Duty Calls

Chapter 21

Athos’ POV

After D’Artagnan left the hall I’ve started fighting Jussac in his place. Seconds ago, Milady had joined me in my fight against Jussac and one of his men. She’s alive! I can hardly believe it even now that I see her with my own eyes. And she’s on our side again? Is this real or just a twisted dream? I’ve always thought I’d lost her, but there she is now, fighting by my side. I literally cannot believe it, I have so much to tell her, I mean, I love her. I never stopped loving her.
She quickly finishes off the man she’s been fighting. I myself manage to knock the blade out of Jussac’s hand with one quick move. I turn to get a quick look at my friends who all have been in hard fights. Then it happens. I am actually about to turn back, when I hear her horrified voice. Nobody would actually realize that Milady sounds horrified. But I know this woman.

“ATHOS!”

I spin around and look into her wide eyes. Wide with shock and pain. I catch her falling form, immediately feeling the hot blood spreading. I press one hand on the wound in her back. Where Jussac has stabbed her, twisted the dagger and removed it again. I know that this wound is most likely to be deadly. My other hand is toughing her face, holding it from falling back. I hold her in the embrace that should have been out of joy over victory. This isn’t supposed to happen.

“No! No…” I whisper, barely audible.

My heart is literally ripped into pieces. On the one hand I feel numb, to the whole world around us, not realizing what’s happening around me. On the other hand I feel pain. Not the pain of a wound. The pain over losing her. Forever. I barely even notice the others around me. I think someone’s squeezing my shoulder, soothingly. Probably it’s Aramis. Constance has kneeled down beside me, she’s grabbed Milady’s hand. She’s crying and pleading with the woman I love not to die on her. But even while dying, Milady remains the strongest person I know. She tells Constance to stay strong, to pull through the pain. Constance just breaks down crying over her. Milady forces her eyes to keep from fluttering shut, looking into my eyes. I see the pain she’s going through and I just wish it was me to die and her to live.

“A-Athos… I… I…”

She coughs a little, blood pouring out of her mouth.

“Shsh, it’s alright…”

I try to sooth her, even though I know it’s not. She’s dying, I’m losing her and can’t do anything to saver her. I feel useless and I feel the pain of failure. The gathers her last strength.

“I…love you…always”

Her voice breaks as she becomes too weak to speak.

“And I love you. Always have and always will. You’ve always been the only one and always will be.”

She weakly smiles at me and I can tell by her smile that now her heart is filled with peace. Then her eyes close and her head fall to the side. She’s gone. Milady, the strongest and cleverest woman who’s ever walked this earth is dead. She died in my arms.
I don’t care that tears are streaming down my face, most likely it’s been like this the whole time now. I don’t care that my friends see me crying. I kiss the forehead of her beautiful face one last time, then I embrace her body, holding her pressed tight against my chest for one last time before lowering her body to the ground. I’m torn. With her a part of my heart has gone, too. The part that has always been hers. From the first time I’ve seen her.

“May the Lord show mercy and forgive her all her mistakes, because in the end, she was a good person and died a hero.”

Aramis prays for her. I am still frozen. I don’t want to move. I don’t want to ever leave her. But she’s gone. She’s left.
Finally, I lift my head to meet the other’s gazes. D’Artagnan is standing there, a bloodied sword in his hand. My eyes move to the ground in front of him: there’s Jussac’s body. He is dead.
Turn my eyes to Milady’s body again. She’s wearing some sort of a necklace with a locket. I take the necklace with the locket. By keeping it, I will always remember her. Out of some sudden impulse, I open the locket and I am truly surprised by what’s inside it. There are two portraits inside. One shows her with a little baby girl. She’s cute and obviously her daughter. I didn’t know she has a daughter. The other picture shows me. She’s got a picture of me in there. Could this mean that I’m the girl’s father? This gives me some kind of a weird feeling. And I realize that there might actually be a reason to go on. I will find this girl and try to help her. She’s lost her mother after all. I put the locket in my pocket and stand up. I look at the others, ready to go. We got a funeral to do.