Evening My Lovelies
Well are we all liking having our whumpable Gascon pup back :D I have some evil plans in the works for all our boys so don't expect things to calm down any time soon. :D
... That being said if there's anything you would particularly like to happen then send me a review or pm and let me know and I'll do my best to work it in :D
ALSO I have a question of my own... Do you guys want to see a romantic side to this story? Somehow, I don't quite know how it happened, but Corinne and Aramis have a few slightly (possible) flirty moments in this chapter, which I hadn't originally intended. Aramis is pretty much flirty by nature so it wouldn't be ooc for him but would you like it expanded on or just kept as the odd flirty comment... I'm happy trying either so let me know.
Notes On Reviews:
criminally charmed: Thanks for the review - D'Art's in pretty bad shape but yeah I don't do death fics, at least not the death of our boys, so you don't have to worry about him dying... just... almost dying :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
FierGascon: Thanks for the review - Yay I'm glad you like my OC's I always have a lot of fun creating characters but then always worry people wont like them so to hear they're liked is a good moment for me :D As for D'Art's arm don't worry I wont keep you waiting you'll find out straight away. Enjoy the new chapter! x
Debbie (Guest): Thanks for the review - Mwhahaha I know I've been so mean :D On the plus side no cliffy today I promise! Yay I'm glad you like Maria and Corinne. Maria's like the mother figure in D'Arts life which is something quite interesting to expand on :) Yeah unfortunately our boys will be waiting a while for a proper explanation of everything as our boy isn't really in a talkative mood, or at least a long conversation mood. Enjoy the new chapter! x
Ebm36: Thanks for the review - Oh I'm glad you mentioned Archive. I set up an account on there near the end of my last story and then forgot to do anything about it! I'll have a look at uploading some stuff over the next few days. I probably wont put this up until it's finished though. I have no idea how long this one will be but I can't really see it being over 100 chapters like my last one was. Enjoy the new chapter! x
noodles10: Thanks for the review - You're very welcome, I'm glad you're liking it so far. Enjoy the new chapter! x
GoGirl212: Thanks for the review - Oh the situation's only going to get worse in a few chapters time :D Haha glad you mentioned flirting as that does actually happen... kind of ... in a way... possibly, I'm a terrible flirt what do I know lol... I'm not sure if their relationship will pass beyond flirting though, that depends on what everyone wants to see. I don't want to develop their relationship only to find that everyone's against it. Though on the plus side we could get some protective D'Artagnan being all "you hurt her I'll kill you" so that could be interesting/fun too. Enjoy the new chapter! x
Guest: Thanks for the review - Don't worry too much about the OC's they seem key at the moment but they kinda have to be what with them being the only ones, beside D'Art, who can tell the rest of our boys what happened. Unfortunately our pup isn't able to stay conscious for very long so they're needed to kinda push the story along but they wont be the main overall focus (i hope!) Enjoy the new chapter! x
f1gymnast: Thanks for the review - Yay I'm glad you liked the backstory :) I didn't want to throw in some characters with no explanation so I'm happy it wasn't a terrible one. Well it was either that or an embarrassing story but I figured he'd have more of D'Art being reckless lol. His arm's in BAD shape as you'll see today. Enjoy the new chapter! x
Issai: Thanks for the review - I'm loving writing the relationship between Corinne and D'Art so I'm really happy you're liking the moments between them. If you liked Aramis you'll love a few chapters time... Aramis is getting to be a bit of a badass whilst being in full protective brother mode, its a chapter I'm quite fond off :D Worried Athos is always a lot of fun but unfortunately for the man is going to be the state he's in for a while now. Hehe I know, but you should expect such evil cliffies from me by this point lol :D As for his arm you'll find out right away and I don't want to spoil anything so you'll just have to read and find out :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
Maryg (Guest): Thanks for the review - I may have done a small cheer at reading that you liked it :D I had a feeling you might as not only was our pup back but he was also hurt :D Hopefully you'll like this chapter just the same, though we do have a D'Art/Athos scene in tomorrow's chapter which I think you might like :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
