My head ached.
It throbbed and seemed to swell…a pulse…constant and low…boom…boom…boom…
I could not remember at first. Not my name, my mother's name, not even my own sense of self. Everything just ached so terribly I could not formulate a single thought. Yet gradually, the pain began to fade. I recalled my name, my mother's name, and everything else besides. Starting with a gasp for air, I winced against the light which suddenly assaulted me with its outrageous brightness, shuddering as my mind reeled with disorientation. "What is the meaning of this?" I intended to sound unaffected and commanding, but I am afraid my words hardly made for a decent drawl, slurring between the vowels. "What…what happened?"
"Do not be afraid, young miss. You're safe, we mean you no harm," a vaguely familiar voice spoke to me and so I focused upon it, blinking rapidly in an attempt to clear my head.
"Madeleine…" a groan sounded to my right.
"Athos!" Still struggling to see as my body felt both as heavy as lead yet as light as a cloud from one end to the other. "What have you done to us? If you have hurt my brother, then I swear I shall…"
"We're sorry, young miss, but we had no choice. We were desperate," the voice spoke again, so I closed my eyes for several moments and straightened myself. I rolled through the confusion and disorientation, quelled the pulse in my head and focused solely upon recovering my senses. When next I opened my eyes, I was able to see more clearly. My brother was beside me, and I discovered that he and I were both bound to chairs by what felt like rope. I tugged against my restraints immediately, but they held fast.
"Untie us!" Baring my teeth in a furious snarl, I looked upon our captors only to find my anger rapidly diminish. I knew those faces. They were older most of them, a little changed, but the echoes of my memories found their likeness upon the faces who stared back at me. I looked to the man who had spoken. "Bertrand?" He looked delighted that I had remembered him, beaming and nodding enthusiastically. I looked to the girl beside him, whom I knew to be only a year younger than myself. "Jeanne."
"Welcome home, young miss." Home? Then this must be Pinon. The people of the village had brought my brother and I back. I drew in a calming breath. My questions had to wait for a time, because Athos was beginning to awaken as I had, though he appeared to be far more out of sorts than I had been. The last I remembered was walking in the market running an errand. I believe I had heard a cry of pain, or perhaps panic, and had rushed towards it. The street had been empty, but then…I remember no more. They must have struck me from behind in order to bring me here.
"Where…?"
"Athos? Brother?" Prompting him gently, I leaned towards him as far as the restraints allowed. "Look at me, brother. Try to relax yourself," blinking heavily, his gaze slowly lifted towards me as his head rolled back.
"Madeleine…they have you too?"
"So it would seem." Giving the villagers a dry scowl, I then returned my attention to him. "How do you feel?" He grunted in reply, so I surmised that he most likely felt the way he did whenever he woke up after drinking to excess the night before. Eventually however, he became lucid enough to understand that there were other people with us, and so began to speak again.
"Someone speak to me?" He asked, struggling to bring himself back from his addled state. The sound of a knife being drawn caught our attention, both of us looking towards the sound as Athos grew colder and more firm. "If you mean to kill me, at least release my sister and give me the courtesy of an explanation."
"We mean you no harm, my lord," Bertrand assured us again as Jeanne placed her hands upon her hips, scowling unhappily at us both. After a moment, she demanded if Athos recognised them now that he was properly conscious. Athos looked back at them blankly, unaffected by their presence.
"You're Bertrand, the innkeeper at Pinon, and Jeanne, his daughter." He answered immediately, knowing them by face and name, for they were our people. "What is the meaning of this?"
"Forgive us, my lord, we didn't know what else to do," Betrand began, speaking politely and meekly, but Jeanne was far bolder and answered for him with gall.
"We had no choice," she protested, "you ignored all our letters."
"I make it a rule never to open letters." My brother spoke before suddenly bellowing with a wrathful force which sent the villagers cowering from him with frightened gasps. "Now, cut us loose, damn you!" Glancing to my brother, I was surprised by his sudden burst of rage for someone I knew to be excessively calm mannered. Of late, I had noticed a shift in him. A melancholy or perhaps a pain he carried. Milady. I knew it had something to do with Milady, but he would not tell me what. "I could have your heads for this."
"At least that would be quick," Jeanne returned sharply, "starving to death takes such a long time." Her words caught my attention even as her father grasped her arm and apologised for her behaviour, speaking out of turn as she did.
