Wednesday:
D'artagnan slumped at the table as he attempted to wake himself up.
The late hour of their return from the festival had had all four brothers yawning uncontrollably, much to the amusement of Treville, who annoyingly had showed no signs of weariness.
Even the solid hours of sleep he'd endured had not made a dent in his tiredness.
" You look like you could use some coffee," Athos commented when he saw the sorry state of his protégé.
D'artagnan yawned slightly, unable to control the urge to do so and glared balefully at his mentor.
" How are you so awake?" D'artagnan demanded with a pout.
Aramis crossed over to the table with Porthos, ruffling D'artagnan's hair playfully as he went.
" I've asked him that question many a morning," Porthos commented drily.
It was clear that Porthos and Aramis were just as tired as D'artagnan was, and all three only perked up when Serge, seeing their sorry states, presented them with steaming cups of coffee.
" I believe gentlemen, that you have somewhere you need to be in an hour? I suggest you get going," Treville reminded them from above as the man leaned casually on his balustrade.
D'artagnan sat up straight as he suddenly remembered the plans that he and Treville had arranged together. Tonight was supposed to be the execution of his best plan yet! The king had decided that due to his appreciation of the festival he'd attended, he would be throwing a party at the palace in recognition of the festive holiday.
Treville had managed to get the four of them, accompanied by some of the other musketeers, assigned to guard duty yet again, but this time at the party itself. He had shared D'artagnan's plan with the king during the festival, and Louis had been delighted by the young Gascon's clever scheme, and had planned the party to get his own court in to the Christmas spirit.
" Oh yes, the king's festive party, I had almost forgotten," Aramis mused as recognition flared in his sharp eyes.
" Guard duty yet again, it seems as though we are the king's favourite guards at this point," Porthos commented lightly.
" Oh come on, I' sure it won't be terrible, besides, how many times have you attended a party thrown by a king?" D'artagnan put in optimistically.
" Whatever your feelings are on this assignment, we must be going," Athos reminded them lightly.
Aramis, D'artagnan and Porthos downed the rest of their coffee and scrambled to fetch their blue cloaks from their quarters, and straighten out their disheveled looks.
When the sun set on the King's palace the party began.
D'artagnan scarcely recognized the ballroom, as red, gold and green silks hung from the ceiling, tables full of lavish Christmas foods awaited the oncoming guests, and nobles and ladies danced in festively coloured gowns and tunics that seemed to brighten up all who wore them.
" The king really outdid himself," D'artagnan commented, the awe of the scene filling his eyes with wide-eyed wonder.
Aramis and Porthos sniggered quietly at the excited and childish look on their youngest brother's face.
" I believe the queen is to thank for the decoration, she is usually the one to handle most of the styling in the palace," Athos deduced evenly.
" Oh come on, don't tell me you aren't just a little bit excited about the rest of the night," Porthos scoffed to the former comte.
Athos ran a hand through his hair to hide his smile.
" Need I remind you that we are not here to have fun, but we are here to perform a musketeer's duty," He reminded his brothers.
The four split off to the guard their sides of the room and keep an eye out for possible threats to the safety of the nobility in attendance.
Aramis was having a decidedly good night.
Despite his duty, he had talent enough to survey the room for threats while simultaneously flirting with a very eligible and beautiful young woman who had practically attached herself to his side.
" Are you enjoying yourself dear Aramis?" Lady Diane asked, batting her eyelashes at him innocently.
" All the more now that I am graced with your company, guard duty does tend to leave a man lonely," Aramis flirted, evoking a line he had used many a time.
Diane let out a high-pitched giggle and put on a mock scandalized face.
" Oh Aramis, you flatter me," She replied happily.
Aramis was certain that at the end of the night, he would be leaving with at least one woman. Maybe guard duty wasn't so bad after all.
As much as he hated to admit it, Athos was actually enjoying himself at the king's party.
He was stationed the closest to the king and queen, and with a cup of excellent wine to keep him company, he found himself getting in to the spirit of the night.
It helped that Christmas tunes were being played by the same string quartet as they had seen at the concert last night, and sure enough halfway through the night, the little girl and her dogs had been invited to perform again.
Having something to occupy his mind from the memories of his brother, Thomas, trying to get his big brother to help him plan the holidays, helped immensely, and allowed him to feel more free than he had felt all week.
