A/N More apologies from me! I wasn't quite as well as I thought, and then I had loads of work to catch up on. But don't worry, I'll soon be a little more free with my time, so with some encouragement from you lot (thank you for what I've had so far!) I should be able to keep going with much more regularity.

Chapter 6

D'Artagnan threw herself up the stairs, bursting through the door of Athos' rooms and slumping against the door out of breath when she closed it behind her. Athos shot to his feet from where he had been lounging on the bed, waiting for her, and was at her side instantly.

"What?" he sounded slightly panicked. "What is it?"

She just shook her head, unable to speak while her heart was beating so rapidly and her lungs refused to inflate. Athos' hands cupped her jaw and lifted her head so that she was looking into his eyes.

"You're scaring me a little, d'Artagnan," he said. "Are you hurt?"

She managed to shake her head and gasp out a "no...fine", before she leaned forward to press her forehead against Athos' shoulder. His arms immediately wound round her and she felt herself relax as he held her. She forced herself to take deep, calming breaths, and pressed her hands into his back, concentrating on his hands running up and down her back in a soothing motion. This was not how she had planned to greet him after two days apart, but she could hardly pretend it hadn't happened.

After a few minutes, her breathing calmed, she pulled out of the embrace and looked into his worried face.

"I'm alright, I just...oh, Athos," she said, unable to keep the despair from her voice.

He led her over to the bed without saying anything, sitting himself down against the wall and pulled her down to curl beside him. "What happened," he asked, finally. "Did something happen to Constance?"

"No, no I saw her as planned, she's fine. It was...someone else," she trailed off. She really didn't want to have to tell him.

"Was it Anne?" he asked stiffly.

"Milady? No. I still haven't had sight of her since the palace." She suppressed a shudder at the memory of that horrible meeting with the king, listening to Milady being praised for her bravery and her assistance, then the horror of being 'rewarded' by being allowed to murder someone. Since then they had avoided palace duty, knowing that the king's displeasure at her refusal to carry out his orders would come back to bite all of them soon enough. She shook the memory from her head as Athos spoke again.

"I can't help you unless you actually tell me what happened, Charline."

She sighed. "I met with Constance, keeping to the gardens in the palace where we knew the king would not appear, and we spent the afternoon catching up. It was as I was leaving that I saw him, and he saw me."

"Who?" Athos urged. "Not Alain?"

"No, not Alain. It was Claude."

"Claude?"

"My sister's husband."

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"So I don't know what she'll do next, but keep your eyes open Constance."

"I will. I can't believe it! I can't believe she's back." Constance's eyes were wide with shock.

"And pardoned, don't forget pardoned," Charline added, leaning her head back to rest against the bench they were seated on. She closed her eyes and let the sunlight bathe over her face, allowing herself a moment's peace in what had been weeks fraught with worry since they had returned to the city.

"And you and Athos?"

Charline's smile stretched over her face as she opened her eyes and turned her head to look at her friend sitting next to her. Constance just laughed at the look on her face.

"All fine then I take it?"

"All fine," Charline grinned.

"By the look on your face it's all a bit more than fine," Constance giggled. D'Artagnan blushed a little, but continued to grin at her friend. Everything was, after all, a bit more than fine. Since her ordeal with the king she and Athos had been stuck to each other like glue. Their stubborn argument over Lucie's kiss had been forgotten, and their relationship had been stronger than ever. A small mission for their captain that had taken Athos out of Paris two days ago accounted for the only time they had been apart since they got back, and she missed him. Her grin widened momentarily as she thought about their reunion that would be happening later that evening. But she still had an hour or so of catching up with Constance before she had to leave, and she was going to take it.

"And you? How are you, Constance?"

"I'm...happy," the Queen's maid answered, and Charline could see from the expression on her face that she was speaking the truth.

"I'm glad of it."

"I love the Queen, she is so kind, so generous. She didn't hesitate when I asked for some time this afternoon to catch up with you. Of course, she probably has the same suspicions my husband has, but that's beside the point," Constance laughed again, and d'Artagnan joined her. Now that she was here, Constance was in little danger from her husband's assumptions about her relationship with d'Artagnan.

"And the baby," Constance continued. "The Dauphin, he's just beautiful."

"Do you get to look after him much?"

