Evening My Lovelies!
I may or may not have done a small happy dance when I realized that we haven't even reached double digits chapter-wise but we're in triple digits review-wise XD
Notes On Reviews:
criminally charmed: Thanks for the review - That's the plan anyways... we'll have to see whether or not it'll happen. Enjoy the new chapter! x
watlocked: Thanks for the reviews - Your image of Marcel sounds similar to mine... minus the hat/feather... Though you're right, now I can't stop picturing it, maybe I'll give him one in a later chapter lol. D'Arts actions were definitely facepalm worthy, but we need to remember he hasnt been around the boys overly long so they havent fully reigned in his reckless behavior yet. Glad you loved it. Enjoy the new chapter! x
Tidia: Thanks for the review - Glad you're liking it so far. Seeing as how it's me and our boys I can't guarantee that the plan will go completely as planned :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
romirola: Thanks for the review - You're welcome :) Enjoy the new chapter! x
FierGascon: Thanks for the review - Why thank you :) *tips hat* the whumpage today is more emotional than physical so we'll probably be needing the angst-o-meter. Enjoy the new chapter! x
Deana: Thanks for the review - Aramis is going to get a heap more grief and guilt before all this is over :) and don't worry Aramis will be getting whumped fairly soonish (thinking chapter 13/14ish) Enjoy the new chapter! x
Katie (Guest): Thanks for the review - I'm glad you enjoyed it :) I can be quite the sadist when it comes to whumping D'Art so I'm afraid I can't guarantee that nothing too bad will happen. Enjoy the new chapter! x
Ruth (Guest): Thanks for the review - Athos will definitely be talking to our Gascon in a later chapter, he's going to have more important things to worry about between now and then though :) I'm glad you mentioned that Marcel is coming across more sympathetic as I have a plan for him that relies on that so I'm relieved that that's how he's coming across at the moment. The fact that there were 20 others who died will also be playing a part in later chapters. Backup is definitely going to be needed with what I have planned :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
Helensg: Thanks for the review - Athos whump is coming I promise! We'll get a hint of what's coming tomorrow but it'll be starting properly the day after and I have a seriously bad piece of whumpage coming his way in a later chapter as well which I'm hoping you'll enjoy. Enjoy the new chapter! x
Zoe (Guest): Thanks for the review - Marcel's blinded by grief and needing to have someone to blame so he'll be easier for them to convince. D'Art's arm is going to be causing them trouble for a while now which is not good considering what I have planned :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
Issai: Thanks for the review - Hopefully today will answer a few questions. Enjoy the new chapter! x
MicheeO: Thanks for the review - You say that but now you have something to read every day so being caught up has its benefits as well... Plus I never leave you all waiting too long. With D'Art I'm pretty sure he'd find some way of getting seriously injured even if he was farming... Ooooh replying to this has given me another story idea... must write it down before I forget (I'll add it to my growing list of story ideas) Enjoy the new chapter! x
Lilac Lavender: Thanks for the review - I was tempted to leave out the bone breaking and just have it as the joint dislocation but I have a plan for chapter13/14ish that'll be SOOO much more evil if D'Art's handicapped. Plus it let me write quite a cutey brotherly moment :D I didnt have it in me to send D'Art to Porthos. Not sure if thats due to the close bond both he and Athos share in all my other stories but either way it was cute. figured with what I have coming for our boys we needed to let them have a cute comforting moment. Aramis is going to be swimming in guilt for quite some time with this story and it may just end him up in trouble again fairly soon. I have some plans for Marcel that we'll be possibly seeing hints of soon but having him motivated by grief and not just and evil sadist is fairly key to that. I know! over 100 reviews! *happy dances* Enjoy the new chapter! x
As always much love and many thanks for following/favouriting/reviewing/reading
Enjoy!
xxx
Chapter Nine: The Plan
"My friend," smirked Aramis, a small sliver of his usual cheerfulness creeping through as he looked at a very pleased with himself Porthos, "You are a genius."
"You're only just realizing this now?" Asked Porthos with an over-the-top frown on his face.
"You hide it so well."
Porthos opened his mouth to retort but was cut off by an exasperated sigh from Athos.
"Gentlemen in case you've forgotten we are currently being held against our will, a little focus please."
Both musketeers at least had the grace to look sheepish at the slight scolding but before either musketeer could respond a groan of pain caught their attention.
"D'Artagnan?" Athos called, leaning forward slightly to get a better view of the boy's, now scrunched up, face.
"Ergh… Why did I think charging at the guy would be a good idea?" groaned D'Artagnan as he pushed himself up off of Athos's lap, a sharp hiss of pain escaping his lips before he could stop it. Thankfully for the boy's pride if any of his new friends noticed it or the light blushing on his cheeks from waking up in Athos's lap, they were kind enough not to mention it.
"Because you wouldn't be our hot-headed pup if you didn't," chuckled Porthos, relief filling him at seeing the boy awake.
"Yeah," yawned the Gascon, clearly not completely with it just yet, as he hugged his broken arm close to his chest. "But then his friend would've come in, probably before I had a chance to free any of you as well knowing my luck."
