The streets of Paris were packed full of eager people waiting to see the Royal carriage pass by. Anna followed her brethren on horseback as the Musketeers provided 'security' for the King and Queen.
"Stand back." Aramis warned the masses as they passed.
"Have I ever mentioned how much I hate screaming crowds?" Anna sighed as she steered her horse down the streets alongside Athos, Aramis and Porthos.
"Not in the last 5 minutes." Porthos chuckled before she responded with a grimace.
"HELP!" A voice rang out over the crowds and the four turned to locate its owner. "THIEVES!"
"Stay with the carriage." Athos told her as he and Aramis rode off to assist the man. With a sharp nod she slowed and waited for the carriage to catch up.
"What is going on?" Treville asked as he caught up.
"Thieves." She told him as the carriage came into sight. Pushing her horse forward she led the royals ensuring no one attacked from the front.
The sound of thundering footsteps filled the street as the procession sped up and no one noticed a young girl run from the crowd and jump onto the carriage. Screams replaced the horses' footfalls as she fell and the carriage rolled to a stop. Anna turned her horse and galloped to the girl.
"Stay there your Majesty." She told the Queen who was leaning out of the carriage's small window to check on the girl. "It's not safe." Pulling on the reigns of her horse she jumped from its saddle and bent to check the girl.
As she checked for any signs of life she could vaguely hear the Captain order the carriage to move on.
"Was she armed?" Treville asked as he and Porthos joined her.
"Only with this." She sighed, giving up any hope of the girls' survival as she held up a small note.
"Let us through! I know her!" A woman's voice called to a guard that was restraining her. Seeing it was Constance, Anna nodded to Treville who sanctioned her to join them.
"What's her name?" Anna asked gently as Constance cradled the body.
"Thérèse Dubois." She said quietly as she copied Anna by checking for any sign of life.
"What was she doing?" D'Artagnan asked her as he too joined them.
"I don't know." Constance whispered before taking the now unravelled note from Porthos and reading it quickly. "Fleur?" She called out to the crowd. "What does this mean?" She stood presumably to speak to the girl she was calling for. "Fleur?" She scanned the crowd for her. "FLEUR?"
"I can't bear the thought of Fleur alone! Lost in Paris!" Constance paced the parlour of her home as Anna tried to comfort her.
"We'll find her; I promise." She assured her friend as D'Artagnan urged her to sit.
"What am I going to tell her father?" She sighed. "He's my husband's cousin."
"How long have you known her; Thérèse?" Anna asked as she sat opposite Constance.
"A month or so? There is one thing that might help...Countess de Larroque had taken an interest in her. She was teaching her to read and write."
"Many enlightened nobles show kindness to their servants." D'Artagnan mused as Anna nodded in agreement.
"This was more than that... Thérèse knew Greek and Latin and even studied the stars! Fleur attended some of her lessons too...they went in secret." Anna and D'Artagnan shared a look before the former rose to get some wine for her friend.
"We will find her." D'Artagnan assured her.
"I hate this thing." Anna muttered as she, Athos, Aramis and Porthos waited outside the doors of the throne room for their Captain.
"You look lovely." Aramis assured her with a grin as she glared at her dress uniform.
Whilst the men simply added a powder blue cloak to their uniform to be deemed presentable for the Royals, she had to change completely: gone were her breeches and a dress took its place, her corset was embroidered with the fleur-de-lis they all wore. The only thing similar to her male counterparts was that she too wore the blue cloak.
"Are you ready?" Treville asked as he approached them with the man Athos and Aramis had aided that same morning. With no time to answer the doors swung open and the four Musketeers followed their Captain into the room.
Dropping into a curtsey, her eyes flitted around the opulent room. The grandeur of the palace never ceased to awe her.
"Luca." The Cardinal greeted Treville's guest. "I didn't realise you were coming."
"This is an informal visit." The man responded with a small smile. "Your Eminence."
"Your Majesties." Richelieu turned from his 'friend' to face the King and Queen. "Father Luca Sestini." He introduced the man to the room. "Luca and I are old friends: we were at the seminary together."
"Sestini?" King Louis asked with narrowed eyes. "Aren't you that Jesuit priest who wrote that terrible pamphlet? What did it say?"
