Musketeers 1. Chapter 1

Love is the Most Selfish of All the Passions

Chapter One

The sun was slowly setting on the evening of the King and Queen's big announcement of her pregnancy as Richelieu sat in his chambers in silence, perplexed by the brief scene he had witnessed moments afterward between Anne and the same musketeer, who not long ago had seduced the Cardinal's mistress Adele to get her to betray him for the musketeers.

It didn't take much for Richelieu to know what the scene had meant, but what troubled him was what was he to do with the knowledge? The affair between Anne and Aramis, could it be proved, would be enough to rid the Queen from the throne and have the musketeer arrested and executed for treason. However, he had no proof of this treason and therefore telling the King of it would be of no help to him. Louis naively trusted the Cardinal, but he loved and trusted his wife even more. If Anne were to deny the accusation, Louie would believe her over him.

Soon, one of his men in the Red Guards knocked on his door and entered, shaking the Cardinal from his thoughts as he asked in frustration, "What is it, Captain?"

The latest leader of the guards cleared his throat and then responded, "A man has just arrived from Marseille, Your Eminence; Count de Rochefort. Shall I show him in?"

"Yes, of course," Richelieu answered as he looked at the man with surprise at the man's arrival. "Let him in, let him in."

"Cardinal Richelieu, it's an honor to see you again," the man said coolly as he walked into the prominent man's chambers, then waited to speak again until the captain of the guards left and closed the door behind him. "It has been a long time."

The Cardinal stood up from behind his desk as he held out his hands in greeting and replied, "Indeed it has, but your timing couldn't be better. I could use a man with your cunning and skill, especially now."

Once Rochefort leaned down and gently kissed his hand, he straightened and asked, "What seems to be the trouble? I am always happy to be in your service."

"I have recently been caught acting on one of my less than moral schemes by the Queen, who now is holding my indiscretion over my head, should I step out of line again," Richelieu responded as he began to explain his predicament, as the man before him was just as unsavory as he was. "I have information that could help me get Anne dethroned and would rid me of one of my strongest enemies as well, a musketeer whom I believe you know; Aramis. However, I have no proof of what I saw and the King would never believe me over his Queen. This knowledge is of no use to me. How am I to do this?"

"You could find a way to discredit or get rid of Aramis in a way that Queen Anne would never be able to discover you had anything to do with it," the Count answered smugly. "You may not be able to use whatever this knowledge is that you have, but if you have knowledge of something else that could hurt this musketeer, use that instead to weaken him and then find someone who can finish him for you."

The Cardinal smiled at his friend as he realized he did indeed have a way to weaken Aramis in spirit, then he replied, "It just so happens that I know of the perfect way to do this. I always did love the way your foul mind works, Rochefort. You are a brilliant man. I will demote that man who let you in here and promote you as the new captain of my guards. I shall speak to the King about granting you a full pardon for your offenses against the musketeers, due to the information you have gathered that has helped me in stopping a plot to kill the King and Queen. Believe me, there are plenty of people whom I can easily frame in order to concoct this false ploy."

The Count smiled as well and then asked, "What is it that you wish for me to do in order to begin this musketeer's destruction?"

"Find me someone who can forge me a letter, a letter revealing that there was a witness to the heinous murder of my mistress by a troupe of bandits that committed this crime as she was traveling to my estate in the country," Richelieu responded coldly. "If I know him, as I believe I do, Aramis will surely blame himself for her death and will think twice about having a secret romance with Queen Anne. Once this is done, I shall come up with a plan that will end with his death. I have been waiting for the proper moment to make him pay for turning Adele against me."

"It's good to be home again," Count Rochefort said.

Mid afternoon the next day…

Many of the musketeers were relaxing at the tavern in town as they usually did when they actually had some down time between missions. Some were drinking, while some were playing cards, and others were wenching. Porthos was gambling while holding an attractive young wench on his lap, while Aramis sat beside him just watching the game currently being played between his companion and one of the Cardinal's guards. D'Artagnan sat across from Athos at another table nearby as they both shared a few rounds of drinks and talked amongst themselves, waiting for the Red Guard and his friends to start a fight by accusing Porthos of cheating, which they did at least three times a week as many of them were sore losers, though Porthos did deserve to be called a cheat because he did so from time to time.

The game between musketeer and guard lasted almost an hour when it was interrupted by a young messenger who ran in and handed Aramis a letter as he stated, "For you, Aramis. I don't know who it's from, but a man I never see before asked me to deliver this to you."

Aramis took the letter, pulled out a single coin from his pocket and handed it to the boy, then spoke saying, "Thank you, lad. Now, you better get out of here, before your father catches you neglecting your work again."

"Yes Sir, thank you, Aramis!" he shouted as he ran off, leaving the tavern, while the musketeer opened up the letter and began to read as his three loyal companions stopped what they were doing then to watch him.

From the look on Aramis' sudden saddened face, the musketeers could tell that whatever news had just come to their friend was not good and as soon as he finished reading, Aramis stood up from his chair, placed his hat on his head, then left the tavern without uttering a word. Athos, Porthos, and d'Artagnan moved from their seats and stood together, forgetting all about the game and the others in the room.

"It's not often I see that look on Aramis' face," Porthos said as he looked between his friends.

"Nor I," Athos answered worryingly. "The last time was just after he was forced to kill Marsac."

D'Artagnan asked, "What do you suppose that letter was about?"

Captain Treville walked through the door as Athos saw their captain enter and start to walk toward them, then he replied, "I'm not sure, but it looks like we may have to wait to find out. We may have been called for by the King and Queen."

"It's good to see that neither of you are participating in a card game that could lead to another fight," Treville stated as he joined them.

"We've been behaving today, Captain," Porthos responded.

Captain Treville nodded and then asked, "Where is Aramis?"

Athos covered for their missing comrade as he quickly answered, "He had some unexpected business to take care of. Is there something need from us, Sir?"

"The King has asked for each of you for a new assignment," Treville replied. "He will explain everything when you arrive at the palace. I don't know much about the mission myself. You three will have to fill Aramis in after, but I want the four of you on this. Is that understood?"

"Yes Sir," Athos responded as their Captain left the tavern, then their leader turned again to his friends. "What do you suppose the odds are that Richelieu isn't involved in whatever it is we're about to get ourselves into?"

D'Artagnan spoke up again as he answered, "I'd say not so good. After entrapping him to confess to the Queen's assassination attempt, he's surely planning to strike back against us."

Porthos smiled smugly as he replied, "Let him try. One day he'll learn that we can't be brought down so long as we remain together."


	2. Chapter 2

Love is the Most Selfish of All the Passions

Chapter Two

"Ah, musketeers," Louis stated as Athos, d'Artagnan, and Porthos walked inside the main hall where the King was sitting upon his throne while he spoke quietly with the Cardinal before they came in. "I am glad you're here. However, I believe I asked for all four of you?"

"Yes, but I am afraid that Aramis had some business to attend to and had left the tavern before I arrived to inform the others of their next assignment," Captain Treville answered for the bravest men under his charge. "They will fill him in before they leave for wherever they are being sent."

The King nodded and then began to explain saying, "I have been informed that a small troupe of thieves have been plundering from and murdering travelers coming to and from the country. I have reason to believe that they may be planning on something much worse such as an attempt on my life. I want you four to ride through the woods and find these thieves before they can accomplish this."

Athos stepped a few feet forward and bowed before the King, as did the others, and then responded, "We'll do all we can, Your Majesty. Do you have an idea who these men might be or is there something that may help us to identify them?"

"Cardinal?" Louis asked as he turned to look at his most trusted advisor standing at his side.

"I am afraid not anything that will make them stand out from ordinary travelers, though my new captain of the Guard informs me that he has reason to believe that several members of the band are runaways that once lived in the Court of Miracles," Richelieu replied coolly, making the musketeers each suspect that there was indeed more to this mission.

D'Artagnan stared at the Cardinal as he asked, "You've hired a new Captain of the Red Guards already?"

He smiled as he answered smugly, "Yes, I believe that at least three of you musketeers will remember Count de Rochefort?"

"It's good to see you again, old friends," the Count said as he walked out and then moved to stand beside the Cardinal.

"How is this possible?" Athos asked coldly as he glared at the newcomer, who only continued to look back at them with a smugness about him. "Rochefort murdered two musketeers in cold blood and nearly killed Aramis as well years ago during his last mission as a musketeer. He was supposed to be executed before he managed to escape."

King Louis responded, "I have granted Count de Rochefort a full pardon and allowed the Cardinal to hire him into the Guards because the Count risked his life by coming back here to Paris when he thwarted an attack against me and Anne. An assassin had been hired to kill us and would have been successful, had it not been for this man's bravery. Now enough! You three and Aramis must leave and bring these thieves and murderers to justice. Do not fail me."

The musketeers each bowed down again before the King, then turned and left the main hall as d'Artagnan spoke up again saying, "I don't know this Count Rochefort, but I couldn't help but feel a chill in my bones as he spoke with that smugness across his face."

"Rochefort is just as evil as the Cardinal and twice as powerful when it comes to his skill as a soldier," Porthos replied in frustration as they continued walking toward the palace's exit to go and find their missing friend. "He's almost as good as Athos. I should have known we would see him again eventually. I am positive now that he and the Cardinal are planning something for us. I hate that we must give Aramis the news that Rochefort's back on top of whatever is going on with him now."

"I agree," Athos answered worryingly. "But first, we need to convince him to open up to us about what is wrong. I have a feeling I know where he'll be. It's where he always goes when he is struggling to deal with something terrible that happens; the church."

Just as Athos had said, the three musketeers found their friend in the front row of the chapel, sitting on the bench in front of the burning candles with his head down, though they could see that he wasn't praying the closer they got to him. He looked terrible, almost as if he was on the verge of tears. He was deeply troubled by whatever it was in that letter he received.

The three sat down beside him, Athos on his right, and Porthos and d'Artagnan on his left, then their leader spoke up saying softly, "Whatever it is that's happened, the three of us will help you through it, together, as we always do."

Aramis scoffed and then responded quietly, "You can't help me with this. What has happened is my fault and my fault alone. I was a fool. I was selfish."

"You're wrong, Aramis," Porthos replied in objection. "You may be a fool when it comes to the women you choose to love, but…"

"That's just it!" Aramis said more vigorously. "Because of me, Adele is dead! The letter I received says that she was murdered by a group of bandits on her way to the Cardinal's estate in the country. When I went to see her before I found out she had left Paris, Richelieu's housemaid handed me my pistol that I had left there that morning. I didn't realize it then because I believed that she had chosen Richelieu over me, but because of this, she's now dead and I have a feeling that the Cardinal is behind her murder, though I cannot prove it. If Adele wanted to give me my pistol back, she would have given it to me herself and not to the housemaid to do it for her. Richelieu must have found my gun, which allowed him to find out that I had seduced her in order to get her to betray him."

Porthos spoke again saying, "You didn't seduce Adele. The two of you fell in love."

Aramis shook his head and lifted the gold cross that hung around his neck to look at it as he answered, "Just as I have fallen in love with Anne."

"You're in love with the Queen?" the young Gascon asked in surprise. "The Queen of France?"

"The child she carries within her is ours, mine and hers, though I will never reveal this to another living soul," Aramis responded with shame. "I have told you three now because I trust you more than anyone I have ever trusted or could possibly ever trust. I know that to love Anne is a treason against France, but not to love her is a treason against my heart. However, for her protection, for our child's protection, and for each of yours, I shall bury it down deep and never speak of this again so long as I shall live. I cannot and will not be the reason for any of your deaths as well, as I was with Marsac."

He stood and turned his back to his friends, then Athos stood behind him, and gently placed his hand on his shoulder for comfort as he replied quietly, "Marsac died because of his own actions and if Adele's death was indeed ordered by Cardinal Richelieu, then we will somehow find a way to make him pay for his crime. This letter is not signed, which means that it could be nothing more than another of the Cardinal's ploys to make you feel guilty. This anonymous witness to her murder may not even exist."

Aramis shook his head and asked, "What does it matter? She's still dead."

"No matter what you think or feel, Aramis, we do not blame you for any of this and we never will," Porthos answered. "You will not be anyone's downfall, except for your own unless you allow us to help you. Please, do not allow yourself to suffer alone, in silence."

"Believe me when I say, I know how it feels," Athos responded sadly.

Aramis nodded and replied, "I know that you do. I wish that I could believe you, but I can't, not right now."

He finally turned and looked between his companions and dearest friends, who all looked at him with sincerity, then he said, "However, I shall forever be grateful to you all. All for one…"

"And one for all," Porthos answered as he reached out and pulled Aramis into a friendly hug and then D'Artagnan and Athos each reached out to shake his hand. "Now, are we ready to go off to find us these criminals?"

"I am more than ready," d'Artagnan responded eagerly. "If we can find proof that Richelieu is indeed behind whatever we may find out there, then we will finally be able to bring him down for good, as the Queen said that should he commit treason again, then she will report him to the King."

Athos felt less confident than the youngest member of their band, as did Aramis, but despite the feeling that something sinister was still to come, he spoke with confidence as he usually did saying, "Then, let us ride and find us these supposed killers and thieves the King wants us to find, hopefully before they can strike again. They may be the very ones who murdered Adele too."

Aramis followed after them, then realized he didn't know what they were talking about as he finally stated, "I do hope you three plan on explaining to me what exactly is going on; Athos? Porthos? D'Artagnan!"


	3. Chapter 3

Love is the Most Selfish of All the Passions

Chapter Three

Queen Anne walked hastily through the corridors of the palace in search of Captain Treville, whom she had heard had just sent his best musketeers out on another mission for her husband, Louis. Thankfully, she found him just as he was leaving and as soon as she knew that they were alone and could talk freely, she spoke up first asking, "I understand that you have sent Aramis, Athos, Porthos, and d'Artagnan out on a task for the King?"

Treville looked at her in confusion as he answered, "Yes, Your Majesty. They left not an hour ago. Is there something the matter?"

"No, I… I suppose not," she replied nervously. "Is this mission dangerous?"

"Not any more dangerous than the rest," the captain responded as he tried to sense what was really bothering her, not knowing that she was really only worried about one man. "What is really bothering you, Your Highness?"

Anne looked him in the eyes as she asked again, "Do you suspect that Cardinal Richelieu has started whatever trouble your musketeers are riding off to find? After we've caught him in his treason, he will no doubt try to do something to harm them out of revenge and now that despicable Count de Rochefort has come back to Paris. He is just as evil. I fear the musketeers are riding into danger."

Captain Treville gently took her hand in his own and then answered, "Even if that is true, Your Majesty, my men can take care of themselves, I assure you. That is why they are the best. No matter what trouble they fall into, they always seem to be able to get out of it just fine."

"I do hope you're right," she replied with less confidence than Treville showed. "Thank you, Captain."

"I am glad to be of assistance to you, as always," he responded sincerely. "Good day, Your Highness."

She curtsied before him and then turned and walked away, while Treville kept his eyes on her until she disappeared from sight. Queen Anne continued walking through the halls more slowly than before, but it wasn't long before she ran into Rochefort, who smiled at her and then bowed.

