D'Artagnan swore under his breath. He pulled a face and shook his head; he stopped short of wagging a finger at the offending lock. Try as he might, he could not pick it. He was doing exactly what Porthos had taught him, but the lock would not turn.

He became aware of someone nearby, he twisted around. Porthos appeared from the gloom of the tunnel. His friend looked exhausted, d'Artagnan did not like to think about the horror his friend would have endured just getting through the tunnel.

'Athos is helping Aramis. I … got a bit worked up. It's better now that I can see daylight.'

D'Artagnan managed a smile, 'better and worse.'

Porthos nodded, 'we need to get to cover. We need to get away from here. Any luck with the lock?'

D'Artagnan shook his head and shuffled to the side, out of Porthos' way, he handed the lockpick to his friend who went to work on the lock. Porthos sat back on his heels after a few seconds and shook his head.

'It's rusted shut. You wouldn't have been able to manage it. I won't be able to pick that.'

'Are we stuck then?' asked d'Artagnan, watching Porthos carefully.

He did not like the idea of having to make his friend crawl back through the tunnel. Porthos glanced at him and smiled grimly.

'Let's not act defeated until we actually are,' he said as he twisted around to sit back.

He leaned back on his elbows and brought his feet up, pressing them against the gate firmly. D'Artagnan smiled and quickly moved into the same position. Porthos had no desire to return to the castle through the tunnel and he was going to do everything he could to prevent having to.

They both pulled their feet back, and Porthos counted to three. As one they kicked out. Dust was thrown up on each of the brackets keeping the gate in place.

'It's rusted all the way around,' remarked Porthos. 'Paulet has not been maintaining his castle as well as he should be.'

They kicked again. The gate visibly moved.

'One more,' said d'Artagnan.

The gate gave way, falling forward loudly. D'Artagnan stifled a gasp as the metal smacked back into his shin. They both remained still for several seconds. D'Artagnan hoped the sound had not been heard on the other side of the castle, he hoped the host was with his guests making lots of noise and not listening out for escaping Musketeers.

'You alright?' asked Porthos.

D'Artagnan realised he had screwed his eyes shut to the pain the gate hitting his shin had caused.

'Another bruise to add to the collection,' he said.

'None of us are exactly fit at the moment,' said Athos from behind them.

They twisted around to find Athos and a pale Aramis behind them. Athos was squinting at the light that was starting to fill the roofless room in front of them. D'Artagnan knew the knock to the head his friend received was affecting him, and the more physical activity Athos did the worse that was going to be.

'We need to get away,' said Porthos, who was pushing himself out of the tunnel.

A series of metal rungs were built into the wall of the roofless room. Porthos tugged at a few before deciding they were safe. He looked at d'Artagnan who understood. He pulled himself up to his feet, he could feel the throb of pain in his shin where a new bruise was forming. He wanted to be out of the roofless room as soon as possible before it became painful to take weight on the leg.

He was aware of Porthos' hand on his back as he took the first few rungs, pulling himself up until he was level with the ground. He was glad there was no drop on the other side. He hauled himself over the edge before looking back down at his friends.

'I'll have a scout around, see if I can find some transport. I won't go far.'

Before the others could respond he slipped off to search. The sooner they were away from their captors the better.

MMMM

Aramis looked up at the vertical wall of the roofless room. He stared at the metal steps and contemplated clambering up them. He pulled a disapproving face.

'If it is any consolation,' said Athos, 'my head is hurting enough that the prospect of getting up there is not something I am not looking forward to either.'

Porthos looked back at his friends after watching d'Artagnan go out of sight.

'Perhaps it's time for me to start pulling my weight again?' suggested Porthos.

Aramis nodded, 'if you wouldn't mind,' he said.

He used the wall to steady himself as he got to his feet watching Athos ease himself up the metal rungs. Porthos followed Athos a couple of steps behind, holding on one-handed and steadying Athos each time he needed to reach up to the next rung. It took Athos some time to reach the top and pull himself over. Aramis was sure his friend had his eyes screwed shut the entire time. Porthos looked over the top for a few seconds before returning.

