We stopped after we were almost to the palace and Aramis looked behind him, then casually pushed me into a dark alley, Athos stepping after and shielding us from curious eyes.

"Mind telling us who he was? And why you were out with him?" Aramis asked with false cheerfulness. I could see the worry in his eyes, but the anger he had was rolling off of him in waves. I wasn't sure if it was all directed at me, but I liked to think I wasn't the only one.

"Do you two remember when I told you that in England I had a…. Nickname… That people would whisper, I was a symbol of either fear or hope." I said as I leaned against a wall, wishing for pants yet again, or my black sword.

Aramis nodded, "Yes. The Rogue Angel."

I shook my head, "That was one that I've always had. Not really one I particularly earned, nor was completely widespread until my second name was born."

I looked at Athos, he should remember.

"The Horseman of Death." Came his response.

I nodded, "Yes. I am known as One of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse."

Aramis swallowed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Do I wish to know why you are named Death?"

I smirked, "Probably not. But if you want to know who he was, you have to hear the whole thing."

Aramis sighed, "Very well then. Regale us with your tale. One I know I will not like."

Course not. You're Catholic. Anything to do with the Four Horsemen was a death sentence to you.

I took a deep breath, "I was 17 at the time. So it's been about 2 and half years since then.

"This took place in a small town of England. This town, among many others, had been plagued with a murderous, thieving, psychotic band of men. The towns before this one had been robbed of everything that was worth any value, had raped and killed many women, had tortured and mercilessly killed many children, and the remaining men were lynched and hung after watching their families die in front of them. Once this band was finished with said town, which could take anywhere from one day to weeks, they set the whole thing on fire, burning it to ash, and any survivors either joined them, or where tossed to the ravaging flames."

Aramis had paled, and Athos' jaw was clenched furiously. "What did the King do about this?" Athos asked in a tight voice.

I grinned wickedly, "Oh, he just counted his coins, and rejoiced over having one less annoying town to worry about overtaxing. He actually sent his guards or his 'knights' to stop people from facing this band of idiots, his reasoning was 'they are too dangerous to approach. So you needn't worry about them'. And, of course, his men were almost as bad as the band of idiots."

I shrugged, "That's part of the reason I caused as much trouble as I did. From the time I was 14 and onward, I was a thorn in the King's side, and, as I have said before, the moment I step onto England soil again, my head will fall on the chopping block."

Aramis sighed, "What did you do to him? Before you continue the story."

I smirked, "Well, I started with hijacking his taxing carriages, and giving the poor, good, honest people their money back so they could survive without starving to feed their children. And, if anyone tried to punish the people I helped." I shrugged carelessly, "I was the Rogue Angel for a good reason. Not just for my name. I was believed to be a fallen angel. I did good deeds, for good people. The ones who tried to stop me, or hurt the innocent." My grin grew feral, and I saw Aramis shiver slightly. "Let's just say they never bothered anyone again. I am not innocent. However, most of the men I went after didn't die by my hand specifically. I just pushed them to the door of death. It was their choice to live or die at that point."

I shrugged again, then continued. I happened to be in that town, because I had been watching this band of idiots to see where they could go next." I held up a hand to silence both of them, "And before you yell at me, I'm not that stupid. I wasn't going to go against them. At that point they had 40 or more very strong, very brutal, very lethal men. I was just going to try to evacuate the town, or at least get the children to a nun friend of mine who would take them in and take care of them."

They calmed slightly, so I continued. "Anyway, I wondered into the town square and literally ran into a little girl. She was running, and happened to connect to my legs. Shadow was already in a stable, far away from the heart of town, so it was just me that got sent into a fountain." Aramis tried to hide his grin, "She couldn't have been older than 8." A nostalgic smile lit my face, "She was an orphan, and had been running from the coppers. Or the Kingsmen who wanted to throw her into an orphanage far away from her town. She didn't want to leave, so she ran from them."

I frowned, "I wish she'd left. Anyway, she apologized profusely, then recognized me. She had traveled a lot before finally just staying in this nice town, so she had seen the wanted posters for me. She recognized me since my hood was down, and my hat lay on the cobblestones at her feet. She had hauled me out of the fountain, plopped my hat onto my head, then took my hand and shouted run."

I chuckled slightly, "I believe that at one point, when we both were being shot at, I picked her up and took off with her on my shoulder."

Athos shook his head, but motioned for me to continue as he leaned against a wall.

"We ran until we were certain that we had lost the coppers. Then I turned a corner and ran face first into an enormous man. The biggest I'd ever seen. In fact, I think he might be taller than Porthos. He was about 6'9, had ginger hair, a thick Irish brogue, green eyes, and a claymore strapped to his side." I shook my head, "I was honestly scared of him for a moment. I'd never really been good at claymores, always hated them, and I could not block against them with my longsword lest I wanted it to be broken in half."

Hey guys, Sapphire here. This chapter is super short, so I'm updated two at once. The rest of the story will be set back at that time, when Rogue was 17, until she finishes her tale. Which will span several chapters

ST