December Desolation Chapter 21
A/N: Chapter 21 guys, enjoy :D
It had taken a ridiculously long time to saddle their horses to comply with Aramis' wish to explore. Mainly due to Aramis being his usual frustrating self in refusing to just sit back and allow them to get on with it; the hay bale he had been placed upon was too scratchy, they were tacking up all wrong, he was bored.
Finally Porthos had had enough and thrust a saddlebag into their twitchy friends restless hands and demanded that he check they had enough food and ammunition for their trip, even though they wouldn't be going far and hopefully they wouldn't be encountering any trouble.
"I do know you are merely attempting to distract me you know my friend" Aramis smirked with a raised eyebrow.
"I know, but maybe if we distract you with this then we could actually set out before sunset hmm"
Aramis grumbled softly but began to obediently unpack and pack the saddlebag again, pulling out crisp red apples and a couple of loaves of bread, a few skins of wine and water and a couple of bags filled with musket balls. A smile lit up his face as his searching fingers connected with something soft and squidgy... cake!
"Right come on then" Athos stated, hauling Aramis to his feet and chucking the bag unceremoniously at D'artagnan's face, who caught it with a scowl, strap having lashed him in the face. "Time to get you mounted and exploring"
He managed to get one trembling foot into the stirrup and with his hands clutching to the pommel of the saddle, attempted to haul himself up. After a couple of tries he was exhausted, entire body drenched in sweat as he shook with the cold and admitting defeat just stood there resting his head against his horses warm flank, eyes closed and cursing his weakness.
"Come on you stubborn fool" Porthos breathed in exasperation, grasping him around the waist and hoisting him up onto his horse in one smooth motion that regardless left Aramis gasping with vertigo and clutching tightly to the hands that held him steady in his seat.
"Thankyou my friend" he murmured weakly, patting his hands and then he pulled himself together with a deep breath, forcing a jovial expression and grasping his reigns.
"Are you alright Mis?" Athos asked in concern, ever the pragmatic one and concerned that he would not make it for even a short trip.
"I am fine thankyou, I wish to explore"
With those final words, Aramis urged his horse forwards and made his way into the grounds of the lodge.
It was a beautiful winters day, the kind of day that Aramis savoured, with a beauty and crispness that allowed one a closeness with God that couldn't be gained at any other time. For how could such beauty be anything other than the work of a higher power. The tall forest at the edge of the grounds was tightly packed with towering trees coated in a glistening covering of crystal snow, a coating that extended over the entirety of land as far as the eye can see, with only sporadic patches of green poking through as the land bravely attempted to thaw. The only word that he could think of to describe this picture perfect moment was beautiful, if he only had the talent he would put this landscape onto paper and hang it in his room at the Garrison, a lovely reminder of the beauty that the world could bring.
On the other hand, maybe that wouldn't be such a wonderful thing to have in his room, a reminder of a snowy forest when he's trying to get to sleep probably would not be such a good idea. As they travelled further away from the lodge the snow grew thicker and their horses became a little spooked, hooves sinking deep and finding it a little difficult to step.
As it became exceedingly difficult to calm their steeds all four men reigned them in and headed into the forest without needing to communicate their intentions. Underneath the protective arms of the trees the biting wind was obstructed and they no longer felt as if their clothes would be ripped from their bodies. Aramis sighed in relief as they were released from the icy fingers of the wind and the ghosts of his lost friends drifted away, he smiled as he breathed in the crisp fresh air and spread his arms out wide beside him.
"You havin fun there Mis?" Porthos chuckled as he observed his friends antics, it had been too long since their friend had been so carefree and to see him like this warmed his heart.
"Yes Porthos!" Aramis cried with a laugh "it's all so beautiful"
"I think it is about time we headed back" Athos called out from his place at the front of their little group, "it's getting dark and too cold"
Indeed night was beginning to fall, the sun glowing a beautiful red and gold hue as it sunk below the horizon. In the depths of the forest darkness fell even faster, the tall trees which before had seemed like a protective covering now served to cast even darker shadows. It was becoming increasingly more difficult to see the path in front of them and Athos feared that even if they did turn back, it would be a hard journey and soon they would be unable to even see their hands in front of their faces.
"But Athos" Aramis whined unhappily
"No buts Mis, you're shaking" he commanded, turning his horse about and beginning to lead his brothers out of the forest.
The mere fact that Aramis didn't argue told Athos that he too recognised the difficult circumstances that they would be facing if they didn't go home, and judging by the way he was shaking he assumed he was cold and in pain, definitely having pushed himself to the limit of his endurance.
He slowed down and fumbled with cold fingers in his saddlebag, drawing out his extra blanket and draping it carefully around his brothers trembling shoulders, allowing his hands to linger and squeezing gently. He was flashed a grateful smile in response as too thin fingers crept out to clutch the edges of the blanket together.
