Author's note: Thanks so much for all the lovely reviews! I really enjoy reading them, and some of your ideas are brilliant. Thank you!
Knight Takes Queen
Athos sent Porthos and Aramis to get some rest on the second night of their vigil. Glancing around, he made his way across the clearing to a tree growing precariously over the edge of the cliff. d'Artagnan was perched in the branches, one foot swinging idly over the drop below. "You should come down from there before it gets too dark."
d'Artagnan hummed in response, and Athos squinted up at him. "d'Artagnan, are you with me?"
They'd pushed him hard over the last couple of days; making him fight two or three of them while keeping his senses as wide open as possible, giving him random objects to Read, having him Read one of them while blocking the others out. All of it in an effort to find his limits and sharpen his control while they were relatively safe here, rather than find a limit in battle where it might be dangerous. d'Artagnan had co-operated completely – he knew the risks – but they'd all watched as he found it more and more difficult to do what he was asked.
"d'Artagnan."
"I'm with you." His voice had a tone Athos was more used to hearing in Aramis after a difficult healing; exhaustion so total it went beyond bodily tiredness. When Aramis got to this point he needed food, rest, and the touch of someone he trusted – someone without injury – but Athos didn't know yet what d'Artagnan needed to recover. He seemed to favour solitude, but he couldn't have that right now and Athos didn't know what else to offer.
"Come down," he said. d'Artagnan obeyed, and Athos noted absently that his mental exhaustion didn't seem to impact on his physical abilities – or, at least, not yet. "If our training is going to leave you like this, you need to start saying no earlier."
"We need to know these things."
"Not at the cost of your health, we don't."
d'Artagnan shrugged, glancing back over the cliff. "What do you suppose the punishment would be?"
"For what?"
"If I went swimming."
Athos followed his gaze. "You feel the need to increase your fertility?"
"I like to swim."
"Really?" Athos could swim, there was a swimming hole on the la Fere property, but it wasn't something he particularly enjoyed.
"Water carries no traces." d'Artagnan traced a shape that presumably meant something in the air between them. "If I'm far enough from people...it's the closest I ever get to silence."
If d'Artagnan was even a little more aware, he'd never have allowed that plaintive tone to enter his voice. "How far?"
"Depends on the person. A long way for you three."
Athos nodded slowly. "You can't go now; the others are sleeping. Tomorrow, we'll go around the lake, you and I. I'm not letting you go alone," he added when d'Artagnan started to protest.
"You don't have to come. I can manage."
"Can you sleep now?" Athos continued as though he hadn't heard. "What do you need?"
"Just quiet." d'Artagnan glanced at him. "Don't worry so much, Athos. This happens when I push, but it's much easier out here than it would be in Paris."
"When we get back, we'll talk to Treville about making sure you have regular missions out of the city. Don't argue about that, either; he's used to scheduling around Abilities."
d'Artagnan eased down to sit by the fire, unwinding his rosary beads. "Does the Queen know? About the regiment?"
"The King thinks she doesn't. If she does, she has never shown it. Not by word, by look, by implication." Athos watched him for a minute. "What do you need, d'Artagnan?"
d'artagnan looked up from the beads. "What do I – nothing. I'll pray, for a bit, and then I'll be able to sleep, and by tomorrow I'll be fine. I don't need the swim, but it'll help a little."
"You'll get your swim. Aramis can watch the Queen for a while, I'm sure he won't object." d'Artagnan started to answer and Athos shook his head. "We can talk about it tomorrow. Get some rest now; that's an order."
"What do you need?" d'Artagnan asked. Proper tiredness was starting to take over now, and Athos thought he'd sleep before too long.
"What do I need when?"
"When you try too hard."
Athos shook his head. "Passive Ability; it doesn't tire me the way it does you and Aramis. Porthos, if he pushes he suffers headaches, but he can't push hard enough to wear himself out the way you do, it just doesn't work." d'Artagnan was nodding, slowly, drifting off where he sat. Athos kept talking softly, moving off the topic of Abilities and onto training they might try over the next few days, and within a few minutes d'Artagnan was asleep.
He waited a few minutes longer, long enough to be sure d'Artagnan was really asleep, before moving to lay him down properly. Porthos rolled towards them, watching for a moment. "Need help?"
