She's Back (Sequel)

Chapter 2

They had arrived. They all galloped through the gates that allowed them to enter Paris; the soldiers said their goodbyes to their commanders before running off to their homes and families. "I love seeing them all exited and happy, but can we please get to the Garrison??" Kayley asked earning chuckled "yeah, let's go". They trotted through the town, people greeting them back in surprise; none of them knew that the war was over and that they were to return. Soon enough, the beautiful view was in sight; their Garrison. They got down from their horses and allowed the two stable boys  to take them; they walked through the open gate in a line. All of the cadets turned to them and their eyes widened in utter shock "the musketeers!!" they all suddenly began to clap, which then turned to cheers; Kayley couldn't help but giggle before hugging some of the older cadets that she knew and trained before leaving for war. The others did the same, patting the cadets on the shoulders. From his office, Treville heard the commotion and wondered what the hell was going on; he stood from his desk and walked out of the door. Standing on the balcony, the man raised a brow when he saw the crowd; that was until he saw the five faces he had yet to see in four years. His expression turned soft and he walked down the stairs; when the cadets saw their Captain approached, they parted away so that he could see the five musketeers properly. The five grouped up again and looked at the man with smiles; they were returned "come on, to my office". They followed the man and entered the room; Athos closed the room before standing next to his boyfriend as they were all in a line in front of the desk, in front of Treville. The mans smiled before pulling them all into a group hug "it's good to see you all again, and in one piece" he stated "I was worried when I didn't receive any letters this last year" he stated; D'artagnan explained "things got so intense on the battlefield that we never had the time to write, it became rare for us to do anything other than focus on our duties". The five began to explain what had happened "we won, the war is officially over" Porthos exclaimed, making the older man smile "I knew you guys would do it, have you informed the King and Queen yet??" they shook their heads "we decided to tell them ourselves, since the letter would arrive the same time as us" D'artagnan stated "actually, we should go inform them now".

Before they could move, Treville stopped them "before you do, I think I should update you on a few things" they all raised a brow but nodded; the five knew things would be different since they were gone for four years. "Six months ago, the Cardinal passed away" all eyes widened "what?! How?!" it was no secret the musketeers didn't like or get along with the Cardinal - the feeling were returned - but they would never wish death upon him. "He had a heart attack, although I believe that there was some poison involved but it couldn't be proven" Treville explained "and now there's a new Cardinal that I think you three will not be happy about" he looked to the original three musketeers who shared a look; the two siblings looked to them and raised a brow "who??". Treville sighed before stating the name "Rochefort" the three's eyes widened "him?!" Aramis exclaimed, followed by his boyfriend "how the hell has he become the new Cardinal?!" it seemed they were completely bamboozled. Kayley decided to speak up "who's Rochefort??" she asked; Athos explained "he's a Spanish man that we have a past with" Aramis took over "many years ago, we had a mission in Spain and met Rochefort" he stated "he killed someone and was arrested, although he put up a fight to which we helped take him down" D'artagnan smirked as he folded his arms "so he doesn't like you because you helped capture him for the Spanish soldiers" his boyfriend nodded. Porthos then groaned "and now he's in charge of the Red Guards" they completely forgot about that; Treville nodded "yeah, they've been causing quite the bit of trouble, the cadets have done what they can to keep the peace but....it's not really worked" Kayley just smirked "don't worry, that'll soon change" her Uncle just chuckled "I have no doubt about that". The five turned around and left the room; they needed to get to the Palace and inform the royals of the war. They saddled up and rode through the town, people cheering and clapping as they passed; it made the musketeers smile due to seeing that they were deeply missed. Within twenty minutes, they reached the Palace; the stable boys took their horses. The five entered and made their way into the Throne room. Inside, the King and Queen's eyes widened in utter shock "musketeers!? You're back?!" his majesty exclaimed with delight and surprise; they all bowed "indeed your majesty" Athos said as they rose. The Queen wore the brightest smile "it's good to see you all again, back from war!!" D'artagnan spoke next "likewise, it's good to be back".

