Evening My Lovelies
We're getting a bit of everyone today as well as a bit more whumpage :D
Notes On Reviews:
Deana: Thanks for the review - Few more ow's going around today as well :) Enjoy the new chapter! x
Katie (Guest): Thanks for the review - I think if you weren't happy to see that then you really wouldn't enjoy my stories very much lol. Glad you liked the action, I always get a bit nervous writing fight scenes so it's a great relief to know I did it well and people enjoyed it, especially as I have another one coming up fairly soon. More whump for the boys? Ask and ye shall receive my friend :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
GoGirl212: Thanks for the review - Yay I'm really relieved you enjoyed the fight scene so much. I always get really nervous when I have to write one so its a fist pump, high five moment whenever I read that someone enjoyed it. Enjoy the new chapter! x
Debbie (Guest): Thanks for the review - Haha yeah that would have been a good title option :D I thoroughly enjoyed hurting some more of our boys in that chapter so I'm glad you seemed to like it. We'll be seeing who's coming straight away so you wont be left waiting long. Enjoy the new chapter! x
pallysdeeks: Thanks for the review - You're right to be worried :) Bit more drama coming our boy's way before they can be reunited. Enjoy the new chapter! x
criminally charmed: Thanks for the review - Haha, another great choice :) Everything's pretty much gone downhill for our boys that's for sure :) Enjoy the new chapter! x
Helensg: Thanks for the review - Glad you liked it :) I have some more whumpage planned for our lovely Athos but that wont be happening for a few chapters yet so stay tuned. We'll be learning who the new arrivals are straight away so don't worry, I wont keep you waiting long :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
Maryg (Guest): Thanks for the review - Did I really promise chapter 22? Oh well in that case you're going to hate me twice as the reunion wont be happening until chapter 24... BUT in my defense what we have happening between now and then should keep you going and I've started writing the reunion (which is turning out to be harder than I thought it would be) so it will DEFINITELY be happening in chapter 24! Enjoy the new chapter! x
f1gymnast: Thanks for the review - Quentin will be far from impressed that's for sure :) Remember our backup muskies have been on the road a while so it could be them... I wont keep you waiting long to find out as we'll be addressing who it is right at the beginning of the chapter. Enjoy the new chapter! x
MicheeO: Thanks for the review - You'll just have to read and find out :) though its at the beginning of the chapter so you wont be waiting long :) Enjoy the new chapter! x
Issai: Thanks for the review - An hour really isnt very much time to recover but given that their brothers are getting further away from them the longer they wait an hour probably seems like too much. I absolutely adore writing Issac and Favier, especially the brotherly moments between them so I'm really glad you liked them in that chapter. Our boy Athos is beyond angry right now and with nothing to distract him from that anger it keeps growing... should make an interesting confrontation when he and the others reach Aramis and D'Art. Enjoy the new chapter! x
WelshEssex (Guest): Thanks for the review - We'll be seeing who the newcomers are right away so you wont be waiting long to find out. Issac's in worse condition than Athos but both will soldier on until it's safe to collapse and give into their wounds for a bit. I can't wait for our boys to reunite either :D will be happening in chapter 24 so fairly soon :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
Lilac Lavender: Thanks for the review - We'll be getting a bit of everyone today so we'll be finding out whether the hooves are from friends or foes whilst also getting a bit of time to check in with our medic and pup... the former's condition taking a dangerous turn :D I'm really really glad you seemed to enjoy the fight scene as I always worry about how to write them. Haha "D'Art worthy move" love it! But you're right it was so something our lovely pup would do and in fact has done hence why he is as injured as he currently is. Issac was a bit of a badass in that chapter with how he continued fighting... He ended up more injured than I had originally planned but I've worked that into the fight scene I'm writing for the reunion chapter. Athos's pretty damn furious right now so he really needed someone to help calm him and in this instance it was Porthos. I loved the image of them fighting back to back and I'm glad to see you liked it too :D I figured that after all that fighting we needed a little moment of cuteness hence the falling asleep :D plus it means I can write a brief protective moment from Porthos and Favier at the beginning of this chapter :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-Two: Good News, Bad News
The moment the sound reached their ears both Favier and Porthos were on their feet, swords drawn and each standing protectively in front of their respected brothers.