The three men froze.
"Friend?"
D'Artagnan blinked owlishly, "Yeah… well I think so." Tilting his head to one side he asked, "Did I not mention that?"
Athos sighed and barely resisted the urge to smack the Gascon on the head for not mentioning this fact sooner. "No D'Artagnan you did not."
"Oh,"
"Care to explain now?"
"Right," nodded the Gascon guiltily, "I don't know for definite as I've only ever seen Marcel but during our first 'conversation', before he brought you guys here he said 'we' instead of 'I' once."
"Makes sense," nodded Aramis, "They'd need someone to keep an eye on Viv and Marcel can't be two places at once… That also explains why you and Porthos were brought in here… Easier to keep an eye on us that way."
"Is Viv the girl from the letter?" D'Artagnan asked needing to keep the conversation going so he didn't focus too much on the agonizing pain that shot through his arm whenever he so much as twitched.
Aramis nodded but offered no other explanation and Athos felt the urge to smack someone rise up again.
Clearly seeing this Porthos took charge before Athos could say anything. "So who's this Viv girl anyways? … Old flame?"
To the men's great surprise Aramis looked positively disgusted by the idea, "God no!" he exclaimed, shaking his head. "She's practically my sister."
"And she knows Marsac? How did the two of you meet?" D'Artagnan asked curiously.
"Through Marsac," Aramis explained and though his breath caught on his dead friend's name the rest of the group refused to comment on it. "She's actually his sister, which explains why Marcel thought she'd have the information he was after."
"That's why she was heading to Paris," said D'Artagnan as he remembered what the old man had said when they had visited the woman's home.
Aramis nodded, grateful that had been the response and not the barrage of questions and anger he had been expecting. "They were extremely close before Savoy… I … I have no idea if they kept in touch afterwards, M-Marsac changed after that, but she… she had a right to know her last family member was dead."
A thought occurred to Aramis then and he hung his head guiltily.
"'Mis?" Porthos said softly, not liking how pale and distraught his friend had suddenly turned.
"She was leaving for Paris when they kidnapped her." Aramis whispered brokenly, his hands twitching in a way that told the men he would be running his hands either through his hair or down his face if he could.
"Yeah…" said Porthos hesitantly, not quite sure why Aramis was repeating what they already knew.
"That means it's my fault… Everything that's happened to her, it's all my fault."
"No!" growled Athos, his voice startling Aramis out of his thoughts.
"No?" Aramis questioned, his voice full of disbelief, "How can you say that? She wouldn't have even have had reason to go to Paris if it wasn't for me!"
"Marsac made his choice," snarled Athos, successfully silencing his ranting brother. "You cannot hold yourself accountable for what his actions brought."
"But – "
"Listen to the man 'Mis," scolded Porthos lightly as he watched the two bicker whilst keeping an eye on a slightly swaying D'Artagnan. The boy was trying to present himself as fine but even a blind man could tell he was anything but.
Aramis didn't look like he believed what Athos and Porthos were saying but he knew better than to keep arguing with them so he swallowed his next protest.
"Look," sighed Porthos, exhaustion creeping up on him, "We 'ave a plan and he's not coming back for a bit so why don't we get some sleep. We're going to need it if we're getting out of here soon."
None of them really liked the idea of falling asleep, especially when they did not know what their captor was truly capable of, or how many of them there really were. After all the man had expressed a desire not to use violence, especially against D'Artagnan and yet that was exactly what he had done. It was only the thought of having enough energy to fight back that eventually got them to settle down for a nap.
When Marcel returned as promised several hours later Athos was the only one awake. The musketeer was an extremely light sleeper, even more so when his brother's were in dangerous situations, so he had lightly napped for the first hour before finding himself awake and keeping watch for the remainder of the time.
He had tried to move closer to the young Gascon as the boy slept in an effort to comfort him as he whimpered quietly in his sleep every now and then but his restraints limited his movement. So instead he had taken to whispering soothing words whenever the pained whimpers got particularly bad, internally glad his brothers were asleep so he would not be called out for doing so.
"I do hope you haven't spent the entire time asleep," comment Marcel as he took in the stirring musketeers. "I would hate to have him continue to deny me the answers I seek."
Athos said nothing and only glared in response, only stopping when he became aware of the others now being awake.
As Marcel turned and moved towards Aramis, Athos gestured for D'Artagnan, who remained unshackled, to move closer to him. The swordsman did not like the injured boy being without some form of protection, either from Marcel or from his own rashness. Thankfully D'Artagnan willingly complied with the silent order and slowly shuffled closer to his mentor who glanced worriedly at the boy when he saw how pale and in pain the boy seemed to be. He could only hope that their plan worked and they could get D'Artagnan out of here. The boy needed proper treatment and medication if he was to maintain use of that arm.
"So have you decided to remain silent and watch your brothers suffer or are you finally going to be smart and tell me what I want to know?" Marcel sneered, his hand resting forebodingly on his sword hilt.
Athos had to give credit to Aramis for the man's acting skills as he managed to look convincingly torn as he allowed his eyes to flicker between his brothers. Sighing Aramis nodded slowly.
