Chapter 40

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After the death of the Ambassador Perales, the Captain has been dismissed by the King Louis XII. I won't be surprised if Rochefort was behind all of this. Officially there's no new Captain and I'm afraid that we might be under Rochefort's authority.

As usual after my visit to Petit Lord, I stopped by the market and walked back to the garrison, only to be stopped by my three fellow musketeers.

"Do you know where Athos is?" D'Artagnan was the first to ask.

"I don't know. Why?" I returned him the question.

"He hasn't been at the garrison for days." Aramis replied.

"I wouldn't worry if I were you. He must be drinking wine somewhere or probably hang over." I shrugged walking past them.

"Emma, we already checked and no one has seen him in days." Porthos called after me.

I turned to them a bit worried. "What does the Captain think of all of this?" I asked them. They didn't answer.


"A letter from the estate of the Comte de la Fere asking Athos to return." D'Artagnan read out as we were trying to find some evidence as to where Athos might be.

"All in the same hand. Signed by an innkeeper at Pinon." Aramis added.

"We are in desperate need of your protection. We entreat you to return to us and honour the responsibility of your family." I read one of the letter.

"There's your answer, then. Family business. Nothing to do with us." Tréville said reasonably.

"I don't know if you noticed but none of those letters has been opened." I pointed out. "Athos never read them which means he has no idea what's happening on his lands."

"What do you suggest?" Tréville questioned me crossing his arms on his chest.

"Pinon is only a day's ride away. We could just check." D'Artagnan answered him before I could. "Unless, you'd rather stay here, shoveling sh…"

"Surely anything's better than that?" Aramis asked before D'Artagnan could say one more word.

"All right. I'll ride with you, but as a comrade, not your commanding officer." The Captain made that point clear for us.

"Whatever you say, Captain." D'Artagnan patted his shoulder before leaving the room.


Athos might in Pinon or not and if this is the case then he's in danger. So, I prayed during the ride that he was in Pinon, on his lands, safe. "Let Athos be safe. Let Athos be safe." I was repeating this in my mind like a chant, a prayer. Something that I held onto as if it was my last hope or something. As I might have said before I have ended everything between us, I have ignored him and didn't talk to him but I still love him. I am in love with him and I couldn't bear the thought of Athos being in danger.

When we finally reached Pinon, all the villagers were gathered. They turned around as they saw us arrived. Athos was with them and walked to us, his hands tied up. I literally jumped down my horse and cut off his bounds.


Renard, a landlord, wants to steal Athos' lands for him and is destroying the villagers' life. That's why they needed him. Athos offered him to give up his title in exchange his tenants must be left in peace but Renard double crossed him.

"Are you alright?" I questioned him as I passed him D'Artagnan's cloak to cover himself.

"Fine." Athos replied. Aramis and Porthos was taking care of the innkeeper of Pinon.

"Athos?" D'Artagnan joined us. "Give up your title if it makes you happy. I mean that." Athos stared at the ground. "But think about these people. They live on your land. They need your help."

"I have nothing to offer them." Athos replied to him.

"If I didn't know you better, I'd say that sounded pretty cowardly." Porthos told him.

"Get out of my way." Athos warned him.

"The Athos I know always fights against injustice." Porthos continued. "Wherever he finds it."

"Not here. Not this time." I shook my head at his words. I knew the reason why he didn't want to help these people: his past was haunting this place. His past named Milady de Winter. Porthos got out of his ways and Athos kept walking to his horse.

D'Artagnan looked at me briefly and seeing that I wasn't about to intervene, he did. "I thought Milady's influence over you was done." D'Artagnan walked up to him. "Let this happen and they become her victims too. Athos, these people have no other protection."

"Only us." Tréville intervened this time.

"This is not your fight." He retorted.

"It is now." Porthos replied.

"And I like it here." Aramis chimed in.

Athos ignored them, took his horse and left the village. D'Artagnan called after him but he just kept going. I pushed myself away from the tree I was leaning on and followed Athos' path.

"Nellie, what are you doing?"

"Following Athos." I answered climbing on my horse. "I'll make him see reason." I promised him.

"Just don't kill him." D'Artagnan joked.

"Not making any promises." I replied in the same joking manner.


It might have crossed your mind that I didn't know where Athos was headed to. And it crossed mine too but I did know where he was going. He was going to that same house that has been burned down by Milady herself about a year ago. As I followed him there, I realized that Athos has a place to remember Milady by. A place where he actually built a home with her, a life. Whereas Athos and I have none. I mean we have the garrison but this where we work as Musketeers. As people, as a couple, we don't have a place of our own. One more reason for me to dislike and to envy Milady. She had with Athos what I don't with him.


The door was opened as I stepped in. The place charred and ruined. Everything has been turned to ashes.

"Athos?" I called out but no one answered to me. "Athos?" I called a second time. Receiving no answer I climbed up the stairs.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" I heard a woman asked behind me.

I turned around slowly. She was a beautiful woman with red hair and wearing a rather fancy dress. "I'm Emma of the King's musketeers. My friend, Athos, used to live here."

"Athos is your friend?" She questioned her chin up.

"Yes and I am here to speak with him about the fate of his tenants." I told her.

She climbed the stairs and walked past me. I sighed sensing that she didn't like me very much and I must say that I didn't like her very much either. I followed her upstairs. She stood in the corridor and called Athos twice. I stopped next to her and saw that Athos seemed to be lost in his thoughts.

"Athos!" I called this time and he turned around sharply.

"Catherine." Athos recognized the woman standing next to me. And I felt really good with him not acknowledging me. Athos walked to us and Catherine moved to the stairs. Athos and I followed her.

"When my father died, his debts took everything, including the house." Catherine started clearly speaking to Athos. "So, I moved into your servant quarters. I didn't think you'd object."

She moved to a part of the house that haven't been touched by the fire. She stepped into a small room. It wasn't really small and it was better than the house I lived in, in the court of miracles.

"You live like this?" Athos asked her. There were spices hung on the ceiling, a small bed in front of the fire place and two chairs. It might not be the comfort she was used to live in but it wasn't that terrible.

"I survive. It's not quite what I was promised when I was betrothed to your brother." She replied. Athos looked around the small room as Catherine offered me to sit in one of the chair. "I hunt and trap my own food. It's amazing what you can learn when you're run out of choices." She moved closer to Athos and took the bow he was holding off of his hands. She took his wrist in her hand. "I can give you something for that."

"I saw you in the village." Athos told her as Catherine moved away from him. "I didn't recognize you. The clothes…"

"I'm told this is the height of fashion in Paris." Catherine scoffed.

"That was quite a shot you made." Athos complimented her. I got up feeling left out of this conversation and sensing that they might need to talk to each other alone.

"I'll wait for you outside." I said shortly before exiting the room.

Before I could reach the door someone grabbed my arm and pulled me to them. "Emma?" I could feel Athos' breath on my face. "Why have you followed me?"

"I followed you to make you see reason." I replied ripping my arm from his grip and stepping backwards. Putting some distance between us. "D'Artagnan is right. Your people don't need to be pusnished for what Milady did to you in the past. They need you and your protection." I exhaled. "I'll help you. We all will but you'll have to fight."

"Is that all you wanted to tell me?" Athos asked stoic.

"Yes. That'll be all." I said frustrated at his lack of emotion right now. "I'll wait for you outside while you'll talk about the good old times with yet another woman of your past." I spat out.

"Are you jealous?" Athos questioned me frowning this time.

"I'm not jealous. I…" I stopped myself and looked at the ground briefly. "Alright, maybe I'm jealous." I admitted. "I'll be outside." He was so infuriating sometimes.