WelshEssex (Guest): Thanks for the review - Oooh migraines are the worst, I hope it wasn't too painful for you and passed quickly x You're very very right to worry about his arm though as you'll see today :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
The dreamer (Guest): Thanks for the review - Don't worry D'Art will get better... Eventually :D He's got a long road a head of him but I wont be killing him off so you've got that bit of comfort :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
Lilac Lavender: Thanks for the review - D'Art and Rin's relationship is such a cute thing for me to explore as D'Art gets to be the big brother, all protective and worried its great! We've got some more comfort moments coming our way, more so in tomorrows chapter then todays but still. We've also got Aramis being majorly protective over the pup in a few chapters time in a chapter I am particularly fond of (and really hoping you'll like) I'm soooooooooo glad it was worth the wait and I hadn't teased you all with it for nothing :D Don't worry I wont keep you waiting to find out about the arm. Enjoy the new chapter! x
KarenF (Guest): Thanks for the review - Yay I'm glad you liked it :D And if you love overprotective brothers you'll like several of the chapters that are coming up :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
Reviews still aren't showing properly so if I've missed anyone I'm really sorry!
Much Love and Many Thanks for Following/Favouriting/Reviewing/Reading
Love you all!
Enjoy!
xxx
Chapter Ten: The Night Lupiac Burned
Both Athos and Porthos, whilst not fully understanding the language, had spent more than enough time around the sharpshooter to recognize that the words spewing from his mouth were curses.
This was hardly a rare occurrence as over the years the two men had noticed the medic slip into the language whenever he was truly emotional over something. However considering the only thing for him to currently be emotional over was their seriously injured brother, the curses didn't get the usual good natured banter in response and instead caused the medic to receive panicked and worried looks from both men as they scrambled to see what had caused such a reaction… Only for the French equivalent of said curses to fall from their own lips when they saw it.
D'Artagnan's sword arm, all the way from the back of his palm to just below his shoulder, was badly burnt and to make matters worse the burn was showing signs of infection.
"Aramis?" said Athos hesitantly, fear entering his voice for both his brother's life and his brother's career. The senior swordsman had seen military careers end for lesser injuries and if the burn was a bad as it looked it could have easily done more damage than Aramis could fix.
"Too soon to tell," answered the medic without even looking up. He too shared Athos's concern, knowing full well how much it would kill their brother for his dream of being a musketeer to end mere months after finally gaining his commission. "The infection's making it look worse than it most likely is and wounds like this tend to look worse before they get better."
"So what to we do?" questioned Porthos, his grip on D'Artagnan's other wrist tightening, though he was careful to avoid the blisters as best he could.
"I need to clean it," muttered the medic, more to himself than to his brothers but he knew he had their complete, undivided attention. "He's going to fight this…" warned Aramis, waiting until both Athos and Porthos had nodded their understanding and had moved to hold the boy down before starting.
The first thing Aramis did was use his water skin to clean the skin and like they had anticipated D'Artagnan began to thrash, the pain drawing a reaction from him even in his unconscious state.
"That weren't so bad," mumbled Porthos as D'Artagnan settled and Aramis put the now empty water skin down.
With a grimace the medic picked up a pair of tweezers and turned to his brothers. "That's nothing compared to this, be ready."
The screams that tore their way from D'Artagnan's throat as Aramis worked to gently remove any loose or dead skin from the extensive burn were some of the most agonizing the musketeers had ever heard and each man was sure the sound would haunt their nightmares for many nights to come.
After what seemed like an eternity Aramis put the tweezers down, his eyes glistening with unshed tears as he observed the pale, sweat-drenched face of his little brother.
"What now?" asked Athos, hating that neither he nor Porthos had the knowledge required to treat such wounds therefor forcing the painful burden onto the brother's shoulders. When Aramis failed to respond, his attention still on D'Artagnan's face Athos tried again.