"Well if I remember correctly; it was an argument for the Pope's absolute authority over national rulers in all matters both spiritual and temporal and any leader who defied him could be legally overthrown, even killed, with the papal blessing." The Cardinal finished with a flourish as the King rose.
"That's the one." He walked slowly to stand in front of Father Sestini. "It's just as well my people can't read, or they might get ideas."
"My apologies for any offence."
"I trust your time in Paris will be...pleasant. However brief it may be." He turned and strode back to his throne as Anna struggled to hold back a smirk. Catching the Queen's eye the women exchanged small smiles.
"Your Majesty, a young woman; Fleur Baudin, has gone missing." Treville informed the King. "She was a friend of the girl who died this morning. We have reason to believe the Countess de Larroque may know something f her whereabouts."
"What makes you say so?" Queen Anne enquired.
"She regularly attended the Countess' salon and seems enthralled by her."
"It's very, very shocking." The Cardinal interjected. "We can't have the Countess abducting young women and spiriting them away to her boudoir."
"Whatever are you implying Cardinal?" The Queen asked in shock.
"There have been ugly rumours, Your Majesty. It's all scurrilous nonsense...I'm sure."
"Ninon is so very pretty I could listen to her nonsense all day." The King giggled as Anne deflated beside him. "Handle the matter discreetly." He ordered, regaining control of himself. "The Countess is from a very distinguished family: I don't want her upset unduly."
"You are too generous Your Majesty." Richelieu all but sneered.
"Yes I know: it is a weakness."
Anna accompanied Athos, Aramis, Porthos and D'Artagnan as they entered the Countess de Larroque's home. She held in a gasp as they entered a circular room full of books and women enjoying them as they lapped up the knowledge they held.
"Does anyone here know the whereabouts of Mademoiselle Fleur Baudin?" Athos' voice filled the room as women placed their books down.
"If you have questions Monsieur, address them to me." The Countess said as she approached them.
"Countess de Larroque." He greeted the blonde. "We are here on behalf of the King, my name is-"
"I know who you are." She interrupted him as the room filled with whispers.
As she glanced around the room, Anna noticed many of the women pointing discreetly to the breeches she had changed back into at the Garrison. Feeling a small flush creep up her neck she shuffled to stand partially hidden behind Aramis.
"I've often seen you at court and thought how handsome you are." The Countess de Larroque continued. "There is a melancholy aspect to your looks that I find intriguing, but it's probably only mental vacancy." Anna nudged Aramis as he began to chuckle.
"I hope not." Athos responded. "Forgive our intrusion-"
"I will not forgive it." She countered. "This is a place of scholarship, where women can enjoy each other's company without the crude intentions of men. If you had wished to please me you would have sent only the woman behind you." The men parted to reveal Anna who stepped forward to join Athos at the head of the group.
"Countess-"
"Ladies, behold..." The noble woman turned to the room. "A woman who also disagrees with the world's belief that women should simply be wives and mothers." She gestured to the breeches Anna wore and the sword at her side. "A female Musketeer: how invigorating."
"Thank you?" Anna asked as the whispers were replaced with warm smiles.
"Now, what is it that you want?" The Countess addressed them as a group once more.
"Ah, we are...looking for Fleur Baudin. She has run away from her family and they are anxious." Athos told her, his eyes refusing to meet hers.
"Anxious to marry her into a life of domestic slavery no doubt." The woman retorted as a small smile broke out onto Athos' lips. "She's not here. You can go now." She began to move away from them.
"Your broach." Porthos' words stopped her. "What does it mean?" Anna glanced down to the small broach hanging from the top of the Countess' corset.
"It is a wren." Anna spoke for the woman. "A bird that cannot be caged."
"A symbol of hope and freedom." The Countess added with a smile.
"A symbol of your own dreams and ambitions, I would imagine." Aramis said to the noble woman.
"Ah, we have a romantic in our mists." A she laughed the room followed with a chorus of giggles. "Observe; the remarkable phenomenon: a man of wisdom and perception."
"If by romantic you mean a man who gladly acknowledges the superiority of the female sex then...I accept the description." Aramis shot a charming smile across the room.
"Your charm won't work here." The Countess told him. "We are quite immune."
"We are not here to discuss your beliefs." Athos steered the conversation back on track. "We are looking for Fleur Baudin."
"And I have already told you: she is not here."