He was the first to speak as he said, "Good evening, Your Highness. It is wonderful to see you again, looking radiant as always and in such good health."

"Welcome home, Count Rochefort," she answered, not bothering to hide the contempt she felt for him. "I suspect your time away from Paris has been eventful."

"Indeed," he replied smugly. "I saw many things and fought many battles while I was out there. However, I was continuously longing for home."

Anne moved back as the Count started to move closer toward her, then she responded coldly, "Perhaps you should have thought about that before betraying the musketeers by murdering two of their own and nearly killing another. You are lucky that my husband has granted you a pardon. However, I suppose I ought to thank you for stopping an assassin's plot to kill Louis and myself. Thank you, Count Rochefort. Now, I am afraid that I must be going. I have somewhere I must be very soon. Good day."

Before she turned and began to walk away, he bowed before her once again and then watched her leave. He then turned and walked to the stable where he had put up his horse and began to prepare the animal to ride. The sun had begun to go down by the time Rochefort arrived in town where he was told he could find most of the Red Guards now under his command.

As he walked inside the tavern, he found a group of them as they were busy gambling, drinking, and wenching with the women working there. The Count stood there observing the scene before him for less than a minute when he pulled out his pistol from his holster he wore on his hip, then fired it in the air, causing everyone to suddenly stop what they doing and stare at the man standing before them. Those that had drinks in front of them quickly raised their glasses in the air and shouted hurrahs and other welcome greetings, as they were all happy to see the man again.

One of the men stood and moved to stand in front of him to shake his hand as he stated gleefully, "Captain! How good it is to have you back home."

"Indeed," the man answered curtly. "I am glad to see that Cardinal Richelieu has explained to all of you that I am your captain."

"Yes," the guard replied as he lifted a glass from the table behind him and then handed it to Rochefort so that he could join them. "It is why we're celebrating. Do you wish to join us?"

Count de Rochefort knocked the full glass from the soldier's hand, startling everyone in the room, and then said angrily, "No, I don't want to join you! I want all of you to sober up and prepare yourselves for a long and vigorous training session, except for the five best men among you. I have a special mission for you."

They all quickly stood up and shouted in unison, "Yes Sir!"

Another of the men walked toward him as he motioned for four others to follow and soon five men were standing in front of him, while the rest quickly shuffled out of the tavern and headed toward the arena where they practiced on the Count's orders. Slowly Rochefort walked down the line as he looked at them closely, then stopped and waited for one of them to speak again.

"We are the best of our Cardinal's regiment," the man who was captain before the Count arrived in Paris spoke arrogantly. "If you have something you need done, then give the orders."

"The Cardinal and I want you to go after the musketeers Captain Treville sent on the King's latest mission, though you must dress yourselves as bandits, who look as though they have come from the Court of Miracles," Rochefort responded smugly, as he looked forward to their task being completed. "Do whatever you must do to take the one they call Aramis alive and make him suffer before you kill him before the other musketeers' eyes; only Aramis. Gather other men and women from the neighboring cities to help you in your attack against them, for these musketeers will not allow their friend to be taken without putting up a hell of a fight. Are these orders understood?"

The same guard smiled and stated coldly, "If you wish for us to torture and then kill one of the four men who have been nothing but thorns in our sides since these musketeers have come to be, then we hear you loud and clear."

Count de Rochefort smiled as he said haughtily, "Good. Now go and do not fail me or you will pay with your lives. I am not as forgiving as your captains in the past as I believe some of you may recall. I have killed many men under my command and I do not grant second chances."


	4. Chapter 4

Love is the Most Selfish of All the Passions

Chapter Four

Meanwhile…

The musketeers had finally finished explaining to Aramis their task given to them by the King and the Cardinal, then went on to tell him about Count de Rochefort arriving back in Paris and being granted a full pardon. Aramis seemed to pale even more than he already was, not because he feared the Count at all, but because he was already weary from the taxing report of Adele's death and Rochefort being back only added more to the weight he was carrying on his shoulders.

His companions noticed, but they knew better than to address his distress any further and so they continued preparing their horses for their journey, then made sure they had all of their gear needed, including plenty of musket balls should they get into an encounter with their thieves and killers, or anyone else.

"I just can't believe that Rochefort has been granted a full pardon after all he's done against us and all of France," Porthos complained. "He's committed treason for crying out loud!"

"So has the Cardinal if you recall and the Queen has thought it wise to let his actions go for now, unless he commits another act of treason," Athos replied as he mounted his horse, then waited for the others to follow suit. "We ought to do the same for Rochefort, for now."

Porthos shook his head as he responded, "I know that you're right, but I still don't like it."

D'Artagnan rode beside him as he stated, "No one said you had to like it. So, where exactly do we begin our search? The forest is a large place and our bandits could be hiding anywhere."

"I have a feeling that we won't find them, but that they'll be the ones to find us," Aramis answered while looking around him in anticipation of the danger ahead. "All we have to do is look enticing enough for them to want to rob us as well. It shouldn't be too hard. It doesn't sound as though these men are very worried about whom they rob and kill, nor do they sound to be too bright."

"I agree," Athos replied as he too looked around him.

Porthos thought about the Cardinal telling them about some of them possibly being from the place where he once lived before becoming a musketeer, then spoke up again saying, "Those from the Court of Miracles are poor and hungry. I am not implying that what these criminals are doing is right, but I'm saying that I may understand why they're doing this. They're probably doing so because they were forced to and feel they have no other option."

Aramis nodded and responded, "If these men are plundering and killing in order to survive or because they were forced into this kind of life by the world's cruelties, then we will see to it that they are well taken care of and given a fair trial before the King."

"Aramis is right," Athos answered as he turned to look over at his friend. "We will help them, but if they are committing these crimes for other selfish reasons, then they must be held accountable and will most likely be executed."

"There aren't many thieves and killers I've run into who do so because they are just fighting to survive," d'Artagnan replied. "Most of them do it for pleasure or greed."

D'Artagnan was about to say something until he was interrupted when his horse suddenly reared and continued to back up as it became spooked by the loud cracking of a tree branch nearby, nearly knocking its rider off. The others' horses followed suit, though didn't appear as startled, but each of the musketeers were now alert and prepared to fight for whatever invisible attack was about to happen.

Porthos spoke again as he said, "We couldn't have run into them already. This was way too easy."

Aramis dismounted and slowly approached the tree with his pistol in his hand when all of a sudden a young woman bolted out from behind it and tried to attack the musketeer with a dagger raised high. However, Aramis was easily able to avert her and pull the weapon away as he grabbed a hold of her and forced her down on her knees before his companions. She screamed as he did so, but quickly stopped when she looked up at the others who were also holding on to their own weapons should she try to attack again.

Aramis spoke first in his usual, playful manner saying, "Gentlemen, I believe we found us a thief, though I do not believe she is who we've come to find."

"I think you're right, but the question is, why would a single young woman be trying to rob a solider when he has three more companions travelling with him?" Athos asked as he looked down at her while she glared at each of them."

"Because I'm starving and have not a livre, piece of silver or gold coin to my name," the girl wearing ragged clothes and covered in dirt and mud responded angrily. "I wasn't exactly thinking of anything else, but trying to get whatever from you that I could. Let me go!"

Aramis put his pistol back in its holster on his hip, then knelt down in front of her, and answered, "Only if you promise not to attack me or my friends again. If you calm down, we can all talk like civilized people."

When he released her arm, she rubbed it and then replied, "We have nothing to talk about. Unless you plan on arresting me, I'd rather just leave so I can get back to…"

"Get back robbing more travelers as they continue to pass through these woods?" Porthos asked mockingly.

"We don't really want to arrest you, but unless we can believe that you won't harm anyone again, which frankly I don't see how we can, then I'm afraid we really don't have much of a choice," Athos responded. "What do you think D'Artagnan?"

The young Gascon looked over at Athos, then between Porthos and Aramis, who stood back up and walked back to his horse, and answered, "She may try again on the next traveler who comes through here, but I don't believe she's really dangerous."

Aramis nodded in agreement as he replied, "I am inclined to agree with d'Artagnan, Athos. I don't believe she really wanted to kill me. She was only startled like our horses."

"Very well, we'll leave her be, but I suggest you head into the city and buy yourself some fresh food and anything else you may need, Miss," their leader responded as Aramis pulled out a bag of coins and tossed them to her.

"Why are you doing this for me?" she asked as she stared up at the man she had tried to attack moments earlier in bewilderment. "No one has ever cared enough about me before, especially those I try to steal from."

Porthos smiled as he answered, "Because unlike most people around France, we happen to be honorable men and we can see that you're no criminal like those we've arrested or killed."

D'Artagnan quickly stated, "Although, perhaps you can help us as well. We're looking for a troupe of bandits running around thieving and killing, who may also be plotting something more dangerous. Have you heard of them at all? Is there anything you can tell us that may help?"

"I'm afraid not," the young woman replied. "I mean, there are many thieves in these woods, many of whom I'm sure would kill someone if they had to, but I haven't heard of some kind of plot against the King or anything like that. I'm sorry, but thank you. Thank you all for this money. Goodbye!"

"Too bad she wasn't much help," Porthos said scornfully as the girl quickly ran off again, while Aramis remounted his horse and the four of them continued to ride deeper into the woods surrounding Paris.

Aramis responded, "If she had any information that could be of use to us, she would have told us."

Athos looked over at his friend as he asked, "Where did you get that money you just gave to her?"

"You three all have your own frivolous expenditures whereas I to not," Aramis answered half jokingly.

"What frivolous expenditures?" Porthos asked again.

Aramis smiled as he replied, "Well Porthos, you've got your gambling habits. You can't deny it. We all know how much you love to beat the Cardinal's guards at cards, even if you have to cheat to do it. However, you still somehow end up coming out poorer than when you begin. Athos wastes his money on all of his drinking, and d'Artagnan… D'Artagnan spends most of his money having to constantly pay for new garments and weapons because he is quite reckless with them. Poor Constance can't possibly keep up with how fast he wears holes in his clothing. I prefer to save my earnings if I can."

Athos smiled as well, then responded, "Unless of course you spend your earnings on a gift for a beautiful woman."

"At least my earnings go to something more practical," Aramis answered when the playfulness suddenly drained from him again as he looked down and continued to focus only on his surroundings while he remained quiet.

"You may not be able to have the kind of love you long for with our Queen, Aramis, nor with Adele, but one day, you will find someone else and be happy," Athos replied, knowing that his friend was thinking about how he could no longer be with Anne, even in secret, and that he'd never be able to be a father to his child.

Porthos responded, "Athos is right."

Aramis finally broke his silence as answered sadly, "You're wrong. I cannot afford to love again, not when the cost of my love is death."


	5. Chapter 5

Love is the Most Selfish of All the Passions

Chapter Five

The Cardinal spent the rest of the evening with Louis as his counsel while the King conducted business such as seeing a number of townsfolk coming to see him with problems, shop owners and vendors coming to sell items like food for the palace and for the people of France and new material for the King's and Queen's clothes, and finally planed a celebration for the Duke of Buckingham's upcoming visit. Louis didn't much like the Duke, but he didn't show it as their countries were allies whenever Europe went to war.

When they finally finished, Richelieu headed back toward his chambers and as he arrived, he found Count Rochefort waiting outside his doors. Instead of going inside, the Cardinal motioned for the man to follow him and together they walked through the corridors until they came upon a room where the Cardinal conducted most of his personal business in private.

As he opened the front drawer in his desk and pulled out a small bag containing silver coins, the Cardinal spoke up asking, "I take it that you have finished overseeing our men as they prepared for their newest assignment?"

Rochefort nodded and responded, "I've done just as you asked. Our men have left to enlist bandits and other criminals to join them, then will go after the musketeers. They will never know that a few among the scum are really members of the Red Guards."

"Well done, Rochefort," the Cardinal replied coolly. "It is wonderful to have you back, as my loyal captain. What do you think of the rest of the men under your command?"

"They are hardly worthy of being called soldiers, but they will have to do," the Count answered in frustration.

Cardinal Richelieu sneered in agreement as he responded, "Yes, unfortunately it seems that the best of France's soldiers are all a part of those blasted musketeers. However, if anyone can bring our men up to our standards, I do believe it's you."

Count Rochefort smiled and replied, "Indeed I can."

"Very good," the Cardinal answered as he handed his captain the small bag from his desk. "Thirty pieces of silver. A handsome sum as your monthly payment, wouldn't you agree?"

"The same payment I received from you when I agreed to betray the musketeers those many years ago," Rochefort responded smugly and pocketed the money as he turned to leave for the night, but then stopped and turned around as he spoke again. "I appreciate the irony of the payment, as it was what Judas received when he was asked to betray his so called Messiah."

Richelieu smiled as he replied, "I thought you might. Good night, Rochefort."

The captain answered, "Good night, Your Eminence."

Meanwhile…

Up in the King's and Queen's quarters, Louis was preparing for bed while Anne sat in their bed waiting for her husband to lie beside her, fear and sadness gripping at her heart. A part of her cared for the King, as he was kind to her and truly seemed to love her. However, she did not love him in return, as she never did. On the night that her father told her of her duty to become the Queen of France by marrying Louis, she felt anger and a deep sadness because she believed then that she would never find true love. And now she finally has, though not with her husband, but instead with a handsome young musketeer, fully devoted to protecting her and her unborn child; Aramis.

"Is there something wrong, Anne?" Louis asked as he finally laid himself down beside her and reached up to gently touch her face in order to turn her head to look at him. "You seem very troubled."

"No, of course not," she responded quickly as she became startled by his touch, then thought of something to hide the real reason of her fear. "I was only thinking. Why do you suppose there are so many people outside these walls who wish to harm us? I mean, we do our best to treat our people fairly and visit them often, even give them money every Sunday after mass. I genuinely care and love the people. What more can we do?"

Louis moved to get under the blankets as he replied, "The world is full of greed and hate, my dear. So long as all the power belongs to the kings and queens of France, there will always be those doing all they can to strip us of it. I love being King, at least most of the time, but you never really have. Why is that?"

Anne shrugged as she answered sadly, "I suppose it is just that I have never really felt as though I am up for this task. It isn't easy to be Queen."

The King leaned over and kissed his Queen passionately on the lips, then began to do so more forcefully as he slowly began to undo her garments, then roughly pushed her all the way down against the bed, preparing to make love with her, knowing that he wouldn't be able to for much longer once his child would begin to grow larger. Anne allowed him to do so because she knew she had no choice as he was her husband after all. Tears began to stream down her face as he continued. The only thing that allowed her to endure the pain as he forced himself upon her body, was her thoughts of Aramis, as she tried to envision him making love to her instead as he had so gently on the night before he had saved her from Cardinal Richelieu's assassination attempt on her.

When Louis finally finished some time later and rolled off of her to lay upon his back to go to sleep, Anne slowly rolled over onto her side, turning her back to the King while she continued to cry softly as she thought about the man she truly loved as well as his companions who were out there somewhere alone risking their lives once again. Before finally falling asleep, Anne said a silent prayer to God, asking Him to protect the musketeers and to keep them safe from harm, not really knowing if He was listening, but hoping that He was there for her as well as for them.


