Evening My Lovelies
OMG only 1 more review until we reach 900 reviews!
Notes On Reviews:
Deana: Thanks for the review - Glad you liked it. Enjoy the new chapter! x
FierGascon: Thanks for the review - Hmmm that might be a good idea :) Enjoy the new chapter! x
Debbie (Guest): Thanks for the review - Thanks :) I'm doing a bit better today, still feeling pretty crappy but better so writing wasn't as bad today. Reading reviews is definitely helping so keep them coming :D Our boy are very very worried and D'Art is definitely the worst off at the moment, but its me so couldnt really expect anything different lol. Enjoy the new chapter! x
pallysdeeks: Thanks for the review - You're right to be worried about D'Art, he's in quite a bad way right now. Athos and Aramis will be meeting up with Treville and his group in tomorrows chapter. Enjoy the new chapter! x
criminally charmed: Thanks for the review - maybe :D Hmmm How do i write a emotionally traumatizing death for my baddie. I don't think I could make Supernatural look harmless. Enjoy the new chapter! x
Maryg (Guest): Thanks for the review - Mwhahaha I know! I'm having a lot of fun keeping you all guessing what I've done to poor little D'Art, you wont be learning what I've done to him until the rescue happens. Aramis and Athos are on the hunt, getting a brief clue today and will soon be joining up with Treville again. I will give you this though, purely as i'm being mean and making you wait to find out about D'Art... Either Aramis or Athos WILL kill Marcel. Enjoy the new chapter! x
Miisakee: Thanks for the review - Glad you liked it :) worry not Corbett's grown on me enough that I can't kill him now. He's in pretty bad shape but he will survive. I'm glad my works improving and thanks for pointing out the couple of typos in yesterday's chapter, I welcome any and all comments about my work, especially constructive criticism. Oh and good luck with your book :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
f1gymnast: Thanks for the review - Athos and Aramis are very stubborn, though Aramis will briefly be putting his foot down today in terms of Athos's health. All three of our missing men are in pretty bad shape right now (I've been a bit mean) Haha you know me well, yes there will be a fight :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
Issai: Thanks for the review - Haha Yeah Aramis definitely noticed Constance's slip... a little bit of teasing to come D'Art's way once they've been rescued me thinks :D Athos and Aramis will be joining up with Treville and some of the other men before starting their rescue attempt and they're all going to be in for quite a shock as Marcel and his men have been quite vicious to our missing men. Enjoy the new chapter! x
watlocked: Thanks for the review - Thanks for the hugs & tea :) I'm doing a bit better today, still a bit crappy but better so I'm taking what I can get :) Aramis and Athos are determined to find some clue as to their brothers' whereabouts. I'm really looking forward to the Treville/Athos blow up, it's going to be soooo much fun to write :D though I'm going to have to remember to keep Athos somewhat restrained as, like you said, Treville is his commanding officer. Bwaha Yeah pain suddenly becomes non-existent when a friend is in trouble it seems... it's a musketeer thing i think, they can stubborn their way through the pain lol. Enjoy the new chapter! x
MicheeO: Thanks for the review - I only need one more now! and yeah I kinda can't help it, D'Art's just so much fun to hurt :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
Lilac Lavender: Thanks for the review - Glad you're feeling better yourself :) I'm doing a lot better today, still a bit urgh but tons better than yesterday so I'm just grateful for that. I loved Athos in the last chapter so I'm really happy you liked him too, his stubborn side is coming out in full force today, though Aramis will be (briefly) putting a stop to it. Oh I am sooo loving keeping you all guessing about D'Art, I'm afraid you'll have to wait until the rescue to see what they've actually done to him but the rescue's coming pretty soon so I wont keep you waiting too long I promise :) Aramis & Athos's reaction to D'Art's (and the others) conditions is another thing I'm looking forward to writing :) Enjoy the new chapter! x
WelshEssex (Guest): Thanks for the review - Aramis and Athos probably shouldn't be helping out with the rescue considering their current condition but I really don't see anyone being able to stop them from joining the mission without knocking them out and tying them up or something lol. D'Art's in a pretty bad way I can promise that :) but you'll have to wait until the rescue to find out what I've done to him. Enjoy the new chapter! x
As always many thanks and much love for following/favouriting/reviewing/reading. You guys are awesome!
Enjoy!
xxx
Chapter Seventy-Six: The Search II
When the two musketeers finally reached Athos's apartments the medic was all but carrying his friend, the swordsman's body too overwhelmed by the pain and exhaustion of his injuries to fully carry his own weight.
"Locked," sighed Aramis as he tried the door, shifting his grip on Athos to search for something suitable to pick the lock open with when Athos sluggishly pushed a key into his hands.