"Then you won't mind if we search your house." As Athos moved closer to the Countess, Anna noticed a flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye. Her eyes grew wide as she could have sworn that in the now empty place by the pillar, a woman she had last seen with a noose around her neck stood.
"On the contrary; I mind very much." The Countess' refusal of cooperation snapped Anna back from her memories of a woman that had killed a man she had called brother.
"I could insist." Athos sighed.
"Or you could take my word." She replied as she gazed up at the Musketeer from under her long lashes.
During the time Anna had been absorbed in her memories she had failed to notice that the Countess and Athos had been inching closer together.
"Am I right? Is there an inner sadness that informs the beauty of your features?" The blonde moved back to their initial conversation. "Answer me honestly and I shall allow you to search my house."
Their eyes connected and not a word was uttered in the room.
"We all have our deep secrets and emotions, Countess." His voice lowered to a tone that Anna knew held desire. "Allow me to keep mine to myself."
"A barely adequate answer...but I am feeling indulgent." The Countess smiled. "Follow me."
The pair moved away from the Musketeers and into the rest of the Countess' home.
"Well, if that wasn't flirting...I don't know what is." D'Artagnan chuckled before being cut off by a sharp nudge from Aramis and Porthos as Anna tore her eyes away from the doorway Athos had disappeared through.
"What now?" Porthos asked lowly.
"Now, we wait." Anna told him as she picked up a lone book and took a nearby seat. The three men exchanged glances before spreading out to each lean against a pillar.
It had been over an hour since Athos had left with the Countess de Larroque. Snapping her book shut, Anna rose.
"What are you-" She cut D'Artagnan off with a glare as she deposited the book onto a table and strode through the rom towards the doorway leading to the rest of the home.
She wandered through the stately home searching for the pair, reaching the upper most floor she was sure she had somehow missed them but the soft voice of Ninon de Larroque made her inch closer to open door at the end of the corridor.
"Will I see you again?"
"Why?"
No further words were spoken as Anna watched the Countess cup Athos' face and press her lips to his. Feeling positive that he would push her away, her heart sunk when his arms encircled the woman's waist and pulled her closer.
Pushing herself away from the door Anna crept down the staircase. She did not let a single emotion cross her face as she re-entered the circular space and exited the house despite the calls of her fellow Musketeers.
"He did what?" Constance's eyes were wide as Anna recounted the sight she had witnessed at the Countess de Larroque's home.
With her head in her hands, Anna chose to not respond and instead let Constance mutter about the apathetic Musketeer.
She had first travelled to the Garrison to retrieve the uniform she wore to the palace. As she had been leaving the four men were entering the Garrison. Three of them wore expressions of pity as they saw her but their leader's face was devoid of any emotion as he tipped his hat to her before claiming a drink.
Constance had pried the truth from her despite numerous protests that she was fine and that no she was not covering up and injury from the events that morning.
And so, there she was; sat at the Bonacieux's table whilst her best friend flitted around the kitchen and calling Athos all the names she would never allow herself to use if she were in the company of anyone else.
"Mademoiselle Beauchamp?" A young by appeared at the door. "I have a message for Mademoiselle Beauchamp."
"That is me." Anna rose from her spot to speak to the boy.
"Aramis sent me: you are needed at the Countess de Larroque's home." She nodded and slipped him a coin.
"You're not going back there are you?" Constance asked with a disapproving face.
"I have to: it is my job." She bid her friend goodbye and raced to the home she had left not long ago.
As she crossed the courtyard to the Countess' home she spotted Athos and the woman in question speaking closely with each other. Gritting her teeth she pressed on and as she reached the grand doors, they opened and Red Guard came hurtling out.
"GET OUT!" Aramis growled as he kicked the man down the stairs. "Trouble." He told Anna who sped inside to aid the women.
She launched straight into the fight and happily pulled one guard off a young woman as Athos and the Countess came running in.
"My books! STOP!" She cried as the Cardinal's men pulled her library apart.
"Where is your authority for this?!" Anna demanded as she held a guard by his jerkin. He responded by pushing her down before holding her by the throat to a pillar.
She heard the unmistakable sound of a sword being unsheathed as the corners of her vision began to spot. Within seconds she landed in a crouch as the Red Guard was knocked unconscious.
