December Desolation Chapter 37

"Come on Mis, you need to help me out a little bit here" Porthos murmured into his friends ear, unsure if he was even conscious to hear his words. He stretched a little to press a concerned kiss to his brother's sweaty brow and hoisted him a little higher, pulling his arm further across his broad shoulders. "You may be light but I can only carry you for so long"

A low mumbling moan issued from Aramis tortured lips and he began to fight to put one foot in front of the other, unwilling to allow his brother to suffer and struggle on his behalf. Porthos tightened his grip as his brother stumbled on shaky legs.

"That's it Mis, we're gettin out of here" he encouraged warmly, flicking a cursory glance behind them to check they weren't being followed.

"No, I'm afraid you are not"

Aramis whimpered pitifully at the sound of his voice, fighting against the hands restraining him, desperate to escape the pain that always accompanied his presence. He no longer recognised the large, warm hands of his brother.

Porthos swore, head jerking up to be met with the sight of five heavily armed men blocking their path, swords and pistols levelled in their direction. In front of them stood a well dressed nobleman type, black boots shiny enough you could see your reflection in them, it was he who had so cruelly ripped their freedom from them and when he spoke Aramis went crazy. He swore again as he had to grapple with his wildly thrashing brother, gritting his teeth to ignore the gloating imbecile in front of him.

Eventually the man became fed up with waiting for Aramis to surface from his paroxysm of panic, jerking his head meaningfully at his men who advanced and had to rip his petrified brother from Porthos' arms, who refused to relinquish him. Hs own arms were then seized roughly and yanked behind his back, metal shackles clicking into place around his wrists, cinching tightly and pinching the delicate skin. He hissed lowly in discomfort, shoulders protesting the movement as he was dragged along in the wake of the other men, Aramis putting up a spirited fight until he was cracked round the head with the pommel of a sword.

The primal roar of rage was deafening, ricocheting off the walls and bouncing around the manor, doubtless it could have been heard even by the nearest neighbours whom were at least five miles away. The volume surprised even Porthos himself but the sight of Aramis hanging limply in the arms of a hostile soldier, blood streaming down his lax face, pushed him over the edge, flicked a switch in him that he could not control.

All he knew was that they would pay for this.

A deafening scream startled Athos and D'artagnan where they were loitering, waiting impatiently for the group of soldiers to move on with their patrol. Athos' head snapped up to face the direction of the scream, mouth fixed in a grim line.

"That was…"

"Either a wounded bull or Porthos" Athos finished for the younger Gascon, "I do not know whether I should be thankful or not that this time, that was rage in lieu of pain"

"I've only heard him make that noise in anger once before and that was when Aramis jumped into the river after a criminal. I thought he would kill Aramis himself for that one" D'artagnan chuckled in remembrance.

"Come, it can only signify bad news in this situation"

D'artagnan conceded Athos' point, Porthos would not have risked Aramis' safety with such a loud exclamation that would immediately give away their position, not even if he had been mortally wounded, unless their position had already been compromised.

Suddenly something occurred to the younger man "Athos" The older turned to him with an expectant eyebrow raised "this has all been a set up right from the very start, those soldiers can't have known Aramis and Porthos were captured if they hadn't yet been captured"

Athos nodded curtly and gestured for the Gascon to follow him quietly, "then we must tread very carefully indeed, if this is true, as it seems to be, then we are following a path already laid out for us" he carried on as D'artagnan opened his mouth to protest "there is little we can do about it, but now we know we can be prepared for an ambush and hopefully gain the upper hand as long as they are not aware that we are aware, do you understand?"

D'artagnan nodded regardless, deciphering the convoluted speech in his head and just about making sense of what the elder had been trying to say.

Shaking off his gloomy thoughts, Athos and D'artagnan crept in the footsteps of the soldiers, it would not do for him to be distracted by his own racing thoughts and miss some other pertinent detail that could be the difference between life and death.

After what seemed like hours but was in fact a tense five minutes of skulking around the corridors, hearts beating a mile a minute, they came to a halt before enormous wooden doors that reminded Athos uncomfortably of the double doors that lined his own manor.

"Here goes nothing" D'artagnan muttered bracingly as they pushed the doors open surprisingly easily for their size, taking only a slight pressure.

The scene that greeted them was something out of their worst nightmare, but even in their wildest imagination their minds could not have conjured such a distressing and horrific scene, for it was beyond description.

Aramis was on his knees in the middle of the room, more covered in blood than not. A rather disturbing amount had pooled on the floor beneath him, clothes in tatters and scrapes clearly visible. His hands had been tightly bound behind his back and were connected to the rope that also bound his ankles together, preventing any kind of movement or escape attempt, not that he looked in any condition to even think about attempting it. Porthos was struggling against similar bonds in the corner of the room, face murderous and eyes locked on his injured brother, not even sparing a glance for the arrival of his other brother's.

The most concerning aspect of the whole situation was the pistol levelled unwaveringly at Aramis' head by a man that was familiar to them all.

A/N: The action is really kicking off now (I hope), if there's anything you want to see or want more of then let me know! I appreciate all your reviews so much, thanks to everyone who has a kind word or some constructive input for this story. Hopefully another chapter shouldn't be long in coming :D