CHAPTER 9

They rode steadily throughout the day, a group yet not a group. Anyone looking at the unit could plainly see the division of the riders, three and three. The Inseparables, as they were already becoming known, where relegated to riding behind Roudon and the other two musketeers, rather like servants. Aramis, the peacemaker, tried at their midday break to integrate the two sides as they ate, but his attempts at being friendly were rebuffed by Pierre, Francis, and especially Roudon.

That night, when they stopped to camp, it became abundantly clear in both words and actions that Lieutenant Roudon didn't care for the fact that Captain Treville had saddled him with the trio. He assigned Porthos to all the manual labor tasks, fetching the fire wood, hauling the water, and perhaps most menial, clearing the ground of rocks and other objects where they would lay out their bedrolls. The tone and words Roudon used to speak to Porthos were those of a master ordering about his servant.

Porthos, not unaccustomed to being treated like a servant, took the high road and had not let Roudon's words and actions upset him. He knew that Captain Treville thought highly of him, and had he been here, Porthos was sure the Captain would have frowned upon Roudon's behavior. Porthos also knew if he argued with Roudon, a wider division would occur within the group and that would not be good for the mission. So, he didn't let Roudon get under his skin, while making a vow to request to Captain Treville, upon their return, that he never be partnered with the man again.

Aramis made a few diplomatic remarks to Roudon about his unfair treatment in regards to Porthos, but he was rebuffed. When Aramis began to become more insistent that their Lieutenant modify his behavior, the streetfighter pulled him aside and told him to stop. After a brief argument, Aramis acquiesced to Porthos' wishes, understanding that a group divided, should they come into a dangerous situation, would only increase the peril. For the love of his brother, his Captain and the regiment, Aramis restrained himself and tried to ignore Roudon's behavior. He too, once back in the garrison, would be talking to their good Captain about Roudon. Something had to be done about the man.

It was Athos who took a more aggressive route with Roudon. Athos had formed an unshakeable respect for Porthos during their harrowing experience in Dieppe and he would allow no man to undervalue his brother. What Athos really wanted to do was pull rank on Roudon and put him in his place. However, that would require the swordsman to admit to who he really was, something he could not bring himself to do, not even to Aramis or Porthos. So, instead, Athos took every chance he got to argue, misinterpret and flat out ignore orders, while maintaining his aloof mannerism, which he knew irritated Roudon.

While they were caring for their horses, Athos managed to get Roger tethered near Roudon's horse, which should have raised a red flag, for all the musketeers knew Roger, like his owner, was not fond of being part of a group. Roudon was unhitching his saddlebags from his gelding, standing with his back to Roger, when suddenly the black stallion moved nimbly sideways, crushing Roudon against the side of his own horse. The man let out a scream, which was choked off as he was further crushed between the two pieces of horseflesh. He crumbled to the ground when the two horses finally moved apart, his breath coming in strangled gasps.

Aramis immediately came running to see if the man had been injured. However, Roudon, once he caught his breath, made it abundantly clear he didn't want Aramis anywhere near his person. So, Aramis stopped trying to assist and stepped back.

Roudon, shaking with fury, rose to his feet and marched over to where Athos stood holding his horse's bridle. "You are uninjured?" Athos asked in a cool, but polite, detached tone.

"No thanks to that ill-mannered beast of yours. He is a danger to us all. I have heard the stable lads complaining about him going after them. And I know of the time when Carmin borrowed him because his own horse was lame, that devil did everything in his power to unseat him."

"I believe Roger did prevail… in unseating him. He is not fond of strangers, especially nobility with an over-inflated sense of self-worth." Athos said in that infuriating Comte tone he had perfected over the years. And though they had been speaking of Carmin, it was also quite clear Athos meant Roudon too.

Roudon stalked closer to Athos, though he still kept a good distance between him and Roger. "That sounds like impertinence, which is the same as insubordination in my book. What are you implying, musketeer?"

Athos stared at him calmly. "I am implying nothing. I am stating you are no better than any of us here, no matter what you think to the contrary."

A mocking laugh escaped Roudon's lips. "No better? I'm the certainly better. I am the son of the Comte de Champ. My family has been in service to the King for centuries."

"I believe the de Champ lineage is Noblesse graduelle, meaning your family has been serving the King for closer to twenty years, not centuries," Athos calmly countered.

Even in the dimming light, it was clear to see that Roudon's face was scarlet with rage. "How would the likes of you, a common drunk, know anything about my family's lineage?" the angry man sputtered.

With an indifferent shrug, Athos replied, "I heard it somewhere."

"Where would the likes of you hear such a thing? You are some no-name drunken soldier that, for God knows what reason the Captain allowed to join the musketeers."