"Thanks." She took the outstretched hand in front of her and was pulled to her feet by a frowning Athos.
"Are you-"
"ARAMIS!" She interrupted his question by throwing a book to the Musketeer she had called to and watched him use it to trap the sword of a guard and use it against him.
"Anna-" Athos began again before they were interrupted by two guards
"I'm a little busy!" She told him as she wrestled with the snarling man. Managing to get him into a chokehold, Anna applied pressure and watched him lose consciousness. Turning to her right she saw Athos do the same.
"Found them!" A voice rang out and the fighting stopped as a group of girls were led out of a small hiding space behind a bookshelf, in shackles. "Sleeping in a hidden chamber."
"Countess de Larroque, on the orders of the Cardinal you are under arrest for the abduction of Fleur Baudin and others." The leader of this group of Red Guards told the woman.
"Except she wasn't here." Athos informed him and Anna narrowed her eyes.
"They begged me not to tell anyone!" The Countess told him. "Please! Make them stop!"
"I'm sorry: I can't." Athos called after her as she was dragged away by the Cardinal's men followed by the found girls.
Six horses thundered down the dirt roads of the French countryside. Four Musketeers and a Red Guard accompanied the Countess de Larroque to the Monastery of the Holy Cross where she will be placed on trial.
The party entered the holy sanctuary and everyone but the Countess slowly dismounted as they were greeted by the monks.
"Why is she being tried here?" Porthos asked.
"The Cardinal wants to avoid a public hearing." Aramis told him as Anna stood beside Countess who remained astride her horses. The female Musketeer had been silent the whole journey as she had rode beside the accused woman as her 'protector' and now she was to remain mounted until the Countess
"Does anyone really believe in witchcraft?" Porthos snorted.
"The accusation is a fine way to stop the tongues of outspoken women." Aramis reminded him bitterly.
"She had the girls: she lied. She brought her fate upon herself." Athos mumbled as a Red Guard relieved her and Anna joined them.
"You're being a bit hard on her." She said. "Considering you two are together I would have assumed you'd have shown her a little consideration." His eyes met hers and she raised a challenging eyebrow.
"She was protecting the girls not deceiving you." Aramis said to him before Athos walked away from them.
"For what it's worth Madame." Aramis approached the Countess. "This trial is a mockery of religion: the God I believe in stands for love not cruelty." Anna rolled her eyes at him before joining Athos and Porthos inside.
Anna stood at the back of the room currently being used to house the Countess' trial and yawned. She shifted slightly and wished they could have had seas for this. Porthos watched her fidget and chuckled lightly.
"What's wrong?"
"My feet hurt." She pouted. "And I'm tired." His eyes were full of the laughter he could not let fill the room.
"Countess Ninon de Larroque." The Cardinal began the proceedings and Anna stood upright once more. "Confess your offences now and spare your victims the ordeal of giving testimony."
"I cannot confess to imaginary crimes." The accused blonde stated. Anna narrowed her eyes at the woman; during their journey she had enjoyed seeing the woman's immaculate appearance fall apart as her horse jostled her, but now having had time to prepare, she looked every bit the Countess that Athos was infatuated with.
Anna did not like to think of herself as a jealous woman, but she had had enough of being second best to every other woman in Athos' life.
When his brother had wed, she was placed lower than the new wife. When she returned from her travels, Athos had branded her a whore for doing the job required of her. And now he had pushed her aside for a Countess. She was very aware that she held no claim n him, however, some courtesy would have been nice, she frowned as the image of Athos and Ninon in each other's arms filled her mind.
She was broken out of her reverie as Fleur Baudin was escorted from the room. Realising that she had missed the young girls' testimony, Anna sighed.
"The court will hear the testimony of Madame De La Chappelle." The Cardinal announced as Anna offered a small, comforting smile to Fleur.
Suddenly a woman in black crossed in front of her and the other Musketeers. She held a fan partially covering her face but Anna had the same feeling she had when she was at the Countess de Larroque's home. She turned to focus on the woman's face but was too late as she had passed them.
She shifted slightly and moved to stand beside Athos at the front of their group in an effort to see the woman better.
"Madame De La Chappelle." The Cardinal greeted the elusive woman. "Tell us of your...experiences at the Countess' salon."