	6. Chapter 6

Love is the Most Selfish of All the Passions

Chapter Six

Night fell upon them as the musketeers continued their search and it wasn't long into the night when it began to rain gently, making their journey miserable as they kept riding until they could go no further and finally pulled their horses to a stop so that they could relax for the rest of the night.

The four companions managed to build themselves a small shelter out of their blankets, as well as the trees, and fallen branches surrounding them in the opening of the forest so that could get out of the weather as much as possible, then Porthos got to work in building them a fire so that they would be able to cook themselves something to eat. Athos and d'Artagnan went off to try to catch their dinner from the river not too far from where they were camped, while Aramis took care of their horses, removing their bags and the saddles from off the animals' back, then gently began to stroke them, regardless of the storm growing worse.

Porthos watched his friend sadly as Aramis continued working in silence, knowing that he was still struggling with the guilt that was plaguing him, despite the little humor he showed earlier when they were joking back and forth. Each of them all had troubled pasts, but out of all of them, Aramis was the one who held the guilt within himself, without finding another outlet to help him to cope. Porthos and Athos drank when they were upset and d'Artagnan always went off to spar and practice his fighting skills. Aramis only drank when celebrating some kind of event and practiced his skills when they all practiced together in training. If upset, he would go to the church to think and maybe even pray. He was the religious one of their group.

Finally, Porthos finished lighting the fire and when he was confident that it would go out or burn their shelter down, he slowly walked over to where Aramis was stroking d'Artagnan's horse, then finally spoke loud enough for him to be able to hear over the rain saying, "These beasts ought to be mighty grateful to you for how well you're taking care of them. You should come and warm yourself up by the fire. It's a good one, if I do say so myself."

Aramis looked back at the blaze and smiled, then turned away once again as he stated, "You're right. I couldn't have done one any better."

"What can I do?" Porthos asked when he knew that his friend wasn't going to do much talking unless given the prompt to do so, as he was growing worried for him. "How can I help you to understand that you needn't blame yourself or give up on love all together?"

"I haven't totally given up on love, Porthos," Aramis answered sadly, still keeping his back to him. "I just realized that I can no longer love the woman that I long to be with more than I have ever thought possible. As for Adele, I… am not sure how to stop feeling the guilt I feel for her dying. I'm a musketeer and as such I am supposed to protect the people of France and I failed her. If only I hadn't have left my pistol… I thought I was only going to try to convince her to help us with the Cardinal. I never meant to make her fall in love with me. She paid for my indiscretions."

Porthos shook his head as he placed a firm hand on his friend's shoulder and turned him around to face him, then responded, "You loving her was not an indiscretion. She wasn't married to the Cardinal, only his mistress. I know that if she could, she would tell you to stop doing this to yourself. She would want you to be happy. As for the Queen, I may have tried to warn you to not fall in love with her, but the truth is that I was happy for you both. I always suspected that she doesn't love Louis."

Aramis finally looked his friend in the eye as he asked, "How did you get over not being able to be with Flea? You love her and yet you both live in two different worlds. As Anne and I do."

"I find solace in knowing that I am happy where I belong and that she is happy where she is as well," he replied sincerely. "You may not ever find that peace even though you are happy as a musketeer, but in time you will heal, as will she. Now, let's get under the shelter before we both fall ill. The others should be back soon."

"Thank you, Porthos," Aramis said as he followed the larger man beneath the cover he had made for them.

It was then that d'Artagnan and Athos entered the opening in the woods where they were camped and set down the fish they had caught before finally sitting down on the ground by the fire themselves. The two were both soaked through to their skin, but the dreary weather didn't seem to dampen their moods as the four friends soon began to enjoy each others' company while they cooked their food and ate, despite the rain only getting heavier through the night. They all found themselves fortunate to have come together.

Throughout the next day and night, the rain only continued getting worse, but on the morning of their third day out, the rain finally let up, making the musketeers' search more bearable. No one said it, but they all felt that this was one of the weariest missions they've ever been on.

As they made their way along the river and came to a clearing on a tall cliff overlooking the raging rapids below, Athos motioned for his companions to slow their horses as he cautiously looked around at their surroundings, sensing that something wasn't right. The others sensed the danger as well and then all swiftly drew their swords and their pistols as a large group of men and women, on foot and on horses, wearing masks over their faces, suddenly broke out from their hiding places and began to attack the musketeers.

Athos shouted, "Ambush!"

Aramis fired a shot from on top of his horse striking down one of the men as he moved up from behind d'Artagnan, as Aramis was the best with a pistol and musket, while the others quickly got down and began to fight their attackers with their swords. The bandits each used their own swords and weapons in the fight. However, the bandits quickly realized that they had underestimated the musketeers, as most of their opponents usually did. The four men were the best fighters, which was why they were Treville's number one team among the men under his command.

It wasn't long before Aramis gave up using his guns as he got down off his horse and joined his friends fighting on the ground using his own sword as well. The fight continued on as the musketeers caused their attackers to dwindle down one by one and eventually there were only a small number left while the rest lay dead on the ground. Once they realized this, the rest of the bandits finally gave up their attack and began to run away in retreat.

Aramis had just finished striking down another when he looked up just in time to see a man aiming a pistol toward Porthos, who was near the cliff's edge and unaware that he was about to be shot. Aramis reached down for his pistol, but quickly realized he didn't have the minute needed to reload it and so without thinking, he ran as fast as he could in front of his friend, just as the shot fired, striking Aramis in his left shoulder, the force causing both him and Porthos to fall backward over the edge.

Athos saw them fall out of the corner of his eye, but couldn't stop fighting until the few bandits that remained were taken care of. Once the battle was finished and the last of the men and women were either dead or had run off, Athos and d'Artagnan ran over to the edge and looked down, finding that Aramis was hanging onto a large, overgrown root hanging down from a tree above them, while Porthos hung onto his friend's legs and waist using Aramis' musket strap as leverage to keep himself from falling.

Seeing that Aramis was the only thing keeping them both from falling and that he wouldn't be able to keep hanging on for long with a wounded shoulder, Athos quickly lay down on the ground and began to reach out toward them as he called out, "Hold on, we're going to pull you back up! D'Artagnan, grab my legs and whatever you do, don't let go!"

"Gah… Why do you have to weigh so much?" Aramis asked in frustration as he struggled to keep from losing his grip, while Athos and d'Artagnan worked to get ready to help them.

"I don't know!" Porthos answered angrily, knowing that his friend didn't really mean what came out as an insult. "If we live through this, maybe I'll eat less!"

Aramis shook off the pain that was only getting worse as he looked down at his friend hanging below him and cried out, "Porthos, you're going to have to climb up in order to reach Athos. You can do it!"

Porthos slowly began to do so, putting a lot more strain on his companion the higher he climbed and when he was finally able to get high enough to reach Athos' outstretched hand, Athos grabbed onto him and held tight as they fought with all their strength to pull him all the way up.

Once Porthos no longer depended on him hanging on with both hands, Aramis suddenly let go with the hand attached to his wounded shoulder, as he no longer had the strength needed in that arm, but continued to struggle with his only good arm. As soon as Porthos managed to climb over the top, he swiftly lay himself down beside Athos in order to help his friends pull Aramis up too.

Porthos reached as far down as he could as he called out to him, "Aramis, you're going to have to reach us with your other hand! Come on, you can do this!"

He somehow managed to do as his friends asked of him, but as soon as he was able to barely reach the tip of Athos' fingers, he felt what little strength he had left disappear as his consciousness slowly faded, then he fell, without so much as a scream, into the raging river below as the three remaining musketeers were forced to watch the water swallow him and drag him away.

"Aramis!" Porthos cried in fear.

"No!" Athos shouted in unison with his friend, while d'Artagnan could only stare down in shock after their loss.

Porthos got back to his feet as he cried angrily, "Aramis isn't dead!"

D'Artagnan finally helped Athos stand as well and then responded, "There's no way he could have survived that fall, especially with a wound like that. Could he?"

"I don't know!" Athos shouted in frustration. "I don't… Aramis is strong. We have to believe that it's possible he did survive. We need to search along the river banks for as long as it takes until we find him, or… until we find his body."

"He's alive," Porthos replied stubbornly. "He has to be alive."


	7. Chapter 7

Love is the Most Selfish of All the Passions

Chapter Seven

The cold, violent river rushed over the rocks beneath and along the banks, dragging along with it a man as he struggled to fight against the currents, desperately seeking for any chance of survival. Just when he thought death was upon him, Aramis reached out one last time and suddenly managed to grab a hold of the stem of a tree that had fallen out over the water, appearing to have been struck by lightning and split some time ago.

Aramis no longer had any strength in his left arm, so he struggled as he carefully and painfully inched his way along the tree with his one good arm in order to make it back to the shore. It took time, but eventually he finally managed to pull himself out onto the bank and then collapsed hard onto the ground as he fought to breathe in between coughing up water, having swallowed much of it while being thrashed around within it.

Once he got his breathing mostly under control, Aramis painfully rolled over onto his back and looked up into the sky through blurry eyes, knowing that in any minute he was going to close his eyes quite possibly for the last time. As he continued staring above, he weakly reached down to his neck, lifted the gold cross that still hung there, and kissed it, while rasping out a brief prayer until his eyes fell closed, his arm fell to his side, and then his consciousness escaped him, his last thoughts being of his friends and of Anne.

The sun grew hotter now that the rain had finally cleared and as the day wore on, the few surviving bandits who had made it through their assault against the musketeers continued riding away from them until they came to a sudden stop as they heard noise coming from somewhere near the river through the trees. Each of the men dismounted, then slowly approached, and when they cleared the trees, the bandits were surprised to discover one of the musketeers wounded badly as he was lying on the ground unconscious, his legs still immersed within the water.

One of the men slowly approached his enemy and leaned over him as he said smugly, "This musketeer is amazingly still alive, even after I shot him up on that cliff."

Another of the Cardinal's guards looked over at the man put in charge of their task as he asked, "Why can't we just leave him here to die? His wound is deep. Surely his friends won't be able to find him in time to save him."

"Because, you all heard the Captain," their leader answered coldly. "Count Rochefort wants this man to live so he can suffer and then we're to kill him in front of the others once they do arrive and try to rescue their friend."

"Aramis killed one of us during that fight!" the guard that had taken the shot that caused this shouted angrily as she stood up upon examining hm. "I may have been aiming for his friend, but I am glad I shot him instead. There are only four of us left and you saw how the other musketeers fought. We were no match for them with a small army of bandits and killers fighting alongside us. We're certainly no match against them now. Not after this!"

The leader suddenly shot the man arguing with him and when he fell to the ground dead, the soldier responded, "There are actually only three of us left."

He continued speaking to the rest of the men in his charge saying, "Don't worry, we won't be alone for long. The criminals who survived the fight headed off in the direction of the village just outside of this God forsaken forest, which is where we will head as well. Remember, we are still bandits and will be until our job is done. Bandage this musketeer's wound and then carefully lay him upon the back of a horse and tie him down so we can bring him with us as planned. We haven't failed Count de Rochefort after all. Do you understand?"

"Yes Sir, Cap… we understand," one of the men replied, almost forgetting that the man in charge was no longer their captain, then together the three slowly did as was asked of them.

Meanwhile…

Athos, Porthos, and d'Artagnan were wearily riding along the river in silence as Athos ordered just after they watched their friend fall, all still hanging on to the hope that Aramis was still alive. However, hours passed by, and yet they were still no closer to finding anything that would lead them to him.

Night was approaching and the musketeers' hope was slowly fading, until d'Artagnan suddenly noticed the broken tree reaching out over the water, then a large imprint in the mud at the water's edge and swiftly stopped his horse as he ran over, followed quickly by the others, who noticed the imprint as well, then knelt down to get a better look.

"He made it out of the river here," Athos said, trying to sound hopeful. "Thank God he's still alive."

Porthos quickly answered, "Yes, but where is he? Surely he couldn't have gotten very far with a gunshot wound, especially after having to survive this blasted river too."

D'Artagnan looked around and found more footprints among other markings surrounding the area and then he responded, "It looks like he was dragged off, somewhere heading north. Men on horseback already came through here."

"Our bandits came this way too," Athos replied as he looked down again when what little sunlight remained shined down on something glimmering in the mud, catching his eye, then he slowly reached down to pick it up. "Aramis' cross given to him by Queen Anne. The chain is broken. They must have pulled it off from around his neck before they took him."

"What's going on here, Athos?" Porthos asked angrily as he punched his fist against what was left of the broken tree, his fear for his best friend only intensifying, knowing that Aramis was in worse danger and now completely helpless to defend himself. "First, they attack us up on the cliff and then they kidnap Aramis when they find him wounded? Something doesn't feel right."

D'Artagnan nodded and then said, "I agree with Porthos. Any normal bandits would have either left him to die or would have finished him off, then take off again. Why take him?"

Athos walked over and stood in front of Porthos as he carefully worked to wrap a piece of cloth from his satchel around his friend's now bloodied hand and then spoke up again saying, "It appears they plan to use him as bait to draw us to them. Whoever these men are, they know that we'll come for him. If it's all of us they're after, then we will give them what they want."


	8. Chapter 8

Love is the Most Selfish of All the Passions

Chapter Eight

When the remaining three of the Cardinal's Red Guards, still in their disguises, arrived on their horses outside of the village that was enclosed by a gate boarding around it, a voice suddenly called down to them from above stating, "None of you belong here, so I suggest you all keep on riding and try to find some other place for shelter, unless you feel like dying tonight."

The soldiers all looked up to see two men above the gate's entrance, each aiming a musket down at them, as the leader of the guards raised up his hands, the rest of his men following suit, and then he replied calmly, "Please, we are all that's left of the men and women who came through here seeking shelter after we were all attacked earlier this morning by some of King Louis' men. We were split off from them once those of us who survived scattered. Please, let us in."

"Let them inside," one of men shouted down at someone below them, then held on as the entrance to the gate slowly began to open wide enough to let them through, then closed again behind them as one of the men above climbed down to greet them. "You'll have to forgive us for our rudeness, but it wasn't real long ago that several musketeers on the King's orders raided our village and stole much of our livestock. When a few of us tried to resist, they were struck down and killed, for defending what was ours. Any enemy of the King's musketeers are friends to us. You're welcome here."

"We appreciate your help," the one time captain answered, knowing that it wasn't actually the musketeers that had raided these people, but them and many more of the Red Guards who attacked villages in disguise of the musketeers.

One of the villagers walked around to the back of another of the newcomers' horses upon seeing a man, who was wearing the musketeers' emblem on his right shoulder, draped over its back and then asked angrily, "If you're really enemies of the musketeers, then why do you have one of them tied to the back of your horse? He's still alive!"

One of the other soldiers quickly dismounted as he pushed the villager away from their captive and then responded, "This is one of the men that attacked us up on that cliff several miles from here. We found him badly wounded and unconscious and decided that we would take him alive so that we could lure the rest of his friends to us, in order to make them all pay for the pain they caused us."

