Chapter 21: A grave error.

Aramis handed Athos and Porthos their used pistols back as they prepared to leave the room, he had no gunpowder or shot to reload them, nor the dexterity to do so anyway. The room was filled with the still bodies of the men they had fought to get in and he chose one of their blades to borrow, managing to holster it with difficulty, he then picked up as many pistols as he could attach to his belt, managing three and one in his hand, each would be a one time use. The others reloaded their guns and waited for him, he made sure Henri was beside him before nodding at them to say he was ready. He was in pain but it was manageable.

They went through the gate way into the court yard where it was bedlam, with seventy horsemen between them and Drago's men there was no one immediately for them to attack. Most of the musketeers and Ames' men had dismounted and were fighting one on one. A great number of Drago's men were in the courtyard but they mostly seemed to be his untrained village boys, who were quickly realising how out matched they were and surrendering. The musketeers were telling them to drop weapons and stand by the walls. No one was allowed to leave the courtyard.

After a moment they spotted Treville, not in the mist of the men fighting but none the less directing people.

"Treville!" Athos called and they went over to him.

"Athos," Treville replied, before noticing who was with him. "Aramis."

Aramis smiled as Treville looked at him. He could see the relief on the older man's face. "Treville," he greeted.

"I am very glad to see you," Treville said over the din.

"And I you," Aramis replied.

"What needs doing?" Porthos asked.

They all ducked as a shot hit close to them. Treville's gaze alerted them to the fact that people were shooting into the courtyard from the windows of higher floors. Aramis quickly spotted the man that had aimed at them and didn't hesitate to shoot him, he had to admit he felt slightly smug as he hit him at this distance.

"The main doors have been shut, we are guessing Drago is in the hall beyond. The men in this courtyard are not well trained so it is likely he has more men with him," Treville explained. "We can get in the side door down into what appears to be the kitchens, but how we get round to the main halls from there we've no idea, we haven't the manpower to spread out and search the whole castle."

"I can show you," Henri piped up. Treville looked to Aramis in askance.

"This is Henri," Aramis told him, putting a hand on the young boy's shoulder. "Drago's son."

"Good to meet you Henri," Treville said kindly.

"The guard hall usually has forty or so men in, assuming they remained in there when they shut the doors," Henri offered.

"Right," Treville looked around the courtyard, it was quietening down a bit, as most of the fighting had stopped. "Ames!" he called as he spotted the man in question.

"Sir?" Athos asked.

Treville held up a hand asking him to wait as Ames came over.

"We almost have the courtyard!" Ames declared happily.

"Good," Treville nodded. "You and your men keep it, sort out who's who, perhaps send some men upstairs to sort out these shooters and I'd advise you call the servants out of the castle and sort them out too.."

"Very well," Ames replied, "but there are still a lot of men inside."

"I'll take in the musketeers and flush them out, make sure the rats don't get passed us," Treville instructed.

Ames chuckled, "consider it done," he said giving Treville a pat on the shoulder and looking all too happy at the prospect. He turned, disappearing while yelling various orders to his men.

"Maurice," Treville said to the man Aramis had almost forgot stood with them. "Stay out here, find Rousset and keep an eye on things, make sure our friends don't get too excited."

"Yes sir," Maurice disappeared into the throng of horses and men too.

"Let's go get Drago," Treville nodded to them and they followed him towards the kitchen door. "Musketeers! To me!" Treville was yelling.

Aramis smiled as he followed, he had missed them and from the grins he was getting from the men they passed they had missed him to.

The courtyard had seemed very large these last few days, even with the bustle of the servants and the stables, but with so many men and horses in it there was little room to manoeuvre. Aramis kept behind Athos and Porthos letting them find a path rather than risk knocking his already painful shoulder, Henri was glued to his side. They reached the kitchen doors and found many servants milling around obviously at a loss of what to do, thankfully they seemed to be perfectly safe with few soldiers paying any attention to unarmed civilians.

Once there, the thirty or so musketeers Treville had brought were behind them and Treville quickly informed them of the plan. Find Drago and his remaining men and defeat them. Simple.

"Lead onwards," Treville said turning to them and Aramis gave Henri an encouraging smile. The boy nodded and slipped forwards, they all followed.