Both men shared a worried look, neither feeling strong enough to continue fighting for very long, especially if the approaching group was as large as the last but then a small groan from Issac caught their attention and their worried looks turned to ones of fierce determination and protection, both silently agreeing to do whatever it took to keep the ones they loved safe.
Within minutes the sound of hoof beats had increased dramatically and both musketeers tensed, ready to attack, as four horses shot through the trees, coming to a stop in the small clearing.
"Looks like we missed all the fun," said a voice with exaggerated disappointment. The voice was so familiar Porthos worried he might actually collapse from relief.
"Henri," he breathed, a large beaming grin splitting across his face as his friend dismounted and came around to face him.
"It's good to see you my friend," smiled Henri as he clamped his hand down on his friend's shoulder, his smile fading as he took in the condition of the four men in front of him. "You all look like hell," he stated. His bluntness making all the conscious men chuckle and relax. Henri's brows furrowed as he turned to Favier. "Not that we're not pleased to see you Favier but what are you and Issac doing here, the Captain mentioned the two of you were on an assignment?"
As soon as his words left his mouth he knew his suspicion of something being wrong was indeed correct and he hated that they hadn't been able to persuade the Captain to let them leave sooner.
For the next several minutes Favier and Porthos took it in turns to explain the situation to Henri's group and spent another few minutes calming the men down when they learned both of their comrades kidnapping and Athos's suspicions regarding the orchestrator behind the attack.
"How did you find us anyway?" asked Porthos once the explanation was over. He knew he and Athos had cared little about hiding their tracks but it seemed their friends had known exactly where to search for them and that confused him.
"We met a rider on the road," explained Blaise with a tired smile, the group had rode hard almost non stop since leaving the garrison and now they had finally stopped it made the exhaustion all the more apparent. "He recognized our pauldron and stated he had been paid to deliver a letter to the Captain regarding Athos."
Understanding flooded Porthos's eyes and he couldn't help be grin, "Maria."
When the name sparked more confusion than understanding amongst his brothers Porthos explained. "She helped raise the whelp when he was young. She lost her husband in the attack on D'Art's village but the whelp managed to get her and his cousin Corinne out safely. We sent the pair of the off to a neighboring village with instructions to get word to Treville before we began tracking the men who took D'Art and 'Mis."
Corbett nodded, "he did say a charming older woman had given him the letter so that makes sense… We took the letter and it explained, briefly, what was going on as well as a rough idea of where you were all heading."
"Then newbie here started prattling on about pictures," teased Henri with a smirk as he leaned over to ruffle a pouting Alain's hair.
"D'Artagnan's newer than me, why do I still have that horrid nickname," whined the younger man, making his brothers' chuckle, though Porthos looked on with intrigue.
"You know the code?"
Alain nodded, looking very pleased with himself. "D'Artagnan went off on this big rant about it when Aramis first began insisting on creating it. I don't know what they all mean but I recognized it as that when I saw it."
"Then you followed the same path we did," nodded Porthos, though his lips curled upwards at the mental picture of his brother's rant.
Porthos was about to say something else when a groan from Athos caught their attention.
"And I thought Porthos looked like shit," mused Henri as he moved to help the swordsman up, chuckling internally at the confused look on his lieutenant's face.
"…Henri?"
"In the flesh," nodded the musketeer as he handed the man a water skin, "Now wake yourself up, we've got friends to rescue."
"…'Mis," said D'Artagnan quietly, his slightly glazed eyes watching his brother with rapidly growing concern.
The medic was clearly struggling to stay upright and he had lost a lot of colour in his skin. In fact the only real colour on his face were the dark circles around his eyes, evidence of just how little sleep he had been able to since this all began.
D'Artagnan had also noticed the pained wincing that his brother was quickly becoming unable to hide and it alarmed the younger musketeer to have seen so many of them since waking not even an hour ago.
He himself was still feeling like death incarnate and as much as he hated it he couldn't move without risking passing out again from the pain, something he had the unfortunate experience of suffering when he briefly woke earlier that morning. He had noticed Aramis had been sleeping and had merely tried to find a more comfortable position in the wagon to lay in when the slight movement caused an inferno of agony to be unleashed on his already pained body and within seconds blackness had consumed him once again.
