Evening My Lovelies

So we're focusing on our boys Athos and Porthos today and I've been able write something I don't think I have had a real chance to write so far this story. I'm really hoping you enjoy it as I quite like it :)

Notes On Reviews:

Deana: Thanks for the review - Our boys are very close to catching up, we'll be getting them all together again soon. Enjoy the new chapter! x

Katie (Guest): Thanks for the review - I can't promise how permanent D'Art's recovery will be but it is nice to have him slightly better. You'll see what's going on with our other boys today as we have an entire chapter dedicated to them. I'm so so happy you're enjoying the story so far :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

pallysdeeks: Thanks for the review - D'Art's getting there... can't promise it'll be a permanent recovery but its a step in the right direction (for now anyways) you'll have to wait and see what's going on with Aramis I'm afraid as we're staying with Athos's group this chapter. Enjoy the new chapter! x

criminally charmed: Thanks for the review - Oooh love the song choice :D Intrigued as to what today's will be :) Enjoy the new chapter! x

Tidia: Thanks for the review - Glad you like the comparison, Aramis is trying but certain things are going to happen to put a slight stop to his attempts to help very soon :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

Debbie (Guest): Thanks for the review - Yeah, not the nicest thing for D'Art to wake up to but it needed to happen. Aramis is going to be very protective of our boy when they get out of this, think mother-hen mode but amped up :D You'll see what'll happen to our other boys today as the entire chapter is focused on them. Enjoy the new chapter! x

Maryg (Guest): Thanks for the review - I'm afraid there's no D'Arty in todays chapter but he gets some cute moments in the coming chapters to make up for it :) I'm loving writing the D'Art/Aramis relationship so I'm really happy you're enjoying reading it... though I will admit I'm looking forward to some D'Art/Athos moments again :D Yay I'm so glad you're loving it (though you may hate me in a couple of chapter's time :D) Enjoy the new chapter! x

f1gymnast: Thanks for the review - Once everything's calmed down and D'Art has had a chance to properly think things over he will understand why Aramis did the things he did but that anger and hurt are going to stick around for a bit. I'm loving how nervous everyone's getting for Aramis :D Unfortunately I'm going to keep you all waiting on that for one more chapter but you'll see him again tomorrow. Oh boy are our other muskys on a mission :D Quentin's bandits have no idea what they're getting themselves in for :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

Issai: Thanks for the reviews - (chapter19) Glad you're liking Remy, I'm still unsure if he's a good guy or not but he is coming across as genuinely worried so we'll have to wait and see. Aramis's shoulder is in a bad way that's for sure, we'll see more of that in tomorrow's chapter. Worry not Porthos is on his way! :D Our boys are definitely going to need the help so I'm glad you're happy to see Henri and the others on their way. (chapter20) You're very right to be worried about Aramis and our other boys but I'm going to keep you waiting about Aramis until tomorrow I'm afraid but hopefully this chapter can tide you over until then. No Remy never finished with Aramis's wound (unfortunately for our medic) and D'Art will learn about his uncle when his in a bit better condition. Enjoy the new chapter! x

MicheeO: Thanks for the review - Haha very true, Quentin's men have no idea what they're getting themselves in for :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

Lilac Lavender: Thanks for the review - Haha I thought you might like that bit :D I hated having to make D'Art relive that but it needed to happen. That wont be the last panic attack our pup will be having over the attack either :D I think our other boys will join Aramis's vow when they all meet up again so he'll have help with that :D Haha Couldn't resist the cute moment after everything I dropped on our pup :) Those two have some more cute moments coming up in the next few chapters as well so hopefully you'll like them just as much. For today though we're sticking with Athos's group... although there are a couple of brotherly moments here as well :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

WelshEssex (Guest): Thanks for the review - Yep, D'Art's taking a step in the right direction whilst Aramis's goes downhill... things are never easy for our boys when my evil mind gets involved :D Oh I can't wait until we can start dealing with the whole uncle situation... gonna be great to write! :D Enjoy the new chapter! x

As always much love and many thanks for following/favouriting/reviewing/reading

Love you all!

Enjoy!

xxx

Chapter Twenty-One: Ambushed

Athos and his group were charging through the forest, paying little care to the noise they made as they chased after their missing friends.