"Allow us to torture and make this man suffer before his friends come," the Guards' leader continued. "Talk to the rest of our men and women you have allowed to take shelter here and I can guarantee they will all ask of you the same thing. It's nothing less than he deserves."

"Do whatever you want with him," the man who appeared to be in charge of the people in this village answered as he walked over to them. "After all, we are all bandits and killers after being forced out of Paris by our so called King. Just be sure that he dies, as well as his friends, should they come for him like you claim they will."

The soldier smiled as he responded, "Believe me, they will and then we will kill them all."

The village leader stated coldly, "Very good. Now, follow me. You can bring your prisoner into the shelter we have turned into a dungeon of our own. It's the perfect place to torture someone."

Back at the palace…

Captain Treville was sitting down at his desk inside his office, tapping his fingers up and down nervously as he was growing impatient for any kind of news from his four best musketeers, as it has been three days since they left Paris in search of the bandits, who he was fearfully suspecting were not exactly as the Cardinal and Rochefort had said, as he knew his men had suspected all along.

It wasn't that the Captain trusted Cardinal Richelieu or his new captain at all, but as it was his duty to the King to make sure all leads on a possible attack against him and his Queen were uncovered, Treville didn't have a choice, but to send his men out into unknown danger, this time, as like any other. However, as more time passed, he was growing more and more concerned for his friends and so finally, Captain Treville got up and strode toward the barracks where the rest of his men were housed, calling for them to stand before him as he entered.

"Gentlemen, I need a large group of you to join me as we go in search for the men I sent out three days ago on a mission for our King," he ordered. "They should have sent word back to me by now, but they haven't yet. I'm worried about them."

"Yes Sir, Captain!" they all cried out in unison.

Then, one of them spoke out saying, "Sir, you know that Athos, Aramis, Porthos, and now d'Artagnan are the best of all of us. I am certain that they're all just fine."

Treville nodded, but then replied, "Yes, but even the best of us are not invincible."

"No Sir, they're not," another of the men answered.

"Good, now finish getting ready," the captain responded as he turned and left, seeing the Cardinal and Count de Rochefort standing watch on one of the balconies not far above from his men's quarters.

As the two of them watched the captain of the musketeers leave the barracks, Richelieu spoke up saying, "It appears that your men may have been successful in their task, Rochefort. Captain Treville appears to be quite on edge."

The Count nodded and then replied, "So it appears. However, I should like to go off to investigate on my own, if that is all right with you. I know we mustn't allow anyone to know of our parts in planning all this, but just the same, I feel it is important for me to find out if my men have indeed captured Aramis as we commanded them, or if he and the other musketeers are dead."

"I agree, Captain," the Cardinal answered and then looked over at him with a smug smile on his face. "And then, when you do find your men, I want you to make sure that they cannot talk of our involvement to anyone. Do I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly clear, Your Eminence" Rochefort responded. "As you command."


	9. Chapter 9

Love is the Most Selfish of All the Passions

Chapter Nine

Aramis slowly awoke, as pain suddenly flooded through his entire body, quickly reminding him of the fight between him, his friends, and the bandits up on the cliff, however long ago it was, though he couldn't exactly remember anything after the fight, or even how it ended, as most of it was fuzzy.

He fought through his pain and finally managed to open his eyes, then turned his head to try to focus in his surroundings and found himself lying on his back against the cold, hard, ground, unbound and had a bandage wrapped around a wound in his shoulder, which he didn't exactly remember getting. He also saw that he was being held in a large, dimly lit shelter made out of stones, a few lit torches on the walls being the only light in the room, and then saw shackles and chains hanging down from the walls; a torture chamber.

Instinctively, the musketeer reached down to his hip where he wore his pistol, though found that it wasn't actually there and seeing that he was now a prisoner, he knew that he wouldn't find any of his weapons on him. So, he struggled to move as he slowly sat up and worked to get on his feet. However, he stopped when he heard voices outside the cell door, including that of a woman's voice, and as quickly as he could, he moved back into the farthest corner of the room and waited for his captors to walk in.

"So, you're finally awake," the woman said coldly as she and two others entered and found Aramis sitting in the far corner of the room, then she quickly ordered the men to go back out and to leave her alone with him. "We were worried that you might not. You've been unconscious all day."

"Yes, well I… I haven't exactly been… sleeping well as of… late," Aramis responded in his usual, cheeky manner upon recognizing the woman as she slowly moved to sit on the ground in front of him. "Milady de Winter. I had a feeling we would… see you again, though certainly not so soon. Why have you… brought me… here? And who… who are your friends?"

She smiled, almost as if she were flirting with him, though he knew better, as she was who she was, and then she answered, "I wasn't the one who brought you here, but some very dangerous men have and all of them, as well as everyone who lives here in this village, all want you to suffer before you die. They aren't very fond of musketeers."

Aramis only stared back at her as he remained where he sat, then replied, "And as I… recall, neither are you. What do you want with me? Why didn't you leave France? Athos…"

"To you, Athos may have shown mercy when he set me free, but I saw the truth in his eyes," she cut him off angrily. "He wanted to see me dead, but he was too much of a coward to pull the trigger or to cut me through with his sword. And now, more than ever, I want to see him dead. You are Aramis, a man of God and among the noblest of musketeers. If I offered you a chance to escape from these people…"

"There is nothing… you could do for me, or say… that would ever make me turn… on my brothers," Aramis responded gallantly. "Besides, you may have… your own skills, but you can't expect me… to believe you have power over these thieves and killers after only… a few days."

Milady smiled as she leaned in close to him, then began to kiss him passionately on his lips, and attempted to seduce him further until he suddenly pushed her away from him as he backed up closer against the wall, as she laughed and said wickedly, "So, my womanly charms are nothing for Aramis, the seducer of many women. Is it because I am not beautiful to you, or is because I am not as fair as the Cardinal's mistress, Adele, I believe her name was? From what I understand, her name was the last word that escaped from her soft lips when the Cardinal had her shot with your pistol, only feet away from where he sat comfortably within his carriage while he looked on. Poor Adele and poor Aramis."

As she was about to thrust a dagger she had pulled out from the top of her corset deep into his chest, the leader of the Cardinal's guards, still in disguise so that the musketeer wouldn't be able to recognize him, suddenly burst into the room, having grown impatient, then snapped his fingers, motioning for his men to drag Aramis into the center of the room where two posts stood, and then had them shackle his wrists tightly between them so that he was forced to kneel on the ground while his arms were forced up roughly over his head. The pain in his wounded shoulder flared as this was done, but Aramis refused to cry out, refusing to give them the satisfaction of seeing him in pain for as long as he could hold out.

The leader leaned down in front of him, grabbed him roughly by his chin in order to force Aramis to look at him, and then spoke up saying smugly, "You're here because you have caused us trouble one too many times, musketeer. You will die, but not by Lady de Winter's hand and not before your time."

Aramis looked between Milady and the man now standing before him with fierceness in his eyes as he now knew these men were actually members of the Cardinal's guards, and then answered, "Musketeers do not die… easily as you already know. You tried… to kill us on many occasions… and not only today… yet we are all… still here."

"Perhaps so," the soldier replied angrily as his grip on Aramis' chin only grew tighter. "However, you shall die slowly and painfully, as your friends will not be able rescue you and when they see that they have failed, they will try to avenge you, only to fall themselves."

"I don't care what happens to me," Aramis said wearily. "I am prepared to die if God wills it, but know that if harm… comes to the other musketeers, you all shall suffer in Hell… for your sins."

The former captain backhanded Aramis hard across his face and then called out to the rest of his men, shouting, "Begin the torture! Do whatever you want with him, make him bleed, but keep him alive!"

Milady pulled a cat from off the wall and cracked the flogging instrument behind the musketeer, then suddenly struck it hard across his back, the bone shards embedded within the tails causing a great deal of agony for Aramis as they tore deep into his flesh, though he still refused to cry out. She glared at the men as they approached her to take over, but they quickly backed off when they saw that she wasn't willing to back down.

The leader of the guards spoke again as he asked, "What are you doing? The Cardinal has given us orders not to kill him until his friends arrive to try to save him. I told you that!"

"Yes and I will see to it that your orders are followed, but it will be me taking care of this musketeer from here on out," she stated coldly. "I have more experience with this sort of thing than any of you."

"For you, Athos!" she suddenly cried out angrily, then began to strike the cat's tails across Aramis' back again and again, while the Red Guards and other bandits from the village looked on in fascination. "If I can't kill you, then I will kill those you love!"


	10. Chapter 10

Love is the Most Selfish of All the Passions

Chapter Ten

Athos, Porthos, and d'Artagnan followed the horses' tracks they found nearby the area where their friend had been taken from, but eventually the tracks increased and began to go in multiple directions, indicating that there have been several horses riding through these woods within the last few days and making impossible for the musketeers to know which ones to follow.

"They could have taken Aramis anywhere by now," Porthos said in frustration as he pulled his horse to a stop and then took a drink of water from his water pouch, as did d'Artagnan, while Athos got down and knelt over the tracks to try to get a closer look at them. "They're at least a half a day ahead of us."

"Can you tell which tracks we need to follow, Athos?" d'Artagnan asked, ignoring their friend's complaining.

Their leader shook his head and answered, "I was hoping that I'd be able to tell if one of these tracks appeared deeper than the others, but… Several of their horses must have been carrying heavy loads. There's no way we can continue tracking them."

As he stood back up and got back onto his horse, Porthos looked out around them and then spoke again saying, "Well, there are at least three villages between here and the border. Our assailants must be hiding in one of them, the question is… which one?"

"We'll just have to search them all," Athos replied.

"What I'm more concerned with is the villagers' reception of us," d'Artagnan responded nervously. "I've heard many of those that live out north beyond the forest aren't real fond of the King or his musketeers."

Athos looked between his friends and then answered, "Which is why we won't be going in as musketeers."

Meanwhile…

Hours after the torture began, Aramis was finally left alone in the dim light as his head hung against his chest and his body leaned forward as far as it could, while his arms remained restrained high above him within the shackles. He had fallen unconscious shortly after forty lashes, the total number being unknown and when he finally awoke again, he found that he had been stripped down to his undergarments and the pain throughout his body from his multiple wounds had grown to become unbearable. However, now that he was alone again, he allowed the tears he held in, long before the physical pain even began, to fall silently down his cheeks.

Aramis struggled to turn his head up to look out through the cell door in order to see what time of day it was and all he saw was more darkness, indicating that night had fallen, though it didn't help him to know how long he had been held a prisoner, or how long it had been since he had last seen his friends, then he allowed his head to fall back down against his chest as he could no longer hold it up. Porthos, Athos, and d'Artagnan were alive, Aramis was sure of it, but he knew that they would stop at nothing to try to rescue him, or to avenge his death, even if it would cost them their lives in doing so, which frightened him more than dying himself . Unfortunately, escape was not an option. He could barely move, even if he were freed of his bindings. Only his friends would be able to help him now, though Aramis prayed they didn't come, as he no longer believed he was worth saving.

The musketeer could hear some kind of celebration going on outside, which meant that many of the people within this village were most likely getting drunk. If that were true, it may make it easier for the others to get inside unnoticed should they arrive that night, though there was at least one person he knew would not hinder herself for any reason, even if she did get the chance to kill the man she has longed to kill since she felt he betrayed her; Milady de Winter. It wouldn't be long before she walked back into his prison, looking to continue his torment.

A few minutes later, someone did walk inside, except it wasn't Milady or any of the Cardinal's guards. It was the young woman he had spared and had given money to two days ago at the beginning of their search. As she quietly opened the cell door and cautiously stepped inside, Aramis' head was still down, but she slowly approached and when she saw who he was, she carefully lifted a flask to his lips and helped him to drink, all without saying a word until she finished.

She spoke quietly saying, "I was hoping that it wouldn't be you."

"Why… why are you… here?" he asked weakly when he finally managed to look over at her when she knelt down at his side. "How…?"

"I live here," she replied quickly. "I arrived back here earlier this evening and when I heard that the villagers here had captured a musketeer, I immediately thought of you and had to come see for myself. No one else knows I'm in here."

Aramis lowered his head again, then responded, "You should go… before some… one sees you… talking… to me."

The young girl slowly stood again and then answered, "I'm going, but… there has to be something I can do to help you. You and your friends helped me when you didn't have to. You didn't just spare my life after I tried to kill you, but you also gave me your own money, which I can't imagine you have much of."

"My friends… are out there… looking for me as we… speak," Aramis replied. "Every… everything's going to be… fine. I'll be… fine. Thank you. What is… your name?"

"Renee," she responded quickly, as she looked toward the door thinking she had heard someone coming. "I have to go, but… I'm going out to go and look for your friends. If I can find them, I'll tell them where to find you. It's the least I can do after the kindness you showed me."

Aramis tried to object before she left as he called out, "Please… don't, Renee. If they come here, my frien… friends could die. I can't… can't…"

When he could no longer speak as exhaustion finally fell over him and his consciousness faded, Renee looked down on him sadly and then replied, "I can't just let you die without doing something to help you. You're a good man, who does not deserve this."

Renee turned and quickly left the dungeon when she saw that the way was clear, then carefully walked through the crowds all gathered around a bonfire as they drank and danced around in order to make her way toward the gate, where there was a loose board that she could easily slip through without being noticed by those guarding the entrance. Once she left the compound, she started to run toward the forest again, in hope that she would be able to find the musketeer's friends, despite what he said.


	11. Chapter 11

Love is the Most Selfish of All the Passions

Chapter Eleven

Disguised as peasants, Porthos walked into the closest village nearby in hope of finding his closest friend, while Athos and d'Artagnan walked into the second village so that they would be able to save time. Unfortunately, Aramis was not in either community, or the bandits that attacked them, only starving men, women, and children who all despised King Louis because he did not care for them the way a king should. The musketeers understood the people's anger and felt it themselves, but never spoke of it except amongst each other alone.

Morning came again when the three companions finally met up after splitting off, only to become more disappointed when each shared that their friend's whereabouts was still unknown. It had been a day since Aramis had disappeared before their eyes beneath the raging river and the longer it took for them to find him, the more worried they grew that all they would find would be nothing more than his body.

Athos spoke again saying, "We still have one more village to search and if he isn't there…"

D'Artagnan finished for him, "If he isn't there, then we may just have to accept that Aramis is gone."

"Don't you dare presume that Aramis is dead!" Porthos stated angrily as he shoved the youngest musketeer up against a tree that stood behind him. "He isn't dead! He is out here somewhere and we will find him. Won't we, Athos?"

"Porthos, d'Artagnan didn't mean it," Athos answered as he gently took hold of his friend and pulled him away. "You're right, we will find him."

Porthos turned his head to look at the man he saw as their leader and nodded, then responded, "We should get going. God knows what our bandits have done to him by now."

Suddenly, the musketeers were surprised by a young girl wearing a hood over her head when she stepped out from behind a tree as she said softly, "You are the musketeers who rode with the one who gave me his money three days ago, aren't you?"

"You're the young thief we let go," Athos replied as he removed the covering from off his own head so that she could see him, as did Porthos and d'Artagnan. "How did you find us and why did you come after us?"

