Evening My Lovelies

Notes On Reviews:

pallysd'Artagnan: Thanks for the review - All our muskys are horrified but it has hit Issac harder given he listened and actually witnessed a small part of it. Haha I was tempted to have Porthos punch him but figured they had enough going on without adding that into the mix... maybe next time :) Enjoy the new chapter! x

Jmp (Guest): Thanks for the review - Ah but second militiaman (who will eventually get a name) genuniely thinks Aramis is responsible so him telling the truth might not work in our boy's favour. Enjoy the new chapter! x

Debbie (Guest): Thanks for the review - It definitely isn't going to be easy, nor is it going to be kind to Aramis but our boys have no choice but to get him back to Paris. We're seeing a bit of D'Art and Favier tonight and we'll be checking in a bit more frequently with them soon. Enjoy the new chapter! x

UIa (Guest): Thanks for the review - I know :( I'm so mean :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

WelshEssex: Thanks for the review - Yep things aren't looking great for our lovely medic but his brothers are doing what they can. Enjoy the new chapter! x

As always much love and many thanks for following/favouriting/reviewing

Love you all!

Enjoy!

xxx


Chapter Twenty-Nine: Race Against Time II

Time was of the essence, this was something the three musketeers were certain of as the worked tirelessly to stabilize and treat the still unconscious Aramis. Supplies were slim but they knew how to make do with what was available to them and so did not complain, even as they were forced to tear up blankets or shirts to make enough bandages to wrap the worst of their brother-in-arms many wounds.

Each wound they treated only heightened their own guilt and anger at the situation but all it would take was a small whimper of pain from their unconscious friend and those feelings would be pushed aside in favour of focusing, entirely, on him, something that became even more important when they noticed, to their horror, that Aramis appeared to be having trouble breathing

After a particularly nasty and painful sounding wheeze forced its way out of Aramis, Porthos found himself unable to stay silent any more, "They did a right number on his ribs," growled the man, sounding almost feral in his anger. Anger that instinctively prompted the other men to turn their attention back to the state of Aramis's torso, each of them visibly wincing at the fact that there were only a few, small, patches of their friend's skin that appeared to have escaped the torture the rest of him had endured, the pale, flesh coloured, skin looking immensely out of place amongst the dark blue, almost black bruising that covered the rest of Aramis's chest.

"We'll bind them before getting him back on the wagon but he'll need you to keep hold of him on the way back," stated Athos, the swordsman already having moved his attention back to Aramis's foot, the sight of which had him torn between wanting to throw up or to launch into a fierce rage for what his brother had been forced to endure.

Porthos blinked in surprise, though there was a glimmer of relief in his eyes too, "You want me in the wagon with him?" He had hoped to be sent there but had figured Athos would want his help in ensuring their prisoner remained restrained.

Without looking up from his work Athos nodded, whispering an apology to Aramis when he whimpered in pain under his ministrations. "You're strong enough to keep him from being jostled too much even if we ride at a faster pace and he'll need you there to ground him should he wake up. Issac and I can watch him," explained the swordsman as he nodded over his shoulder to where the second militiaman laid unconscious and restrained.

At the mention of his name Issac looked up from his own work and nodded sharply in agreement, the fierce look in his eyes surprising the two other musketeers but neither of them had witnessed the torture Aramis had endured like he had and even the brief moment of it that he had seen had ignited his protective instincts and he knew he would die before he allowed their prisoner or anyone else get to Aramis again.

With a silent agreement being reached among the trio the men returned to work, making quick work of the last of their supplies and before too long they had to admit they had done all they could for the unconscious man and that it was now time for them to get him into the wagon and back to Paris despite the potential fate that could await him there.

It was just as they were leaving the cave that Athos's mind flickered back to D'Artagnan and Favier and while he hated that the two men were off on their own he found himself hoping and praying they were having better luck then they were.


Elsewhere Favier and D'Artagnan were indeed having slightly better luck than their counterparts.

Capturing Clara had been a great start as she had, after some persuasion and resistance, revealed her part in the whole scheme. Explaining that Victor had approached her with a plan to get a bit of revenge on one of the King's soldiers, the man playing on her deep hatred of both the regiment and soldiers, in general, to get her to agree to help him, her part apparently only being to flirt with the man enough that his guard was lowered, allowing her to dose his drink with a powerful sedative, essentially leading the musketeer right into Victor's trap.

This hadn't gone over well with either musketeer but both men managed to control their anger enough to allow them to listen to the rest of the explanation, pleased that the woman, once finally talking, didn't seem to want to stop.

According to the woman the plan had been to simply beat Aramis up a bit, humiliating him in the process, something she, even then, saw no problems with much to the musketeer's ire.

It wasn't until a few days later when Ines was found dead and Aramis, despite clearly being barely conscious, was being accused of her murder that Clara realized there was more to the plan than she had known, a lot more.

She admitted to wanting to confront Victor about everything but had feared he would ensure she would meet a similar fate if she spoke up so instead had all but gone into hiding until she was sure Victor was no longer a threat as he had left with the other musketeers to head to Paris

This piece of news sent shock waves through the two musketeers, both men's instincts screaming at them to race out after their brothers to protect them from Aramis's torturer and in the end it took Favier, who had come to his senses first, to restrain D'Artagnan from leaving, though it was clear, by the look on the Gascon's face, that he was one, small, impulsive thought away from trying again.

It had taken even more prompting and pushing on their part to get Clara to open up as to who the man Victor was working with was and D'Artagnan, who hadn't been paying attention when the two militiamen who were to accompany his brothers introduced themselves, had quickly turned to Favier, a desperate plea in his eyes for the man to tell him this second man wasn't the other man travelling with his family… and to both men's great relief he wasn't.

This created a golden opportunity for the duo who quickly realized that finding this second man could be exactly what they needed to prove, without a doubt, that Aramis had not been responsible for Ines's death and so here they were, riding out to a small hamlet about an hour away from the village where their target apparently lived, both men praying their luck would continue to hold just a little longer.


For Athos's group, they too found themselves praying for luck, though it seemed their prayers had fallen on deaf ears when the sound of approaching hoof beats caught the musketeer's attention.