Evening My Lovelies
OMG OMG OMG We're sooo close to 1000 reviews! Only 13 more are needed!
Notes On Reviews:
Deana: Thanks for the review - Glad you liked it! Hope this was worth the wait :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
Guest: Thanks for the review - Haha yeah my evil mind's kinda been given free reign with this story :) I'm really happy that you're loving it so far though I hope you continue to stick with me for the remaining chapters. Enjoy the new chapter! x
Tidia: Thanks for the review - They're technically prisoners I suppose as they're still in the house with Marcel but seeing as how Marcel's going to meet his end very soon they're practically free... I doubt that helped explain things, sorry. Enjoy the new chapter! x
criminally charmed: Thanks for the review - Yeah Marcel's got horrid timing :( As for the dogs/wolves idea... could definitely do feral dogs or wolves, though not in this story I think. I have a couple of instances planned in my next story where they could appear for some lovely whumpage so they'll be making an appearance then I promise :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
Debbie (Guest): Thanks for the review - Marcel wont be causing too much physical damage, possible broken nose and some bruises, nothing too much in the grand scheme of things. He'll be meeting his end very soon as well so his luck's running out fast. Aramis is in protective mode right now which I'm having a lot of fun writing and I hope you enjoy :) Enjoy the new chapter! x
watlocked: Thanks for the review - Athos is definitely still angry with Treville, though it's lessening slightly today. It wont go away completely though until he's sure his brothers will be fine and he and Treville have had a chance to talk. Porthos is trying to be the reasonable one but its a bit difficult when he's in such pain... and he's trying to mediate between Treville and Athos lol. Haha Yeah Marcel definitely lacks any sense of self-preservation or brains when it comes to his grudge with musketeers. Enjoy the new chapter! x
pallysdeeks: Thanks for the review - Haha I'm loving these names you've come up with for Marcel :D Our boys are in full on protection mode right now, Marcel's going to regret pushing them so far that's for sure :) Enjoy the new chapter! x
FierGascon: Thanks for the review - I'm a bit afraid to ask how many hate-o-meters we've gone through during this story lol XD As for Marcel he'll be meeting his end very very soon worry not. Enjoy the new chapter! x
Maryg (Guest): Thanks for the review - Worry not Marcel wont be laying a hand on D'Art and he'll (marcel) be meeting his end very very soon and then we can get on with healing our lovely pup and the rest of our boys. I'm really looking forward to writing Athos and Treville's chat though that wont be happening until our boy's are on the mend a bit. Enjoy the new chapter! x
Helensg: Thanks for the review - Fortunately our boys, even in their conditions, are in full protective mode so Marcel wont be able to do much without a serious fight. Enjoy the new chapter! x
f1gymnast: Thanks for the review - Athos feels a bit guilty at not having found Porthos and the others sooner and him telling Porthos about what Treville did is part of him trying to lose that guilt, plus he's still really angry about the whole thing. Yeah trust D'Art to wake just as Marcel appears lol. Enjoy the new chapter! x
Issai: Thanks for the review - Yeah Athos couldn't really not tell Porthos without coming across a bit hypocritical himself, plus poor Porthos has been worrying about it for a while now. Poor Porthos is in quite a bit of pain right now bless him... Aramis'll check him out later so he'll be okay. Marcel will be meeting his end very very soon so I'd definitely agree that this encounter will be very lethal :) Enjoy the new chapter! x
Lilac Lavender: Thanks for the review - Yay I'm really happy you loved the chapter! Couldnt resist a bit of Porthos drama in terms of him attacking Athos. Aramis is continuing his caring for D'Art today, poor pup isnt handling Marcel's return well. Yeah D'Art, Porthos and Corbett wont be having any part in this confrontation as each are a bit too hurt/out of it to be of much help. Luckily they have protective brothers and a papa-bear on their side :D Enjoy the new chapter! x
Guest: Thanks for the review - Worry not Corbett will be okay, he's grown on me too much for me to kill him off or anything :) Enjoy the new chapter! x
As Always Much Love And Many Thanks For Following/Favouriting/Reviewing/Reading
Enjoy!
xxx
Chapter Eighty-Three: Marcel
The reaction to Marcel's voice was immediate. Aramis instantly swallowed his anger at the man as he instead pushed his entire focus onto protecting his young, barely conscious friend. He, unlike everyone else, had seen the small flinch of fear that D'Artagnan couldn't stop at the sound of Marcel's voice and he knew he'd rather die then let Marcel get close to his friend once again.
