Chapter One- Liberation
The day dawned bright and fair as D'artagnan stirred and opened his eyes. This was a day he had been looked forward to for weeks; ever since his brush with Vadim and subsequent breakdown, his friends had been conspiring with Treville to ensure that he did not leave the Garrison, partaking in stable work and light training until Treville deemed him fit for a mission. Being the stubborn man that he was, D'artagnan had quickly become bored and frustrated with the Garrison, especially when he saw his brothers riding out on frequent missions. However, he had held his tongue and behaved, knowing that any outward signs of anger would serve to amuse either amuse or irritate his brothers; either one would lead to more time spent under 'house arrest' as her rather melodramatically saw it.
Today his patience paid off. Treville had informed him last night that he, Athos, Porthos and Aramis would be going on a mission to deliver some papers to the Duke of Anjou- hardly a thrilling mission, but it would take about a week of hard riding to get there and back, and D'artagnan relished the opportunity to be back on his horse. Although he knew his brothers had been acting in his best interests, he was sick and tired of just looked after the horses rather than being on them, although he had gained a great respect from the other musketeers and recruits as an excellent horse master. D'artagnan didn't know how to feel about this; he wanted to become a musketeer, not a glorified stable boy.
After getting dressed and preparing a saddlebag for the journey, D'artagnan headed downstairs to meet his brothers at their normal table for breakfast. As expected, Athos was the only one there at the early hour; his hat pulled low over his eyes was a tell-tale sign of the headache that plagued him. Aramis would be no doubt with someone else's woman, while Porthos would still be asleep. D'artagnan smiled fondly at his brothers' antics while sitting down at the table and helping himself to porridge.
"Not eating, Athos?" he asked, already knowing the answer before he asked.
"I am not sure you would appreciate the consequences that would arise in a few minutes if I did" Athos replied, a grimace on his face at the thought.
"Make sure you take something for the journey then, don't want you collapsing on us" D'artagnan smiled, the grin abruptly vanishing as he realised just how much he sounded like a certain medic.
"I think you've done enough collapsing for the both of us for the next few years, D'artagnan" Athos answered, a slight gleam of amusement in his eyes at the faint blush that coloured the Gascon's cheeks.
"Well, anyway" D'artagnan hurried on. "Where are the others? We're due to leave in an hour, and Treville will not be impressed if we're late because of Aramis' late night antics"
"When have I ever put my recreational pursuits before my duty, D'artagnan?" Aramis asked, sitting down at the table with an amused smirk on his face.
"Pretty much every day" D'artagnan laughed. "Now, some of us actually want to leave on time- while you- and Porthos, when he arrives- are stuffing your faces, I am going to get the horses ready". With that, he walked off in the direction of the stables.
"He can't wait to get out of here, can he?" Aramis said knowingly, watching as the Gascon vanished into the stables. "The boy longs for adventure and excitement; it's really rather endearing to see someone so invested in the musketeers."
"It's foolish" Athos replied, his temper somewhat short due to his overindulgence the night before. "His 'bravery' and foolhardiness is going to get him into trouble one day."
"Give it a rest, Athos" Aramis sighed. "Think of what your harsh words did to him last time; just let him have a good time on his first mission back before you get back to tutoring him so severely."
Once into the safety of the stables, D'artagnan let out the harsh cough that had been irritating him over breakfast. Knowing full well that his brothers would postpone his leaving if they knew that he had a slight cold, he had done his best to conceal it from them. He knew that he had been successful, merely because they were still allowing him to go on the mission with them; they could be so overprotective sometimes. D'artagnan knew he should be honoured and gratified- he was glad that they clearly cared about him, but sometimes the mollycoddling was a bit overwhelming.
However, D'artagnan had to admit that he wasn't feeling brilliant as he put the saddlebags on the horse, full of the provisions that Serge had provided- his head hurt, and his nose was running, as well as the cough that had been tickling him for the last few days; but a small cold was not going to deter him from his first mission in a month.
Despite D'artagnan's worry, all of the men (including Porthos, who had arrived at the Garrison around five minutes before they were due to leave) were ready to go on time. Athos received the papers from Treville, who told him to keep an eye on D'artagnan, and the men trotted out of the Garrison.
The sense of liberation washed over D'artagnan as they eft the streets of Paris and galloped over the path that took them away from the city- the feeling was so strong that he laughed aloud, drawing amused glances from Aramis and Porthos.
"Somethin' tickled you, whelp?" Porthos asked, a grin tugging at his mouth.
"Just relishing the joy of life" D'artagnan called back, laughing at the expression on Porthos' face. "You can take fresh air and freedom for granted when you're locked up in the Garrison all day".
"Yes, we are sorry about that" Aramis interjected "But we wanted you to be fighting fit before coming on another mission; you took years off our lives with the whole Vadim incident."
"Thought we'd agreed not to speak of that again?" D'artagnan said, his attempt at severity ruined by the broad smile on his face.
"Apologies, mon ami" Aramis laughed. Spirits were high- there was no feeling quite like leaving the city behind and riding off into the unknown; it was what each man believed he was born for.