"Aramis," snapped Athos with little heat, keeping up the act.
"Hush musketeer," scolded Marcel, looking inordinately pleased with himself, "Let the man talk if he wishes to."
From his spot on the floor Porthos sent his brothers a subtle, yet smug, grin. The man had brought Aramis's act, now they only had to see if he would buy the rest of it as well.
"M-Marsac came to me because as the only other survivor of Savoy he knew I would listen to him regarding the truth of it." Aramis said quietly, allowing the pain Savoy memories brought him to seep into his tone to add to his story's believability.
"And?"
"Before he died he begged me to hide the proof he had found, only using it when the moment was right. He said there were too many people who would benefit from it never seeing the light of day so it must remain out of their hands and only be used at the right moment to ensure they faced justice for their crimes."
All of the men could see the tenseness in Marcel's frame, clearly the man was so obsessed with finding the truth and having someone to blame that he would believe whatever Aramis told him regarding it.
"I knew it," whispered Marcel as his hand came up to rub his chin, "I knew he wouldn't have risked returning to Paris unless he was sure." Turning back to Aramis he added, "Well? Where did you hide it?"
"The safest place I know," admitted Aramis, ensuring he still came across somewhat hesitant. Marcel was buying into their ruse for now, they couldn't risk tipping him off before too the end.
"'Mis!" exclaimed Porthos, acting the dismayed friend while inside he was applauding his friend's acting.
Ignoring the musketeer's outburst Aramis finished his answer, "The musketeer garrison."
Marcel blinked and for a moment the men thought he had finally seen through their hastily put together plan. "The garrison?" he questioned
Aramis, swallowing his nerves, shrugged as best as he was able given his chains. "In one of the rooms only someone well known to the regiment would be able to get access to. The others in the regiment wouldn't go snooping in there and anyone seeking the documents would be denied access due to them not being a musketeer."
"Why would he not use it himself?" questioned Marcel as he stared hard at the chained musketeer. "He could have brought the truth to light and seen justice done with his own eyes."
"He needed my help getting the last piece of the puzzle but was…" swallowing down the lump in his throat Aramis adverted his eyes skyward in hopes of stilling the brewing tears as he uttered the last part of his story, "… was killed before he could make his findings public."
Marcel nodded, seemingly believing the musketeer's story, much to the relief of the other men in the room. Athos was the first among them to notice the look that entered Marcel's eyes, the musketeer's instantly tensing frame alerting the Gascon that something was potentially amiss.
"If he asked for your help then both you and your so called brothers know the answers I seek." Glared Marcel as he cracked his knuckles.
"They don't," Aramis answered, barely keeping the growing panic out of his voice. "Marsac didn't trust that they wouldn't just arrest him for actions after the massacre and I didn't wish for them to be involved with anything potentially dangerous so we investigated in secret."
"But you know?"
Aramis shook his head, sending up a silent prayer that his acting skill could carry him through this, "Marsac knew I couldn't be spotted when he left to collect the piece of information we were missing. The musketeers are well known in the city and my presence there would have only garnered questions and raised suspicions. He was coming to me when he died."
"Well," mused Marcel after a few tense silent moments, "Looks like you get to go home after all Spaniard."
This time it was Aramis who blinked, though inside he was cheering and smirking, "Why do I get the feeling it's more than because I told you what I know?"
Marcel nodded, "You return to the garrison and bring me the proof and then I'll release the rest of your merry band of misfits."
Aramis narrowed his eyes at the man, "Why not release them as well? You still have Viv."
Marcel laughed, "You do not think I haven't heard of the mighty 'inseparables'? No I will not risk it. You will leave and return on your own."
This was slightly different then they had anticipated and Aramis allowed his gaze to flicker over to Athos for guidance, only the man was focused of the grimacing form of D'Artagnan by his side, the boy was clearly suffering greatly from the pain in his arm though he tried to hide it.
"D'Artagnan comes with me." Aramis stated confidently drawing the attention of everyone in the room and before Marcel could say anything in return Aramis continued. "You've already said how you didn't want to involve him as he is no musketeer," the marksman bit back a scowl at that, in their eyes D'Artagnan was already one of them in everything but title so to dismiss him, even for his own good, didn't sit right with him. "He is no threat to you given his current condition but without treatment it he will suffer. He comes with me so I can treat his arm and I'll bring back your proof to get the rest of my companions free."
Marcel was silent as he pondered the musketeer's demand, allowing himself a second to take in the Gascon's condition. True to the Spaniard's assessment he could hardly see the boy being much of a threat to him given his current state.
"Very well," nodded Marcel, not missing the collective relieved sigh from the chained men. "I will allow you the rest of the night to rest and collect the pair of you at first light."
Aramis nodded his agreement and opened his mouth to speak but Marcel interrupted with a threat before he could begin.
"But be aware I will not tolerate betrayal and will be taking measures to ensure you do not dally to long."
"What's that supposed to mean?" growled Porthos, not taking kindly to his brothers being threatened.
Marcel smirked dangerously, "You'll see in the morning. Rest well musketeers."