Everything's Not Lost by Shadowgirl416

Disclaimer: I don't own anything and I am not making any profit writing this.

Chapter 2: Right Where It Belongs

Eyes wide open at all time, every odd sound had to be identified immediately, every being and thing that wanted to come into the castle's territory rapidly examined – some would say that they were exaggerating by doing all of this, they had barely spent a day in the castle, but as new musketeers they couldn't afford to fail at any cost.

All four girls woke up early in the morning so they could guard the place; Monsieur Treville had sent to double the guards around the palace. The girls just needed to protect the King, but they still were taking drastic measures. They had decided to keep an eye on every corner of the castle's territory, so they were moving from room to room during the day. They had taken a telescope from King Louis's library to make sure there was nothing weird going on.

"Do you see anything?" asked Viveca, walking closer to Renée.

"Nope," Replied the dark-skinned girl, moving away from the telescope placed on the windowsill. "Nothing suspicious."

Aramina yawned, they had been 'guarding' the castle long enough to make her grow bored. Even she knew that it would be stupid of Philippe to be hiding around here. She stood up from the seat to stretch, "Why do you think Philippe would be hiding near the castle, anyway?"

Renée replied, "He could be preparing to attack anytime."

Viveca had been asking herself the same question since they began their watching. "I agree with Aramina; it's too obvious!" Renée still seem to doubt them, "Philippe is not even close; he'll be here when he's ready to attack."

So the only girl thinking that Philippe was somewhere near the palace tried to defend her supposition. "Hey, I'm just being precocious. This is literary our first mission as musketeers, do you want to fail at it?"

That question made the other girls look at each other, their friend was in fact right. What if they laid back and Philippe managed to get in? He'd surely go straight for Louis. Aramina worried; her eyes wide and her jaw slightly plunged. "King Louis could die…" She remarked.

"And it would be our fault…" The redhead added with the same dreadful tone. She walked over the telescope and grabbed it. "I'll take a look."

Renée started to walk around the room, her body was tense and her mind racing – she never thought she'd be this nervous. It seemed easy; all they had to do was protect King Louis. But she knew it wasn't as simple as that. Philippe had lots of allies when he tried to murder Louis, even when most of them where captured he could have more of them somewhere else. Dangerous enemies, deadly partners and for all the girls knew even spies that were already in the castle… She was not taking any chances, they had worked so hard to make their dream come true and she wasn't going to allow an arrogant man take it all away just like that. "We should train." She commented, taking a gasp from Viveca.

"Are you nuts?" She chuckled, still looking through the telescope. "I don't know about you girls, but I ate like crazy this morning."

Aramina agreed, "Yeah, I've never seen so much food in my whole life."

And Renée nodded as well, this morning had been a very interesting one.

Hélène woke them up, and she said that their breakfast was ready. But none of the girls could have ever imagined what was waiting for them downstairs. First they were shocked to know that they were going to eat in the same room King Louis and every other member of the French Royal family had eaten. It was way too early to actually be with Louis while he ate as well, but they still felt extremely excited to know. Then, like the guests they were, almost the entire dinner table was covered with food. This made the girls remember when they used to work in the castle, cleaning everything. And that sometimes included doing the dishes – so they had an idea of how much food the guests and owners of this castle had enjoyed. "Yeah, me either."

"Well, I have." Said Viveca as she retreated from the window, recalling the times she had watched rich people eating at gatherings and things like that. "The big difference today is that it was for us."

The trio laughed together; they could all agree on something, they were enjoying staying at the palace.

Renée sighed, "That was only for us and we are only employees. Just imagine what King Louis has for breakfast every day!"

It surprised Viveca and Aramina to just picture that, "I know!" One of them said.

"That's why the table must be that large, these royals don't know any moderation!"

The redhead nodded and her expression saddened at bit, "I'd feel lonely if I had to eat there all alone."

The brown haired one shook her head, "He's not alone; his cousin and her husband are with him today."

And the one dressed in blue smirked, "Plus, he has another special guest today…" The other two copied Renée's smirk, a special guest indeed.

"Yeah, that Anne must be so well-mannered." Aramina remarked.

The ones with darker skin frowned at her; sometimes their friend was so high on cloud nine that she forgot about the subject being discussed. "We mean Corinne."

