Evening My Lovelies

Bit of a short one tonight I'm afraid, but it just seemed like the perfect place to end this I just couldn't resist. I also have SO many ideas for the next chapter so hopefully, that means the next one will actually come out on the day it's supposed to lol

Notes On Reviews:

pallysAramisRios: Thanks for the review - YES! That was the reaction I was hoping for so I'm very happy with that :D We'll be checking in with Blaise today so we'll see how he's getting on... As for the pup... Well... :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

Debbie (Guest): Thanks for the review - Haha yeah I debated over that for a while but figured the king is fairly naive and sheltered so his reaction could make sense, especially if he's not used to actually seeing someone killed so brutally in front of him :) Part of me hated writing that end for Maurice... I was so tempted to do something else that might have saved his life but... well as all my other stories can attest to... I'm an evil writer :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

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

Love you all!

Enjoy!

xxx

Chapter Twenty-Six: Surprising Findings

"I'm not the only one seeing that right?" asked Porthos somewhat mockingly as he and his companion's pulled their horses to a stop as they all stared at what had caught the larger musketeer's attention… Smoke… And a lot of it from the looks of things.

"I don't think it's a forest fire," mused Aramis curiously as his eyes remained fixed on the smoke in the distance. "It seems too contained…"

Grunting in agreement Athos urged his horse onward, though at a slower pace than before in case they needed to change directions quickly. "I don't like the implication of this."

The four men were so fixated on the smoke in the distance that they almost mixed the faint noise coming from the trees to the side of them. Noticing it first Aramis slowly dismounted, pulling his rifle free as he did so, effectively both drawing his companion's attention and ensuring their silence as he stalked into the tree's confident in the knowledge that at least one of his brothers were not far behind.

As he drew closer to the source of the sound the marksman felt his heart rate increase as he picked up on the familiarity of the voices, who seemed to be in an argument with each other.

Knowing better than to charge in and surprise the other group and not wanting to call out to them in case they were being held against their will the medic sent his brothers behind him a look, silently instructing them to remain where they were before he slowly and silently moved towards the voices, only to curse under his breath when an accidental placement of is foot caused the branch underneath it to snap, alerting the duo to his presence and silencing their conversation immediately.

"That you D'Artagnan?" called a voice tiredly, unaware that the words he spoke caused the marksman's heart to sink as he stepped closer to the duo.

"Unfortunately we were hoping to find him with you," answered Aramis as he stepped into the small clearing to see a clearly injured and exhausted Blaise barely remaining standing as he 'stood' protectively in front of a tired and terrified looking monarch.

Seeing a friendly, familiar face Blaise felt a massive surge of relief flood his system as he breathed out the man's name before his body finally gave out on him now they were in the company of friends, as he knew the marksman wouldn't be here without, at least, Athos and Porthos.

Alarm flashed across Aramis's face as he raced forward, only to be caught completely by surprise when it was the king instead of himself who caught the now unconscious musketeer and gently lowered the injured man to the floor.

He didn't spend long on this surprise however as he instead delved right into his medic mindset, absently calling out for Porthos, knowing better than to think his brother would have let him get too close to the potential threat without backup.

His call prompted not only Porthos but the other two members of their travelling group to charge into the small clearing, fully expecting trouble, only to find the relieved face of their king and the unconscious one of their friend greeting them.

Reacting quickly both Favier and Porthos wasted no time in unloading their medical supplies before bringing them over to Aramis, who already had Blaise's shirt off as he examined the man to assess the extent of his injuries whilst Athos saw to the king, quietly probing the man for answers as to what had befallen them, the answers only working to grow the unease and worry in his gut he felt about the entire situation.

"He's been tortured," growled Aramis sometime later when Athos had finished his own interrogation and had asked the medic for an update on the unconscious musketeer. "I can only imagine the pain he's been in trying to escape… I'm surprised he hasn't collapsed sooner."

"You can help him right though musketeer?" asked the king with a rare amount of concern in his voice that caused the marksman to pause for a moment before answering with a soft, if slightly strained smile, smile on his face.

"Thankfully it seems the torturer wasn't trying to prolong death but instead inflict enough pain to likely get answers of some description from our friend here. This means that none of his injuries as serious enough to be fatal. With the supplies we have here I will do what I can to keep his wounds clean from infection and ease his pain but he'll need a lot of rest to recover."

Athos nodded, though part of him hated what he was going to say next, "We need to move on… D'Artagnan was with them when they initially escaped. It's possible he's been recaptured… Can you handle things here alone?"

Steel hardened Aramis's eyes as he looked away from his patient to address his brother. "Blaise and the king are safe with me… Find our brother and make those pendejos pay for what they've done."

Unable to help himself Porthos let out a dark chuckled before reaching forward to ruffle his brother's hair, much to the medic's annoyance, "You got it," he promised before grabbing one of the bags of medical supplies and heading back towards his horse with Athos and Favier, the trio then setting their sights on the source of the smoke in the distance.