Chapter 33

Thanks for reading this story. Thanks to NicoleR85 and to Fangirling007 for their review. Yes, Fangirling007, the chapter was supposed to end like this. I'm sorry if it was brutal; I'll try not to do it again. Thanks to all the followers and the one who favourited this story.

New Chapter, read, enjoy and review.


Rochefort came to the garrison after his little private interview with the King. He drew a sort of map on the table with chalk.

"The King's approved my rescue plan." Rochefort said once he finished his drawings. "You will all work under my command."

"This is a musketeer mission. Athos will take charge." The Captain told him.

"The king gave me his authority." Rochefort revealed.

"The day my men take orders from the cardinal's stooge is the day I resign my commission." Treville countered.

"For the sake of France, we must find a way to work together. I accept your terms." Rochefort yielded. "The last person the Spanish will expect to see is their old prisoner Rochefort." The Captain walked around the table. "Naturally, they'll be grateful to the bandits who bring him in. You will be the bandits, of course."

"If we're caught out of uniforms, we'll be treated as spies." Porthos reminded him. "That means instant execution."

"Well if that prospect scares you…" Rochefort trailed off on purpose.

"Say again?"

"Porthos." The Captain shook his head at the musketeer.

"So, once we got De Foix how do we escape?" Aramis questioned him.

"We take Governor Alvarez hostage. He is an important man, they won't want to risk his life." Rochefort explained.

"Anything else we should know?" Athos asked.

"Our primary goal is rescue. But if that is impossible, we must silence De Foix…in some other way." Rochefort sent a meaningful glance at Athos.

"You are not suggesting that we kill De Foix?" I questioned him.

"General De Foix is a loyal servant of France. He's also my friend." The Captain reminded him.

"He knows too much." Rochefort simply answered. "The King has made his wishes clear. Duty must come first. I'm sure even a musketeer can understand that concept." Rochefort walked off.

"We could always arrange an unfortunate accident to happen on the road." Athos suggested after he left.

"Don't tempt me." Treville replied.


So, we all withdrew ourselves to get ready for the coming mission. We were to leave in the afternoon. I kept my black trousers and put a white shirt on. Over the white shirt I wore my black corset and a brown jacket. I tied my hair up in a neat bun. I placed my uniform in a bag. There was a light knock on my door.

"Come in!" I yelled placing the last items of my uniform in the bag.

"Are you ready?" Athos asked appearing in my line of vision.

"Yes, I am." I answered closing my bag. I turned to face him. He was wearing simple clothes of fairer color than his uniform. He still wore black trousers and wore a beige jacket with a grey shirt. He stared at me in this way that made me weak at the knees. "What?"

"You make a beautiful bandit." Athos said.

"You don't look too bad yourself." I retorted throwing the bag on my back. He snaked his arms around my waist and pulled me to his chest. He captured my lips in a fiery kiss and this time I did go weak at the knees.

"What was that for?" I questioned breathless when he pulled away.

"I wanted to." Athos replied with his crooked smile. His thumbs were running circles in the small of my back. "Now, promise me that you will obey to what I say."

"Your word is my command, love." I smirked.

"I'm serious, Emma." Athos said seriously.

"Athos, I know. Don't worry, I will do as you ask." I said putting my hand to his chest. "We're on a mission. And you're in charge and so to speak as a musketeer I'll obey your orders."

"Glad to hear it." Athos nodded.

"I said as a musketeer. Now as the woman who loves you, I'm not promising anything." Athos groaned. "But I'll try. Come on, the others must be waiting."


When we are on a mission, Athos and I try to keep our distance. We don't show marks of affections as to not give away the feelings we hold for each other to the enemy. Athos and I were very aware that we were each other's weakness. So, there were no touches, no lingering looks of any kind. We were two fellow musketeers on a mission.

We rode to Spain until dark came and we rested for the night. We were all sitting around the fire listening to Rochefort. How he was made prisoner and how they treated him during this imprisonment.

"Many times they told me I was going to die, then revoked the sentence even as the noose was around my neck." Rochefort continued. "It was a game to them."