Aramis blinked, staring down at the key in his hand, "Didn't know you had more than one," he mused as he unlocked the door.
"Don't" grunted Athos as he limped into his apartment.
Aramis's head tilted to one side in confusion as he turned to look at his friend. "Then how did you plan for Porthos and the others to get in?"
Athos shrugged, his eyes locking on to the half-full bottle of wine on his table. "He likes to pick the locks," he offered by way of an explanation, "say's it keeps him sharp."
Aramis blinked again before letting out a small laugh, the first piece of true, positive emotion he had shown since Vivienne's death, "That does sound like him." A smirk pulled at his lips as he added casually, "you know he's teaching the kid right?"
Athos said nothing in response, merely raised a questioning eyebrow at his friend.
"Caught him doing it a couple of weeks back, from what I could tell D'Art was getting quite good. Heard Porthos tell him he'll teach him how to pick pocket next," teased Aramis, a small grin tugging at his lips when he heard Athos's quiet grumblings.
With one last fond look at his brother Aramis moved to the closet, opening it wide and staring at its contents for a few moments before turning to face his expectant brother with a slightly sheepish expression. "I… Don't actually know what you had in here as to whether they've taken anything."
This time it was Athos who chuckled at his friend, limping slowly over to the wardrobe, inspecting the clothes inside for a few moments before nodding, confirming that their missing friends had been here at some point.
"Okay," nodded Aramis, doing his best to keep his worry out of his voice. "So they made it here, that means they were grabbed somewhere on their way back to the garrison."
"Let's go," grunted Athos, a hiss of pain escaping him as his leg gave out after a few steps, though thankfully there was both a chair and Aramis near him to catch him before he crumbled to the ground.
"You need to rest Athos," said Aramis softly, the protectiveness he felt for his brothers pushing its way passed the grief and worry to be at the forefront of the medic's mind.
"I'm fine," grumbled the swordsman as the weakly tried to push his friend away.
"No you're not!" exclaimed Aramis as he forced the musketeer into the chair he was using as a standing support. "You can barely stand my friend, you need to rest."
Athos scowled, "I can't…"
"Five minutes," pleaded Aramis, the worry and pleading tone in his voice successfully interrupting his brother's speech. When Athos said nothing in response the medic took it as a sign to continue. "Just five minutes Athos. We're going to be at a big enough disadvantage already should a fight break out with our injuries and that would be fully rested. We're running on fumes so five minutes then we head towards the garrison?"
Despite wording it like a question Athos could hear the silent order underneath the words and with one last scowl, accepted his friend's proposal.
Porthos was beginning to feel his eyes close when the sound of the door unlocking broke through the silence and had him alert in mere moments.
"Surprised to see you awake musketeer," mused Marcel as he entered the cell looking genuinely surprised to see one of his captives' conscious and alert.
"Surprised to see you without your mutts," growled Porthos as he noted the man had entered the cell alone, though the dark smirk that pulled at Marcel's lips had the chained musketeer questioning their absence with growing worry.
"They're preparing for our guests," stated Marcel with such nonchalance that it set Porthos's nerves on edge.
"Guests?"
Marcel grinned, his face taking on a slight maniacal look as he moved to kneel in front of the bloodied musketeer. "You didn't think we took your pauldrons for nothing now did you?"
Porthos blinked in surprise, his eyes immediately flickering over to the shoulder where his now missing pauldron had once sat. It took a moment for the musketeer's pain-dulled mind to comprehend why he was now missing his pauldron but when he did the almost pushed himself to the point where he passed out from the pain of his injuries by trying to launch himself at the smug man in front of him.
"Oh yes musketeer," grinned Marcel as he watched the chained man try to compose himself after his attack attempt. "They were delivered this morning, shouldn't be long now."
"Why are you doing this?" Porthos growled, fear filling him as he realized his family was walking into a trap.
Marcel scowled, "Your precious Captain has to pay for what he's done."
"How is this… making him pay?" snarled a breathless Corbett, having woken up during Porthos's attempts at reaching Marcel.
"Well would you look at that," remarked Marcel with a mocking tone, "two out of three awake… Now we just need the boy to wake up and you can all watch the show together."
At the mention of the Gascon all three sets of eyes turned to look at the slumped form of the young man whose hair was the only proof that he was still breathing as it was hanging over his face and fluttering slightly with every breath that he took.
Porthos and Corbett watched the boy with growing concern and slight anticipation, both of them hoping that the Gascon would suddenly surprise them by waking up and cursing out Marcel like he had been doing the day before.
