Hi. This chapter's a bit longer as I got a bit carried away. :) Hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think.
Also all mistakes are mine.
Chapter Eight
Renard woke early with anticipation of the day to come. If the Comte de Rochefort could truly deliver the man who took his brother from him, he would do anything. He quickly washed and dressed and then wolfed down some truly awful gruel and made his way to the stables to prepare the horses so they could leave as soon and the duke was ready.
The duke woke rather early and was soon ready to depart. He too was bristling with anticipation and energy but hoped that the Comte would indeed deliver their musketeer. Soon he was in his carriage and on his way with Renard, Simon and Boucher riding on horseback alongside him as the sun started to rise in the sky.
The musketeers woke early but all four decided to have a lie in. Rarely did they get this luxury and they didn't want to panic any of the servants if they arrived for breakfast too early. Just after 9 o'clock the four ventured down the stairs and back into the only other room they had entered. They knew they were in the right place as plates and cutlery were already set out.
As they took their seats, Aramis and Porthos on one side with Athos and D'Artagnan on the other, a maidservant walked in smiling warmly.
'What may I get you gentlemen?' she asked with a curtsy.
Ever the charmer, Aramis replied, 'We would grateful of you name Mademoiselle?'
The maidservant blushed before replying, 'My name is Sophie, Monsieur.'
'It is a pleasure to meet you Sophie. I'm Aramis and my friends are Porthos, D'Artagnan and Athos,' said Aramis indicating each man in turn. 'What are our choices for breakfast this morning?'
'Well we have grapes apples and some cheese. We can make some porridge or we can make some scrambled eggs with sausages and we have just had a delivery of salted bacon.'
At that moment Fortier entered the room, 'Good morning everyone!' he boomed. The musketeers stood as the Comte took his own seat.
'What have we got for breakfast this morning Sophie?' he asked jovially.
'I was just explaining that we have fruit, cheese, porridge, scrambled eggs, sausages and some salted bacon has just been delivered, Monsieur.'
'Oh marvellous. I think I'll have some eggs, a sausage and a rasher of that beacon please. What are you gentlemen ordering?'
'Well I don't know about anyone else but eggs, sausage and bacon sounds good to me,' smiled Aramis. He looked around to see his brothers nodding in agreement.
'Well that's settled then. Eggs, sausage and bacon for all. Sophie I suggest you give our musketeers rather larger portions than myself, after all they use up their energy which is why they don't have-' said Fortier patting his rather portly stomach while smiling broadly. 'Oh, and could you bring some fresh apple juice as well please.'
'Of course, Monsieur, 'said Sophie with a curtsy and a smile and she disappeared through the door.
Soon everyone was served their breakfast and some delicious freshly squeezed apple juice to go with it.
'The apple juice comes from my orchard,' Fortier explained. 'Have you come to a consensus about today?' Fortier eyed the musketeers warily as he didn't want to assume that they had agreed to his offer.
'Fortier, we would be honoured to accept your very generous offer,' stated Athos.
'Oh that is wonderful!' exclaimed Fortier. 'Then you may have an opportunity to see my orchard for yourselves. And don't worry, you won't have to put up with me all day either,' he laughed.
'Thank you,' the musketeers answered with well-practised unison and smiles.
After breakfast the musketeers decided to venture outside as the sun was shining brightly and it was too good a day to miss.
They all still wore their weapons belts, more out of habit than anything, but had left their leathers in their rooms as the day would soon become sweltering. They wandered the grounds for a while before Porthos spotted a pile of fresh hay that gave him a few ideas.
'I think we all need to get some energy out our systems,' he said smiling and receiving apprehensive glances from his brothers.
'So basically, you want to throw three of us into the hay?' enquired D'Artagnan with exasperation in his voice.
'Yer quick little brother,' beamed back.
'We're supposed to be relaxing Porthos, not doing what we normally do every day,' Aramis pointed out with Athos nodding beside him.
'Oh c'mon. We're all wound up and we don't know what to do with ourselves.'
Unfortunately for the other three, Porthos was right. Relaxing wasn't something that came naturally to the musketeers as their job required them to be on alert at all times. Maybe they did need a bit of a release.
'Alright, if it will make you happy Porthos,' said D'Artagnan in a resigned voice while Athos and Aramis looked at each other with expressions of defeat.
What the musketeers couldn't see was Bouchard, who had been behind, them run off to go and tell everyone what was about to happen. As D'Artagnan and Porthos removed their weapons belts, Athos and Aramis sat on a hay bale waiting their turn looking rather downbeat. Sparring with Porthos was never easy and both men knew they would soon be landing in the hay pile and Porthos would have bragging rights for the whole day.