"Aramis," he called, a small sympathetic coming to his face when the medic turned to him. "What do we do now?"
Aramis cleared his throat, sparing his unconscious brother one last look before returning to the task at hand. "I have the ingredients to make a salve that should help the burn heal faster… Though as for how much damage it has done, we'll have to wait until D'Artagnan's strong enough for us to test it."
While Aramis, who was grumbling Spanish curses under his breath, focused on gathering the ingredients he needed for the salvem Athos turned to the two women, who both looked slightly green at what was happening to the young man.
"How did this attack happen?" he asked as he tried to distract himself from the pained whimpers coming from his unconscious little brother. "Lupiac is hardly a village that would normally attract bandits, especially not this ferocious."
Both women paled at Athos's question, the memories of the attack bombarding them as they fought for their composure.
"Only if you're up to it," said Aramis softly as he placed a gentle hand on Corinne's shoulder, slightly startling the girl as he did so.
Corinne smiled softly at the man before turning back to Athos, knowing that she had to tell them, not that the attack made any more sense to her.
"We get the odd attack," she said quietly, tears prickling at the corners of her eyes as D'Artagnan, despite still deeply unconscious, continued to writhe in pain as Aramis worked. "Usually they steal food, we don't have much in the way of valuables…"
"When did the attack happen?" prompted Porthos gently, noticing the younger woman getting lost in memories.
Corinne sighed, "To be honest monsieur, I have no idea. Days at least, mémé and I have been too focused on making sure Charles didn't bleed out to really notice the time…." There was a moment of silence then as the group looked sadly down at the unconscious boy.
"… T-They came in the middle of the night," whispered Corinne weakly, fear filling her voice as she tried to keep it steady, or at least steady enough so she could still be understood.
"You mean you don't walk around dressed like that every day?" teased Aramis with a slight flirty tone entering his voice as his eyes raked over the younger woman, who blushed under his gaze and clutched the skirt of her nightgown loosely in her hand.
"Hey," said Porthos with a small grin, lightly smacking his brother upside the head, "focus on the whelp not flirting with 'is sister."
Both Corinne and Aramis blushed lightly then, though Aramis was quick to recover and move back to his work with a teasing grin still present on his lips, whilst Corinne tried to hide the joy she felt at being referred to as D'Artagnan's sister. As Maria had said, the two of them had more of a sibling relationship rather than cousins but it meant the absolute world to her that D'Artagnan's friends, the men he dearly loved and considered family, acknowledged her place in D'Artagnan's life.
"I woke to the sound of screaming," said Corinne quietly, her eyes closed as she fought not to lose herself in the memory. "Charles wasn't in the house, I don't know why but I knew I couldn't stay there and I couldn't leave without him. They had already set several of the farms on fire by that point… Everything was just screams and smoke…"
"Did your people fight back?" inquired Athos offhandedly, his thoughts elsewhere, realizing only after he said it how the question could have been taken, especially when the fear instantly disappeared from Corinne's face and anger took its place.
"We're a farming village monsieur," spat Corinne as she glared at the slightly sheepish looking musketeer. "We have a few basic weapons for hunting and the like but we are not trained soldiers like yourselves. In fact I can count the number of people who were there that had ever seen combat like that before on one hand but don't think for one second that we just sat by and let the attack happen because of that. I saw people fighting for their lives and their loved ones with whatever they could get their hands on. Trust me musketeer, we fought back!"
"Easy lass," soothed Porthos as he watched Aramis place his hand once again on the woman's shoulder in an attempt to calm her. "'Thos didn't mean it like that."
"Well what did he mean then?" spat Corinne, not moving her glare from Athos's emotionless face as she spoke.
"Treville, our Captain," said Athos stoically as he tried to explain himself, "will want to ensure the end of these bandits. Knowing whether your people fought back means their numbers will have decreased slightly and that several of them would most likely be injured in some way. This could give our men the advantage when they fight."
