Evening My Lovelies :)

Sorry it's a bit late again, I got so distracted by YouTube for a good while that it put off writing this.

Notes On Reviews:

Deana: Thanks for the review - Louis actually acted decently for once yesterday it was slightly odd to write lol Glad you liked it. Enjoy the new chapter! x

Debbie (Guest): Thanks for the review - Captain Treville is turning into such a badass lately (not that he wasnt before but still.) Glad you liked our brotherly moment, we have another one today as I'm a sucker for them at the moment. Haha I love the idea of Anne braining Louis for being a brainless idiot. Don't know how D'Artagnan would be rewarded but we have a while before we get to that point. It was slightly odd to write Louis as having a sensible moment but glad you liked it. Enjoy the new chapter! x

pain in the mikta: Thanks for the review - I know, Louis has the worst timing. Glad you liked the brotherly moment :) *slides new chapter over discretely* Enjoy the new chapter! x

Tidia: Thanks for the review - Athos is getting there, there's still work to do but they're getting there. Enjoy the new chapter! x

watlocked: Thanks for the review - Haha yeah Anne was awesome in that chapter :D Louis as well, well when he got his head out of his ass and actually acted decently. :D Glad you liked the brotherly moment, it was cute to right so I'm really happy you liked it. Treville's kinda in a permanent papa-bear mode at the moment. Enjoy the new chapter! x

prydain: Thanks for the review - I know this was for the chapter 29 but i'll respond to it here. Glad you liked the chapter and hope you enjoyed the chat between Athos & D'Art. Enjoy the new chapter! x

Helensg: Thanks for the review - Yeah Louis can be decent when he wants to be. D'Art is still feeling quite guilty but Athos's chat was a step in the right direction. Enjoy the new chapter! x

Issai: Thanks for the reviews - (Chapter29) Protective Porthos is quite cute so I'm glad you liked it. The nightmares are going to be troubling D'Artagnan for a little while now as is his guilt. (Chapter30) Louis been kinda sheltered from that sort of cruelty so it was definitely a shock. Anne definitely knows how to handle her husband. Treville's kinda locked into his papa-bear mode at the moment. Athos's chat was quite cute and fun to write so I'm glad you liked it. Enjoy the new chapter! x

Lilac Lavender: Thanks for the review - Hehe glad you liked Treville, I'm quite liking writing him as such as protective papa-bear :) Louis is quite ignorant of anything that goes on outside of the palace, though Anne's learnt how to deal with him over time. I'm really happy you liked our Athos/D'Art moment, we get a Porthos/D'Art moment today (I'm getting quite into writing them at the moment) D'Art and Athos's relationship was really fun to portray so I'm really happy that it was well received. Things are about to get dangerous soon so stay tuned (not todays chapter though) Enjoy the new chapter! x

As always many thanks for the continued support for following/favouriting/reviewing/reading

Enjoy!

xxx

Chapter Thirty-One: Getting Answers

The next couple of days following the discovery and translation of the documents were filled with a rush of activity. Captain Treville was rarely seen around the garrison until very late at night and always left by first light the following morning for the palace where he, Richelieu and the King spent their time trying to devise a plan to handle the current situation.

Both the musketeer and red guard regiments had been put on high alert and double patrols had been put in effect to help stop anyone who was part of Ortiz's plan from initiating it despite the ringleader being in prison.

Thankfully this hive of activity meant that aside from the occasional doctor visit the four recuperating musketeers were left largely to themselves.

They were grateful for this as not only did it give them the time they need to rest without the others in their regiment seeing them so weak. But it also gave them the privacy to talk to D'Artagnan without the boy getting embarrassed further by having an audience.

The three senior members of the small group were beyond ecstatic when their little brother started, ever so slowly, to creep out from that shell he had withdrawn into. It seemed as though Athos's heart to heart with the boy, despite being cut off earlier than expected, had been enough for the young Gascon to, at the very least, start talking to them again, though D'Artagnan only spoke when spoken directly to and only responded with the fewest words possible but it was a start for them to work towards getting their baby brother back to himself.

More good news was brought to the group when several hours after he had finished translated the recovered documents, D'Artagnan's fever, which had been ruining his health and breaking his brothers hearts during the moments when it caused D'Artagnan to be fairly delirious, finally broke.

It was a weight off of the musketeers' hearts to know that they would no longer have to listen to a delirious D'Artagnan plead for them not to hate him and to beg for their forgiveness despite the fact that when it that state he thought them to be dead.

Unfortunately however the young Gascon had started to suffer from vicious nightmares that, more often then not, had the young man screaming himself awake and unable to calm down for several long minutes.