"Perhaps," Aramis said in a low voice tinged with anger, "the Captain made him a musketeer because he is trustworthy and the best damn swordsman in all of France."

"Trustworthy?" Roudon laughed mockingly. "He can't even be trusted to remain sober. "How many times has he lost himself in drink? Failed to show up at muster or even worse, showed up drunk or hungover. I hardly call that trustworthy. He should be drummed out of the regiment for his insubordinate nature."

Aramis started to protest, but Roudon spoke over him. "And you. Why would I listen to anything you have to say? Again, a man of no rank that the Captain lets sully the reputation of the musketeers. A man who spends more time sleeping with the women of the court than protecting them. A man who professes to have a great faith in God yet sleeps with married women and deflowers poor unsuspecting maidens. Perhaps you need to read your bible more carefully to see what God thinks of libertines! Your only saving grace is you do tend to follow the orders you are given unlike Athos."

Aramis wasn't so sure that was true. He just had a little more experience than Athos at hiding his indiscretions.

It was Porthos' turn to step up and defend his brother. "Aramis is the best marksman in the regiment. The Captain chose him and Athos for what they can do not what family they were born into."

"Says the gutter rat," the Lieutenant sneered. "What would you know of family? No one is blind to your mixed heritage. You, most of all, have no right to be part of an elite group of soldiers. You are nothing more than an uneducated, low-life street-rat. Those two," Roudon waved a negligent hand at Athos and Aramis, "at least bring a skill to the regiment. But you, you bring nothing but your sullied heritage. You belong in the fields, not in the Palace."

Athos took a step forward and using his powerful right hook, knocked the Lieutenant to the ground. Somewhat in shock by Athos' unorthodox behavior, Aramis and Porthos were slow to react, giving Athos the opportunity to reach down, grab Roudon by his jacket, haul him upwards and hit him in the face again. Athos got in a third blow, but before he could land a fourth punch, Aramis and Porthos grabbed Athos' arms and hauled him away from Roudon.

Pierre and Francis quickly sprang to Roudon's side and aided the dazed man in sitting up.

Aramis grabbed Athos' chin and forced the roiled musketeer to look at him. "Athos! What the hell are you doing?"

"Those things he said were wrong," Athos muttered defiantly.

"Of course, they were. But you just struck a superior officer, not once, but multiple times. Over words, Athos. Words that have no power over us. Words that hurt but can be ignored. But you, my friend, have just handed Roudon everything he needs to have you thrown out of the musketeers," Aramis scolded his friend.

"Treville won't believe it," Porthos said coming to Athos defense.

"Won't believe what? Athos did strike Roudon, repeatedly. There are five witness not to mention Roudon's face, which I imagine will also show the evidence."

"But what he said…," Athos started to say before Aramis cut him off with a speech one day Athos himself would utter.

"…was cruel, mean, undeserved, and narrow-minded, but not illegal. It was one man giving his opinion and it wasn't sedition. What you did, striking a superior officer? That is illegal and punishable in whatever manner Treville finds fit, to include being kicked out of the musketeers," Aramis concluded which a note of distress in his voice.

Porthos began to argue, but surprisingly it was Athos cut him off this time. "Aramis is correct. What I did was wrong as well as stupid. I have not made things better for either of you. Your best move now is to distance yourself from both this action and me lest someone incorrectly places blame on you too."

Aramis and Porthos exchanged a silent glance, then Aramis actually partially smiled. "Oh Athos. How quickly you lose faith and trust in us. How swiftly you are ready to throw us aside to nobly take all the blame. When will you learn our friendship doesn't work that way?"

"Yeah, you didn't do anything we haven't wanted to do for months," Porthos added with a grin of his own.

"Only you were stupid enough to do it," Aramis scolded.

"With witnesses" Porthos chimed in.

"Not one of your better moves. However, we won't be abandoning you now or ever so get that right out of your mind. We will fight this together, as a team. You know they are starting to call us the 'The Inseparables'. Flattering I suppose."

Porthos gave Aramis an unsure glance. "Or creepy."

Athos looked at his two friends and the disbelief in his eyes mirrored the disbelief on Pierre, Francis and Roudon's faces. Roudon, who had risen to his feet with the help of the other two musketeers, took a step towards the trio.

"He strikes me and you two make light of it?" Roudon turned his anger on Aramis and Porthos. "We'll see if you are still laughing when I demand Captain Treville remove him from the regiment and place him in prison for assault on an officer."

Schooling his face, Aramis tried to calm down their irate Lieutenant. "What happened was nothing to joke about."

"Note his words, Pierre, Francis. I shall need you as witnesses when I confront the Captain. Even his so-called friends agree his behavior was out of line."

"Now wait a minute…"

Roudon closed the few feet between him and Aramis, standing face to face. "Do you not agree that striking an officer is insubordination?"

