Evening My Lovelies
Wow such a great response after only one chapter! In about 24hrs I have 10 reviews, 14 followers and 15 favourites! I do love you guys :D Thank you for reading, hopefully you'll like this too :D
This chapter is with our other boys today and happens some days before the attack mentioned in the opening.
Those of you who enjoy a bit of our boys bantering should hopefully enjoy this :D
Notes On Reviews:
lluviayui: Thanks for the review - I missed you all too! Hope this story ends up being worth the wait :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
pallysdeeks: Thanks for the review - Our pup has definitely found himself in a bad situation... though in this instance it wasn't really his fault. Currently the remaining inseparables don't know anythings up but they will be learning soon and it's pretty safe to say they will not be happy. Glad you liked it :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
FierGascon: Thanks for the review - I am indeed XD *Joins in happy dance!* No real mayhem in this chapter I'm afraid but I do have plenty on the way I promise :) Enjoy the new chapter! x
Debbie (Guest): Thanks for the review - Hahaha very true, you'd think Treville would have learned that by now :D ... Ooh our boys are going to be downright furious when they find out, that I can promise :) Enjoy the new chapter! x
Katie (Guest): Thanks for the review - It's good to be back :D I missed you all too! Couldn't resist having a cute D'Art moment so I'm glad you liked it :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
criminally charmed: Thanks for the review - Haha that's very true I do love myself some D'Art whump... of which there will be plenty :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
watlocked: Thanks for the review - I'm so glad you've been looking forward to it as I've been so excited to see what everyone will think of it. We've got a few chapters until whumpage starts properly but I have some evil ideas in the works so that's something else to be looking forward to :D Haha I loved that comment too, I think I may just have to write a Treville rant later on in this story as our Captain is going to be far from pleased. Enjoy the new chapter! x
Maryg (Guest): Thanks for the review - Haha probably a good idea what with what I have planned. I'm going to be a bit cruel to D'Art this story (when am i even not :D ) and we'll be having some emotional/physiological whumpage as well as physical whump... In fact there's a scene at the end of chapter five which I'm really looking forward to seeing what people say about it :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
WelshEssex (Guest): Thanks for the review - I'm really glad you liked it, hopefully you'll enjoy the rest of the story too :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
Lilac Lavender: Thanks for the review - Oh my friend I have dearly missed your reviews :D though it seems you've had quite a busy summer :D I had a feeling that might be the oneshot you liked most :) It was definitely my favourite to write and the one I'm most proud of. I have a few other one-shot ideas I'd like to write at some point but I'm going to focus on this for the time being. Glad you liked seeing Reynard return. I have plans to include pretty much all of my secondary muskys from the last story here with Issac and Favier (they're my faves) getting more screen time then the rest... you'll find out why in a few chapters. Our inseparable boys are going to be furious when they find out D'Arts out there alone that's for sure. I really enjoyed writing that bit (coming in chapters 3-4) I love the idea of elaborating a bit more on the fainting from hunger idea, I'm definitely going to work out some way to elaborate on it. I'm tempted for Corinne to be a possible romantic pairing for our lovely medic... They've gotten a bit flirty in later chapters (probably inappropriate given what's going on at the time but more power to them) because lets face it, Aramis wouldn't be the character we know and love if he didn't take the opportunity to flirt with a lovely damsel. I'm not sure if it's going to move past flirting, depends on what people want but she's not going to be a bitch like Viv in the last story thank god. Corinne will definitely be leading our boys to D'Art but as to how, why and when I wont say :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
As always you lovely lovely people, many thanks and much love for following/favouriting/reviewing/reading
Enjoy!
xxx
Chapter Two: Trio Of Inseparables
"You know," grouched Porthos, "I'm beginning to think the whelp had the better of the two missions here."
Aramis couldn't help but let out a quiet chuckle as he raised a single eyebrow teasingly at his brother, "You mean you'd rather be stuck on palace duty for weeks while the King shows you off like some prized trophy to a bunch of nobles?"
"At least we'd be warm and dry," grumbled the larger musketeer as he tightened his jacket around him in a desperate attempt to conserve warmth.