"So long as someone speaks, I care not in which manner our questions are answered," speaking plainly, I looked directly at Jeanne for she seemed quite ready to burst at the seams in her eagerness to tell us why we had been brought here. "What is going on? Why would you starve to death? Is there a famine plaguing the fields?"
"If only it were something so simple, young miss," raising herself up haughtily, Jeanne looked down upon me in a manner which struck at my pride. I bit down upon my tongue, choosing not to fall for my anger at this humiliating predicament. Her father attempted to silence her with a hush, but Jeanne would not be stopped. "They need to know the truth," looking upon my brother and I, Jeanne unleashed her tirade of thoughts. "You judge us in our desperation. These are your lands, your people you have neglected. It is you that should be judged, Monsieur le Comte de la Fère."
"Cut us loose." All but ignoring her chastisement, Athos ordered us to be released, now soft tempered once again. "I will not listen to your complaints while my sister and I are tied to a chair." Scowling for a moment, Jeanne then complied with the request and liberated us from our bonds. The moment I was free I moved to Athos, helping to steady him as he staggered. I could still smell the wine upon his breath, strong wine. Perhaps they had not needed to land a blow to his head, he had drunken himself into a stupor, and I was no longer there to temper him.
"Oh Athos…" sighing heavily, I brushed at his hair as he gripped onto me for a few moments until he was steady. He did not look at the villagers, only kept his arm about me so that when he moved forwards, I went with him. He was still a little unsteady, so I helped him along until we were blinded by the glaring light of day, stepping into the open whereupon we immediately recognised the village around us. It had not changed in over five years. Still the same wooden buildings, dusty ground underfoot dried from the hot sun, the scents of animals and straw, as well as the fresh forestry scents brought upon the wind…this was once a place of cheer and good spirits. Now, everything seemed decidedly dead.
"Oh, God damn you…you've brought me back." Athos whispered to himself in horror. Then his horror transformed into rage. He released me, set upon turning against the villagers who had followed us out of Bertrand's inn where we had been held captive. "I left this life!" My brother's eyes became so wild and fearsome that even I stepped away from him. Gasping, he turned away. "A long time ago…what gives you the right to bring me back?"
"We need your help," Jeanne announced as Athos made for the well in the middle of the village and I promptly followed, touching at my head lightly to discover no dried blood, only tenderness from where I had been struck. Was such excessive force truly necessary? Shaking my head with a mutter, I stopped at the well as Athos washed his face then provided me with a drink, allowing me to quench my thirst.
"You don't need a lord to tell you how to work the fields. You've always done it."
"It's not us. It's Baron Renard." Lowering the ladle from my lips, I looked at Jeanne quickly.
"Baron Renard? Our neighbouring fief's lord?" She nodded firmly.
"He burns the crops and poisons what's left. He wants your land for himself," she explained and all at once, I understood the desperation of their acts. If they were under attack, then they must have thought it best to bring Athos back here to defend his lands. I looked at my brother with concern, who appeared utterly unaffected by this distressing news. "We need the protection of our liege lord, the Comte de la Fere. You."
"The comte no longer exists," my brother answered her bluntly, taking no heed of the desperation in her voice, the fear. Whatever these people had suffered, they had done so because we had neglected them. Suddenly I felt ashamed, and my face flushed because of it. "I'll talk to Renard," Athos finally conceded. "And then I hope to never see any of you again." Although not entirely satisfied, Jeanne seemed to understand this was the best she could hope for from my brother.
"Hate this place if you like, but don't punish its people." Almost with amusement, Athos looked at Jeanne with an impressed quirk of his brow.
"You don't let up, do you?" Turning away from them, I looked to Bernand who was lingering near to us, and so I turned and approached him, lowering my voice in order to speak.
"The baron, has he truly been attacking the crops? Has he hurt anyone?"
"There have been beatings and punishments, little miss, and they are becoming increasingly worse. We wrote to the lord many times, and even to you, but we never received a reply." I clamped a hand to my mouth in horror. All this time the villagers had been enduring torment and threat, whilst Athos and I had remained utterly oblivious to their plight.
"I never received any such letters, otherwise I swear I would have come of my own volition," whispering from the horror, I then looked at Athos. Had he ignored their pleas all this time? Ever since I had moved to the palace, I had not been there to take care of his affairs for him. His letters must have been left unopened for months, almost an entire year. Yes we had noble status, but with that status came responsibility, and thus far we had proven ourselves to be utterly miserable overlords. "I am sorry, Bertrand…I am so sorry for this." His expression softened and the innkeeper gave a deft bow in wake of my apologies, but anything further which might have been said or shared was silenced by the arrival of intruders.
