Evening My Lovelies

Apologies for the lack of chapter last night, hit a bit of writer's block. Tonight though is one of the longer chapters I've written in a while so hopefully, that'll make up for it :D

Notes On Reviews:

Issai: Thanks for the review - He definitely did :) I did debate having him escape and plan some sort of retribution but couldn't let him get away :) It is VERY tempting to have our boys find lots of trouble but at the same time I want them to get home so I'm torn on what'll happen, I guess we'll see what happens when I write it lol :) Enjoy the new chapter! x

beeblegirl: Thanks for the review - Haha yep definitely stubborn, though that can be said for all our boys I think lol :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

Debbie (Guest): Thanks for the review - I haven't quite decided what's going to happen to Etienne yet... I never initially intended for him to be hurt, my evil side took control at that point lol so I'm not sure if I'll have him succumb to his injury or survive, leaning more to survive at the moment because I do love my OC's but who knows :D Bwhaha what a perfect thing to put on it! Or... "Here lies D'Artagnan... He was not fine" lol XD Enjoy the new chapter! x

pallysd'Artagnan: Thanks for the review - Haha yeah no one can argue with the Athos stare :D Ethan will definitely regret underestimating our boys and Aramis is likely going to regret his stubbornness, not that he'll ever admit that out loud though. Enjoy the new chapter! x

As always much love and many thanks for following/favouriting/reviewing/reading

Love you all!

Enjoy!

xxx

Chapter Forty-Four: A Night At Camp

With the tense atmosphere surrounding their commandeered camp-site, the musketeers of Treville's travelling party remained largely quiet as they focused on whatever tasks they could to ensure their injured brother received the best care available whilst also ensuring they would not be caught off guard should anyone be stupid enough to try to attack the camp.

For Treville it was a great relief to see how his men reacted to the grim situation as he hadn't had to issue many orders, most of the men knew what needed to be done and had jumped up to act without a request or order having to be made. This meant Treville was free to focus his attention on guarding Rochefort whilst also keeping an eye out for his men who were out searching for the remaining red guard.

He wasn't anticipating any sort of threat from Rochefort given the man's appalling condition but he knew the former minister was resourceful and had no intention of giving the man an opportunity to escape justice once more.

"Captain," spoke a voice, pulling Treville from his darkening thoughts and forcing his attention away from where he had been tying a rope around Rochefort's ankle, tying the other end to the wagon so he wouldn't be able to escape even if he woke with the strength to stand and move, something Treville severely doubted would happen.

"Henri?"

The musketeer looked uneasy for a moment before deciding he needed to voice the thought that had been being whispered amongst the men over the last few hours.

"The red guards," he started, looking over to the forest where the remaining man had escaped to following the attack on Etienne. "They were the ones the King sent in our place?"

Treville could hear the anger in the man's words and whilst many would simply put it down to the musketeer's hatred of those who had harmed his friend the Captain knew it was actually largely directed at the King who had all but forbidden them on going to the aid of their brothers, instead, forcing them to rely on their enemies to help. With a sigh Treville nodded, having instantly recognized the men when they spotted their camp.

"And the third?" pressed Henri as he watched his Captain's face, not missing the moment where a flash of panic crossed the man's face before he could fully push it down. "I can take a few men…"

"No" snapped Treville, his tone startling Henri and earning the pair a few looks from some of the other men before they forced themselves to return to their original tasks.

"Captain?"

With a great sigh, Treville shook his head, "The third was clearly younger than these two. As he's not with them he is either dead or already in musketeer custody. Even with the trouble, Athos's group has endured one young red guard wouldn't be able to handle all of them."

"But sir," started Henri, his mind flooding with images of the letters they had received and the damage that followed.

"No Henri," growled Treville, his voice firm. "As much as I may want to send some of you onwards I will not put more of my men at risk… I cannot… not even for Athos and the others."

Silence followed this proclamation and Henri would have continued to protest had he not both seen and heard how much it was tearing at his Captain to make and stick to this decision. Sympathy flooded the musketeer's expression and he was about to say something to his Captain when an all too familiar whistle cut through the air, drawing almost the entire camp's attention to the forest.

Thankfully it hadn't taken Athos's group long to set up a small camp, aided largely by Marin who in a desperate attempt to be helpful had taken on most of the tasks such as collecting firewood and water himself while the rest of the group tended to the injured in their party.

"You doing okay 'Mis?" asked Porthos as he looked up from the small meal he was putting together. The marksman had all but insisted on checking over D'Artagnan the moment the younger man was helped off of Athos's horse. The Gascon continued to remain unconscious although his worsening cough and growing fever was a clear source of worry for the entire group.

Porthos had tried to force Aramis to at least rest for a little bit before checking on the boy, knowing Athos would alert them to anything serious seeing as he clearly had no intention of leaving the boy's side any time soon but his brother could not be convinced so had pushed his already pained body well past its limits, meaning he was now laid out next to the Gascon, breathing heavily as he tried to get through the spasms and shooting pains of his many injuries without any pain medication, having insisted their limited supply go to Fredrick and Glenn who clearly were in worse shape.

