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Angelique had interrupted her mission of cleaning away their tracks when she began to feel she needed to get back to Aramis. She had no idea where the feeling had come from, but it was strong, so she headed back the way she had seen him go.

Aramis had mentioned personal business, but being a gentleman she knew he didn't want to use plain language with her, so described it that way. She made her way back to the base of the hill their hideaway was in, and began moving through the trees looking for him. She had gone about 50 feet when she saw him. She thought he was behaving rather oddly, moving very slowly and slightly crouched. What in the world was he doing, she thought.

Then, she saw the figure of a man slightly ahead of Aramis. She realized Aramis was sneaking up behind the man, not knowing who it was, but assuming it must be one of the bandits they were trying to stay ahead of. Angelique pulled out her father's pistol, and moved quietly towards Aramis.

Whoever the unknown man was, though, with no warning, slammed his elbow behind him, hitting Aramis low on his right side. Aramis sank silently to the ground.

Angelique screamed, emerging from the trees pointing her pistol at the man who had hit Aramis, saying, "Don't move!" She fell to her knees beside the fallen Musketeer, crying softly, "Aramis!"

The unknown man stood frozen to the spot, now stunned by the young woman's appearance, the pistol aimed at him, and her cry of Aramis.

From another direction came two more men, drawn by the scream they had just heard. Angelique shakily swung her pistol around at the three of them, not knowing what to do. She needed to take care of Aramis, but she didn't dare let her guard down against these men.

One of the newcomers raised a hand slowly, and said,"Mademoiselle, do not be afraid. I am Athos. We are King's Musketeers, and we will not harm you." Since Angelique was kneeling next to Aramis, from the direction Athos had come he could not yet see who she was protecting.

"If you are King's Musketeers, who is he?", she asked, nodding her head in the direction of Aramis' assailant.

"He is also one of us," Athos replied. Indicating the man he was with, he said, "This is Porthos, and that is d'Artagnan," nodding to the still mute d'Artagnan.

"If you are Musketeers, why did he," indicating d'Artagnan, "hit my friend here?", moving slightly, and Athos and Porthos gasped when they saw their long-sought brother lying on the ground.

D'Artagnan now found his voice, although it sounded strained from his shock. "I did not know who was coming up behind me. There are men after Aramis, and it could have been one of them. I would never hit my brother," saying this with tears forming in his eyes.

"Mademoiselle, we are going to drop our weapons to the ground. May we then come and help you to take care of our brother?"

Angelique was in a quandary,as she saw each of them take off their various weapons and drop them in front of themselves slowly. She didn't know what to do. If they were friends, she would welcome their presence with open arms, but what if they were trying to trick her to finish Aramis off? Then, she looked at the big, dark-skinned man standing beside Athos. He had yet to speak at all, but she saw his eyes glistening with tears as he looked at the silent form of Aramis on the ground. Shifting her gaze to the left, the other man was just as emotional. That told her what she needed to know, and she laid her pistol on the ground.

Athos and Porthos were at Aramis' side in an instant, their experienced eyes roving over their brother seeking where he was hurt. The found it quickly, their hearts nearly stopping when they spied the large amount of blood staining his shirt on his lower right side.

Angelique told them, "He had been wounded both there and on his left temple. They were healing well, and then this happened," directing a glare at the silent d'Artagnan, who still hadn't moved from where he had stood since they had come upon the scene.

Athos asked her, "Do you have a shelter nearby? We need to get him off the damp ground and out of sight to tend his wounds."

She told him, "We found a cave partway up the hill in back of us. We can bring him back there. I will lead you."

Porthos gently gathered Aramis' still form, raising him and cradling him in his arms. Athos and Porthos started to follow Angelique, then Athos turned around and said to d'Artagnan, "We need your assistance, d'Artagnan. We can discuss this later."

D'Artagnan followed along in their wake, feeling shell-shocked and ridden with guilt about his brother.

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Albert and his men were more than a little frustrated, and furious with the man they had beaten up earlier that day. He had finally gasped out the direction he believed the Musketeer had taken, and they had headed for the road in the distance. Jean's property was bordered on three sides by forest, and the road was on the fourth side. They had followed it for several miles before realizing they had once more been duped.

Albert said to his men, "We are going back to that man's house and finishing him. Then, we will divide up, and search the forest in the other two directions. We have to find that Musketeer soon!"

Riding hard, it didn't take them long to come back to the house. But after searching, they found no trace of Jean. He had simply vanished. Even angrier now, they spread out to search for the Musketeer, and a bonus would be the death of the man they now considered a traitor, in the slowest way possible.

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Reaching the hidden cave, Porthos laid Aramis gently down near the fire Angelique had started that morning. Opening the small medic bag they had thought to bring along hoping to find their wounded comrade, Athos pulled out the needed supplies, wishing he didn't have to be the one who had to take care of the wound.

They removed Aramis' doublet as carefully as possible, then opened his shirt. Using a cloth, Athos gingerly wiped away some of the blood flowing from the wound. They could then see the torn stitches of the formerly partially-healed wound. It was now red and angry-looking and gaping open.

Athos gave a long sigh, then looked up at Porthos. "There is only one thing we can do now."

Porthos slowly nodded his head, having seen enough bullet wounds in his life as a Musketeer to recognize what Athos was telling him.

Athos slowly drew his main gauche and laid it in the flames of the campfire to heat, dreading with all his heart what he had to do. "I just pray he doesn't wake up while we are doing this. He is in enough pain as it is."

Angelique ran to him, grabbing his arm, frantic. "What are you doing? You said he was your friend, and you are going to use a knife on him? What kind of a friend is that?"

Athos laid his hand softly on her arm. "His wound is torn open. There is no way to close it and prevent infection now except by cauterizing it. Believe me, I do not want to do this, but it is the only way to save his life."

Angelique sank back, worry for Aramis' life running through her mind. He had come into her life so unexpectedly, and she was realizing just how much he was coming to mean to her. Already meant to her. He couldn't die, he just couldn't.

Athos told Porthos, "Hold him as still as you can."

Turning to d'Artagnan, who had been standing near the cave entrance, Athos said, "D'Artagnan!" When he got no response, his voice became louder and commanding. "D'Artagnan!"

Finally getting his attention, Athos told him, "Whatever happened before, we will discuss it later. Right now, I need you to hold Aramis' legs absolutely still. Can you do that?"

Silent for a moment, d'Artagnan slowly nodded and took his position at Aramis feet, clamping down on his legs, as Porthos applied pressure to his brother's shoulders.

Athos realized he first had to take the broken stitches out, as if they remained, they could enter the wound and possibly cause an infection. Gingerly beginning, he tried to pull them out as gently as possible. They all came out, except for one stubborn piece that nearly fell into the wound before he caught it in time. Then, he slowly pulled the white-hot knife from the flames, and readied himself for what he had to do, wishing someone else was able to take his place. He didn't want to inflict this kind of agony on the brother he loved so much. In one swift move, he laid the knife down flat on the wound. As soon as he had done this, Aramis came awake with a ragged scream, his body arching off the ground in his agony. But Porthos and d'Artagnan held him firmly, as he cried out and his body shuddered with the pain.

Once Athos took the knife away, Aramis' whole body went absolutely still.