I am back! And with chapter too but I guess that was implied... Oui il est encore en retard, mais (!) it is here.
Enjoy
She was almost there, she could smell it! Or... hear it, or, possibly, taste it? See it? Well. That sorted the problem of why people were always smelling things – it just sounded silly with any other verb.
Which room were they in? Hmm... The floor, follow the blood trails. Yes, they were having fun indeed. And Melusine wanted IN.
*****xxxxx*****
"I think I have to cauterize it, alright? Can you hear me?"
There was no response from the semi-conscious man on the bed.
"Monsieur?"
"Escucho. I'm Listening." He mumbled weakly, but it wasn't really an answer to her question.
"I have to cauterize your wound, alright? Do you understand?"
"Si, yes, yo sé... Deberias... hacer..."
"Monsier?"
"Duele..."
She clearly wasn't going to get any sense out of him.
"Alright well I'm starting the fire now so you should probably, I don't know, brace yourself?"
"La mujer!"
"Shush"
"No, la mujer está aquí!"
"It's alright, don't worry"
*****xxxxx*****
Aramis fell just short of flinging himself from the bed, an act which would have been futile in any case but was impossible in his current situation. And too late. Anything he could have done in that one moment would have been too late.
And so when Melusine entered the room it was all he could do to yell out a warning. A warning which he belatedly resized was in the wrong language. He still couldn't think straight – the pain from his side and growing fever ensured that.
Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion but it was over in a second, too fast to react. Antoinette lay spawled on the floor from a well placed kick and Melusine advanced towards him.
"Porthos!"
It was the only thing he could think of. He needed Porthos now, where had he gone?"
"Porthos!"
"Who?" Melusine looked confused but only for a moment and then she simply shook her head and advanced again.
"No one is coming. No one can here you. You are going to answer me now. Where is Xavier?"
Aramis didn't answer, not entirely sure. He thought that the maniac must be dead but he couldn't be sure.
And then suddenly blinding pain was all he was aware of, he couldn't have answered had he wanted to. Couldn't have told you his own name.
*****xxxxx*****
The man was screaming and she faintly knew she ought to be enjoying this but where was Xavier. She had felt sure he would be in here – having fun without her (like had often been happening recently). With some effort she lifted her boot from where she had pushed it into the wound in the man's side and sighed. She could hear his panicked gasps as he fought to breathe and smiled. Wherever Xavier was... he could surely wait? After all, why should she let that ruin her fun? He was probably off... sleeping, or something... Yes, and she could have her fun here before he woke up and ruined it for her. This time she would be carful to. She would ruin him like she had ruined the last one. She would make sure he lasted a long time. More time for fun.
There was suddenly a sound from behind her, and she spun lightning fast. There was an unfamiliar man in the doorway. He looked angry. That was bad. But he also looked weak, he could join them. She didn't care how he got there – or what for – but she was already fantasizing about what fun she could have with the both of them.
*****xxxxx*****
Athos had tried to wait for Porthos to return but it had been far too long. It took an unreasonable amount of time to find this cottage on the other side of the woods, but it had been as fast as his head would currently allow.
He had barely walked in the door before the idyllic facade had been shattered by a blood splattered floor and the muffled sound of screaming from the floor above.
Aramis.
He wanted to run towards the sound, to kill whoever had caused it. But he couldn't, he had no idea what was happening and he couldn't be certain of victory in a sword fight in his condition.
So instead he crept upstairs slowly, unnoticed until a stumble at the door gave him away to a woman standing in the room.
She spun, looking like a frightened rabbit.
"Who are you?" She asked "Are you one of his men?" She backed away as she spoke, eyes darting around the room.
"Calm down, whose men?"
"I.. I don't know his name but he attacked us suddenly... He locked us down in the cellar for so long – he killed all the others, the three of us are the only ones left" She gestured to Aramis and an unconscious woman on the floor. "– You have to help!"
The only ones left. Porthos and D'Artagnan...
"I am here to help, I promise. That man, he is my friend – may I see him?"
"Of course" She sniffed, and shuffled out of Athos' way.
Aramis lay panting and pale on the bed – blood covering the his side and staining the sheets.
"Aramis, can you hear me?"
There was no response from the injured musketeer and Aramis just continued to gulp in short rapid breaths.
There was a cough from the woman lying on the floor and Athos glanced back at her briefly but focused his attention on his friend.
"Aramis. Calm down, you have to breathe slowly."
Again there was no response, Aramis didn't seem to hear or see Athos in the room.
"Monsieur!"
A cry from the previously unconscious woman which he ignored for the moment while trying to get through to Aramis.
"Monsiuer!"
The next cry was followed by a short cut-off scream and Athos turned around just in time to catch the woman as she fell.
He took in a few things in the next moment. The first being the shocked look upon the first woman's face. The second being the sudden arrival of Porthos and D'Artagnan (alive, thank God) in the doorway. The third being the knife protruding from the chest of the woman he now held in his arms.
For a number of impossibly long seconds nobody moved and there was no sound but for Aramis' continued gasps now joined by the choking of the dying woman, and the pounding of blood in Athos' ears.
Liney break do daa, liney break day, my oh my what a wonderful day
Okay wow, so I just won't give these people a break will I? Sorry about the lateness and the rushedness (that is a word shut up) of this chapter. In the middle of writing my entry for the fête des mousquetaire competition and a new AU fanfic and about ten pieces of coursework... Oh the coursework. With the tables and the diagrams and the labels and the stupid word crashing because of compatibility and okay I'll stop now...
But yeah, you can almost expect my upload rate to decrease with the amount of work I'm getting but that would be pretty much impossible. SO that must mean it will increase on account of logic, and unicorns, and possibly... shrimp?
Please review My ego only has 16% battery left and so it needs to be re-charged.