"Ah! Right." The younger one rapidly muttered, trying to hide the fact that she had mentioned someone that the other girls didn't know about yet.

But Viveca was so distracted remembering the moment that she decided to let it go, "Louis called Monsier Treville this morning and asked for Corinne to be his personal bodyguard." She had to repeat it out loud; it was just so cute of him to do that. "Now she must be with him at all times!"

Aramina squealed with delight, it was so romantic! She was so happy for her!

"Yeah… that's so sweet." Renée said, but she did notice that her redheaded friend mentioned someone unknown to them. "Who is Anne anyway?"

That question made the girls look at their hopeless romantic friend again, who noticed their stares and had to admit what she had done to know about this 'Anne'. "Okay, okay…I was sneaking." But her friend's expressions told her that they had already figured that part out, so Aramina sighed and she was aware that she had to spit it all know or they would make her. "This Anne and King Louis were betrothed when they were kids, and now she's coming over to marry him."

Silence, "What?" Breathed Viveca.

Renée scoffed, "Yeah, right. That's baloney, Aramina!"

"That's what I heard."

"Oh, poor Corinne! She must be devastated!" Added Viveca, placing her hand on top of her mouth as Aramina nodded.

So many spoons and forks, and all of them just to eat her breakfast? Was she supposed to use them all? Or were they just options?

She tried to catch a glimpse at what Louis was doing. It shouldn't have been so hard; he was sitting almost by her side after all. But she was afraid he'd notice, she was afraid he'd think she was stupid or not well educated. But how was she supposed to know what to do with all that silverware?

But she wasn't really hungry anyways; she had breakfast earlier with the girls. If she had known Monsieur Treville was coming to tell her that she was the King's new bodyguard and that she would be having breakfast with him every morning until this Philippe problem was over, then she would have saved some space. But that didn't happen.

Her boss came into her room and ordered her to get dress just some minutes after she returned from having breakfast, his plain and straight words caught her off-guard.

'King Louis has requested a personal bodyguard; I think is an excellent idea and he chose you.' Her mind went blank, her whole body froze. 'Well, get dressed. From now on, you're going to have to burn the candle at both ends to do your job properly.'

With that, he left. With the weird encourage from her friends, she dressed and walked downstairs again. And somehow Corinne had found nerve to greet the King and his guests – being rapidly invited by them to sit.

The other blonde woman eating at the other side of the long wooden table immediately broke the silence, "So, Corinne," She started, putting down her fork. "I heard you were from Gascony. How is it there?"

"It's quite different from here, you highness." She quickly responded, it was really the first thing that popped into her head. "Just farms and nature as far as the eye can see."
Anneliese nodded and smiled at her, "I also heard your father was the great D'Artagnan."

The girl grinned and nodded, "Indeed, he was."

Louis joined the conversation; he never met Corinne's father, he didn't met his neither – but from what people said, they had been two outstanding men. "And Corinne's a great musketeer just like he was."

She wasn't sure if she blushed, but her hands started to sweat when she smiled at Louis.

He noticed that she had barely touched her food, "You're not hungry?" he asked.

The girl thought about what she was going to reply before she said anything. Lying wouldn't make any sense at this point; she wasn't being forced to eat. But even when in other occasions she could have been able to at least pretend she had eaten something, this time her stomach felt like it had been knotted from the inside. "Not really, I ate earlier with the girls."

The King nodded, and the calmness in the room was again interrupted – this time by a loud and high squeal. They were both drawn to look for the source of the sound, except for Anneliese who knew who was doing it.

So she stood up from her chair, "Excuse me... Julian was supposed to be watching him…" The other two people chuckled, and she almost ran out of the room.

Now, left all alone with Louis, Corinne started to feel nervous. She left home and came to Paris all alone, she started working in a place she barely even knew and stayed in the home of three total strangers, she even defeated a whole gang of criminals led by Philippe – and still, just being with King Louis made her feel like the most defenseless person in the world. Even though, she always tried to hide it.

The man cleared his throat and put aside the flatware he'd been using. "So, Corinne," He started, making the girl turn to face him again, "I hope you don't feel annoyed with the fact that you'll be my personal guard now. It wasn't a hasty decision." He had thought about how was he going to tell Monsieur Treville all night long.