Corinne practically sagged as the logic of Athos's words drained the anger out of her. Instead of the fury that had marred her young face only moments ago the young woman's face now looked a mix of sadness and hope.
"H-He'll do something about them?" she asked quietly, the pain and grief in her voice breaking the musketeers' hearts almost as much as the slight glimmer of hope did.
Aramis, being the more openly empathetic of the three, gently put down the mortar he had been using to create the salve for D'Artagnan's burn and gently brought the woman into an embrace.
"Treville wont let this injustice go unpunished I give you my word," he said softly and that seemed to be the breaking point for the younger woman as she all but crumpled into Aramis's hold, her hands fisting his shirt as she sobbed into his chest. The medic saying nothing about the growing dampness on his shirt and instead whispered soothing words and promises of justice in her ear as he let her cry, something she had most likely held herself back from doing since the attack.
"Now then," smiled Aramis a few minutes later as he pulled away from Corinne, his thumbs coming up to wipe away the last few stray tears from her cheeks. "How about I show you how to make the salve?" he added, having noticed the fascination she had shown when they had treated D'Artagnan's other wound.
As they watched their brother both Athos and Porthos couldn't help but chuckle at how that one offer seemed to cheer up the younger of their female companions, the elder having turned her complete attention to D'Artagnan who had showed brief signs of waking.
"Do we know how he got this to begin with?" asked Aramis some time later once he and Corinne had finished the salve and were now in the process of gently applying it to the extensive burn.
Both Maria and Corinne shared a look, neither of them knowing how the man they both cared about had received such a violent burn.
"We assumed he had been pushed into one of the burning buildings during the attack," answered Maria with a small shrug.
"…N-Not b'ild'ng… beam," murmured a small, weak voice that instantly grabbed the attention of everyone in the room.
"Charlie!" exclaimed Corinne joyfully as she all but pounced on him, wrapping her arms around his neck… Evidently the Gascon's seemingly frequent habit of passing out, as well as the severity of his wounds had worried her more than she had let on. However when D'Artagnan let out a pained whimper she quickly released him, a guilty and apologetic look gracing her face.
Seeing this D'Artagnan's inbuilt instinct to protect her rose, unbidden, to the surface and had him forcing his tired muscles to work as he weakly lifted his less severely injured arm up to cup her face, doing his best to hide just how much pain that one action was causing him, though the sad yet knowing look on Aramis's face proved the medic had seen the tremors running through his arm. "…M'fine Rin," he breathed softly, wanting nothing more then for the sadness in her eyes to disappear.
"Whelp, you are so far from fine right now," sighed Porthos with a small bitter chuckle that had D'Artagnan's face scrunching up in confusion, having briefly forgotten that his brothers were there with him.
"So," chirped Aramis, eager to change topics, not wanting to remind his battered brother just how injured he actually was. "What about a beam?"
To say the two women and three musketeers were horrified by D'Artagnan's explanation would be an understatement, although the musketeers were equal parts proud and horrified as their little brother spoke of trying to evacuate one of the burning homes when one of the ceiling beams fell. It ha been D'Artagnan's quick reactions that had ultimately saved both his and the man he was saving's life. However the shock of the beam falling had caused the older man to lose his footing, meaning it took valuable seconds for him to get back on his feet and out of the way of the beam before D'Artagnan, who had been supporting the burning beam, could rid himself of it. That had been one of the few instances that night D'Artagnan had been thankful for not wearing his jacket, feeling slightly nauseous at the mere thought of the leather jacket melting to his skin.
By the end of the explanation, which took twice as long as it normally would have done given the Gascon's obvious exhaustion, D'Artagnan's eyelids looked ready to drop, despite his attempt to stay awake.
"Get some rest D'Artagnan," ordered Athos gently as his fingers found their way into the boy's damp hair. "We'll talk more when you wake."