Le Mousquetaire Femme

Flashback 11

The leather jerkin slipped onto Anna like a glove as she dressed. When she had first worn it, all those months ago, she had expected it to be bulky and uncomfortable but just as Constance had promised when she had helped her pick out the soft leather; it fitted perfectly to her curves. She stared at her reflection in the small mirror in her room before pinching her cheeks to get some colour into them and opted to tie her loose curls back and placed her hat atop her blonde tresses. The shadows cast by the wide brim hid her almost all of her face except her ruby lips. She strode from her room, her heeled boots clacking on the wooden flooring as she waved goodbye to Constance and left the home.

She let the now familiar sounds and smells of Paris wash over her as she wandered through its labyrinth of streets towards the lodgings she knew held a very hungover man.

The stairs of the boarding house creaked as she made her way up to the room. With a sigh she banged her fist against the wooden door before sliding a key from her pocket and opening it. She sneered as the stench of wine flooded her senses. Huffing, she strode through the room and flung the window open, letting the 'fresh' air startle the sleeping man awake.

"Good Morning!" She greeted him loudly as he groaned and covered his eyes from the intruding light.

"Is it?"

"It is." She leant out of the window and pulled a small bucket in from the ledge. She set it down on the floor as Athos rolled out of bed and knelt before it. She sighed as he punched through the ice layer before submerging his head into the freezing water.

"Good morning." He murmured as he removed his head and she passed him a cloth to dry his face.

"Is it?" She raised an eyebrow at him as he stood.

"It is." He smirked at her as he pressed a chaste kiss to her cheek before moving to get dressed. "Did you have a nice evening?" Her groan was followed by his laughter.

"Dinner with Constance was lovely until Bonacieux decided to join us." She handed him his rapier and watched as he stretched. "Naturally our 'girls night' became Bonacieux's night where he regaled us with stories about dressmaking."

"Sounds lovely." He chuckled as he grabbed his hat.

"I couldn't decide who I wanted to kill more; him or his parents for having him." She sighed. "Who's getting who?"

"I imagine Porthos is with the Red Guards and we both know where Aramis will be."

"I'll take Aramis, playing the scorned wife is always more fun that fighting a Red Guard because Porthos cheated again."

"I demand to see him!" Anna brushed through the servants that had gathered to stop her entering the private chambers of the home she had barged in to. "Let me through!" She threw open the doors to the bedroom where Aramis lay entangled with his newest mistress.

"Who on Earth are y-"

"You bastard!" Anna cut off the mortified woman who was clutching the bed sheet to her chest. "You promised me that there would be no more women!"

Aramis sat up wide-eyed to face his accuser before a smile appeared on his lips.

"Anna, my love-" He rose from the bed as the woman beside him gawped.

"What about the children, Aramis?" Anna feigned hurt as she subtly kicked his trousers over to him. "How will I tell them?"

"You have a wife?!" The woman asked, rage evident in her eyes. "And children?!" She leapt from the bed and grabbed his pistol as Aramis quickly dressed.

"Madeline..." He trailed off as he looked up as saw the barrel of his own gun pointing at him. Anna sighed at the sight before grabbing an edge of the sheet and twirling the woman out of it. She smiled as the gun clattered to the ground before the woman ran for something to cover naked form with as Anna and Aramis exited the room as fast as possible.

"You've really got to start picking ones that won't try to kill us both." Anna panted as they fled the house.

"Ah, but where's the fun in that?" He chuckled as they slowed when the Garrison came into view.

"How did it go?" Anna asked as she and Aramis entered the training ground.

"Wonderful." Athos deadpanned as Porthos counted the money he had won that morning. Anna sighed as she spotted a white corner peeking out from under Porthos' sleeve.

"He took it well I assume?" She asked the man as she pulled the card from his wrist with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah...I've got to work on that." Porthos scratched his neck like a scorned schoolboy. "But what's life without excitement?" He beamed up at her as Aramis slid a drink towards her.

"You two will be the death of me." She laughed as she took her usual spot on their table while Aramis began to tell them of his night.