Aramis knew he was in for an interesting day when he was approached by Treville as soon as he stepped into the Garrison for training, his face already apologetic.

'What's happened?' he asked, a frown on his face as his Captain came to a stop in front of him.

Treville took a deep breath. 'The King wants to go for a walk.'

'I...see...' Aramis replied, not quite understanding. 'And what's wrong with that?'

'He's asked for the four of you specifically to accompany him.' Treville muttered.

'Alright, I'll go and get the others-'

'I've had to send D'artagnan home this morning,' Treville cut across him, voice already exasperated. 'Poor lad was so full of winter cold it just wasn't right to ask him to do any serious work.'

'Oh,' Aramis nodded, before both men walked towards the benches, where a bowl of hot oats was already waiting for him. He looked around the empty training ground as he spooned some into his mouth. ' Don't worry- Athos, Porthos and I can-'

'I've had to send Athos and Porthos outside the city on an important mission,' Treville interrupted, sighing as he helped himself to Aramis' mug of warmed wine. 'They won't be back until nightfall.'

He sighed again as he looked around, 'I suggested Pierre to accompany you both, but he wouldn't have it. Hugo...Enzo...Jules... but no- he only wanted you, otherwise he refused to leave his rooms.'

'I see,' Aramis nodded, trying not to laugh. 'Don't worry- I'll accompany his Royal Highness on his walk. What's the worst the can happen?'

'Please don't say that...' Treville muttered, rolling his eyes. 'It only seems to invite bad omens in.'

'Treville you worry too much!' Aramis gently chided, smiling as his Captain only gave him a look. 'One quick walk around the woods and down by the lake, and we'll be back before you know it!'

'I absolutely love walking in nature! Don't you?' The King said, voice high and chipper as he turned to grin up at Aramis, who forced a smile back, bowing a little before he answered.

'It is one of life's pleasures that keeps giving, your Highness...' he said, before resuming a silence as the King sighed happily and continued walking along the path. What should have been a quick jaunt around the lake and back was now rapidly turning into a long and arduous trip...by the look of the sun Aramis could surmise that they had been walking for at least four hours.

He darted forwards as the unsuspecting Monarch caught his foot on a tree root that was sticking up in the undergrowth; the King fell forwards with a yelp, but Aramis already had his hand around his chest, pushing him back to the ground.

'Oh, good job you were there!' Louis proclaimed, patting Aramis on the shoulder before brushing himself down. 'That could have ended rather nastily!'

'Could have done, your Highness...' Aramis nodded, falling into step beside his King as they continued walking. 'Perhaps we should be making our way back to the Palace?' he suggested. 'We have walked quite a way; it will take us time to walk back.'

'Can't we walk a little farther?' Louis grumbled. 'Perhaps to that big tree over there?' he added, pointing.

'If that is what you wish, your Highness.' Aramis nodded, trying not to roll his eyes as he duly followed the King up a small hill. He listened intently, keeping an eye out for any threats...

'You know, its quite nice having just you here to accompany me...' Louis piped up, turning to Aramis, a small pout on his lips. 'I rather detest having such a large guard around me at all times, bothering me when I just want a nice quiet walk.'

'We are here to protect you, your Highness,' Aramis replied. 'There is always a lot of guards as we wish to make sure no harm will come to you-'

'Oh, balderdash!' The King exclaimed, to which Aramis tried not to chuckle. 'I can fight off any man that comes near me with ill intentions!' To show this he put both his arms up and clenched his hands into fists, before stepping forwards and hitting Aramis in the forearm with an accompanying screech of 'ha CHA!'

Aramis' mind whirred for a few seconds- how did one react when one's Monarch hit them? He settled for clutching at his arm with a mock-wince, to which Louis stepped back with wide eyes.

'Oh my gosh- did I hurt you?' he asked.

'Not at all sire, it was just a surprise,' Aramis replied, giving him a smile.

'Phew!' Louis proclaimed, wiping his brow. 'Thought I'd crippled you then!'

'Of course not Sire- not to worry!' Aramis bowed, before he stood up straighter, eyes immediately roving the forest landscape.

Something wasn't right. He couldn't see anything, or hear anything- but he knew it was there. Instinct had never let him down.