They came rushing into the village on horseback, one young man richly dressed in a fine doublet and cloak, bearing a plate of armour over his chest as he bellowed for the villagers to get out of his way, threatening the trample them if they did not. So forceful was his command, that it was accompanied by the lashing of his horsewhip, which he thrashed against one of the villagers with cruel and merciless intent. "Stay your hand, sir!" Bellowing with an outpouring of fury, I burst into a sprint to go to the man's aid as Athos did the same.
"That's enough!" Grasping the villager I pulled him out of reach of the whip as Athos flung the assailant down upon the ground, tearing him from the saddle without hesitation. My attention remained upon the villager, immediately looking for signs of injury or lacerations, but there were no tears in his shirt and no blushes of crimson, so I passed him into the care of someone close to us.
"Have him sit, and find a cold compress for his shoulder!" Ordering them with the natural authority of a lady born of rank, I then returned to the intruder with a bitter anger cloying my throat as he lunged back upon his feet to stand against my brother.
"You dare lay a hand on me, peasant?" Thrusting myself in front of Athos, my hand clapped against the stranger's face even as someone else called to him.
"Edmond! What is going on here?" Startled by the sudden burst of pain upon his cheek, the man, Edmond, grasped at the affliction and turned back to look at me with stunned stupor.
"Strike any of these villagers again and I shall geld you where you stand, sir!" So vehemently spoken were my words, he started backwards and a hand jumped to cover his masculine pride. Athos grasped at my arms to draw me away, pointedly pushing me aside so that I was no longer so exposed and shielded me himself as he looked to the man upon his horse, who wore a curling hat and bore himself with pride.
"Your son needs to learn some manners, Baron de Louviers." Upon the insult, the baron's son cracked his whip upon the ground and made for Athos who did not even flinch or move, merely faced the impetuous boy without concern.
"Stop that!" At his father's command, the young lord halted, but his face was seething with fury as he looked between myself and Athos. "And open your eyes, boy. Do you not recognise a man of noble bearing?" Dismounting from his horse, the baron approached us with all the air of familiarity and cordial manners. "This is the Comte de la Fere." Staying his ground, Athos watched the baron with barely disguised disapproval.
"Your man's behaviour is a disgrace."
"Well, perhaps if you'd shown a little more interest in the last few years, I would not have had to intervene." Angered by these words, I stepped to the side so that I was not completely hidden behind my brother, ready to start an argument with this pompous fool but Athos spoke first, reminding the baron that he had no right to abuse his power, but this did not seem to satisfy the lower ranked baron. "My right, my dear comte, is that of any concerned neighbour," he insisted with still the same mannerism of a man who believed himself to be owed the word merely because of his birth. "Your estate has gone to rack and ruin, its people are thieves and parasites. I was only attempting to assert some order."
"Your attempts are no longer desired, nor are they welcome, Baron de Louviers," announcing myself clearly, I bore myself upright as I adopted the courtly manner I had ingrained into my character. The baron looked to me in surprise. "We shall settle our own affairs from now on."
"Forgive me, but I do not think we have met. Who are you to speak for the comte, girl?" Scowling in displeasure, I felt Athos reached behind him to find my hand, where his thumb rubbed against my wrist to try and soothe my temper.
"My sister has been alarmed because of your son's assault upon an innocent man, you must understand her forwardness." Upon hearing that I was not just a mere villager or commoner, but Athos's own sister, the baron suddenly looked to me with a newfound interest.
"Sister, you say? Well now, I do recall there to be a young lady of your family, Madeleine I believe, yes?" Raising my chin, I nodded once to affirm. The baron swept up his hat and bowed over it. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, my lady."
"I wish I could say the sentiment is returned, but alas I cannot, for I do not care for your intrusion upon our lands, nor your son's mistreatment of my people."
"Of course, but I assure you this is all just a misunderstanding," the baron waved, now dismissing me as no longer important or worth his time, returning his attention instead to Athos who retained his grip upon my wrist. Most likely to restrain me more than comfort me, at this point.
"I'm sure we can sort this out like honourable men." My brother offered, and the baron smiled with what might have passed for a pleasant expression, if not for the cruel gleam in his eye.