"Ninon did to me what I saw her do to other women." She began and Anna's eyes widened as the unlikable voice filled her ears as Athos stiffened beside her. "She gave me wine and a bit of potion of some kind." The two Musketeers exchanged wide-eyed glances as she continued to speak. "I felt unsteady as though in a reverie." Anna's hand found its way into Athos' palm as the two began to move from the back of the room. "I awoke in her private chamber. My clothes had been removed; I remember spells and ritual incantations. I felt a deep and terrible shame." Athos and Anna approached the front of the crowd as though in a trance.
"Why are you saying these things?!" The Countess demanded.
"THIS WOMAN IS A LIAR!" Everyone but Anna flinched as Athos pointed at 'Madame De La Chappelle'.
"SHE IS NOT EVEN WHO SHE CLAIMS TO BE!" Anna broke her silence as her anger and shock got the better of her.
"SHE IS A CONVICTED CRIMINAL!" She and Athos burst through the small gate separating the Countess from the spectators.
"Why do they accuse me?" She feigned innocence as Anna and Athos were restrained by nearby guards. "Are they friends of Ninon's?"
"Restrain them immediately!" The Cardinal ordered as the pair struggled in the grasps of their capturers. Exchanging worried glances Porthos and Aramis rushed to their friends and helped pull them to one side.
"SHE IS NOT TO BE TRUSTED!" Anna cried as she fought to reach the woman she believed she had been rid of so long ago.
"Calm yourself." Aramis soothed as she began to calm in his embrace. It would seem that she was being easier than Athos who was barely being restrained by Porthos and Treville.
"The court has heard enough from this witness." The Cardinal attempted to regain control of the rom. "You are excused." He told the woman.
She moved through the room as if in slow motion, torturing Anna with the memories of that fateful day in the chateau. Her eyes flickered to meet those of the distressed Musketeers and Anna resumed her struggle when she saw a small smile on her lips.
"Who was that?" Porthos asked them as he released Athos once the woman had left the room.
"A demon we believed gone." Anna told him as Athos pushed his way out of the room.
"Countess Ninon de Larroque." The Cardinal resumed his trial. "It has been proven in the sight of God that you are a practicing witch who has been cavorting with the devil. The court finds you guilty on all counts."
"Wha...this is madness!" The Countess cried. "I am not a witch! They do not exist!"
"More blasphemy!" Father Sestini added from his place behind the Cardinal. "Stop her mouth!" He ordered and a gag was brought to the Countess.
"Wait!" The Cardinal ordered and the nun carrying the material stopped. "At a time to be determined you will be taken to a place of execution. Your body will be burnt to ashes."
As he finished the doors opened and Queen Anne strolled in.
"Your Majesty." The Cardinal rose to meet the Royal woman.
"It is the King's wish that unless the Countess de Larroque confesses her crimes freely and without torture...she be spared the death sentence." The Queen's words clearly irked the Cardinal and his face became even more frustrated as she turned and helped the Countess up.
"I have never consorted with the devil until this moment..." The Countess narrowed her eyes at the Cardinal. "...I am looking at him."
"Condemned from her own mouth!" The Cardinal smiled victoriously. "Such language amounts to a conf-" He stopped suddenly. "Amounts to a conf-" He stopped once more. "To...to..." He grabbed his throat and fell to the floor convulsing.
The only sound to be heard in the large room was the shattering of a water jug and the footfalls of Anna, Porthos and Aramis as they raced to aid the Cardinal.
Porthos burst through the doors of the Cardinal's room in the Monastery with the man in question placed over his shoulder. Anna and Aramis jogged behind him and helped settle the convulsing man onto his bed.
"Where's the castor oil and mustard?!" Aramis shouted as he placed his hand over the Cardinals mouth to stem the cries emitting from it. "Help me loosen his robes." He ordered Porthos as Anna ran to get the things Aramis needed. "Definitely poison." He said as Athos led the King and Captain Treville into the room.
"What if he's called to God's right hand? What will I do?" King Louis asked Captain Treville nervously.
"All will be well I'm sure. The Cardinal is made of granite." Aramis assured him.
"Don't die." King Louis begged as he pushed his way to the Cardinals side and grabbed his robes. "Please don't die!" He was pulled away from the Cardinal and Aramis returned to his side.
