For those who do not know, this story is complete. I just need to find the rest of the chapters and upload them. Thanks for reading.
The Beginning of the Second Melee
As always, the tavern was filled with high spirited customers, and of course, busty bar maids. Ramon took no heed of his friends once he spotted a beautiful maiden carrying three glasses of wine to a nearby table. He left their side quickly, and the poetry began.
Jacque, d'Artangnan, and a freshly washed Siroc sat at the table towards the back of the tavern. The Cardinal's men had seated themselves in the center stealing every passing servant of the tavern when they could. Their own table was covered in empty wine bottles and glasses as well as littered with plates of half eaten food.
"They could at least share," d'Artangnan said, getting comfortable in his chair. His eyes set on the men dressed in red wishing with all his might that he could at least beat one over the head with the hilt of his rapier. "There are others who need service as well."
Siroc shook his head, and raised his hand stopping any attempt that d'Artangnan may try to provoke the Cardinal's men. "Remember what happened last time. Captain Duval, well in actuality, King Louis is depending on us. If we started another skirmish with them, the captain will have our heads." On a side note, he Siroc had come up with another idea, and he did not want to waste precious time cleaning dungeons or stables when he could be toying with several ideas and theories in his lab.
Jacque looked around the tavern, giving a quick overlook before her eyes stopped in a general corner. She laughed a bit. "I was not there, but I can imagine what happened. Wait here," she said, pushing herself up to stand.
"And where are you going?" asked d'Artangnan, one eyebrow slightly rose.
"You are not the only one with charm," she answered back giving him the manliest grin she possibly could conjure. Jacque made her way to one of the bar maidens who was clearly steering away from a certain table occupied by several men in red coats. Jacque put on her best façade of a gentleman and approached the young woman.
The woman gave a shy smile when Jacque bowed and grasped her hand gently. "Excuse me, my friends and I are quite hungry this fine morning, and I would greatly appreciate it if, a beauty such as yourself, would be able to prepare four meals and four glasses of wine for us." When Jacque looked up, the barmaid flushed a bright crimson color.
Siroc and d'Artangnan observed the little scene before them, and both men had different reactions to it. Siroc gave a polite clap when he saw the girl curtsy and Jacque holding her hand, kissing it lightly. D'Artangnan on the other hand, buried his face in his hands in embarrassment. "Charlotte…" he whispered.
"What was that?" Siroc asked giving Jacque a welcoming smile to return to their table.
"He's rubbing it in."
Jacque returned with a large grin, mostly aimed for d'Artangnan. When she found her seat once again, he pointed at her. Somehow he had found a woman that was just as cocky as he was, and she was also one who loved a good challenge.
"You're good," he said in a mocked compliment.
"I know I am," she answered sweetly, but only for d'Artangnan to notice.
He looked at her intently wondering how a woman managed to interest him so. He had to admit, it was only Jacqueline that ever openly challenged him. Since he found out her little secret, the challenges became more intense, but they were never out of hand. It wasn't as though he did not appreciate the tests of wit, charm, and skill. In fact, he would choose her every time, but they had to be careful that no one else figured out that Jacque Lepont was Jacqueline Roget. It killed him at times that he could not even tell Ramon and Siroc, but he promised he would keep her secret.
A little while after, Ramon returned to his comrades with a satisfactory smile. He seated himself next to Jacque and placed his hand over his heart as if to keep it from beating out of his chest. His eyes were closed, and a wide smile was brought to his lips.
"Well?" Siroc asked, but he knew that he really should not have asked. It was quite obvious that his Spanish friend was quite successful.
"She absolutely loves me," Ramon sighed in admiration. "We are meeting tomorrow for coffee, in the afternoon, after practice drills."
Then the maiden that Jacque had wooed returned with two trays containing the food for the musketeers. She gave an especially warm smile to Jacque and winked to her before returning to the requests of the other customers.
"Ho ho ho!" Ramon laughed. "Jacque seems to have an admirer." He grabbed the glass of wine and dramatically held it high above them in a toast. "To women! The most beautiful creatures ever to walk upon this earth!" he said loudly.
Jacque, Siroc, and d'Artangnan grabbed their glasses as well and brought them together. "To women!" they said together.
Jacque blinked when she sipped her wine, and her eyes glanced over to d'Artangnan. She could have sworn he said, 'To a special woman' under his breath. She brushed the idea out of her head immediately. She made it this far with only a couple of people knowing who she was. To falter now would prove to be fatal. Acting like a man, toasting to women, even bringing herself to lightly pursue one was not exactly what she planned to do with her life, but she became comfortable in the company she kept. Not only was she improving her skill, but she was serving King Louis as well. She was sure that her father wanted her to stay where she was and continue serving their king and their country.
"Jacque…Jacque!" d'Artangnan said loudly breaking into her chain of thoughts.
"What?" she asked in an annoyed voice, hoping that none of them realized that she had been daydreaming. Instinctively, she broke off a piece of bread and popped it into her mouth.
"Ramon asked you the name of girl you so effortlessly won over," he said, then proceeded in biting into the meat on his fork. However, he kept his eyes focused on the center table.
"I do not know," she said truthfully to Ramon. "Why do you ask?" she wondered, but her voice died out when she saw what Ramon was referring to.
Ramon pointed over to the table with the Cardinal's men. "It seems you might want to save your woman." Even Siroc had stopped eating his meal and turned his attention to the disturbance that was happening only a few feet from them.
Jacque saw the young woman being manhandled by the drunk men. She was trying to break free of their grasps, but one of them held onto her tightly causing her to cry out in pain. Onlookers seemed as though they wanted to help, but to oppose the Cardinal's men was no less than opposing the Cardinal himself. Jacque gulped down the rest of her wine and stood quickly. 'How dare those pigs touch her in such a way!' she thought. Her anger surged, and she could feel her nerves pique. She knew how the woman felt, being a female herself, and she would not tolerate it.
D'Artangnan also rose anticipating what would happen next. "Here we go," he said and Siroc and Ramon followed suit. Neither of them needed to be asked for help. Though they all had their own opinions, they felt the same for this specific situation.
Jacque made it first to the table, grabbing the man roughly by the arm that held the helpless woman. The woman sprang free and fled behind the musketeers, clutching onto her side that was sure to be harboring a fresh bruise. Jacque twisted the man's arm to the brink of snapping the bones in two. He cried out in pain, and attempted to stand, but Jacque slammed him into the table even harder. Before anyone could breathe, eight rapiers were drawn.