"No. Thank you."
"Want me to stay up with you?"
"There's no point, I'm not waking him to take yours. One of us will still watch alone, and we're less likely to be attacked this early." Glancing across at Porthos, he added "I spoke briefly of your Ability."
"I heard you," Porthos agreed. "No harm done. We really do need to all sit down and tell him everything one of these days anyway."
"When we have some free time," Athos agreed dryly.
"After this mission," Porthos said firmly. "It's dangerous to let it go."
d'Artagnan shifted, looking hazily at them. "Ws wrng?"
"Nothing," Athos told him. "Go back to sleep."
d'Artagnan reached out, tangling sleep-heavy fingers in his sleeve. "Yr noyyed."
"I'm fine," Athos promised. "Sleep, d'Artagnan."
When he'd stilled again Porthos glanced at Athos. "You woke him."
"Yes," Athos agreed. "Go to sleep, before you irritate me into waking him again."
"He shouldn't be sensing us while he's asleep."
"Porthos..."
Porthos rolled over, settling back down. Athos glanced down at d'Artagnan. He was still holding onto his sleeve, even in sleep.
Well, Athos could keep watch just as effectively from here. And d'Artagnan needed the sleep. He settled in to keep his watch.
d'Artagnan woke briefly when the watch changed over, but Athos talked him back to sleep within a couple of minutes. It wasn't until he woke properly the next morning that he realised he'd slept through his watch.
"It doesn't matter," Athos said when he tried to apologise.
"You should have woken me."
"If you want to make it up, come and walk around the lake with me. I want to look at the terrain on the other side."
d'Artagnan blinked, studying him. "All right."
"Good. And I want you to refrain from using your Ability today, as much as you can. There will be times, like LaBarge, when you need to function without it."
"I can manage without it, you know. I spent days with Vadim, and in the Chatelet. I had to shield in there."
He was trying not to Read them, obedient to Athos' orders, but the rush of guilt took him by surprise. Frowning, he looked at Aramis. "What?"
"We sent you into the Chatelet," Aramis said tightly. "An empath, in that place."
"I sent myself into the Chatelet. You gave me plenty of chances to refuse." Aramis didn't answer, and the guilt wasn't fading. d'Artagnan grimaced. "The Chatelet was bad," he admitted. "You saw me afterwards. But I got through it. I had chances to refuse, to pull out, and I didn't. It was my choice."
"Would you have refused?" Athos asked. "If you'd known?"
d'Artagnan shrugged. "Maybe. But I did it. I could do it again if I had to." Directly to Aramis, he added, "You didn't know, and you helped me afterwards."
The guilt was easing a little. He nodded in satisfaction, glancing at Athos. "Are we going?"
"Yes." Athos rose, pulling on his hat. "We may be a while," he told Porthos.
"We can manage without you."
"You know what they say about pride, Porthos," d'Artagnan pointed out, skipping out of his way with a grin.
They went some distance around the lake before climbing down to the shore. Athos was watching the tent; he stopped when it was out of sight. "Here?"
d'Artagnan shook his head. "Too close."
"We'll have to test your distances," Athos murmured.
"I told you. It depends on the person."
"That doesn't really help me, d'Artagnan."
d'Artagnan studied the lake for a moment. "We won't get far enough away for me to lose Aramis and Porthos. I can hold you three at greater distances than that. I'll probably lose the queen. I'll definitely lose her ladies."
"And if you shield?"
"I can shield tightly enough to lose them. I can shield tightly enough to lose you, if you want me to."
He kept saying lose. He was giving too much away, and he knew it.
Athos shook his head. "Can you keep us and shield against anything else?"
d'Artagnan squirmed. "Not them, we're too far for that now."
"You can keep me, if it helps."
"Thank you." He paused, looking out across the lake. Athos followed his gaze; they were in a small fold of the cliff, hidden from the others' view.
"Here?"
"Here."
Athos wandered around the tiny beach as d'Artagnan stripped off, wading into the water. It was cool, not cold, and he waded until he couldn't touch the bottom any more, and then he floated. Athos' presence lessened until he was barely aware of him, and everything around him was silent.
He floated for a long time, soaking in the silence. Eventually he realised Athos was calling him; he headed back in to shore, sitting down almost at once.
