The day had finally arrived. Today was the day that the queen would be arriving and Louis had insisted that they meet her at France's boarder. He claimed that it would be romantic, completely disregarding Treville's concern regarding everyone's safety.

The king rode in a carriage surrounded by his musketeers along with the cardinal's red guards. The ride was quiet except for the king going on about how impressed the Spanish princess would be when she saw the strength of his army. D'artagnan rode beside Treville, doing his best to sit tall upon his saddle. He had been a bag of nerves since they left Paris praying that this went well. He was terrified of his voice failing him or worse doing something wrong resulting in his godfather's embarrassment. A hand covered his fists clenching Buttercup's reigns. He looked up to see Treville giving him a reassuring smile. He gave the boy's smaller hands a gentle squeeze before D'artagnan unclenched them.

The captain had been watching the boy practice for weeks on his mannerisms and speech. Much to Treville's surprise, Athos had patiently given his time freely to practice with D'artagnan. He would calmly correct the child's mistakes as they practiced over and over again. Despite his mentor's assurance that his behavior was adequate, D'artagnan insisted on practicing and Athos would patiently indulge him.

Treville couldn't help but smirk at the positive influence D'artagnan had on the recruit. Athos was still cold in his demeanor but he also seemed calmer, less prone to drinking, and dare he even say, content. The recruit wasn't the only one who benefited from the boy's presence.

Aramis was seeming more his old self each new day. The captain never thought he'd miss the musketeer's mischievous nature that he had before Savoy. Porthos had become more confident in himself, no longer looking as if he carried the world on his shoulders. The only thing he carried these days was D'artagnan like a sack of potatoes when he would 'rescue' him from tutoring. This usually resulted in Athos chasing after the pair yelling at Porthos, demanding the return of his pupil at once. Aramis never helped the situation by commentating the fiasco and taking bets from the other musketeers.

In return, D'artagnan seemed to benefit just as much from their influence and they did from him. Even now as Treville assured him that he would be fine, the child looked back at the three men riding behind him nervously to make sure they were still with him.

Treville smiled at his godson before the sounds of horses up ahead caught his attention. He looked up to see an ornate looking carriage coming towards them surrounded by soldiers in Spanish uniforms. The soldiers of both parties were on alert and cautious of the opposing army making the atmosphere stressed and uncomfortable.

"Stay here," Treville told D'artagnan before he slowly approached the other party.

At the same time a man in uniform from the other party approached him just as slow. Before either man could speak, Louis opened the door to his carriage and stepped out.

"Your majesty, that is not wise," the cardinal said from the carriage.

"Silence Cardinal," the boy king said before he made his way over to the soldiers.

"I demand to see my bride at once," Louis demanded.

Treville leaned down to his king before he whispered, "your majesty, I thought you were going to wait until I confirmed it was safe."

"Treville, that's my wife in that carriage. I want her first impression of her husband to be that of a brave, powerful, and strong ruler," Louis replied.

'Teenagers' Treville thought with a sigh.

The other man looked furious. He looked as though he was about to rip a new one into the king of France but stopped when he heard the carriage open.

The forest became completely still as a young girl in a stunning white and gold dress let herself out. Her governess looked horrified as she tried to pull the girl back in the carriage. After she stepped out, the young lady took a deep breath before she stood tall and began walking towards them.

"My wish your majesty, is that your first impression of your wife to be a strong, loyal woman that you will be proud to call your queen," the girl said as she approached the shocked men.

She made her way over to Louis before bowing gracefully. As she stood, the girl smiled and said, "Has my wish been granted, sire?"

Louis' jaw hit the ground and his cheeks glowed bashfully. The princess before him was beyond his expectation. Not only was she beautiful but without hesitation answered his call at the cost of not only her safety but also her reputation. To say he was impressed was an understatement.

The boy king bowed to the princess before he replied, "Your wish has indeed been granted. Never in my time as a king, have I felt as privileged as I do now, knowing you shall be my queen. Tell me this princess, has my wish been granted as well?"

The young lady gave the king a shy smile before she replied, "Very much so your majesty."

Aramis, Athos, and Porthos watched the scene looking bored as they stood with their young charge. They had immediately gone to him the moment Treville had left his side to approach the princess' escort.

"Are all royals and upper class this dramatic?" Porthos whispered.

Athos grunted and nodded his head in reply. The recruit looked on with a deadpanned expression as the young couple was introduced to one another.

"Mon ami there is nothing more dramatic in this life then teenagers. Especially when they're in love," Aramis replied quietly with an amused smirk.

