Author's Note: Thank you immensely for reading and reviewing. I've been so upset with myself for not posting for such extended periods of time, because I'm one of those people who doesn't even look at a fic if it's incomplete and hasn't been updated for more than 3 months.

So a thousand apologies for anyone who has been checking back to see if I'd posted these last couple of years.

Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to the characters created by Alexandre Dumas, specifically speaking of our beloved Musketeer men and women. The whump and angst is all my idea though, so you can definitely blame me for that. ;)

Chapter 10

Unacceptable Offers

He had been trying to find somewhere comfortable to lay down after his wounds had been tended to, but the task proved impossible, as his entire body was screaming at him to remain still. But even then he was uncomfortable. While he had been stitched and bandaged as well as could be expected, they had decided on leaving the wounds on his back unbandaged, but cleaned thoroughly. While the process was painful, and he couldn't help but cry out several times, he was able to find a few moments of rest thanks to the utter exhaustion of the last few days' events.

Aramis had been in the beginning stages of waking up when the door to his prison was suddenly opened and before him stood a grinning Grimaud.
"Rest well musketeer?" he spoke as he entered the room. Moving to stand just within Aramis' reach.

Aramis moved to a seated position, knowing he wouldn't be able to stand, but still wanting to show some form of defiance in front of his captor.

"I know the accommodations aren't what you're used to," he paused a moment as if a thought had just occurred to him, "although you may be, don't you monks sleep in the hay in repentance or something like that?"

Aramis said nothing, both not trusting the strength of his voice, and he really didn't feel like correcting the imbecile.

Grimaud crouched down to just above eye level with the musketeer. "You know, you don't look at all well."

Looking at him closely with mock concern on his face, he reached out and grabbed a handful of Aramis' hair, forcing his head back to look him in the eyes.

He hadn't even noticed that his head had fallen, when did that happen?

"Why don't we get you outside for some sun, that ought to make you feel better aye?"

As he spoke the two men who had entered the cell with Grimaud, moved forward, and forcefully grabbed Aramis by the arms, causing a groan of pain to escape from his gritted teeth. They forced his hands behind his ruined back and tied them tight together, aggravating both his arms and where his hands were resting on the open wounds on his back, assuredly causing to begin bleeding once again. They then shoved a piece of cloth into his mouth securing it with another strip and tied it tightly behind his head.

Aramis was shoved forward, and with nothing to slow his momentum and the wound from his initial capture making itself known, fell roughly onto the dusty ground, face first. He added that to the growing list of bruises to his head alone. As they laughed at their handiwork, Grimaud stepped in front of him, his foot mere inches from Aramis' face. "Not nearly as graceful as I remember you to be." Aramis just coughed through the cloth in his mouth and groaned in response, unable to really do anything else. "Get him up" he ordered to the two men, before kicking him in the stomach, forcing all the air out of his lungs.
They grabbed him once again, forcing him to his feet as he tried to regain his breath. He was doubled over as they exited the stable, and Aramis caught the eye of the guard he recognized outside. Tomas, once catching his eye, looked towards Grimaud with an expression of both fear and anger. Not fully knowing what to make of that, Aramis continued to limp along the path they were leading him.

They did not lead him to the shed where he had been the previous day. Instead he was led through the center of the camp of Spanish soldiers.
Grimaud was talking loudly enough to catch the attention of the immediate surroundings,

"You look to pale for your own good Musketeer, so were going to let you get some sun today.''
While the air was frosted earlier in the morning, they were quickly approaching noon and the last of the summer's heat was making itself known, to an almost sweltering temperature, or maybe that was just the fever. Aramis was led just off to the side of the camp to where a tall wooden beam had been placed on the ground. Once there, Aramis was forced to the ground in a kneeling position where his hands were unbound.

The freedom from bonds was short lived however, as the men who had been dragging him grabbed Aramis by the forearms and then placed his shredded back onto the narrow beam, his arms raised above his head and. Aramis reminded himself that he needed to breathe. Concentrating on that, he almost missed the fact that Grimaud was handed a hammer and several long nails, catching Aramis' attention immediately. His captor, as always, had an expression of mild amusement mixed with a sick fascination.

Aramis just glared hoping that he was showing nothing but defiance.

"Hold still now."

Grimaud knelt beside Aramis reaching down, he grabbed Aramis's left shin and placed his foot on the beam, raising the hammer into the air and placing one of the nails above his left foot. Before Aramis was even able to voice his objections, a muffled scream was ripped from his throat as the hammer came down several times, pounding the nail through his foot and into the wooden platform he was lying on. Without even noticing a pause in pain, the other foot was also torn into as the second nail was placed just as the first. But Aramis was out of breath, so there was no cry of agony, just a pained gasp. Grimaud then moved next to Aramis's face and a single nail was placed on top of his stacked hands. Aramis struggled with all the strength he could, knowing that it would do no good.

"I have an offer for you, Musketeer." Grimaud sneered, running the back of his hand down Aramis's face, caressing him in an almost gentle and caring way. Aramis couldn't help but let a pained whimper escape his lips, which made Lucien's face morph into a terrifyingly satisfied grin. He paused for a moment as if an idea had just come to him.

