Evening My Lovelies!
We've hit over 10k views! :D add that to my 220 review and I'm a very giddy author right now XD
Oh and I'm really interested to see what you think of today's chapter, we're getting a Porthos rant today, something that doesnt happen very often.
Notes On Reviews:
Deana: Thanks for the review - It's going to take a couple of chapters to find out but I can't have them in Daviau's clutches forever. Enjoy the new chapter! x
Katie (Guest): Thanks for the review - Yay I'm glad you found it funny :D Unfortunately today's chapter is quite a serious one... It has its moments funnywise (or at least I hope it does) but overall its quite a serious one. Though I'm hoping that the drama and everything will make up for it's lacking humor. Enjoy the new chapter! x
Debbie (Guest): Thanks for the review - Hahaha Yeah Porthos is no longer allowed near any sort of cutlery. In Athos's defense he's pretty out of it because of the pain at the moment though I agree he should know better. Enjoy the new chapter! x
Tidia: Thanks for the review - The escape is going to be spread out over several chapters but they're getting closer to freedom everyday! Enjoy the new chapter! x
FierGascon: Thanks for the review - hahaha yeah knowing me it wont last so definitely enjoy it while it lasts :) I have plans in store for Viv which we should be seeing coming into fruition in several chapters time so keep an eye out for that... If I can write it as well as I can picture it in my mind it's going to be awesome! Enjoy the new chapter! x
criminally charmed: Thanks for the review - What can I say, Porthos is a badass :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
watlocked: Thanks for the reviews - I do so love butt kicking moments :) Haha good thing you didnt yell out loud as you would then have to explain that you did it because a guy stabbed another guy in the eye with a spoon and that might not go down well lol. I'm going to let Porthos and his group off a bit trouble wise, at least for a couple of chapters but it definitely wont be a smooth run to Paris. Bwhahaha Oh gods now I really want to write him taking down enemies like that purely so I can use that line XD Enjoy the new chapter! x
Helensg: Thanks for the review - I've got plans in store for Viv coming in a few chapters time so stay tuned for that. Athos isnt having a good time right now, poor man. Glad you liked the spoon bit. Enjoy the new chapter! x
Zoe (Guest): Thanks for the review - Hahaha :D His enemies will run in fear for their lives when he reaches for the cutlery drawer XD Unfortunately you're correct the reunion is a few chapters away and I promise it'll be a dramatic one ;) Enjoy the new chapter! x
Guest: Thanks for the review - A missed opportunity on Porthos's part... oh well maybe next time :) They'll escape... eventually :D as for Daviau you'll have to wait and see whether he's dead or not. Enjoy the new chapter! x
Lilac Lavender: Thanks for the review - Marcel's going to help, possibly, in a couple of chapter's time. he's definitely tempted to after learning the truth of Daviau's intentions. I couldn't have them escape without Viv, Aramis would be pissed... Well once he's done feeling guilty. Oh worry not, once Athos has some strength back in him he'll be looking to dish out some pain :D I don't often write Porthos rants but we're getting one today that's kinda coming off of that bit of dialogue you mentioned so I'm hoping you enjoy that... Oh the snuggly moments we're going to be due after all this XD Enjoy the new chapter! x
Issai: Thanks for the review - If Daviau is alive he'll definitely be plotting but we'll have to wait and see :D Don't worry Porthos will be getting rid of that idea of Athos's today. I am planning something for when Viv learns the truth of her brother's death so I'm really happy you mentioned it. We'll be seeing it all come together in a later chapter which isnt too far off so stay tuned :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
As always much love and many thanks for following/favouriting/reviewing/reading
Enjoy!
xxx
Chapter Eighteen: The Long Way Home I
"How're you doing D'Art?" called Aramis, his voice tight and full of pain as the pair pushed their mounts as much bodies would allow. Under normal circumstances neither man would have been allowed out of bed by this point, let alone of a horse galloping throughout the French countryside, but these were far from normal circumstance so true to the medic's words they had set off after a couple of hours rest.
"And don't you dare say you're fine," warned Aramis with a grin that was more like a grimace than anything else as he saw D'Artagnan open his mouth to answer the question.