"d'Artagnan." Athos crouched beside him, studying him.
"No, it's good." d'Artagnan smiled vaguely. "I need a minute." He still felt as though he was floating, only loosely connected to his body.
Athos watched until he nodded, sitting up straighter. "Thank you. I didn't realise how much I needed that."
"Better?"
"Much."
"Good. Get dressed; the others will be looking for us."
Aramis glanced up as Athos and d'Artagnan returned. Athos paused to talk to Porthos, looking down towards the camp; d'Artagnan stepped around them, dropping to sit next to him. "Aramis!"
"d'Artagnan!" Aramis returned, studying him. If he didn't know better, he'd say d'Artagnan was drugged; all loose limbs and beaming smiles, he looked younger than ever. "How are you?"
"I'm fine," d'Artagnan assured him.
"Yes, you seem fine. Athos?"
Athos glanced over at them. "He took a swim."
"A swim," Aramis repeated.
"It's quiet in the water," d'Artagnan explained.
Aramis took off his glove, holding up his hand; d'Artagnan submitted to the touch, letting Aramis check him over. The normal shields were there, and something strange behind them. It took Aramis a moment to figure it out.
d'Artagnan's mind was quiet.
Aramis couldn't read thoughts. He couldn't even read feelings. But he could sense the activity in a mind, whether someone was calm or at odds with themselves, worried or relaxed. d'Artagnan, like every other empath he'd ever touched, always had noise and movement within his mind, the result of constantly having to stay in control or be overwhelmed. Right now, though, there was no sound and no motion beyond d'Artagnan's own thoughts, and even they were quieter and slower than usual.
He pulled back with a smile, letting his hand rest on d'Artagnan's arm. "So this is what you're like when you relax."
"Surprise," d'Artagnan said with a grin.
"Teach this one how to relax, will you?" Porthos asked, coming to join them. d'Artagnan shifted and Aramis let go, watching him pull himself a few feet away. "He's been agitating since you left."
"I'm bored," Aramis said defensively.
"I thought this was paradise," Athos reminded him.
"That was three days ago. I miss Paris."
"We'll be back soon enough," Porthos reminded him. "Why not enjoy this while you can?"
"Bored, bored, bored," Aramis muttered. He was being unfair, and he knew it, but really, how much good could repeated swims do? Surely if the water was going to help, it would have already?
There was a shot, and a cry from below, and the Musketeers rolled to their feet – d'Artagnan included, Aramis was glad to see, though he was sorry to see the relaxation drop away. "The Queen!" Athos shouted, scrambling towards the body below.
"It's not her!" d'Artagnan called, and Athos waved acknowledgment, continuing down anyway, ducking as a shot ricocheted off the rocks nearby.
"You got anything?" Porthos asked d'Artagnan, scanning the cliffs opposite.
"There." d'Artagnan pointed and immediately had to duck, dirt kicking up a couple of feet in front of him. "You see him?" he finished breathlessly.
"He alone?"
"Not sure yet!"
Athos pushed the Queen into Porthos' arms and he rolled on top of her to protect her. "Sorry," he said absently.
"How many?" Athos asked, crouching between d'Artagnan and Aramis.
"One over there –" d'Artagnan ducked again as a shot went over his head. "I can't tell if he's alone."
"Not alone just makes it more fun," Aramis said brightly.
One more shot, and d'Artagnan relaxed. "He's out."
"Porthos, you and d'Artagnan take her majesty, get to the horses. We'll catch up with you."
Porthos nodded, scrambling to his feet and hauling the queen up the slope with another apology. d'Artagnan caught Athos' arm, hauling himself to his feet. "Send the ladies back through the woods. He won't touch them, he doesn't care about them. Just make sure they know to hide if they hear anyone coming."
Athos nodded. "Be careful what you say, d'Artagnan. The Queen is not stupid, she will pick up on any mistakes you make."
"I know. Good luck." He turned to scramble up the slope after Porthos.
Athos turned to Aramis, who shrugged. "Let's go, then."
Athos stared out the window, concentrating intently on looking for the attackers and not on anything he may or may not have seen in the Queen's room. He couldn't deal with that right now on top of everything else.
"I still can't see what they're building," he said as Aramis appeared. "They could be digging."
