Three years later...

Would You Risk It For A Friend?

Aramis and Sylvie were sitting in silence in the cellar. Sylvie had had to put the gag back on him and keep it on. The guard outside the door checked regularly and the first time he saw Aramis' mouth free, both of them took a kicking.
This time, when the guard came in, he wasn't alone. There were two of them. They picked Aramis up from the ground and dragged him upstairs, leaving Sylvie alone in the cellar. Aramis was soon standing in front of Grimaud again.
"I told you there was going to be punishment, Minister, didn't I?" He glanced at his men. "Take the chains and the gag off. He's going to take his beating like a man."
For the first time in days, Aramis' hands and ankles were freed. Grimaud was expecting him to stand and take the punches. He thought he'd become placid in his role as Minister. There were times, Aramis reminded himself, when he could be a Musketeer too. Grimaud landed the first blow to Aramis' side, but then the Musketeer started retaliating. He was getting hurt anyway. It wasn't like it would get any worse if he showed his hand. He punched Grimaud in the face. Georges recoiled and returned it. He signalled to his men who got hold of Aramis and held him in place as Grimaud delivered blow after blow. Aramis made a few feeble attempts to defend himself, but the grip they had on him was too strong, even for him. Grimaud hurt him enough so he was sore and he was bleeding, but not as bad as he had last time. Grimaud came up to him and stood right in front of him.
"Chain him again, but don't gag him. Tomorrow, Aramis, I'm going to give you a choice." Aramis didn't like where this was going. "Option one. Tomorrow, you duel with me. You win, Sylvie goes free and you stay here. You lose, she dies and you remain here. Option two, you don't do this and you both die. Would you risk your life for hers? Talk to her about it tonight. Tomorrow I will get you up here and you can come to me with your decision. You've got at least five days until your friends return. That's plenty of time to deal with you. Get him out of here." Aramis' hands were placed behind his back and chained up again. Chains were also put round his ankles again. He was taken away, giving Georges one last steely glare. The guards chucked Aramis back in the cellar and slammed the door in his face.
"Aramis? Is that you?" Sylvie asked.
"Yeah. I'm fine."
"Oh, you can actually talk this time?" Sylvie laughed. "Come here. You're bleeding."
"It's nothing compared to last time. Listen, Sylvie, I need to talk to you about something. Grimaud has given me an offer. Tomorrow I duel him. The prize if I win is your freedom. The price I pay if I lose is your death, but not my own. If I refuse we both die. I would never forgive myself if you were to die, and my friendship with Athos would be ruined. Sylvie, what do I do?"
"You have to fight him Aramis. Listen. If you win and I'm set free, that means I can go to the palace and get us help. I could talk to the Queen, or Constance and get help."
"Yeah I suppose. But that's only if I win. If I lose, you're dead."
"Then I take that chance. Do you remember, three years ago, when it was Lucien interfering. Do you remember, how, like now, he held me hostage and when the four of you came to rescue me, I was resolute? Well, it's the same situation here. Death is inevitable. It's going to happen to all of us at one point. It may just turn out that this is my time."
"But if I'm the one to make it happen?"
"Aramis, you have to trust yourself. Did you learn nothing from being a Musketeer, even in the short time that I've known you. You have to trust in yourself to trust others." Aramis nodded, knowing what Sylvie said was true.
"OK. I'll do it. I'll do it for you."

The next morning Grimaud came into the cellar with four of his men.
"So, have you made your decision?"
"Yes. I'll fight." Grimaud smiled menacingly.
"Bring them both upstairs." Men grabbed both prisoners and escorted them upstairs. Sylvie was shepherded into a corner. One man kept a pistol on her, reminding Aramis what was at stake should he succumb to Georges' skills. Lucien had been a excellent fighter, almost a match for Athos, which was saying something. Aramis hadn't picked up a sword for years. He wasn't sure how he would handle it. Then again, last time when he had parted with a weapon for the four years he spent in the monastery it hadn't taken him a massive amount of time to pick it back up.
His chains were removed. He rubbed his sore wrists. One of the guards passed him a sword. There was no way of escaping. He was totally outnumbered and the door was covered with two guards. Aramis shifted the sword between his hands, trying to get a feel for it again. It hit him like a wave. All the times he'd fought and won. He could do the same again. He had motivation and determination.
"He who draws blood first wins," Grimaud said bluntly.
"Fine," Aramis replied.
Grimaud and Aramis touched swords before the Minister made the first time. He tried to jab at Georges' arm but he defended it and returned it.
Sylvie was watching on, worried for her friend. Aramis had to win this, for both thier sakes.
Then she heard a cry. Her heart leaped. Had Grimaud struck Aramis? Had the Musketeer lost?
But then she looked over. She saw Grimaud on the ground, cradling his arm, and Aramis also on the floor, a gun pointed at his head and a guard's boot placed firmly on his back. She smiled. Aramis had won as she knew he would.