What Love Is Worth, Ch. 13

Pegasus snorted in the early morning mist as she adjusted his tack.

"You always came to the stables when you were troubled," said a voice.

She spun to face Athos where he stood watching her from the gate.

"Athos, please, I don't need a lecture. I know what I have to do," she said, her misery written all over her face. He shook his head and stepped towards her. His eyes burned as he looked at his oldest friend.

"Did you know that I had married?" he asked her, which stopped her hands where she was adjusting the stirrups. She shook her head slightly and looked at him. Grief and pain were etched deeply on his face.

"I loved her Christine, in ways that I didn't know were possible. She was my world," he said. "I found out how deceived I had been when she, my wife and the love of my life, stabbed my brother Thomas in the south parlour of our home." Christine gasped softly. She had heard that Thomas had died, but the circumstances had been a mystery.

"Thomas had discovered that my wife had lied her way into my life. When she killed him...I had to do my duty and ordered that the woman I loved be hanged from a tree. It was my duty," he said bitterly. "I lived with the belief that I had killed her for five years. I found out later that she had used her means to escape from the noose, but I had turned her into a monster – a murderer and assassin intent on seeking her revenge in my destruction. There is not a day that has passed that I haven't questioned my decision to follow my duty, and condemn the woman I loved instead of listening to my heart and hearing her pleas."

"Athos," Christine whispered, eyes brimming with tears for her brother and his heartache.

"I loved her Christine, and a part of me still does. A part of me always will, and it tortures me still. Love like that…can't be defeated," he said as he gazed into the discord of her eyes. "When I see you and Aramis…Christine, you can't give up on this. Not on a love this powerful. You will regret it for the rest of your life if you do." His oceanic eyes locked onto her stormy grey ones, pinning her to the spot for a moment as they conveyed the full depth of his pain.

"Your father always told us to follow our hearts, and they would never lead us astray," he said taking her hand. "Don't sacrifice your heart for your duty. Don't make the same mistake that I did," he said.

Christine heaved a sob, and turning from the swordsman, she mounted her horse and took off from the stables, her riding cloak billowing behind her.

oOo

Aramis rose from the bed, the scent of her still clinging to him. He saw her missing and frowned. He moved to the window in the study drawing his torn shirt over his shoulders. He leant against the glass, savouring its chill. He opened his eyes in time to see her riding from the property.

oOo

Christine returned to the manor and pulled her cloak from her neck as she entered the parlour and threw it on the edge of the table.

She poured herself a glass of brandy. Her hands shook. She downed her glass and poured herself another. She sat in a chair and stared, seeing nothing, her brow creased in anguish.

He knocked on the door as he entered.

She rose and looked at him.

"I've come to say goodbye Comtesse," Aramis said softly.

"You're leaving? Already?"

Aramis nodded.

"Where will you go?" she asked him.

"I'm not sure, Comtesse. I will need to speak to Treville. Perhaps there is an outpost somewhere that he can assign me to. I shall not linger in Paris long," he said.

She nodded and swallowed hard.

"I want to thank you for your hospitality, Comtesse. I will forever be grateful to you for sharing your world with me."

"Please Aramis, stop with this Comtesse thing," she begged.

He looked away, "I'm sorry…it's for self-preservation," he said. A silence fell between them like a stone. Behind her grey eyes, a war raged.

"I want you to know," he began, "That I stand by what I said. I love you. With all my heart. I swear to you that I will love no other but you for whatever days are left to me in this life, and long into the next. If you ever have any need of me in any way, you only have to call and I will be at your side with all the speed of the angels."

Christine nodded, a few traitorous tears escaping the confines of her lashes. She laughed softly, a mirthless miserable laugh. She looked at him with her tear filled eyes and it broke him.

"Aren't you going to take your final kiss?" she asked him quietly, her voice barely daring to whisper.

Aramis shook his head, his dark eyes desperately fighting to retain his own misery.

"No…as long as I have that, I can still hope. Te amo, mia tesora. I will love you forever, Christine," he said and bowing to her, he left the room.

She sat there for a long moment, then rising, slowly, as though from the grave, she left the room and made her way outside.

She watched Aramis as he walked away towards where his brothers were mounted. She heard Marie approach from behind her.

"So?" asked Athos, eyeing the marksman sadly as he approached and mounted his horse.

"She has chosen her duty," he said, "and I cannot blame her for that. She has a responsibility to her people."

Athos nodded grimly as he slowly led his brother across the lawn.

Christine shivered from the hilltop and crossed her arms tighter around her, desperately trying to hold herself together as the man she loved slowly rode away from her. They were nearing the bridge when he hesitated and looked back at her for the last time, before he lowered his hat, hiding bitter tears beneath its brim.

"This is wrong," Marie whispered to herself, the pain for her mistress obvious in her hushed tone.

Christine tried to regulate her breathing, but everything felt wrong. Her body was defeating her. She watched his retreating back as it crossed the bridge. Her lip trembled. "Aramis," she whispered as she stared after him.

Then, "Aramis," she said a little louder.

She couldn't do it! She couldn't let him go! "Are you sure?" that traitorous voice asked one last time, but this time her response was a resounding "YES!"

She took off down the hill. "Aramis!" she called as she ran towards the bridge towards the love of her life.

"Aramis!" they heard her call from behind them. The musketeers stopped their horses.

"Aramis!" she called again, and Aramis tilted his face to the sunlight beaming.

"Thank you," he whispered, crossing himself.

Porthos' joyous laugh startled him into action.

He spun his mare around and galloped pell-mell towards the bridge. He leapt from the saddle as the horse skidded to a halt and ran up the bridge where he met her at its centre. His arms wrapping around her as hers wrapped around his neck and they kissed each other, every particle in them screaming for joy in that passionate embrace.

"You came back to me," she whispered through her tears as she brushed the hair from his face. "You were leaving and I just couldn't...Every fibre of my being was screaming that it was wrong, that I couldn't let you leave. I love you, Aramis. I love you. There is nothing I wouldn't do for you. I love you Aramis. Stay. Please, say you'll stay. Stay," she begged him.

Aramis wove his fingers through her hair and pulled her close and kissed her, his own tears speckling his cheeks. He gathered her into his arms and carried her back up the field towards the house, her hands curled into his hair as she kissed him back with all of her might.

Athos rode away smiling. Porthos and D'Artagnan spurred their horses to catch up.

"We will need to inform Treville that Aramis will be a few more days late in returning," he said with a smirk as they rode away to Paris.

oooooooooooooooooo

A/N: Thank you all for reading, your reviews, and continuing to follow along with this love story.

This was a bit of an emotional romp. I hope you enjoyed it! I promise, we'll get back to more swashbuckling in the next episode!