They had just reached the edges of the forest when Athos sensed something was not right, the cheerful chirping of the birds had disappeared and the wind had died down with the rustling of the trees quietening to a mere whisper of noise. The forest was eerily silent and he held up a hand in silent command for them to stop, tilting his head slightly to the left in an attempt to hear something out of the ordinary, he did not wish to alert anyone that they knew of their presence.
"What is it 'Thos?" Aramis asked blearily, having been drifting in a sleepy daze for the last twenty minutes of their journey, rubbing sleepily at his eyes.
"Shh" Athos hushed him with a gloved finger to his lips, meeting the eyes of his other brothers to let them know of his suspicions.
It was often the gut feeling of Athos that kept them safe when out on missions, the man seeming to have some sort of sixth sense for danger and so his judgment was always trusted, no matter how unfounded his concerns seemed. Therefore when he suddenly started acting strangely at this point, they followed his lead without question, hands inching towards pistols or swords and eyes scanning their surroundings.
Thanks to his warnings they were ready for when the armed men charged from the undergrowth and surged forwards to hack and slash at the Musketeers and their horses.
"AMBUSH" Athos roared, drawing his sword and engaging the nearest man, a disturbing sense of déjà-vu flooding through his body as the incident that started all of this flashed through his mind. The men surrounding them were as untrained as those that had attacked them on the road the other day, same ragged clothes and rusted swords and worst of all they also seemed to be targeting Aramis.
The groggy man was valiantly trying to fend off five of the attackers that had converged around his horse, slashes of swords aimed at sensitive areas that would have been lethal had any connected. As it was he had many near misses, arms weak with fatigue, trembling as a sword was driven towards his neck with a disturbing amount of force.
With a roar that imitated a wounded bull, Porthos launched himself off his horse and barged through the men surrounding him, charging to Aramis' aid and slaying three men within mere seconds, swinging his sword around manically. Unsurprisingly with their superior skill, all twenty of the bandits were dead within minutes, although to the men themselves the battle had seemed to last a lifetime, all their thoughts concentrated on protecting their ailing friend.
"Are there any left alive?" Athos asked, breathing a little more deeply than usual after their impromptu exercise.
"Um no" D'artagnan murmured "Porthos took care of that"
"I understand. See to Aramis and then we shall return to the lodge"
Porthos turned to his best friend and gently grasped a quivering hand in his own larger one, trying to coax his sightless eyes into meeting his own. Aramis just kept staring into the middle distance, eyes blown wide with distress and mouth moving soundlessly, no manner of coaxing would bring him back to the present and Porthos resorted to dragging him bodily from the saddle. He enveloped him in his arms, keeping him upright as his knees buckled and legs refused to support him, eyes finally closing as he fell limply into the embrace.
"He's gonna have to ride wit me" Porthos rumbled as he hefted his friend bodily into his arms, cradling him carefully against his chest.
"Of course, let's go"
Once back inside the warmth of the lodge, they settled Aramis comfortably on a lounger covered in mountains of blankets, sitting themselves around his prone form having had enough experience with his odd moods to know they would get no sense from him until he emerged from whatever place his mind had escaped to.
"They were targeting him" Athos murmured over steepled fingers, biting his lip in thought as he observed their broken brother.
"What!" Porthos cried, gripping Aramis' hand tightly in his own.
"Both this time and last, they targeted Mis. Five for each of us and ten to destroy Aramis and last time, the last one tried to slit his throat. Hence they have been targeting him"
"Why though Athos? Sure he has pissed off a few husbands but not seriously enough for them to try to kill him surely"
"I do not know but we shall have to find out"
Aramis blinked slowly into the flickering flames of the fire, slowly surfacing from the miasma of memories as he was warmed slowly from the inside out. The hottest fire burning from his hand where the love of his friend was reaching right into his heart.
"Porthos?" he whimpered, "what happened?"
"We were attacked but it's alright you're safe" he soothed carefully, cupping his friends cheek and gently pulling it around to meet his eyes.
"No" he whispered hoarsely in response, "no it's not alright, it won't be alright! I trusted you! You were supposed to be my brothers, supposed to have my back!"
He began to thrash violently in an attempt to free himself from the restrictions of the blankets, anger taking over his features as he roared in pure, unadulterated anger.
"Aramis, calm down you'll rip your stitches" Athos demanded, pressing down on his friends shoulders to keep him settled, "ARAMIS"
He watched as the anger melted from his younger brothers face and was replaced by anguish and hurt, crumpling into sobs as he could no longer maintain his rage. As was usual his anger quickly transforms to guilt and sadness, barely able to comprehend the fact that his friends whom he would give anything to keep safe, even his life would turn their backs on him.
"Someone is trying to kill you, I know you are hurting and I know that we need to have a conversation with you about us letting you down but for now we need to figure out who is targeting you and why"
A/N: Thanks for reading, hope that you enjoy the twist and weren't expecting it! Next episode we have that wonderful conversation that they need so desperately to have! Can anyone guess who might have it in for Aramis?