"Nothing would please me more. Lead on." Stepping aside, Athos led the way back to the inn where Bertrand rushed to open the door, Jeanne also following closely as she stepped towards me, coming to my side and whispered in a low voice.
"Thank you, for defending us. That was a good blow you delivered," smirking to myself with satisfaction, I flexed the hand which still tingled from the connection against Edmond's face.
"It is long overdue, but we are here now. I give you my word, we shall rectify this situation, so you may be at ease." Catching Jeanne also smirking, I flattered myself that perhaps I had made an ally of her, and mayhap in time, a friend. Bertrand promptly selected his finest drink to serve, opening the bottle to allow it to breathe whilst Athos and Renard sat down opposite one another. I stood behind Athos whilst Edmond remained behind his father, and every now and then I would catch him glaring at me, one cheek noticeably more flushed than the other. I smirked once more.
"You're very kind, my dear," Renard said as Jeanne poured him a drink. "And very pretty." Although a warm day, his words settled a sudden chill upon me. "Normally I find the peasant class as ugly as gargoyles," he chuckled at his own humour, "but every now and then one discovers a rose amongst the thorns." Seeing Jeanne's discomfort as Renard made to stroke at her arm, I deftly stepped forwards. Without a single word I drew her aside, out of reach of Renard and took the bottle from her hand as my brother also spoke.
"Shall we get to business?" I poured a drink for him, pointedly placing Jeanne behind me so that I obscured her from Renard's view and refused to move thereafter, standing upright and holding the bottle ready should they require another drink. "I'm anxious to return to Paris." Seizing the opportunity, Renard immediately demanded to know what Athos intended to do with his estate. "The estate is of no more concern for me. I have renounced my title." If a unicorn had suddenly ridden into the inn, I believe Renard would have displayed less shock than that which currently haunted his features. He seemed genuinely appalled.
"One cannot renounce what is given by God."
"God had no part in this," Athos responded flatly, sipping at his drink. Renard remained utterly flummoxed, unable to comprehend the idea that someone of noble birth would relinquish their title.
"I've never heard of such a thing. What about your position?" He demanded, taking this affront as a personal insult. "Your responsibility to the social order? This land is a sacred trust. It is your birthright! Your family name!"
"I am not asking for your approval. I am still the legal landowner." Cutting the discussion short, Athos had no interest in explaining his actions to a man of lesser rank, and lesser character. Nor should he had to. It was one of the rights of a noble to never have to explain themselves to one of inferior rank. "Now, I must have your undertaking that my tenants will be left in peace." Sitting back a moment, Renard stared at Athos for some time before finally rising to his feet.
"Perhaps you care more for such low people…now you are one of them yourself." He suggested with no lack of disrespect. "However, I promise you they will be treated as they deserve." The choice of words caught my attention, for I found them to be unsatisfactorily vague.
"You will not harm them, or their belongings, or the land they work upon them?" I queried insistently even as Athos and Renard shook upon it. "You will not bring suffering upon them any longer?"
"I do not care to be questioned by an impudent young woman who does not know her place," now seething furiously, Renard left with forceful strides, Edmond glowering upon us one final time before chasing after his father.
"I do not believe him," I announced the moment they were gone. "His word does not satisfy me. We should have him sign a lawful agreement."
"The matter is done, Madeleine. Let it rest." But I would not, and I was angry with my brother that he had allowed such a thing to happen in the first place. I rounded upon him.
"Perhaps it is enough to mollify your conscience, but I will not risk the lives of our people upon a promise. We owe them more than that."
"Madeleine, I am warning you," the dark, heady tone gave me pause as Athos looked upon me with a barely contained rage. He was truly angry, whether at me or simply this place, I did not know. I knew better than to test him, and so I turned my cheek and spoke not another word. I followed him silently outside where we waited for the baron and his son to leave. The villagers gathered, waiting with bated breath as Renard and his son stepped into our view.
"If you aren't the comte anymore," Renard began and immediately I felt a sense of dread. "You're the same as them." He gestured to the villagers. "So you must kneel in the presence of your betters." My breath hitched as Athos remained stoically in place.
"You gave me your word."
"I don't negotiate with peasants." I could have kicked Athos I was so incensed, but I redirected my anger and ire to where it was owed. The baron and his son. "I said kneel!" With a command by his hand, the baron's soldiers moved towards Athos and I. Immediately my brother pushed me out of the way, forcing me back where my arms flailed to maintain my balance as he fought against them, keeping them back with his fists.
