Afternoon My Lovelies

Right here's the second of today's updates :D I'm going to take a break for some lunch and then I'll be doing a bit more writing so with luck there'll be another update in a few hours :D

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Chapter Seventy-Eight: Judgement II

"Captain," pleaded Favier desperately, no longer caring how he might be perceived as his own eyes remained locked on the departing form of his brother who, after his confession, was quickly restrained by several of the palace guards before being escorted from the room.

Initially ignoring the distraught man next to him Treville turned to Athos, levelling the man with a significant look as he nodded sharply towards Favier, "Get him out of here," he hissed quietly, knowing that Favier's presence would do far more harm than good should his emotions get the better of him.

"Captain!" gasped Favier, flinching as the doors closed with an echoed slam once Issac was through, completely removing him from his view.

"Go," ordered Treville firmly as he nodded towards Porthos who stepped forward to place a hand on Favier's shoulder, "I'll do everything I can but you need to leave."

Any further protests on Favier's part went ignored as the three inseparables bundled him out of the room, followed shortly by the rest of the men who had been gathered with them, leaving only Henri to stand beside the Captain as Treville waited for the King's inevitable anger at his attempts to keep Issac's crime hidden.

Back at the garrison, Corbett was feeling more than a little confused as he stood out of the way as Gerald gently tended to the ill Gascon whilst simultaneously explaining to the younger man what he could expect to happen given the poison he had been given.

Anger, that is what Corbett had been expecting to see on the young musketeer's face, after all, he had been through to then be poisoned by one of their own anger seemed like an appropriate response. He could have dealt with anger… D'Artagnan existing illness had left him more than a little weak even before the poison worsened his symptoms so it wasn't like the Gascon had much in the way of strength to lash out so he was sure he could have helped the man calm down and deal with what had happened to him much like he had done when Blaise had woken up to find that Alain had jumped into the path of a bullet for him.

What he was met with though was a mixture of hurt and betrayal, the amount of which surprised the older musketeer. He could understand both as the Gascon as they all had, had been betrayed by someone he called a brother-in-arms but the amount of both the younger musketeer was displaying, despite his attempts to hide it, spoke to something deeper. D'Artagnan barely knew Corneau so his reaction didn't quite make sense.

Feeling brave Corbett took a few steps forward towards the bed frame whilst Gerald left the room, the physician stating he would be back shortly with some food that he'd like D'Artagnan to try and eat now that he was finally awake. "Feel like explaining what's going on in that head of yours right now?" he asked gently, not at all surprised when the Gascon vehemently shook his head in response, only to let out a hiss and curse when pain shot through his system at the movement.

Corbett sighed, "I thought as much," he nodded as he settled back down beside the bed, instinctively moving to place a cool rag gently on D'Artagnan's forehead, knowing the younger man would appreciate the coolness even if the initial act of placing the rag caused a short stab of pain.

"I don't appreciate being lied to Treville," sneered Louis as he looked down at his long-time friend.

"That was not my intention," spoke Treville cautiously, the musketeer Captain fully aware that how he handled himself now could very well impact how Issac was both punished and treated.

Crossing his arms in front of his chest Louis raised a single eyebrow, "And what exactly was your intention then Treville as it seems like you intended to keep this whole messy thing to yourself before your man revealed himself."

Knowing better than to appear defensive Treville resisted the urge to cross his own arms in front of his chest, "Issac… Issac was blinded by grief when the author's identity and reasoning were revealed to be one of his own… Corneau had severed among my regiment for years the pair have even completely many missions together over those years and as such rational thought left his mind."

"That does not excuse his actions," frowned the King.

"Maybe not," stated Treville with a grim nod as he took a step forward, "But it does give you a reason to show mercy." The King raised a single eyebrow at this as he waited for Treville to continue. "Corneau was going to die," continued Treville, emboldened by the King's lack of retort. "His own actions saw to that. You never ordered us to bring him back alive, if he could plan his elaborate schemes under the watch of the rest of my men then there was no guarantee he wouldn't have been able to set something up once in prison… He may have already had plans in place should something like that occur… What Issac did was rash, I'll agree there but he acted out of grief and may have saved more lives by acting as he did."

"What your man did was murder Treville," stated the King with a surprising amount of firmness in his words that sent a wave of unease through the two musketeers. "By his own words, he planned out what he did to the man so there was no 'rashness' about it."

Fear filling him Treville took another step forward, "Your Majesty…"

The ride back to the garrison was a tense one for the gathered musketeers as many wanted to offer words of comfort or support to Favier, who was clearly not handling Issac's arrest well but none knew what they could say and so an awkward silence fell over the group, broken only by a few relieved sighs once they passed through the garrison gates.

"Come with us," stated Athos firmly once they had passed their horses off to the young stable hands. Favier looked ready to protest but Porthos, who had an inkling of what his brother was planning put a stop to it by placing a heavy hand on the musketeer's shoulder.

After a little bit of silent prodding, the three inseparables managed to get their friend to follow them into the infirmary. The trio had to ignore the urge to turn towards their brother's room as they instead directed Favier towards where they knew Etienne rested, Aramis being the one to speak up once they noticed the confused look pass across Favier's face.

"Henri's still with the Captain," explained the marksman softly as he slowly directed the man towards an empty chair by the unconscious man's bedside. "I'm sure he'll appreciate someone sitting with Etienne until he gets back."

The three inseparables initially weren't sure if their plan would work so they were more than a little relieved when Favier gave them the tiniest of nods before sitting down and instinctively take Etienne's hand in his own. It wasn't much and they could still see how worried the man was for Issac but they hoped that taking care of Etienne would help distract him until the Captain returned with news.

Once they were sure the man wasn't about to sneak off and ride back to the palace the three inseparables left the room and began to head towards D'Artagnan's, each silently praying for some sign of improvement from the younger man when they entered.

Before that could happen however the door to the room opened revealing a slightly frustrated looking Corbett. The man looked slightly surprised to see them but quickly recovered himself to step out and close the door behind him, blocking their entrance to the room and sending a wave of fear through their bodies.

"Corbett?" pressed Aramis, his voice slightly breathy as he looked at the man desperate for answers.

"Gerald asked for a few moments with the boy now that he's awake," explained Corbett, smirking at the looks that blossomed on the men's faces at the news.

"He's awake!" exclaimed Porthos, a joyful smile on his face as he physically had to hold himself back from storming into the room to see his baby brother awake with his own eyes.

Grinning at the man's joy Corbett nodded before turning to Athos, "He was asking about the three of you, it shouldn't take Gerald too long then you can go in." His grin faltered for a moment as he added, "Maybe you can get him to open up to you, something is bothering the lad and he's being stubborn about it." Grumbling he added, "You'd think being out of it from his illness would make the boy less stubborn but apparently not."

The three inseparables chuckled at their friend's grumbling, though none was spared the worry they felt at the knowledge something was bothering the young Gascon and it felt like an age passed before the door opened and a tired Gerald stepped out, finally allowing them entry to their brother's side.