She's Back (Sequel)

Chapter 10

"They were dancing!? But I've never seen Kayley dance!!" Athos exclaimed; the four men were sat in the Tavern with Constance whilst Kayley stayed at the Garrison. They had returned an hour ago from the Palace and it was now 8 at night. The woman was asking who the young man was that was dancing with Kayley earlier that day "yes, so who is he?? Because I've never seen him around her before" she repeated the question. D'artagnan explained that his name was Derek, and that he was the King's cousins son "so he's a prince??" Constance asked earning another nod. Porthos chuckled "gentlemen, I do believe our young Kayley has a crush, her first one at that" he said, earning an eye roll from the youngest man "this is Kayley we're talking about, she doesn't have crushes" he stated, making them all chuckle "what??". Aramis spoke up this time "D'artagnan my dear, everyone has a crush from time to time and Kayley is no exception" he explained "besides, Derek is a handsome young man, good manners and knows how to treat a woman from what I've seen, he's perfect for her". The teens brother just shook his head "you guys don't know Kayley like I do, she's never had a crush in her life or shown any interest in anyone, she's always focused on other things, like training, looking after our father, helping us and fighting the war" he stated; Athos placed a hand on his shoulder "I think that's because she never had the chance, she had to grow up faster then most, joined us, became a musketeer, had to leave to fight in the war and only recently returned" he explained "and now, protecting Derek is her job, a job she had to focus on, so she had to focus on him". D'artagnan listened to his boyfriend and friends before sighing "I really don't like this" he stated before taking a swig of his drink; the four others laughed "oh no, D'artagnan's feeling the big brother overprotective mode for his little sister" Constance chuckled earning a raised brow from the man "I've always been protective over Kayley" he stated, confused at any difference "yes, but never due to the fact that there's a boy involved". She then turned to the other three men "same goes to you three, you all see Kayley as your little sister so you'll all go big brother overprotective mode on her and Derek" Porthos rolled his eyes "no way, we'll be the laid back ones holding D'artagnan still so that he doesn't split the two up" the woman wasn't convinced "we'll see". D'artagnan rolled his eyes as he finished his drink in one gulp "I'm not drunk enough for this" he mumbled, making them all laugh again "just wait till they do make it official, none of us will want to go into her room without knocking" Aramis smirked, now trying to wind the younger man up "really not drunk enough for this". D'artagnan stood up and ordered more drinks, partly wanting to forget that conversation. He knew they were right, about Kayley growing up so fast and that it was only normal for her to finally develop a crush on someone, but it still....freak him out!! He really needed to accept that his baby sister wasn't a baby anymore, or even a child!! But a young woman.

At the Garrison, Kayley had finished cleaning the stable, fed Sam and had set up the tables for the next mornings breakfast; now she was having a session with the punching bag. So much was on her mind; the main though?? Derek. Today was so much fun, just talking to someone, walking around, laughing with them and even dancing; she never dances!! Yeah, she normally did those things with her brothers and friends - minus the dancing of course - but they are all older then her....Kayley doesn't actually have any friend that are her age, other then some of the cadets but they're all a little bit younger then her, that's why their cadets. And Derek was so chill and laid back, it felt like she was spending time with an old friend, even forgetting that he was a prince; but when she remembered exactly who he was, she's feel her heart sink. Why does she feel this way?! What is this feeling?! "Uhh!!" she screamed out as she sent the finally blow to the punching back; she quickly grabbed it before it could hit her back. She leant her forehead against it, closing her eyes for a minute to gather her thoughts when all of a sudden, a voice was heard "what did the bag do to you??" Kayley knew that voice "hey Milady". Turning around, she saw the woman just a few feet away, smirking at the teen "who's ruffled your feathers??" she asked jokingly "no one...I've just got a lot on my mind, that's all" Kayley stated as she took a lip of water. Milady raised a brow "are you sure about that?? Because I saw you getting pretty friendly with a man earlier, dancing and laughing" she mentioned, making the younger woman freeze for a moment "he's...just a friend, I think" she was still a little unsure of that "oh please, you were blushing then" she then smirked "and you're blushing now!!". Kayley turned to hid her face, attaching her cloak and weapons "come on Kayley, it's okay to admit you like someone" Milady stated with a smile; the eighteen year old turned around to her again with a troubled face "I...like him??". The smile dropped and was replaced by a sad look "you...you've never liked someone before...have you??" she asked earning a shrug "I like my brothers and friend, I love them even" the woman shook her head "not like that, I mean...you like him...romantically" she was careful with her choice of words, not wanting to alarm the younger woman that seemed confused "romantically?? Well no, I've always been too busy for that type of stuff...and was put off it a little". Kayley rubbed her hands down her face with a sigh "this is all too confusing...but it doesn't matter what I feel anyway" she mumbled, but Milady hear it and questioned her why "because...Derek is a Prince!! A relative to the King of France!! And I'm...I'm just a musketeer" she explained "besides, Derek probably doesn't even feel the same way" Milady looked at her like she was insane "what??". The older woman sighed "Kayley, I saw the way he acted and looked towards you, that wasn't nothing" the eighteen year old rolled her eyes "he was juts amazed that there's a female musketeer, that's all" she explained, but Milady shook her head "no Kayley, he wouldn't have spent the whole day with you, danced with you and sometimes stared at you for longer then needed if he was just amazed by the fact that you're a musketeer" she stated "he looked at you as if you were the greatest thing he'd ever seen or known". Kayley felt her cheeks heat up again as she finished getting ready to leave "so what am I meant to do??" she asked, still confused by it all; Milady smiled "let it pan our, see what happens, but...let it happen, don't be afraid of the feeling". Sighing, the eighteen year old turned back around "how am I meant to do that when I....Milady??" the woman that was once stood a few feet from her had vanished...like usual. Shaking her head, Kayley finally left the Garrison and made her way to the B&B to get an early nights sleep, but that plan soon turned when she saw one of the royal massagers galloping towards her "musketeer!! Musketeer!!" he called, stopping in front of the teen "Alfred!? What is it?!" she asked, not alarmed and alert "you need to get to the Palace immediately!! Someone has killed two maids and attacked a servant" he explained as fast as he could "and the King has fallen ill, everyone believes he's been poisoned!!". Kayley's eyes widened for a moment "inform the other musketeers and Treville, have them meet me their!!" and with that, she ran back to the Garrison; she didn't bother to saddle up but just freed Sam, jumped up and rode off as fast as she could.