There were time however, when D'Artagnan wouldn't wake up screaming, he would jolt awake, gasping for air and be left to rid himself of the remnants of the dream without the comforting words or touches of his sleeping brothers.

In a way D'Artagnan was glad for this, he already felt the crushing guilt of having caused his brothers to be injured, despite all the words he heard from them contradicting that fact, he wanted nothing more than to not be responsible for their recovery being pushed back because they lost sleep due to him. He had considered asking for a separate room the a traitorous part of him couldn't bear the thought of being away from them so soon after everything that had happened, especially as many of his nightmares were of his brothers' in pain.

It wasn't one of those dreams that had D'Artagnan gasping for air and rushing to brush away stray tears this night however. It wasn't even a memory of a pain he had suffered during the weeks he spent captive, but a memory of a pain suffered several years before that.

"You're okay whelp," came the soothing voice of Porthos as the larger man stroked D'Artagnan's hair softly, not commenting on the flinch he felt when he touched the Gascon but instead filing that piece of information away to discuss with Aramis and Athos later when the boy was resting. "It was just a nightmare."

Porthos hadn't been sure what had woken him at first, there had been no loud noises, no-one had entered their room and his brothers were sleeping peacefully… he thought. Upon second inspection when his sleep-filled eyes had had a moment to adjust he had noticed the telltale signs of a nightmare on D'Artagnan's face and had begun to move so he could wake the boy when D'Artagnan had gasped awake, letting out a small whimper as he caught several of his injuries in his jolt.

"…m'good" came a breathless reply as the young Gascon tried to get his heartbeat back down to normal.

Eyeing his brother sadly Porthos knew they couldn't keep putting off talking to the lad about his dreams in the hope they would resolve themselves. He could see it now, even in the dim light of the room, the dark circles underneath D'Artagnan's eyes that spoke to several nights lost sleep and judging by the fact the lad had just woken up from a nightmare without managing to really wake the others cast doubt on the nights where he and the others had assumed he had been able to rest nightmare free.

"You know we gotta talk about these at some point, right kid?" Porthos asked gently, hating how D'Artagnan tensed at his words. Continuing on regardless he added, "Nightmares are one thing whelp, we've all suffered at some point or another, hell 'Mis still suffers from Savoy and that was five years ago and I know that the memories from these last few weeks will be comin' to haunt each of us at some point…" checking to see that D'Artagnan was still listening to him he added, "But the rate you're going aint healthy."

D'Artagnan hated the worry he heard in Porthos's voice and despite knowing the words he had spoken held some truth in them and that it might help to talk about the torments his mind suffered every night, he just couldn't bring himself to do it just after waking from one.

Porthos seemed to notice this and accepted that the boy might not be able to talk about it quite yet and instead steered the conversation onto something else that had been bugging him for weeks now.

"Why didn't you tell us?" he asked quietly, his hand continuing to stroke D'Artagnan's hair despite the fact that the boy had since calmed from his nightmare.

Tilting his head backwards so he could look at his brother, D'Artagnan sent the man an inquisitive look, having guessed that Porthos was not asking regarding his nightmares.

"Bout your village," the larger musketeer clarified, instantly noticing the tightening of D'Artagnan's jaw as he spoke. "How they treated ya?"

D'Artagnan was silent for a few moments as he took in the expression on Porthos's face. "…You're angry?" he asked several moments later.

"You're my brother whelp," Porthos grunted, silencing the young Gascon's protest with a stern look. "No one knows suffering as a child like I do, course I'm angry."

"But… I…"

"If the next words outa your mouth are something to do with how all of this," he said sternly, gesturing to their injured brothers still sleeping soundly in their beds. "Is your fault and so that means you don't deserve me worrying about you, you best close that mouth of yours."

At Porthos's words D'Artagnan did a very good impression of a fish, which would have been amusing for the musketeer had he not known that the only reason his brother had for doing it was because he wasn't about to say the very words he had just forbidden him from saying.

"You know all about our pasts," Porthos said, pushing himself up to sit with his back against the headboard of his bed as he looked sadly at the small form of his brother. "Heck you've dealt with both mine and Athos's. I get it isn't something you'd wanna talk 'bout but…" he trailed off, not quite sure how to explain the thoughts in his head.

"…Not so bad," D'Artagnan said quietly, his voice still a little hoarse from all the screaming he had done in Lupiac as well as the several days disuse he had done in Paris. "Had… a home."

"Kid, from the sounds of it that's all you had!" exclaimed Porthos, angry at what his brother had grown up surrounded by. Even Charon and Flea, who hadn't been pleased with his decision to join the musketeers had supported his efforts – they'd give him a little bit more of any of the meat they managed to get to ensure he didn't lose his hard earned muscles and they'd keep their ears open for any opportunities for him to showcase his skills.