The trio had been ordered to track down and apprehend a man suspected of selling state secrets to the Spanish. Normally this wouldn't be overly hard for the experienced men but this time they had been ordered to extract the man as covertly as possible, hence the days they had spent stealthily following their target, waiting for the best opportunity and why they were now standing in the alley the man often used as a short cut on his way home from the tavern.
Again this wouldn't have caused much grumbling from the men had it not been for the fact that it was practically storming and they could not put off capturing the man any longer then they already had. Treville had sent them a missive not too long ago that stated the King was getting impatient and as D'Artagnan would most likely be the one to suffer the most from the King's bad mood, the senior three members of the inseparables were willing to wait out in the rain.
"I suppose being stuck on palace duty does have its perks," mused Aramis with an almost dream-like smile as his hand came up to gently grip the ornate rosary hanging around his neck.
Porthos, not having seen this action, snorted, "You just wanna be paraded in front of all those noblewomen."
Aramis grinned, clamping a hand down on the larger man's shoulder, "What can I say my friend –"
"You can say nothing," said Athos stoically, his gaze never leaving the door to the tavern that had just opened. "Our man's on the move."
Without another word all mirth faded from the remaining two men as they, much like their leader, moved into position.
"Well," remarked Porthos as he looked down at the now unconscious man in front of them. "That went better then expected."
Truthfully they had been anticipating some sort of fight from the man, especially after such a big deal was made about how dangerous he was.
"We really needed all three of us here for this?" sighed Aramis, his voice practically a whine as he prodded the unconscious man with the toe of his boot.
Porthos raised an eyebrow at the medic's comment before a sly grin grew on his face. "Still hung up on the noble women 'Mis?"
With his face completely serious Aramis place his hand on Porthos's shoulder. "I love you mon ami, I really do but even your esteem company cannot compare to that of a beautiful mademoiselle."
"Or Madame," snorted Porthos, lightly swatting off the medic's hand
"The heart wants what it wants my friend," smirked Aramis, his expression faltering at the unimpressed look being sent his way by Athos.
"Right," coughed Aramis, straightening up and ignoring the amused look Porthos was sending him. "What are we doing with our friend here and does this mean we can head home now… or at least out of this horrid rain?"
Athos shook his head fondly at the man before his expression returned to it prior seriousness. "We confine him to our room for now. It's too dark and wet to leave for Paris now so we'll have to wait the storm out before we can leave."
"What do we do in the mean time?" asked Porthos as he placed the unconscious man over his shoulder.
"We search his rooms. With luck he hasn't had time to sell anything new to the Spanish yet."
Aramis nodded, "We'll need someone on guard duty for our friend here but someone else can investigate."
"Porthos can go. He has the better skills at getting into any locked compartments that he might have." Stated Athos as the three of them made their way back to their rooms. "You should go with him as well Aramis," he added after a moment's contemplation. "If he's really been dealing with the Spanish he might have some proof of that, you understanding of the language could come in handy."
"Not the room I would've expected for our noble," remarked Porthos as he and Aramis entered the room their newest prisoner had been staying in.
As he looked around Aramis couldn't help but agree. Their target, whilst only minor in standing, was a noble and the room they were standing in was barely furnished. In fact, aside from a rickety bed and chest of drawers there was little of anything in the room.
"The Captain mentioned that the tip about our friend came from Benny," shrugged the medic as he began riffling through the contents of the drawers.
"Ah," nodded Porthos, understanding lighting his eyes, "makes sense then."
Benny, or Benoit was someone the regiment was incredibly familiar with. The man ran several gambling houses in the city and wasn't picky about who he dealt with. In his eyes as long as the person had the coin to play and followed his rules he'd let them in.
This led to the regiment storming into his houses on more than one occasion when hunting for criminals. Thankfully the musketeers never had any real trouble from Benny himself as, after saving his wife from someone who had been out to hurt the gambler, Benoit had taken to giving the regiment discounts should they chose to visit one of his gambling houses while also giving them any information on his clients he felt to be particularly important or useful.