An annoyed sigh caught Athos' attention. He turned to see D'artagnan still sitting tall and proper but he looked rather unamused.

"I give it three days after the wedding before they start plotting how to make the other miserable," Athos commented casually.

"Come now Athos. Don't give our impressionable young man here false concepts about love. It won't be long before some girl steals his heart," Aramis said.

D'artagnan looked at the medic like he just announced the sky was purple before he said, "not likely."

Aramis have the boy a smirk before he asked, "Are you sure? I was certain a certain fair maiden already had claim on it."

The boy glared at the musketeer at the mention of the girl. The entire garrison had been teasing the lad since the last time Holly brought Constance to the garrison.

Flashback

D'artagnan was walking with Treville as he oversaw the recruit training. The boy stopped dead in his tracks when he saw who had just entered the garrison. The captain quickly noticed his nephew had disappeared from his side and looked behind him to see the boy looking like he was facing a wild animal. He looked to see what D'artagnan was staring at and couldn't help the smirk that graced his face.

Constance locked eyes on the boy before quickly approaching her prey. D'artagnan looked like he was ready to run but was quickly stopped by Serge putting a hand on his shoulder.

"A gentleman doesn't run from a lady lad," he teased earning a glare from the boy.

The musketeer kept his hold on the lad until Constance was standing in front of them. Once there was no where to run, Serge gave D'artagnan's shoulder a squeeze before walking off chuckling. The pair faced each other in an awkward silence before Constance finally spoke.

"You've been avoiding me," she stated.

D'artagnan tried to clear his throat before he quietly replied, "Sorry…embarrassed."

"What have you got to be embarrassed or sorry about? I'm the one who made a fool of us both with my big mouth," Constance said looking down at the ground ashamed.

D'artagnan smiled at the girl before he told her, "You didn't know."

Constance glanced at him hesitantly before she asked, "You're not mad at me?"

The boy shook his head before he said, "Impressed. Tuff girl."

Constance couldn't help the blush that grew on her cheeks. It wasn't very often that someone complimented her feisty nature.

"You're not so bad yourself…for a boy anyways," Constance teased making D'artagnan chuckle.

She was caught off guard when he suddenly held out his hand and asked, "friends?"

A smile graced the girl's face before she shook the offered hand and replied, "I'd like that."

"Constance, time to go!" Holly called off in the distance.

"Coming!" she replied quickly before turning back to D'artagnan.

Without a word and still holding his hand, the girl leaned forward. For a moment D'artagnan thought she was going to tell him a secret but instead she quickly kissed the boy on the cheek.

"See you later," she said before letting go of his hand and running over to Holly.

The garrison became dead quiet as the boy stood there in complete shock. He slowly turned to see the musketeers and recruits that were training all staring back at him. Then as if rehearsed, everyone started cooing at the boy.

End of Flashback

"Leave him alone Aramis…even if it was adorable," Porthos cooed in a mocking tone.

D'artagnan looked at Athos for help but the man only shrugged and said, "She could do worse."

This resulted in Aramis and Porthos snickering. The boy glared at all three men plotting vengeance.

"Hate you guys," he mumbled as Aramis puckered his lips and made kiss noises while the other two smirked.

"D'artagnan!" Treville called making the boy suddenly tense.

He could see the king and the future queen of France looking in his direction. He had been so distracted by the teasing that he had forgotten he was dreading this moment.

"You'll do fine boy," Athos said suddenly making D'artagnan look up at him in surprise.

Athos gave him a smile before he added, "Now go show me I didn't waste my time on you."

D'artagnan smiled back before taking a deep breath and making his way over to his uncle. When he was close enough, the boy expertly slid off of Buttercup before standing before the king and his wife to be.

"Your majesty, it's my pleasure to introduce to you my godson, Charles D'artagnan," Treville said.

"D'artagnan, this is her majesty princess Anne of Austria."

"Honored," D'artagnan said before doing his best bow.

It didn't take Anne long to notice the child's injury. She looked horrified as she gazed upon the damage done to his throat.

"The boy came to us injured and frightened. As king, I took it upon myself to make sure the captain took special care of him. We're all quite proud of how far young D'artagnan has come along," Louis gloated like a proud parent.

Anne smiled at the king before she replied, "you are truly amazing your majesty."

Louis's chest puffed out at the compliment. Anne then turned back to D'artagnan and approached him. The boy looked at the older girl nervously before she smiled at him kindly.

"I am sorry that this was done to you. It truly is a merit of your strength and determination that you are standing before us at this moment. It is I, that has the honor to meet you Monsieur D'artagnan," Anne said sincerely.

