A/N: I hate my dad so much! He completely screwed up my computer & now I have to type anything for this story at school. So, if there is a really long delay in updates, then I apologize.
Oh well for your computer. You know you can always come over to my house and use my computer? That is actually still working you know!
Oh shut up...
The teens stood staring up at huge black castle before them, their mouths agape with shock, eyes in a bug eyed look. Shawnee craned her neck back as far as it would go but bowed her head once it started to hurt too much. She rubbed at the back of her neck, wincing slightly, then looked up to see a what looked to be a large wooden door in the back of the castle. She turned to Brenna and yanked at her sleeve.
"Brenna, I think that's a back door over there." She looked at her is disbelief but followed the direction her finger was pointing and saw the same wooden door. Brenna frowned thoughtfully.
"It just might be. Let's check it & see if it's open." Chris gave a disbelieving snort.
"It won't be open! Who'd be stupid enough to leave a back door open on a prison?" Brenna gave the handle an experimental tug and smirked widely when the door opened easily. Chris huffed but said nothing. Brenna slipped in the door, Chris following her, leaving Shawnee to peer around the door frame and shut the door, encasing them in a stone hallway.
They strode down the hallway, trying to keep their footsteps as muffled as possible. They came to a smaller wooden door, behind which was a spiralling set of stone steps leading up high into the Bastille. Brenna took the steps at a crawl and peered around the corner once she reached the landing.
It was another long stone hall, lined with wooden doors, leading into cells. She could see a blurred figure at the end of the hall, seeming to be standing guard. She squinted, frowned, then gestured to Chris and Shawnee to climb the steps and take a look. Shawnee crouched on the ground, Chris bent over and squeezed between them. Shawnee pushed her wire framed, copper coloured glasses further up her nose and stared down the hall. She nodded to herself and pushed herself back onto her knees, throwing Chris backwards and knocking his gray baseball cap from his head.
It clattered to the stone floor, alerting the sentry. Brenna pulled back with all speed and dragged her friends down the stairs and behind the door. Shawnee pulled it shut quietly, not completely shutting it, and pressed an eye against the slit of an opening.
Aramis scooped up the hat from the floor and examined it from every angle with intense curiosity. He glanced down the stairway to the almost closed door at the end, frowned and walked away. Shawnee pushed open the door enough to stick her head around it, saw the coast was clear and gave Brenna a thumbs up. They scaled the stairs again and watched as Aramis rounded the corner and seemed to leave the area altogether. Brenna smiled and started down the hallway, fast yet quiet as possible. Shawnee and Chris followed her, Chris relaxed, Shawnee tense and worried. They paused in front of the door Aramis had been guarding & peered in to see Jordan sitting on the lonely wooden bench attached to the wall. Brenna crept past so Jordan wouldn't notice and rounded the corner, looking back to check on Chris and Shawnee. A voice broke into her thoughts.
"Hey! Who are you?" She spun around hurriedly to see Aramis sitting at a desk watching her with narrowed eyes. She stood to her full height and stepped forward with as much confidence as she could muster. Shawnee and Chris rounded the corner to see her standing in front of Aramis, arms folded across her chest. Shawnee clenched her hands into fists worriedly and trailed Chris as he rounded the corner. Brenna took a deep breath.
"Aramis, I want you to release our friend Aramis." The priest turned musketeer raised an eyebrow at her in shock. Chris's body shook with laughter but he was soon to burst. Shawnee had pressed a hand to her face and was shaking her head in solemn disbelief. The musketeer stood up and rounded the desk to stop in front of her.
"Madamoiselle, I am afraid that you have made an impossible request. Perhaps, I should call a surgeon and..." He stopped when Brenna slammed her hands down on the desk.
"It's not impossible! You and your friends just locked him up! You've been guarding him for who knows how long now!" Aramis shook his head, trying not to laugh the slightly ticked off teenager. Shawnee put a hand on her shoulder.
"Athos, it might be a smart idea to quit while you're ahead. You've just made a huge fool of yourself." Brenna looked at her for a moment then frowned heartily.