"A cruel game." Aramis nodded. I was sat between him and Athos.

Rochefort showed his shoulder and I winced seeing the ugly scars. "This is what they did to me. I'm not ashamed to admit I begged for mercy." He hid his shoulder under his jacket. "Pain eats at the soul until there is nothing left of a man's courage or dignity. They stole my honour and I want it back."

"You have every reason to seek revenge." Athos told him. "But this mission is about rescuing General De Foix.

"I understand." Rochefort replied before getting up and walking off.


We woke up early and continued our trip to rescue De Foix.

"Ride on ahead. Take a look at the castle and report back." Athos instructed to D'Artagnan and me. "If anything goes wrong, your mission remains the same. Rescue him if you can, but if not, your orders are clear. De Foix cannot remain alive in Spanish hands."

D'Artagnan and I left without a word. We climbed the steep hill that was near the road. We rode to the castle for a few minutes before we heard shot rang through the woods. The blood in my veins turned to ice and I froze on my spot. I turned my horse about to go back to them. D'Artagnan reminded me of Athos' words; He reminded me that we have a mission to accomplish. He tried to reassure me that they'll be okay but I could see he didn't believe a word of what he was saying. Anyway, unwillingly, I listened to D'Artagnan and rode to the castle with him. Praying for Athos, Porthos and Aramis to be safe. Praying to God to keep the man I love safe, to keep my friends safe.


Once we arrived at the castle, we saw two guards keeping watch. Our problem was to find a way to get in without the Spanish shooting us on sight. There was a way to get in but for this we would have to swim. D'Artagnan and I hid our horses in the woods nearby. We undressed behind our horses, keeping only our undergarments and shirts on. There was no time for embarrassment, I think that the though didn't even cross our minds. We were only thinking about the mission. We dived into the cold water and swam closer to the small entrance in the walls. We both dived under the water to evaluate how long we would have to hold our breath. There were bars at a good distance. We would have to swim into a rather long tunnel before reaching it. We got back to the surface.

"Are we able to hold our breath that long?" I asked him brushing my hair out of my eyes.

"We don't have a choice." D'Artagnan replied.

We took in a large breath and dived one more time. We swam to the bars. They were rusted and one of them was broken. D'Artagnan used his dagger to break it some more, so we could get through. My lungs were burning already. D'Artagnan was struggling with the broken bar. Nonetheless, he was able to rip it away and pushed me through the small gap and followed right away. I get my head out of the water welcoming the air into my lungs, just relieved that I could breathe again. We were right into a well. So, we both started climbing through it.

As I was reaching the top of the well. Someone came to collect some water. The bucket went down almost touching us as it passed near us. Once the water was collected and the bucket was hissed back up. D'Artagnan stopped its course by grabbing the rope. The Spanish soldier looked down into the well to see what was wrong and I punched him, knocking him out. D'Artagnan followed me as I crouched down next to the Spanish soldier.

"We need another one." I said gesturing to the uniforms.

As the words left my mouth we heard footsteps coming our way. I pulled D'Artagnan behind the well. It was another Spanish who rushed to his fellow guards. As he was checking for a pulse, D'Artagnan and I got out of our hiding and before he could utter a word. D'Artagnan knocked him out.


We dragged both guards to the nearest room. There were several changing screens in the room. D'Artagnan started to undressed the two guards and threw the clothes of one of them to me as I was behind my changing screen. I was in the process of ripping my shirts, turning it into bandages. Bandages that I would use to bound my breast down. I was in the process of bounding my breast when someone came in. I froze. I looked between the small interstices to see a blonde woman undressing herself.

"Please, don't be alarmed." D'Artagnan said stepping from behind the screen. The blonde woman rushed away from covering herself. I rolled my eyes at D'Artagnan's tactics.

"Oh, my God!" D'Artgnan shushed her. I finished tying up the bandages around my breast. "Keep away." I threw the green shirt of the Spanish soldier over my head.

"Don't worry. I'm a gentleman." He reassured her.

"You're undressed!" She stated. I stepped from behind my screen in the green shirt.

