"Wow," whispered Porthos as they made their way up the long expanse towards the manor house. The sprawling lawn was lined with fruit trees in flower and was crowned by the grand home at its end. To the south, the property led to a steady slope down to a beach where the waves could be heard crashing below. A dense wooded area surrounded the rest of the home. Armed guard stood at attention every twenty paces.

Aramis' back was stiff, his sharp instincts on an even higher alert as they made their way up the steps of his father's home and into the foyer where they were met by a sour, middle-aged valet.

"The master is not at home," announced the man, voice immediately dripping with condescension. "I suggest you return from whence you came. I shall have my master's men remove you from the property."

"That won't be necessary," responded Athos with all the indifference his noble upbringing had afforded him. "We are here on a private business matter. Inform your master of our arrival in town where we will be staying until our business is concluded."

"What business could you have with my master?" replied the man, meeting Athos' cold indifference with steely derision.

Aramis scowled. "We come with a message from the King. The General is duty-bound to accept and respond to the missive. Do not play your games, Charles. Tell the General that we will return tomorrow," he said, eyes flashing, battling his anger.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," tutted Charles. "All these years and you are still an undisciplined, prideful mongrel…"

"Hey!" shouted Porthos, stepping forward, stopped only by Athos' outstretched arm.

"Tell the General we shall return tomorrow." Aramis repeated coldly as he turned on his heel and headed out the door, Porthos in step behind him.

Athos hovered a moment longer and leant in towards Charles. "For a man of the General's reputation, the impudence of his serving staff is astounding...I may tell the General how this will be included in my report to his Majesty. The King is so detail oriented after all and as his representatives, he's always very concerned over how we are receive in his service," he whispered, voice full of menace. He followed his brothers outside, smirking at the look of panic evident on the rude valet's face.

Outside in the courtyard, Athos found Aramis pacing furiously while Porthos attempted to calm him.

"I never should have come on this mission. I can't stand being back here, surrounded by them. So many years and nothing has changed. Why did I come? I never should have agreed to this mission…"

"How is he?" Athos asked sarcastically.

"Bright as a rainbow," Porthos responded. Aramis glared at them.

"Let's get out of here. I need a drink," he snapped and began marching towards the stables.

"Isn't that typically your line?" Porthos muttered to Athos with a small wink as they followed in the marksman's wake, nearly toppling over him when he came to a sudden and unexpected halt just outside the stable doors.

What had brought Aramis to his screeching halt was immediately obvious. Standing in front of the stable doors was one of the most beautiful women Porthos had ever seen. The wind tugged at her dark curls which were pulled back and cascaded down her shoulders. Her fair complexion was rose tinged and kissed by the sun. Large green eyes showed a cavalcade of warring emotions as she looked out at the marksman.

"Rene…" she said breathlessly, her voice rich with music and emotion. Her lower lip quivered slightly.

"Annabella…" In three strides, the marksman and the woman closed the distance between them and met in a tight embrace. They stayed that way for a few moments, ecstasy written on both their faces, before Annabella pulled away, laughing and wiping tears from her face, overcome with emotion. Porthos had never seen such a beautiful sight.

"Rene!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here? Why did you come back? I thought I would never see you again," she cried and leant in for another tight hug.

Aramis cupped her face in his hand and stroked away a vagrant tear. "It's good to see you too. It has been much, MUCH too long."

"I should say! You're all grown up!" she said, sobering and taking Aramis chin in her hand to better examine his face. "It's a shame Rene. You didn't turn out handsome…" she said teasingly.

Porthos guffawed loudly, reminding the marksman of his and Athos' presence.

"Gentlemen," he said, leading Annabella towards the men., "may I have the pleasure to introduce my sister, Annabella. Annabella, this is Athos and Porthos. My family." He added.

A cloud passed quickly across those bright green eyes at the emphasis of those last two words, but she curtsied and smiled warmly, taking each man by the hand in turn, causing Porthos to blush slightly.

"It is an honour to meet you…Aramis never mentioned he had a sister," said Athos.

"And perhaps it's no wonder," thought Porthos. Even Athos seemed to be taken aback by the presence of the beautiful woman.

"Aramis?" she said questioningly.

"The name my mother gave me. The name I chose," said Aramis, face colouring slightly with a look of defence in his eyes.

"Aramis…" she repeated. "It suits you." She smiled warmly and took his face in her hands again. "I am so glad to see you. Brother." She let that word linger for a moment, a tentative, yet demonstrative step. Aramis' eyes saddened slightly, but when he didn't draw away Annabella continued.

"but honestly Aramis," she said, trying out the name. "What are you doing here? Why would you ever come back to this place?"

"I'm here on duty to the King," he said abruptly, eyes flashing as he glanced quickly at his friends. Porthos looked at Athos with a cocked eyebrow who gave a slight shake of his head, indicating he too felt something was amiss.

"Father is not here," she said darkly. "He's out with his thugs hunting." Her brow furrowed slightly.

"Charles said as much," replied Aramis bluntly, a foreign formality suddenly appearing between the siblings. "Please tell the General that we will return tomorrow."

Annabella shot Aramis a knowing look at the bitterness of his tone. Aramis cast his eyes to the ground under her concerned scrutiny.

"We are staying at the inn," said Athos, breaking the tension and dismissing their group simultaneously. "We shall return before midday. We would appreciate it if you could inform the General," he said with a bow as he turned to mount his horse that Porthos had retrieved from the stable.

"Yes," she said. "I will."

With a final squeeze of her hand, Aramis too turned and mounted his horse, an unfathomable expression on his face as they rode away from the house with Annabella looking after them. She had crossed her arms across her middle, holding herself together. She would wait until he was safely out of sight before she allowed herself to cry.

oOo