Chapter 3 Losing
'Constance?' Athos looked at her worried. He carefully put her down on the sofa which was in her room. 'D Artagnan would kill him if anything happened to Constance so he had stayed with her when everyone else had left the room.
Constance opened her eyes, looking up at the musketeer and sat up abruptly. 'I'm fine, Athos. I did not really faint…' seeing the question in his eyes she simply said, 'The Queen…'
Athos nodded understanding. He had seen the Queen's face when she had been told the news of Aramis' death and he had feared that she would not have been able to keep her face the inscrutable mask it always was. And he had been right. Had it not been for Constance's distraction the Queen would not have kept it together long enough to leave the room.
'I'm sorry for your loss,' Constance said sorrow evident in her voice. "He was a real friend to me. I cannot imagine what it must be like for you… to know that he's gone…'
Athos sat down next to her with a heavy sigh. His eyes downcast. He had lost one of his best friends; one of his brothers… he still could not fathom the idea that he would never see Aramis again. Hear him joking with Porthos or giving advice to 'd Artagnan… see him practicing his sword fighting skills in the courtyard at the Garrison.
'What happened?' Constance wanted to know, she knew that Athos was a private man who did not share his feelings easily but she knew this could not be easy for him and the only thing she could do for him was for him to tell how it had happened.
Athos was silent for a moment and Constance wasn't sure if he was going to talk at all, until he finally said, 'Well, we were on a mission. Nothing too difficult. We had to transport a few prisoners back to Paris for their trial,' Athos began with a sigh,' Everything was going fine. We were on the way back when we were ambushed. It was the perfect spot for it... We were outnumbered but we managed to get the prisoners out of harms way and with a few musketeers on their way to Paris. It was a three to one fight at least… We stood our ground and we had taken care of most of our enemies but 'd Artagnan was being attacked by five men and could barely hold them off when Aramis, who was battling with four assailants himself, saw an opportunity to help him and threw a knife into one of 'd Artagnan's opponents; dispatching him. Helping 'd Artagnan who gained the upper hand again but it had left Aramis wide open for an attack from his assailants. He was hit hard with a dagger in his side and that's when it all went sour. Aramis tried to hold his ground but the dagger had taken him by surprise and left him wounded. He couldn't gain de upper hand again. Porthos was trying to make his way towards him but… he was too late. Aramis managed to get rid of one of his attackers but that earned him a bullet in his shoulder from another attacker… And then…' Athos stalled. He was staring at the floor trying to get the words out. He was reliving it all again and he wondered if he couldn't have done something to prevent all of it.
'And then?' Constance prompted softly, taking his hand.
'And then… he grabbed the man who had shot him and together they went over the edge into the river...' Athos' voice broke and Constance squeezed his hand trying to give him some kind of comfort. He could still hear Porthos yell Aramis' name…. the despair in his voice.
'I'm so sorry, Athos,' Constance offered again.
'We searched for him up river as soon as we were able,' Athos continued. 'But Aramis had already been hurt bad enough… and the river was pretty rough... There was no sign of life… No one could have survived a fall like that... So when we had finally accepted that we were not going to find him I rode back to the Garrison to tell the Captain what had happened. Porthos, 'd Artagnan and the other musketeers returned to escort the prisoners back to Paris. They should be back tomorrow.'
'Do you know why you were attacked? ' Constance asked, silently thanking Aramis for saving 'd Artagnan's life and immediately feeling bad for it. She would never have wanted Aramis dead. If not for herself or the Queen then for 'd Artagnan because she knew that he would feel incredibly guilty about it.
Athos shook his head, 'No. That is why I told Treville the moment I returned. As far as we know the prisoners were not that important people or anything… but hell, what do we know… We follow orders. Well at least the prisoners didn't escape.' Athos was silent for a while until he spoke softly again. 'I only regret that the Queen had to find out like this. Aramis would not have wanted that…'
Night had fallen when Constance found the Queen in a heap on the floor in her room; her body shaking slightly. She knelt in front of her and gently put her hand on the Queen's shoulder, 'Your Majesty..?' she said softly.
Queen Anne looked up, tears evident on her face. She opened her mouth to say something but no sound came out. Then she just shook her head a little and hung her head. Her hands covering her face, fresh tears falling from her eyes.
Constance embraced her Queen to give some comfort to her friend. 'I am so sorry,' she offered softly. She felt sorry for her friend, she could not imagine how she would feel if something would have happened to 'd Artagnan and they were not even together now. It didn't mean that she didn't love him anymore. The entire reason that they weren't together now was to protect him.
They sat like that for a long time. It was Anne who broke the silence with a broken voice, 'I don't know how to go on without him, Constance…. I… I don't want to know!' Tears were silently streaming down her face, looking at Constance who searched for something to say but came up short. Instead she told Anne what she had learned from Athos.
'He was very brave… He saved 'd Artagnan's life...' she wondered if she had to tell the Queen more about what happened but in the end it did not matter...
Anne was silent, processing what Constance had just told her, 'I… I think I want to be alone now… but thank you Constance for being here...'
Constance nodded understanding, she gave her friend a hug and left the room. Leaving the Queen alone in her rooms.
'Oh Aramis… how can you leave me like this? Don't you know that I can't live without you? That I have no idea how to do that…?' she whispered into the silence of the room, tears still close to the surface. She stood up from the ground and resigned herself to her bed. She undressed herself, not bothering to pick up her dress where it fell on the ground and got into bed.
She closed her eyes but when she did she was assaulted with images of her lover. His dark eyes, his lips, his smile, his long hair, his unique smell, his powerful body, his gentle touch on her body, his sweet kisses on her lips, his breath on her skin leaving goose bumps…
Under the bright but faded lights
You set my heart on fire
Where are you now
Where are you now
(Faded by Alan Walker)
Author's note: Next chapter the others will make an appearance I promise ;) I hope you're still liking this story… Let me know what you think in a review…
Oh and just a heads up… Chapter four is ready so I will post that one next week or so… but I'm having a bit of a struggle with chapter five so I'm hoping I can post that one in about two weeks if not then the struggle took longer than expected