amiss || the musketeers

hell of a hangover

Her head was pounding. She could feel her pulse steadily beating behind her eyelids; ears ringing in a never-ending high-pitched screech.

She kept her eyes tightly shut, breathing deeply in her own darkness, attempting to get her bearings. Her movements were sluggish, but she counted it as a victory that she was able to moved at all. Jen lifted her head slightly, the pain immediately intensifying on the right side of her skull, causing her to release a low groan which only served to feed her headache.

"I am never drinking that much again." She grumbled, finally using what remained of her strength to push herself onto her knees. With an undignified humph Jen sat back, slowly raising an arm to cradle her pulsing head. She didn't remember the events of the previous night, nor why she'd let herself get so plastered in the first place, though a sense of dread crept into her gut as instinct told her that the pain in her head was not due to the hangover.

Slowly but surely, Jen blinked her eyes open, wincing slightly at the bright light. After her eyes had adjusted, the dirty blonde surveyed her surroundings to find herself sat in the middle of a dirt track amongst lush green forestry. She squinted at the trees, eyebrows furrowing in suspicion, "...What the damn hell happened last night?"

The pounding in her head had lessened into a quiet thrum and Jen found enough strength to stand. Brushing her skirt down, ridding it of the leaves and dirt that had clung to the fabric, she took one long, deep breath. Her head wasn't bleeding, just a little sore, but then Jen's entire body was tormented by a dull ache that seeped into her bones and she found herself hoping that it wasn't too far a walk back home.

°°°

The sun was beginning to set, the blaring heat of the day shifting into the cool breeze of the evening. Jen had been walking, though she was sure it would look like a stumble to onlookers had she actually encountered another soul, all day. Her feet were now as sore as the rest of her body and her eyes were beginning to droop from exhaustion. She noted absentmindedly that she must be dehydrated and wondered why she'd seen hide nor hair of civilisation all day. Perhaps this was a dream, an optical illusion of a never-ending road and a perpetual plain horizon.

Jen was just about to call it quits, cursing that her phone was dead, and find a decent piece of grass to sleep on, when she heard the unmistakable sound of hooves on the dirt road. She turned around, shielding her eyes from the dying sun to get a glimpse of the five riders trotting towards her.

"I never thought I'd be happy to see strangers." She laughed to herself, but as the riders came closer she noticed their feathered hats and drew her eyebrows into a frown.

°°°

The four musketeers had been riding all day, eager to return to Paris after investigating a Comte who was thieving from the King's taxes; the Comte in question traversing back to Paris with them to face trial, tied to a horse of his own. As the day came to an end they'd been searching for a place to camp when Athos spotted a figure that had come to a halt further down the road.

Slowing his horse into a walk, indicating for his friends to follow his lead, Athos warned them, "This may be an ambush meant to catch sympathetic travellers unawares." He turned to face the group, "Stay on your guard."

The other three musketeers answered with a nodded, hands hovering loosely over the hilt of their swords. However, as the quartet - and the Comte - closed the distance between the figure and themselves they became even more confused as they eyed the blonde woman staring back at them.

°°°

Jen's eyes widened as the riders cane within a few metres of her. She admired their leather outfits, feathered hats and presumably Renaissance weaponry...and burst out laughing. The musketeers all glanced at each other in confusion as Jen bent over in hysterics, her eyes watering as she couldn't contain her amusement. She took a few deep breaths to get herself back under control before she looked back at the five of them.