To most people it would seem like the group was completely focused on the path in front of them and thusly oblivious to the danger currently surrounding them but years of training and experience had conditioned the musketeers to spot oncoming trouble in nearly every scenario.

As such this meant the men spotted the occasional flash of steel in the trees that spoke to a coming attack.

Normally they would stop and force the attack on their terms but with their brothers and friends getting further and further away from them every minute the group had unanimously decided to continue onwards, riding into the bandits instead of letting them come to them.

This had the unfortunate downside of passing the advantage over to their enemies but the musketeers saw little other option at that point.

"Don't," growled Athos, his voice little more than a whisper as he took his eyes off of their enemies for a moment to glare at Porthos, the larger man's hand subtly slipping to the pistol attached to his saddle.

"We've gotta end this one way or another 'Thos," snapped the larger man in just as quiet a voice before swiveling on his saddle, drawing his pistol as he moved, firing as he came to the end of the smooth motion, his shot piercing the air whilst being followed by the morbidly satisfying sound of a grunt of pain before the target fell off of his horse, dead.

Athos growled curses under his breath before slowing his horse to a stop, his friends instantly doing the same. A wise move it seemed as not even five seconds later the small clearing they had found themselves in was near overrun with furious bandits out for musketeer blood.

For several long minutes the only sound was the clashing of blades, grunts of pain and gasps of dying men. This changed however when a panicked shout rose above the noise.

"IS!" Favier screamed as he watched in horror as Issac, who had spotted a bandit about to launch an attack on his brother's injured side, Favier's broken ribs still noticeably paining him, jumped in front of the blade meant for his brother.

Issac let out a gasp of pain as his attacker's blade cut through his thick leather jacket to pierce the skin on his chest. Growling at the knowledge that his brother, who had been dealing with his own opponent at the time, would likely have been killed by such a strike Issac gripped the bandit's sword arm by the wrist, keeping him immobile as he thrusted his blade through the man's gut, a satisfied smile tugging at his lips for a moment before the pain of his wound had him gasping and clutching his chest.

"IS!" screamed Favier again as he finished off his own attacker before dropping to his brother's side, not paying any attention to the fight going on around him as his eyes focused on the blood now staining his brother's shirt.

He distantly heard Athos shout something to Porthos but he was too wrapped up in Issac's pain to even register what had been said.

Luckily for the pair Porthos had not allowed himself such a distraction and had merely nodded once in response to Athos's order before knocking his attacker back with a sharp head-butt that was sure to leave him with a pounding headache before following it up by slashing the bandit's throat with his dagger. He didn't even wait to ensure the light left the man's eyes before storming towards their two downed friends, protectively watching their backs while Favier frantically tried to get the bleeding under control.

Part of Porthos hated that he was leaving his elder brother to handle the majority of the fighting but then he thought back to the darkness that had haunted the man's eyes since they learnt of Aramis and D'Artagnan's kidnapping. Despite his calm appearance the swordsman was well beyond furious and out for blood. The only other time Porthos had seen his brother like this was when they had learned the truth behind Savoy and the part their Captain had played in it. At that time the only thing keeping Athos's anger contained was the knowledge that Aramis needed him, needed him to be the calm reassuring presence he always was whereas now… now there was no such containment on his brother's anger and Porthos almost felt sorry for the fools who thought they could handle his brother.

He was brought from his musings when the all too familiar gleam of a pistol caught his attention. Cursing himself for getting lost in his thoughts Porthos quickly dived to the side, dodging enough of the shot that it did little more than graze the side of his ribs, painful enough to make him hiss but nowhere near concerning.

"Favier?" grunted Porthos as he brought his own pistol up to fire at the man who had shot at them, a smug grin curling his lips when the man was unable to dodge his shot in time.

"I'm fine," protested Issac weakly as he pushed Favier's incessant hands away before forcing himself to his feet, using his blade as support to get himself up.

"You're still bleeding!" snapped Favier, worry clear in his voice, though any further protests died in his throat when his brother, despite the obvious pain it caused him, spun around, firing on one of the few remaining bandits who had been trying to sneak up on them. With the musketeer's injury his aim was slightly off, his shot hitting the man in the shoulder rather that the chest but it was enough for Porthos to get his blade under the man's now weakened guard and end his life.

