December Desolation Chapter 16
After the delightfully emotional conversation that had taken place between the men not two hours earlier, they had packed up their impromptu camp and forced their protesting bodies into the saddle once more. By now the sun was setting, the golden globe sinking slowly almost as if through butter on the horizon, setting the countryside aglow with a sea of reds and gold giving an almost ethereal shine to their surroundings.
As all four men rounded the next bend in the perpetually wonky road, the hunting lodge that was their destination came into sight in the distance. A long winding gravel driveway with a wrought iron gateway led the way towards a palatial lodge, golden ornamental pieces peppered the facade of the glistening white marble building, the light reflecting with a blinding force into their faces.
"Wow" D'artagnan breathed in awe, heart pounding practically in his mouth as they stared at such opulence never before seen by the eyes of a commoner, particularly not a Gascon like himself. "The life of a King eh" he giggled, "it is most ridiculous but I almost want to start dancing around" Athos planted both hands on the young man's shoulders, steady weight pressing down and forcing both his feet to remain on the floor "I would really rather you did not, that would be almost as aggravating as watching Aramis float around like a lovesick puppy when he does" he drawled with a small smile pulling up the left side of his lips.
"Excuse me!" Aramis exclaimed indignantly, hands propped upon his hips and head canted to the side "I take offense to that description, I do not float, I glide gracefully"
"Sure ya do Mis" Porthos chuckled deeply "sure ya do, come on lets go inside and see whether all this" he gestured disdainfully to the gaudy gold miniature palace "continues inside"
The four tramped their way through the entrance hall, heavy boots dropping clumps of dust as they passed and the small Cuban heels clicking pleasantly on the marble floor, echoing musically in the cavernous room. Their footsteps became suddenly muffled and they glanced down to see a thick embroidered carpet had replaced the white marble, gold thread forming intricate fleur-de-lis against the blood red backing.
Aramis gleefully toed off his boots and hopped awkwardly on one foot and then the other as he pulled off his socks and buried his toes in the thick cushiony carpet, sighing with unconcealed bliss as it blanketed his aching feet. "Aramis" Athos groaned exasperatedly "the Kings carpet, really?"
"Try it Athos, it's so comfortable!" was his only response and so with a roll of their eyes, they all followed suit, boots held in one hand as they carried on exploring.
After having passed through a multitude of solid oak doorways with hinges and handles forged from fancy metals, they finally settled down in a cosy little library with two armchairs, a chaise longue and a few settees. D'artagnan let out a low squeal of excitement and launched himself onto one of the settees, bouncing slightly as he landed, arms clutching a cushion to his chest as he rubbed his cheek against the soft velvet. "They're so soft" he whispered in awe.
Porthos crouched in front of the fireplace and began stacking sticks in a pyramid to start a fire, keeping his back carefully turned to Aramis to give Athos an opportunity to talk with him in relative privacy.
Despite having rested on the way it was entirely unsurprising that by the time they had finished traipsing around the lodge, climbing up and down stairs and meandering up and down corridors, Aramis was flagging. He could barely seem to keep his eyes open and was working on autopilot, so Athos wrapped an arm around his shoulders and lead him slowly to the settee. He sat him down and set about removing his weapons belt, doublet and trousers so he would be comfortable, "Wha you doin 'Thos?" Aramis slurred sleepily in confusion as he blinked blearily up at him, "getting you comfortable so you can rest, you are still recovering"
"No I mean, what are you doing?" he reiterated, catching Athos hand with his own as he reached out to place a cushion for his head.
Athos sighed and squeezed his brothers hand comfortingly, "what I am doing is helping you, like a brother should do, like I should have done before! I love you Aramis, I know that this is not a conventional way to behave but it is true, I lost one brother I do not wish to lose another so I promise you, I will never let you down like this again"
Aramis' mouth dropped open in surprise, eyes welling with tears at the heartfelt words from his stoic brother and launched himself at the man, wrapping his arms around Athos' waist and burying his face in his neck. Athos startled but wrapped his arms firmly around the tactile man and squeezed tight, resting his cheek on the soft curls, the comfortable silence was broken by Aramis whispering in a heartfelt manner "you will never lose me Athos, no matter what".
A couple of moments later they broke their embrace and Athos helped Aramis lie down comfortably on the settee, head resting on a cushion and draped a blanket across his body, tucking it right up to his chin to keep out the cold.
"Sleep Aramis, we will all be here" Athos murmured as he ran a soothing hand through dark curls that were sticking to a slightly over warm forehead. At an almost inaudible murmur from Aramis, Athos chuckled fondly and made his way over to one of the bookshelves that lined the walls, "alright if you insist"
He picked one at random and sat in the chair next to Aramis, cracked open the satisfyingly old book and began to read from the curling, brown aged pages, squinting at the ornate, cursive writing. Silence fell upon the room with the only noise being Athos' deep, cultured voice as he read to the injured man and Porthos and D'artagnan sat quietly together. They would have a big day tomorrow.
A/N: I'm so sorry for the delay but I have had so much on and just got terrible writers block with this chapter! Here it is though, and I hope you like it! As usual just let me know what you think :D