Marcel on the other hand was watching the boy with a knowing expression on his face that conflicted with his inner emotions. He knew his men had been extremely rough with the young man and the part of him that hadn't quite gone obsessed with the need for revenge hated what the man had been forced to endure.
He hadn't been in the room when his men had started on the Gascon but more than once he had felt the need to intervene when the boy's screams pushed that small part of him to the surface. It was only the reminder that anything that happened to the young man would undoubtedly hurt both Treville and Aramis greatly that had him refraining from entering.
"I doubt he'll be with us any time soon," shrugged Marcel, pushing the conflicted part of himself down as he focused on the task at hand. "My associates said he was particularly vocal last night… they did not take too kindly to it."
Marcel watched as the fury made itself known on Porthos's face whilst also not missing the guilty look that settled on Corbett's.
"What did you bastards do to him?!" roared Porthos, pulling at his restraints as he stared at the unconscious Gascon.
The young man was covered in a lot of blood and from his current position Porthos was unable to tell exactly what had caused the bleeding and how bad it was.
The lack of knowledge was killing him, for all he knew his friend could be bleeding out in front of him right now, all for Marcel's sick need for vengeance for something that happened half a decade ago.
Marcel said nothing in response, merely settling for another smug smirk before exiting the room, leaving the two worried musketeers to helplessly stare at their companion.
"…Porthos…" wheezed Corbett after a few minutes of silence. His breathing was still off and it hurt to do anything but stay completely still and take shallow breaths but he forced himself to turn slightly to better face his comrade-in-arms.
"…I'm… sorry."
Porthos blinked, those two words being enough to tear his focus away from watching his young friend and making sure he was still breathing.
"You're sorry?" questioned the larger musketeer, his face a picture of confusion as he waited for Corbett to confirm he had heard him right before continuing his questions. "What are you sorry for?"
"They... They were coming for me," coughed Corbett, a grimace twisting his face as pain shot through his broken ribs. "The kid started cursing them out to get the attention off of me… I tried… I swear I did, to get them to leave him alone but…"
Porthos sighed, understanding that Corbett had both been ignored and had passed out before he could prevent D'Artagnan from whatever fate had awaited him. The larger man could tell, simply by looking at Corbett, why D'Artagnan had felt the need to try and protect him. The Gascon had been left largely alone since the initial assault on his broken arm when they had first woken up; overall he had been in better condition than the pair of them and Corbett's breathing trouble was both visibly and audibly clear, something Marcel's men wouldn't have hesitated to focus on had they decided to focus on him.
"The kid won't blame you," sighed Porthos, looking at the barely conscious musketeer beside him with both sympathy and understanding in his eyes. "He's reckless like that, 'sides, they would have killed you, he wouldn't just sit there and do nothing… Ain't in him to do that."
Corbett said nothing; his head hanging low as he contemplated his friend's words.
"Whelp's gonna pull though this," stated Porthos, his eyes burning with new determination, "We all will and he'll tell you that himself."
Athos and Aramis were standing at the entrance of an alley, eyeing it with intense focus when Alain and Blaise found them.
"Finally," huffed Alain, placing his hands on his knees as he leant forward, breathing heavily. "We've been looking all over for you!"
Blaise quickly noticed that neither musketeer was really paying attention to them and stepped forward, a curious look on his face as he silently asked what was going on.
"This is the perfect ambush spot," explained Aramis dryly, his eyes never leaving the alley as he disentangled himself from his swordsman friend and began to enter the alley.
Athos huffed at being left to continue the explanation but quickly picked up where Aramis had left off, not trusting himself to make it down the alley without getting his crutch caught on something.
"This is the only alley between my lodgings and the garrison that's far enough away from the main roads and the garrison itself for sounds of an ambush or fight to not attract attention.
Both Blaise and Alain nodded in understanding and Alain was about to speak up when they heard Aramis returning from his investigation of the alley.
"Aramis?" Athos asked, doing his best to disguise the exhaustion in his voice while leaning against the wall for support.
"Found this," growled the marksman, his fingers just itching to shoot someone as he passed over a heavy beam of wood that was stained with blood on one end.
Athos took the beam, glaring at it for a moment before throwing it, with all his remaining strength, to the ground with a roar.
"…Athos," said Blaise hesitantly, not exactly wanting a repeat of the morning's display of anger from the swordsman.
Upon hearing his name Athos spun on his heels as best he could to glare at the musketeer speaking to him, rage burning brightly in his eyes as his free hand clenched itself so tightly into a fist that it turned his skin white.
"You had better be telling me Treville's found something," snarled Athos.
Blaise straightened, refusing to be intimidated by his lieutenant's anger as he nodded to the man. "We have a possible location."