"Brother!" Panicked to see him under threat, I lurched forwards only for one solider to block my way. Without stopping, I rammed my foot against his tender parts and crippled the man to his knees. "Stop this! It is madness, stop this please!" My hand darted towards Athos, intending to pull him away from danger but Edmond struck him with the handle of his pistol with enough force that Athos dropped like a stone. "No!" An unearthly screeched arose from my throat as I fell to my knees, attempting to gather Athos up into my arms but two soldiers dragged me back.
I fought bitterly against them, hissing and snarling as I writhed, refusing to make it easy for them. All the while, the baron stood before the village like a triumphant victor, lording over his petty victory as if he had conquered the world. "The Comte de la Fère is no more. This man is a vagrant and an imposter. The punishment for such a crime must be exemplary."
"Lay a single hand upon my brother and I shall ensure that you never escape this treacherous affront! I will haunt you until your dying breath, Renard!" Releasing my voice into a roar, I pulled at my captors who struggled to hold me back. "My brother may not claim his title, but it still remains his by right of birth and blood, and I am Lady Madeleine de la Fère, Lady in Waiting to Her Majesty Queen Anne of France! Lady Attendant to the dauphin, Prince Louis the heir apparent!" Unveiling my lofty titles, I prayed it would be enough to frighten Renard into position. "You cannot so easily touch us, now release me this instant!"
"Women who speak without invitation are lacking in refinement and etiquette. You are to be seen, not heard. Dutiful and obedient. Perhaps I should instruct you in your brother's place, seeing as he so obviously failed in his duty?" The underlying threat of harm rang within his words and I stilled slightly, watching warily as the baron approached. Suddenly he seized my face, turning it from side to side before his thumb rubbed against the scar upon my upper lip. "Such a blemish…but I have seen worse faces upon women. Still, perhaps amongst the commoners is where you belong, for you blend so well with their features." Recalling his comment on how commoners looked like gargoyles, I knew this to be an insult.
"My qualities are those which simpleminded men like you could not hope to comprehend. A gentleman would not treat a lady in such a manner!" Without warning, Renard backhanded me across the face. It was a glancing blow, one meant to shock more than hurt, but I chose to let it silence me. At least for now. Instead, I settled upon glowering at the baron, who huffed in satisfaction that he had properly instructed me as he had promised.
"String him up. We must make an example of this imposter before all to bear witness," I struggled again, fighting to reach my brother, for I could not bear to allow them to bring him harm. They lashed his wrists together then flung the rope over the well pump, allowing him to hang there in suspension. Exhausted from my struggling, I stared with wide eyed horror as Edmond made forwards with his whip in hand.
"No! Please, do not hurt him!" Begging, I tugged forwards but was once again ripped back. I writhed, attempting to twist so that I could bite at the soldiers, stamping upon their feet and arching my back to fight with renewed vigour. When the whip was raised, blessed Bertrand rushed forwards to defend my brother, crying out in desperation.
"You can't do this!"
"Take your hands off me!" Outraged, Edmond flung Bertrand to the ground and proceeded to flog him in my brother's stead. Wild panic began to take over, and my struggling grew increasingly difficult to contain. Jeanne rushed to her father to save him but she was thrust aside to the ground, allowing Edmond to continue whipping Bertrand who cowered upon the dusty ground. I screamed. A pure, harrowing scream unlike any other. It almost drowned out the sound of the gunshot with suddenly burst into existence.
Athos dropped when the rope was severed by the bullet, an excellent shot, and the shock made the soldiers loosen their grip upon me. Without hesitation I rammed them both in the face then took off, veering towards Edmond and Bertrand. I slammed my entire body against the baron's son, screeching as I began to hammer my fists against his face and body wherever I could reach him, wishing I had a weapon of some sort just to make him hurt more. If I could, I would have beaten the cruelty out of him. So great was my fury, I did not hear the shout to declare that soldiers were approaching.
Renard ordered his men to fall back as Edmond finally managed to push me off him, scrambling to get away and lashing his whip. I felt a gush of pain upon my arm where one of the tethers cut into me, splitting the sleeve of my dress and immediately it flushed with blood. I cried out and grasped the wound, naturally veering back from the pain as Renard and his men hastened to their horses. "We'll be back!" Labouring for breath, I staggered for a moment in confusion, blinking from exhaustion as my battle rage began to dim.
"Bring the girl!" It was this command which roused me once more, and I looked to see Jeanne be captured and forced towards one of the horses.