"Fine," replied the marksman through gritted teeth which shattered any image of wellness he was trying to portray to his brother.

Nodding Porthos continued their meal preparations, smiling in thanks to Marin when the boy returned with some more firewood, placing the supplies next to the already burning fire. "And the whelp?" he asked knowing a distraction was what his brother needed to help him focus on anything but the pain shooting through his body right now.

Part of Aramis desperately wanted to lie, to give his brothers hope over their youngest's condition but a glance to his side to see the look in Athos's eyes told him they already suspected things with the boy were worse than both he and Tristan had initially led them to believe and after that realization he found himself unable to keep it a secret for much longer, knowing the pair had a right to know what their youngest was facing and the right to prepare themselves should the worst occur.

"Bad," admitted Aramis weakly, a grim look on his face as he shakily reached out to hold D'Artagnan's bandaged hand, taking comfort in the pulse he could feel racing beneath the skin. "Pneumonia I suspect," he added continuing to speak even as his gaze remained locked on the Gascon's unconscious form. "Dangerous even in the best conditions but out here? With little to no supplies?" he left the rest of the statement hanging but everyone knew what he wasn't saying and an uneasy silence as the reality of their situation hit them.

"Would any of the herbs you need grow wildly out here?" asked Marin quietly a few minutes later, breaking the silence which had fallen over the group, earning him the complete attention of all awake members of the camp. Ignoring the scrutiny Marin continued to focus on Aramis. "I can look in the morning before we head out?"

Warmed by the generous offer Aramis smiled at the red guard, something he was still getting used to doing, but it was Tristan who spoke up.

"This isn't really the best region for them to grow wildly but it certainly couldn't hurt to look. I'll go with you at first luck."

With a rough plan in mind, a small sliver of hope began to grow amongst the group as some of the earlier tension coating the air began to ease and they were able to settle down for the night.

The sound of approaching footsteps would normally have had the entire camp on their feet with weapons drawn but thankfully the source of said footsteps had had the forethought to announce themselves first meaning when they broke through the tree line they were instead greeted by intrigued and curious faces which quickly turned to a mix of smug and pleased when they saw who else was with them.

Unable to help himself Treville smirked as he walked over to the newly emerged trio, looking over one of the members before turning to another, "That didn't take you very long," he spoke, his voice almost mocking as he continued to smirk.

Mirroring his Captain's smirk Favier shrugged, "Confidence got the better of him," he replied looking to the third member of their trio who was looking significantly less smug than his companions as he tugged at the restraints on his wrists.

FLASHBACK

Ethan had frozen at the sound of swords being pulled and couldn't quite stop the fear he felt from showing on his face as he turned to face the two approaching musketeers, both of whom had their own emotions hidden behind emotionless masks, something which made them all the more intimidating to the red guard. Anger he could have worked with, even the burning rage he expected they were feeling would have been better than the expressionless faces now staring at him. Emotions he could exploit but this… this didn't bode well for him.

"We offer you the same offer our Captain so graciously made," spoke Issac, his voice level and emotionless as he stared at the red guard before him, "You can surrender or you can fight. Your choice."

Both musketeers stood firmly in place as they waited for the man to realize there was no way out of the situation he now found himself in. They both knew what option the man would take, it was evident in how both he and his former companion had responded when the offer was first made to them, so they were just waiting for him to make his move.

For Ethan, he was frantically trying to figure a way out of the whole thing which didn't involve fighting two musketeers in his exhausted state. His breath was still coming in harsh pants, even though he was trying hard to cover that up. He was debating trying his luck with simply running again when he finally noticed how one of the musketeers were standing, recognizing it instantly.

Confidence quickly filled the red guard when he realized that at least one of his attempted captors was injured. A smug grin tugged as his lips as he drew his blade.

END FLASHBACK

"He thought to take advantage of Favier's ribs," explained Issac as he smirked smugly at the furious expression on their prisoner's face. It had been… difficult not to give in to the anger both he and Favier felt and spare the red guard's life. Nearly every part of him was screaming at him to answer the blood split with blood in kind but he fought against that dark part of himself, reminding himself he wanted justice, not vengeance.

Pride glimmered brightly in Treville's eyes as he looked at the two men, both of who stood straighter once they noticed it. "See he is sufficiently restrained then get yourselves something to eat." He ordered kindly as he nodded over his shoulder to the large pan now bubbling over the camp-fire. "Once Gaspard is finished I'll get him to check your ribs."

"I'm okay," reassured Favier as he brushed aside his Captain's concern. "Etienne?"

Ignoring the attempt at reassurance Treville let out a soft sigh, "He hasn't said much but the fact he continues to work gives me hope."