The next few days passed quickly, and before they knew it, the musketeers were riding to the palace for King Louis' celebration, exactly one week after they had returned home from the war.

Aramis was finally feeling better; he was eating more and his strength was returning. His broken wrist was still hurting, but the pain had lessened. He was doing well mentally, after having made his 'choice'; Athos, Porthos, and d'Artagnan weren't just his friends, they were his brothers, and he was determined to never let them face danger on his account ever again.

Porthos gave him a hand dismounting from his horse, as usual lately, and Aramis left his sling behind again, even though he knew that he'd probably regret doing so by the end of the night.

D'Artagnan was wearing his hat, after making the others promise that if he took it off, they would make sure he didn't forget about it.

Once the troupe of musketeers walked into the palace ballroom, headed by Athos, Aramis, Porthos, and d'Artagnan, the people inside started to clap. None of the musketeers expected that, and glanced around before looking at King Louis and Queen Anne, who had stood from their thrones and were clapping as well. Treville was beside them, smiling like a proud father.

Once the applause died down, the king beckoned them forward before facing the crowd of noblemen and women on either side the room. "These are the men who fought for each one of us," he exclaimed. "Not only to make France a safer place to live, but to cement our country as being the greatest in all of Europe!"

Everyone clapped again.

"In reward," the king said to the musketeers. "Please accept this token of our gratitude." On cue, a servant rolled over a cart which contained small cloth bundles. Four of them were gold, and the rest were purple. The gold ones were bigger than the rest, and the reason was obvious.

Queen Anne reached into the cart and took out one of the gold ones before handing it to Athos.

Athos bowed slightly as he took it, surprised at its weight. It was filled with coins and was large enough to fill his palm.

"Athos," she said with a smile. "For your skilled leadership in winning this war for France, and for your loyalty to the king and I. We knew that we could depend on you."

"Thank you, Your Highness," Athos said, smiling a rare smile back.

Anne picked up another, and moved on to the next musketeer. "Aramis," she said. "For your devotion to the crown, despite what happened." Her voice wavered a little. "You have our eternal gratitude for remaining faithful and loyal to us both. Your skills in battle and in treating the wounded is a credit to your name, and France is grateful." She tried not to let the love show in her eyes.

Aramis bowed. "Your generosity overwhelms me." He made sure to look at the king too as he spoke. "Thank you."

Queen Anne smiled and moved on to Porthos, and Aramis didn't hear what she said to him or d'Artagnan as he made sure not to watch her and inwardly searched himself to see exactly what he felt. There was love, but the years spent away had tempered it. They'd only spent the one night together five years ago, and knowing that he was not the dauphin's father made it much easier to bear.

The queen handed a sack of coins to every musketeer, and eventually headed back towards the king, who started the room clapping again. When it died down, he exclaimed, "Now, we eat!"

Many people laughed, and the musicians started to play their instruments as some of the guests headed over to the banquet tables.

The four musketeers followed, and Treville joined them.

"This was unexpected," said d'Artagnan, holding up his sack of coins.

Treville smiled as they all took goblets of wine and moved away from the table. "It's well-deserved. You four have saved the king, saved the queen...you've saved France."

The others smiled.

"We try our best," said Aramis, as he drank.

Porthos chuckled and nudged him in the ribs.

Aramis quickly pulled his goblet away from his face before the wine spilled on himself. "Porthos! The uniform!"

Porthos laughed loudly and slung his arm around his friend's neck.

Aramis laughed too, suddenly feeling very happy. He was alive, his friends were alive, and right now, life looked good.

Queen Anne watched the musketeers as they enjoyed themselves. Aramis looked wonderful in his new uniform, and she felt a pang of longing for him.

With a sigh, she turned around as she thought back to what she had done shortly after her son's first birthday. At her request, an elderly man known for inking people's skin had placed a mark on her son's arm similar to a birthmark of King Louis'. She hadn't told him who she or her son were, and the old man had died not long after, keeping her secret forever safe. The mark was permanent, and when Louis first noticed it, he'd been overjoyed and Anne never had to worry about future suspicion.

She'd never expected Louis to point it out to Aramis, though, and still felt mortified over the shock that she'd seen in Aramis' eyes. He'd obviously been devastated, and she'd wanted to tell him what she'd done, but as she watched Aramis laughing with his friends, she wondered if she shouldn't tell him after all. Right now, Aramis was happy, and that was good enough for her.

Yes, she'd keep the secret for now. If something changed in the future, she'd think on it again.

THE END
I bet none of you expected that ending, did you?