"Not too often. Usually his nursemaid, Marguerite, is with him. But when he is with the Queen she is very happy to let me hold him. It's clear to see how much she loves him."

Both women stopped talking for a moment, and d'Artagnan let her mind flash to an unlikely picture of herself, holding a baby while Athos gazed at them in adoration. She shook it from her mind. Definitely not the time to let her mind get carried away!

They spent the next hour together happily, sitting on the bench they had found hidden near the wall of the gardens, then wandering amongst the topiary as their time came to an end. Eventually, they reached the gate at the end of the gardens, which d'Artagnan would leave through and skirt the palace to retrieve her horse. The long route was worth it to avoid the king.

"I am glad to see you so happy, that this has been the right move for you."

Constance checked that nobody was nearby, then drew her into a quick hug. "It does me some good to see you so happy, d'Artagnan. And to know that I'm not going to have to continue to be angry at Athos."

D'Artagnan pulled back and laughed. "He'll be glad to hear it."

They said their goodbyes and parted ways at the gate. It was as she approached the front of the palace that she saw them: a group of men, country men by the look of them, talking to some guards outside the palace. Clearly they were here to petition the king for some kind of help, and it looked as though the guard was on his way to allow them inside. As she approached a couple of them men glanced up, and she almost froze when one of them met her eyes. Luckily, her brain was switched on enough to make her keep going, pulling her eyes away from the confused face that looked back at her as she hurried by, praying that he wouldn't work out why he recognised her face before she got out of there.

She mounted her horse and rode full speed back to the barracks, tossing the reins to a stable boy as she arrived, then running as fast as she could to Athos.

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"Do you think he will have worked it out, who you were?" Athos asked when she had told him what had happened.

"I don't know! I really don't," she answered, sitting up to look at him.

"And if he did know you? You think he will be a danger to you, to us?"

She sighed and got to her feet, making her way to Athos' table, which she now saw had been set out with food and wine so that they could enjoy a dinner together when she returned. She sent a half-smile at him when she realised, then turned and poured them both some wine.

"He would have no reason to say anything to the king," she said, handing a cup of wine to Athos, who scooted forward to sit on the edge of the bed and take it from her.

"But?"

"He doesn't like me," she said bluntly, sitting next to him again. "He's married to my second sister, Adalene. I was young when she left to marry him, and he much older than she was, but they came back at least once a year, to stay for a few weeks and check that my father was coping I suppose."

Athos took her hand in his and entwined their fingers.

"As I got older I got more, well, impetuous? Stubborn? I don't know."

"You mean you started to become the person you are now?"

She glanced at Athos, who was suppressing a grin, and nudged him with her shoulder.

"I suppose you could say that," she admitted. "Well, we fought a lot, mainly because I wouldn't do what he told me, and because I answered back. He was becoming more and more important in his town, which I suppose is why he is in Paris to see the king, and he didn't like that a 15-year-old girl refused to believe that he knew best."

"Is he a good man?" Athos asked quietly. A question, she realised, that was the most important of all.

"I...I don't know!" she realised with shock. "I have no idea, I never really got to know him. I suppose I resented him for taking Adalene away so soon after my mother died, and Odette had gone too. I spent so much of my energy arguing with him that I never had the time or the inclination to do more."

"Well, there is nothing we can do tonight, d'Artagnan," Athos stood and pulled her to her feet, putting his empty wine cup on the table. "Unless you want to spend our evening looking for him?"

She smiled as he pulled her tightly against his chest. He was trying to distract her from her concern, but he was right. Even if he had known her he would say nothing to the king. Trouble would come their way no sooner than tomorrow, and even then only if he had recognised her and asked about, and then turned up at the barracks. It seemed rather unlikely.

Leaning her head back, she lifted herself onto her tiptoes and pressed her mouth to Athos'. She sank into him as soon as their lips met, remembering for the first time since she had burst through the door half an hour before that they had not seen each other in two days. Blindly she reached to the side, finding it eventually and clumsily placing her cup on it. Impediment gone, she stretched her fingers into Athos' hair, laughing as he growled when her fingers scratched gently at his scalp, then squealing as he scooped her up and took them back to the bed, dropping her onto the mattress and stretching himself over her.

"What about the dinner you made?" she asked breathlessly between the kisses that were being peppered over her face.

He paused and looked at her incredulously. "You want to eat now?"

