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THE REVEAL

The four Musketeers stood at attention in the office, each lined in front of the large desk as Captain Tréville paced. "I am going to the palace this afternoon," the captain informed the four men facing the empty desk. "The king wants to read the reports from your assigned missions."

Captain Tréville returned to the desk waving the four papers emphatically in front of the men. "What is the king to say about these?" he threw the papers down with disgust.

"Um, you could accidentally lose the reports on the way to the palace," Aramis grinned sheepishly.

"Lose the reports?" Captain Tréville repeated with astonishment. "Do you think this is a joke? No, don't… don't answer that," Tréville held up his hand to the medic. "Either you're a glutton for punishment, Aramis, or you enjoy our regiment being heralded as a company of imbeciles."

"None of the above, sir," Aramis swallowed hard as his three friends glared.

"Captain, perhaps those parcels were just of routine import?" d'Artagnan reasoned as he bit his lower lip.

"They were probably invitations to his own birthday celebration," Aramis muttered. "The king is upset because he won't get as many presents."

"What was that, Aramis?" Captain Tréville snapped.

"Sir, if the parcels involved urgent state business or contained matters of national security, would not the king have taken further precautions?" d'Aragnan quickly interjected to sway the captain's wrath. "I mean, would His Majesty have sent us alone on such a mission without backup?"

"Indeed, His Majesty would certainly have been more vehement about taking explicit security precautions," Athos added dryly.

"Any mission the king assigns his Musketeers should be carried out with utmost care and caution," Tréville corrected his lieutenant. "Your performance on this mission has embarrassed His Majesty," the captain informed the group.

"Imagine our embarrassment," Aramis whispered under his breath.

"One more word out of you, Aramis…"

"Do you want company on your ride to the palace, Captain?" Athos quickly offered as he sent a warning glance to his medic friend.

"No, I want each of you out there," the captain outstretched his arm as he sharply pointed toward the courtyard, "training the new recruits." Tréville secured the papers in his leather satchel then stood with his hands on his hips. "Aramis, you have marksmanship training; Porthos, you have hand-to-hand defense; Athos and d'Artagnan, you will each supervise swordsmanship. Get going," the captain snapped, "all of you!"

The four men scrambled to the office door, bumping into each other in their hurry to put distance between themselves and the captain.

"Hey, watch my crutch," Aramis yelped. "You almost tripped me!"

"Oi, don't walk so slow then," Porthos scowled, "'specially not in front of me!"

"Well, it's a little difficult to run with a broken foot, mon ami," Aramis growled.

"You didn't find it too difficult to run from the enraged husband on a broken foot," d'Artagnan countered with a grin.

"That was different," Aramis retorted.

"How was it different?" d'Artagnan asked.

"Because… at the time… it was a matter of life and death!"

"Really, Aramis?" Athos rolled his eyes.

"Does the captain really want us to spar with the recruits like this?" d'Artagnan motioned to his right arm still wrapped in a sling and then to Athos's bandaged right hand.

"What, you can't spar left-handed?" Aramis quipped.

"Migh' be the only chance the recruits 'ave in beatin' you two fair and square—given that you're both handicapped," Porthos chuckled.

"Not funny," d'Artagnan glowered at his large friend.

"The captain said supervise swordsmanship," Athos corrected the Gascon. "You can spar with the recruits if you'd like as I happily watch," he ghosted a grin.

Louvre Palace:

"These are the official reports from the parcel mission?" King Louis asked as he rifled through the papers, his brow furrowed with a deep frown.

Cardinal Richelieu stood nearby, absently twirling his thumbs while doing little to hide his pleased grin. "I told you so," he boasted under his breath.

"Told him what?" Captain Tréville asked, glancing with surprise between the two men.

"I will not have you gloat, Cardinal!" the king snapped angrily, ignoring the captain.

"Yes, of course, Your Majesty," Cardinal Richelieu bowed low to hide his spreading grin. "Forgive me, Sire."

"Captain, seeing that my Musketeers failed—miserably, I might add— with each of their assigned tasks, I may as well enlighten you on the test we were conducting." King Louis threw the four papers aside with disgust.