"You do realise that you've given away another nickname D'Artagnan?" She said, stressing the nickname with gusto. Shawnee's eyes widened and she turned her head slowly to look at Aramis. His eyes reminded her of a frog, they were just so wide. She gulped fearfully and backed up to try and hide behind Brenna. Aramis put a hand on her shoulder and stopped her.
"What did you just call this crazy child?" Shawnee just looked at him, her frame stiff with fear. Brenna shoved his hand off her shoulder and slipped in front of her, between the musketeer of the past and the one of the future.
"Hey! Keep your hands off my friend!" Chris moved up next to Brenna and stared the man down. Aramis frowned and watched the strange teens silently.
Footsteps echoed from down the hall behind Aramis, causing everyone to freeze. They watched as D'Artagnan & Porthos rounded the corner. They looked up to see the teens & Aramis standing there in an apparent confrontation. Porthos narrowed his eyes at Chris silently, trying to remember where he'd seen him before. He nudged the musketeer captain and pointed without subtlety at Chris.
"Hey! That's the boy I threw out of that bar before the brawl broke out in the street!" Chris's eyes widened in recognition.
"You are that crazy old codger! I thought I knew you!" As the words left the boy's mouth, Shawnee winced and backed down the hallway, stopping in front of Jordan's cell. Brenna watched her progress with confusion and curiously followed her. Porthos snarled and lifted Chris up by the front of his hoodie.
"I think you've just made your last smart remark lad." He heaved him down the hall with ease. Shawnee gave a sharp gasp and clasped her hands to her mouth desperately to stifle it. Brenna watched worriedly. Chris groaned and sat up, shaking his head, ruffling his brown hair as he rubbed his scalp.
"Damn, that hurt!" Brenna kneeled down next to him. Shawnee stood back beside the cell door in shock.
"Are you alright or do you think you're never going to walk again?" She said, trying to hide a smirk. He gave her a frosty glare and bolted to his feet. Shawnee took a deep breath and peered cautiously around the corner. She gave a small squeak when she saw D'Artagnan slowly moving towards the hall. Porthos had left to bring Athos. She pulled back quickly and pointed shakily to the room.
"D'Artagnan's coming!" She whispered fearfully. Brenna nodded and pulled back to stand next to her, pulling a torch from the bracket on the wall. She gestured to Chris hurriedly and he moved to stand on the other side of the door. Shawnee gave a fearful look and glanced at the torch then to Brenna's determined face.
"Brenna, I thought you hated violence?" She questioned in a quiet whisper. Brenna nodded.
"I do but I don't mind using it when it's needed!" D'Artagnan rounded the corner and leapt out of the way as Brenna swung the flaming torch around at him. He pushed her to the ground and tried to snatch the torch but missed when she threw it to Chris.
"Catch it Chris!" She cried, rolling over so she could sit. Aramis trapped her hands behind her back and pulled to her feet. Chris snatched at the torch as it flew in the air but felt his fingers slip along the wood and watched it roll in a circle on the ground. D'Artagnan flew at him, wrapping his cloak around the teen's upper body and pulling him back into the other room, causing him to roll along the ground. He untangled himself from the cloak and lay back, dizzy from the roll. The musketeer heard the sound of wood clattering on stone and spun to see Shawnee holding the torch, flame extended towards him. Her face was set in an unreadable look, almost like it was stuck between fear & and anger. He raised his hands warily and took a step closer. She jabbed the torch at him and he jumped back.
"Let them go!" She snarled. D'Artagnan shook his head in response. She let out a slight cry and swung the torch. He dropped his hands and prepared to shove her over but felt the heat of the flame through his uniform over his left arm. He pulled back his black gloved hands. Shawnee held the torch with her two hands to keep it steady, blue eyes flashing behind the copper framed glasses.
In the other room, Athos arrived to see Aramis holding Brenna's hands behind her back and trying to keep her still. Chris lay clutching his head on the floor, groaning as the dizzy spell continued. Porthos moved past him and stood guard over the boy as Athos made his way to the hall. D'Artagnan saw him out of the corner of his eye and gave subtle sign for him to trap his opponent from behind. Athos nodded and left the room without a sound.
