Evening My Lovelies
The events of today's chapter are going to be spread over at least one more chapter. I have some great moments planned for the next part so stay tuned for that.
Also shout out to MicheeO for this plot idea :D
Notes On Reviews:
Deana: Thanks for the review - Yep :D I felt the need to be evil again. Enjoy the new chapter! x
Debbie (Guest): Thanks for the review - Glad you liked it :) I've missed Treville so it was really nice to bring him back in again. I loved writing the scene with D'Art and Theo so I'm really glad you liked it. Sorry to hear you're full of cold, hope you feel better soon! :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
Katie (Guest): Thanks for the review - Yay glad you liked it, I loved writing D'Art and Theo. Someone has indeed been shot... as you'll see now :) Enjoy the new chapter! x
GoGirl212: Thanks for the review - I've missed my evil cliffys, it was really nice to write one again :D I'm so tempted to write a oneshot about him and the muskies being knights but I have so many other story ideas so I don't know if I'll ever get around to it. I'm curious as to who you'll be thinking the shooter is after today :) Enjoy the new chapter! x
Tidia: Thanks for the review - Glad you liked the cuteness :) Enjoy the new chapter! x
Issai: Thanks for the review - I've missed Treville so it was really nice to have him back again. Things between him and his brothers are going to get slightly worse before they get better but they will all be back together again soon. Aramis's shoulder was doing okay... after today? Enjoy the new chapter! x
criminally charmed: Thanks for the review - Yay I'm glad you liked the whole dragon thing :D Hmmm do I do anything mild? Probably not :D Oh our boys are definitely still at risk :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
f1gymnast: Thanks for the review - He's going to get hurt even more soon... though whether its physical or emotional you'll have to wait to see :) Hmmm I quite like the idea of Antoine begging though I don't think D'Art would ever forgive him. Enjoy the new chapter! x
sweettweeet: Thanks for the review - You're very welcome! :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
Maryg (Guest): Thanks for the review - Haha I know right :D Our lovely pup doesn't seem to get to enjoy returning home as we just shove him right into the infirmary :) His health isn't the best but he will be better soon... Maybe :D ... Oh my evil mind has had a lot of fun for the whole gunshot thing :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
pallysdeeks: Thanks for the review - Bwhahaha Oh I'd love that to happen because you could just tell Louis would decide to mention it in front of a large group of people just to thoroughly embarrass our pup. You are right to panic my friend :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
WelshEssex (Guest): Thanks for the review - Haha I know right, lead you all into a false sense of security before pulling the rug out from underneath you by having that cliffhanger :D D'Arts on a rollercoster pretty much the next few chapters now so better strap in :D Comfort moments coming soon I promise! Enjoy the new chapter! x
Lilac Lavender: Thanks for the review - Well done on picking up on the whole pocket watch thing, it's going to appear again tomorrow :) Poor Henri exhausted himself to get to Paris quickly only to end up worrying everyone lol. Yay I'm really happy you liked the cute scene. I've got some serious scenes coming up so felt we needed some cuteness before it happened :D Theo was fun to write and I loved the mental image him being enraptured by the story. I'm glad you're excited as I have lots planned :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
As always much love and many thanks for following/favouriting/reviewing/reading
Love you all!
Enjoy!
xxx
Chapter Thirty-Four: Gone
Porthos and Athos scrambled to their feet at surprising speed as the sound of the gunshot cut through the quiet evening air.
The pair had been with Treville in his office, filling the Captain in on the information they knew but hadn't shared with Henri and the others, such as the involvement of D'Artagnan's uncle, when it happened. They had meant to do this much earlier in the day so men could be keeping an eye out should Antoine D'Artagnan make an appearance in Paris, but with D'Artagnan sudden health deterioration they had waited until Aramis had all but pushed them out of the infirmary before checking in with their Captain.
"Go!" snapped Athos as he noticed Porthos was slowing his speed to match that of the injured swordsman, "I'll catch up."