So instead of launching himself at the smug man at the door like he wanted to Aramis shifted himself slightly so his frame covered as much of D'Artagnan's battered body as he could, all while keeping one of his hands on the boy's skin. He could feel the tremors shaking the Gascon's frame and could only imagine the fear the boy was feeling at Marcel's return. Aramis doubted his touch offered much in the way of comfort but if it helped even a tiny bit, then he would keep his body in the awkward position it was in until Marcel was dealt with.
Treville seemed to have similar ideas to Aramis as he moved to stand protectively in front of an unconscious Corbett, all while cursing the fact he had set his weapons down when he had been treating the man and so was now unarmed with no way of reaching them fast enough without some sort of distraction to keep Marcel from shooting him, which judging by the musket once again aimed in his direction, was the plan.
Athos's entire frame had tensed at the sound of Marcel's voice, even more so when he realized the man was casually pointing a musket at his Captain. The swordsman had shifted slightly to cover his friend and brother but his entire focus was on the smug looking man threatening them from the doorway.
Athos knew that it was only due to the pain of his injuries that Porthos remained stationary, he could practically feel the anger radiating off of the man as he tried to glare at Marcel from his spot on the floor.
Athos also knew that if the opportunity arose then Aramis would leave his protective stance in front of D'Artagnan to get revenge on Marcel.
"I must say," remarked Marcel casually as he leaned against the splintered cell door. "You made it here faster then I had anticipated."
"I must say," sneered Aramis as he subtly squeezed D'Artagnan's shoulder in reassurance. "I thought you'd be smarter than this. What's the point of all this? Do you really think you could win or is this just an elaborate suicide attempt?"
Both Athos and Porthos couldn't help but proudly smirk at the sass coming from their friend, it was a far cry better then the despondent, grief stricken mood he had been stuck in since Vivienne's death.
Marcel however didn't seem as proud, the man's jaw visibly clenching as he struggled to remain calm in the face of the musketeer's mocking.
"Such confidence," smirked Marcel moments later once he had a better grip on his emotions again. The man kept his firearm focused on Treville though the dark look in his eyes told both medic and swordsman that he'd be all to happy to switch targets. "Did you show the same confidence when my associate killed that woman of yours?" Aramis froze, his eyes wide as he stared at Marcel.
At the look of horrified guilt and shame that settled over Aramis's face Marcel could barely contain his smirk, he had just opened his mouth to continue his merciless verbal attack on the man when a very angry Athos interrupted.
"Her blood is on your hands as well Marcel," growled Athos, ignoring the stabbing pain in his leg as he stood to face the armed man in front of him. "She was innocent when this all began, her only 'crime' being who her brother was. For someone who was all about not harming those not involved you sure went after her."
Marcel went to retort but his words died on his lips as Athos silenced him with a glare before continuing, a smug yet somehow still proud look settling on the musketeer's face as he spoke.
"And unlike you Aramis reacted to the murder of someone he cared about with honor." Marcel bristled at this but Athos gave him no time to react passed that. "Did he concoct some scheme that was little better than a tantrum, harming anyone and everyone in its wake? No, because unlike you Aramis had the strength to keep his honor, even in his grief."
Aramis blinked back tears at Athos's words, surprised his friend would have said that, let alone in the presence of an enemy. The thought that he had been willing to do it for him, regardless of the situation warmed the medic's grieving heart and gave him the strength to compose himself in the face of Marcel's accusations.
"Why are you here Marcel?" growled Treville, taking a hesitant step away from Corbett as he spoke, not wanting to risk the man getting caught in crosshairs should Marcel fire the musket aimed at him. "Surely you realize you're fighting a losing battle?"
"I wanted to see your face," sneered Marcel as he stalked closer to the now tense Captain. "I wanted to see the look in your eyes when you realized that every single injury these men received was your fault. I wanted to see that precious musketeer pride of yours get crushed under the knowledge that your men suffered, screamed and bled all because of your actions."
The entire time he was talking Marcel was also moving closer to the musketeer Captain, causing all of the other men in the room to tense up.