Before they could continue, the door opened and a man entered; the three original musketeers had to stop themselves from showing any annoyance. But of course, the two siblengs noticed and immediately guessed who the man was. "Ahh, Rochefort!! Come, meet the famous musketeers" Louis exclaimed before explaining to the five about the death of their old Cardinal and that Rochefort was the new one. The Cardinal did as told and stood next to the King; his eyes landed on Kayley "so the rumours were true, there really is a female musketeer" he stated, sounding slightly surprised as he looked the teen up and down. The eighteen year old raised a brow for a moment and looked to her brothers; D'artagnan seemed fine whilst the other three....not so much. Kayley began to explain that the war was over, and that France were the victores; the two royals were delighted. The Cardinal just nodded with a small smirk on his face; he was originally fro Spain. "I'm proud of you musketeers, I knew sending you all was the right decision!!" Louis stated, his wife agreeing "but it must of been difficult, which proves just how great you all are" the five smiled "thank you your majesties". Anne wanted to talk to the young teen alone, so she excused both of them from the room and began to walk around the Palace. Once they were out of the room, they embraced one another before Kayley began to explain everything; Anne listened but also looked over the girl. She saw that Kayley was no longer the young fourteen year old girl that she had met four years ago; she had grown into a young woman. Her dark brown hair was now at her waist - and yet it was in ponytail, tied in a bow - she had grown a few inches tall, was still extremely skinny from the lack of food, and it appeared puberty had begun; she had some curves, small but noticeable. Also, she had a few extra scars on show, a little slash across her cheek and another on her neck "you've changed young one" Anne stated earning a smile "indeed, war does that...it changed all of us, but I think it's for the best" Kayley explained as they walked "I'm just happy we're back, the next time we have to go to war will be too soon" the Queen agreed. They spoke and walked through the Palace and in the gardens "this place is as beautiful as ever" Kayley said as she looked around at the many flowers "yes, he gardeners are grand at their job" the five gardeners over heard that and smiled, bowing as the two passed. "So Rochefort, who is he exactly??" the musketeers asked as they sat down on a nearby stone bench "well, he and I were old friends when I was younger, best friend in fact...he wasn't happy when I told him I was moving to France to marry Louis" she explained "but he seems okay now, we act as if I never left...it's nice to have my old friend back" the eighteen year old smiled before thinking of how to work her next question properly. Taking a breath, she spoke "you know and understand how the previous Cardinal disliked us musketeers, and was fine with the Red Guard coursing us trouble" she began earning a nod "well I have to ask, should I be worried about Rochefort as the new Cardinal?? And being in charge of the Red Guards??" Anne understood where her dear friend was coming from "I honestly can't tell or reassure you of that Kayley, I would like to think he will be fine and have no problem with the Musketeers" she stated "but I know he, Athos, Porthos and Aramis have a past - and not a good one - so I really don't know". The teen nodded and she smiled "thank you Anne...I better get back to the other's, Porthos is wanting to go to the Tavern for drinks to celebrate our return" they both chuckled "classic Porthos...I wouldn't have it any other way mind you" they both stood and made their way back to the throne room. Yet when they arrived, only the King and Cardinal were there "where did the other Musketeer's go??" Anne asked as they approached; Louis explained that they had just left "if you go now, you made be able to catch up to them" Kayley bowed to them all before rushing out of the room.

Running through the Palace, Kayley managed to reach outside and saw her four brothers walking towards the stables. Smirking she ran over and jumped up onto Athos's back "ditching me, are you??" she joked, loosely wrapping her arms around the mans neck so that she didn't strangle him but also so she didn't fall; Athos helped with that by wrapping his arms around her legs and holding her up - he was not giving her a piggy back - as they all chuckled "ditch you?? Never!!" the men agreed. Athos carried the teen the rest of the way to the stable before carefully dropping her to her feet "thanks" they jumped up onto their horses before trotting off. "Are we heading straight for the Tavern or going to our homes??" Aramis asked; the girl stated that she was going home so that she could see Constance and wash up. They all agreed that was what they were going to do; go home, visit Constance, wash up and then head to the Tavern. They couldn't wait.