Not needing any further encouragement both Porthos and Treville sprinted through the empty courtyard to the infirmary, where the shot had come from.
They were the first to reach the infirmary, which was located as far from the main areas of the garrison as possible to ensure a quiet healing area. At first Treville was worried about his other men when he saw no other musketeers rushing to their aid, but then he remembered the double patrols he had everyone running, which was causing the garrison to be emptier than usual most of the time.
Those thoughts got pushed to the side pretty quickly however when Porthos, who likely hadn't even noticed the lack of any other aid in his haste, flung open the door and all but charged to the room that had been housing his injured brothers, Aramis having refused to leave the boy's side for more than a moment at a time until the Gascon showed some serious signs of improvement.
Both men knew something was seriously wrong as soon as they opened the door but it still took a minute or two for the true scene in front of them to register in their minds.
The small patient bed that had once been D'Artagnan's was now empty, the sheets crumpled and half laying off of the bed as if someone had thrown them off of the bed's occupant in a hurry.
While the fact that his baby brother was, once again, missing was immensely worrying it was the state of his other brother that instantly garnered Porthos's full attention.
"ARAMIS!" exclaimed Porthos as he rushed to his brother's side, dropping to his knees and bringing the somewhat conscious man's head into his lap while his eyes roved over the medic's body for any other wounds that the bleeding chest wound Treville was working to put pressure on.
Just as Aramis's pain-filled eyes flickered open there was a loud crashing sound just outside the door that had Porthos launching into protective mode as he tightened one hand around his brother and the other swiftly drew his pistol, aiming it right at the door and only lowering it when he heard an all too familiar voice curse quietly before opening the door and limping in, his eyes going wide at the sight that greeted him.
"What the hell happened here?" demanded Athos as he limped over to Aramis, the swordsman doing nothing to hide the panic and worry he was feeling from showing on his face.
"Worry about that later," snapped Treville as he sent the barely conscious medic an apologetic look before applying even more pressure on the bleeding wound, making the man weakly scream in pain. "We need a physician in here NOW!"
"Stay with him," stated Porthos as he eased Aramis's head out of his lap and rose to his feet. "I can move faster than you and Doctor Pascal doesn't live far, I'll be back soon."
Without another word Porthos sprinted out of the room, leaving a furious Treville applying pressure and worried Athos alternating between trying to calm his brother and searching for any clues at to what happened and most importantly, where D'Artagnan was.
Thankfully for the bleeding medic Doctor Pascal had been on his way back to the garrison to check in on D'Artagnan one final time for the night when Porthos very nearly ran into him. The musketeer gave the briefest of explanations before the two of them were rushing back towards the garrison.
"What do we have Treville?" demanded Pascal as he ignored everything but the patient bleeding on the floor in front of him. Captain Treville was quick to explain, in as much detail as he could, what they knew and how Aramis was doing and once the explanation was done Pascal wasted no time in beginning to treat the wound.
"Any sign of the whelp?" asked Porthos quietly as he moved to stand near Athos in the corner, neither wanting to leave but also not wanting to risk getting in the doctor's way.
Now that Aramis was being taken care of the larger man's thoughts turned to the worrying fact that their seriously injured baby brother was now missing.
With a frustrated sigh Athos shook his head, "I found this though," he said quietly, as he passed over a pistol to Porthos, the barrel slightly warm, indicating it had been fired recently.
Porthos opened his mouth to comment on it but was stopped when Athos glared at the weapon, reaching over to tap the base of the barrel.
Upon inspection Porthos found himself mirroring Athos's glare at the pistol as he noticed the engraved phrase on the metal 'All for one'.
"He was shot with his own gun?" snarled Porthos as he fought to contain the anger he felt at that piece of information, though he was once again prevented from continuing further, although this time the interruption came from Doctor Pascal and both musketeers wasted no time in rushing over to their brother's side.
For the next long few hours all thoughts and concerns for D'Artagnan were forced to one side as the two musketeers, their Captain and the physician focused solely on saving Aramis's life.