"I came looking for you because your friend needs your help," she quickly answered as she pulled off her hood when she knew that she had found the men she had been searching for.

Porthos moved closer to her as he asked anxiously, "You've seen Aramis?"

She nodded nervously as she responded, "The people from my village have taken him captive and are torturing him as we speak. He was still alive when I left him last night, but barely. I don't think he can last much longer."

"You need to take us to him," Athos replied more forcefully than he meant to be. "Please."

"I can't go back there," she spoke again. "But you've been searching the villages outside of the forest. I saw the two of you and hoped that I finally found you. You only have one left. You'll find him there. There's a loose board in the far left corner of the perimeter surrounding the community that you'll be able to slip into without being seen by the guards up on the gate, then you can blend in with the rest of them."

D'Artagnan looked at her when she began to walk away as he asked, "Why are you helping us?"

She turned back as she answered quietly, "Because, he helped me when he didn't have to. And seeing him last night… You have to know something. He begged me not to go looking for you. He is afraid you will all die trying to rescue him and if you go into my village, you will be sorely outnumbered. He's ready to die. I've seen the look on his face before, just before my own mother took her own life after my father started beating her."

"I've also seen that look before," Athos responded sadly as she ran off again, leaving the three friends alone. "We're musketeers and we don't just fight for our King and country, but for each other as well. We won't let Aramis die, certainly not so long as he believes he's no longer of worth."

"You're darn right," Porthos replied angrily. "Aramis took that bullet for me and held on to that tree root as long as it took for me to make it up over that cliff's edge. These thieves and murderers will not get away with the pain they've inflicted on him, I swear it."

D'Artagnan looked between his friends as he stated, "As do I."

Athos remounted his horse, the other musketeers following suit, and then said, "And I. We need to hurry."

In the village…

"I can see whatever spirit you had inside of you is fading fast, but you only have to hold on just a little longer until Athos and the others arrive," Milady spoke as she gently wiped a cold, wet rag across Aramis' face, neck, and finally across his chest, hoping to keep down the fever that was now raging throughout his body the closer he became to death.

"You wo… won't kill… the… them," he answered weakly without even trying to lift his head. "They are stron… ger than… me."

She stopped moving as she stared at him and then responded cruelly, "That's true, but when the musketeers see your broken, lifeless body, they will crumble. They will try to avenge you, Aramis, but they will lose. Everyone here hates you musketeers even more than they hate King Louis himself. And though they may be drunk, they are far more than the three coming for you. I will kill you and then I will kill Athos once and for all."

When Aramis didn't say anything more, she continued, "I told Richelieu's men that I wouldn't kill you before they come, but I really don't think you can hold out any longer. Would you like me to end your suffering?"

"You should leave… leave… Paris," the musketeer replied defiantly. "Or he… he... will ki… kill you."

"No he won't," Milady said, then she pulled out her dagger and held it tightly against his throat as she roughly pulled his head up by his hair, forcing him to look at her. "I understand you are the spiritual one. I suggest you prepare yourself to die. It's almost time."

All of a sudden, she thrust the blade deep into his shoulder where the musket ball had already caused damage and swiftly pulled it back out again, finally causing him to cry out in pain. She smiled as she wiped his blood off by wiping the blade off with his shirt which had been discarded when his whipping began. Then, without another word, she got up and walked out of the prison as she dropped the bloodied shirt on the ground in front of him, leaving him alone one last time to suffer in silence until it was time for death to claim him.


	12. Chapter 12

Love is the Most Selfish of All the Passions

Chapter Twelve

The musketeers finally arrived outside the village surrounded by a gate that was well guarded, just as the young girl had said. They quickly dismounted their horses, tied them up, and cautiously ran toward the back of the perimeter under the protection of the trees in hope that they wouldn't be spotted, then quickly looked for the loose board to get inside undetected. When they found it, Athos pushed it open and when he saw that the way was clear, he and the others made their way inside, making sure that their disguises were in place so that they wouldn't be recognized as musketeers.

They found that many of the villagers were passed out from too much drinking after some kind of celebration the night before, while those that were still awake were walking around as any other day. Athos motioned for his friends to split up in search for Aramis and then started walking toward the center of the community, hoping not to be interrupted by anyone. Unfortunately, Porthos was not that lucky as two drunkards came up from behind him and offered him a drink as they started mocking musketeers in general, then began laughing about having caught one of them and seeing him in such a lowly state. When he was sure no one else was watching him aside from his other comrades, Porthos swiftly punched one of the men hard in the face, then broke the bottle of wine they had offered him over the back of the others' head, successfully knocking them both out before either one could cry out.

D'Artagnan smiled when he saw Porthos knock the men down, then continued searching in his own direction when he came across a table inside one of the open shelters with a sword, a pistol, a musket, and a number of smaller weapons draped across it as well as a leather jacket with the musketeers' insignia stitched into the jacket's shoulder covering, all of which d'Artagnan immediately recognized to be Aramis' things. One of the villagers walked inside to collect his own gun and when the man finished and left again, d'Artagnan immediately began to pick up his friend's weapons and his jacket as quickly as he could, then carried it all back outside the gate to where they had tied up their horses so that they wouldn't be left behind.

As Athos continued walking, cautiously so as to not draw attention to himself, he soon saw a man carrying what looked like a whip, or cat, heading toward a large, stone shelter that he found to have a cell door, then followed after him until he stopped outside of it, making sure that no one else was approaching. However, he suddenly heard the sound of the whip cracking, immediately followed by the pained cry coming from who he knew was their friend they had been searching for.

The cat was struck against Aramis' chest once again and the torturer was about to continue until all of a sudden the tails were grabbed in midair from behind him, forcing the man to turn around in surprise as he come face to face with nothing more than Athos' fist as it swiftly and forcefully struck him down to the ground unconscious before he could even see who his attacker was.

"Aramis, we're here," Athos whispered as he quickly knelt down in front of his friend and gently pulled his head up in hope to get him to look at him, though he could see that Aramis was barely conscious and that a dangerous fever had taken hold over his friend's body. "We're all here for you and we're going to get you out of here, I swear it."

"F… for… give me..." Aramis muttered softly as Athos couldn't understand what he was trying to say.

Athos quickly got back to his feet as he walked back to the prison's entrance, then motioned for Porthos and d'Artagnan as he saw them nearby looking out for trouble, and when they both stepped inside, Porthos raced to his friend's side upon seeing the terrible shape he was in, then cried out, "My God! I swear, I will kill every last one of the men that has done this to him!"

Athos tried to pull on the shackles that bound their friend in between the posts, but when he saw they wouldn't break easily, he said, "Porthos, I need you to focus on breaking these chains. We'll work on getting the shackles off later, but for now, we just need to get him out of here and get him to someone who can help him."

"It was easy for us to break in, but getting back out while carrying these people's prisoner, impossible," d'Artagnan replied as he came over to try to help them.

"Unfortunately for you, the boy is right," a familiar voice responded from behind them and they immediately turned as d'Artagnan and Athos swiftly stood with their swords raised upon seeing Milady standing in the entrance with a pistol raised in her hand directly at them. "I am glad to see you've come at last, especially you, husband. Aramis here isn't going to last much longer and I was so looking forward to making you all watch as I finish him off right here in front of you."

Athos answered firmly, "That isn't going to happen. You're behind our attack and Aramis' capture?"

She smiled as she looked between the musketeers and then replied, "Actually, I wasn't. However, it was wonderfully fortuitous that those that had captured him should arrive into the village where I happened to be hiding from you. This is a village where everyone hates musketeers even more than they hate the King and I knew that I would be welcomed. When Aramis was brought in, I volunteered to be his torturer until you arrived so that this moment would be even more rewarding for me, than should I have killed him outright."

"Right now, we stand between you and Aramis and you will have to go through us before you can hurt him anymore," Porthos vowed angrily.

"Porthos is right," d'Artagnan stated in agreement. "You may be able to take one of us down, but the moment that you do, the rest of us will strike you down where you stand."

She only smiled as she lowered her musket and then responded, "Actually, I'm afraid you're both wrong. I'm sorry, Athos."

Before they could stop her, Milady swiftly fired her weapon at the ground, which immediately caused the ground to burst into flames, the fire spreading around them as she ran out the door, then d'Artagnan shouted, "She must have dowsed the ground in oil or brandy! We need to get out of here now, before the whole shelter is consumed!"

"Pull, harder!" Athos shouted as he and Porthos struggled to rip the chains from the posts in order to free Aramis as well before the fire could reach him and begin to burn him alive. "Go, d'Artagnan! Get out of here, now!"

"Not without you!" he shouted back as he rushed over to help his friends and together the three finally managed to rip the chains free, then struggled to carry their wounded friend between them through the flames and back outside to safety.

As soon as they were clear of the fire, a shot was suddenly fired above them, narrowly missing Athos' head, and then they saw Milady as well as several other villagers wielding their own weapons in hope of killing the musketeers once and for all before they could escape. They carefully laid Aramis down on the ground in between them and then began to fight the bandits and murderers as they surrounded the soldiers. The musketeers were by far outnumbered, but despite the grim outlook, the three fought with all their strength as they did in any fight.

Athos fired his pistol at one of the bandits as he tried to sneak up behind Porthos, then continued fighting with his sword, each of them managing to hold the bandits back for a little longer. Milady shoved her way through the battle in order to come face to face once and for all with Athos, who looked at her sadly for a brief moment until he thought about the torment she inflicted upon Aramis and anger replaced his sadness, allowing him to fight the woman he once loved until she became the villainess standing before him now.

She cried out, "You and your friends will die here today, Athos, and you can't do anything to stop it. You've failed them."

Milady de Winter was good with a sword, but Athos was far better and it wasn't long before he had disarmed her. She fell back to the ground and glared up at her husband as he thrust his blade up to her throat to make the final blow. However, he looked down at her with pity and instead of killing her, Athos suddenly picked her up off the ground and held his arms tightly around her throat until she fell unconscious, then let her fall to the ground while he continued to fight against the villagers with his comrades. If they survived this battle, Milady was going to die after facing trial for her crimes, and not by his own hand.

Porthos soon cried out, "We won't be able to keep them back much longer, Athos! What are we doing?"

"We fight until we're struck down," the band's leader answered fearlessly as Porthos killed one of the bandits as he was about to plunge his knife into Athos' back. "We will die together, as brothers."

When they each believed they were about to die, the sound of an attack could suddenly be heard from outside of the gate and it wasn't long before the entrance opened, allowing a large band of other villagers to fight their way inside against the bandits and not the musketeers. Athos, Porthos, and d'Artagnan continued fighting, until Athos ordered them to fall back so that they could break free. Porthos quickly rushed back to Aramis and as gently as he could, lifted him into his arms with d'Artagnan's help, while Athos lifted Milady's still form over his shoulders and together they broke through the battle and made their escape.

"What do you suppose that was all about?" d'Artagnan asked once they made their way into the woods where they had left their horses.

Athos carefully tied their prisoner up and to the back of his horse as he replied, "I don't know, but if Aramis was able, I'm sure he would say that God had something to do with our lives being spared today."

Porthos laid Aramis down on the ground once again and quickly tore his covering into pieces to be able to create a makeshift bandage for his friend's wound in his shoulder, then responded, "And I would actually believe him for once. We need to make a travois to carry him if Aramis is going to have any chance of surviving it all the way to Paris. His wounds…"

"I know," Athos answered as he moved to kneel down beside their friend, quickly poured water from his decanter over a cloth he pulled from one of his bags, then gently began to wipe down his forehead and neck in order to try to help with his fever. "We better get started, before the battle ends and the survivors come out looking for us. We have been spared today for a reason. I'll be damned if Aramis dies."


	13. Chapter 13

Love is the Most Selfish of All the Passions

Chapter Thirteen

Porthos and d'Artagnan worked in silence on making a travois as quickly as they could, while Athos held Aramis, who remained barely conscious in his arms and carefully wiped him down so that he'd be able to get a better look at the wounds covering their friend's back and chest. Heat was radiating off of him and most of his wounds were deep. The musketeers could see that Aramis was dangerously ill and feared that he wouldn't be able to survive the three day journey back home, but they didn't let their fear stop them from doing everything they could for him in the very limited time they had before the surviving bandits and villagers tried to come after them.

Milady remained unconscious while tied to her husband's horse, so for now, they weren't worried about her. Once the travois was finally finished and was tied to Porthos' horse, Porthos walked over and knelt down beside his friends, then carefully lifted Aramis into his arms once again, laid him down against the travois and wrapped the rest of their blankets they carried with them over him in hope of keeping him warm. Afterward, they all mounted their horses and slowly began their trip back through the forest that they had seen so much of over the last several days.

They stopped twice to check on Aramis before finally coming to a final stop inside a small opening once night fell and they felt it was safe enough to do so. They unstrapped the travois from the horse, laid their friend down against the ground and then got started on prepping a fire for the night.

Porthos finally broke the silence that had fallen over them as he looked down at his friend sadly saying, "We never had the chance to find out who really was responsible for doing this to him. We didn't make them pay!"

Athos, who was sitting on the ground beside Aramis, looked over at Milady as she rested up against a tree, conscious, but in silence and cold as she looked away from her captors, then responded, "We'll find out who they were from her and if they weren't killed in today's battle, then we'll come back for them once we know that Aramis will be all right."

"That is if they don't come after us first," d'Artagnan replied as he came over to sit beside Aramis and then carefully lifted up one of his friend's arms to get a good look at the shackles that still restrained his wrists. "I think I can get these off of him, but…"

"But what?" Porthos asked in frustration when d'Artagnan cut himself off.

The young Gascon pulled out a small pouch and answered, "If I place just a tiny amount of gunpowder inside the locking pin mechanisms, then blow it, the shackles will break. However, it may hurt him even more."

Porthos shook his head until Athos spoke up responding, "Then, do it. I don't see we have any other options. We need to get them off of him."

"Do you really know what you're doing?" Porthos asked again as he glared at d'Artagnan.

"It was something my father taught me a long time ago, you know, in case something like this might ever come in handy," d'Artagnan replied. "It turns out that he was right."

Athos answered, "We trust you. I'm going over to have a chat with my wife… with Milady. Porthos, help him."

He nodded and then stated, "Good luck with her. Let me know if you want to knock her out again, but this time… allow me the satisfaction."

"I'd be happy to let him," Athos said as he walked over, then sat down again in front of the woman he once loved. "I don't really care that you tried to kill me as often as you have. I can't fully blame you for hating me because I treated you the way I did, but when you harm the people I care about in order to get to me, I can't forgive so easily. You are going to face trial before our King and then you will be executed for your crimes finally. I will not allow you to escape again. You should have left France when you had the chance."

"So your handsome, sad little friend said," she responded coldly. "He certainly looks terrible, doesn't he?"

Athos glared at her and then replied, "Aramis is going to be fine. He's stronger than I am. Always has been."

Milady looked at him as she spoke again saying, "Keep telling yourself that. You may actually start to believe it and then you'll only end up getting crushed when your brother in arms dies after all. We have a long and treacherous road ahead of us yet."

