Evening My Lovelies

Whoops, almost forgot to publish this for the second day in a row, sorry bout that guys :D

Notes On Reviews:

pallysAramisRios: Thanks for the review - I feel Issac and D'Art need a moment later on once they're safe, it's probably going to be pretty fluffy so I'm quite looking forward to writing it :D Unfortunately (or fortunately given what's happening today) D'Art's lost a lot of blood so he's going to be out of it for a fair bit :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

beeblegirl: Thanks for the review - Yep :D And it's not going to go well for them :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

Debbie (Guest): Thanks for the review - If anyone's qualified to deal with someone putting unneeded guilt on themselves it would be Athos lol :D Issac and D'Art will definitely be having a moment once they're safe and recovering, it's bound to be quite fluffy so I'm looking forward to that :) Ooooh, I love the idea of the king trying to coddle D'Art :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

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

Love you all!

Enjoy!

xxx

Chapter Thirty-One: Unexpected

It was a testament to the musketeers training that the men didn't freeze at Aramis's order and instead all reacted in a way that allowed them a few, very short moments to prepare before all hell broke loose in the small clearing.

Athos instinctively tightened his hold on D'Artagnan whilst his other hand quickly drew his pistol, the swordsman knowing he would be better suited to protect his unconscious brother if they remained on horseback as it would also give him the opportunity to get the injured boy out of there if things turned dire.

Aramis wasted no time in moving away from the glint he had seen in the trees, the marksman knowing immediately that it could have only come from the barrel of a gun. With his medic training still in the forefront of his mind, the man instinctively moved towards Porthos and Blaise, knowing the latter was injured and likely not in any condition to fight despite his conscious state.

At Aramis scream, Favier had drawn his own weapon and began to move towards his injured brother, who had been holding the reins of Aramis's horse to keep the beast steady whilst the king mounted up. He couldn't get to the pair before a swarm of men practically flooded from the trees and descended upon the musketeer party mere moments after a shot from the rifle Aramis had spotted barely missed the marksman as he moved to Porthos's side.

"Stay behind me Your Majesty!" ordered Issac as he drew his blade, inwardly cursing the tremble he could feel coming from his arm as he held the sword ready to defend both himself and his charge.

Whilst the musketeer's fought valiantly it quickly became apparent to the men that they were losing the fight as their attention was inevitably split between both their opponent and the protection of their wounded and their enemies took full advantage of that.

Gritting his teeth against the pain that shot up his arm as he once again parried a blow that, had he been in better health likely wouldn't have bothered him Issac's mind rushed to come up with a plan to get his charge out of the situation they were now in. Their horses, being trained in battle had thankfully not fled from the ambush but had been pushed further away than he would like for the plan quickly forming in his mind.

"Your Majesty," he spoke through gritted teeth, pulling the terrified monarch away from a blow that would have done some serious damage to the man, earning himself a nasty gash on his arm in the process. "When I tell you to run, make for the horses -"

Louis gaped as he looked at the musketeer in shock, not missing the pain in the man's eyes or the blood now freely flowing down his arm. "What?!"

"Get to the horses," instructed Issac as though the monarch hadn't interrupted, "Ride hard and whatever you do, don't look back."

King Louis barely had time to process the order given to him by the very musketeer he had sentenced to prison only a few months ago before the man launched himself at the two men he had been defending him from, somehow managing to tackle the pair to the ground before barking out one single word through gritted teeth "NOW!"

Reacting more than thinking the king did as he was told and raced across the small battlefield, somehow managing to make it to the nearest horse whilst the remaining enemies were preoccupied with the impressive and valiant fight the musketeers were putting up.

Unease filled the king as he hesitated a moment to look at the men fighting, however that hesitation cost him as, just before he was about to leave, a hand grabbed him, hard, by the arm and pulled him off the horse, throwing him to the ground and leaving him helpless and winded as the all too familiar face of their captor came into view.

As he laid there, gasping both for breath and in fear the king couldn't help but pray for someone to save him even as his mind started trying to prepare itself for what some part of him saw as the inevitable, but it was then that another figure stepped up next to the very man who had held him captive for what felt like an age.

"Y-You?"

The new arrival smirked, the look mirrored on his companion's face. "And here I was worried you wouldn't recognize me, Your Majesty."

Feeling his anger at the man in front of him overpowering the fear he felt the king slowly attempted to push himself up off of the ground, "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded as he stumbled to his feet, the sound of clashing blades echoing through his ears. "Answer me Montague!"

To the king's great frustration all his order got him was laughter as the two men looked completely nonplussed otherwise but that quickly changed a moment later when Montague grabbed the king by the shirt and pulled him closer, his smirk growing at the sight of the fear in the young monarch's eyes.

"You don't get to demand answers from me… Not after what you did," he growled, a flash of rage crossing his face briefly before it was replaced with his earlier smirk. "But if you really want them… I'll give you the answers you seek… Just once my men have finished playing with yours."

This caused the king to turn his head to look back at the musketeers who he could see were struggling to hang on against the numbers they were facing. Despite being on the outskirts of the clearing Louis could see his men were all sporting injuries and were quickly becoming exhausted.

"Let them go," growled the king, mustering his courage to glare daggers at the man holding him, but again this only caused the pair to laugh.

"I don't have to follow your orders any more," smirked Montague but any further threat or taunt he was about to make was cut off by both the sound of a gunshot and the impact of the bullet hitting him square in the shoulder causing him to cry out in both pain and surprise whilst also letting go of his grip on the king who, like many other people in the clearing had turned towards the sound of the shot, each of them waiting for some sign of the shooter but none of them were ready for the flurry of bullets that flew from the trees mere moments later.