The shot that hit the medic had come very close to killing the man, embedding itself in a rib not for from the musketeer's heart. The process of removing said shot was extremely painful for all those involved as they struggled to ignore the agonized screams tearing from Aramis's lips while also fighting to hold down his thrashing limbs.
After this was done the three men were able to loosen their hold slightly as Doctor Pascal focused on cleaning the wound, ensuring it was clear from anything that could cause infection.
While he was doing this Athos kept the field of vision clear from as much blood as he could by continually wiping his brother's chest as he forced himself to ignore the fact he, once again, had the blood of a brother he cherished staining his hand.
Porthos on the other hand kept his focus on his brother, moving to stand by the man's head and gripping the man's uninjured shoulder in a way he hoped would help ground the man for what was about to happen. He tuned out all other noise that wasn't coming from either himself or Aramis and kept up string of softly whispered words of comfort in the hopes of helping his brother find some peace during the hellish pain they were forcing him to endure.
Eventually Pascal was able to get the wound cleaned and stitched, allowing the four men to collapse back in pure relief as they all watched Aramis's chest rise and fall, his heart beating strongly despite the trauma his body had endured.
"How's 'e honestly doing doc?" asked Porthos tiredly as he gripped Aramis's limp hand in his own, his eyes never moving from the reassuring sight of the rise and fall of his brother's chest.
Pascal sighed, running a hand through his thinning hair. "He's going to be incredibly sore for a while, not to mention weak from the blood loss but I am confident he will survive this. We were able to clean the wound fairly quickly so the risk of infection should be small. He'll need a lot of rest and will need to avoid moving as much as possible for at least a few days but as I said, I'm confident he will make it through this."
After a few more minutes of conversation both Treville and Pascal left. Treville organize security around the infirmary as well as sending men out after D'Artagnan and the shooter while Pascal assured the remaining musketeers he was only going to go and freshen up and would be back to check on the man before too long.
Elsewhere a slumped figured couldn't stop from staring at his hand in horror. "How could I? …" he thought to himself, disgust welling up within him as he clenched his hand into a fist, willing and somewhat begging it to stop shaking. He didn't know if it was shaking because of what he had done or because of how far he had run after doing it.
"Like a coward!" the voice in his mind spat, furious at him both for leaving and for doing what he did and the man knew there was nothing he could do to silence the furious voice… Not that he wanted to anyway. In his heart he knew he deserved all the slurs and insults that part of his mind could throw at him.
He hadn't meant to do what he had; it had truly been an accident that the musketeer had been shot. In fact, he hadn't even realized he had the pistol in his hand until his mind registered the sight of Aramis collapsing in front of him.
The man's vision blurred momentarily and he knew that was a very bad sign. He had pushed himself hard to escape once he had realized what he had done, he had spared very little thought to how fleeing would affect him or indeed where he would go.
Part of him had debated going to her, tempted by the comfort she would supply… but he had pushed that thought and desire to one side when he realized that was the first place they would think of looking for him when they learned the horrifying truth.
"If they learn it," spat his mind viciously, making the man visibly wince. "You could have killed him for all you know. They'll never know the truth if he's dead."
Tears threatened to fall from the man's dulling eyes at that thought. He hadn't considered that fact and had been hoping the quick responses musketeers are known for would have men quickly reaching the infirmary and giving aid to the man he had shot.
Shot… He had shot him… the man stifled a sob in his fist as he let the tears finally fall. There would be no forgiveness for him from this, especially if the musketeer died. If he died then the man knew his own life was forfeit. It wouldn't even end at the hands of the other musketeers… no, he knew himself well enough to know he would never be able to live with himself should the musketeer die.
He was debating returning to the garrison, turning himself in, just in the hopes he would be able to learn the truth as to whether he had murdered the man or not when a familiar, surprised looking, figure entered his blurring field of vision.
"…You," he breathed before passing out, his head hitting the table with an audible, wince-inducing thud.