'Athos needs rest,' Porthos concluded, 'that bang on the head is catching up with him.'

'If only we had that luxury,' said Aramis as he moved to stand at the bottom of the rung of steps.

'I've got you,' said Porthos. 'You helped me through that tunnel, let me help you up there.'

Aramis nodded and reached up with his good hand he pulled himself up a couple of steps and paused. Porthos moved up behind him on the next step down. In a similar manner to the way he helped Athos, Porthos held on one-handed, using his free hand to hold Aramis in place so that he could reach up to the next rung. But unlike Athos, Aramis was climbing one-handed. He knew he would not have the strength in his right arm to hold himself on the ladder. He had to rely on Porthos keeping him from simply falling backwards.

It was hard work and slow going but Aramis got to the top of the ladder. He peered over the top, relieved to see Athos sitting a few feet away. His friend was rubbing his forehead, his eyes still shut, but he was conscious.

'I'm going to climb up,' said Porthos, 'and pull you up. It won't look pretty but I think that's the easiest way.'

Aramis nodded, he had wondered how he was going to get himself over the top and onto the grass surrounding the roofless room that provided the entrance to the tunnel. Porthos easily climbed past Aramis and clambered onto solid ground. After briefly checking on Athos, Porthos turned to Aramis and reached out. Aramis allowed Porthos to grab him firmly around the waist, initially steadying him as he climbed another couple of rungs, before pulling him forward and keeping a grip on him as he swung his leg over the top. Inevitably his bruised arm was knocked causing Aramis to yelp in pain. Aramis was not entirely surprised to find Porthos smothering any sound he might make as he rode out the pain.

After a few seconds, he nodded to show that he was fine, Porthos removed his hand and helped Aramis to sit up. Aramis held his right arm across his body as the throb of pain threatened to overwhelm him. He was breathing hard, not fully aware of what was going on around him. A hand on his shoulder made him look up. Athos had moved to sit next to him.

'I think d'Artagnan has found us some transport,' said Athos. 'Our potential saviour must have some French. There is some negotiation going on. Although, I do not know what we can offer.'

Porthos, who was standing a few yards away, shielding his eyes from the early morning sun beckoned to them. Athos slowly got to his feet before holding out his hand to Aramis who accepted the help gratefully.

They joined Porthos who was glancing around, paying a lot of attention to the grand house beyond the walls of the castle they had just escaped from.

'The sooner we get away the happier I will be,' said Porthos.

Aramis nodded, 'it won't be long before we are missed.'

The area they found themselves in was open with trees dotted about. A huge brick barn dominated the view to the west of them with open countryside to the south. D'Artagnan was talking to a middle-aged man sitting at the front of a cart at the side of the road a hundred yards away. The man was glancing at the castle frequently. Aramis wondered if the man had worked out that they had escaped. The man could call for help, leading to the four of them being re-caught. But they had little choice. They were all injured, and walking to the coast was not an option.

Aramis had mixed feelings when d'Artagnan turned to them and indicated for them to join him.

'This is Joseph, he says he can take us to the coast, but he wants payment in advance. He says he'll take whatever we can offer.'

Joseph looked down at them from his seat at the front of the cart, the reins to the two horses held loosely in his hands.

'If you ain't got no money,' said Joseph, his local accent strong, 'you must be in trouble. So you gotta make it worth me while to risk taking you. I have to be your easy option.'

Porthos reached into his pockets and pulled out a few coins he held them out to Joseph. Joseph allowed Porthos to drop the coins into his hand but kept his hand out, expecting more. They each riffled through their pockets, pulling out the few possessions they had been left with when they were captured.

Athos dropped his signet ring into the man's palm. Joseph allowed a smile to creep across his face. Aramis knew the ring meant little to Athos, but it would be worth something to Joseph who clearly had no scruples.

Joseph pocketed the coins and the ring before pointing at Aramis' chest. Aramis looked down realising his jewelled cross was hanging outside his shirt. The cross, a gift from the Queen, was valued by Aramis above all his possessions. He did not want to part with it but knew he had no choice.