Despite the Captain's efforts to keep his face unaffected and emotionless Athos could see how much Marcel's words were affecting him, how much they hurt his old friend and the swordsman couldn't help but feel some of his earlier anger at the Captain fade away. He was still plenty angry and irritated at the knowledge that he and Treville would need to clear the air between them once they made it out of this but it was something of a relief to the swordsman to feel some of his anger drain away.
With his anger clouding his vision a little less Athos was able to spot what Treville was going to do mere moments before he did it and the swordsman readied himself to move the second it became necessary for him to do so.
Treville had tried to ignore Marcel's angered accusations as the man stormed up to him, tried to focus on the hastily concocted plan his mind had created.
He managed to refrain from showing any sort of obvious emotion or reaction until Marcel was right up in his face. Inwardly Treville couldn't help but smirk, he had guessed that Marcel wouldn't have taken kindly to his apparent apathy to his words and so had unknowingly moved closer to the man in an effort to intimidate him.
Unfortunately for Marcel however all his actions ended up doing was giving the Captain the exact opening he had been waiting for and without any warning Treville pulled his arm back before throwing all his remaining strength and anger into the punch he swung at Marcel's face, smirking in satisfaction as he felt the man's nose crack under the force of his punch.
As Treville wrestled with Marcel for control of the musket he still held the remaining musketeers each used the distracted state of their captor to their advantage.
Aramis was the first to move, though he ignored the instinct that was screaming at him to pick up his disguarded pistol up from the floor and instead turned all of his attention onto D'Artagnan who's breathing had picked up the longer Marcel spoke and was now practically hyperventilating and in the early stages of a panic attack.
"Breathe D'Artagnan," soothed Aramis quietly as he shifted to block the barely conscious Gascon's view of his tormentor while he tried to get the boy to calm down. It broke his heart to see the typically strong young man so terrified but all it took was one glance at the wounds marring the Gascon's skin to tell him exactly why his friend was so scared. No one could go through such physical trauma without gaining some mental scars as well.
"It's okay D'Art," whispered Aramis as he cupped the boy's face with both hands, repeating his motions from when the boy had been beginning to wake. He continued to whisper soothing words as he drew small circles on the boy's cheeks with his thumbs, ensuring he kept D'Artagnan's view of Marcel blocked the entire time.
It took several long minutes, all of which were accompanied by grunts from the two fighting men behind him, but eventually D'Artagnan's breathing slowed back down to a normal pace. The fear was still clear in his tired, pain-filled eyes but there was also a small glimmer of his trademark stubbornness and determination as well.
Once he was sure the Gascon wasn't about to fall back into his panic attack Aramis released his grip on the boy's face, barely biting back a cry of pain as his leg flared with pain as he moved to pick up his pistol. Aramis knew that Treville needed to do this; it was why Athos, who looked ready to murder someone, hadn't moved to help. It frustrated the medic to know he couldn't just shoot Marcel, though he didn't have a clear shot anyway so that made it slightly easier. As it was he settled for imagining all the different places he could shoot him to cause maximum pain while he watched the fist fight going on between his Captain and Marcel, his pistol following Marcel as much as it could the entire time, primed and ready to go at a moments notice.
Athos's eyes never left his Captain the entire fight, his body was tense and ready to step in the moment things appeared to be turning in Marcel's favour. As it was the Captain was handling himself remarkably well for someone no doubt exhausted and pained by a healing injury. The odd glimpse of his Captain's face he was able to get during the fight showed the fierce determination and protectiveness that had earned the man the loyalty of the regiment.
While his focus was on watching the fight Athos was not so detached that he didn't notice Aramis trying to follow Marcel's form with his pistol. This only made Athos more determined to step in before his brother could react, Aramis had enough blood on his hands right now he certainly didn't need any more, even if it wouldn't have brought guilt with it.
The problem was that Aramis was an extremely quick shot, he wasn't recognized as the regiment's best marksman for nothing after all and with Athos's own leg injury he wasn't sure if he would be able to react faster then his friend should something go wrong.
Though for now he focused on watching his Captain fight back against the man that had caused them all so much pain, an insanely smug smirk growing on his face as he heard the cry of pain from Marcel as Treville was able to use the musket, which was still in Marcel's hands, to break, or at the very least crack, one of Marcel's ribs.