The look on his face made her think he was actually scared of what her answer might be, he actually wanted to know what she felt about a decision he – the King – had made. Realizing that this whole 'personal bodyguard' thing wasn't going to be what she had thought she was even starting to feel optimistic about it.

She grinned, showing a bit of more confidence than before. "I don't mind at all, it's the greatest honor a musketeer could achieve." And she had reached it just a couple of days after being named a musketeer, if her father could see her now… he'd be so proud.

Louis stood up from his chair, the worry now gone from his face. "Good," he said. "Then… since you'll have to be with me no matter what happens for now, why don't we take that balloon ride today?"

Corinne's eyes doubled in size, she had forgotten! How could she forget something this important? She nervously chuckled and nodded her head, then reached to take the hand Louis had offered to her.

Corinne felt like if she had suddenly forgotten how to talk; she wasn't really sure why was Louis guiding her with his hand, but it was making the butterflies in her stomach go nuts.

Once they were outside and facing Louis's magnificent invention, he released her hand and walked over the contraption. "I made a few adjustments last night." He pointed out, showing with his hands that he had in fact made some changes to it.

Corinne watched in delight, the wicker basket was certainly bigger than when she first rode the balloon with him, the balloon filled with hot air was larger too and it was now more complicated to control, she figured, since he had added more strings to increase and decrease the heat that was directed to it. "Last night?" She repeated, and eventually figured that if he spent a whole night doing this and the night before that morning had been the one when they were assigned to stay in the castle then he barely slept. "You didn't sleep?"

The young King shrugged, trying to lie. "I wasn't tired…" He was tired, but he wanted this day to be perfect so tired Louis couldn't beat excited Louis last night.

"Oh," She walked closer to him, "I think it's wonderful what you did."

Louis smiled, "Want to be the first person, other than me, to try it?"

The girl grinned, "I'd be honored."

He jumped in and offered his hands to help her get into the basket too. Corinne took his hands and felt how easily he lifted her. After a quick pulling of strings, fire and hot air, the basket left the ground and Corinne found herself leaning on the rim of the hot air balloon. Once again, she felt her chest being filled with adrenaline as she saw how the palace decreased in size in a matter of minutes.

Time passed very fast when they were staring down at the little houses under them and the ant-like people. This was something many persons would never be able to enjoy, but thanks to Louis this was her second balloon ride. The difference this time was the he wasn't hanging from the balloon and he couldn't make fun of her anymore.

He still remembered when he did that, the memory haunted him every day. It didn't matter how many times he said he was sorry he still felt awful to have said that. And the scenario reminded him of the moment. However, this time he had to eat his words, the girl he had mocked was dressed with her musketeer uniform.

Louis cleared his throat, dragging Corinne out of her thoughts. "I-I hope you didn't had anything else to do today."

The girl shook her head, "Other than making sure you're safe, nothing else."

The King smiled, "Good," And he leaned on the rim beside her, his elbow almost touching hers, "I want to show you something."

"Really?" She squealed, clearing her throat to dissimulate her excitement. "What is it?"

The young man grinned, "A very special place that means a lot to me."

The blonde girl grinned back, her light blue eyes somehow finding their way into Louis's brown ones again. It made her knees grow weak to have him so close, but that was something she was certainly working hard to hide. So she turned away, her gaze returning to the beautiful view beneath them. Louis once again had to swallow his feelings, just when he had her right in front of him fear conquered his body. Why was this so hard?

"Wow," Breathed the girl by his side, "This view still leaves me breathless."

"Yeah…" He quickly answered, but he never moved his eyes to see what view she was talking about. The new King was breathless with the view he had as well, the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen – right in front of him. The sun caught in her pale blonde hair, her curious blue eyes scanning the world as they flew above it… she was simply perfect. There was nobody else in this world that he would rather be with right now. If he could just tell her how he felt, only then he could hold her in his arms and kiss her like he had dreamed since the first time they met. But it seemed that his gaze held so many emotions and Corinne soon noticed that he was staring at her. He rapidly chuckled, "Uh, me too."

At last, he made it. He was in Paris. And he had to admit it was as beautiful as he'd always heard, he would have loved to be able to stop by and enjoy the place – but he wasn't here as a tourist. And now that he had spotted that peculiar poster with a too familiar face on it, he really needed to stop acting like a visitor and start hiding.

How was it even possible for the news to spread this fast? He had escaped yesterday! And they already knew that here, in Paris?