"I wasn't going to," huffed the Gascon as he mock glared at his friend.
Aramis's grin turned truer, though faded quickly as another wave of pain shot through him.
"Really?" asked the medic in disbelief, a small amount of teasing in his voice "By all means, what were you going to say?
Embarrassment had a rush of red flooding the Gascon's cheeks.
"I… I'm okay"
Aramis snorted, "Close enough."
After this exchange both men rode without a word. It soon became a race to see what would happen first; reaching the Garrison or falling off the horse.
"D-D'Art!" called Aramis breathlessly as he forced his frame to straighten from the slumped form it had taken for the last few hours.
Having endured more wounds than his friend D'Artagnan had suffered greatly during their ride, though he took it as a matter of pride not to show it. The emotion in his friend's voice though, it was enough to force the Gascon's curiosity to win out and despite the agonizing pain D'Artagnan allowed his body to straighten as well, his exhausted pain-filled eyes going wide with hope when he saw what had brought the emotion from Aramis's voice.
"…Paris."
"Argh!" swore Athos as his broken foot caught on an uneven tile, the pain causing him to lose what balance he still had and had it not been for Porthos's firm grip on him he would have fallen flat on his face.
"Never took you for a swooning maiden," teased Porthos as he looked down at the brother whose face was now squashed against his chest.
"You good?" he asked, breathing heavily as he tried to use his good arm to help his brother back to his feet.
Unable to talk through the pain now radiating through his body Athos merely gritted his teeth and nodded sharply, readjusting his arm over his brother's shoulder while trying not to think about the pain he must be causing to his friend.
Porthos was injured, anyone could see that and despite that the larger man remained adamant about getting all three of them out of their hellish prison, even if he had to practically carry Athos to do it.
"Not happening," grunted Porthos without so much as a look at Athos as he spurred them on again.
Athos's head tilted in confusion, his pain-dulled and exhausted mind having trouble understanding what had prompted that from his friend.
Seeing the swordsman's confusion Porthos explained. "I know that look."
"What look?"
"I've said it already 'Thos, I aint leaving you here so get it out of your head."
Athos scowled, "I wasn't…"
The conversation was put on pause briefly when they reached a junction in the corridor. Upon instruction from the larger man Vivienne moved Athos's other arm from her shoulders and tiptoed to the corner, hugging the wall as she went. For several moments she stayed there, checking for any approaching hostiles, seeing none she offered the musketeers a shaky smile before resuming her spot by Athos's side as the group moved on.
"You were," grunted Porthos as if the conversation hadn't halted earlier. Vivienne felt a little awkward to be present for this argument between the men but as she couldn't really escape to give them their privacy she resolved to just stay as silent as possible.
After several moments of silence Athos sighed and even that sounded full of pain. "It's the logical choice Porthos," he grunted, trying to carry as much of his own weight as he could despite failing miserably at doing so.
"It's the suicidal choice," corrected Porthos with a hard glare, "We get out, yay for us but you… Even if Daviau's dead there'd be nothing stopping Marcel killing you in the most painful way out of revenge.
"At least it'll keep him distracted," grumbled the swordsman, his mind so muddled by pain that he didn't see the emotion flash across his brother's face until it was too late and the man had him up against the wall, paying not attention to either of their injuries.
"Shut. Up." Growled the musketeer, his voice brimming with so much hurt and anger. Athos opened his mouth to respond, knowing he had pushed his friend too far with that last comment but Porthos continued, cutting him off, before he had the chance.
"'Mis and the whelp might be dead," snarled Porthos, "you didn't see Marcel's face as he told me that. For all that I don't want to believe him you didn't see him. Marcel completely believes that they're dead and you what? Just want me to willing hand over what might be left of my family so you can fulfill whatever self-sacrificing delusion you have going on in your brain right now?"
"Porthos…" Athos said softly, his voice small as guilt sunk into his bones at the sound of the honest pain in Porthos's voice.
"No," growled Porthos as he shook his head, "we're all going to get out of here, find what happened to 'Mis and the kid and if Marcel's right and they're dead… then I'm going to make sure he and whoever else was involved regrets that for rest of their short lives so shut up and let's go!"
