Chapter Text
d'Artagnan runs as fast as his legs will carry him, drawing on the inferno raging inside him for more energy and speed, down the streets of Paris to the Bonacieux house. His mind was screaming at him all the things that could be happening right now. He threw open the door, kicking it shut as soon as he was through it and ran for the kitchen. He could feel the temperature rising around him, signifying his emotional distress.
"Constance! CONSTANCE!" He shouted as he ran into the kitchen.
"d'Art, what's wrong?" Constance sat her knife down and turned to look at her friend.
"MORDRED GRIMM TOOK THEM! GRIMM TOOK ATHOS! TOOK ARAMIS! TOOK PORTHOS!" He shouted.
"WHAT!" Constance shrieked. The Fire Elemental nodded vigorously. Every Elemental knew about Mordred, the only Death Elemental to ever live. He killed an Energy Elemental for her power, which he never got to taste because Gaia, Mother Nature, took it away to give to an Elemental child. d'Artagnan had sworn to kill him, to avenge his mother.
"What do I do, Con? I'm not good enough to take him on by myself." d'Artagnan asked.
"Let's get everyone together and we'll go after him together." Constance said. Normally, that would mean the Musketeers, but she was meaning their Elemental friends, in this case.
"We'll get Madeline, Evelien, and Tempest together first, since they're still in France. Then we'll go to Ireland to get my Aunt Flora, Uncle Arthur, Cousin Jet, Marina, and our Cousins Claire and Mairi." d'Artagnan said.
"Yes. I get everything packed, while you go to Captain Treville." Constance said. "Let him know about everything. Including Athos." She turned to grab her knife and put it in its rightful place.
"Okay. I'll be back as soon as possible." d'Artagnan said and rushed out the door and to the garrison.
"Let me get this straight, d'Artagnan. You are an Elemental. You are Fire. You did what ever the hell soul-bonding is with Athos. And now, the Musketeers are captured by Mordred Grimm. So, you and Madame Bonacieux, who is also an Elemental of Light and Emotions, are going to rally your family, apparently you and the Madame are related, to rescue the Musketeers and get revenge for your mother." Treville blinked.
"Yes and no. Constance and I are not related as closely as you think. All Elementals are closely related, since we all came from Gaia, that is Mother Nature, but we call each other 'cousin' unless we are related differently, such as mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, and grandparents. Constance and I are related in that aspect." d'Artagnan corrected.
"What is soul-bonding? How will it affect Athos's and your work?" Treville crossed his arms.
"Basically, it's the Elemental way of marriage. You only soul-bond once. It shouldn't really negatively affect our work, if anything it could decrease the amount of injuries either of sustain, because we are connected and can tell things about each other's physical condition and as a mental communication of sorts." d'Artagnan shrugged.
"Does Athos know about this?" Treville raised an eyebrow. "That he has basically remarried?"
"Given that I wasn't aware, myself, until a long while after the fact and I'm pretty sure he doesn't understand Elemental culture, I doubt it." I replied.
"Bring back the Musketeers, d'Artagnan. And kill that bastard." Treville sighed. "I expect you to get them back."
"Yes sir." d'Artagnan grinned. He turned and walked out of the captain's office.
d'Artagnan took a deep breath as he looked at the farm of his oldest sister, Madeline, and her husband. Constance glanced at her younger friend. He looked uneasy. She imagined he would be, having to go to his family to get them to help him rescue his friends that were King's Musketeers as well as letting them know he had soul-bonded without telling the other side about it.
"Let's go, Con. Time is of the essence." He said and urged his horse forwards. He stopped in the yard when his sister came flying out the door. He quickly dismounted and easily accepted her hug.
"Charles! It's been forever since you've come to see me! I heard from the birds some of what you've been up to, but you have to tell me everything!" She hugged her baby brother. She noticed Constance when she saw the woman dismounting her horse. "Charles who is this? A fiancée?"