She tried to hold it in, but soon was laughing loudly at the expression on his face. She had never seen him look so disappointed, or so surprised. He looked at her for moment, affronted, then he snorted and joined in with his beautiful laugh that she never got to hear enough of.

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The next morning brought them no news of anyone asking of d'Artagnan, and indeed things were quiet in the barracks. The four of them spent their morning in training, another group of musketeers had gone with Treville to the palace, where he had been summoned first thing.

With no danger evident, Athos and d'Artagnan told Porthos and Aramis nothing. They were already worrying enough about Milady's return amongst them, and the king's displeasure at d'Artagnan's disobedience, and the support she got from them for it. There was no need to add to their worries with something that was probably nothing, and Aramis was already distracted enough.

By lunch time, d'Artagnan had allowed herself to relax a little. If Claude de Sauvettere had been looking for her, he would have found her by now. She knew enough of him to know that he would not have let it rest.

It was as they were eating that Treville returned to the barracks, two musketeers in tow. The others had clearly been left behind at the palace. There was an air of displeasure around their captain that was clear to all of them as he dismounted. The musketeers accompanying him led his horse with theirs towards the stables, while Treville made his way straight to where the inseparables were sitting.

Athos stood as he approached, tension clear in every muscle in his body as he tried to decipher the captain's mood. Charline felt herself matching his tension with her own, while Porthos and Aramis were both frowning at him.

"What has happened?" Athos asked quietly as Treville reached them. The other three rose to their feet.

"The king has given his orders, and they must be obeyed."

D'Artagnan watched warily as Treville began to pace in front of them, clearly frustrated.

"What is it, Captain?" Athos asked again, his patience clearly on its way to running out as his worry took over.

With a loud sigh, Treville sat down at their table, the four of them following suit. "The king has given instructions for a small group of musketeers to attend to a matter that was brought to his attention yesterday."

D'Artagnan and Athos shared a quick look.

"He has decreed that this group shall travel to Valence, to put to rights a matter with the landowners and a Comte who is trying to push his neighbours out."

At the name of the town Athos looked at d'Artagnan and raised his eyebrows in question. She nodded. Valence – the home of Claude and Adalene.

"A land dispute?" Porthos asked incredulously. "In Valence? They will never accept musketeer authority so far from Paris!"

"I know," said Treville. "But that does not stop the king from passing this job to us, rather than sending a palace representative."

"I assume this is punishment?" said Athos dryly.

"I imagine so."

"Well, there are worse things he could have done," Charline smiled weakly.

"True," agreed Treville, but he did not quite meet her eyes.

"And maybe it will be better to be out of the way of Milady for a while," Aramis pointed out.

"Although it will be difficult to keep an eye on what she is up to while we are out of Paris," said Porthos.

"Assuming, that is, that the king has named which musketeers it is to be?" Athos asked, rasing an eyebrow at the captain.

Charline's thoughts were whirling. She had convinced herself that her momentary meeting with Claude had brought no danger to her, and now she was being sent to follow him and walk straight into a place where there was people who knew her as herself, and where if she was to follow the king's orders she must maintain her appearance as Charles d'Artagnan. Suddenly, she was terrified.

"This could take months, Captain," Athos was saying. "Could the king not be convinced that it would be better for his safety, and for the safety of the Dauphin, that we not be sent away from the city for so long?"

Treville shook his head wearily. "He would not be convinced. He argued that any of my musketeers should be able to afford him the same protection, and that it should not matter who was sent south."

"So it is punishment."

"Yes, it is."

Charline watched the captain carefully. "What else?"

Treville looked at her sadly.

"There's something else, Captain. What is it?"

Treville's tension suddenly swept over them all, and d'Artagnan found herself groping for Athos' hand under the table.

"Yes, he has named the musketeers to go, and yes, it will most likely take two or three months to complete the mission."

"But?" Porthos growled.

"But he has not named the four of you."

"What? Then who...?" Charline frowned in confusion.

There was sympathy clear in their captain's eyes when he met hers. "Only three of you will go."

"Only three? Then we need to decide-"

"No, d'Artagnan. The king has made his choice."

"But-"

"Athos. Athos stays behind."

A/N Here we go! A new bit of story. I thought it was about time to move away from the series plot – although I will be revisiting bits, don't worry. Please let me know what you think!