Or tried to, Athos and Porthos stepped in front of him and stopped him with gentle hands on his chest.

"You'd be wiser to remain out here," Porthos said. He just gave them a look.

"Right," Athos conceded and the two of them dropped it. "Worth a try."

"Aramis?" Henri's voice came from beside D'Artagnan, ahead of them.

"Coming," he replied, slipping passed his two friends to catch up.

There were more servants in the kitchens, mostly continuing their work, despite the attack. There were also a few more bewildered young guards who all dropped their weapons as the musketeers streamed in. Aside to check they were not a threat, they ignored them as they passed, Ames' men would round them up. Henri lead them through the kitchens and the basement. Aramis would have him pause before every corner, he dreaded the idea of the boy racing around one to be shot. The first one he checked himself but Athos, Porthos and D'Artagnan quickly saw what he was doing and took over, arguing they would at least be able to fight if they met anyone. They met no one ahead of them but there was the occasional clatter or gun fire behind as people stumbled across the string of musketeers. None the less, they soon reached the stairs that would lead up to the just behind the main hall and guard hall. The basement was relatively quiet but upstairs was not, they could hear all the men running around, men barking out orders and shots being fired into the courtyard.

"We're here," Henri declared as they halted out of sight down the stairs. Behind them the musketeers assembled.

"Ready?" Treville asked the men quietly. No one said anything but there were nods and the sounds of cocking pistols. "Lets go."

Aramis gave Athos, Porthos and D'Artagnan a nod and a smile before they went, the four of them not needing words. He pulled Henri back to the wall as the others came passed, all racing up the stairs to fight. As much as he hated it he would not be very useful in a fight, he was starting to run out of energy, pain levels creeping up, and he had Henri to keep safe.

He could hear that they had not exactly taken the men by surprise, but so many men appearing all at once from one place had. The sounds of the fight soon moved along the corridor above, presumably heading into the halls proper.

Beside him Henri pulled away and went up the stairs. Aramis raised an eyebrow but followed him, Henri stopped at the top of the stairs to peak around the corner.

"What are you doing?" Aramis asked curiously.

Henri glanced back at him. "My father will fight to the death, but he would stop if I ask him." With that Henri drew his sword and ran out into the corridor.

Aramis looked around the corridor, it was empty but for half a dozen bodies of the guards the musketeers had killed, he thankfully could see no blue. Henri's run had halted by the body of a guard Aramis assumed he knew relatively well.

He sighed, "why is it never easy?" he said to himself before choosing a gun and following after the boy. "Come on, Henri," he reached him and pulled him forwards, it was better not to dwell on death.

They slowed as they reached the end of the corridor, the sounds of the fight were louder and sure enough as they went around this corner they found the battle. In front of them were the great barred doors, still not open, the stairs in one corner and one hall to the left, one to the right, both with fighting in.

Henri pulled him into the great hall his father was usually to be found in. The fighting was fierce, the musketeers were out numbered but not out matched. The men on both sides avoided harming Henri and Aramis slipped in alongside him, skirting around the edges of the room. He was soon forced to use the pistol as a man came towards them, then he spotted his three friends fighting together across the hall and quickly used another shot as a man came up behind Athos. Athos noticed and, though he gave Aramis a grateful look, a word to his two companions had the tree of them trying to work their way over through the fighting. Aramis ignored their worried looks as he took the last pistol off his belt.

"My father is not here," Henri declared.

"Are you sure?" Aramis had to admit he had been more distracted with looking for his three friends, and, once he had located them, the musketeers in general. No musketeer was dead, though a man he could not make out was using the wall for support as two others protected him.

"I know where he will be," Henri said, skirting past him and heading back out of the room.

"Henri!" he called, but the boy was half panicked with worry for his father and, as he ran from the hall, Aramis was forced to follow.

The others were still making their way over to him but Aramis had no intention of leaving Henri, he could not wait for them. He left the hall as unnoticed by the majority of fighters as when he had entered it.

It would be fine, he convinced himself, he still had one shot left, that was enough to bring in a man. If Henri located him.

"Henri!" he called again as he left the hall, the boy had run off quickly and he knew not where but Henri had not abandoned all reason.