In all fairness Aramis should have seen it coming. Things had been going fairly well for the pair all things considered. It had been a few hours since they had spotted Paris in the distance and now were only another couple of hours ride away if they kept at their current pace. They'd not run into any further bandits or wild animals, which had been a serious concern for both men consider how covered in blood they were. The only thing that had been forced to contend with was the ever-growing pain of their injuries as the rode, which of course should have alerted the musketeer that, given their stellar track record, something was about to go horribly wrong.
At first he wasn't even sure he had heard it, the voice was so quiet and small that the medic almost mistook it for his exhausted mind playing tricks on him, but when it came again Aramis knew it wasn't.
"…'Mis…"
Spinning in his saddle as quickly as his injury would allow the medic was forced to watch in growing horror as D'Artagnan, who was now deathly pale, passed out and fell off his horse.
"D'ARTAGNAN!" he screamed, immediately pulling on his own horse's reigns to move closer to the boy. Aramis had been so wrapped up in his guilt and worry induced thoughts about what his brothers might be being forced to endure at that moment that he hadn't noticed when the Gascon had begun to fall behind, something he was now cursing himself over.
"D'Art!" he cried again, sliding off of his horse with a loud hiss of pain that his mind didn't truly register. As soon as his boots touched solid ground the medic was scrambling over to the unconscious boy's side.
Practically falling against the boy in his rush to get to him Aramis let out a string of Spanish curses when he felt the heat coming from his young friend's skin.
Without wasting a second and while ignoring the growing pain of his own wound Aramis ripped open D'Artagnan's shirt.
"…Buy me… dinner first," came a breathy voice that had Aramis nearly jumping out of his skin.
Moving his gaze from the boy's chest to his face Aramis almost collapsed in relief when he saw the slightly glazed brown eyes staring weakly back at him.
It was at this point that the words the boy had spoken finally clicked in his mind and the medic let out a broken chuckle, "I'm pretty sure I owe you more than one dinner once this is all over but hopefully you'll let me skip the foreplay and get back to what I was doing."
"W-What," grunted D'Artagnan, his glazed eyes scrunching shut in pain as Aramis worked to removed the bandage covering his recent stab wound, "happened?"
"You fainted," explained Aramis, his voice clinical as he worked, his eyes never straying from his patient. "Fell off your horse."
"R-Right," slurred D'Artagnan, his head moving in what Aramis could only guess was an attempt at a nod.
"Mind explaining why you didn't tell me you weren't feeling well?" scolded the medic as he frowned at the obvious signs of infection now appearing on the wound.
D'Artagnan frowned, "W…W-We were close… T-Thought… could make it."
Aramis's frown deepened, "Well you can't continue like this."
"J-Just get me back on the horse."
"No," Aramis refused, unsure if he should be awed or annoyed by the boy's relentless stubbornness. "Neither of our horses can carry two, even for what's left of the journey, we've pushed them too hard and there's no way I'm risking you falling off again by letting you ride alone, it's a miracle the fall didn't cause one of your broken ribs to pierce your lungs!"
"L-Leave me then," he slurred, exhaustion and infection threatening to pull him under again.
"Not happening now shut it and let me work."
"Enter!"
Treville looked up from his paperwork to see a nervous looking Jacques standing by the now open office door.
"Jacques? What's wrong?"
The young teen shuffled nervously before remembering why he had knocked. "Sir, you said you wanted to know if that man came by again."
Treville practically jumped to his feet, "He's here?"
Jacques shook his head; "I was coming back from taking one of the horses to the blacksmith when I saw him walking towards the garrison. He must have recognized me as he turned and went a different way when he saw me."
"You're sure he was coming here, he wasn't just out for a walk?"
"No sir… I mean yes, yes I'm sure. He was practically at the gate when he noticed me."
"Right," said Treville, anger and worry noticeable in his voice as he stormed out of his office and onto the balcony that looked over the training courtyard.
"Men!" he bellowed, instantly getting the attention of all the soldiers currently in the garrison. "I need men for a scouting mission. Aramis and the others have been too long and now we have some skulking about asking after him. I can't sanction a complete search and rescue mission until over a week has passed, but I can have some of you out on the roads under the guise of a patrol so do I have any volunteers?"