Yet, as much as Preminger was starting to worry, he decided to just flip his hood on and continue to walk. It had been almost two years since he had actually paced around somewhere with so many people surrounding him, being in locked away in those dirty old stinking dungeon cells sure made him realize how priceless freedom was. How good was to feel the sunshine on his face again, and to be able to go where you wanted when you wanted. And it was all because of that stupid brat that he had lost all of that! Not to mention her dear husband!

But hey, he was going to get them. He had to be patient thought; Nick and Nack had disappeared after he was arrested. His only minions, gone. Maybe dead, maybe hiding as well. He didn't care; he didn't need those fools anyway. All he needed was his brilliant mind to succeed, right?

But now that he thought about it… how was he going to make that pair of blondes pay?

He didn't have any money or weapons. He didn't even know anybody in this whole city. The only thing he had was their location… but not even access to be close to where they were. His thirst for revenge was the only thing fueling his will, but that wasn't enough to fulfill his wish.

Whoa –

Pulled from his thoughts, he froze.

"Oh, no!" Preminger mentally whined.

A hooded man, standing right in front of him holding a paper – and that smirk that appeared on his face could only mean one thing.

"You must be Preminger…" said the man, holding the paper higher to compare the picture on it with his face.

The amber eyed one gulped; that was it. This stranger had recognized him. His whole plan had already failed and he hadn't even been able to start! He was going straight to the dungeon – or worse, the death sentence could be the next thing waiting for him. His hands started to sweat, his legs to shake as his eyes desperately looked for a solution. Maybe he could run, intimidate the man, or maybe deny the accusation… Gah! Who was he kidding? It was impossible for him to do any of those things…

And as he stood there frozen by fear, he caught a glimpse of another poster just behind this caped man. Preminger wasn't sure if it was his own desperation that was making him see things, but he could swear that the man putting him at risk was just as wanted as he was. So he tried to squint his eyes as fast as he could to read the name, just to put the brown eyed man on the same spot he was at.

A huge weight lifted from his shoulders when he saw that the face in that other poster was a perfect match, and trying to sound calm as menacing as he could he replied, "And you must be… Philippe…"

That made Philippe gasp, how did he knew? And because Preminger noticed how surprised the other man felt he pointed at the 'wanted-poster' that was glued to the wall behind him.

Philippe instantly frowned, and dropped his shoulders in defeat. He was awful at this evil thing. So, he hid the paper that had Preminger's face inside one of his pockets and decided to make peace with this gentleman – greeting him by shaking his hand.

"Nothing personal," said the dark-haired one, "But the reward would have been convenient right now."

Preminger nodded, feeling more relaxed. "I agree; turning you in would have been a great start for me in this city." Philippe chuckled, rolling his eyes. And the one wearing a powered-white wig was already plotting to use this newfound acquaintance. "Correct me if I'm wrong, Philippe. But I just read you are King Louis's cousin." He pointed at the poster again.

He grunted in response, starting to walk. "Sadly, I am."

Preminger followed him, still a bit confused. "You tried to kill him," He had just read as well, "And being part of the Royal French family is a pretty high position. Why throw away everything you already had?" He just had to ask, he would have done anything to be part of a royal family. Not be just part of an ordinary family and then climb up to serve the royals.

Philippe rolled his eyes again, he had just met this guy and he was already asking some deep questions… he was smart. So he answered him with something that would make Preminger know that he also knew things about him. "The same reason you threw away your reputation after you tried to kill the princess and marry her mother,"

And in unison, they both finished Philippe's sentence. "To be King."

It had been almost two years since he had attempted that, was that still a popular scandal? Was he known for other things than being the most handsome man to be imprisoned? "How do you know about my crime?"

Philippe didn't hesitate to reply, newcomers were always shocked when people from around here knew things like this. "News spread rapidly and that was a couple of years ago. You aren't on that little mountain top anymore, this is Paris."

He nodded, looking around once again. The tall and beautifully designed buildings this great city held simply in its town made Queen Genevieve's entire kingdom look like a dumpster – or so he thought. And his new buddy was right, this was Paris. One of the most famous places, one of the most protected places also. "Which also means that we must be careful." Preminger continued, "Guards are on the look for us."

