. . . "Impatient and cocky," Porthos commented to no one in particular and then decided to take his version of pity on the young lad. He slung a brotherly arm around the youth and began a long narrative about when he had joined the musketeers and first met up with Athos and Aramis.

Aramis watched his companions silently, simply listening to the tale that the large man was weaving. The intense look he fixed on his companions might have led one to conclude he was at least somewhat amused by the way his older companion was embellishing the original tale.

Porthos hadn't even gotten to where Aramis had joined the musketeers when D'Artagnan held up his hand for a moment, and Porthos' hand dropped from his shoulder. "Wait," he began. "Just what does this have to do with anything?"

"Very little. Porthos has always been long-winded, as you have probably observed already by now," another voice intruded, and D'Artagnan glanced aside and caught sight of Athos.

"And he has a habit of taking liberties with the original tale, shall we say?" Aramis interjected smoothly in his oddly expressive deadpan voice.

Porthos was on the verge of protesting when the blond-haired Athos absently ran fingers through his beard very quickly in what could be construed as a gesture of annoyance. Three pairs of eyes focused on the man who carried himself with almost unconscious regal bearing. Athos fixed his steady blue-eyed gaze, which unnerved many or made them squirm, on the large man, ignoring Porthos' tortured expression. "May I do the honors of completing the tale?" he asked, knowing he'd be allowed to do so before even Porthos signaled him to complete the story.

"About a year after Porthos and I met one another," Athos began, "a young man who had been training under the cardinal as his student and a member of his guard appeared at Monsieur de Treville's door." The older man halted and looked over at Aramis for a long moment before the would-be-priest shrugged his shoulders ever so slightly.

"Monsieur de Treville was informed that this young man was being sent to him temporarily because in a duel he'd inadvertently killed a man whose brother had a great deal of influence and who had demanded that Aramis be expelled from the order," Athos explained. "So young Aramis was sent to train with the musketeers until the scandal blew over and he could return to his studies under the cardinal and eventually become a priest. However, Porthos and I became attached to the young man and had no desire to see him return to the cardinal and take the orders.

"One day Aramis announced his withdrawal from the musketeers and his intention to return to the Church in the cardinal's service. Porthos took it badly, and he and Aramis had a horrific argument that ended in a duel. I stopped the duel in time to inform them about a plot by the cardinal to discredit the queen. Ever since foiling his eminence's plot, Aramis has hated the cardinal. Still, as Porthos would say, 'Aramis has an unnatural desire to join the priesthood.

Thus, anytime Aramis gets to brooding and contemplating taking the orders, he and Porthos engage in a mock duel. Now I can't say that it actually prevents Aramis from leaving us, but it does break up his boredom a bit."

Aramis, who'd been silent the entire time, chose that moment to speak. "I will become a priest someday-probably within the next year or two, before I reach thirty," which was still a good ways off, but this particular time his friends refrained from telling him that he had more than six years before he reached that age. "I never did intend to become a fighter for the better part of my life."

"Pay him no mind," Porthos whispered loudly to D'Artagnan. "He's always saying he'll become a priest soon, but he'd never leave me and Athos until Athos retires from the service or I quit or some combination like that."

"Gentlemen." A fifth man interrupted, and they all turned to see the commander of the musketeers, Monsieur de Treville. "I hate to break up your little party, but I need all of you to join me in my office. I've got a task for the four of you."

"He can't be serious," D'Artagnan griped as he checked the supplies he had in his saddle pack to be sure he had everything including lots of ink and paper so that he could write Constance; dear sweet Constance, whom he had to leave for weeks to do some stupid mission anyone could do.

The giant, brawny, older man glanced at the youngest of the four men as he cinched his saddle and prepared to mount. "Ah, but you must remember, mon jeune ami," Porthos began, emphasizing 'young,' "that Monsieur de Treville gets his orders from the King of France, and if Cher Louis wants the best musketeers to guard a shipment of precious spices, he gets the best. Of course that only changes if a more pressing duty comes up. . ."

"Such as protecting the queen from being disgraced or framed," Aramis added.

"Or," Athos added, "protecting the king from a plot to overthrow him."

"Or some such combination as that which puts our beloved sovereigns in mortal danger," Porthos concluded, flourishing his hat with gusto.

"So basically what you're saying is that we are stuck escorting this caravan to Marseille, and there is no way out?" D'Artagnan was sorely tempted to sulk. For this duty he'd be away from Constance for at least a fortnight! Most likely longer.

"Didn't I tell you he was a bright lad?" Porthos commented cheerfully in his usually loud and forceful manner, and Athos and Aramis smiled into their carefully clipped beards as they made their final preparations for the journey.

"Mince, thanks," D'Artagnan thanked him sarcastically as he tugged briefly at the buff jerkin before slipping on his gauntlet gloves. His clothes adjusted, he mounted his horse and guided the animal towards the waiting caravan. He paused to glance back and say, "Well, come on you three. Let's get this over with as quickly as we can."

"Oui, monseigneur," Aramis replied courteously to the young comte, unable to keep the smile from playing about his lips, and the four men made their way through the streets and towards the merchants they were responsible for escorting safely to the coast. . . .

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Kat Jaske is an English and French teacher in Las Vegas, where her high school selected her swashbuckling, fiction novel, "For Honor", as the featured book for the 2006 Reading Incentive Program. This is an excellent example of creative fiction writing. If you cannot wait to read more of the story, order the book from the author web site http://www.forhonor.com