"What test?" Captain Tréville asked sharply, eyeing the cardinal suspiciously. "Your Majesty, what test are you referring to?"

"The cardinal thought it would be enlightening—indeed, most telling—to test the proficiency of my Musketeers in comparison to his Guards," the king replied casually.

"The Musketeers were to be tempted with various distractions to see how easily they might lose focus and be—shall we say, lured—into a situation in which their secret parcel could be stolen." Cardinal Richelieu explained on behalf of the king.

"Wait a minute," Tréville stepped toward the cardinal, his fists balled in anger. "What do you mean, 'lured' into a situation?"

"The situations your men found themselves in were prearranged," Richelieu reported with a smirk. "The participants were especially chosen for each scenario and Musketeer; all fine actors from Théâtre du Marais, who did indeed perform splendidly."

Captain Tréville stood motionless, too stunned at the news to speak; his features soon hardened as his surprise turned into anger at the revelation. "You mean to tell me, Your Majesty, the assignment to deliver your secret parcels was just a ruse… a test to see if my men could be distracted?" Tréville struggled to maintain his temper in front of the king.

"It was a test, Captain, to see if my Musketeers could successfully complete their assignment despite said distractions." The king rose from his chair to pace the floor as the captain stood at attention. "I expect my Musketeers to complete their missions entirely successfully without being averted by scandalous distractions."

"Please, Your Eminence, tell me that the house fire Athos encountered was not part of your ruse," Captain Tréville inquired warily.

"Captain Tréville," Cardinal Richelieu placidly replied, "is your regard of me so abhorrent you would accuse me of such a heinous act as burning a family's home to the ground? Really, Captain," the cardinal made a tsk, tsk sound. "I do have a moral conscience and I answer to a Higher Power," he grinned. "No, Athos never arrived at his assigned destination so he was never properly tested," he answered coolly. "Nevertheless, he is still being marked as failing his assignment—given that he was distracted… multiple times."

"Surely, you would not presume that Athos should have ridden past that house fire while ignoring the mother's screams for help, Your Eminence?"

"That was an unfortunate distraction…"

"And what of the bandits?"

"They were not planned either, Captain," Richelieu reported dryly. "Ah, but for Athos, I could not have planned a more perfectly customized ruse—though I still consider his assignment a failure."

"I would not say that his mission was entirely a failure, Your Eminence," Captain Tréville countered as he pulled a package from his doublet pocket. "Athos was nearly killed trying to deliver this phony parcel to Meaux," he held up the package. "A Good Samaritan came along at the right time and killed a bandit that would have taken Athos's life; that same anonymous rescuer returned this package to me after bringing Athos back to the garrison."

"And your point is, Captain?" the cardinal asked with obvious disinterest.

"The point is, Your Eminence, that Athos's 'failure' to complete his mission successfully proved that there are still good people in this world—a world full of deceivers and thieves—who are honest, genuine, valiant and who dare to put the needs of others before their own," Captain Tréville stated proudly. "Whether those needs are of a young lady in distress or a child trapped in a burning house; or a Good Samaritan helping to rescue a stranger from certain death, and also by giving him aid as he was able and returning a package that he easily could have stolen without consequence."

"There are good people everywhere as there are bad people everywhere," Cardinal Richelieu waved his hand with indifference. "You are forgetting to whom you are addressing, Captain. As a man of the cloth, I see good and bad people every single day; your point is moot."

"Your Eminence, my men were each…"

"My men, Captain Tréville," Louis corrected abruptly.

Tréville clenched his jaw, fighting to keep his temper in check, while taking in deep breaths before daring to speak. "Your men, Your Majesty, were injured as a result of those tests. Whether planned or not, some of the injuries could have been quite serious—even fatal—and all for an ill-conceived ruse?"

"The injuries are unfortunate, Captain," the king sighed. "However, I did need to know where improvements could be made within my own Musketeer regiment. If there are weaknesses to be improved upon, Captain, would it not be prudent to discover those weaknesses during a test rather than in a real situation?"

