Evening My Lovelies :)
We did it! Over 450 review! *Happy Dances* I can't still quite believe how well this story is doing and I have you all to thank for its success XD
So regarding today's chapter, we're going to see a bit of the bad-ass side of Aramis. I'm completely in love with the scene so I'm hoping you'll all enjoy it as well.
Also on an amusing note, I was re-reading yesterday's chapter once I had already published it and noticed that I had missed the Y off of the word Many at one point so the sentence ended up saying how Athos had man bruises, which completely made me laugh :D
Notes On Reviews:
Deana: Thanks for the review - Yeah, lots of pain for our boys. There's not really any pain for our boys today aside from their existing injuries. Enjoy the new chapter! x
alyslee: Thanks for the review - Yep, just couldn't resist it :) Enjoy the new chapter! x
Keesha: Thanks for the review - Yay I'm so glad you liked the line as it's my favourite too XD Enjoy the new chapter! x
Debbie (Guest): Thanks for the review - D'Art's lost a lot of blood and then had a large wound cauterized which is why he slept through it all, he may have been slightly awake but too weak to open his eyes or move properly. Haha Yep it's Treville :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
pain in the mikta: Thanks for the review - Treville's back to being 'the man' Oh he's definitely not happy that the man had been able to sneak in but he'll be dealing with that tomorrow, he's got muskys to deal with today. Hopefully today's wont be as suspenseful (if that's even a word)... I'm also thinking we may need a badass-o-meter for our musketeers lol :) Enjoy the new chapter! x
Tidia: Thanks for the review - Glad you liked the explanation, in my head Athos is too kick-ass to be beaten by Ortiz in a fair fight, hence the Spaniard's use of dirty tactics and stabbing him in an already existing wound. D'Art's body has undergone a lot of trauma lately so it's temporarily shut down to handle that, though it does mean he's missing some fairly important things. Enjoy the new chapter! x
Helensg: Thanks for the review - You'd think Aramis would've given up asking them to mention injuries by now but it wont stop him. Probably a bit hypocritical of him because I could see him ignoring his own injuries to look over one of his brothers (he probably has at several points in my stories) Athos has impeccable timing that's for sure. I'll admit that whilst I have a general idea of where this story is going, several of the chapters are me just kinda winging it :) Enjoy the new chapter! x
Issai: Thanks for the review - Yeah, Angry Treville's back, though he wont stay angry for too long... at least not at our boys. Hehe Glad you liked Athos's irritation, I could just see him being quite particular about his weapons and so to see it in someone else's hand irked him. I don't think Julian even noticed Aramis - I kinda have this image of Aramis nestled under a mountain of blankets, safely hidden and peacefully snoozing away lol. Athos was too sore to really register why and then with everything that happened with D'Art he kinda just pushed his own injuries to one side. If you liked angry Aramis you'll probably enjoy his moment today. Enjoy the new chapter! x
watlocked: Thanks for the review - Well I couldn't have anything too bad happening to our favourite morose musketeer could I :D, especially when Aramis's has his hands full with their own injuries as well as D'Artagnan. HAHAHA I love your idea of what Treville wants to do XD I could honestly see him wanting to do so, unfortunately there's no more dragons :( Enjoy the new chapter! x
pheonixriv: Thanks for the review - Your feeling is spot on :) Enjoy the new chapter! x
Lilac Lavender: Thanks of the review - Sorry to hear that you're sick. Hope you feel better soon :) - Maybe we can send Aramis your way ;) I absolutely LOVED writing Athos in yesterdays chapter, I was a bit nervous about the fight scene but it seems to be well liked so I suppose I can relax now. I quite like the idea that Athos is very particular about his weapons so to see his blade in that man's hand just really pissed him off lol. Kinda have the image of him cleaning/polishing it as soon as a spare moment arises lol. No amount of evil henchmen are going to stop Athos from protecting his brothers :). We get to see Aramis's bad-ass side come out to play for a bit today so hopefully that'll cheer you up and when he's finished he can go and tend to you :) Enjoy the new chapter! x
I'm still happy dancing from the amount of reviews I now have for this story :D
As always much love and many thanks to you all who follow/favourite/review/read this story.
Enjoy!
xxx
Chapter Forty-Five: Interrogations and Good News
Treville was not pleased. He had been in the middle of a meeting with Richelieu, the two of them going over what they had learnt so far about Ortiz in an attempt to discern where the Spaniard might be hiding out now.
It had been a tense meeting; Richelieu was in a lot of pain from the injuries he had sustained in his attack several days ago and they had only been aggravated in the ambush at the execution. This had then left the Cardinal with a sharper tongue than usual and the desire to put the blame on someone… And in this case it had been him and his men, one man in particular.
FLASH BACK
"You can hardly blame D'Artagnan for what happened!" growled Treville as he interrupted the Cardinal's long-winded rant about how D'Artagnan should have found out that an attack like the one that took place was what Ortiz had planned.