"I suppose it could be perceived that way, but…"

"And did not that man, Athos, just strike me, not once, but three times, not in a manner to defend himself but in a manner to cause me harm?" Roudon continued. "Did I strike him first?"

"No, but…"

"And there you have it," Roudon declared as he turned around and walked back over to where Pierre and Francis were waiting. "A corroborated story. I don't suppose, Athos," he asked as he rotated back to face the swordsman who was standing behind Aramis with Porthos' hand still gripping his arm just in case, "you'd like to confess to your crimes, here and now?"

Glaring at Roudon, Athos started to take a step forward. But Porthos' restraining hand and his lowly muttered 'no' halted the swordsman. However, the final act was still to be played.

Roudon didn't realize how close he was standing to Roger when he waved his arms and raised his voice declaring, "Finally, we will make progress cleansing the musketeers of the taints that have been allowed to creep in. After this, I am sure the Captain will realize the errors of his ways. He was foolish letting commoners into the ranks and now he will have to rectify that mistake." He looked pointedly at Aramis and Porthos. "Soon we will be the King's noble fighting force that we always were meant to be."

Roger, not liking the commotion and the sound of Roudon's raised voice, took that unfortunate moment to reach out and try to nip Roudon. The horse obviously felt the Lieutenant had strayed too close once more. It was only a warning, so teeth and flesh didn't meet, but it startled the already upset Roudon, who jumped backwards, stumbled and fell to the ground once more. Pierre and Francis immediately ran to his side and assisted him back onto his feet.

"It is a wonder Captain Treville allows such an animal in his stable. He is a danger to us all! Mark my words, I shall recommend, no insist, to the Captain upon our return that he be destroyed!"

Athos twisted free from Porthos' grasp, ran to his horse and pulled the stallion's head close to his chest as the beast was giving indications he might try once again to cause mischief.

"Captain Treville put me in charge. I'll not have any more disobedience from any of you," his eyes raked the Inseparables. "There are many of us, nobility, in the musketeers who feel our ranks have been sullied by the likes of you and your kind. I know Pierre and Francis feel the same as I. I believe that if we were to petition the King, through our families, his Majesty might see Treville's policies of letting the low-born into the ranks of his esteemed musketeers as a poor practice. Those protecting a noble King should be noble. Those who are not of noble birth should be dismissed." With that, he marched off back to the main part of camp, with Pierre and Francis in tow.

Quietly, Athos relocated Roger to the far end of the picket line, near Fidget and Flip. Calmly, as if nothing happened, he went back to currying his mount.

"That was unpleasant," Aramis declared lightly as he watched Athos coolly brushing Roger.

"Oi. Did you get the feeling that he," Porthos jerked his head towards the departed Roudon, "doesn't care for us?"

"His attitude is as ignorant as it is wrong. A man's worth is not determined by his lineage," Athos stated with utter conviction.

"Really," Porthos said with a snort. "I don't know where you're from. But here, in France, everything is about rank and privilege, from the backstreets of Paris to the Palace."

Athos finished currying Roger, then walked over to his saddlebags and put away the comb. "I don't disagree that there is an order to our society, right or wrong. But Captain Treville is trying very hard not to mimic that in his musketeers. He is judging a man for himself, not his heritage."

"Be that as it may, what you did here today was not helpful and may very well get you stripped of your commission and thrown in jail, Athos," Aramis concern and anger coloring his voice. "Why did you have to strike him?"

"Yeah. It's not like I haven't heard this all before, for all of my life," Porthos said, though not unkindly.

Athos put Roger back in the line of horses where he could do no more harm before rejoining the other two musketeers. "When we get back to the garrison, I shall ensure that none of this has any impact on you. If I am not dismissed, or imprisoned, I shall leave on my own."

"And how does that not have an impact on us? We are your friends," Aramis reminded the reclusive musketeer. Positioning himself between Porthos and Athos, Aramis clapped a hand on both of his friends' shoulders, propelling them forward, "I have faith in our Captain. He will set people like Roudon right, eventually. For now, we simply must be patient, curb our tempers and our fists, and follow the orders of our Lieutenant. In a short time, this will all be a memory."

"Unpleasant memory," Porthos grumbled as they approached the campfire. "But you're right. I have endured worse than the likes of this ass. Thanks for defending me Athos, but a few nasty words aren't worth you losing your place in the regiment nor our friendship."

Athos, as usual, didn't say anything and Aramis, looking at his friend's face saw nothing but an unreadable slate. He hoped Athos' good sense would prevail, for Roudon's mind was made up and nothing the three of them said or did would alter the man's prejudices. As Porthos said, they needed to endure and get this mission successfully completed and then let the Captain handle Roudon.