"The actors were far more forgiving than a genuine miscreant would have been, Captain," Cardinal Richelieu smiled smugly.

"My men…" Tréville dug his fingernails into his palms, "His Majesty's men, did not need to be hurt in order to be tested. Those men are Musketeers; they are not green recruits never having seen the dawn of battle. Aramis has a broken ankle…"

"Which he received from jumping out of a second story window while entertaining a man's wife," the cardinal interrupted.

"Porthos was stabbed, then hit over the head and tied to a pole," the captain pressed onward. "While d'Artagnan had his arm dislocated by being crudely twisted behind his back; he was also knocked unconscious."

"Your men were the aggressors and had to be subdued," the cardinal countered. "My people acted in self-defense; they felt their lives were threatened."

"Their lives were threatened?" the captain was aghast. "You cannot be serious, Your Eminence! My men… His Majesty's men were not the aggressors," he snarled. "d'Artagnan was aiding a mademoiselle being harassed…"

"Enough, Captain!" King Louis clipped loudly. "I have heard enough; I will not listen to this pointless argument any longer. I will have the four men here at the palace—when they have recovered sufficiently from their injuries—to join with the Red Guards in remedial training sessions at the cardinal's discretion."

"Remedial training sessions?" Tréville repeated in disbelief, "and at the cardinal's discretion? But, Your Majesty…"

"That is all, Captain," the king replied curtly. "You are dismissed."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Tréville bowed in resignation to his king. The Musketeer captain turned on his heel sighing deeply, though wisely keeping quiet.

"Oh, one more thing, Captain…"

Musketeer Garrison:

Captain Tréville rode into the garrison in a surly mood. He allowed the stable boy to take his horse then stormed into his office without speaking a word to anyone. The four men watched their captain's hardened demeanor, exchanging worried glances as their eyes followed him all the way to his office.

"Uh oh," Aramis groaned. "It certainly doesn't appear that his visit to the palace went well."

"Oi, the cap'n looks furious," Porthos swallowed hard.

"Should we ask the captain how it went at… the… palace," d'Artagnan quieted, hesitating at the reaction to his ridiculous suggestion.

"I'm not going anywhere near the captain," Aramis let out a huff of breath. "Not for a long time, by the look of things."

"Do you have a bloody death wish, whelp?" Porthos growled.

"Athos?" the three friends echoed together.

Athos glanced at his friends in surprise. The three brothers stared back, pleading; all eyes looked to him as their leader… and the chosen one to address their captain.

"Don't look at me," Athos countered.

"You are his second-in-command, Athos," Aramis reasoned logically.

"Indeed you are!" Porthos clapped Athos on the shoulder. "Go find out wha' 'appened at the palace, lieutenant."

Athos narrowed his eyes as he glared at his three friends, "you're each going to owe me…"

"Fine, whatever you say," Aramis waved his hand. "We'll gladly return the favor as long as it's you up there facing the captain and not us."

"Perhaps we should make ourselves scarce," d'Artagnan suggested as Athos climbed the stairs to the captain's office.

"Think the pup's right," Porthos swallowed hard as Athos glowered at him from the office door.

"Let's make ourselves busy with the new recruits," Aramis suggested as the three men scattered.

Athos slammed the office door then grasped the balcony railing with both hands to calm his temper and slow his rapid breathing. He leaned over as a coughing fit resonated through his body, taking him by surprise; he endured the fit—as a mere annoyance—while holding onto the railing for support until it passed.

"Damn," Athos cursed as he weakly pulled himself to full height. The Musketeer cleared his throat then angrily shoved the hat on his head; he paused at the scrutinizing, ever-observant and worried glances of Aramis watching him from afar. Captain Tréville soon joined his lieutenant on the balcony and stood quietly until, at last, he released an apprehensive sigh.

"Let's gather the others; they need to know what's going on."

~§~

"What do you mean, it was a ruse?" d'Artagnan gasped in surprise.

"Wait a damn minute…" Porthos growled angrily.

