"Ow. Ow." Aramis winced as he fixed his belt in position, "Ow."
Porthos huffed as he put on his boots, "I've asked you this before but, honestly, how the hell have you made it this far?"
Aramis furrowed his brow, "What do you mean?"
"You?!" Porthos exclaimed, "With the whole 'can't cope with my own injuries'?
"Yeah," d'Artagnan joined in, "Didn't you get shot once?"
Aramis nearly turned green at the memory, "Urgh, don't remind me."
"You're something else," Porthos shook his head.
"Hey! Just because I feel pain more than you insensitive brutes."
"Oh we feel pain," Porthos told him, "We feel a really big pain. In the neck. I wonder what or rather who that could be?"
Before Aramis had the chance to retort, a loud snore came from the other side of the room.
"How is he still asleep?" d'Artagnan asked gesturing towards the bed Athos occupied.
"He's always been like this," Porthos replied, "Could sleep on a washing line could Athos"
"Perhaps you should try waking him?" Aramis suggested.
D'Artagnan nodded and made his way over to the older man. Porthos just looked at Aramis with raised eyebrows. "You know it won't work?" he said quietly.
"I know," Aramis shrugged, "But at least he'll know why Athos always takes first watch duty."
"Fair enough," Porthos said as he turned to watch the inevitable show.
d'Artagnan had begun with the tried and tested method of gently shaking the shoulder and whispering the person's name. Finding this wasn't working with Athos, he got rougher with the shaking and louder with his voice. There was still no sign of the man waking. d'Artagnan sighed and then decided on trying a not too gentle whack on the shoulder. He thought for a second that this had worked when Athos moved onto his back and blinked a few times but unfortunately the man continued to roll onto his other side.
"This is ridiculous," the boy mumbled at the sleeping man, "I mean you're not even hung-over."
Although, d'Artagnan could now hear his friends chuckling in the background, he wasn't one to give up easily so he knelt up on the bed. Carefully, he hooked an arm under Athos and tried to haul him into a sitting position. Half way up, however, Athos merely flopped sideways with his head landing on d'Artagnan's lap.
D'Artagnan threw his arms up in frustration. "Right, you're going to have to help," he told Aramis and Porthos.
Aramis glanced at Porthos with a glint in his eye, "Athos would hate it if we were late to Paris."
"He would," Porthos agreed knowingly. He walked to the window and leant out to take a look around. He then turned and nodded at Aramis.
Aramis had reached for his pistol, "What a waste of a shot," he said as he fired through the open window.
Immediately after the bang sounded, Aramis and Porthos began to shout.
"Ambush!"
"Attack!"
"Protect the King!"
d'Artagnan barely had time to be stunned by their actions as suddenly Athos was leaping to his feet and grabbing for a sword that wasn't there. If it wasn't for the fact that he was still dressed in his under things, it would be hard to believe the man had been asleep only seconds before.
Aramis ignored the way Athos' expression turned thunderous as he realised what had occurred and instead handed him a bucket of water he had collected."That was your wake-up call and it comes with complimentary water," he said with barely concealed glee.
"I hate you," Athos growled.
Undeterred, Aramis wrapped an arm around the man's shoulder, "There, there. Now dunk your head and we can be on our way."
"You wouldn't want to be late," Porthos laughed throwing his jacket towards him.
Porthos soon lost his smile when Athos made him explain their behaviour to an irate innkeeper and when he elbowed Aramis in his wounded side later in the day, it was definitely an accident.
...