The fact that this particular tip had come from Benoit definitely explained why a nobleman was staying in such a cheep room; he had a gambling addiction and simply couldn't pay for better.
"Reckon that's why the scum turned traitor?" mused Porthos as he knelt to look under the man's bed.
"Possibly," murmured Aramis although his attention seemed to have been taken by a letter he was holding in his hand.
Surprised by the lack of response by his friend Porthos lifted his head, his face contorting into a look of confusion as he watched his brother.
"'Mis?" he asked, pushing himself up to sit on the bed, ignoring the dangerous way it creaked under the pressure.
"Found this hidden in one of the drawers," explained Aramis as he passed the letter to his friend before leaning back against the chest of drawers, not trusting the rickety looking bed to be able to hold both of their weights.
Porthos's face screwed up in confusion even more as he tried to decipher the words written before he eventually gave up with a small huff and turned his expectant gaze back onto a now thoroughly amused Aramis.
"You know we wouldn't have this issue if you'd just let me teach you," stated the medic as he took the letter back.
"It's in Spanish 'Mis," deadpanned the larger musketeer before a teasing smirk worked its way onto his face. "What do you think we keep you around for if not to read fancy letters in a language we don't speak?"
Aramis tilted his head to one side, an answering smirk on his lips that quickly turned into a look of complete seriousness as he spoke. "You mean you don't keep me around for my dashing good looks and charming smile?"
The seriousness of his expression when he spoke had Porthos bursting out laughing, making the bed underneath him creak and groan.
"Just read the damn letter 'Mis," chuckled the larger man once he had stopped laughing enough to speak.
Aramis mock glared at his friend but the smile on the larger man's face was contagious and before long the medic found his own lips curling upwards.
"It's a threat," explained Aramis, as he glanced back down at the letter. "Apparently our tied up friend has been getting more and more demanding with his Spanish friends in terms of payment and they're not happy about it."
"Probably trying to pay back Benny before he got his men involved," shrugged Porthos
The marksman nodded and then went on to explain how the letter stated, or at the very least insinuated, that the information their target had been providing the Spanish had diminished in quality recently and the letter was basically them threatening him that if he continued to demand outrageous amounts of coin for unusable information they would kill him.
Porthos whistled as Aramis finished up his explanation. "Think this is enough for 'Thos or are there more documents?"
Aramis shook his head, "This was all I could find, he's probably burnt or destroyed the rest."
"It's somethin' at least," Porthos shrugged, "Let's get this back to 'Thos and hopefully this rain'll let up soon so we can get back to Paris."
When the two returned to the room they were surprised, and slightly amused by what greeted them. Athos was lounging on one of the beds, drinking wine straight out of the bottle while using his other hand to flick through the pages of a book while their prisoner was awake and gagged in the corner, glaring daggers at the unbothered musketeer.
Glancing up from his book Athos caught the amused looks being sent his way by his brothers. "He kept demanding I release him," shrugged the musketeer as he returned his attention to the book in his hands.
"And that warranted you gagging the man?" smirked Aramis as he shrugged off his wet jacket before hanging it on the back of a chair to dry.
"He was persistent," stated Athos as he turned a page, "… and loud."
The pair chuckled at the explanation, which only earned them glares of their own from their prisoner.
"Weren't much in his room," explained Porthos as he too shrugged out of his soaked through jacket. "Found a letter though, 'Mis can explain I'm gonna see about getting us some food."
"So," said Porthos some time later through a mouthful of food. "When do you think we can head back to Paris?"
"Such manners," muttered Aramis teasingly before smirking at his friend, "Missing palace duty already mon ami?"
Porthos ignored the tease, settling for pushing his friend with enough force to almost make him fall off his chair. Although he wouldn't verbally admit it, it wasn't the place he was missing so much as the person.
Since D'Artagnan had arrived at the garrison just over a year ago the group had rarely gone out as anything less then the quartet they had become and while he knew the young man could handle himself just fine while they were gone Porthos just couldn't shake the bad feeling that had settled in his gut.