"No! Release her! Jeanne! JEANNE!" Catching at one of the soldiers I kicked the back of his knee to fell him then made to grasp Jeanne, to pull her to safety, but the soldier I had felled recovered too quickly. He twisted and struck me in the stomach with his foot, throwing me onto my back which allowed Edmond to drag Jeanne across his lap.
"Take her too!" Disoriented and winded, I felt rough hands grasp at me improperly, touching where a man should not grasp a woman, and I was hauled towards another horse where a soldier was mounted upon it. I heard Athos shout through the haze in my mind as the lurch of the horse began to drum through my body. Every stride drove the breath from me, which carried me further and further out of the village. Only one thought drove itself through my body, and that was the command to escape.
Managing to raise my head, I looked to see that the earth was softened by a recent rain, the moisture lasting owing to the shade of the trees. Knowing full well that this was going to hurt, I prepared myself for the impact, then struck my captor in the gut. He doubled over and the horse naturally flung up its head, slowing its pace just enough for me to slip down and collapse to the earth. Pain shot up my leg and flared through my left side, but I immediately rolled out of the way of the horse's hooves as it screeched and bucked, flinging up its hind legs at the unexpected obstruction in the shape of my body.
It charged onwards until the soldier recovered, the last of the pack. Now completely lacking air in my lungs, I struggled to push myself up, my hair tumbling free around my shoulders and gracing against the soil as damp earth melded around my fingers. The rich scent was a pleasant one, but I took no comfort in it at present. The soldier turned back and looked at me, gathering control of his horse to return but suddenly halted. I noticed his gaze dart back, staring at something down the road where we had just come, before all at once he turned and pressed the horse into a hard gallop, abandoning me upon the road. I would have sighed with relief, but I could not bring the air into my body.
Choking upon nothing, my pulse roared through me from fear and panic only now gradually settling. Jeanne. I had to rescue Jeanne. The thought pushed me upright, allowed me to struggle to my feet, whereby I began to limp after the baron and his men. I could not let them hurt her, not after I had promised to keep her safe. Pain flared up my leg and side with every step, my hand clutching at my ribs which felt bruised and tender. My arm still bled, the cut exposed through the rip in my dress, but it was nothing life threatening. I continued to forge ahead, thinking only of Jeanne until I heard the steady thrum of hooves over ground.
Suddenly a great black beast rushed past me and I caught the familiar frame of Porthos, followed swiftly by d'Artagnan as they pulled up their horses and cut across me, all but leaping from their saddles. "Madeleine!" The boom of Porthos' voice scattered the nesting birds with shrill cries, striding at me with a stormy intent. When he reached me, however, he softened. "Madeleine…Madeleine look at me."
"They took her," I rasped, still barely able to breathe. "They took Jeanne. I must save her. I promised…"
"You're not saving anyone in that state, Madeleine," d'Artagnan informed me firmly as Porthos brushed at my hair and face, hands lingering uncertainly over me as he took in my wounds. My arm, the limp, the grasping at my ribs, the bruises upon my face…and those only the ones he could see. "It's alright, we're here now. Just breathe. You need to breathe."
"I can't…I can't…" the lack of air began made me dizzy and my knees buckled under me. Instantly Porthos had me in his strong grasp, catching me to lower me gently down.
"Alright sweetheart, I've got you. I've got you, you're safe now. Everything's alright…" he held me against him, despite the fact that we had not spoken since that morning when he had inadvertently insulted me. He held me, he comforted me, and even when I regained the ability to breathe and began to cry, he continued to hold me close to him. "I'm sorry, Madeleine. I'm sorry for what I said, I didn't mean it. I never meant to hurt you like that." I weakly thumped my fist against his chest.
"You are such an idiot Porthos du Vallon!" Uncertain of how to respond, Porthos simply elected to agree, then continued to embrace me as I recovered slowly in his arms. Once I was quiet enough, Porthos lifted me up effortlessly and placed me upon his horse, bringing me back to the village where Athos rushed to us with an expression of relief.
"Madeleine, are you hurt?"
"Everywhere, but I will live." Drained and feeling utterly wretched, I reached down for him and Athos promptly lifted me down before promptly sweeping me into his arms. He took me back to the inn and carried me upstairs to one of the rooms where I could rest, sitting beside me for a while until I was sound asleep. Were it my choice, I would remained asleep for many days thereafter.