Just as the wrestling was about to start, Bouchard arrived with Herbert, Dubois and many of Fortier's servants in tow. Suddenly the musketeers realised this training needed to also be a show and Fortier himself soon arrived and sat down on another hay bale, grinning broadly.
'Bouchard tells me that we will see you train and we're all really excited. As long as you don't mind of course,' he said with a hearty laugh.
''Course not,' said Porthos grinning from ear to ear, while D'Artagnan, Athos and Aramis groaned inwardly.
Soon the fight had started and D'Artagnan was aware that Porthos wasn't doing his best as he would have found himself in the hay almost immediately. Porthos was putting on a show. Soon though Porthos gained the upper hand and lifted D'Artagnan above his head and threw him unceremoniously into the hay and roared in victory, while taking in the applause of his audience.
D'Artagnan grumbled about the hay in his hair as he trudged back to Athos and Aramis who were having a debate over who should be next.
'Honestly Athos, I think you should go next,' insisted Aramis.
'I insist that you have the honour,' Athos retorted. 'D'Artagnan, who should go next?'
D'Artagnan sized up his friends and made his decision, 'Aramis,' he said simply. Aramis grumbled and moved to take his place opposite Porthos. The crowd were now cheering and it was becoming apparent that the female voices were certainly cheering for Aramis, which made his mood lighter.
'Ready,' Porthos grinned.
No,' came Aramis' reply as the fight started. Porthos, again, was relishing his stage and Aramis was thankful, as he could have looked rather stupid if Porthos was doing his best. Soon Porthos took the upper hand and Aramis followed D'Artagnan into the hay.
Now it was Athos' turn. The swordsman had seen Porthos holding back and hoped he could take advantage. He wasn't going to beat Porthos, he knew that, but he could at least make Porthos think.
The fight started in earnest and Porthos was indeed holding back. Athos saw his chance and sent Porthos to the floor with a quick swipe of his legs. The crowd roared at Athos' small victory but Athos could see Porthos was mad and soon he too ended up in the hay. Porthos was jubilant in victory as he held his arms aloft and roared.
'That was amazing Porthos!' cheered Fortier. 'My, I can see you are quite the force to be reckoned with.'
Aramis had disappeared but soon returned with Sophie holding what looked like some spoiling melons.
As everyone looked at him curiously Aramis said, 'Well if Porthos can show off his strength, then I should be allowed to show off mine!'
Aramis soon got the targets set up with the help of Bouchard and Dubois and the melons were big enough that an indirect shot would be noticed. Aramis had also, rather cunningly, set the targets up further away than usual, making hitting the centre more difficult.
Porthos went first and hit the top of the melon leaving a large chunk left and grumbled under his breath that Aramis had deliberately made it harder for him. D'Artagnan was next and he hit the melon to the left side, which was habit that he was still trying to get rid of but had certainly improved under Aramis' tutelage. Athos hit the melon closer to the centre than Porthos and D'Artagnan but it was still clear that it wasn't right in the middle.
Last up was Aramis. Suddenly the others tried to distract him by making noises but the marksman shut them out. His focus directly on the centre of the melon. He fired and the melon shattered showing that he had, indeed, hit the centre. Aramis turned to his adoring fans and bowed.
Porthos approached Sophie and asked her if she had anymore melons and she replied saying she had two and went to retrieve them.
'Alright Aramis. You really wanna show off?' Porthos held out one melon for D'Artagnan and they moved in line with the targets but much further to the side. D'Artagnan was on Aramis' left and Porthos on the right. Aramis quickly loaded both of his pistols.
Athos had moved to sit next to Fortier and whispered, 'Prepare to be amazed. He will leave one to the last minute for show but this is amazingly difficult.' Fortier was brimming with excitement.
'Ready?' Porthos called.
'Anytime,' Aramis called back.
Porthos and D'Artagnan counted together, 'Three. Two. One,' and launched the melons into the air. Aramis shot D'Artagnan's melon first causing it to explode violently before waiting for Porthos' melon to drop within inches of the ground before hitting hit dead centre and destroying it. Cheers rang out and Aramis soaked up the applause.
They decided to finish with some sword fighting. Porthos taking on D'Artagnan, who was determined to get revenge for the wrestling, and Athos taking on Aramis.
Porthos and D'Artagnan went first and D'Artagnan knew that Porthos' main weakness was his footwork. Porthos moved quickly for his size but couldn't keep up with the lighter and more dynamic Gascon.