MMMM

The hesitation was brief, but long enough for Athos to notice, and long enough for Joseph to notice. The man's lip quirked slightly; Athos disliked the fact the man was enjoying depriving Aramis of something he held dear. The man would not prize the jewelled cross. He would sell it at the first opportunity he got. Athos' dislike for the man only grew. He had been unsure from the moment he laid eyes on the man, but they needed the help, they had no choice. And Joseph knew that.

Aramis handed the cross to the man who held it up for a couple of seconds and nodded. He pushed the cross into his pocket along with the rest of his payment, before indicating for them to climb onto his cart.

Once they were settled, the man urged the horses forward.

'I can get you to Portsmouth late tonight,' said Joseph over his shoulder, 'the horses will need to stop a couple of times, but I doubt anyone will pay much attention to you.'

'Thank you, monsieur,' said Athos, despite not meaning it in the slightest.

The four settled in for the long ride to the coast. Athos wondered how they would fare once they reached La Manche. If they were lucky, they could find a French vessel and talk the Captain into helping them. Athos, as the reluctant diplomat of the group, would no doubt be their spokesman, he hoped he could be persuasive enough. They were out of uniform, but it was every Frenchman's duty to help a countryman.

Aramis, who was sitting opposite Athos, shifted slightly and winced in pain. Athos sympathised. He noticed both Porthos and d'Artagnan stretching their arms and legs and pulling faces as new bruises and strains were discovered.

Athos leaned forward, aware of his own collection of aches and pains, pushing away the thumping pain in his head as he spoke to Aramis.

'Do you think you would be able to find what you need to make a painkiller?'

Aramis shook his head, 'without knowing the area well, I won't know where to search,' he paused and glanced at Joseph who was paying attention to the road. 'And we don't have anything else to give to him.'

Joseph twisted around in his seat, allowing the horses to pick their way along the road with little direction. He smirked.

'Those doublets,' he said. 'I think we can come to some arrangement. We're coming up on a village where the healer is very good.'

Porthos huffed he was about to say something, but Joseph switched his attention to him.

'What choice do you have?' he said. 'You can continue sitting there in obvious discomfort and pain or let me help you.'

Athos was unsure how forcing them to pay with their possessions was helpful, but the man had a point. He knew his headache was only going to get worse during their journey, and he needed to be focused incase they ran into any real problems.

Joseph turned back to the road, 'the village is just over this hill, are we stopping?'

'Yeah,' said Porthos. 'We are.'

Joseph nodded with a smirk but did not respond.

Porthos leaned closer to Athos, 'my doublet is probably worth the most,' he said. 'If we don't have to give away all our clothes it would be a good thing.'

Athos nodded, 'I hate to agree,' he said. 'You're also the only one of us without a significant injury.'

Porthos smiled, 'now that I'm not facing my fear of confined spaces, I am the most able-bodied of us at the moment.'

Athos leaned back and watched the English countryside for a while. He tried to catalogue their assorted injuries. He had a headache that he knew was not going to stop without the help of a healer, Aramis had an injury to his arm, and d'Artagnan had bruises to his face and additional bruises to his shins that were going to make walking uncomfortable for him. Porthos was probably bruised and battered as well, and despite outwardly appearing normal, was probably still recovering from his unwelcome trip through the tunnel.

They were not fit enough to fight, they had to accept what help Joseph offered them. Athos found Joseph's attitude distasteful. It was true they had escaped captivity and Joseph would have worked that out early on, but the man was exploiting them for all they had. Athos was sure the citizens of France would not act in such a way towards people in need.

D'Artagnan and Aramis were dozing, Athos doubted they would get the opportunity to sleep properly until they were safely on a ship back to France, but any rest they could get was better than nothing. Porthos was gazing off into the distance, his vacant expression a worry to Athos. He had seen soldiers suffer flashbacks to the trauma of battle, and what Porthos had been forced to do was probably affecting him. Athos could only hope that between the four of them, they could watch each other and make sure they all got back to safety.

The End.

Whumpee(s): All four.

Authors note: My apologies. I want to finish this properly but need more space to give it justice. I think this little series will be one that I expand on properly to make a longer story.