The boy couldn't help the blush that spread across his face. It wasn't everyday a beautiful lady sung his praises.

"Thank you," he mumbled bashfully.

"Alright, I've had enough of standing around in the woods. Paris awaits its queen," Louis said offering Anne his arm.

"The time of celebration is upon us!" he added.

Suddenly, the sound the gunfire surrounded them. Everyone was silent as one of the Spanish soldiers beside Anne dropped to the ground dead.

In a split second everything went from peaceful to chaotic. D'artagnan felt himself being shoved this way and that as musketeers, red guards, and Spanish soldiers swarmed the royal family. The boy searched desperately for Treville in the stampede of blue and red. Finally, after what felt like hours D'artagnan heard his uncle's voice over the shouts of the other men.

"D'artagnan! Run!" he yelled desperately.

The captain couldn't see him but prayed that he was close enough to hear his voice. The boy didn't waste anytime trying to maneuver his way through the crowd. He searched everywhere for a place to hide while avoiding men with weapons until he finally found a place behind a fallen tree. He watched in horror from the safety of his hiding spot as men came out of the trees and began attacking everyone. He ducked as a musketeer and one of the attackers fought with swords. The two men dueled viciously, it was very different then the sparing matches he watched at the garrison. The musketeer quickly ran his sword through his opponent before moving on to help his brothers. D'artagnan stared at the dead man with terrified eyes.

"Come quickly your majesty!" a voice said.

D'artagnan turned to see that he was near the king's carriage. The cardinal had been the one to speak as he held his arms out to Louis. The king in question was running with Anne by his side. The pair were being escorted by several soldiers from France and Spain. Once the pair were safely inside, they were quickly ambushed by the attackers. The soldiers fought bravely and pushed them back but it left the carriage unprotected.

D'artagnan looked down at the dead man's sword before making a decision. He knew it was probably a really bad idea but it was the only one he had.

…

The cardinal, Anne, and Louis stared out the windows knowing that they were sitting ducks. Anne clung onto Louis' hand looking absolutely petrified. She knew that some of France's citizens were not thrilled about the Spanish queen but she had no idea they despised her this much.

She gasped when she saw one of the men that came out of the trees headed towards them. He looked blood thirsty and cold as he approached.

"Leave us at once. I demand you to stop!" Louis shouted as he approached Anne's side of the carriage.

"Sire these are not men that can be reasoned with," Cardinal explained quickly.

Suddenly, the man stopped dead in his tracks. He had a very confused expression on his face as he stared down.

"Apparently this one can cardinal," Louis replied smugly.

Anne dared to peak out her window and gasped when she saw D'artagnan with sword in hand, standing protectively in front of the carriage.

Louis and the Cardinal looked equally as shocked to see the boy there. As the king shouted to the boy to run, the cardinal watched the scene with great irritation.

The man smirked at his tiny opponent before he said, "Ya got balls lad, I'll give you that. Get out of my way."

The man went to walk around the boy but D'artagnan quickly blocked him and shook his head. He tried to go the other way and quickly found himself denied.

"Last warning whelp. Move!" the man shouted but D'artagnan stood firm.

"Alright lad. Have it your way," the man said casually as he lifted his sword above his head.

D'artagnan held his sword out and braced himself for the force of the other man's sword hitting his. He closed his eyes at the last minute before he heard metal hit metal. He waited for the blinding pain that came with a sword stabbing him but it never came. He opened one eye cautiously to see what had become of him and was shocked to see the man pushing as hard as he could with his sword against his.

D'artagnan stared in awe wondering for a moment if he didn't know his own strength until he heard grunting from behind him. It was then he noticed a familiar sword above his head blocking the other man's weapon from slicing him in two. D'artagnan dared to look at the sword's master and found Athos, looking absolutely furious. The recruit was using all of his strength to keep the other sword away from the boy.

"I've got him," a voice shouted.

A yelp escaped D'artagnan as someone ran under the swords and scooped him up along the way forcing the boy to drop his blade. Whoever had him clung on to him tightly as they ran from the dueling pair.

"Are you alright?" the voice asked once they were far enough away and the boy looked up to see Aramis staring back at him with concern.

D'artagnan quickly nodded his head trying not to show how terrified he was. The medic seemed to sigh in relief before hugging the child to his chest.

"We are going to have a long talk about self preservation after this," Aramis said as he looked around trying to find a safe place to take the boy.

"Musketeer!" A voice called and Aramis looked to see it was the Spanish princess.

"Bring that boy to me. He will be safer with us," she demanded.

