She's Back (Sequel)

Chapter 14

With the musketeer, Kayley had just managed to pick lock the door to Rochefort's office after listening for any voices inside the room; there were none so she entered. Snooping after the room, the eighteen year old looked through the paper works on his desk, opened and closed the draws, as well as scanned through the shelves. It seemed the new Cardinal was smart and had either hidden the letters extremely well or had gotten rid of them. All of a sudden, Kayley could hear footsteps outside of office and drop to the floor, hiding under the desk; her heart stopped when she heard the door creek open and shut. Rochefort was going to catch her and she was still shaken up from his last attack. What if he did the same this time?! "Kayley??" a whisper was heard, coming from a voice that the teen recognised; she peeked over the table to see the Prince. The musketeer found herself sighing in relief instead of mentally cursing as she come out from her hiding place "Derek?! What are you doing here?!" she asked with worry "I told you to go to the King's room?! Is the Queen there?! It seemed being the only musketeer in Paris was becoming rather difficult; she had so many jobs to do and people to protect. And what Rochefort had done twenty minutes before hadn't helped her nerves or mind!! "Calm down, Anne is safe, locked in the Louis room" he reassured "and I wanted to help you, in case you bump into Rochefort" he had a point. Kayley sent him a warm and kind smile before explaining "there's nothing in here that can help us" the Prince sighed, disappointed in the information "we better get out of here before we get caught". Both agreeing on that statement, they left the office after making sure the coast was clear; they made their way down the hallway away from the room when they could suddenly hear a furious Rochefort storming down a hallway right by them. Derek noticed another room that he remembered to be a small storage room and quickly grasped the musketeers hand and pulled her over to the door, opening it and pushing both of them inside. He rushed to close the door but as silent as he could.

The room was a tight squeeze as the two were pushed together; Kayley felt a twinge of fear as she listened to the harsh and loud footsteps, resting her forehead against Derek's chest, as well as her hands. The Prince watched the eighteen year old as she did this; he loved it but also felt terrible as he knew it was out of fear. He also felt anger towards the Cardinal as he knew he was the reason for her reaction; he placed one arm around her shoulders whilst he held the door handle with the other, in case Rochefort tried to open the door then he would hold it shut. It would hopefully look like it was locked and the man would move on. After a minute, the two heard Rochefort pass the storage room and enter his office; they both sighed with relief. Kayley lifted her head and saw just how close she was to the twenty year old; she also noticed how she was practically leaning on him. "Em...sorry" she apologised, but the man just shook his head "don't...please" he gave a small smile; both of their attentions were draw to the other's lips as they stared at one another. Ever so slowly, the two began to draw closer to one another until finally, their lips lightly touched. They stayed like this until realisation his the musketeer and she pulled back "Derek...we can't-" she began to speak, protesting against the kiss but was cut off "because of LaBarge??" the Prince asked. Kayley's eyes widened as her head shot up in shock "wha...how did you-" the Prince explained how the Queen had told him about her horrific past experience; the teen sighed as she looked down, a shamed. Derek moved his hand from the door handle and gently lifted the girls head by placing two fingers under her chin "Kayley, look and listen to me" he kindly ordered "what happened to you wasn't your fault, you were an eleven year old kid that didn't know how to defend herself" he stated "....I don't care that you lost your virginity, even though you didn't have a choice...all I care about is the person you are". The young woman listened as he began to list things "your kind, determined and incredible personality, your beautiful and sexy looks, your selflessness and so much more" Kayley was sure her cheeks were completely red "and when you blush, you look so cute" the man chuckled as he stroked her cheek with his thumb "please....please Kayley" he begged "don't push me away". The girl was silent as she thought "....we'll talk about it when all of this is over, okay??" she asked "just....give me time to think with a clear and none freaking out mind" Derek smiled as he nodded "I'll always wait for you Kayley".

Hesitantly, the two left the storage room and ran down the hallways until they returned to the King's quarters; they knocked on the door and called out to Anne, telling her that it was them. The woman allowed them into the room and locked the door "did you find anything??" she asked but frowned when they shook their heads "the other musketeers need to hurry and return" Kayley stated as she sat down "you really remember how much you depend on your team mates when they're not around". Anne patted her young friend on the back "you're one of the best Kayley and besides" she smiled "you've done a great job". Derek agree of course. They just sat at the small table once Anne checked on her husband "any changed??" the Prince asked but the woman shook her head "he's not gotten any worse though, so I guess that's something" she tried to see the positive side of things.  All of a sudden, their attention was drawn to the King; he seemed to be waking up!! "Louis!!" Anne was by his side in an instant "how are you feeling my love??" she asked as she pushed his hair out from his face; Louis groaned as he attempted to sit up "what...what's wrong...with me??" he managed to gasp out. Kayley spoke up this time and explained that someone had managed to poison him even more then the night before. The King turned to the musketeer the best of his ability "by who?? And...where are the...other musketeers??" the three shared a look, mentally asking one another of what to tell him as they knew how much the King liked Rochefort "em...we're looking into it your majesty" Kayley reassured "the other musketeers and Treville have gone find someone that's connected to it". Louis nodded before asking for some water; Derek quickly handed the Queen a glass of water that Kayley had secretly tested so that they knew it wasn't poisoned. "Rest my dear, you're safe" Anne soothed as she kissed her husband; the two young adults watched with small smiles. Derek took a side glance at the musketeer and admired how beautiful she was again; yes, he did it quite frequently. He wished that he could do the same with her and return the affection....he really wanted that promised chat to speed up.

With the other musketeers, they had reached the old and abandoned village; they were silently searching the place so that Rochefort's mentor wouldn't know they were coming. All of a sudden, Athos and Treville could hear the sounds of swords clashing!! The two raced towards the noise until they saw D'artagnan and an older man duelling; Aramis and Porthos also popped up one the other side of the fight. All of them pulled out their guns and aimed at the random man; normally they would have allowed D'artagnan to finish the duel, but they were on a time schedule and didn't to hurry. The man dropped his sword and raised his hands "I know when I am out numbered" he stated; all but Aramis lowered their guns. Treville spoke "you are the mentor to Rochefort??" he asked earning a single nod "yes" he simply admitted "don't hide it, not ashamed of it....my name is Jock" Athos stepped in "so it's true?? Rochefort is behind the assassination attempt and poisoning of the King?!" he asked, suddenly making Jock turn quiet "...I'll take that as a yes". He finally spoke up "...Rochefort has his own mind, he does as he pleases....I have no control over that, haven't for many years" he stated "so whether I tell you anything or not, it will have no use" Porthos spoke up this time "you're wrong actually...if you admit to us and the King of Rochefort's crimes, as well as hand over all evidence and  proof, then we can lock him up" he paused "and you won't be convicted of any crimes against the King of France". Jock listened to the musketeers and debated the offer in his head "....fine" he agreed "I'll return with you to Paris and tell the King everything" the Spaniard then pulled out a pile of papers from his bag "and I'll take it you also want these??" he asked; Treville took the papers and briefly read through them "yes, we definitely want these". They were letters from Rochefort, stating over five different plans of how to kill the King for France, two of them were the assassination attempt from the previous night and the poisoning. As well as the new Cardinal stating that Anne was finally going to be his!? "Come on, we need to get back to Paris before Rochefort is able to do anymore damage" Athos stated as they hopped into their horses; Jock thankfully had his own so no one had to share. "I hope Kayley's been okay whilst we've been gone" D'artagnan stated, worried for his sister; Athos sent a smile his way "I'm sure she's just fine, Kayley is one of the best after all" he had a good point.