Shawnee growled and swung the torch again when the musketeer reached for it, her knuckles white as she gripped the flaming wood. D'Artagnan backed out of the hall and stood around the corner to give himself a chance to think. Aramis raised an eyebrow in amusement at the younger man.
"Having trouble catching one little girl D'Artagnan?" His comrade gave him a harsh glare before peering around the wall to see the girl still standing there, waiting for him to return to continue their unmoving fight. Athos swung himself around the corner and, pressing himself against the wall, crept down the hallway behind the teen. He raised his arms and wrapped them tightly about the girl's torso, the torch clattering to the floor once more. Shawnee twisted in his grasp then started to kick at D'Artagnan as he came back around the corner but found her large feet trapped in his tight grip. She gave a frustrated grunt then whined as she twisted whilst they carried her back into the other room. Brenna looked at her with an exasperated look and rolled her eyes towards Aramis.
"Is this really necessary? I mean, we're not dangerous!" He raised an eyebrow and gestured to her struggling friend.
"You call that not dangerous?" Brenna shook her head.
"Look Aramis, we're not here to cause trouble. We just came to get our friend released. We mean you no harm!" Aramis watched her silently before giving a slight nod.
"All you've got to do is let our friend Jordan go and we'll be out of your hair in no time!" Her eyes widened drastically as she heard the struggling from the party of three and opened her mouth in cry.
"Don't let go of her feet! She'll..." She was cut off by the sudden escape of her friend's foot and the loud crack as she swung it up and under D'Artagnan's chin, knocking him to the ground.
Athos tightened his arms but let go with a yelp as she stomped on his foot.
"Get away." Brenna finished solemnly. Shawnee turned, fists clenched, eyes wide with rage. Brenna stiffened in her seat. She craned her neck around and looked at Aramis imploringly.
"Let me go! If you do, she might not attack you!" Shawnee ran forward, raising a fist to the height of the musketeer's face. Aramis stepped back, letting Brenna's hands slip from between his own. She stood in front of the enraged teen and caught her fist as she swung.
"Shawnee! That's enough!" Brenna felt the hand go limp and pull back, leaving Shawnee panting and sweaty from the exertion. She gave a worn smile.
"You have no idea how heavy a torch is when you try to use it as a weapon." Chris tried to sit up only to find Porthos's foot pressing him down to the floor. D'Artagnan stood, aided by Athos, and was rubbing at his jaw, wincing each time he made a pass over the contact point. Brenna took a deep breath.
"Alright, Jordan, that's the guy you've got locked up, did not start that brawl. Someone threw Chris here..." She gestured to him on the floor. "Was thrown out of the same bar you came out of and knocked into him and he fell into that cart!" Porthos gulped fearfully, feeling the glaring eyes of his comrades boring into his back.
"Aramis, the keys." Athos said, setting D'Artagnan down in a chair. Aramis tossed the ring of prison cell keys and waited as he tried the different keys until he found the key for the cell. Jordan walked out, a big smile on his face.
"Freedom!" He cried until he heard a cough from around the corner. He looked to see the rest of the group and started to back down the hall. He turned and began walking once he thought that they hadn't seen him until he felt a hand on his shoulder. Brenna turned him around and steered him back to the room.
"Nice try Jordan but you can't get rid of us that easily!" He gave a resigned sigh and kept walking. The musketeers sat on the desk or on chairs, waiting for either to find something to say. Shawnee swung her arms from side to side, clapping her hands when they swung forward. Brenna looked around and sighed.
"Why don't we just go to one of your places to talk? Someone might be listening in here." Athos nodded, his face blank as he walked out, the other seven following behind him.
Well, this is the worst chapter I have ever written. Hopefully, it won't turn too many of you away from the story. So, hopefully my computer will be repaired & I won't have to work at school anymore!!
You can always come over to my house REMEMBER?? Sheesh, how many times must I repeat myself? Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter. There are still many to come & to mention they are funny too!
Jeez... Do you enjoy giving me undue pressure?!
No, not really, you could say it's my job.