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Aramis tried for hours to loosen the ropes binding him, but had no luck. His wrists were raw and bloody by the time he finally gave up, realizing they wouldn't budge. They had finally taken the gag off, but the aftereffect was an extremely dry mouth, and no way to relieve it. The thought of becoming severely dehydrated and ultimately starving to death from lack of food and water was a particularly horrible way to die, one he didn't want to dwell on too much yet.
His eyes searched the cellar, trying to find anything that he might use to get himself loose, but they obviously had already combed the place to remove any such possibilities. He was beginning to cramp up from laying prone in the same position for hours. He couldn't imagine what it would feel like tomorrow or later. No, he would not think of those possibilities right now. He had to be positive that his comrades would find him.
He wondered if d'Artagnan had heard any of what Albert had been rambling on about at the garrison. If he did, he might have a chance of rescue. It had been a shock to hear Albert saying that he grew up basically next door to Athos' family. If those were his neighbors, no wonder Athos was sometimes such a loner. He may have had no one but close to his own age except Albert to befriend, and from what he had seen of Albert, Athos wouldn't for a moment consider getting close to him. He didn't for a moment think Athos believed himself far superior to everyone around him, not the Athos he knew and loved. But some people believe what they want to believe.
This also probably meant that Albert and his brothers were from a well-to-do or even aristocratic family. Albert obviously thought he could go after and kill one of the King's personal guard and get away with it, and so far he had been right.
He remembered the incident Albert had talked about. But he remembered it far differently. He remembered a terrified young barmaid being held down and raped by a drunken young man. He had warned the man to leave her alone, but had been totally ignored. He had also tried to pull the man off of her, but drink seemed to have given the man a strength that belied his slender frame.
Finally, Aramis had ordered him, in the name of the King, and as a King's Musketeer, to stop what he was doing. Again, he was just ignored. Finally, as the man drew back his fist and struck the woman, Aramis drew his pistol and fired. If the young man hadn't reared back his body to strike again, the bullet would have entered his shoulder. As it was, it killed him instantly.
Aramis had a number of people from the tavern give witness that the man had been behaving very badly to the woman, threatening her if she didn't do what he wanted. Aramis still felt bad that he killed him, but hadn't had much choice in the matter.
Now, he was at the mercy of this man's brothers, who showed all the signs of being even worse than their little brother. If his brothers didn't find him soon, he would most likely lose his life, very slowly and painfully.
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D'Artagnan slowly came back to consciousness with a groan, lifting a hand to the back of his head. Athos stopped him, saying, "Probably better not to touch it just yet." As d'Artagnan became more fully conscious, he started up, saying, "Aramis!", before falling back on the bed.
Athos and Porthos both leaned towards him, with Athos asking, "Easy does it. Can you tell us what happened?"
D'Artagnan said, "A good guard I was. I never knew what hit me. When I woke up, I was sitting in a chair in here, and these men were tying Aramis up."
"Did they say anything you can remember that might help us to locate Aramis?", Porthos asked.
D'Artagnan frowned, trying to remember past the pounding in his head. "Yes. The leader, at least he behaved like he was the leader, did quite a bit of talking, which surprised me."
"What did he say?"
D'Artagnan said in a curious voice, "He talked about you, Athos. He recognized you coming and going from Aramis' room, and said that he knew you. He said your family's land and his were next to each other, and that he never liked you because you thought you were better than him."
As he said this, Athos' face grew more grim, as he now knew who had taken Aramis. "Go on."
"He said he could tell Aramis meant a lot to you, and that he would take care of both of you. When Aramis disappeared, it would kill you inside," d'Artagnan faltered then, grief over Aramis' kidnapping overcoming him.
"I know who it is, and where he and his brothers live. They are of the Courtain family, villains and scoundrels masquerading as nobility. All five brothers seem to have inherited their father's foul ways. He was a womanizer, a domineering man who enjoyed brutalizing those who worked his lands or who came across his path. His sons are made of the same mold. I do know where they live. We do not know if that is where Aramis is being held, but it is a start.
We need to find Aramis as quickly as possible. Albert and his brothers have a nasty streak of cruelty. They used to enjoy beating the men under them. They couldn't keep their hands off the women. And there were incidences of tortured animals and birds found on their property over the years. Right now, they have someone helpless in their power, and I shudder to think what he might be enduring. Let us depart as quickly as possible, brothers. It's a fairly long ride, and we need to find Aramis as quickly as we can."