Like if a pair of cloaked figures walking around the streets wouldn't catch anyone's attention, Philippe thought. Although, with the entire daily ruckus around here, who would bother to stop someone just out of suspicion? "So you are running away," It wasn't a question, but more of a reminder for him. "Now, I wonder Preminger, why would you come to a place like Paris to hide? This is one of the most crowded cities in Europe."

The smaller one frowned, "I'm not escaping or hiding from anything;" It bothered him how people had always underestimate him, "I am actually here for some payback."

Philippe chuckled, "Are the lucky people here?"

After confirming Philippe's guess, he scoffed. "Taking a vacation with their little offspring." All happy with their little kid - too happy he would say. They messed the plan he had been working on for years. It took him almost a decade to steal all that gold from the mine by nights and to gain all that trust the Queen had in him. And just when he is about to succeed, they come and throw his hard work away in a matter of days. Oh, how he wanted to see them pay! But despite his longing he just didn't see a way to get to them yet.

Then again, perhaps his good luck was returning. Maybe meeting Philippe, King Louis's cousin, wasn't such a bad thing. He just had to think harder, he was an evil mastermind after all. This man he had just met was the closest thing the actual King of France had to a father; he wanted revenge as well, and he knew everything about King Louis's palace! Accidentally, he had found the one person that was perfect to complete his plan. "Speaking of this, I could use your help."

The brown-haired man frowned; people were getting used to take advantage of him. "Why?" He asked with an annoyed tone of voice.

"They are staying at your little cousin's castle…"

Right! Why he didn't remember that before! The girl who Preminger tried to kill was Louis's cousin. That's how he received the news in the first place, and then of course the gossip ran all over town. Preminger needed his help, just like he had needed Tiago's. "I see…"

"Yeah, I need to know the palace's weak spots. You know, places where guards don't check on too often, maybe somewhere where I could sneak in..."

Philippe ignored what Preminger had asked, he could spend all day speaking about the castle's 'weak-spots'. The old thing was full of secrets passageways. He was more interested in knowing what this man really wanted. And he was asking to sneak into the palace; it was too obvious what he wanted then. "Then what you have in mind is not only a punishment?"

"Oh, it will be a punishment, just not the classical one."

Was this man insane? He was talking about 'punishing' a young pair of spouses with a little kid; even he considered that to be an outrageous idea. "You do realize their son is just a baby, right?"

"I know, but that doesn't mean I can't use him." Preminger noted how Philippe was reacting to his plan. If he thought he was a bit on the crazy side then he wouldn't help him, and besides he wasn't going to harm the little kid. "I could even keep him after I'm done with everything, you know." Yeah, a servant, a child to raise as his own – he wouldn't grow up with his good looks but at least he'd have a nice personality. Philippe seemed to be more calmed now, revenge was one thing and in-humanness was another. "I would name him Pappo, the son I never wanted."

The men shared a laugh, and after sighing and noticing that they were heading closer to Philippe's destiny, he decided that Preminger was the man he needed with them. "You are quite an evil mastermind, Preminger." He was smart, witty, and evil and had what he considered a great sense of humor. Tiago was going to love him; he would make a wonderful fool. "In fact, I think that if we worked together we could kill two birds with one stone." Preminger cocked an eyebrow; he wasn't expecting the offer this fast. And as Philippe took some keys out of his pocket to open a door he continued to explain. "My friend is interested in taking over France."

He opened the door of the place, the older man then noticed that Philippe had brought him to a back street; dark, quiet and almost empty. The houses around them were almost falling upon themselves, some abandoned and others just owned by poor owners. But then the King's cousin opened the door of the building they were about to enter, a way too familiar smell penetrated his nostrils.

An vintage beverage, he could tell. Scottish vintage wine, his favorite. It had been years since he had enjoyed that unforgettable and unique smell, back when he was the Queen's right hand. But if they were in that hole, where the poorest of the poor lived, how was it possible for someone to have such a drink there? "And who is this friend of yours?" Preminger asked as Philippe closed the door behind them, talking about this and having neighbors was a huge risk to take.

"His name is Tiago."

"The King of Spain?"

"That's him," Confirmed Philippe, "You know how kings are, always wanting to extend their territory." Preminger nodded, still doubting that a King could be involved in such dirty business. "The thing is that we have a deal, he helps steal Louis's father's fortune and he'll take over France."