"No! Her name is Constance and she is married to Monsieur Bonacieux. She is a Light and Emotion Elemental and one of my best friends." d'Artagnan shook his head. "Besides, I've soul-bonded with someone."
"WHO? WHY DID YOU NOT BRING HIM OR HER! I DEMAND EXPLANTION!" She exploded.
"His name is Olivier d'Athos, formerly the Comte de la Fère. He is one of the Musketeers I have been with." d'Artagnan replied.
"Well, where is he?" She put her hands on her hips.
"That's kinda the reason we came. Is Francis here?" He admitted sheepishly.
"No. His mother fell ill and he went to go look after her while I stayed here." She frowned.
"Mordred Grimm captured Athos and our other two friends." He said bluntly. "He has a bad past with them and I worry for their lives."
"In the name of Gaia!" She cursed. "He took them, did he?"
"Yeah. Constance and I are getting everyone together so we can not only rescue them, but avenge Mother as well." d'Artagnan nodded. "Oh, and... about Athos..."
"Yes?" She grinned. d'Artagnan gulped and steeled himself to say what he needed to.
"He's not an Elemental... so... I may or may not have not told him we bonded." d'Artagnan started to slowly back away from his sister.
"YOU WHAT CHARLES D'ARTAGNAN!" She shrieked.
"Before you kill me, I can explain!" He gulped.
"You have five seconds." She hissed.
"We bonded when I saved him from his burning chateau, which is ex-wife lit on fire to kill him, and everything was really crazy after that. Athos was really drunk and I was going crazy from the fire burning not too far away and I was freaking out cause he would've died if I hadn't came back! And then I didn't realize what happened until a while later! And I don't think he'd be happy to learn he had just been remarried! Okay? And I was trying to figure out when to tell him when he and the others got kidnapped!" He quickly explained. "And this is all really confusing me right now because I have literally no one to help me with this dilemma cause Constance isn't bonded, I haven't found another Elemental in Paris besides her and my bonded sibling lives hours away!"
"I see. You'll have to explain everything to him, though." She nodded.
"Well, yeah! He will see the Elemental powers!" d'Artagnan rolled his eyes.
"Okay. Who's next on the list to get?" She motioned for them to follow her into her house.
"Evelien." Constance chirped.
"Okay. Wait in the kitchen while I get packed." She nodded. They waited for a little bit until Madeline returned.
"Ready?" d'Artagnan asked.
"Yes." She replied. They went out to their horses and got Madeline's harnessed and saddled. Then, they began the journey to Evelien and her fiancé's house.
"So, Charles, you bonded with a guy. You didn't know or tell him later that you did. Now, Mother's killer has captured them and you and your friend Constance are rallying the troops to go off and rescue them." Evelien blinked.
"That's the gist of it." d'Artagnan sighed.
"Why the hell did you not tell him you bonded!" She shouted.
"He had just been almost killed by his ex-wife and still coming to terms with everything, so do you think that it would be a good idea to just say 'Hey Athos. I'm a Fire Elemental and we basically did the Elemental way of marriage when I saved you from your burning house.'" He rolled his eyes.
"Okay. Point taken." She nodded. "So, we're going to get Tempest and then Ireland huh?"
"Yep." Madeline nodded.
"Let me get packed and we'll go." She stood up and disappeared to her room. After a little bit of time, she returned and they made their way to the ocean side home of Tempest.
"So, let me get this straight. Your Musketeer friends and the guy you soul-bonded with, without even knowing or telling the guy later, were captured by Mama's killer, so you and Constance are getting everyone together to dash off to the rescue." Tempest raised an eyebrow.
"Basically." d'Artagnan nodded.
"When do we leave?" She grinned.
"As soon as you're ready. Captain Treville has already arranged passage for us courtesy of one of his friends." d'Artagnan replied.
"I'm going to pack and then send a message to Marina." She grinned and then bounded off.