With all the laughter, dancing, and general merriment, the room was filled with a positive mood that permeated even his usually thick skin.
When the night was over and the guests were slowly filing out, the king arose and sidled over towards him.
Instantly Athos was on high alert, and making sure he bowed respectfully even before the monarch stopped in front of him.
" You have done well tonight, you and your fellow musketeers. The queen and I thank you for your services," The king thanked, sounding for all his worth as though it was rehearsed.
" It was our pleasure, sire," Athos replied respectfully.
" Did you enjoy yourself at my party tonight? I daresay it was a resounding success," Louis asked, sounding very proud of his achievement.
" Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed myself, your majesty, and I know my brothers did also," Athos answered, wondering where the king was going with his thread of conversation.
The king seemed to brighten further at his answer, and he sent a pleased look towards D'artagnan, a look that Athos's trained eye didn't miss.
" I was hoping you'd say that, it seems that all the scheming your captain and young D'artagnan have been doing has actually succeeded," The king commented.
Athos's eyes narrowed, but his tone was the same as he smiled at the king.
" Scheming, your majesty?" He inquired pleasantly.
The king chuckled merrily.
" The scheme to make you and your other brothers enjoy Christmas of course, the boy was very determined to see it work. But of course you already know this, so I'll bid you good night. You are released of your duties for tonight," The king revealed unknowingly, before making his way back to his tired, but happy looking wife and baby.
Athos bowed stiffly after him, and his scowl was instantly replacing his former smile.
" D'artagnan," He growled lowly.
Athos spied his friends chatting happily over by the entrance, with Aramis bragging about his night's conquest and the kiss he'd received from the unfortunate young woman.
His gaze locked on to the intently listening Gascon, and his eyes instantly darkened further with anger.
" You, boy, have a lot of explaining to do," Athos growled as he drew up to the trio, eyes fixed on the startled looking boy.
" What? Athos I don't understand," D'artagnan replied, surprise evident on his youthful face.
" Oh yes you do, all this idiotic scheming behind our backs with Treville and the king!" Athos snarled, his anger making him appear a foot taller.
D'artagnan shrank back, hurt in his eyes.
" Athos, what do you mean scheming behind our backs? What's gotten in to you?" Porthos grumbled, fixing a confused glance on his friend.
Usually Athos and D'artagnan were never at odds, and this uncharacteristic anger from Athos was totally unexpected.
" That whelp has been conniving with the captain and even the king himself to make us celebrate his stupid Christmas," Athos revealed to his friends, whose moods soured immediately.
" Is this true, D'artagnan?" Aramis asked dejectedly as he turned to face their youngest friend.
D'artagnan's wide-eyed look was enough, showing his worry at being caught out in his scheming.
Porthos growled lowly before pushing D'artagnan up against the wall behind him by grabbing his cloak.
" We told you to leave the topic of Christmas out, that we do NOT want to celebrate with you! How could you go behind our backs anyway? We all have our reasons, and it was not fair of you to go snooping around in them," Porthos snapped, his big hands gripping D'artagnan's shoulders strong enough to leave unseen bruises.
D'artagnan gasped in pain but met his friend's angry gazes with fear in his eyes, fear of them.
" I didn't go snooping in your lives, I have no idea what you have against Christmas, I just wanted to spend time with you, to give you the best holiday I could," D'artagnan whimpered, feeling as though his heart would shatter at any moment.
Athos cast a disappointed frown his way, eyes cold and distant, unloving.
" None of us want to celebrate this or any other year, and nothing you could do will change that. We don't want to spend Christmas with anyone, D'artagnan, especially an annoying Gascon like you," He muttered.
D'artagnan sent a pleading gaze his mentor's way, tears threatening to spill from his glistening eyes.
" My brothers please-" D'artagnan began desperately.
" Save it D'artagnan, just leave us alone. We will not hear your excuses, just LEAVE!" Aramis spat furiously.
Porthos let D'artagnan go and the boy cowered away from them, one small sob escaping him as he began to flee, looking at his brothers just long enough to allow them a glimpse and the pain and tears in his eyes.
And with that, D'artagnan's heart broke as he sprinted blindly out in to the night, tears clouding his vision as he sobbed and ran. He didn't hear the omnious rumbling of thunder far away, nor the beginnings of rain hitting his skin, he didn't even know how long he ran for. Step three had been a failure, and apparently, so was he.