"Who is behind our attack that led to this, Milady?" Athos asked angrily as the sound of gunpowder blasted open the shackles. "Why did they capture Aramis and have him tortured?"

"I think you know me better than that," she whispered seductively into his ear. "It looks like your bandits and murderers are going to get away with killing one of your King's most valuable musketeers. What a shame. It's too bad that Adele won't be there to mourn his death too."

Athos stood up as he said, "So, the Cardinal is behind Adele's death as we suspected that he was."

Milady answered, "Yes, but you don't have any proof and I won't give you the confession in court that you need to bring Richelieu down. I don't care if that old fool brings himself down, but I will not help you. Now, I suggest you get back over to your friends now and leave me alone, so I can revel in the knowledge that my role in hurting the great Aramis is killing you a little too."

"I take it that that went well," Porthos stated sarcastically as Athos came back over to sit with them, then became despondent again as he looked down at his closest friend. "The kid was right about using the gunpowder. And to be honest, I don't think Aramis can really feel it when all the other wounds he's suffering from are much worse."

"You're probably right," Athos responded and then became angry because of the things Milady had said, despite trying not to let it bother him. "But he's going to be fine! We have to believe that."

D'Artagnan replied calmly, "Whatever Milady said to you, she's wrong. None of this is your fault, Athos. Aramis would be the first one to tell you so."

Porthos agreed and continued, "Besides, Milady just happened to be in the right place at the right time. This all started because of someone else. Those bandits did this because they were appointed to, by Richelieu."

"We don't know that for sure," d'Artagnan said. "I mean, it's probably true, but we have no way of proving it. Even if the bandits did survive the battle and they do come looking for us…"

"Don't… don't come… not me…" Aramis suddenly began to speak through his delirium. "They… they'll… die… no… for me…"

Athos and Porthos grabbed hold of him and held him down when Aramis started to thrash around from the fever until the fit ended, then Porthos quickly picked up the cloth and water flask so that he could continue to try to cool him down, despite the efforts not seeming to be of much help.

As he continued, Porthos spoke up sadly asking, "What is he saying? Does he really believe that he's not worth us risking our lives for him?"

Athos shook his head angrily as he answered, "Aramis doesn't believe he's worthy of being a musketeer any longer. Milady may have gotten to him, but that blasted letter he received before all of this is the real reason why this is happening. He blames himself for Adele, for falling in love with our Queen, he feels he betrayed us, and I believe the Cardinal somehow knows all of this, which is why he had someone forge the letter. He knew what the news of Adele's death would do to him and we are never going to be able to prove it, but Queen Anne can bring him down for sending an assassin to kill her. We will give Aramis the justice he deserves, one way, or another."


	14. Chapter 14

Love is the Most Selfish of All the Passions

Chapter Fourteen

The sun was beginning to rise as the musketeers were getting ready to get back on the road again. However, before they could get underway, the band suddenly became surrounded by a large number of surviving bandits, just as they knew would happen eventually. What they didn't know was that one of the bandits was actually soldiers of Cardinal Richelieu's Red Guards. Athos, Porthos, and d'Artagnan quickly stood between their wounded companion and their assailants with their swords raised high and ready to defend their friend to the death, as they were once again outnumbered.

Swords clashed and muskets sounded once the latest fight came under way. The musketeers were holding their own, but it wouldn't be long before they fell and Milady was watching eagerly from the tree she was still bound to since she had woken from unconsciousness the night before, until several men on horseback swiftly came charging in to the musketeers' defense, striking the bandits down one by one until the few that remained standing either ran off or eventually surrendered.

"Your timing was impeccable, captain," Athos said as he walked over to stand in front of Treville as the man dismounted and looked around at the men on both sides who had fallen until his eyes finally stopped on Aramis.

"How did this happen?" the captain of the musketeers asked quietly as he walked over to kneel down beside him as Porthos made sure that Aramis was still doing okay for now.

Athos looked over at his wife as he answered coldly, "It's a long story. Unfortunately, Milady de Winter had a small part in it."

Treville looked over at the woman as well and then responded, "At least we can finally see her brought to justice like we should have seen days ago. I'll expect to hear the rest of the story later, but for now, we need to get him back home so that he can be treated properly. Louis' physician can take care of him. He's going to be fine."

"He'd better be," Porthos replied angrily, then stood and walked over in front of the bandits kneeling down in a row as d'Artagnan and a few of the other musketeers that came with the captain was binding their hands behind their backs to prepare them for escort back to Paris. "Which one of you is in charge of your merry little band of thieves here? You better not lie to us, or else…"

"Or else you're going to kill us?" one of them finished for the musketeer. "Your attack killed our people! We came after you to make you pay!"

Athos stepped in before Porthos could pummel the thief into the ground and said coldly, "We didn't attack you first and us sneaking in to save the life of our brother, whom you tortured and nearly killed, isn't what led to the battle that took place yesterday. Answer our question. Why did you attack us and then kidnap Aramis when you found him wounded down by the river?"

Another of the thieves answered, "We only allowed three outsiders carrying your friend with them in. We may not like musketeers, but we didn't attack you."

"I think they're telling the truth, at least most of them are, but not all of them," d'Artagnan stated as he walked over to stand on front of one of the men, who looked oddly familiar, as he was no longer wearing the covering used to hide his face. "This bandit isn't really a bandit. I've seen him among the Cardinal's guards."

"I do believe you're right," Porthos responded, then suddenly grabbed the man by his jacket collar and shoved him hard up against a tree behind them. "You were responsible for attacking us and the hell inflicted upon our brother! Confess that Richelieu gave you the orders and we may be able to help you, otherwise…"

It was then that another musket sounded and the soldier that was once the captain of the Red Guards suddenly collapsed into Porthos' arms, as a musket ball struck him through his back, killing him instantly. Captain Treville, Athos, and d'Artagnan quickly ran in the direction the shot came from, but they couldn't see anyone nearby. After looking around as far as the shot could have possibly been fired from, the musketeers walked back to stand with the others as they looked down at the body.

Athos spoke up in frustration saying, "Whoever made that shot killed him to make sure he couldn't speak any longer. The Cardinal sent another one of his men, if not Rochefort himself, to clean up their mess, but we're not finished yet."

D'Artagnan replied, "I can't believe that every time we get close to bringing down Richelieu, something happens and we're right back to where we've started. How can you be so calm about this?"

"Don't get me wrong, I am angry that the Cardinal seems to always be one step ahead of us, but he will fall," Athos answered angrily and walked back to Aramis, then finished getting him ready for the rest of their journey.

"It's too bad about your last chance for a confession," Milady said smugly as d'Artagnan came over and untied her from the tree, then led her over to his horse, which she was going to pulled behind like the rest of the surviving bandits. "You musketeers will never live to see Cardinal Richelieu brought down."

Captain Treville walked over to them as he responded, "You're wrong, Mademoiselle de Winter. I know my musketeers, especially these four. They will see to it that evil is struck down one way or another, beginning with you."

Milady leaned forward as she asked, "Don't you mean three? One of your most beloved soldiers is at death's door and it's only a matter of time before he crosses the threshold."

"You're wrong," the captain replied. "You just won't live to see it."

Without another word being spoken, Captain Treville, the musketeers, and their prisoners, all continued on toward Paris. The trip was long and tiresome, but eventually they arrived after night had fallen again after three days and Treville and the remainder of the soldiers escorted Milady and the bandits toward the Bastille where they would remain until their trials, while Porthos, Athos, and d'Artagnan brought Aramis to their garrison where he would be able to finally be treated by King Louis' physician, whom neither of them liked much as they considered him a fool, but as Aramis was the better man with medicinal knowledge, this man was the only choice they had.

As they lifted their friend from off the travois and carried him inside, they gently laid him in his bed, then continued to treat him to the best of their knowledge, taking their vigil at his side as they musketeers could see that Aramis' condition had only grown worse. Fear took hold of each of them as they could do nothing, but watch as their brother writhed from the pain that had been inflicted upon him. As tired as they all were, sleep was not coming for any of them any time soon.


	15. Chapter 15

Love is the Most Selfish of All the Passions

Chapter Fifteen

Captain Treville started toward the palace once he and his musketeers finished making sure that all of their prisoners were safely within prison walls. As he was about to climb the stairwell leading up to the main palace doors, Athos suddenly came riding into the fountain square, dismounted, and then walked to meet up with the man he has looked up to for many years.

Treville spoke first saying, "I thought you and the others were going to stay behind with Aramis. I can report to Louis without you."

"Staying with Aramis is where I want to be, but I realized that our King will want a full report from one of us," the musketeer answered sadly. "Porthos and d'Artagnan are still with him."

"Good," the captain replied. "So, what did happen out there?"

As they walked into the corridors, Athos responded, "After three days into our search, we were attacked by a large group of bandits, some of whom we now believe were disguised to keep us from discovering that they were actually members of the Cardinal's guards, up on a cliff overlooking the river. We were fine until Aramis took a musket ball to his shoulder saving Porthos. They both fell over the cliff, but Aramis managed to grab hold of a root and held on long enough for Porthos to climb back up, though Aramis wasn't so lucky. He fell into the river, the bandits who survived found him first and took him, then tortured him. Milady was hiding in their village because they're no friends of the musketeers. She had a hand in his torment, as did the Cardinal, though we can no longer prove it before Louis."

Treville nodded and then answered, "Cardinal Richelieu always knows how to cover his tracks. One day, we will see him brought down, but for now…"

"Ah, Captain Treville and Athos, you all have finally returned," Richelieu stated coolly as he walked over to them once they arrived outside of the palace's main hall where the King and Queen were waiting for the musketeers to come with an update about the possible threat against their lives. "We all feared for your well beings when you did not send word as expected."

"We appreciate the sentiment, Your Eminence," Treville replied as Athos only glared at the man he knew to be fully responsible for his friend's physical and emotional torment. "Shall we proceed with the meeting then?"

The Cardinal smiled as he responded, "Yes, indeed."

As they walked inside, the King spoke up as he said, "Athos, at last you're back, and Treville, I didn't expect you to leave after them with a large number of my musketeers. Something could have happened to me or my wife while you were gone and you wouldn't have been here to…"

"Louis, the captain was doing his duty for his men," Queen Anne interrupted, anxious to hear the report. "It isn't like he left us unprotected. We were perfectly safe."

"As usual, my Queen is right," Louis answered as he took her hand within his, then waited for the musketeers to continue.

Captain Treville spoke up saying, "Forgive me, Your Highness. Your Queen is right. I was performing a duty to my men when I feared that they had run into trouble after receiving no word from them when I should have. It turns out, I was right."

Athos continued, "More than one attack was forced upon us, allowing us to learn about a number of men and women living within a village three days out from here that are not loyal to, Your Majesties, though there is no, or never was, a plot against you. A majority of our attackers have been taken into custody, including Milady de Winter, who was hiding among them."

"This is good news," the King replied as he stepped down from his throne. "Well done Athos, to you and your men. You shall be commended for your good work."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Athos responded and then continued. "But the celebration is unnecessary. We were performing our duty, for you and for France. The honor that comes with that is all we need. The rumors have now been put to rest. Now, if you'll excuse me, I should be getting back to my friends. I really need to be with them right now."

Anne quickly stated before Athos could leave the room. "Before you go… I'm sorry, but were any of you injured? If a physician is needed…"

As he could see the fear in her eyes, understanding the real reason why it was there, Athos answered, "Sadly, one of us was injured, but rest assured, we have already sent for the physician. And he's strong. I shall express your sympathy to the rest of the men. It is much appreciated. Thank you, Your Highness."

"You're welcome," the Queen nodded and replied.

"Are you all right, my dear," Louis asked once Athos and Captain Treville left the room as he looked over at his wife and saw the concern in her eyes, then laid his hand on top of hers. "You look distraught."

She patted his hand as she responded, "I'm fine, thank you. I just think that I'm starting to feel our child and all that comes with becoming a mother for the first time. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go lie down."

The King nodded, leaned in to kiss her, and then answered, "Very good. All that matters right now is that you take care of my son. Go and rest. I will speak with you later. Cardinal, I would like to hear your final thoughts about our update of the treaty I wish to have the Duke of Buckingham sign when he comes in four days. Have you finished having it drawn up?"

"Of course, Your Majesty," Richelieu replied as he watched Anne walk out and then turned to look at Louis. "I just need to go to my desk and take it out for you."

"Very good," Louis responded, then turned to leave. "Meet me in the library, where I shall be looking for the gift I wish to present him with when he arrives."

"If that is what you wish, Your Majesty," the Cardinal said as the King left the room, then walked out of the throne room himself, and headed toward his quarters as Count de Rochefort met up with him and continued walking with him.

Richelieu quickly asked, "Have you taken care of our little problem?"

The Count answered, "I had no problem getting rid of the final surviving soldier we sent out on the mission, which they failed."

The Cardinal growled in frustration and then replied, "So I heard. Aramis is still alive. Our plan to start bringing the musketeers down once and for all, did not work out as I planned."

"Perhaps not," Rochefort responded smugly. "He may still die, as from what I could tell his condition was dire, but even if the musketeer lives, it may not have been a complete failure. The Queen may have blackmailed you, but now, I believe we still have a chance to keep your secret safe. Admit to her of your involvement in the musketeers' attack. It will show her how much power you really have, over her and over the man she truly loves."

"I do believe you're right, Rochefort," Richelieu stated. "I do have more power than the Queen realizes and it's time that I show her."


	16. Chapter 16

Love is the Most Selfish of All the Passions

Chapter Sixteen

While Captain Treville went off to complete other business matters in regards to the prisoners he and his men brought in, Athos finally made his way back to the musketeers' garrison. However, before he walked inside, he was interrupted when Constance came running toward him carrying a basket of what he expected was probably food for him and his friends, though he knew she was really coming to make sure that d'Artagnan was all right.

He waited for her to catch up as she spoke up first saying, "Athos, thank heavens you're all right. And everyone else, are they all right?"

Athos smiled sadly as he replied, "D'Artagnan is fine, Constance. And so are Porthos and I, but…"

"But… Aramis, my God, is he…?" she started to ask until Athos cut her off.

"He's still alive, but only just," he answered wearily. "Come inside. D'Artagnan will be happy to see you."

As he opened the door and the two of them walked inside, Constance responded, "So, you know about that."

Athos nodded as he replied, "The two of you aren't exactly good at hiding how you feel about each other. Don't worry, we've all had complicated relationships. If the two of you are meant to be together, then everything will work out for the best."

When they walked inside the four musketeers' quarters, Athos found that King Louis' physician, Doctor Maloraux, was finally there working on their friend, while Porthos and d'Artagnan stood close by. The doctor didn't seem too thrilled about being there, which wasn't surprising since he hated the musketeers almost as much as the Cardinal did.

"Constance, are you a sight for soar eyes," d'Artagnan stated as soon as he saw her and walked over to her, then embraced and kissed her, no longer caring that his friends noticed that they were together.

"How is he doing?" Athos asked as he walked over to stand beside Porthos while the two of them looked down on Aramis.

Without looking away, Porthos answered in frustration, "He's still holding on."

