CHAPTER 47
Already a murmuring was humming through the garrison at the arrival of a solemn-faced Athos with a dead body lying across his horse's back. People stopped what they were doing to watch, then move towards the musketeer and the black stallion when they came to a halt almost dead center of the courtyard. The word of the sight ran through the dining hall and the musketeers eating there left their meals behind to step out into the courtyard to see what was transpiring.
As Athos slid off his horse onto the ground, a voice in the crowd called out, "Who is it?" The position of the body, face down, made it hard to identify the victim.
Bitterly, Athos responded, "l'm surprised your first question isn't what is his lineage."
Aramis and Porthos, who had been in the armory, walked over to where Athos, Roger and the corpse were located. With care, Porthos reached up, gently removed the body and carried it over to a nearby table where he laid it face heavenward on the scarred wooden top.
"Stephen," echoed through the crowd as they got a glimpse of the dead musketeer's face.
"Are you going to turn your backs on him, your fellow musketeer, and walk away now that you know who it is? For that is what happened earlier today. Stephen trusted the men of this regiment and they abandon him. Left him to die." Athos' stinging accusation caused a shuffling among the watching crowd.
Roudon's strident voice rang angrily through the air. "What's going on here?"
With eyes of cold steel, Athos turned to face the Lieutenant who had halted on the landing on the staircase. "This is what happened after you ran off like a coward. Is it the result you hoped for or were you expecting two dead bodies?"
The murmur in the crowd swelled then ebbed like waves assaulting a beach.
"Watch your words or you'll find yourself brought up on charges, again," Roudon admonished Athos. "And the rest of you, disperse."
No one moved other than Athos who took a few steps closer to Roudon. "You don't want confess your crime to all? Fine. Then do it to Captain Treville."
A sardonic smile spread across the Lieutenant's face. "You have just confirmed you are delusional. First you ride in here sprouting nonsense and now you are seeing imaginary people."
Athos' final steps brought him to the bottom of the staircase where he stood, confidently, hand on the hilt of his blade. "Captain Treville will be back. Until that time, you can wait in prison for his judgement. Or do you deny killing Stephen and Simeon. Driving out Henri. Assigning those you consider beneath you and your kind to the most dangerous missions with no support.
As Athos made his accusations, Aramis and Porthos exchanged a quick glance before moving to stand slightly behind their friend. Athos was starting a war with Roudon and they were pretty sure he wasn't going to back down.
"I'll not stand here and listen to your slander. Pierre, Eduard, arrest this lunatic," Roudon ordered before turning and beginning to climb the stairs.
The sound of steel being drawn set the crowd humming again as Athos drew his deadly blade. "I'll not stand down. You have killed your last musketeer. It's time for you to answer for your crimes."
Stopping and turning, Roudon glared down at Athos over the side of the staircase.
"Your twisted campaign to drive those that don't match your ideals out of the regiment ends here and now," Athos declared, pointing the tip of his sword up the stairs. "Though perhaps you should check your own family tree."
That got Roudon's attention and he reversed his direction, moving back to the landing. Athos momentarily let his sword drop to his side as he watched Roudon approach. "What exactly are you inferring?" the Lieutenant demanded as he rested his own hand on the hilt of his sword.
"I'm saying don't be so quick to judge others by the blood that flows through their veins lest you be judged the same."
Roudon slowly descended the last set of stairs, stopping when he was standing two steps above Athos to maintain the psychological high-ground. "Are you questioning my heritage?" he hissed with indignation. "How dare someone like you question their betters. I ought to kill you for that insult alone," he said in a low voice. Raising his voice, he said, "My family has been nobility for generations, always a favorite of the Kings of France."
In that cool voice he had perfected so well, Athos answered, "I'm not questioning your family's bloodline." And while he didn't say it, the words 'only yours' were heard as clear as day. "Dalliances with maids are not unheard of amongst the nobility."
A red flush rose so quickly on Roudon's face that Aramis, who was close enough to hear the exchange, wondered if Athos was actually correct.
"I believe," Athos drawled, "that you are an only son, born late in the lives of your parents. Strange you never had any other siblings. Usually, nobility like to ensure their bloodline doesn't die out, with an heir and a spare as the saying goes." It's probably the main reason he himself was still alive, Athos thought. His father had always clearly favored Thomas, but he didn't dare discount his first borne for fear of something happening to Thomas and the de la Fère bloodline coming to an end.
In one swift move, Roudon drew his blade and leapt from the stairs at Athos, who quickly raised his own sword to parry the strike. The circle of spectators drew back as the two men entered into their duel. The rest of the musketeers seemed to understand and respect the unspoken wishes of the fighters that no one intervene.
Roudon hadn't been boasting when he claimed he was good with a sword. He was definitely holding his own with Athos, even pushing the swordsman back at times. It also helped that Athos had spent the day fighting for his and Stephen's lives and was tired, which made his moves a little sluggish and less precise. Add in Athos' injuries and Roudon came close to having the upper hand. Both men were scoring shallow hits on each other, which caused the crowd to react, though strangely as many seemed to be backing Athos as Roudon.
"He's not trying to hurt him too bad," Porthos claimed as he watched Athos fight.
Aramis, watching with a medical eye, thought weariness and injury were affecting Athos' style and he cocked an eyebrow at Porthos. "Really? Not tiredness or injury?"
Emphatically, Porthos shook his head. "Trust me. He's holding back."
In a way, that made Aramis feel better. It made it seem as if Athos had some ultimate plan behind his actions, that he was not just acting on pure emotion.
A groan escaped the crowd as Athos' sword tip grazed Roudon's arm causing him to swear.
"See. That could have been a lot worse. He's holding back," Porthos repeated, glancing over at Aramis.
