Wow there's a lot of visitors to this story, im going to take that as a good sign and continue with this plot line ;) after all, its barely begun ;) poor Athos

Opening his bleary eyes and squinting against the early light of the sun that shone threateningly over the horizon, Athos stumbled to his unsteady feet, quickly attending to his first order of business in the lavatory, bending over the bowl and expelling all manners of liquids he could manage before placing a hand on his pounding head.

Wine had not been the wisest solution to his problems last night, it seemed.

Wiping a hand across his sweat stained brow, Athos took a glance at his dreadful appearance in the cracked mirror ahead.

It looked like he had attempted twelve rounds with the back end of a horse and lost; his heavily sunburnt, red skin matching his blood shot eyes while his greasy hair that stuck up in every direction and a shadow of a beard grasped at his jaw line -completing his 'homeless drunk' fashion.

The fact that he had at some point torn his now dishevelled shirt and left his suspenders handing down the lengths of his thighs only served to complement his new look.

God forbid he stand in the shadows, unless he wanted to give someone a heart attack or provoke search for the new monster in town, Athos rolled his watering eyes.

Perhaps he had gone twelve rounds with a horse and lost he contemplated more seriously, he could hardly remember what had happened after all, let alone what direction was up what with the hangover he was now sporting.

Groaning quietly, Athos exited the lavatory and shuffled to a stop to stare at the half opened door to his room, debating whether or not he should be so cruel as to tip his peacefully sleeping brothers out of bed.

Reminding himself that he would have to put up with their obnoxious banter for an extra few hours, Athos wisely chose on the latter and turned to head down the stairs. A good full meal would do him good, and a big cup of fresh water would probably help too.

~o0o~

Just when Athos' mood was beginning to pick up and his body slowly relaxed at the relief provided by his new source of nourishment, Treville burst in through the doors, eyes searching the few occupants quickly before landing on Athos.

Athos cringed inwardly as Treville hastily paced over to his lounging position at the back wall.

Why couldn't he catch a break lately!?

Meeting Treville with an expectant gaze, his captain wasted no time in reporting newly acquired information on the status of Duchess Margaret Lowell of Caen; a powerful woman -and cousin of the queen- who rumour had it, had set about visiting her relatives some time soon.

According to Treville, that 'some time soon,' was right now and considering that her visit had not been officially organized, he'd had no time to establish a suitable escort for her royal protection.

Treville looked pleadingly at Athos, a question on his lips but hesitant to ask it at seeing his mans current state.

Sighing inwardly, Athos nodded his acceptance of the task, rising as quickly as he could and following a grateful looking Treville back out of the dining area and down to the stables while he continued to impart to Athos' his foremost priorities and duties for the day.

Reaching his tied mount in the stables, Treville offered him a final nod of thanks and wishes of good luck on his new mission.

Athos sped his horse to a gallop down the empty streets of Paris towards his destination, berating himself over his loyalty and obedience.

Though they were respected traits for a man to have and often gained him a fine status as a musketeer and skilled fighter, he doubted they would offer any comfort in the events that lay ahead.

It would have been so easy to just use the valid excuse regarding his poor condition and let some other poor soul carry out the task for him.

But oh no, not him. No, Athos of the kings musketeers must carry out every task handed to him. Well now he was going to pay for it.

Why did royals have to be a royal pain in the ass!? Athos almost cried aloud in anguish.

He had already suffered at the injustice dealt out by the sun -as if it were punishment for some unknown deed- and now he must entertain this Margaret woman, no doubt a snooty, over fed, pompous woman with an inflated ego. All. Day. Long.

He almost wished the sun would burn him to a crisp than deal with her nagging talk for another twelve hours, Athos thought hopefully, his frown deepening as he spotted the back of the one and only Duchess Margaret while she tried to step out of her carriage and refrain from getting her skirts caught in the door, ahead of him at the end of the street.

As Athos approached, he found himself pleasantly surprised to find that his earlier assumptions were somewhat off, inspecting the young woman and taking in her richly coloured skin tone, the golden ringlets cascading over a single shoulder to rest at the top of her elegant but simple white dress that hinted at her finely shaped figure.

Concealing the shock on his face, Athos quickly dismounted and knelt on the ground before her as she began to turn from the carriage steps.

Piercing green eyes met his when he dared to look up, an infectious smile spreading across her face as she looked down upon his gentlemanly gesture.

Perhaps today would not be as horrible as he had initially thought, Athos pondered, matching her expression with a friendly smile as he rose to his full height by her side.

He could get used to this guard detail thing.

I'd like to point out here that these feminine details are stereotypical and not worth wasting time pursuing, everyone is perfect the way they are! I merely sought to 'over perfect-ify?' (can't think of the word) her qualities in this…so I could leave a twist! ;)

Anyways, please leave a review!