Constant Companion (A 2011 The Three Musketeers Fanfiction)

Chapter Eighteen

I almost laughed as I saw Rochfort's ship jerk under the barrage Athos, Aramis, and their servant unleashed on it. We were safe from their cannons where we were. My parents would have been shocked at the vindictive way I felt. Within moments, the larger ship was sinking towards Paris, the men on board shouting in terror.

“Oh, not Notre Dame!” I exclaimed,seeing the ship go down on top of the cathedral. I sent up a prayer for forgiveness as I left the cabin for a better view of what was going on.

“They're unloading everything to get back up in the air,” Aramis called out. Craning my neck, I saw that this was so. Debris was crashing down to the ground, and I sincerely hoped there were no bystanders waiting to get crushed. “If they do, we'll be a target again.”

“Then we have to keep them down,” Athos responded as the large ship began to slowly rise from the roof of the cathedral.

Porthos laughed. “Leave that to the Padre and me,” the large man said with a grin. “Feel like taking a bit of air, Aramis?”

Abandoning his guns, Athos came to take over the wheel, and Aramis came down to the deck. Spinning the wheel, Athos brought our ship dangerously close to the other. Aramis drew his knife and looked at his friend. “Shall we?” he asked casually as if this was something they did all the time.

On second thought, perhaps they had done things like this before.

They both took a running leap off the deck and hit the balloon. I stared in astonishment as I saw them flying across the space. Then,their knives pierced the side of the balloon and they slid down, slicing through and making it irreparable. Once again, the ship began to sink.

“This time she's staying down,” Athos vowed. He glanced over at me. “Hold on.”

Unsure what his intentions were, I moved to his side and wrapped my arms around his waist. I hoped he wouldn't see me as forward. He didn't acknowledge my presence as he spun the wheel sharply once again. I squeaked in terror as I saw where we were heading.

We were going to crash.

I hid my face against Athos' side and held on tightly. Despite the impact of hitting the other ship, we both stayed on our feet. The sound of wood splintering and snapping filled the air. Shouts rang out, coupled with the feeling of falling. A violent jolt brought Athos and myself to the floor.

My heart pounding, I forced my eyes open after a few seconds of nothing happening.

“Are you all right?” Athos asked.

“Yes,” I answered, blushing as I realized that I was still clinging to him. He helped to my feet yet again. “Now what?”

“Now you stay here and I will go find D'Artagnan,” Athos answered, striding for the remarkable intact cabin. He came back out with a rolled up length of rope ladder. Securing one end, he tossed it over the side and climbed down. I watched him go, arms crossed and glaring.

Stay here? Not likely! With a huff, I went to the side and looked down. Already Athos wasn't in sight on the deck of the larger ship. In fact, there wasn't any one moving down there. And if I was going to find D'Artagnan, I had to get down there myself.

It wasn't like there was anyone down there who could see me do something so unladylike.

“Fool,” I told myself out loud. “Now you're worried about being a lady?”

It didn't look to far from where I was and it would be the fastest way down. “I can't believe I'm doing this,” I groaned, crouching down. I turned and found the first foothold. Unsteadily, I climbed to the end of the ladder, and there was still a good six feet left to go.