"And why not?" Scoffed the Cardinal, wincing as he tried to move into a more comfortable position. "Because he got injured too? That just proves the fact that he has no place in what is meant to be an elite unit of soldiers… Honestly what yourself and the King were thinking when you chose him is beyond me."
"D'Artagnan is a hardworking, loyal-to-the-death young man and you have no right to demean him just because you're in pain," snapped Treville, trying his hardest to calm down. The last thing he wanted was to attract unnecessary attention. "D'Artagnan warned there was an attack coming within the week. He warned us about the explosions, which may I remind you is the only reason that there isn't a higher death count then there was. Had he not forced himself to endure the interrogation with Ortiz then half of the populace in the city could have been wiped out."
Cardinal Richelieu opened his mouth to retort back but Treville found himself on a roll, already sick to the teeth of having to defend his men's justified actions to those he knew couldn't care less about them.
"The fault lies with us for not expecting Ortiz would try something so dramatic at the execution. I know we all expected him to try something but we should have been able to see this. After D'Artagnan explained how the man has the entire of Lupiac bending to his will it should have been obvious that he would have a greater following here in the city."
Richelieu sighed, feeling some of his anger drip away at the logic in Treville's words. He also knew that continuing to argue this detail with the man would be futile and they had other things to worry about.
"Would he return to Lupiac?" Richelieu asked, not wanting to send his men such a distance if there was any escaping it.
"Probably not," sighed Treville, feeling exhaustion beginning to creep up on him. "All the targets of his anger are here. Besides he'll be enjoying seeing us chase him too much to leave now."
The two men both downed their glasses of brandy before continuing to discuss tactics to find the man and his followers. Neither man was completely willing to have the regiments working directly side-by-side as neither fully trusted the other but they were willing to do what they had to, to ensure results.
Treville had lost track of just how long they had been talking when the door to their room suddenly swung open and a man he recognized as one of the garrison guards stood panting in the doorway.
END FLASH BACK
In retrospect Treville knew he shouldn't be overly surprised, the men now staring sheepishly at him seemed to have a knack for getting into trouble.
He was about to berate them for their foolishness, for having to have him dragged from an important strategizing meeting, but then he saw the state of Athos, who at this point was desperately trying to stand to attention now that his commanding officer was in the room, much to the fond annoyance of Aramis who kept pushing him back down.
"What the hell happened to you?" Treville asked, moving quickly to stand in front of his lieutenant, eyes roving over his form, quickly taking note of the many small injuries and bruises that littered his skin.
"Ortiz's men cornered me on my way back from my apartment." Athos explained, his voice slightly breathy as he was still getting used to breathing with the wrap constricting his ribs.
Treville's eyes darkened at Athos's words and he couldn't keep the irritation out of his voice as he asked, "And why were you out there alone? I ordered everyone that they were supposed to go no-where alone until Ortiz is caught!"
The three conscious members of the inseparables looked thoroughly confused at their Captain's words.
"No-one told us Captain," Porthos said, moving from his spot beside Athos to return to his seat by D'Artagnan's bedside.
Treville blinked at that, suddenly feeling rather sheepish that he hadn't thought to inform the men before him of the new rule, having figured that they wouldn't be leaving D'Artagnan's side anytime soon.
Deciding to take the focus off him Treville asked about the tied up man on the floor.
"One of Ortiz's men," Athos informed, his eyes narrowing as he glared at the sleeping man. "Kept asking about whether D'Artagnan's survived Ortiz's attack and when I wouldn't answer he came here while his 'friends' did this," Athos explained gesturing weakly to the marks on his body, "Found him with a dagger above D'Artagnan, shot him then Aramis gave him something to make him sleep before coming over to help me and then you showed up."
Treville nodded, leaving the room momentarily and returning with three musketeers who had just returned from their patrols.
"Lock him up and keep an eye on him, I'll be over to talk to him in…" looking to Aramis he said, "How long should whatever you gave him work for?"
Aramis shrugged, "It was quite strong but it should wear off enough in an hour or so for you to wake him up, he might be a bit groggy but you'd be able to talk to him.
Treville nodded and turned back to the men who now had the unconscious assassin in their arms, "I'll be over to talk to him in a couple of hours."
Nodding the men left with their newest prisoner.
Treville moved to sit by Athos's bedside, intent on getting as much information about the attack from him as he could whilst also sharing what he and Richelieu had discussed regarding Ortiz.
Athos answered every question to the best of his ability but instantly became distracted when a small whine of pain came out of D'Artagnan's mouth.
"D'Artagnan!" came the cries of all three inseparables, each of them forgetting their own injuries in the mad scramble to be by their little brother's bedside.
D'Artagnan showed no signs of actually waking up, though his head did lightly toss to the side as another whimper of pain escaped him.