It was then that the physician spoke up as he objected, "He may still be alive right now, but I wouldn't expect him to live past tonight."

"Listen, I suggest you keep that kind of talk to yourself, Maloraux!" Porthos said angrily as he grabbed him roughly by his jacket and shoved him hard up against the wall behind them. "Aramis has survived four days of hell and is still fighting, so I suggest you do whatever you have to do to keep him alive, or I swear I will…"

"You will what?" the physician asked as he pushed the bigger man's hands off him, while Athos moved in to pull Porthos away from him. "Will you kill me or beat me into the ground, Porthos? I don't think so. I am only saying what I believe is right. Your friend may have survived this long by some miracle, but it is only a matter of time before he passes over and I can see it in both of your eyes that you know I'm right."

Athos felt less confident than he knew the others felt, but he didn't show it as he responded, "You're wrong and Aramis will prove it."

Once Maloraux finished treating and bandaging all of their friend's wounds properly, he stood up again to face the others and then said, "Say what you want. However, if you really care for your comrade's wellbeing, I suggest you call for a priest. Most of the gashes across his back cut deep, the wound in his shoulder is a mess, which if he were to recover, he won't have much use in his arm, and he's lost too much blood. It's a pity that Aramis didn't stay on his path. He would have been much better off in the eyes of God if he remained in the priesthood. Oh, and by the way, I suggest you bleed him if you have any hope of bringing down his fever at all."

With that said, the physician grabbed all of his things he had brought with him, then stormed out, leaving the musketeers and Constance alone. Not a word was spoken between them as they stood over Aramis and looked down at him worryingly, seething about the things Maloraux said, until d'Artagnan finally broke the silence that filled the room, as he was curious about what the doctor had said about Aramis being in the priesthood.

"I didn't know that Aramis once trained to become a priest," he stated as Athos and Porthos sat down beside their friend, while Constance slowly handed each of the musketeers the food she had prepared for them.

"It was a long time ago and not something Aramis talks about," Athos replied quietly. "He used to be one of the Cardinal's students, before Richelieu's true colors were finally revealed."

Porthos gently poured water down his friend's throat and then slowly began to wash his brow and neck again as he continued, "Learning of the kind of man the Cardinal really was, it broke Aramis. He dropped out of the priesthood and lost faith for awhile. It was when he became a musketeer that his faith was renewed. It's a pity, if he stuck with it, I have no doubt that Aramis would have made Pope one day."

Athos quickly cut in again saying, "Although, he'd be the first to say that everything worked out for the best, but seeing him now… I'm not so sure. You both heard him, he's lost again and I don't know how we can help him come back from this."

D'Artagnan was about to speak up again until there was suddenly a quiet, but urgent knock on the door, making the musketeers stand on edge and when Constance finally moved to open the door, d'Artagnan swiftly pulled out his sword, then put it away when he saw a woman standing there, soaked from the rain despite the cloak she wore to cover her head and face. When she slowly and nervously lifted her hood, the musketeers were all shocked to discover that it was Queen Anne.

"Your Highness?" Athos asked in surprise as he quickly reached his hand out to her to invite her inside and then moved to remove her wet cloak. "We weren't expecting to see you, here inside the garrison of all places."

"When you said that one of you had been wounded, I…" she began until she fell quiet upon seeing that both d'Artagnan and Porthos were all right, confirming her fear that it was indeed Aramis who was the wounded musketeer now fighting for his life. "I know that I am putting all of you at risk by being here, but I had to see him. Is he…?"

Porthos motioned for her to follow him as he led her over to Aramis' bed, and as she slowly sat down, leaning over him as she began to caress his face, Athos spoke again saying, "Aramis is usually stronger than all of us, but…"

Without looking away from him, as tears began to fall down her face, Anne suddenly interrupted saying, "But the Cardinal did something. My God, this is my fault."

"No, Your Highness," Athos answered sadly. "The only fault lies with Cardinal Richelieu. He set a new plot to hurt Aramis into motion before we even left on our last mission."

"We believe that the Cardinal had someone write a letter claiming to have witnessed the death of Adele Bessette, Richelieu's mistress, whom Aramis had loved, some time ago," Porthos continued to explain. "Aramis was led to believe that she had chosen the Cardinal over him, but we know now that Richelieu had her murdered when he discovered that she had become loyal to us. The letter made Aramis blame himself for her death and his loss of faith in himself as a musketeer only heightened, then we were attacked, and he was captured and tormented."

Athos finally stated, "We can't prove any of this, Your Majesty, but you have the power to bring Richelieu down. You need to speak with our King, to make him pay for hurting Aramis and for trying to have you killed."

The Queen responded fearfully, "I can't do that. If only I had spoken with Louis about Richelieu when I had the chance, none of this would have happened, but now it's too late."

"The Cardinal has threatened you, hasn't he?" d'Artagnan asked as he could read the fear across her face, as did the others.

"Richelieu knows Aramis is the father of my child and not Louis," she replied, causing Constance to gasp in surprise at the revelation. "I don't know how he found out, but Richelieu came to me after Athos and Captain Treville left the palace earlier and made clear that he knows of our secret. If I go to Louis to take down the Cardinal, Aramis will be killed, destroying the musketeers as well. And if my husband were to show mercy and choose to spare Aramis' life, Richelieu threatened that he would have him killed. None of you would be able to protect him if he is no longer one of you. I am so sorry…"

The musketeers looked between each other angrily, realizing that the Cardinal was going to get away with hurting their brother after all, then Athos handed Anne the gold cross she had given Aramis as he answered, "Aramis will always be one of us and we will protect him no matter the cost. Cardinal Richelieu will fall one day. This cross was ripped from him when he was taken, but now you can give it back to him. No matter what you both choose to do about each other…"

Anne leaned down and kissed Aramis tenderly on his lips and laid the cross his chest, then looked between the musketeers as she responded, "I will always love Aramis, but I know that we will never be together. Keep him fighting and please, don't let him lose faith in himself. Our child and I need him."


	17. Chapter 17

Love is the Most Selfish of All the Passions

Chapter Seventeen

Four days passed since the inseparables arrived home and Aramis' fever had finally broken, though he had yet to awaken, making his comrades fear that he's given up and that it was only a matter of time before his body gave up on him as well. Dr. Maloraux had come back to look him over again under the Queen's orders, but all the man did was confirm their fears.

A knock came at the door of the musketeers' barracks and when d'Artagnan opened it, Constance was standing there with clean sheets, blankets, and another pillow in her arms, then he spoke up as he invited her inside saying, "We appreciate you coming again this morning, Constance. I hope that your husband understands that you're not here for me, but for Aramis. I mean, as for what happened… between us the other night…"

Constance cut him off as she interrupted, "What happened between us happened because I was happy to see that you and the others, aside from Aramis of course, were all right. I allowed my feelings that I once had for you overwhelm my good judgment, but it can't happen again. I will not let it happen again. I am only here for…"

"For Aramis, of course," d'Artagnan responded, knowing that the woman he loved really did love him back, despite her objections to their romance on account of her husband.

"Excellent, now that that has been cleared up," Athos stated coolly as he walked past them, followed by Porthos. "D'Artagnan is right, Madam Bonacieux. We are grateful that you have come here to stay with Aramis while we are at Milady de Winter's trial."

Porthos continued, "The others have all been tried and beheaded. Athos' soon to be convicted wife is the only one left. You will finally be free to move on with your life, my friend."

Athos turned to look at their unconscious brother and answered, "I know that you're right, Porthos, but I am not sure if I can ever fully be rid of that woman. I hate her, but everything that she's done to all those she's hurt… to Aramis… I will always blame myself for what she's done, especially if Aramis dies."

"You are not to blame for the treacherous things that evil woman has done," Constance replied as she put down the things she carried with her and then began to push them all out the door. "She was evil long before she even met you and we all know how good she is at getting men to do whatever she wants them to do. I'm sorry, that didn't come out right. Good luck today. And don't worry about Aramis. I will take good care of him."

"Thank you," Athos responded as they walked to their horses and then mounted. "Be sure to send a messenger to the palace should anything change."

Constance threw up her hands as she stated in frustration, "Will you three just get going? We're going to be all right here, I promise."

D'Artagnan smiled down at her as the others began to ride off, then waved and turned to follow after them. When they arrived at the palace, their captain was waiting for them in the courtyard. Then, together they walked inside and headed toward the main hall where Lady de Winter's trial was going to take place.

Treville spoke first as he asked, "So, how is Aramis doing this morning?"

"There is still no change," Porthos answered in frustration. "Maloraux told us we ought to put him out of his misery the night before. I wanted to pummel him into the ground even more than the first night he came."

"We're losing him, Captain," Athos replied sadly. "And if he dies… The Cardinal and Milady are to blame and though she will finally pay, we can't touch Richelieu and we do not know how we are just going to continue on like there is nothing wrong, with him still controlling everything that goes on here in Paris."

Captain Treville nodded and then responded, "We will continue on, together. It is our duty to protect the King and his Queen, as well as all of France. Now, let's go and get this whole mess over and done with for good. At least one enemy will fall today."

Once the three musketeers and their captain walked inside, King Louis began the trial right away, as he was anxious about the Duke of Buckingham arriving later in the afternoon. When Milady was finally escorted in, she looked around the room until she locked her eyes on Athos, who only looked at her coldly until he turned his head down and looked over at Porthos, who reached up and gently patted his shoulder. Then, Louis began the trial, as Cardinal Richelieu stood and began his prosecution against the woman that had once helped him in his schemes.

Finally, it was Athos' turn to stand to testify against his wife and when he stood before the Cardinal and the others sitting beside him ready to go through with the sentencing, the musketeers' greatest enemy spoke up as he asked, "Athos, of the musketeers, what words do you have to speak against this woman standing before us today?"

"This woman was once my wife, whom I loved once, until I discovered the kind of woman she was before we met," he began calmly. "After I had her sentenced to death and she survived, unbeknownst to me, she went back to her old ways and began to plot and murder anyone who stood in her way, all to get back at me. Four days ago, one of our own was wounded and captured during an attack against us. Mademoiselle de Winter was hiding in the village where Aramis was brought to and when she saw an opportunity to get her revenge on me for destroying everything she had built up here, she took it, by torturing and tormenting our brother, who is still fighting for his life. Milady deserves to be sentenced to death for her many crimes, not only against the musketeers, but also against Your Majesties and all of Paris."

"We the judges concur," Richelieu answered as he looked directly at her, secretly fearful that the woman may still yet give up proof of their dealings with one another. "Milady de Winter, you have been found guilty and are hereby sentenced immediately to death by beheading. Do you have any final words?"

The woman turned to look over at Athos one final time as she spoke again saying, "Seeing your pain when you found poor Aramis so close to death, I realized that I accomplished hurting you more than death ever could. I may die today, but my treachery is not finished."

Queen Anne stood from her throne as she replied coldly, "The sentence has been passed. Have the prisoner escorted away immediately. She is to be dead at the stroke of noon."

"Do you believe Milady will still be a threat to us?" Porthos whispered so that only Athos and d'Artagnan could hear him above the cheers and shouts of the people as the Cardinal's guards took her away.

"I do," Athos said in frustration. "Death doesn't put an end to pure evil."


	18. Chapter 18

Love is the Most Selfish of All the Passions

Chapter Eighteen

Twelve noon was fast approaching as two soldiers of the Red Guard led their prisoner to the square where she was to be beheaded before all of Paris. D'Artagnan followed behind to keep an eye on things, while Porthos remained behind at the palace with Athos, who couldn't watch her die, just as he wasn't able to watch her die the first time.

As she stood before the cheering crowd and then knelt down with her head hanging over the chopping block, Milady turned her head gently to look for the face of her husband, only to find d'Artagnan watching from a distance. As the executioner stood upon the platform behind her with his axe raised, waiting for the bells to chime, she kept her eyes on the boy she had once seduced, then noon came and axe fell hard. First silence and then screams filled the air. Milady de Winter was dead.

D'Artagnan walked away and rode back to the palace where his companions were waiting for his return, while talking with Captain Treville. As he approached them, Athos looked to the young Gascon for confirmation and d'Artagnan only nodded, which was all their leader needed.

"At last," Porthos spoke upon seeing the affirmation. "If only Aramis would wake, we'd be able to breathe easier tonight."

"Listen, I know that you three want to be with him more than here at the palace for the Duke of Buckingham's arrival, but the King expects his best men to be here," Treville stated as he looked between his men. "Duty must come before personal matters."

Athos looked at their captain as he answered, "We'll be here, Sir. Madam Bonacieux is with him and will send word if anything changes."

As the captain of the musketeers walked away, d'Artagnan spoke as he replied, "It doesn't seem right that we're here. Aramis should be able to endure this hell with us, not have to endure his own hell all alone."

"I couldn't agree more," Porthos responded as d'Artagnan dismounted from his horse, then together they walked back inside the palace to wait amongst the royals gathered around, excitedly waiting to meet the Duke in less than a half hour's time. "I've heard rumors of Buckingham's secret dealings with thieves and illegal traders, as well as pirates. I wouldn't be surprised if the Cardinal has a different treaty in mind for the man to sign behind the King's back."

"You're probably right, but until we jump straight to conspiracy, we need to just keep an eye out as we always do," Athos answered as trumpets sounded, indicating that the royal carriage carrying the man of the hour was about to arrive, earlier than expected.

D'Artagnan replied, "Oh good, he's here. At least now we can leave earlier than planned."

Porthos scoffed and then responded, "I say we just meet the man, make sure that a few other musketeers are here to take our place and then head back to our barracks where we belong."

"We gave the captain our word," Athos answered in frustration, growing tired of his friends constantly talking about going back to be with Aramis, which was where he really wanted to be as well. "We're going to remain here, for as long as it is required of us. I'm sorry. The last few days have been rough on us all and I think it's all been weighing us down too long."

"Duke Villiers, of Buckingham," Louis cried in praise as the carriage came to a stop and the King's guest stepped up to stand before him and Queen Anne. "It is an honor to have you here in France. My beautiful wife and I welcome you."

George Villiers bowed and then replied, "The honor is mine, Your Majesties. Paris is beautiful. Staying here for the next few days will be wonderful."

King Louis clapped his hands joyfully, then motioned for the Duke to follow him as he moved toward his musketeers, and said, "I want to introduce you to the three most loyal of my musketeers; Athos, Porthos, and the newest member of the band, d'Artagnan. If it wasn't for them, I am certain my enemies would have assassinated me a long time ago."

"We appreciate your praise, Your Majesty, but we are only performing our duty," Athos responded after they bowed before them. "And with all due respect, there are actually four of us, as our comrade was severely wounded and is still fighting for his life. Aramis is the one who really deserves all the praise for the success of our last mission, though we are only a few among a number of men just as loyal and worthy of Your Highness' praises."

"Indeed you are," the Duke answered cynically as he looked out among the many musketeers standing amongst the crowd of people gathered around the courtyard. "And I should very much like to meet this Aramis as well, should he be up to it before I leave."