Aramis quickly obeyed and ran over to the carriage. The princess pushed the door open before holding her arms out to the musketeer. As the medic passed over his precious cargo, his eyes locked onto the girl's blue ones.

"Thank you," he said sincerely earning a shy smile from the princess before he closed the carriage door.

"D'artagnan," Aramis said getting the boy's attention.

He passed the boy one of his knives before he explained, "Use this only if you have to."

D'artagnan nodded his head before Aramis returned to help his brothers. He looked over at Athos who was still dueling D'artagnan's opponent. Just as another man was about to attack him from behind, Porthos came out of nowhere and quickly took the man out before Aramis could warn him. Athos managed to give the other recruit a grateful nod after finishing off his other opponent. The battled raged on with Athos, Aramis, and Porthos standing protectively in front of the carriage. They would not allow any to get passed them.

Just as quickly as it started, the ambush was over. Only one man remained alive for questioning. With the crisis averted, Treville turned his attention to checking on the royal couple and finding his godson.

"D'artagnan!" He called out as he made way through the crowd of soldiers.

"He is with his highness sir," a musketeer said approaching the captain holding Buttercup's reigns.

When the musketeer had told him about what D'artagnan had done, his heart went into his throat. He ran frantically toward the royal carriage. He hadn't realized he stopped breathing until he found his boy unharmed along with the young couple and sighed with relief.

…

As they rode back to Paris Louis would not stop talking about his little champion, much to the displeasure of the cardinal. On a normal day, Treville and his men would be rather amused by the cardinal's irritation. However, today was quite different.

The ride back to Paris was quiet and tense for the soldiers. Treville kept D'artagnan glued to his side the entire trip back to the garrison but said not a word to him. Once they were through the gate, everyone seemed to relax.

"D'artagnan," Treville said getting the boy's attention.

"Tend to your horse. After that I expect you in my offence. We need to be have a discussion. Is that clear?" Treville said in a tone he usually reserved for his men.

The boy nodded his head nervously before taking Buttercup back to the stable. He walked slowly, dreading whatever 'discussion' his uncle wanted to have that made him look so cross. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice someone following into the stable.

He had just finished putting Buttercup in her pen when he heard, "What the hell were you thinking?"

D'artagnan jumped in surprise before turning to see Athos. The man looked furious as he glared at the boy. Without a word, the man stormed over to him before grabbing him by his arms and giving him a firm shake.

"Tell me boy! What was going through your god damned head when you pulled that stunt? I did not school you in the art of the sword so that you could get yourself killed!" Athos shouted at him. The boy winced under Athos' tight grip.

"I can't have another life on my conscious. I won't have it!" he continued to shout.

D'artagnan let out a small whimper as the man's grip tightened. Athos finally let go when he realized he was hurting the boy.

D'artagnan watched the man pace back and forth in front of him in an attempt to calm himself. The child felt his stomach turn with guilt when he realized he hadn't angered the man so much as scared the hell out of him.

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely hoping it would help the man calm down.

Athos stopped pacing before tur ing his attention back to the boy. He stared at the child for a moment before he rubbed a hand over his before he walked back over to the boy.

He knelt down to his level and asked in a gentler voice, "Just tell me what possessed you to run out in front of that man?"

D'artagnan seemed to consider the question before he replied, "she needed help."

Athos sighed, it was an answer he could appreciate. The man was trying to kill the princess, and D'artagnan was her only chance. It was a truth that was hard to accept but it was still the truth. This boy was being raised by musketeers. Could they really be mad at him for acting as a musketeer would?

"Wanted to help…like you," the boy mumbled as he stared at the floor.

The words shook Athos to his core. Fear gripped his heart at the thought of the fact that this boy ran in front of a sword because he thought it was something he would do.

With gentle hands, the recruit held the boy's shoulders and said, "boy look at me."

When the boy's big puppy brown eyes were looking at him he explained, " I am a soldier. Trained to do what needs to be done to protect France and her people. What you did, although noble, was reckless and foolish, do you understand?"

D'artagnan nodded his looking like a scolded puppy. It reminded Athos of another time when he was scolding another little boy just like this. His heart throbbed painfully at the memory of Thomas.

"Couldn't save papa…useless then…not again," D'artagnan said painfully with a determined expression.

Athos felt like an idiot. Of course that's what this about, it was the same reason he was here.

Without another thought he pulled the child to his chest held him close before he said, "You are not useless and you have nothing to prove. So please…don't do that again."

"Okay," he replied quietly as he curled his small arms around D'artagnan's neck.

'New lesson: head over heart' Athos thought.