"About what you saw…"
"I didn't see anything, because I've been in here all morning, so I couldn't possibly have seen anything."
Aramis nodded sharply. "These walls are too thick, they know the garrison would be on them before they –"
"I cannot believe you slept with the Queen!"
Aramis flinched. "I thought you didn't see anything."
"They'll hang you. And then they'll hang me for letting it happen."
"I didn't – intend it to happen."
"You never intend anything." Athos hesitated, studying him. "Aramis, are you – did the Queen try and force –"
"No. Not that." He held up one ungloved hand, studying it. "She is – injured, inside. Something she's had for years, maybe all her life. It's why she doesn't conceive, why she miscarried six years ago."
Athos closed his eyes briefly. "She touched you."
"I couldn't." Aramis sounded broken. "She was in pain. I couldn't, once I knew – Athos."
"I know," Athos muttered. He'd seen it happen, before, Aramis trying to keep himself from helping someone he knew to be hurting. It never ended well. "Did you have to actually sleep with her?"
"I didn't think she'd be willing to sit still with my hand on her stomach for half an hour or so."
Athos scowled. "Have you eaten?" Half an hour was a major healing, enough to wipe Aramis out if he wasn't careful.
"And slept, yes. I'm quite recovered."
"And will she…"
"I don't know." Aramis scrubbed his face with both hands. "She has a chance, now."
"And she doesn't know."
"Of course she doesn't know. I'm not that big a fool."
"No, committing treason by sleeping with her is much better than committing treason by using an Ability on her." Athos sighed.
"I'll make sure you're not blamed, if it comes to it."
"If it comes to it the Cardinal will have us both dead before you can do anything."
"Well, fortunately we'll probably die here instead."
"How lucky we are."
"I should…" Aramis gestured loosely. Athos nodded, watching him leave.
The Mother Superior appeared a little later, coming to join him at the window. "This is my convent," she told him. "And I'm going to defend it. So if there's anything…more…I can do to defend it…"
She looked away, and Athos followed her gaze, frowning. A candelabra sat against one wall, lit although it was daylight. The flames were flickering oddly.
Athos glanced at Mother Superior and back at the candles. No doubt at all; the flames were extending, dancing around each other. That explained some oddities he'd noticed in the nuns' alcohol bombs.
"Why don't we hold that in reserve," he said carefully. "Can you load a pistol?"
She took the pistol, loading it neatly and quickly. "Blessed be the Lord my God, who teaches my hands to fight and my fingers to battle. Psalms 144."
"You load, I'll fire."
"Simplicity. The essence of any good plan."
And like any good plan, it didn't last long. Leaning precariously out of the window, he could see the attackers making their way in through a tunnel. Gesturing the Mother Superior to follow him, he crossed into Aramis' room to warn him.
Mother Superior led them down into the cellars. Gallagher's men were already inside, and they started the final battle.
d'Artagnan ignored it for as long as he could. When they finally left the Louvre, Queen Anne returned safely home and the Cardinal warned that they knew, he stopped in the middle of the street.
Aramis halted behind him, frowning. "What's wrong?"
"Captain, can we catch you up?" d'Artagnan asked. Aramis frowned, glancing at Porthos and Athos, but none of them protested.
Treville frowned, but he nodded. "Don't be long."
"No, sir."
Athos watched him leave, frowning as he turned to d'Artagnan. "What is it?"
"I'm sorry," d'Artagnan apologised. "I've been ignoring this, but you're killing me, you two. What on earth happened to make you –" He looked at Aramis. "So guilty, and you –" To Athos. "So angry?"
"We've talked about that," Aramis reminded him. "Intrusive."
"I know! I'm trying! I can't hear anything else over you two. "
"This isn't what I thought we were going to talk about," Athos murmured.
"I'm getting to that," d'Artagnan promised. "This first."
Aramis looked at Athos, who shook his head. "Aramis and I have dealt with it."
"No you haven't!"
"We're dealing with it," he amended. "Try and ignore it. We are dealing with it."
d'Artagnan eyed them for a moment before sighing, looking away. Athos meant it, but that didn't make it any easier to bear. "Deal with it quickly."
Aramis moved to pat his shoulder and then hesitated, lowering his hand. "My apologies."
d'Artagnan grimaced. "I'm not trying – I'm sorry. I can't tell you how to feel. About anything."