Before he asked how they were going to do this, Preminger chose to explore his own interests. "And where do I fit into all of this?'

Philippe walked over a table and served two glasses of that odorous wine, "Three heads think better than just two." And handing one of the glasses to Preminger he gestured the man to sit on one of the shabby couches in the room. "Plus, you already know too much. I can't let you go somewhere else knowing what we are up to."

"I can help," Preminger started, taking a sip of wine, "But won't this 'Tiago' mind if I join?" He was willing to help; he would get what he wanted – revenge. But maybe this King would think that he was after something else, when he just truly wanted the pair of blondes to pay. "He will think that I want a part of what you two are after."

Philippe drank his glass in one gulp, "And who said you can't win something more than satisfaction as well?" The white-haired man raised an eyebrow. He couldn't ask to be King, they wouldn't be able to make him King if they were not in their kingdom. He couldn't ask for money, because they were far from home. And even if he was able to ask because King Louis would help them, his fellows wouldn't allow it because that would be deducting from their winnings. Yet, Philippe continued to speak. "Vienna's Queen,"

"Half of Vienna's Queen." Preminger corrected.

"It's the same, she owns the entire place since Anne of Austria's parents died. Anyway, her only family is here, miles and miles away from her. Don't you think she'd give you anything to protect them if you were to harm them?"

The other rolled his eyes, thinking that the idea seemed senseless. "King Louis protects them, and if not Queen Genevieve would send her whole army to get them back."

The answer slipped from his mouth, wanting to awaken Preminger's interest. "Not if that army is unable to reach them."

And f worked, "Keep going…" He said, taking a sip from his glass.

"Well, other than not telling on me. Tiago has promised protection - you're with us so you are untouchable. We have the entire Spanish army in our side. You just take one of them and the other two will come after, get the old lady to give you all the fortunes you want, eliminate them and then start a new life faraway from here."

"Well that escalates quickly." Preminger thought out loud, it seemed too easy. And for him, easy was boring. But being realistic, he was being forced to do it. If he said that he wasn't going to do it, Philippe could have him killed in just minutes because he knew about Tiago and his plan. He'd be a dead man anyway. If he walked away how was he going to get his revenge all alone? He'd just rot in a dungeon for the rest of his life if he tried. Plus, he didn't have anything else to lose.

"Do we have a deal?" Asked the man on his side

Preminger smirked, he was even starting to feel like his old self – and even better. "How can I refuse?"

"We're here."

Corinne looked at Louis, who was gazing at the place with wide and shiny eyes, doubt and confusion filling hers. They weren't so far from the palace, but the place where Louis had decided to land the hot air balloon looked like if it hadn't even been discovered yet.

Nature and the obvious absence of human presence had taken their tolls on the place. Up on a lonely hill was an enormous building, old and abandoned – hidden by all the trees and vegetation surrounding it. By its front door hanged a sign that was so dirty that it was impossible to see what was written on it. Seeing the broken glass of the windows, the plants growing everywhere and the horrible state the structure was in – Corinne couldn't figure out why Louis would consider this place to be special.

As he jumped off, and offered his help to her, she had to ask. "This is your special place?"

Chuckling a bit, Louis nodded. "Don't jump to conclusions so quickly, Corinne." He had figured she'd say something like this, it was no wonder. But she didn't gave him the chance to explain why it was so special to him. So he guided her towards the building, he pushed the front door open. It didn't even need a key.

With the creak of the door several birds that had been calmly resting inside of the place flew away startled, dust and feathers in the air. The sunlight entered the main room through the cracks on the walls, although the tall book-racks that covered most of the walls made it impossible for more light to come in. Noticing the large amount of dirty and moldy books in the racks, she assumed this place had been a library once. And judging by the quantity of abandoned books then it most had been a very potent library.

She looked at Louis and was surprised to see the watery eyes of the King; she placed a hand on his shoulder. "This is where my parents first met." He muttered.

Her heart shrank for a moment, she knew Louis was different to most of the men she'd known but she never expected him to be this sentimental. "That's so sweet."

Looking around the room, remembering how each object still present used to be, Louis sighed. It had been years since he visited this place, last time he came it was still open to the public. It could seem kind of lame, even boring, but he knew that Corinne would understand more than anyone why he felt so attached to it. She was the first person he'd known who saw the world the same different way he did. "This place used to be the biggest library in France. They used to spend a lot of time here before they got engaged." Corrine smiled, picturing in her head everything Louis said. "But that's not what we came here for."