"You got 'im?" asked Porthos, his breathing coming out slightly labored he returned to their sides. Favier nodded whilst Issac scowled, the action making Porthos chuckle before he rushed to help his brother with the last remaining bandits.

"Issac?" panted Athos as he ducked under a swing that would have cut his throat. He had defended himself well enough against the multiple attackers but even he would admit he welcomed the assist his brother was now giving him.

Placing his back against his brother's Porthos's glare was almost taunting as the stared down the last remaining bandits. "Stubborn as the rest of us, Favier's watching him."

Athos nodded despite knowing his brother wouldn't be able to see it. He could feel his earlier anger diminishing somewhat at the comforting feeling of his brother near him and he used his newly returned calm to fight the remaining bandits, both himself and Porthos working in tandem, protecting the other's back.

Unfortunately for Athos however he had exhausted a fair amount of energy while handling the majority of the bandits earlier and as such he was slow to dodge an attack aimed to cripple him.

With a pained shout the swordsman dropped to one knee, the other crumpling under his weight thanks to a strong hit to his knee that had been injured earlier in the fight and had been slowly bleeding.

Instantly hearing his brother's pain Porthos kicked his opponent hard in the stomach, sending him stumbling back several steps and struggling for air. The second he was free the musketeer spun on his heels, his blade coming up just in time to lock with the bandit who otherwise would have decapitated his brother.

Not one to miss an opportunity Athos, grimacing through the pain, hastily grabbed his blade he had dropped as he fell and thrusted it upwards into the man's stomach, twisting it slightly before ripping it out and watching as the man fell backwards, slowly bleeding out.

Once his brother was safe Porthos spun again, fully intent on taking out the remaining man, only to growl in frustration when he realized the man had fled whilst he had been helping Athos.

"That's the last of them my friend," grunted the larger man as he held out his hand to help his brother up, swinging his brother's arm over his shoulder so he could help take some of the weight off of his injured knee.

"We… need to… continue onward," panted Athos, his face glistening with sweat and his breathing coming in heavy pants, making his brother shake his head fondly at the man.

"We need to get cleaned up first. We're no good to 'Mis and the whelp if you lot bleed out before we get there."

Grunting his acceptance Athos allowed Porthos to ease him down by Favier, who was delving through one of Aramis's abandoned medical bags, looking for something to help his brother.

"How's he doing?" asked Athos weakly, his exhaustion making him lean his head back against the tree he was resting against, the throbbing in his knee making him wince in pain every so often.

"He can hear you," sassed an equally tired Issac, hissing as Favier, who had apparently found what he had been looking for, began to stitch up his wound. "I doubt I'll be much help with a sword for a little while," he admitted weakly, guilt trickling into his words even though he knew the others would not blame him for getting injured. "I can still shoot though."

Athos nodded, his eyes closing as he tried to will away the pain in his knee only to hiss in pain as Porthos ripped a larger hole in his pant leg, giving him access to the bleeding wound located just above the now throbbing joint.

"This is gonna sting," warned the larger man mere moments before he poured a healthy amount of wine over the gash, chuckling in amusement when only moments later the very same bottle was snatched out of his hand by his injured brother, the man glaring at him while taking several long gulps of the alcoholic liquid.

For the next few minutes both Favier and Porthos, the two least injured in the group, worked to treat their brothers' wounds, both sharing fond smiles when their patients drifted off only minutes into their treatment.

"We can't stay here for too long," sighed Porthos sadly as he watched Athos sleep, guilt filling him as he recalled just how little sleep his brother had gotten since they had found D'Artagnan in that cave days ago. If anyone desperately needed the rest it was Athos and Porthos hated that he was going to be forced to wake him up before he got it.

"An hour," stated Favier, his voice getting Porthos's attention away from his guilt-driven thoughts. "We let the rest for an hour before leaving. It wont be ideal but it's better than nothing, we can make up that time when we start riding again."

Porthos nodded, a sliver of guilt leaving him at the knowledge his brother would get, at least a little rest, though more remained, as he knew he needed a lot more than an hour.

The group had just settled, both Favier and Porthos doing their best to ignore the dead bodies lining the clearing while watching over their brothers when the sound of approaching hooves caught their attention.