"Got them!" Anna declared as she came racing back into the room and passed a jug to Aramis who simply poured it into the Cardinal's mouth.
"Whoever did this...I want them found." The King told Treville as Aramis continued to pour the mixture into the Cardinals mouth and hold it closed.
Anna lifted the water jug from the Cardinal's desk in the court room and sniffed it.
"What are you doing?" Athos asked as he snatched the jug from her.
"Just-"
"Trying to get yourself killed? If this did hold the poison then you have just inhaled it and will likely face the same ordeal as the Cardinal." He told her sternly.
"I am aware of that I-"
"Where is the Countess?" Aramis interrupted her as he entered the room.
"They took her back to her cell." Porthos told him from his place at the window.
"The Cardinal?" Anna asked as she moved away from Athos' gaze.
"Still alive...just." He removed his hat and ran a hand through his hair.
"Who has a reason to poison him?" Porthos asked as he joined them in the centre of the room.
"Who hasn't?" Anna reminded him with a wry smile. The conversation lulled and Aramis and Porthos' eyes flitted from Athos to Anna. Both were still visibly disturbed by the woman who had enraged them earlier.
"Who was that woman?" Porthos asked quietly and Anna stiffened beside them. "Madam De La Chappelle?"
"How do you know her?" Aramis enquired. "How did you know she was lying?"
"Her whole life is a lie." Athos told them as he moved to stand beside Anna, facing them.
"Whoever she is; she can wait." Porthos sighed. "Right now our job is to find out who tried to kill the Cardinal."
"It was clearly the witch." They all turned to face Father Sestini. "You all heard her curse him."
"He was poisoned not bewitched." Porthos reminded him.
"Satan turned his blood into acid at her command. I've seen it before." He said and Anna rolled her eyes lightly.
"We'll add Satan to the list of suspects." Porthos said dryly as the other three Musketeers chuckled.
"And I shall pray for the Cardinal's life, because when men such as he are under the powers of evil; none of us are safe. I leave for Rome in the morning...Paris is no place for pious men." With that he turned and began to leave the room.
"Your bag Father." Athos called after him. "It was found in the morgue with the body of the man who stole it. I'll see that it's returned to you before you leave." The Father nodded and left them.
"We need to speak to Fleur Baudin." Porthos said.
"You think I poisoned him?!" Fleur asked in disbelief as they sat with her in the Garrison.
"That is the most stupid thing I've ever heard." Constance said from beside her. "Even by Musketeer standards."
"Let her talk...please." D'Artagnan sighed from his place beside her.
"Tell us the truth." Porthos told her sternly.
"I didn't hurt him! I didn't do anything; I swear it!" The young girl exclaimed and Anna placed a calming hand atop hers.
"Fleur-"
"I have to go." She cut Anna off. "My father is waiting." She rose and walked a short distance away from the table they were all gathered around before stopping and turning to them. "You know I am to be married?" Anna felt her eyes soften as she looked at the young, scared girl. "To a forty year old widower with a butchers stall...I'm told he's a very good catch." She gave them a grim smile before leaving the Garrison with Constance following.
"Poor girl." Aramis sighed as they watched them leave.
"Well if it wasn't Fleur, who was it?" Porthos asked as they strode into the morgue.
"Ninon?" Anna offered as they removed their hats.
"Nah, she was nowhere near him."
"Where's the bag?" Athos asked the man currently covering up a body.
"One of her followers then?" D'Artagnan offered as they continued their conversation at the back of the room. "We should look at everyone who went to her salon. Perhaps one of them knew the Cardinal?" Anna shrugged in response as she covered her nose with her hand before Aramis offered her a handkerchief.
"This is one area of Paris I have not missed." She mumbled as she attempted to stop the stench of death invading her nostrils
"Did you ever find out how he died?" They returned their attention to Athos who was stood next to the body of the thief that attacked Father Sestini.
"Some form of apoplexy." He shrugged as he handed Athos the bag he had inquired about. "He was having a drink at inn nearby: ne moment he was laughing and joking and the next he convulsed and fell down dead on the spot." The five exchanged glances at his words.
"Just like the Cardinal." Aramis murmured.
The room was silent as they attempted to formulate responses.
"Sestini..." Anna sighed before they sprung into action.
Athos began searching through the bag in his hands while Porthos and Aramis moved to the body.