As the Duke turned away from them, as did the King and Queen, though she turned back to look at them sadly, then walked inside the palace, Captain Treville, who was once again standing beside them, spoke up to his best men saying, "It's obvious that the Duke has no interest in the musketeers' affairs and I was wrong to think that the King will have any further need of you. Go back to stay with our friend until you are once again called for duty. You three deserve some time off for all you've done."

Athos looked between Porthos and d'Artagnan and then turned back to Treville as he replied, "Thank you, Captain."

As the musketeers arrived back at the garrison, then stabled their horses, and walked toward their barracks, Constance greeted the men and quickly ushered them inside, without saying much of anything. When they found that Aramis was still as unconscious as they had left him, they became confused as to why she appeared to be flustered and afraid of something.

"What's wrong, Constance?" d'Artagnan asked worriedly. "Are you all right?"

"While you were at the palace, a man broke in here and tried to kill Aramis," she quickly responded. "I fought the assassin off before he could hurt him anymore, but… I think that His Eminence is afraid Aramis may have learned one of his dirty secrets while he was being tortured too. Why else would Richelieu risk sending another assassin to kill his one bargaining chip against the Queen?"


	19. Chapter 19

Love is the Most Selfish of All the Passions

Chapter Nineteen

"When will this end?" Porthos shouted angrily as they stood together around Aramis' bed, taking in that an attack had been made against their comrade yet again.

"It will end when we are all dead," Athos answered curtly.

Porthos looked over at their leader as he objected, "Yes, but how many times will the Cardinal send someone here to try to kill Aramis? Surely he has been through enough. He hasn't even awakened yet."

D'Artagnan thought for a moment until he shook his head, then looked between his friends and Constance and responded, "I don't believe the Cardinal did send anyone to kill Aramis, even though we were all away when our assassin came. I mean, Constance is right. Why would Richelieu send another assassin when Aramis is his only leverage against Queen Anne?"

"Maybe, but who else knew we would all be away from him at the time of his attack and who else for that matter would want to kill Aramis?" Porthos asked again. "It doesn't make any sense."

"It could be anyone with a grudge against us musketeers and figured Aramis being alone and defenseless would be the perfect chance to be rid of one of us," Athos replied and then looked over at Constance. "They just didn't expect Madam Bonacieux to be here with him, or that she has the courage and ability to fight him off. Thank you, Madam."

She nodded and then answered, "I figured I owed Monsieur Aramis, for all the times I have mistreated him, and for him helping d'Artagnan achieve becoming a musketeer. Do any of you have an idea who the man was? I couldn't see him. His face was covered, but… He was awfully short for a man and he didn't have the same strength I would expect from a man either."

A thought suddenly dawned on Athos as he spoke up again saying, "If that's true, then I think I may know who the mystery attacker may be. What if he isn't a man at all, but the young girl we met twice on the road?"

"The woman who told us where to find Aramis?" d'Artagnan asked in confusion. "Why would she help us and then try to kill him days later? And how would she know where to find him?"

"She knows the forest well and she knows how to make herself invisible until she's ready to be seen," Athos answered. "And if it was her, I don't believe that she was trying to kill Aramis, but rather come here to make sure he was alive."

Constance shook her head in disagreement and retorted, "But she attacked me as soon as I came into this room. Why would she do that if she was really here to see to his wellbeing?"

Porthos responded, "Because she wasn't willing to get caught. I could see from the sadness on her face and her poor condition that she doesn't have a family or ties to anyone or anything. It was obvious that she trusted no one, so when Aramis showed her an act of kindness, she grew attached to him and felt a need to make sure he would be all right, but didn't want to be confronted anyone else. You walking in startled her. She only fought you off to get free."

The woman with them nodded and replied, "I see. Well, in my defense she did startle me as well. If I had known that she…"

"Aramis?" Porthos quickly cried quietly when their wounded brother began to stir beneath the blankets covering him to keep him warm. "Come on, Aramis. Come back to us, damn you!"

"Please, keep fighting," Athos added quietly.

The Spaniard struggled as he slowly opened his eyes, and fought against the pain in his body to remain awake, then spoke, barely audible asking, "Po… Porthos… Athos…?"

His closest friend sat down beside him as he gently lifted Aramis' hand in his own as he answered, "That's right, my friend. We're all here. You're safe again. Those that did this to you… those who have hurt you this way have paid for what they've done."

"Wh…" he tried to speak again, though he couldn't get out the words he was trying to say.

"You are safe at home, no longer in that God forsaken, barbaric village," Porthos responded.

Aramis shook his head slightly and asked again sadly, "Wh… why?"

Athos stepped forward and moved into his friend's line of sight as he replied, "Did you really think that we would abandon you, to die alone?"

"You shou… should have… I…" Aramis tried to answer until Athos moved to sit down on his other side, reached out to lay his hand gently over his good shoulder to cut him off before he got worked up, while d'Artagnan and Constance stood back to allow Athos and Porthos to help one of the men he had grown close to in the short time they have been together.

Then, Aramis closed his eyes again against the torment and turned his head away from his friends, and Athos answered, "You are worth fighting for, Aramis. None of us were injured thanks to you that day on the cliff. And we weren't harmed when we fought to save you from the hands of the villagers and Mi… Milady."

"You are a fool if you think you are at fault for all that you are blaming yourself for," Porthos added. "We don't blame you, not for anything."

"I'm no mus… musket… teer," Aramis continued sadly. "I com… com… promised us. I was self… selfish. Why… did you come… for me?"

Athos looked between Porthos and d'Artagnan, then back down at Aramis and slowly picked up the gold cross their Queen had laid across his chest nights before when she visited them, held in out for Aramis to see when he opened his eyes again, and responded, "Your love for Queen Anne is not selfish, Aramis. Because she loves you back just as much if not more. It isn't fair that the two of you cannot be, but God has given you both a gift. And as for us, you have not compromised us, any more than the rest of us ever have before. You will always be our truest friend and we will always be here for you, no matter what comes our way."

Aramis finally reached out weakly as he took the cross from Athos, then Porthos smiled as he replied, "We are in this together, through thick and thin, until death, but do not let that day be today. Do not let the Cardinal win over you. We must fight against him as we always have."

"The four of us, together," d'Artagnan finally spoke for the first time since their friend had finally awaken. "Richelieu wanted to hurt you to make you weak when his attack against us occurred, but you have proven that you are stronger than he believes you are. I am proud to fight at your side for our King and Queen and for France. I am proud to call you my friend."

"As are we all," Athos said in agreement. "Now, rest and allow yourself to heal, my friend. Your wounds are severe, but we will help you grow stronger again, if you will allow us to and do not put so much burden on your shoulders."

Aramis looked between them all as he answered, almost sounding more like himself again, "It seems… I have no… choice. I would… wouldn't want to give… the Card… Cardinal the satisfaction. Thank you."

When he closed his eyes and laid his head to his side to sleep again, Athos motioned for each of them to step away so that Aramis would not be able to hear him as he spoke softly saying, "We cannot tell Aramis of Richelieu's threat he made to Anne. Is that clear? He cannot know that he will be used against her should she tell Louis of his indiscretions. He will not take it well."

"I agree," Porthos responded in frustration, then patted d'Artagnan on his back as he turned to look at the young man. "Your words were good, d'Artagnan. Aramis' spirits have risen and I think he will be well again in no time."

"I think you're right, but I do not feel comfortable with allowing the Cardinal to think he has won, despite that Aramis has survived, free and clear of all consequence," Athos replied coldly as he started to walked toward the door, then paused for a moment, and turned to look back at his friends before leaving. "I'm going to have a chat with the villain to make it clear that should he strike against Aramis again in retaliation for his humiliation, then he will die by my sword, even if my death is the price. It is a price I am happy to pay."


	20. Chapter 20

Love is the Most Selfish of All the Passions

Chapter Twenty

At the palace, King Louis was busy introducing the Duke and his mistress he had brought with him from England to all of the guests as they arrived for the celebration the King had planned for that evening in the Duke's honor. The Cardinal stayed by Louis' side for support, while Captain Treville and several other musketeers stood amongst the crowd in order to keep an eye on the proceedings, should trouble arise. When the ball finally got underway, Richelieu turned to leave the main hall, until he caught sight of Athos amongst the crowd.

The darkly dressed musketeer made a motion indicating that he would like to speak with the Cardinal in private and after he spoke with a few others in the room, including briefly with Count Rochefort, Richelieu followed after Athos, who had disappeared from sight, then found him again standing outside of the Cardinal's study. The musketeer remained silent as he walked inside ahead of the man he had come to see and as Richelieu closed the door, a dagger was suddenly thrown an inch to the left of his head, becoming embedded deep within the wooden door behind him.

Cardinal Richelieu turned and glared at Athos, who spoke up coldly saying, "If I came here to kill you, you would be dead on the floor. Aramis survived all that you did to him, despite you trying to weaken him before we left on the mission. You failed, Your Eminence. This was a warning. If you strike against our brother again, if you have him harmed in any way, we will kill you no matter what the consequences are to us. We are willing to die for each other, for our King and Queen, and for all of France. What are you willing to die for?"

Richelieu turned his chin up haughtily and replied, "Well said, musketeer. But seeing as you know that you can't prove any of what you claim I have done, I'd say that I've won myself a small victory. King Louis trusts me, more than he trusts anyone else, except for his beautiful wife and she has a dark secret that will severely affect you musketeers. I still have the upper hand and always will."

"Enjoy the celebration," Athos responded as Count de Rochefort entered and stood beside the Cardinal, then turned to leave the room.

"I could have Athos arrested for threatening you life if you wish," the Count stated coolly as he noticed the blade still stuck within the door.

Richelieu shook his head as he answered, "No. He had no intention of killing me. Another opportunity will come for us to finally get rid of the musketeers, Queen Anne, and King Louis once and for all and then, I will rule over France. And Rochefort, next time I give you an order, do not fail me. Captains of my guards do not tend to live for very long."

Six days later…

Athos, Porthos, and d'Artagnan walked inside their barracks after returning from seeing the Duke of Buckingham off and found that Aramis, who was on leave as he was still struggling to heal after the torment he had endured, was no longer resting as he should have been. They walked out and began to search for their friend and finally found him not far away in the arena where the musketeers did all of their training. Aramis was holding his pistol in his right hand, trying to shoot at the targets in front of him, as his left arm hung weakly at his side instead of in the sling as it should have been. He fired off a shot and the musketeers all saw that the musket hit wide of the bulls-eye, which was rare since Aramis was the best shooter of all the King's musketeers. Aramis shook his head, then transferred his weapon into his left hand and fired again, though more slowly as he struggled to keep it steady. This time, the shot missed all together and Aramis was forced backward while he dropped the pistol, crying out as he quickly grabbed his arm in pain.

Porthos rushed forward and grabbed onto their friend to keep him from collapsing to the ground, then Aramis stated wearily, "Thank you."

"You should be inside resting, not out here training," Athos replied in frustration as he looked down at Aramis resting up against Porthos. "You're never going to regain your strength, if you force yourself too hard too soon."

"It isn't too soon," Aramis responded as he slowly got up with his friend's help. "It's been days and I can't just lie in bed any longer and take it easy while the rest of you are busy carrying out your duties."

Porthos shook his head and answered, "There is no shame in taking the time given to you to rest and recover. This will not help you to rebuild your strength, especially if you only manage to damage your arm further."

D'Artagnan quickly added, "Besides, you look like hell. You won't be much help to anyone if you don't allow yourself to sleep."

"I can't sleep," the wounded soldier replied sadly. "When I close my eyes, I see Milady's and the villagers' faces as I am being tormented, I see Adele crying out my name as she's being murdered, and I see each of you dying… because of my indiscretions."

"I thought we've been through this," Athos responded sadly. "You did nothing wrong, Aramis. We do not blame you, for anything."

Aramis looked between his friends as he shouted, "You may not blame me, but I do! Another woman I cared about is dead because of me and if the Cardinal reveals what I've done, King Louis will sentence me and Anne to death and the three of you will die trying to save us out of loyalty."

Porthos answered firmly, "It will never come to that. I'm certain of it. We will protect you, protect you both."

"And therein lies the problem," Aramis replied as he reached his hand out and picked up his sword that he had laid on a table nearby as he began his training session, then motioned for d'Artagnan or any of the others to fight him, all of whom simply remained where they stood without giving to their comrade's demand. "Please, help me. You saved my life, so all I have is my duty to try to make right my wrongs. I can't just wait… I need to fight."

"Things will get better," Athos responded as he and his friends moved to stand around Aramis once he lowered his sword again. "But you do not have to go out seeking death after we've fought so hard to keep you from it."

Before Aramis could object, the sounds of horses and a carriage could be heard growing closer and closer and it wasn't long before Captain Treville could be seen as he led the musketeers surrounding the King's and Queen's royal carriage as it approached. They all came to a stop and walked inside the training arena, while the musketeers bowed before them. Anne's eyes stopped on Aramis and she was relieved to see that he was awake again and finally beginning to heal.

She spoke first saying, "You all may stand, please. Aramis, it is good to see that you are well again and that you are on the road to recovery. Your comrades informed my husband and I when you had awoken, so we have come here to today to reward you, each of you, for your bravery, as you all have once again performed your duties nobly and with great cost to yourselves."

Captain Treville picked up a wooden box and opened it as Louis continued, "Yes, it is indeed an honor to have the four of you as my most loyal and brave of all my musketeers. And so, I wish to reward you all with medals, as well as with fifty gold pieces each. And finally, my gratitude. Thank you, thank you all for your continued service."

"The honor is ours, Your Majesties," Athos answered as they bowed again once the medals were hung around their necks. "What more do you wish of us?"

"Nothing more for today," the King replied. "The Duke has finally left and the treaty has been rewritten and signed. All is well again. Go and celebrate tonight for a job well done. Then, report back to me in the morning at the palace."

As Louis turned and began to walk back toward the carriage, Anne looked over at Aramis once again and saw sadness in his face, as he turned his head down in shame, then noticed her cross she had given him long ago, once again hanging from around his neck. She looked to the others, who all nodded, indicating to her that they would help the father of her child, then she turned and followed after her husband, as did the rest of the musketeers, except for Treville, who remained with the four.

The captain looked at his men and said, "Well done, all of you and Aramis, I am glad to see that you are better. How are you feeling?"

The wounded soldier looked at him as he responded, "I am healing, Sir. Thank you."

"Good," Treville answered shortly. "You will be back to duty in no time, but do not try to rush yourself. Only come when you're ready. You deserve time to heal properly."

"We will see to it that he obeys your orders, Sir," Athos replied as he looked at his friend, who only glared at him in return. "How was the rest of the time with the Duke of Buckingham? Do you suspect foul play?"

Captain Treville responded, "From Buckingham? I believe that he and Richelieu have indeed come up with a pact between them that will come to light down the road. We must be ready for them."

Aramis looked between his friends and their leader as he answered determinedly, "Then, we'll be ready. I will not fail you again."

The End


	21. Thank You

Thank you to all of those who have read and have written reviews for my stories! They are much appreciated. I'm honored to have you all for fans and I hope to hear from you all again in the future, should you choose to read and enjoy more of my work. Best of wishes to you all!

Sincerely,

Genevieve Kelly


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