"You're telling us the entire mission—delivering phony packages to a phony rendezvous—was all prearranged by the king and the cardinal?" Aramis's face reddened as his temper flared. "Madre de Dios! God help me, I'd like to give them both a piece of my mind!"

"Well, you're not going to, Aramis," the captain abruptly interjected. "You would be way out of line, soldier! Besides, I already voiced my grievance at this… rather unexpected revelation."

"It was all an act, Captain?" d'Artagnan clarified as his eyes widened with realization. "So, Valérie crying at the fountain…"

"… was hired by the cardinal," Captain Tréville finished the Gascon's sentence. "The people you encountered—the suspects regarding your lost parcels—were all hand-picked by Richelieu to distract you in the manner the cardinal felt would be most successful."

"I don't believe it," d'Artagnan uttered in shock. "Valérie was so convincing, her tears were certainly real. I thought she was in trouble—that she needed my help!"

"So the husband and wife were working together!" Aramis was incredulous. He sat with his mouth agape before angrily covering it with his balled fist as he seethed. "I jumped out of a second story window in the dark and broke my foot for an act? Mother Mary, I'd like to get my hands on that couple!"

An angry, throaty growl soon emerged from Porthos as he slammed his hands down on the table. "Damn them, they accused me of cheatin'!"

"Alright… alright enough!" Tréville yelled over the discussion, holding his hands up to quiet the angry men. "I understand you're upset and I agree with you wholeheartedly," he shook his head. "You have every right to be angry but there is nothing we can do about it now. Gentlemen, you must learn from this and never let it happen again."

"Captain, you know that we always perform our duty to the utmost of our ability; as King's Musketeers we take our assignments very seriously," Athos methodically stated. "But there are situations which come up that may temporarily pull us away from our duty—such as that house fire—that must take priority… if it's a matter of life or death."

"Mon Dieu, surely the house fire was not set on purpose!" Aramis was aghast.

"No, it was not," Tréville quickly replied. "Athos never went through his prearranged distraction since he didn't make it to Meaux," he scowled. "I have no idea what the cardinal had planned for him there."

"Nor do I care to find out," Athos protested.

"I was helping a young lady I thought was being harassed by a couple of hooligans," d'Artagnan complained angrily. "Should I have turned away and done nothing?"

"Gentlemen, I would have done exactly what you did if I were in a similar circumstance," Captain Tréville stated but then paused to rethink his statement. "Well, I would have done as two of you did in such circumstances," the captain motioned to Athos and d'Artagnan.

d'Artagnan raised his eyebrows, grinning at Aramis and Porthos as he relished in the captain's esteemed comment. The Gascon was rewarded with two very irritated growls.

"The king is very upset that you all failed," Captain Tréville paused, "while the cardinal is gloating and has declared his ruse a success."

"Of course, the cardinal would gloat," Aramis muttered under his breath.

"The king suggested that you each be retested..."

"Not a chance!" Athos growled.

"Rubbish, if the king thinks…" Porthos's thoughts were interrupted by Aramis.

"I didn't sign up with the Musketeers to be a test dummy," Aramis retorted with anger.

"I respectfully told His Majesty that his men were soldiers not pawns to be played in a game of deception," the captain paused.

"And…?" the men echoed.

"And the king determined…" the captain took a deep breath, "the king determined that you shall undergo remedial training with the Cardinal's Red Guard. He also elected to have you stand guard at the palace for the upcoming summer entertainment—lawn games and such—as well as the queen's tea parties and masquerade balls."

"I think I'd rather do a re-test," d'Artagnan complained.

"Oi, 'at means standing around in the damn heat with flies… and sweat… and blazin' heat…"

"Can we opt to re-test instead?" Aramis frowned.

"I'm afraid it's not open for discussion; the king has made up his mind." Tréville abruptly ended the conversation, feeling a headache coming on. "You men are dismissed."

The four men glanced at each other in stunned silence. Without a word, the Musketeers turned to go back to their picnic table, each reeling in shock from the revealed ruse.

"Oh, Athos," Tréville called after his lieutenant, stopping him in his tracks. "The king does have an additional assignment for you..."

The End

Thoughts to Ponder:

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