in a possessive manner.
Porthos stood up quickly and said,
"Mariel and I have…something to attend to. Athos, I will meet you at your apartment later this evening."
When Athos and Danielle were left alone, he continued to slowly drink and she toyed with the remains of the food. At length musicians took over the center floor and began to sing and play music that Danielle thoroughly enjoyed.
"This is lovely. I feel so much better than I did earlier in the day."
"A full stomach can do wonders." Athos agreed.
They listened to the music contentedly, and then Athos realized she had fallen asleep with one hand curled lightly around his arm, and her head resting on her other arm, which was folded on the table.
He patted her on the shoulder, and said, "Come Mademoiselle, you are exhausted . It is time you were to bed."
As she woke up, she looked at the platter which still sat on the table, and seemed dismayed to find it empty.
"What is it? Are you still hungry?"
Danielle shook her head,
"No..it's just that I wished to have something to take with me, so I can be sure to have something for tomorrow."
Athos gestured to the serving girl and asked for some food to take with them.
She quickly came with a basket, and Danielle and Athos got up to leave.
Athos handed the basket to her, and he picked up her valise.
"Now, you can have this to keep with you tonight, and you can rest easily. But I promise you, tomorrow you shall have breakfast and a noon meal, and supper. You will not go hungry as long as you are in Paris."
The first thing they saw as they left the establishment was Porthos disengaging himself from Mariel who had her back up against the wall and her skirts raised.
"You will come again soon, Porthos?" she asked, with a voice full of affection.
"Well, I –"
"I mean, I will see you again soon?"
He nodded, and she adjusted her skirts and went back inside the establishment.
"Really, Porthos, against the building? Even for you, that is common." Athos shook his head in disapproval.
Porthos started to reply, but Athos put his hand up to stop him, "Really, no explanation is needed. I've known you long enough and well enough to imagine
your explanation."
Porthos, true to style, ignored Athos.
"What can I say except that Mariel finds me irresistible. "Porthos gave a great sigh as though it were a terrible burden to him, "And, well, you know if we were inside she would be obliged to charge me."
The three of them had continued on toward their destination only a block when an angry voice shouted out,
"Porthos, you bastard, I've been looking for you all night. You owe me satisfaction, and I shall have it."
"Oh Lord, I am tired. That is what everyone wants of me tonight."
There were three men in guardsmen uniforms at the end of the street, and they quickly unsheathed their swords into the challenge position.
"Porthos, is there something you need to tell me?" Athos asked.
"Well, if you must know, Jussac there is a bit angry with me. I'd rather not go into the details just now." Porthos cocked his head in the direction of Danielle.
"After the rendezvous we just witnessed you having with Mariel, I don't think anything you can tell us is going change the opinion Danielle must have formed about you."
"It is true" Danielle said, as she put one hand on his arm, "I think you are like most men in that you see women as your sexual playthings…But you have a good heart, and I do like you very much, Porthos."
" Are you going to mutter to one another all night or do we have a fight?"
"Hold this and stand over there. I promise it won't take long."Athos ordered, giving Danielle his hat and pointing to the side of the street.
Athos and Porthos pulled out their swords simultaneously and true to Athos' promise, the two musketeers dispatched their opponents quickly with what seemed like painful, but not too serious wounds.
Porthos promised to stay away from all of Jussac's female relatives, and the two groups went their separate ways.
"How many times am I going to be asked to risk my life for something you have done with another man's wife?" Athos asked.
"Well, in this particular case, wife AND daughter. I suppose Jussac really did have cause to be angry with me." Porthos said, with a slightly apologetic shrug.
"What about Louis? Are you ever called to fight on his behalf?"
"On occasion." Athos said.
"And you, Athos? Do your friends ever need to fight for you?"
Athos smiled and shook his head, "No. Although I never shirk from a fight, I seldom seek one. And I never make an enemy over a woman."
"But – I don't understand –you are musketeers and they are guardsmen.
You said you were weary of fighting those three men. Aren't you all supposed to be working together to preserve the peace?"
"In theory…In fact, we are legally obligated to arrest anyone who duels; it is illegal in the city. But the guardsmen and musketeers are professional rivals and often personal enemies. And we never miss a chance to break the law for a good fight." Porthos explained.