Without hesitation, the King walked to a specific bookshelf. He grabbed a book, and behind that book was a handle. The entire bookshelf started to move, it was a secret passage! Just like in the castle! No wonder Louis's dad liked this place.

He waved his hand to make her follow him; it took her to be blinded by the light of the sun to realize this secret passageway led outside.

It happened like magic, she was standing in the middle of an abandoned library and suddenly she was standing on a beautiful balcony. But that's not what made the young musketeer gasp, it was the view the place offered. Located on top of a hill, it was like seeing Paris from the sky all over again. Just that this time it was more realistic because she saw much more than just the ceiling of the buildings and the houses. She could even see the sun hiding behind the clouds just on top of the city. It was the most amazing thing she'd seen in her whole life. Definitely a moment she was going to remember forever.

"I used to come here every day with my father when I was a kid," Louis's voice broke her trance and made her come back to earth. He placed his elbows on the top of the railings for support as he continued. "Even though I was very young, I still remember the stories he used to tell me while we stood here." Corinne took a deep breath, happiness overwhelming her. The amazing place combined with Louis's calming voice just made her so… happy. "He used to tell me that my mother was up in the sky, that she was watching us. That's one of the reasons for me to want to build a flying machine." The girl chuckled, her heart beating faster – and she thought she was the only one that wished to make her parents proud. "When I was little I thought that if I ever built one I would be able to visit my parents. Then of course, I grew up and realized that that wasn't possible."

"But you still built the flying machine." Corinne remarked, "Your parents must be very proud."

"Yours too…" They smiled at each other, hearts pounding in their heads.

Not now. Not today. Not in this place.

The princess ran through the halls of the palace, it was bigger than her own or just too unknown to know if she had already checked the same place. Nevertheless, she continued to search for her baby. For her hyperactive baby.

She still wondered how he had managed to escape from their room, she turned her back on him for a minute and he was gone! She was even starting to worry, it was unlikely that any shatter had interrupted the silence of the place – with Adam on the loose, everything fragile was at risk. Still, not a sound. Not even a giggle or babble.

The worst thoughts started to sneak into her head; what if he was hurt? What if he had gone outside? What if someone had captured him? And every other question just came worse than the other.

It wasn't until she heard a familiar voice followed by an also familiar chuckle that she felt a bit relieved. And after feeling the light but fast steps coming from behind her, a flash of light blond hair caught her eyes – and Anneliese didn't vacillated, she ran behind the toddler.

On the other hand, her husband had been following – well, chasing – Adam for a long time. So he had grown tired, gasping for air. Adam wasn't that fast, but he was so small that he kept hiding from him and suddenly running away when he was getting closer to find him. He'd hide under any table, under any couch or chair and in a matter of seconds he'd sprint to another place before his father could even make sure he was there. And today they were in a new place, so it was even more fun for Adam to play around and discover at the same time.

What had kept Julian following his son was that he had taken some documents, and was dropping them around the palace. Finally, after Anneliese started following him, Adam had released the remaining papers. Allowing Julian to take them all to return them to their rightful place.

And as he took them, out of curiosity, he couldn't help to see what kind of information they had. To his surprise, there wasn't much information at all. But a lot of numbers; degrees, measures and constructing processes. All together with a bunch of drawings. There were what he thought looked like boats, there were wings and hot-air balloons. And all signed by the same person, King Louis.

"I swear I left them in his room," Julian was drawn from his thoughts when he heard some nearby voices. "He told me not to touch anything. But how am I supposed to clean if there are papers covering the whole place?"

Julian recognized her; she was one of Louis's servants. Once they were approaching him the other woman spoke.

"Don't worry, they must be somewhere around here…"

Being a natural introverted man, he didn't want to interfere in their conversation. He hadn't realized he was holding Hélène's worries in his hands. But Renne did notice it. "Your Grace," The dark-skinned girl and the old woman curtsied.

Julian turned, and nodded in response. "What can I do for you?"

Renée wasn't afraid to ask, "Is there any possibility that those papers are the ones Hélène is looking for?"