Despite how he both felt and looked D'Artagnan's worry for his brother took precedence, something was seriously wrong with his friend and it was only getting worse.
That thought was proven true only moments later when the medic turned to respond to D'Artagnan's call to him, only for the world to spin dangerously before he collapsed, his head landing on D'Artagnan's less injured, but still heavily blistered and sore arm, making the Gascon scream through gritted teeth as another wave of pain assaulted him.
That pain was quickly pushed to one side as he twisted as much as he could to look at his brother, guilt and self-hatred building up within him as he realized there was little he could do for his friend when he couldn't even move himself.
Hating what he was about to do but seeing no other option the younger musketeer took a deep breath, grateful that his throat was not dry as he needed his voice.
"HELP!" he cried, despising himself for having to resort to asking their captors for help, especially when he knew they were most likely behind why his brother had collapsed in the first place. "HELP PLEASE!"
Within moments two men were next to the now still wagon. D'Artagnan vaguely remembered both men from the attack on his village and had to forced himself to swallow down the anger he felt for them, the fact that Aramis needed help working to remind him of what was truly important and right now that wasn't the revenge he wasn't in any condition to get.
"He collapsed and won't wake… Please help him! I'll do anything!" begged the Gascon his eyes full of worry as he struggled to fight against his own exhaustion to watch over his brother like he had watched over him.
A flicker of confusion flashed in the Gascon's eyes as he noticed the look of concern in the younger bandit's eyes but then he remembered Aramis mentioning a bandit by the name of Remy who had been helping him. Aramis had been unsure of the man's true intentions but at this point D'Artagnan found himself not really caring, so long as Aramis was helped he really didn't care about much else.
"I told you it was getting worse!" hissed the younger bandit to who D'Artagnan guessed was the boss. The scarred man clearly didn't take well to being spoken to like that as he backhanded the man so hard it sent him stumbling into the corner of the wagon and the sight of the man's side colliding hard with the wagon made D'Artagnan wince in sympathy, just imagining the bruise that was going to create.
"You'd do well to watch your tone with me Remy," spat Quentin, his eyes narrowing into a glare to match the one being sent his way by his second in command. "Take care of it, cauterize it if you have to. He needs to be able to fight when we reach the compound."
Remy sent a slightly glare at his boss's back before ushering another man over to help him get Aramis off of the wagon and onto the ground, both of them ignoring D'Artagnan's protests as the worked.
From his spot in the wagon D'Artagnan could only just see what was happening to his brother but the sight that greeted them when they took off the sodden bandage wrapped around his brother's shoulder almost made him want to throw up.
The wound itself was fairly small but it was clearly heavily infected. D'Artagnan felt the guilt and self-hatred rise up within him once again as he realized his brother had forgone treating his own injury as he should because he was worried about him.
"Save him," whispered D'Artagnan as his tired eyes filled with tears. He was rapidly losing the fight to remain conscious but he needed to know his brother would be okay.
Remy looked like he wanted to say something but quickly thought better of it given his present company and as such the last thing D'Artagnan saw before blackness consumed him anew was a sharp nod from the confusing bandit.
It took some time to clear the wound of the infection that had settled in and Remy was about to start suturing the wound closed when a pair of familiar boots in his peripheral vision caught his attention.
"I don't have time to be worrying about split stitches, cauterize it closed so we can be on our way."
Remy wanted to protest, not thinking burning the wound closed was the smartest option when the look in his boss's eyes turned dark. He knew there was no arguing with the man, not on his good days and certainly not now so he simply nodded and began preparing to burn the wound closed.
While he waited for the blade to heat Remy did one final check over the wound, ensuring it was as clean and clear as it could be. He flushed the wound out with some alcohol more times then he probably should have but he wasn't going to take the brunt of his boss's anger should the musketeer die from infection later on… Well that was what he told himself anyway but a small part of him reluctantly admitted the concern he felt for the injured man. Aramis had never given into the fear Remy knew he must be feeling given his and his friend's situation and that alone had earned the bandit's respect.
He was pulled from his musings when his companion brought over the now heated blade.
"Hold him," ordered Remy as he took a deep breath and pressed the burning blade to the musketeer's skin.