Steel on steel rang through the courtyard again, followed by an excited murmur as Roudon scored a hit.
The fight continued on with the intensity neither waxing or waning, both men totally absorbed in the duel. In fact, the whole garrison was so focused on the fight that no one noticed the lone rider entering the gate.
"What's going on?" a familiar voice rang across the courtyard. Treville had ridden ahead of the rest of the troops who were still at the Palace aiding the King.
In future years, a more mature, experienced Athos wouldn't have let anything break his concentration during a sword fight. He would have absorbed the information and then decided if it had to be acted upon, while staying fully engaged in his fight. But this was Athos, the newly-minted musketeer, and when he heard the authoritative voice of Captain Treville, he momentarily lost focus.
Roudon, on the other hand, did not and he used Athos' lapse in concentration to launch a vicious attack. Had he been able to carry it through to fruition, it would have been probably ended the duel as well as Athos' life. But part of Athos' talent was innate, instinctual, which made him a notch above the rest with a sword. And that is what made his blade, seemingly of its own accord fend off Roudon's blade, which was aimed for his heart. Athos' blade deflected the strike away and down. However, the swordsman wasn't able to escape the blow completely, and the tip of Roudon's sword dug deep, leaving a trail of red down Athos' left pant leg.
There is a pivotal moment in every fight and that was it. Athos stopped holding back and began an all-out assault on Roudon. Every thrust was designed to maim as well as humiliate the Lieutenant. Athos drove the man to his knees more than once, then backed off, contemptuously letting the man rise, only to knock him off his feet again a few seconds later. Roudon didn't handle these degrading tactics well and as his anger grew, his swordsmanship declined, making it even easier for Athos to make him look the fool.
After a cunning and vicious attack that had Roudon tripping backwards over a small obstruction, landing hard on his rump on the ground and losing possession of his sword, Athos closed in on the man and pressed the tip of his rapier into the flesh directly over Roudon's rapidly beating heart.
Athos' own heart was pumping furiously too, and his senses of the outside world were dulled by the swishing sound in his ears. He stood there, in the middle of a circle of musketeers, blade ready to skewer his nemesis. And yet it was also as if he were totally alone, lost in his own hatred of the man.
Treville rushed up to the duo, commanding Athos to lower his weapon, but the command was not getting through to the musketeer who was now solely focused on his prey. Aramis and Porthos also approached their friend, debating what to do. As much as they wanted Roudon punished, dead even, this wasn't the way.
"Athos! Stand down. That is an order!" Treville barked once more.
It wasn't that Athos didn't hear, part of his brain was processing what Treville said, but his heart was trying to override his brain. Kill him, his heart demanded. This is not the way, his brain commanded.
Trying a new tactic, Treville said softly, "I don't know what has brought this to be, but I promise, Athos, justice will be served. But not like this. This is wrong."
"How do you know?" Athos growled. "Maybe this is exactly what needs to be done."
"Remember what I told you. After the battle? It is not our duty to decide the fate of a person. We do what we are ordered. Sometimes, you are going to be tempted to take justice into your own hands. Be careful of that path for it is rarely the right one. And if you do go down that trail, be prepared for the consequences."
Treville thought he saw the tip of Athos' sword ease back a little, so he pushed on.
"Perhaps Roudon does deserve to die..."
Roudon's eyes grew large as he lay there pinned to the ground, a hair's breath away from being sent to meet his maker.
"...but not by you. If this man deserves to die, it will be by the King's justice and command," Treville stated firmly.
"Athos, please," Aramis asked, daring to place his hand lightly on Athos' left shoulder.
But it was Porthos in the end who probably tipped the scales. The large man merely reached out his hand and wiggled his fingers to indicate to Athos to hand over his sword. "It is me he has wronged the most and maybe I do want him dead. But not like this. Not at the risk of you being imprisoned or worse. You, and our friendship, are worth more than this ass." That did reach Athos and, slowly, he handed his sword to Porthos, who accepted it.
The three Inseparables took a few steps away from the man on the ground then silently stood watching as a few of Roudon's staunch supporters came forward and helped the man to his feet. Without warning, the Lieutenant launched himself at Athos, knocking him to the ground then kneeing him in his injured thigh. The fight didn't amount to anything because Treville, Aramis, Porthos and two other nearby musketeers quickly dragged the men apart.
"Enough! Roudon, Athos, go get your wounds attended to and report to my office in an hour," Captain Treville commanded. "The rest of you disperse."
The Captain could have had Athos and Roudon report immediately, but he needed a break of relative peace to try to come up with a solution to this problem. If was obvious one if not both of them needed to leave the musketeers, but who, how and why he still had to figure out,
Aramis, who had assisted Athos to his feet, noted the musketeer could bear little weight on his right leg. He gave a discreet nod to Porthos who lent Athos a shoulder to use as a temporary crutch to help him limp back to Aramis' room where the marksman had medical supplies stored. Roudon was taken to the official infirmary to have his wounds looked at by the company doctor.
"What do ya think the Captain's gonna do?" Porthos wondered aloud as they limped through the dispersing crowd.
"The way I see it, Roudon has to go. There is no other solution," Aramis offered with the outmost confidence he was right.
"Yeah, but does Captain Treville see it that way?"
Looking worried, Aramis watched as the door that led to Treville's office firmly shut. "That, my friend is the King's ransom's question. But if it isn't Athos who stays, then the regiment will lose me too for I'll not stay with Roudon."
"Nor I," Porthos swore too. "All for one."
"And one for all," Aramis finished.
Athos, whose head had been bowed as he put his full concentration into moving across the courtyard, raised it now to say, "Or I will take the decision out of the Captain's court and simply leave of my own accord."