"Open his mouth." Aramis told Porthos.
"You open his mouth."
"Oh for pity's sake!" Anna nudged Aramis out of the way and leant down to the body as she pried open his mouth. Hesitantly she inhaled before gagging and slamming it shut.
"Now that stinks." She gasped as she pressed Aramis' handkerchief back to her nose.
"Well he is dead." D'Artagnan reminded her as he leant against a wall.
"Not like that." She told him. "It's like...there's something...bitter on his tongue." Porthos and Aramis exchanged looks before they both leant down and sniffed.
Anna rolled her eyes as they too gagged.
"What? You didn't trust my nose?"
"Either this man had disgusting eating habits or something's badly wrong." Porthos said.
"I know that smell." Aramis told them. "It was on the Cardinal's breath."
"The pages are damp." D'Artagnan mumbled as he flicked through a bible from the Father's bag.
"Poison." Athos told him. "Wash your hands; everything is soaked in it." D'Artagnan quickly replaced the holy book onto a table and glanced at his hands.
"This is where it came from." Anna said as she sniffed an empty vial that had rolled out of the bag.
"He must have drunk half the bottle before he realised it wasn't alcohol." Porthos sighed as D'Artagnan rushed to the other side of the room and dunked his hands in a bowl of water. "The rest spilt in the bag."
"Sestini is still at the Abbey." Aramis reminded them.
"The Cardinal's still alive." Anna added before bolting from the room with them hot on her heels.
She didn't slow as she approached her horse; sliding her foot into the stirrup she hoisted herself up and spirited the horse onwards to the Abbey.
"This is the Cardinal we're talking about; why are we rushing?" Porthos called out jokingly as they galloped through Paris and onto the dirt roads that led to the Abbey.
They leapt from their saddles as they entered the courtyard that had a pyre in the centre of it.
"What is this?" Anna demanded as a Red Guard walked past her.
"The death sentence was commuted!" Athos reminded him.
"The Countess confessed." He told them with a smirk as Anna sprinted across the courtyard and up a set of steps towards the interior of the Abbey.
"Where is Father Sestini?" Aramis asked as a group of Monks crossed through the hallway.
"I...I don't know." The old man gulped as they tore through the crowd in search from the Father.
"He's over there!" Aramis bellowed as he spotted the Father across the building. They ran through the building, pulling hoods off the men as they passed.
"The Cardinal's room!" Athos shouted to them and once again they set off running.
One-by-one they jumped over the dead Red Guard in the doorway of the Cardinal's room and they entered the space just in time to see the Cardinal attempt to plunge a hidden dagger into Father Sestini whilst fighting off his sword.
"SESTINI!" The Father turned to face them and was greeted with a musket ball in his heart. Anna rushed to the Cardinal as Sestini fell gasping to the floor.
"You're late." The Cardinal snapped as he slumped back into his bed.
"Glad to see you're feeling well your Eminence." Anna rolled her eyes as she pulled his blanket back over him.
"I doubt that." He pushed the blanket away and tried to stand. "But thank you for the sentiment."
"Did you know it was Sestini who tried to poison you?" Athos asked as Anna became the Cardinal's crutch.
"A sacred relic." He spat at a small wooden box that appeared to hold a bone. "The knee bone of St Anthony: soaked with poison." He slammed it shut. "An old papal trick: I should have guessed earlier."
"We're running out of time." Aramis told them as he entered the room.
"You don't need to kill her." Anna found herself crouching before the Cardinal. "Please." She inwardly flinched as she begged for Ninon's life. "You can have everything you want and still let her go free." The Cardinal's eyes widened as he realised that she knew he wanted Ninon dead so the state could inherit her fortune.
"This is all very Dark Ages isn't it?" The Cardinal sighed. "A glimpse of your own mortality does make one rather less eager to hurry others to their doom...I'm not a cruel man; just a practical one...what do you propose?" Anna's shoulders slumped in relief as it was clear the Cardinal was willing to free Ninon.
He gestured for the men to free Ninon as Anna helped him back to his bed before they discussed the meaning of her words.
"As far as the world is concerned: Countess Ninon de Larroque died on the pyre today. Your lands, your property and your money will all be forfeited to the State but... I will allow you a small income to live a quiet life somewhere outside Paris. If you try to tell the truth of these events, your original sentence will be re-instated. Do you accept these terms?"