"Aramis!" he heard from round a corner. Aramis went in that direction, spotting Henri as he turned down the corridor away from the fighting and away from the direction they had originally come from, further into the castle. The boy paused long enough for him to catch up and Aramis grit his teeth as he followed, his injuries were starting to make themselves known again, the pain level crawling up to unmanageable.

"We should wait for the others," he counselled.

"Father will be leaving, we must hurry," Henri disagreed.

Aramis followed him, but wondered if Henri had really thought it through. If they caught him he would be put to death, but if the two of them stopped his father might escape and Henri would not have to fret over his father's death. As a musketeer he wanted to find him, but he cared for Henri and would rather the boy didn't loose his father.

Just when he thought he could not run anymore they saw him.

"Father!" Henri yelled and before them a fleeing Drago stopped in his tracks. They had come to a large empty room, not tall like the halls, but given the training weapons on racks around them perhaps a room for fighting. Fitting, Aramis thought.

"Henri," Drago said. He held a sword but Aramis could see no pistol. "And the musketeer. Are you in league with them? My own son..."

Drago seemed genuinely surprised by this.

"Father..." Henri was trying to work out how to explain.

"Put down the weapon and come with me," Aramis told him, pointing his pistol at him.

Drago laughed bitterly, "come with you? For what?" he held his sword up, coming closer.

"Father, please, do as he says," Henri pleaded.

"Do as he says!" Drago roared, still coming towards them. "Do you know what will happen if I come?"

"I.."

"They will kill me! Is that what you want boy? Is that what you have been plotting for?"

"Stop there or I'll shoot," Aramis interrupted calmly, inside he was not, he needed Drago to stop, he had no other plan.

"Go ahead!" Drago sneered.

He was coming all too close and Aramis didn't know if he would have shot him but he didn't find out. Drago roared angrily, trying to intimidate him and then Henri rushed to push the gun off it's target, 'No!' Aramis heard him yell, the gun went off, firing into the air and the pain of the boy hitting into him made Aramis breathless for a moment. Drago laughed, coming close enough to pull them apart, he pushed Aramis back and he fell to the ground as the pain caused black spots on his vision. But Drago wasn't interested in him, instead pulling his boy to his side.

"I knew it!" he said happily. "I knew you wouldn't betray me! You understand how important this all is"

"No!" Henri disagreed pushing away from his father. "You're wrong, you've always been wrong! Attacking the king, killing the musketeers, it's all wrong!"

Aramis took a breath and pushed himself upright, pain radiated up and down his side but he wasn't sure he could get up, he slipped his arm out of the sling. The extra pain would make no difference at this point.

"After all I have done for you," Drago said, bringing up his sword in the gap between him and his boy. "I should kill you for this, they are here because of you aren't they? You let them in?"

Aramis could tell Henri was all but crying, "yes."

"Why you!" Drago stepped closer to the boy and Aramis finally stumbled to his feet and taking his borrowed sword out, it looked like they would be doing this the hard way.

"Because they are right and you are wrong!" Henri yelled, taking a slight step back as his father came at him.

"Fight me!" Drago yelled and the boy drew his sword almost falling backwards as his father's blade smashed into his.

Aramis rushed forward, "no, fight me!" He blocked Drago's next hit and successfully acquired Drago's attention.

He defended himself for the next few hits, but Drago was big and powerful and Aramis simply had no energy to put into the fight. Then Drago made a mistake and Aramis' blade caught his side making the man back off slightly.

"I should have killed you," Drago said angrily, "the moment you came in here and I knew you would have no use. I should have killed you like I killed the other one, like I killed the others that day."

Aramis took a breath but let the words wash over him, he couldn't afford to get angry. Drago attacked again and for a moment they were well matched but then Aramis began to make mistakes, he missed a parry and Drago's sword licked his side, he spun away but hadn't the speed of his opponent, the black spots on his vision were slowing him down. He managed to defend a few more hits and then Drago growled and hit his blade with such force Aramis fell to his knees, the next swing of the sword had his blade out of his hand and then Drago smiled and kicked him in the injured shoulder. The pain went off the charts. Aramis thought he heard his name being called but he only found darkness.

AN: hee hee!

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