The Musketeer Girl

Chapter 25

Russo was tied up and taken away by the Palace guards. He was to be locked away in a cell for the night before being hung for his crimes against the King and Queen of France. In the throne room, the musketeers were untied as the royal couple were checked on by Kayley "are you both alright your majesties??" she asked, scanning both over for any possible injuries; the husband and wife nodded as they reassured the teenager that they were perfectly fine "thank you Kayley". The young girl bowed before turning towards the five shocked friends - the Cardinal remained in the corner as he watched with wide eyes, wondering how the hell the female musketeer was alive?? "Hey" the fourteen year old sent her friend a gentle smile as they eventually snapped out of their trances "you...you're alive?!" Treville exclaimed "but...but how?! What about the letter we received from the King and Queen?!" none of them understood which was more than clear. How was the girl in front of them alive?! "Well you see...".

Flashback to this morning - when Kayley was talking to the King and Queen

The door began to open to reveal...a servant. "Your morning tea, your majesties" he explained; the couple nodded as he placed the tray onto the table that they were sat at "thank you John" he bowed before taking his leave. As soon as the door closed, the Queen spoke "as we were saying" she continued "we've decided to show you to the royal secret chambers" she explained; this earned a raised brow from the teenager as she asked why they had made such a decision. Louis spoke up this time as he explained "we want to make people believe that...well that you're dead" the musketeers eyes widened upon hearing the statement "you...you want me to fake my own death?! But why?!" she asked. Anne rose from her seat as she explained their reasoning "whoever this traitor is will be relieved that you are no longer around and are out of the picture" she paused momentarily "which will give you the perfect time to...investigate and discover who this traitor is exactly, and when you do so, it can be revealed that you are actually alive". This was a lot to process and it seemed Kayley was struggling to get her head around it "who knows of this plan??" she asked as she rubbed her forehead, as if it would help control her racing mind; the King thought for a second "other than the three of us?? No one"he informed. Something came to the girls mind - a question "why can't the other musketeers know of this?? Or at least Treville??" she asked; none of them would tell anyone of the plan "the less that know the better I'm afraid" the King explained "and if the other musketeers truly believe you're dead, no one else will doubt it, including the traitor" he wasn't wrong there. Sighing, Kayley knew she didn't exactly have a choice - this was her job after all "alright, I'll do it" the couple smiled at the answer "but how are we going pull this off?? Making people think I'm dead??" she asked; Anne began to explain that part of the plan "I shall write a letter addressed to captain Treville, briefly explaining your death" she thought of what to put in this letter "someone managed to sneak into the Palace and attacked us, to which you saved us but was sadly killed in the process" it sounded like it could work. Louis, needing to speak with the Cardinal, left his wife to escort the young musketeer to the royal secret chamber through the hidden tunnels.

Back to the present time

"And that was the plan" Kayley finished her explanation "it seemed to be working until Russo turned up" they were each impressed by what they were hearing, yet they couldn't completely shake their shock off "at least she's still alive and not actually dead" Treville reasoned with a smile before he pulled the girl into a very needed embrace. Each musketeer took a turn in giving their young friend a tight squeeze "never do that to us again" Athos pleased as he hugged the teenager "I don't think our hearts could take it" this earned a chuckle from the fourteen year old "no promises there" was all she said. The royal couple thanked their musketeers before allowing them to leave; the Cardinal....had somehow vanished after hearing how the young girl was still alive. The group of six returned to the stables and hopped up onto their horses before riding back into the town of Paris; they wide eyes and yells of joy that were seen and heard as Kayley passed by was rather amusing and heart warming - a large wave of complete and utter relief washed over the town as the citizens began celebrating "we thank god that you are alive and well young Kayley!!" many exclaimed as they either patted the girl's back or embraced her with complete happiness. They reached the Garrison where all of the cadets attacked their favourite teacher into a group hug as her brothers and uncle took Sam and their own horses to the stables before escorting Kayley to the Tavern to celebrate yet again with drinks, card games, dancing and singing. Many of the town folk joined them of course - the Red Guards couldn't be seen for the rest of the day or night as they sulked over the girl still breathing. Kayley told everyone the story of why and how she wasn't dead more than five times as so many wished to hear the story, no matter how many times. It truly was an extraordinary day in Paris.