Ninon had stood stoically as the Cardinal paced and told her of the bargain he and Anna had struck. The Musketeers watched on as she opened her mouth to speak.
"My voice will ever be silenced." Anna sighed as the Countess began to ruin the deal. "But...I promise you will never hear it." Relief flooded Anna as the woman accepted the new life she had fought for.
"What about the Monks?" Aramis asked. "They'll know."
"It's a closed order: gossip is not encouraged." The Cardinal rolled his eyes as he spoke. "We need a body to make this convincing; luckily, one has just become available." They all looked over to where Father Sestini's body lay on the Cardinal's bed. "Today I find my vision clearer than ever. Nothing, no person, no nation, no God will stand in my way."
They took his words as their cue to leave and slowly the five Musketeers and Ninon left the room.
"Take this Monsieur." Ninon placed the ornate cross back into Aramis' hands as they stood in the courtyard. "May it bring you as much luck as it did me."
"Thank you." He bowed his head to her before Anna and D'Artagnan led the horses back to them.
"Ready?" He asked her.
"Not quite." She moved from the men to stand opposite Anna who had distanced herself from the gathering. "Anna?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you." The woman smiled warmly. "And...I apologise: I did not realise that you and Athos-"
"There is no 'me and Athos'." She interrupted.
"You may think that I am capable of only reading books, but I am adept at reading people too. I have never met two people who are more in tune with each other than you."
"I-"
"Take charge my friend: do not conform and wait for a man to approach: we too have legs that lead us in the right direction and mouths to speak our desires." Ninon placed a hand on her shoulder. "Good luck." Anna simply nodded before the woman walked away and was helped onto her horse.
"What was that about?" Aramis asked as she mounted her horse and rode beside him out of the Abbey.
"Just...girl stuff." She said with a smile before they picked up speed and left the Abbey in a cloud of dust.
The Garrison was silent when Athos returned from dropping Ninon off.
"She is a lucky woman." He jumped at the sound of a voice and turned to see Anna at the large table, nursing a tankard.
"That she is." He responded as he handed his horse over to the stable boy and joined her. "Lucky to have had someone plead for her life."
"Someone had to do it." She shrugged and they sat in silence as the cook brought a tankard of wine out to Athos.
"And I believed that you were no to fond of her."
"I was not." She told him as he raised an eyebrow at her.
"Then why beg for her life and negotiate an income for her?"
"Because no one deserves to die for a crime they did not commit." The silence returned until she gathered enough courage to speak again. "Besides...she made you happy."
"Me?" He asked. "Why does my happiness determine whether someone lives or dies?" She stared at him hoping her eyes could say what she couldn't. "Ninon was-"
"Perfect?" Anna scoffed.
"Not you." She choked on her wine as he spoke.
"I beg your pardon?" She asked as she gasped for air.
"Ninon was...enjoyable company, however..." And now it was his turn to hope his eyes conveyed his message.
She looked away when the silence became too heavy and the pair gulped at their drinks.
"What are you still doing here?" He asked and relief filled the air as the conversation shifted.
"It would seem that D'Artagnan took the plunge with Constance." She told him with a smirk. "It was getting uncomfortably loud." He chuckled at her words. "So I shall be residing here tonight."
"They do not have the most comfortable beds here..." He reminded her.
"Yes, but they do have free wine." She gestured to the tankards. "Which I'm sure will help me to sleep." She rose from her seat. "Goodnight Athos." She began to wall towards the sleeping areas of the Garrison when a hand on her arm stopped her.
"You were jealous." His smooth voice filled her ears and she turned to stare into his troubled eyes. When she didn't respond he continued. "You didn't like her because of me."
"Don't let anyone call you slow, Athos." She sighed as she pulled out of his grip but he caught her again.
"Anna-"
"I'm tired Athos." She told him. "I'm tired of never being good enough for you. At the chateau I simply warmed your bed, then I became a whore for France and now...now you deign to speak with me only when Ninon is gone."
He was paralysed as she spoke.
"You have never-"
"Goodnight Athos." She told him sadly as she entered the hallway leading to the rooms. Bolting the door behind her she sighed as the heavens opened and the sound of his boots crossing the courtyard was muffled by the tears of Angels.