Aramis did pat him this time. "We'll find you a lake to go swim in," he offered.
d'Artagnan snorted, pushing him away. "Dark emotions, Aramis."
"I remember. I'm sorry if we're hurting you."
"It's not your fault; it is what it is."
"Still. You couldn't pay me to be an empath. All Abilities have downsides, but yours is all down and no up."
d'Artagnan caught Athos' grimace from the corner of his eye. "I manage well enough. What do you mean, they all have downsides?"
"A discussion for another time, gentlemen," Athos said. Aramis started to protest, and Athos shook his head firmly. "This is not the time for that particular debate. Some other time, you can attempt to sway d'Artagnan to your point of view." Aramis subsided, and Athos nodded. "Good. Treville awaits. Let's go."
d'Artagnan turned to look at Athos. "The other thing."
"Treville needs to know, too."
"Know what?" Aramis asked, looking from d'Artagnan to Athos and back.
Athos shook his head. "Let's get back to Treville's office." He waved the other two on, holding d'Artagnan back. "This is likely to be a difficult conversation," he murmured. "If you are already having difficulty…"
"I'm not having difficulty. It's you two shouting in my head. I'll block it out for now, it'll be fine."
"Are you sure?"
"You need me there; there's something you don't know yet."
Athos sighed, nodding. "If you need to, leave."
"I will. Athos?" He glanced after the other two, waiting patiently for them further down the street. "Whatever it was? He's angry at himself for it, and he's guilty about it, and he's worried because you're angry about it. It's hurting him."
"It should hurt him," Athos said, and looked away when d'Artagnan flinched. "Dealing with it," he said on a sigh.
"Thank you," d'Artagnan murmured, turning to follow the others.
Treville had been waiting for them, waving them all in without ceremony. "I hope you enjoyed your little break," he said sharply, studying them all.
"My fault, I'm sorry," d'Artagnan offered, leaning against a wall.
"Well, if you're sorry, that makes up for everything."
"Captain," Athos said with a grimace. "There are – things you need to know. All of you," he added towards Porthos and Aramis.
d'Artagnan kept his eyes on Athos as he carefully related the story of his marriage. He told it as though he was giving a report, calm and concise, watching Treville though he was clearly aware of the other two all the time. d'Artagnan was quietly glad he was shielding; just from watching, he could tell the emotions in the room would be overwhelming if he could sense them.
Neither Porthos nor Aramis spoke until Athos was clearly finished; then Porthos cleared his throat, taking half a step forward. "So, just to make sure I've got this right," he said carefully. "Your ex-wife, who you ordered hanged for murder, is alive, in Paris, and working for the Cardinal as…"
"Assassin, spy, whatever he needs," Athos agreed.
"We have to work on your taste in women, my friend," Aramis murmured.
"I thought she had died until a few months ago," Athos said quietly. "She was the great shame of my life, and I thought it behind me. That is why I never spoke of it."
Porthos shrugged uncomfortably. "We've all got things, right?"
d'Artagnan stirred, still leaning against the wall. "There's more."
"Isn't there always," Aramis said with a sigh.
d'Artagnan glanced at Athos, who waved for him to go ahead. "My first night in Paris," he said carefully, "I met a woman. She murdered a man and framed me for it. And then, later, she saved my life, and later still she provided me with money. To enter the contest."
He could see the moment Porthos realised. "Your patroness," he said. "You told us she worked for the Cardinal. How long have you known who she is?"
"Since la Fere," d'Artagnan admitted. "She tried to kill Athos, and I felt enough to recognise her as the woman from the inn. She came to be my patron after that."
Aramis glanced at Athos. "And you've known she's alive…"
"Since la Fere," Athos told him. "You've seen her; Madame de la Chappelle. She testified at Comtesse de Larroque's trial."
Aramis mouthed 'ah', leaning back against the desk. "A beautiful woman."
"Yes," Athos murmured softly. "Yes, she always was."
Treville cleared his throat loudly. "So this woman works for the Cardinal," he said, focusing on the papers on his desk rather than looking at them. "I assume you have some plan."
"I do," d'Artagnan said when Athos didn't speak.
Treville looked up, eyes narrowed. "Do tell."
d'Artagnan shrugged, smiling easily. "I betray you."