Soon enough, Kayley reached the Palace and ran though, hoping one of the stable boys were still up and get Sam. She ran through the hallways and rooms until she came across one of the dead maids outside the throne room, surrounded by other crying maids and guards "Christ" she mumbled as she took a proper look at the body. Neck slashed so she couldn't scream and stabbed in the heart; whoever this killer was wanted the murders to be silent. It also said he someone form of a sword, knife or dagger. Kayley needed to make a decision "okay...everyone into the throne room!! Now!!" she ordered; they opened the door and did as told quickly. Inside the room, the King, Queen, John, Sarah, Derek and Rochefort were already there, confused by all of the Palace workers entering but then saw Kayley; Louis indeed looked ill, sweating and looking dazed. The musketeer looked around before an idea popped into her head; she climbed up onto the table and called out "okay everyone!! Calm down!!" none of them did that; sighing, she spoke again "calm down or else I'll shoot you myself!!" she yelled with a small smirk to show she wouldn't. Now that did work. "Good!!" she looked around for a moment "right, I want all of the maids stand in that corner over there" she pointed to the top left corner of the room "I want all of the servants to stand in that corner" she then pointed to the top right corner "kitchen staff go stand in that corner" she pointed towards the bottom left corner "and your majesties and Rochefort, I want you to stay near the thrones" they nodded and did as told. Kayley looked around and smiled "good, now I want all of the guards to stand around the room, except near the royals!!" the guards - thankfully the Palace guards and not the Red Guards - did as told, spreading our around the room but kept away from the thrones. Happy with it all, Kayley jumped back down and approached the thrones "are you all okay??" she asked earning nods; Anne sighed "it's just Louis, he just turned ill all of a sudden" she explained "I think it might be poison" the teen nodded. "Good idea on separating everyone" Derek praised; she smiled "yes well, a maid or servant turning on us wouldn't be a first now, would it??" she reminded "we just need to wait till the other musketeers and Treville get here, then we can look around properly" she explained. Thinking back to what the massager had told her, another thought came to mind; she looked around and saw a maid being cradled by her friends on the floor, looking slightly beat up "I'll be back in a moment" she said before making her way over. Crouching on the floor, Kayley gave a gentle smile "how are you feeling??" she asked carefully; the maid was shaking "I'll...be fine, just...shaken up" she explained "I...I didn't see his face...he had it covered with a hooded cloak" the musketeer nodded "how do you know it's a he??" she asked; the woman continued "his hands...they were not that of a woman, scarred and large, and he was strong, he gripped my wrist". She lifted her arm up to show the eighteen year old her already bruising wrist; the bruises were shaped as fingerprints "okay, thank you for your help". Kayley stood back up and returned to the royals. "Whoever the killer is, is a male...he had his face hidden by the hood of his cloak" she informed before thinking to herself 'the others need to hurry...and hopefully not be drunk'.