'We should go back, your Highness,'

'We haven't got to that big tree yet!'

'Perhaps we can come back tomorrow, your Highness?' Aramis replied, 'We can't have too much fun on the same day...'

'Ohh...I suppose you are right.' Louis nodded glumly, before swiftly turning on one heel and walking in the opposite direction. 'Let's go back to boredom, then!' he added, to which Aramis snorted under his breath.

'Perhaps we can j- Get behind me!' he yelled, launching himself forwards as a man leapt from the bushes, a large knife in his hands.

The King yelped in alarm, allowing Aramis to grab him by both shoulders and wheel him around, pushing him behind him as he delved to his side for his Rapier- no, too close quarters, his mind told him. He grasped the dagger he kept in his belt, brandishing it in front of him as the man came closer.

The man threw the first blow, launching out a fist and catching Aramis in the jaw before stepping back and raising the knife; the Musketeer was ready for him, though. Aramis stepped back and threw out one foot, hitting the man in the stomach and sending him backwards; he followed it up by a punch to the side of the head, sending the knifeman to the floor, dazed.

The man was soon up, and the silver of his knife shone as he kneed Aramis in the stomach before bringing the knife down; Aramis growled out in pain as he felt the knife sink into his leathers and into the skin below, before being cruelly ripped out.

He clenched his fist and punched the man squarely in the face- he felt a little satisfaction in the way his nose broke under his knuckles, but as his upper arm erupted in pain the man had pulled away and was already running down the path.

'Come back here!' Aramis roared, despite knowing it would do no good. He clutched at his bloody arm, groaning in pain as a white-hot agony lanced through it and blood seeped into the material of his uniform, soaking it in scarlet.

He had to get that bastard- he had tried to kill the King, his mind told him- he stopped in his tracks as he heard a high voice, pitched with fear, shouting 'DON'T LEAVE ME!'

He turned back, clutching his arm as he walked shakily over to Louis. 'Are you alright, your Majesty?' he asked, looking him up and down for injuries.

'I'm fine, thanks to you...' Louis muttered, brushing himself down. He looked back up the path the knifeman had ran down, face wrinkled in distaste. 'What a vile, repugnant individual...' he muttered, shaking his head. 'What do you suppose he wanted?'

'Nothing good, Sire...'. Aramis muttered. He crouched on the ground, pulling his medical kit from his pockets and trying to open it one handed. Blood seeped down his forearm, and as he pulled his leather jerkin, shirts and undershirt off he could see the wound was quite large.

'Your Highness, I don't suppose you can check if there's any bandages in there, could you?' he asked, teeth already chattering against the pain. His arm felt like it had been hit by a red-hot poker, and his fingertips were already numbing from the shock.

'I...of course, of course...' Louis muttered, sitting shakily down on the forest floor and rifling inside its pockets. 'I can't see anything...no, no bandages in here...' he reported, looking up to Aramis.

The Musketeer swore under his breath- they were about four hours from the nearest help, and his wound needed to be stitched fast if he was going to stop the bleeding and any infection. He couldn't do it one handed, either...

A thought occurred to him, but he was about to dismiss it when a further thought occurred to him- if he didn't at least try, he was going to slowly and painfully bleed out until they reached the Palace.

He sat heavily on the forest floor, before turning slowly to the King. 'Your Highness,' he started, taking a deep breath. 'I know this is asking a tremendous amount, and I would not ask unless I was truly desperate and there was no other option...'

'What?' The King asked, eyes wide. 'What do you want me to do?'

'My arm needs stitching, your Highness, and I cannot do it myself with only one hand.'

'I see...what can I do?'

'Well, Sire- I will tell you exactly what to do...' Aramis steeled himself. 'I need you to stitch my wound.'

The King blinked at him a couple of times, mouth slightly open as he processed his words. 'You want me to...stitch your arm up?'

'Yes, Sire.'

'Me?'

'Yes.'

'But I've never stitched anything in my life!'

'I will tell you what to do, don't worry.'

'Well,um...' Louis looked quite perplexed. 'I'll...I'll give it a go- I'm not sure how good I'll be...'

