Enjoy chapter two guys! I can't believe how many people like this! Thankyou so much for the responses and I hope to have another chapter soon for you :D
December Desolation Chapter 2
Thirty men were lined up in front of the steps to Treville's office, the man himself leant against the balcony and observed them as they shuffled into some semblance of order, some barely awake for the early hour of morning muster.
He sighed sadly. Make that twenty nine men, the gap between the inseparables was blatantly obvious to anyone who knew them well enough.
Aramis was not there.
Anger began to grow within him, fire flaring in his gut fanned from the embers that had been planted there the previous evening, as he observed the easy camaraderie between three of his best men. Porthos made some lewd joke that had D'artagnan barking out a shocked laugh and landing a punch on the big man's arm, those who did not know Athos would have missed the slight twitch of his lips that indicated his amusement.
They obviously did not care about the absence of one of their brothers, hands balled into fists at his sides Treville raised his voice to be heard above the muttering of his men and the hustle and bustle of the busy Paris streets beyond the Garrison gates.
"Right, everyone is present and correct" he began steadily
"That is incorrect"
Treville blinked, taken aback by the interruption of the cool voice.
"d'Herblay is not here" Athos continued coldly in his bored monotone, gesturing disinterestedly towards the empty space between himself and Porthos.
Gritting his teeth harshly he swallowed the urge to shout at Athos, he had never heard them refer to each other by surname before, a deep breath cooled his temper and he carried on.
"That is none of your concern, now SILENCE" he shouted to quell the whispers of disbelief that raced like wildfire across the grounds, the rest of the Regiment equally as shocked at hearing such a distant mode of address.
"Athos, Porthos, D'artagnan" he carried on calmly "You are on guard duty at the palace… all day"
He ignored the expected complaints from the three, guard duty was a boring but unfortunately necessary duty and although he usually attempted to spare them from it, hopefully it would provide an opportunity for them to think on their actions, and if it had the fortunate side effect of acting as a punishment then who was he to complain?
Once he had distributed all jobs for the day, he dismissed his men but remained leant against the railing of the balcony, watching and waiting for the departure of the last man.
Before the echoes of the last horse's hooves leaving the Garrison had even had a chance to fade, the Captain was in movement rushing down the corridor to the lodgings of his men, desperate to check on Aramis.
Pausing outside his room, he took a calming breath and knocked lightly "Aramis? Is everything alright?"
Upon receiving no reply he quietly turned the handle and made his way into the room, the empty bed was the first thing that grabbed his attention, the rumpled sheets a comfort to his worried mind. His gaze then fell upon the man huddled in upon himself on the floor, head resting on bent knees, curly hair draped across his face in slumber.
Treville felt his heart break at the sorry sight before him, tears stinging at the corners of his eyes as the man he viewed almost as his own son fell apart before his very eyes. He extended a trembling hand slowly, and tenderly brushed the dark hair back off his forehead whispering "Aramis" in an attempt to wake him.
Aramis distantly registered the sounds of morning muster, crashes echoing through the thin walls as men crashed about half asleep, battling with the complicated task of pulling on braies and all manner of intricate clothing. Even the memory of Athos falling flat on his face when he had first tried to pull on his leather boots after a night of heavy drinking, was not enough to bring a smile to the tired man's face, instead threatening to cause a fresh wave of tears to crash over him.
Shaking his head sharply to clear it of depressing thoughts and self-pity, he shifted slightly on the hard ground before laying his cheek upon his knees, attempting to comfort himself when the muffled notes of Athos' voice filtered up from the courtyard, Porthos' laughter following in quick succession.
He had not even noticed that he had fallen asleep when he was woken by a soft whisper of his name, catapulting him back into memories of another voice whispering his name in the same tone, Aramis bolted to his feet only half conscious.
"Marsac?" he sobbed disoriented, lashing out at unseen attackers and one very real figure that appeared before him, "don't leave, MARSAC!"
His anguished cry tore at his throat as his panic rose, desperate to not be left behind in this freezing forest for one moment longer he launched himself forwards, stumbling drunkenly across the room.
The next moment he was pressed against a firm chest, strong arms holding him tightly and whispered words of comfort floated through the haze.
"It's alright Aramis, you are safe, you are home" Treville whispered, "No one is ever going to leave you"
"¡No!" he moaned, "¡No es verdad, Porthos, Athos, D'artagnan me han abandonado y Marsac también!"
Despite his fevered mutterings he clutched at the Captain's doublet desperately, feeling soothed by his presence and the familiar smell of his brown leathers. Gradually his trembling died down and he managed to open his eyes and not be plagued by visions of snow, trees and blood drying on dead bodies.
He shuddered and looked up at Treville blearily, "Treville, ¿Por qué estás aqui? ¿Dónde estoy?" voice wavering in confusion.
"Aramis, I can't understand you" the Captain responded sadly, the only time Aramis slipped into his mother tongue was in times of great distress, and the last time he had been witness to it was directly after Savoy.
"We are at the Garrison, you are safe. Come let's get you into bed" he gently gripped Aramis by the arms and levered him to his feet, steadying him when he swayed dizzily and sitting him on the edge of his cot.
He pushed down gently on Aramis' shoulder, pressing him to lie back down on the bed and pulling the covers up to his chin, tucking them in securely around his body. Despite the warmth from the body contact earlier Aramis was still shivering and he would do his best to erase the memories of Savoy from his mind.
Settling himself on the bed beside Aramis he began to rhythmically stroke hair back from his forehead, frowning in concern at the heat emanating from him, vowing to keep a close eye on it in case it rose. Although he knew from previous occasions that serious upsets can cause high temperatures, a fever would destroy Aramis now, he could only imagine the fevered hallucinations he would suffer.
He watched as the half conscious musketeer tossed his head weakly, eyelids fluttering before finally opening and meeting his. His concern skyrocketed at the glassy sheen to those coffee coloured eyes, and the slight hitch to his breaths.
"Aramis, can you hear me?"
"Yh" was the weakly whispered response "H'rts"
"I know son, I know" he soothed, resolving to sort out the feud between his best men, knowing that if he did not then Aramis would be lost to them forever.
"I am going to fetch Dr Lemay, and then get you some broth from Serge. Just relax Aramis" he made to get up when Aramis' hand clutched his arm desperately.
"No me dejes" he pleaded.
Unable to understand the desperate plea, Treville gently removed the hand and made his way out of the room.
The silence of the almost empty room was broken by muffled sobs and harsh breathing as Aramis was abandoned by another of those he trusted.
A/N: Okay well that's that :D I think I made myself upset with this chapter, let me know what you think!
Just to clear up a few questions this is after D'artagnan has joined the inseparables and it is quite a while after the Savoy massacre but recent events have brought up bad memories for Aramis. Plus I don't think that he will ever not be haunted by it! The next chapter will be centred more around Athos, Porthos and D'artagnan on guard duty and we finally get the whole story about why they are angry! Exciting :D I'm so glad you guys like it.
SPANISH TRANSLATIONS (I am still learning Spanish so if any of it is wrong I apologise! And please correct me :D)
No, it's not true, Athos, Porthos, D'artagnan they have abandoned me, Marsac too.
Treville, why are you here? Where am I?
Don't leave me