The swords clashed loudly as they both took turns to attack and block each other's strikes. D'Artagnan moving as quickly as he dared, moving side to side and closer then further away, daring Porthos to keep up with him. Porthos knew D'Artagnan's skill and tried not to be distracted by it but soon found himself dancing to the young man's tune. As Porthos blocked a high blow from the younger man, D'Artagnan moved quickly under their arms and caught the back of Porthos' left leg with his left heel and sent the larger man off balance allowing the Gascon to disarm him as Porthos stumbled to the ground. D'Artagnan raised his arms in victory and then pulled the larger man to his feet. Their adoring crowd cheering loudly as both bowed to take the applause.
To finish it was Athos versus Aramis. When Athos first came to the garrison, Aramis was the only man who could challenge him but the inseparables soon became aware that D'Artagnan would soon be the second.
As the fight started it became clear that this was a battle of elegance as both men had similar fighting styles, unlike the contrast between Porthos and D'Artagnan. Their moves were silky smooth as each man attacked and blocked each other's blows. Both men moving lightly across the ground as if they were walking on air. Athos saw his chance and lunged towards his friend but Aramis had seen that move before and twirled elegantly out of the way. Both men started to breathe hard as the fight continued. In the end it was slight miscalculation on Aramis' part that allowed Athos to disarm the marksman and win the battle. The watching crowd has been silent and mesmerised throughout the encounter but now stood on their feet cheering loudly at the spectacle they had just witnessed. Aramis and Athos both took a bow before returning to their brothers who were smiling in admiration.
'Right. I think it's time for some food,' declared Fortier. 'I'm rather hungry after that display so I'm sure the four of you are famished. Dubois, Bouchard will you go and get the outdoor tables and chairs please. It's such a nice day that I think we should make the most of it and eat outside.'
No-one was going to argue with that.
Rochefort sat waiting outside the South gate wondering if he had misjudged Renard and the duke wasn't coming after all. For his plan to work he needed to have the duke on board today otherwise he would have to wait for another opportunity.
In the distance the sound of a carriage approaching woke Rochefort from his reverie and a smile appeared on his face when he recognised Renard riding alongside.
As the carriage stopped Rochefort dismounted and approached the carriage door which was opened by Renard.
'After you,' Renard said with a smile. Rochefort sat opposite the man he assumed was the duke.
'The Duke of Épernon,' the man stated grandly.
'The Comte de Rochefort,' replied Rochefort with the same tone. Both men eyed each other up as if they could see what each other was thinking and an awkward silence followed.
'We have similar goals-,' started Renard to break the silence but he was cut off by the duke.
'What do want Rochefort? Money? People?'
'Renard said you would give me anything for my help. Was he wrong to suggest that?' asked Rochefort while studying the duke's reaction.
'No,' the duke stated simply.
'Well then, what I want is quite simple. However, it does involve treason.' Rochefort watched the duke carefully and could see that this would not trouble the man. 'The king travels to Dreux tomorrow and will be escorted by musketeers. The musketeers are becoming quite a problem for me and I would like to thoroughly disgrace their regiment.'
'You want us to attack the king?' questioned Renard with shock in his voice.
'Actually, it will be the queen who will travel and it won't take me long to convince the king that she should go in his place. I, quite simply, want you to kidnap the queen.'
Silence fell in the carriage as Rochefort's proposition was considered.
'How?' was the duke's reply.
'On Friday, a group of your men will attack the royal convoy, killing the musketeers but leaving the queen unharmed. She must remain unharmed. You can then trade her whatever you like and I will lead the rescue party allowing your men to go free.'
'Where exactly would we hold her? How would we get away without it being obvious?' asked Renard with concern in his voice.
'Well, I'm glad you asked me that. There is a run-down old shack that is close to the woods on the road to Dreux It has a concealed tunnel at the back which would allow your men the chance to escape unseen. Tether your horses at the other end and you will ride away without any problems. I will make sure the attack is delayed, as the king will have lost confidence in his musketeers, I will lead the Red Guard to save her,' Rochefort replied matter-of-factly.
'How do we know this is the truth?' asked the duke with a sneer. 'You obviously have no problem betraying the crown, so why should I believe you are not betraying me?'
'Because I will show your man the areas for the ambush and the shack tomorrow. If he is not happy then-'
'We find another way,' interrupted the duke. 'I want my revenge Rochefort. No matter what it takes.'
'Then should we say we are agreed?' Rochefort offered his hand to the duke who promptly shook it whereas Renard was more apprehensive as he shook Rochefort's hand.
'Well then, perhaps it is time you told me the name of this musketeer that has so grievously wronged you,' Rochefort sneered in anticipation of the name he would hear. It was surely one of the inseparables.
A look passed between Renard and the duke before Renard spoke, 'His name is…...Aramis.'
A/N: Did you guess who the musketeers was? :)