Even without what most would call a home Porthos had a roof over his head most nights and friends who would die for each other… D'Artagnan… he didn't have that and it infuriated the musketeer who saw nothing but how a village stuck in its ways had tried to beat down and break a gifted and honorable young man that didn't fit with their ideals.

Seeing the anger Porthos held for how he had been treated as a child sent a pleasantly warm feeling through D'Artagnan's healing body and had him responding honestly and speaking up about something he had never mentioned to anyone.

"D…Didn't want pity," D'Artagnan explained, refusing to look at his brother as he spoke. "Others… have it… worse than I had."

Sighing Porthos gently tapped the back of D'Artagnan's head, "You 'ad a shitty childhood, it's okay to admit it you know."

D'Artagnan smiled weakly at his brother, strangely comforted by the knowledge that his brothers knew of his childhood in Lupiac.

"I had a shitty childhood" D'Artagnan repeated completely deadpan as he looked right at Porthos.

This sent the pair into a small fit of laughter, Porthos reveling in the sound of D'Artagnan laughing after so long of seeing him in pain and withdrawn.

The pair then lapsed into comfortable silence until D'Artagnan drifted off again, this time comforted by the large hand Porthos was still running through his hair.

ROYAL PALACE

"What's happened?" Treville asked worriedly and he quickly walked over to the musketeer who had just barged into a private meeting between himself and Cardinal Richelieu.

"You're sure?" Treville asked once the musketeer had finished whispering what he had been sent to inform. At the musketeer's quick nod Treville sighed before dismissing the man with orders to keep him informed of any new developments.

"What's going on?" Richelieu asked tensely, he had a feeling whatever had just happened was not good.

"My men just caught a man pouring something suspicious down the well on the far west side of the city." Treville explained, rubbing his forehead in an effort to rid himself of the headache that had settled there several days ago. "They managed to stop him before he had poured all of it in and took what was left in the vial to the nearest apothecary who confirmed it was poison."

"It's started then." Sighed Richelieu.

"It seems not even the capture of their leader will divert them from their course" Treville agreed sadly.

"Any casualties?"

"None that my men are aware of. They caught the man in the act and have set up a guard rotation of the well to prevent people from drinking from it until we can neutralize the poison."

"The culprit?"

"On his way to the cells for questioning."

Nodding Richelieu informed that he would inform his men to keep an eye out over the wells during their patrols.

"What of you?" Treville asked, "Have your men had any luck with Ortiz?" It was a sore issue for the musketeer Captain that his men had not been allowed to question the man responsible for such grievous harm to their brothers, but the King had been persuaded by Richelieu that the musketeers were more likely to kill him before he talked and as such had allowed the red guards and more importantly Richelieu to be given the task of breaking him.

"None," Richelieu admitted angrily, hating how the man had remained strong through all of his interrogations. "We're going to have to bring in Dubois, we can put it off no longer."

Sighing and nodding in agreement Treville left to go and collect the aforementioned noble.

"What is the meaning of this!" Dubois shouted as he was dragged into a small room to be greeted by Captain Treville and Cardinal Richelieu.

"Sit down Dubois," snarled Treville, not bothering to appear polite. The noble looked positively furious at his treatment and the tone of the musketeer Captain but sat regardless.

"I am a friend of the King! I demand to know why you are detaining me!" Dubois raged, glaring at the two men before him. "His Majesty will have your heads for this!"

"King Louis," snarled Treville, reminding the man that both himself and Richelieu were closer and had more of the King's ear then he did, "Has given us leave to question whoever we deem necessary to catch everyone involved in this conspiracy."

"Tell us of your part in Ortiz's grand plan Monsieur Dubois," Richelieu stated calmly before the man could respond to Treville's words, very much enjoying the look of momentary panic that appeared on Dubois's face before the man quickly attempted to cover it up.

"I have no idea who you are talking about." Snapped the noble, though his voice was underlined with fear.

"Of course you do," Treville stated, placing a letter in front of the now pale man, "This is but one of many of your correspondence with the man so why don't you try that again."

"How would you know that," scoffed Dubois, "this is just some random letter written in the Gascony dialect, could say anything."

"Yet you know enough to know what language it's written in without properly examining it?" Richelieu retorted, smirking as he saw the exact moment Dubois realized what he had said.

"Now – "

"Your boss has been captured Dubois," remarked Treville, his anger growing with every denial the man gave, "Ortiz is facing execution for the crimes he committed against men under my command as well as masterminding this mass assassination plan. It is only a matter of time before he gives up his co-conspirators in an effort to save his own miserable life so why don't you come clean now and answer our damn questions!"