Evening My Lovelies

Look who FINALLY got their act together and did some writing XD

Notes On Reviews:

beeblegirl: Thanks for the review - Yeah, unfortunately for our boys' things have made their emotions run high and it's not going to settle down for a little bit. Enjoy the new chapter! x

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pallysd'Artagnan: Thanks for the review - After so many years together it makes sense they know each other's buttons. We'll be waiting for the next update to see how Fredrick's doing. Enjoy the new chapter! x

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Chapter Thirty-Three: Loyalty

The cutting words of Porthos's final remark before he left with the imposter had Athos frozen in place for several moments before his anger, frustration, guilt and shame all surged up, causing him to let out a roar as he threw a punch at a nearby wall, barely even registering the pain that shot through said limb at the action as he remained in place, panting heavily.

Eventually, the idea of remaining in the room became too unappealing to ignore but still, his shame at abandoning his youngest brother to his fate prevented the musketeer from seeking the boy out, even as he knew the man would likely be worrying about him until he returned.

Instead Athos's feet took him back to the graveyard, dawn now fully illuminating the grounds, bringing a sense of peace to the place which had not existed the night before.

Still, not even the warm glow of the sun could heal the tortured thoughts and feelings that bubbled inside the swordsman as he approached the grave he had previously thought contained his baby brother. The burned figure inside turned Athos's stomach as he felt his rage at Rochefort grow once more. The burned man had his resting place disturbed and destroyed all for the entertainment of a madman.

As he stared down at the figure Athos allowed a quiet prayer for the man to slip past his lips. The words felt odd on his tongue, the musketeer having long since abandoned the strong belief in God he had held as a child and young man but he felt he owed the man before him at least that for what he had suffered for his part in Rochefort's game.

Once finished Athos then had another destination in mind, only this time his feet were nowhere near as eager to move. After much hesitation however, he did manage to weave his way through the graves to find the one that had trapped his youngest brother, his guilt growing with every step he took towards it.

The franticness of which the grave had been dug up was clear to see and it hurt more than Athos thought it would think of what Porthos had gone through while he had given in to his anger and grief and left him alone.

Feeling his guilt and shame wash over him once more the musketeer slowly sat down before the grave, unknowingly in the same spot his brother had been in when he pulled their youngest free of the grave.

In his mind Athos knew he shouldn't linger, that he should be infinitely more aware of his surroundings as they had no idea how many of the church's staff were imposters like the fake he had fought earlier but he just couldn't muster up the energy to care as he instead stared mournfully at the wood that had once been the lid to D'Artagnan's coffin, his eyes instantly picking up on the bloodstained grooves in the wood that could have only occurred as his baby brother tried to claw his way out.

Elsewhere in the church, a clearly nervous priest was knelt over an unconscious figure, his trembling hands working surprisingly quick for how old the man was to stitch up the numerous bleeding wounds that littered his patient's body.

"How much longer?" growled one of the other men in the room, his voice startling the priest who was quick to flinch away in fear as the man took a step towards him.

"A-A-A few hours I expect," answered the old priest shakily, fear clearly present in his voice, fear which was obviously justified when, angered by the answer, the man backhanded the priest, causing him to cry out in both alarm and pain.

"That's not good enough!" snarled the man as he glanced over his shoulder to his companion who had ignored the violence against the priest as he focused on keeping a lookout of the small room that had camped out in. Both men knew that their chances of survival diminished a little every moment they remained in close proximity to the angered musketeers, who had likely realized their betrayal by now.

While both red guards were anxious to leave however they refused to leave their former leader who laid unconscious, barely clinging to life in front of the priest. Life for the red guards hadn't been better than when Rochefort had been in charge and had the ear of the King and whilst they weren't stupid enough to assume they could return the man to his position… The King had made his thoughts on their former leader very clear. They did, however, see a profitable future for themselves if they stuck by the injured man however and it was for that reason they saved him and remained by his side while risking their own against the wrath of the musketeers.

"He's very injured," protested the elderly priest as he found a glimmer of courage to stare down his attackers, "If you don't want him to bleed out when you try to move him it'll take a few hours."

Though he didn't show it on his face the red guard was strangely proud of the courage the old man had been able to muster and so in spite of his growing angst he nodded, turning away from the man, signalling it was safe for him to return to the job they were forcing him to do.

The sun had truly risen in the sky when Athos finally moved from beside the grave, grimacing a little at the sharp tingling in his legs as he shakily got to his feet. Porthos's words had been playing over and over in his head during the entire time he had been sat before they became too much and Athos had been forced to accept he would need to face the brothers he had abandoned and needed to see, with his own eyes, that their youngest had survived his ordeal.

So with a determination, he had lacked before the swordsman dusted himself off, sparing the grave one final solemn look before turning on his heels and heading back into the church.