'Once we get back to the Palace we can get it properly sorted, but we must stop the bleeding now or I'll be in lots of trouble.' Aramis said, smiling across at him. 'I'll be forever in your debt.'

'Well...alright then...'. Louis muttered, frowning a little. 'As long as you tell me what to do.'

'Of course- we just need to cleanse the wound first. There should be a little bottle of water in my medical kit. Just pour it on the wound, please.'

Louis nodded, unstoppering the bottle and upending it on Aramis' upper arm- the Musketeer squeezed his eyes shut and groaned through his teeth.

'Oh my goodness, did I hurt you?!' Louis exclaimed, putting a shaky hand on Aramis' good shoulder.

'No, no its fine,it's alright...' Aramis reassured him, trying not to wince again as his arm flourished in pain. 'Right, next thing... needle and thread.' He used his good hand to get out the small leather pack he kept his medical needles in. 'There should be one with thread already attached,' he muttered, passing the pack to the King, whose eyes resembled dinner plates, they were so wide.

'I don't think this is such a good idea...' he gulped, holding the small needle with shaky hands.

'You're doing so well, your Highness, you've been such a good help so far...' Aramis smiled through his pain, 'Just a few more moments and then we can get back to the Palace, alright?'

'But what if I stab you?!'

'You won't- I have faith in you, your Highness...' Aramis nodded, watching as the King came nervously closer, needle in hand.

'Right- you need to start at the middle and work outwards...the trick is to create a series of small knots...'

'Is is going to hurt you?' Louis asked, eyeing the wound. 'I don't want to hurt you.'

'I'm not going to lie- it will hurt quite a lot, and I may swear a little, for which I apologise in advance, your Highness...'

'Oh dear...'

'It's going to be alright, Sire-' Aramis placated. He was glad it wasn't the King who was in need of stitches. '-Let's start, and I can help you from there...'

It was late evening by the time the two of them walked back through the gardens of the palace and up the old cobbled stone to the main doors.

Aramis could see Musketeers and Red Guards alike running about, do doubt searching for the lost King- he spied Athos, d'Artagnan and Porthos returning from the courtyard, worried looks on their faces.

'Ooh, we've been out a long time, haven't we?' Louis piped up, his blood-stained hands tight around Aramis' good forearm, as if the Musketeer was about to fall down at any second.

'Yes- I believe I am in line for a good telling off.' Aramis replied with a weak chuckle. His arm was throbbing in pain, but at least the stitches had held. The results were much better than he expected.

'Surely not?' Louis muttered, shaking his head. 'I will tell them what happened and ensure no punishment befalls you.'

'You are too kind, Your Majesty.'

'You saved my life...and I saved yours, I suppose!'

'You certainly did,' Aramis agreed, smiling to himself. He looked up as he heard footsteps in front of him, and found himself staring at three worried faces.

'Sorry we're late!' the King cried, before Aramis could even open his mouth. 'We had a bit of trouble on the road!'

Athos looked down at the blood-stained Monarch, eyes widening in horror. 'Your Highness, is that-'

'The blood is mine, Athos.' Aramis replied. 'There was a knifeman in the forest. Managed to stab me before running off.' he turned to the King, who was wiping his hands on his trousers.

'His Highness was graceful and courageous enough to ably suture my wound.'

Porthos' eyes widened as he looked from Aramis to the King. 'The King...stitched you arm?'

'Yes, and very well, might I add.' Aramis nodded at Louis, who beamed at him, a proud smile on his face.

'Perhaps your Highness would like a bath, to get the blood off?' Athos muttered, to which Louis snorted and shook his head. 'Not until I've told the Cardinal and Anne!' he cried, before spotting the Cardinal inside and walking off, already calling his name.

D'artagnan sniffled thickly before he chuckled as the four of them slowly made their way down the grand steps outside the Palace and walked towards their horses. 'Did the King really stitch your arm up?'

'I swear every word is true,' Aramis muttered as he swung his leg over his saddle and the four of them made their way out of the Palace.'And believe me when I say; he did a better job then any of you three!'

He laughed as three indignant voices erupted at his words, before they slowly made their way back into the city streets, leaving the Palace behind them.

Thank for reading, please review!

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