"I'll make a deal with you, Aramis," Aramis's name harshly whispered into his ear.

"If you renounce your God and your precious Musketeers, I will allow you to live. You can leave right here and right now, no one will try and stop you. You will be given a horse and rations to make your way back to Paris." Grimaud paused, giving Aramis a moment to consider this as an actual option open to him. Then the smile returned but it morphed into a cruel and confident sneer,

"Refuse this offer, and you will be mine." Grimaud gripped Aramis's jaw in one hand and a fistful of hair in the other, forcing Aramis to look him in the eyes and forcing another whimper from behind Aramis's gagged lips.
"You will be mine in every sense of the word Musketeer, and believe me when I say that by the end of our time together you will have wished that you had agreed to deny you precious musketeers."

Aramis, while not unfamiliar with the love of a man, couldn't contain the shudder and dread at the thought of THIS man having him in such a way. However no matter how fearful and horrified he was at that thought, the idea of betraying not only his God but Porthos, Athos, D'Artagnan, Treville, and all those who he had lost in the line of duty was even more terrifying. It may have been just words to some, but when Aramis made an oath he kept it. So to deny those he cared most deeply about, just to save himself more pain and suffering wasn't even an option. He had left once before and it nearly destroyed everything he held most dear. Grimaud knew there was no real option in this, and judging by the look in his eye, he already knew the answer. In response to the offer, Aramis, with every last fiber of strength and resistance he had, reared his head back and smashed it into Grimaud's face. Aramis knew the message had been received when he heard the familiar snapping sound followed closely by Grimaud howling in pain.

Aramis smiled and braced himself for what was to come next.

After a few moments Grimaud crossed back into Aramis's field of vision, wiping and the bloody nose, nodding in understanding. "So be it Aramis, I can't say I'm disappointed, but remember, I gave you the option. When you come to regret it later, you have only yourself to blame."

With no warning the nail that had been placed above his hands was forcefully ripped into his soft flesh. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six slams of the hammer to nail is what it took to complete the securing of Aramis to the wooden beam. It was then slowly raised into a standing position, falling heavily when the beam was secured to the ground from a hole that had been dug deep.

Aramis was in such a state of shock that the pain didn't even register anymore. It was all pain all the time. All ache and agony. Aramis couldn't tell what was hurting anymore because it was everything, everywhere, all at once, and nothing at all at the same time.

Grimaud smirked as he glanced up at Aramis, who was staring up at the sky, refusing to allow this man see the tears welling in his eyes.
"I do hope you enjoy your time here today Aramis, I'll be back for you tonight."

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D'Artagnan had been keeping low in the tall grass, hoping to stay out of sight from any enemies that may come down this road. He had been deep in thought all night long trying to figure out a strategy that could get everyone out of this alive. The chances of that happening however, was something that he didn't really want to dwell on. Scenario after scenario flashed through his mind so quickly it was dizzying. Not knowing all the pieces on the board was also incredibly unhelpful. How many people was Athos coming back with? How well trained are the enemy combatants? Will Aramis be mobile enough to run or will he need to be carried out? Are there more soldiers hidden in the manor?

All these questions he had, rattled around in his mind to the point it almost distracted him from the sound of hoofbeats in the distance. Shaking himself out of his thoughts, D'Artagnan peered out from his hiding place and saw a cloud of dust on the horizon coming from the direction he was hoping for. He stood to make himself known with a look of slight relief on his face.

"Good," he thought to himself, "reinforcements have arrived. Hold on Aramis, we're almost there."

As they approached D'Artagnan raised his hands and waved them down. Athos and Treville were leading the charge in front of approximately twenty other Musketeers.

"Are we close?" Treville asked immediately.

"It's about a two hour ride from here. But we need to approach on foot from about a mile out to avoid alerting them to our presence."

Athos nodded in understanding then looked away in the direction of the enemy that was keeping their friend from them, "Have you seen him?"

"We were able to see him from a distance, and what we did see wasn't… he was in pretty bad shape, Athos, and that was at least fourteen hours ago. Who knows what condition he could be in at this point."

D'Artagnan lowered his head trying to keep the memory of Aramis' bloody body being dragged away from his mind.

Athos reached down from his position on his horse and placed a hand on D'Artagnan's shoulder. Saying nothing with his words, but offering what comfort he could.

"Alright, let's get moving. You can inform us of the plan on the way," Treville said, keeping his mind focused on the task. D'Artagnan nodded and retrieved his own horse from the nearby treeline and started leading the men to their destination.

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That's it for now folks. My laptop is dying and I forgot to grab the charger before I left the house this morning. And I know that if I don't post this now it isn't gonna happen.

Anywho, I hope ya'll like this chapter. I'm getting close to wrapping it up in the next couple of chapters or so. This fic has been on my mind since 2017 and the world is a VERY different place to what it was back then, and my ideas for this story have evolved as I have evolved. So I hope that it hasn't been too confusing to follow because I honestly have been getting lost in who's where and what time of day it's supposed to be and all that fun stuff. Thanks for reading and being patient with me. ?