A/N

RE her sitting the attack out: I think that she tends to do that in the show as well - she never rushes head first, she always calculates for the best moment to step in, especially if she's not alone in the fight. Obviously her reasoning was - she could have helped anyway, and had they been in a different situation she would. But as they were attacked and Athos's mistake became obvious, she decided not to intervene until really necessary, to teach him a lesson. He did avoid asking someone to accompany them out of pride. It did cost him. She did intervene, killing the robber who attacked her, but not until Athos paid for his mistake, or in this case the coachman did. She gave him an explanation that they both knew was a technicality, but she did have a point - she didn't have to fight, she didn't have to protect the coachman, it was indeed his job. She let him fail at it. She didn't plan for it all to happen, but when it did, she played it the way she wanted and that's all there is to it really.

The story is written from Athos's POV, and he doesn't really understand her motivations and she doesn't really tell him all the truth. So it might be a bit confusing to read, i think, but I hope their true intentions still come through. They will reach more understanding as the story progresses - that's the whole point of writing it for me anyway))

RE Athos being a prig - come on, he hung her because he felt it was a right thing to do, he was a prig long before musketeers came along. And she respects him for his principles, but in my opinion he is spoiled - it's easy for him to see life in black and white being borne Comte and living the low life of a soldier because he chooses to. Milady knows there are many shades in between and she's planning to introduce him to each and every one of them - it starts happening really quickly - from the moment he agrees to lie about the necklace.

Also, not everything Milady does is about Athos. Maybe she just hated Clarisse instantly and was intrigued by the fact that some girl pretended to be a dirty mute stable boy? (cause that's exactly what happened and infuriating Athos was like a bonus. A fat one.)

Thank you for reading and your thoughtful reviews! I love them so much! Don't stop))

On to the next part.

Part 7

The screams were coming from a small servant room next to the Royal Suite and Athos kicked the door open without a second thought. The stable boy now known as the stable girl was trashing on her bed, devoured by what looked like a nightmare, kicking and screaming. Athos moved to her side immediately:

"Wake up! You're having a bad dream, and you're going to wake the whole palace!" He shook her gently, then added more force, but she kept fighting whatever demons possessed her in the dream and wouldn't come round.

"Get off me, get off me!" She cried and Athos slapped her, hoping that would make her snap out of it. Her eyes did snap wide open then. "Get off me!" She screamed once again, kicking against him with all her might which was not much at all considering their weight difference, but her sharp knees and fists were still quite painful without the protection of a thick leather vest.

"Calm down." He said evenly, holding her down on the bed. "It was just a dream, you're safe."

"Get off me!" She cried once more, grabbing, pushing and pulling at his white shirt, tears flowing down her cheeks, "Please, let go if me!"

"When a woman tell you to get off her you get off her!" Milady's razor sharp voice intervened and Athos released the girl, who scattered to the further edge of the bed, wrapping herself up in a blanket, curled up like a child, her eyes wide with shock.

"I was just trying to help." Athos stepped away from the bed, fixing his shirt that was in a sorry state after the girl's attack.

"I'm not saying you weren't." Milady, clad in a dark long robe over her nightshirt, her hair loose. set the candle she was holding on the small table beside the bed and moved to the girl's side. "Leah? Look at me. I said look at me!"

So it's Lea then. Athos watched Leah's eyes focus on Milady as she brushed the short hair out of the girl's face. Leah was still shaking, but it seemed like the worst of it has passed.

"I… I'm sorry" she breathed out. "It almost never happens anymore." Leah gulped and wrapped herself in a blanket tighter.

"Athos, if you want to help get some cognac." Milady said and Athos caught her staring at Lea with an expression he thought long-lost for her, the expression he still remembered quite well as it haunted him on the lonelier night. It was care.

"Cognac? Are you sure that's…" her soft features sharpened when her eyes shot at him, sparkling in the dark, it was like a musket coming off all of a sudden. Leah was still trembling and Athos decided cognac might not be the worst idea.

He found it in the kitchens downstairs and eyed the glasses. Grabbing three wasn't easy, but he managed to balance them and the bottle and hurried upstairs. Thankfully the halls were empty: explaining Lea to everyone now might prove tricky. She was their secret, even if only for the night. Ironic, how he and the King's mistress now shared this living breathing and terrified secret, and it felt raw and fresh unlike the past they kept going back to.

Hushed voices were coming from the room, Athos couldn't discern the exact words, so he knocked and pushed the door open for the second time tonight, but with much more consideration.

In the candlelight they looked like two perfect opposites. Milady, lean and dark, poised, her arm wrapped around the girl's shoulders, her face open and sympathetic, her mouth curved in a soothing smile, looked more beautiful then ever and Leah with her now clean face, framed by short blond curls, with her porcelain skin and bright blue eyes resembled an angel.