As they came to Athos' apartment, Grimaud, hearing their noisy approach, opened the door for them.
"Grimaud, prepare my bed for Mademoiselle d'Artagnan" Athos ordered. Grimaud assumed that meant to lay out fresh bedding, and set about the task as though the request was nothing out of the ordinary, though in fact, this was the first time in his many years of service that Athos' had brought a woman into the apartments.
Danielle protested immediately.
"I will not take your bed from you, monsieur. I am so very tired, I would sleep quite well here on the setee."
"You need privacy. And it is of no consequence to me, I assure you. I can sleep just as easily here; as I have done so many times."
"Very well…But, I wonder if I might freshen up a bit before I sleep? It is just that I am so dusty from the trip. I just need a basin of water."
"Nonsense. I am sure you want a bath; It's no trouble."
When Grimaud announced the water was drawn and ready, Danielle carefully offered her hand to him.
"I know it was no trouble for Monsieur Athos, Grimaud. But I have carried many buckets of water, and I thank you for your labor on my behalf. Although we are strangers now, I have no doubt we will be great friends. There is nothing I admire more than a hard worker who doesn't complain."
Grimaud blushed deeply and allowed her to take his hand, and spoke without asking for permission from Athos, which was unusual.
"If I can do anything else for you, please let me know Mademoiselle."
"I think Grimaud might be in love." Porthos whispered to Athos.
While Danielle was in the bath, Porthos paced the floor in front of the door to Athos' sleeping chamber.
"Porthos, I swear you are as nervous as a cat. I assure you she is not going to call you into help her wash off, much as you might hope. Now please sit down." Athos urged.
Nearly an hour later, Danielle came out of the bed chamber, dressed in her white muslin sleeping gown. Her hair, which had been braided, now hung in golden waves to her waist.
Athos was leaning against the mantel, with a mug in one hand, and she went to him, taking his other hand in both of hers.
"I want to thank you so much for your help to me today, for staying with me and for welcoming me into your home. I apologize for inconveniencing you, and I promise to make it up to you in some way."
She then embraced him and stood on her toes to kiss him on the cheek.
"Well, that's a start, "Porthos muttered.
Danielle then turned to Porthos,
"Thank you as well, Porthos. Now, I am so exhausted; I must go to bed."
She went back into the sleeping chamber and closed the door.
Very soon they were joined by Aramis, who came through the front door without knocking, and flopped down wearily on the setee.
"Did you complete the work on the Virgin?" Porthos asked with a smirk.
"Well, where is she?"Aramis asked, ignoring his friend.
"She is sleeping in Athos' bed." Porthos said with a sigh, "Let's just check on her."
He had crossed the room and opened the door before Athos could stop him. The other two gathered behind him and they peered in. She was in fact, sound asleep in the middle of Athos' huge bed. Her hair was fanned out behind her on the pillow and she held her left hand up close to her face.
"She looks like an angel." Aramis said softly, "What is that in her hand?"
"Food." Athos replied with a smile, "She was afraid she would be hungry before morning."
"The girl can eat, which is an excellent sign in a woman. It has been my experience that a woman who eats with such gusto also has a great passion for -"
"Porthos, stop right there. How is that an excellent sign? She is little more than a girl, no doubt a virgin –"
"Yes, no doubt."Porthos closed his eyes for a moment and then said, "Yes, she even has the smell of innocence."
Athos pulled the door to the bedroom and shut it as Porthos continued.
"A virgin, right in our midst. And there seems to be so few of them left in Paris these days."
"Thanks to you, Porthos." Aramis said drily.
"It matters not; she is d'Artagnan's sister, and off limits to you - to both of you." Athos said firmly.
"And you as well." Porthos observed.
"Me? You've no worry with me on that count."
"Are you sure? I can tell she is taken with you; and when she kissed you tonight, it was the first time a woman has touched you with no money changing hands in several years." Porthos said.
"She kissed Athos?" Aramis asked; the thought seemed to slightly alarm him.
"To thank me…us….for helping her." Athos explained, as he pulled out a worn deck of cards. "Now, if the two of you can be quiet, let us gave a game. I've a little bit of pocket money left that I am sure Porthos would be glad to win."