"Not for your benefit. Believe me!" I told her. She glanced up at me and down at the two men.

"Dear God! Could you not have found some other place for your entertainment?" She questioned. I scrunched my nose at her remark.

"No, they're unconscious." D'Artagnan scoffed.

"You're not helping the situation, D'Artagnan." I chastised him.

"I'm D'Artagnan and she's Nellie of the king's musketeers, we've come to rescue General De Foix." D'Artagnan clarified.

"I'm Lucie De Foix, the…the General's sister." She introduced herself.

"Sister? I don't recall Rochefort saying anything about a sister." I frowned.

"Rochefort?" Lucie looked at me.

"Yes!" D'Artagnan replied.

"So, he's still alive?" She questioned.

"He is, and with us." D'Artagnan answered. "At least I hope he is."

Lucie ran behind the screen to change back into her clothes. I went behind mine and put on the rest of the uniform while she asked. "How many men do you have? 20? 100?"

"Two." D'Artagnan answered sheepishly.

"Two?"

"Yes, sorry to disappoint." I put on the jacket. "You need to take us to your brother." I told her while putting the jerkin on. I stepped out from behind the screen. "So hurry!" I picked up the hat of the second soldier and put it on to hide my long hair. The neat bun has come undone thanks to the water. "That goes for you too, D'Artagnan."


"Where is Rochefort now?" Lucie asked as we were walking to where her brother was being kept.

"We heard shooting, we have no idea what happened to him or our friends." D'Artagnan answered.

"So they might all be dead?" Lucie said. D'Artagnan glanced at me but I avoided his eyes. I tried not to think about this possibility. I swallowed my fear as one of the Spanish guards walked down the stairs. I hid my face under my hat.

Lucie walked before us, I followed her and D'Artagnan came third in the line. We walked through the numerous corridors of the castle. We used the set of keys that the guards we had knocked out had with them. There was the General De Foix with the one I presumed to be Governor Alvarez. D'Artagnan and I pointed our pistols at him. D'Artagnan put a finger to his lips instructing to Alvarez to remain quiet.

"What's going on?" De Foix asked getting up.

"They're musketeers. Their name are D'Artagnan and Nellie." Lucie explained to De Foix.

"Emma." I corrected instantly. "You, I want your sword." I asked Alvarez. He unsheathed his sword and passed it to me. I gave it to De Foix. "Sit."

D'Artagnan opened the door and checked for any soldiers that would come. He closed the door after a few seconds of inspection. Alvarez chuckled.

"So what do you propose to do now?" He asked

"First, stop you talking." D'Artagnan replied taking the scarf around his neck and used it to gag the Governor. "Hands behind your back." And used the scarf to tie up his hands.

"I have to say, he has a point." De Foix said. "What exactly is your plan?"

"We wait." I answered shortly.

"The guard check on us every hour." De Foix retorted.

"If my friends survive they will be here soon." D'Artagnan countered.

Not knowing if Athos has survived was eating at me. I did everything I could to not think about this possibility but what if Athos did not make it? What would I do then? I've never really asked myself the questions but for now I should not let them distract me.


I took off my hat and lowered the pistol. D'Artagnan was pacing up and down the room. De Foix checked for the guards once more.

"We should make a run for it." Lucie suggested.

"No, no, we'll never get more than a few yards. We wait." D'Artagnan refused the idea.

"Your friends are dead. We have to save ourselves." Lucie reasoned.

"They'll be here. They're not dead." I snapped not wanting to accept the possibility that Athos, Porthos and Aramis might actually be dead. Not wanting to accept the idea that yet, another one of my loved ones is gone.

I put my ears to the door and listened for any incoming. I heard keys jingling, heavy footsteps. I looked at D'Artagnan knowingly. If we were to fail, De Foix must not remain alive in Spanish hands.

"I'm sorry." D'Artagnan said pointing his pistol at De Foix.

"We are." I said standing next to D'Artagnan. "But we have orders."

"I understand." De Foix answered. D'Artagnan's hand was shaking. The guard outside was getting closer by the second.