Athos felt like an intruder, so he waved the cognac awkwardly, reminding them why he was there. He set the glasses on the table and pulled the cork out when he felt more then heard Milady come up to him. He poured the drinks and reached for the first one, planning to give it to Leah, when his fingers brushed hers, already wrapped around the cool glass.

It was their first unintentional touch since forever, it was the first touch since forever that didn't bear anger or pain or guilt or seduction. It made his breath catch and it took him a while to remember he was supposed to let go of her fingers as if they burned him, not hold on to them for as long as he has. He withdrew his hand then, but not before he felt her gaze on him, thoughtful and understanding of something he himself didn't quite grasp yet.

"Here," next thing he knew she was by Leah's side, giving her the glass. "Drink this. It will help."

"Not for long," Athos felt obliged to share his knowledge about drowning one's sorrows in drink and Milady rolled her eyes at him.

"As long as it gets you through the night. Drink."

Leah did and coughed as the cognac burned it's way down her throat.

"Easy." Athos took a sip himself, unable to resist the calling of the dark amber liquid. The heat rolling on his tongue was familiar and welcome, making him close his eyes in pleasure. This sure was a very good cognac, the kind to be appreciated, not the kind to be used as a remedy for nightmares. It was simply unlucky to be found in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"This is terrible." Leah admitted, taking another sip and winced from he bitterness of the drink.

"I see you are all better now," Milady smiled and stood up, "It should knock you out so that I can finally get some sleep, I'm exhausted."

Athos frowned at her blatant display of disregard for Leah's well being, but the girl surprised him by laughing at Milady's snide remark.

"Thank you." Leah chucked, her eyes happy, all the remains of her nightmare gone for good. "Sir, pour me some more," she smiled at Athos, "I don't want to risk disturbing Milady again."

"I think that one glass should do it." Smirking back at her was easy and natural, like he hadn't just met her dressed up as a boy, like she hadn't just tried to fight him off as if he was threatening her life.

"And if it doesn't," Milady said, heading for the door, "do feel free to disturb me without having Athos kick your door in. I have to endure his company all day long on King's orders and believe me, it's tiring enough to make me want the nights to myself." Athos tried to contain a smile, realising that while her previous remark was ill-advised humour, this just now had been an offering of comfort.

"I will try, Milady." Leah smiled shyly, the offer accepted with grace. "She likes you," the girl said, after Milady disappeared into her Royal suite leaving them alone in the tiny room. Her words were met with a blank stare as Athos took another sip from his glass. Hates him, taunts him, tortures him more likely, but what would Leah the stable girl know. "I'm sorry about hurting you," she added, breaking the silence once again.

"It is me who should apologise for overstepping." Athos grabbed the bottle and headed for the door. "Doesn't mean you won't have to explain this whole masquerade to me tomorrow. Good night, Leah."

In his own rooms he helped himself to more cognac, hoping it would knock him out just like Milady said, hoping it would erase the image of her taking care of the girl, hoping it would make her candle-lit face disappear from his memory. It did knock him out eventually, but it was useless against her candle-lit face he realised as it was the last thing on his mind before he finally fell into the embrace of the darkness and calm.

The morning welcomed him with a headache and for a split second he wondered how could that be, before remembering last night. Robbers. Beautiful Palace. Insufferable Clarisse. Stable boy. Leah. Milady. His wife. Her fingers under his touch. Her candle-lit face. The cognac. He searched for a bottle on the floor and his fingers brushed against the lush carpet before closing against the glass. Luckily for him there was some liquid left inside, promising to ease his state, luring him to go find more. He told himself to stop: duty before drink, that was how he functioned, not the other way around. And it seemed that for the next four days his duty would be round-the-clock, so the drink would have to wait.

The first person he met was the last person he wanted to see - Clarisse was walking up the stairs when she saw him in the gallery, a ready smile blooming on her face at once.

"Monsieur Athos! Good morning." She reverenced when she was close enough, an unnecessary gesture that his soldier status didn't call for. "I hope you found the rooms and the… company pleasing?"

"Have you seen Milady?" Athos chose to ignore her dirty innuendo, for it was utterly ridiculous to even consider.

"I think she is in the ballroom, the dress maker has arrived to consult with her." Clarisse was still beaming at him in the most annoying fashion.

"Thank you." he made himself smile at her in spite of irritation. It wasn't easy, but her following words made it impossible:

"No one has seen Luke though. I hope he is alright?"

"You didn't seem to care too much for his well-being last night" He remembered her demeaning attitude towards the boy all too well to believe in her sincere concern.

"I didn't know his destiny would be so… intriguing." Clarisse reached out to trace his vest with her fingers. The fingers that he caught in his, and pushed away with just enough force to make her flinch.

"Intrigue is a dangerous game, Clarisse, I'd advise you not to engage in it." She held his gaze, but her fear was obvious. "Now. Show me to the ballroom."