Moving quickly Aramis picked up a small vial from the table behind him and poured it down the boy's throat, massaging his neck gently in an effort to get him to swallow.
"Mild pain draught," Aramis explained when he looked up to see the expectant looks of his Captain and brothers. "I don't want to give him too strong of one if he's beginning to wake up but that one will help take the edge of the pain."
"Sir," Aramis added after a moment. Treville looked at him, waiting for the man to continue.
"I'd like to be there when you interrogate the man."
Aramis's tone and body language told Treville that the musketeer was not about to take no for an answer.
Treville nodded, a small smile gracing his lips, "Come on then, I was about to head over there anyway." Turning to the other inseparables whilst Aramis struggled with his crutches he added, "Come find us if he wakes before Aramis is back, no doubt he'll want to check him over and the garrison could do with the good news."
Porthos and Athos smiled at their Captain, silently agreeing to do as he had asked before they turned their focus back to encouraging their brother to wake up.
CELLS
"Bwah! What the hell!?" screeched Julian as a large bucket of ice-cold water was dumped over his head, waking him up instantly. Unfortunately for the man, being awake meant that he resumed feeling the pain of being shot in the leg. "Gah!" he cried, gripping the area just above the wound tightly, "Should've killed him in that god-forsaken alley."
"Now that's a bad thing to say given your current position," smirked Treville as he moved out of the shadows to stand in front of the man. "What is your name?" he asked, sighing in frustration when the man refused to answer. Honestly he hadn't really expected him to, but at this point Treville was exhausted and just wanted an easy win so he could go and sleep for several days straight.
"I would reconsider your silence if I were you." Stated Treville, the tired smirk on his face growing at the look of confusion that graced their captive's face.
"Any why's that?" sassed the man, not quite realizing that he had already broken his vow to remain silent no matter what was said or done to him.
"Because," Aramis said dangerously, emerging from the shadows to stand by Treville. "If you don't you'll have to deal with me."
Julian snorted, he couldn't help it, looking at the man who was leaning heavily on his crutches as he attempted to threaten him he just really didn't see him as much of a threat.
"Yeah?" he replied mockingly, "And what're you gonna do? Beat me with your crutches?" he laughed, finding the whole situation absurd.
"Oh no," grinned Aramis and he moved to sit in the chair in front of the man who was now beginning to look a little worried. "You see, I wrapped up your leg after Athos shot you."
"So?"
"So," Aramis said, his grin turning into a dangerous smirk as he looked into the eyes of the man before him. "I didn't have time nor the inclination to take out the shot so it's still in your leg." Aramis watched as Julian's face paled slightly at his words and his eyes flickered down to the red stained bandage on his leg.
"Now then," Aramis said calmly, his tone slightly unnerving Treville who was watching completely fascinated. "You answer all of our questions and I'll take the shot out, stitch up the leg and maybe you don't die in a prison cell waiting to hear how the King decides to punish you for attacking his musketeers."
Julian gulped, "And if I don't?"
Smirk returning Aramis leaned in and said, "If you don't… Well then I leave that shot in your leg and you can watch as the wound festers and becomes infected. Then if you're lucky all we'll be forced to do is to remove the leg… If not, well then, I've seen people die from infected wounds before… It aint pretty."
Treville fought to urge to whistle in awe of what Aramis had done. Within mere minutes of talking to the man the usually mild-mannered medic had managed to cause the man to turn as white as a sheet and start ever so lightly shaking.
"So," Aramis said cheerfully, as if he hadn't just been threatening the man moments earlier. "What's your name?"
"Well that was fun," smirked Aramis as he returned to the infirmary an hour later, unsurprised to find that D'Artagnan was still sleeping. Though going by the looks on Athos and Porthos's faces he had been making more attempts to wake up since the medic's earlier departure.
"How'd it go?" Porthos asked, moving to help his friend into a chair before helping him elevate his leg.
After sending a heartfelt smile full of gratitude to his brother Aramis's face morphed into a mischievous grin.
"What did you do now Aramis?" Sighed Athos, trying to hide his own amusement at his brother's antics.
"Hmm?" Aramis said, his eyes full of over the top innocence.
"Aramis," Athos sighed, raising one eyebrow at the medic.
Aramis grinned brightly, "I may or may not have threatened our wannabe assassin enough that he almost soiled his breaches."
Porthos erupted with laughter at the medic's explanation and quickly insisted on knowing exactly what happened. Something the sharpshooter was only too happy to do.
"…Who's Ju-Julian?" came a weak, barely audible voice, interrupting the medic's explanation of his interrogation of Ortiz's henchman.
The three inseparables froze the second the sound of the voice reached their ears and none of them could keep the bright beaming grins off of their faces as they saw their baby brother's brown eyes, albeit filled with pain and exhaustion, staring up at them.
"D'Artagnan!" they all exclaimed joyfully, practically leaping on the young man in an effort to hug him.