Forbidden Love

(1) - Crashed – Daughtry – "The Start"

(2) - Secret Smile – Semisonic – "The token of gratitude"

(3) - The Angel and the Fool – Broken Bell - "From afar"

(4) - Distance – Christian Perri – "Realization"

(5) - Hearts a Mess – Gotye – "The moment before"

(6) - Halo – Beyonce – "Making the plunge"

(7) - White Blank Page – Mumford & Sons – "The morning after"

(8) - 9 crimes – Damien Rice – "Treason"

(9) - Three Wishes – The Pierces – "Heartache"

(10) - Bedroom Hymns – Florence and the Machine – "Secret affair"

(11) - Outlaws of Love – Adam Lambert – "Come what May"

Anne is doing her duty as the Queen of France, and everyday is exactly the same. Except this time, danger comes across her path.

(1) Rescued in-extremis by the musketeer Aramis, she owes him her life. His eyes are burning to her, dark and soulful. Nothing like the King's...

(2) She decides that she needs to see him again, to thank him for his act of selflessness. She gives him a gift, as a token of her gratitude. Something secret and free reserved, and received by him only. To keep him safe. Always.

(3) But she can't remember to forget him. She's watching him from afar, dutiful and dedicated. And without allowing herself to even dream about it, she feels like there is a connexion between them. Maybe her golden cross, hanging close to his heart...

(4) Then she sees him in another context, both defending the same cause, and the life of an innocent woman. But is it their shared secret she sees around the Comtesse's neck ? She realises she can't fight the green-eyed monster silently creeping inside her heart. A feeling she fears to call by its real name... It is new, and threatening. She'll make sure to keep her distance.

(5) And then everything is simpler, but in the meantime so much more dangerous. They are together, in this secluded convent, and his heart is bleeding in front of her, for reasons she understands more than he could know. She wants to reach out for him, to comfort him. She wants him to let her occupy his mind, as he does hers. He is brave, and honorable, and kind. Every women would be fortunate to be loved by him...

(6) Everything is perfect, and in his embrace, she finds what she had been looking for all her life. She forgets the world around them. The danger, that he is one of the King's Musketeers, the fear of making the plunge... The Queen takes the Knight and he is willing for it. Every kisses they share feel like salvation from a life in the shadow. He is everything she needs and more.

(7) The morning after is like a White Blank Page, waiting to be written by the lovers. What did this night mean for them ? Was it because it could have been their last night on Earth, seeking solace and warmth from the nearest source available ? Or was it more... Either way, reality fiercely strikes them, and they quietly agree to wait until the storm ends.

(8) Back at Court, the King is relieved to be reunited with His Queen. She's safe, apparently unwounded. But on the inside, it is burning like fire, and when she meets the eyes of Aramis across the room, she can read the same thing there, a reflexion of her own heart. And she feels guilty, because it's the wrong kind of place to be thinking of Him.

(9) They won't try to see each other again, for their own sake. Their hearts ache, from being separated, and they feel like they won't be able to keep up to their promises... They would be so less fragile if they were made from metal, and their heart from iron, and their minds from steel. And their will...

(10) One day, they meet at Court, and when he bows to her, kissing her hand as an act of reverence, it's like they've never been tore apart in the first place. She will arrange for their secret meetings. He will look at her with those dark eyes of his, full of his desires for her, burning her to the core. The beginning of an affair. The union of two complementary souls, chanting Bedroom Hymns in harmony. Selfish prayers, and they can't get enough...

(11) They're unsure of what the future has in plan for them. Will Fate take Her revenge on them, punishing the lovers for not being able to make the right choice ? They are now branded "Outlaws of love", but they have no regrets. They are not alone anymore. Come what may.