Julian shrugged; he honestly didn't have a clue. "Well, I don't know. But here take a look…"

He tried to organize the dozen of wrinkled papers in his hands and then passed them over to the older woman. Hélène's eyes instantly sparkled, "These are the ones! Thank you."

Despise Hélène's thankfulness, something told Renée that it was not a casualty that Julian had exactly those papers. Something made her distrust the King's cousin's husband. "Thank you, Your Highness." Finished Renée, as she walked away with Hélène.

"Glad I could help." Julian smiled.

The sun was almost setting, hours flew like minutes and they hadn't even noticed. They were too busy enjoying each other's company to be concerned in the time. So, without even noticing it, the sun was almost setting. Reds, oranges, and yellows all mixed together in the afternoon sky. Once again the pair leaned on the edge and stared hypnotized by the bright colors. Silent but screaming in frustration in her inside, Corinne tried to break the thick quietness that had captured them once more. "I wonder if the girls noticed that we are gone."

Louis smiled to hide his worry, was she really having such a bad time to be thinking about what her friends were up to? "Are you so desperate to go back to the castle?"

She rapidly shook her head, "No, no. It's not that." She assured, how could he be thinking that? She was just trying to get a conversation started. "I'm having a great time, your – I mean, Louis."

He quietly laughed, slowly moving closer to her but trying to make it unnoticeable for her. Even when he didn't want to think about it, or mention it, Anne of Austria was supposed to arrive that evening. If he just let this moment go, if he didn't at least try to tell Corinne how he felt he was probably never getting another chance like this one. But he didn't want to pressure her; if he went directly with the 'I love you' thing to her he knew she could react badly.

Knowing how hot-heated Corinne was Louis thought she's think he was going to fast because he maybe was seeing it too easy. Which was not the case at all. What he felt for her was something he'd never felt before for anyone else, but how could he make her believe that if she didn't want to? "Guess is not going to be so bad being my personal musketeer, huh?"

"I never said it'd be bad." Corinne answered, never disconnecting her eyes from the view.

"So, what are your plans for tomorrow?" He didn't pause to think twice.

She softly giggled, and it was then when she looked at him. "I'm at your service, Louis."

"I'm taking my cousin for a walk in town and I was wondering if you wanted to come."

"I'd love too." A quick and obvious answer really, even if she didn't wished to go she had to – it was her job to be by his side.

And then, silence returned.

A powerless feeling overwhelmed Louis's whole being. He felt weak, like if he didn't had the guts to just tell this girl how he felt about her.

Just beside him, Corinne stood silent as well. It was not in her control to make that odd sensation go away. And she used to refer to it as that, an odd sensation. Because deep inside she was afraid to admit what it really was. All those butterflies in her stomach every time she was around Louis could only mean one thing.

But Louis was King now, if it seemed difficult back then when he was a Prince now it felt impossible for her to tell him. And now wasn't a good time, what if she told him and her feelings went unanswered? She'd have to face him everyday and live with the shame of letting herself be ruled by her heart. That was something musketeers couldn't do. They had to listen to their heads, not their hearts.

"You know…" He began to say, but stopped briefly to take a deep breath. The girl looked at him, his eyes shifted from side to side before they met with hers. "There's something I think you should know, Corinne."

She slightly raised one of her eyebrows. Secrets, huh? She could play that tension-builder game too. So, she grinned. "I have something to say too, Louis."

But that sudden burst of confidence she experience was short lived for now. It seemed that the weather was not on her side. Out of the blue, a strong air current caught them by surprise. It had been a tranquil, sunny day – nothing more than a calmed wind until now. Yet, this wave hit and shook the hot-air balloon.

The musketeer instinctively grabbed the King's arm for support, her eyes wide and her hands stiff. Surprised to see such a brave woman scared by just a light turbulence, Louis smiled at her. After the basket stopped dancing, Corinne realized how scared she had actually felt and her cheeks flushed.

She'd fought some of the most skilled men in Paris, she'd saved him from well devised schemes several times, she'd figured his cousin's plan, had defeated him and sent him to jail. She had showed the world that girls could also be musketeers, yet here she was, afraid of a light turbulence.

Now that she released his arm, the young man placed a hand on her shoulder to reassure her. He'd felt scared himself; they were pretty high in the sky, a fall wouldn't be very pleasant. "Don't worry, we'll be fine."

Corinne nodded, she knew that. It's not like if she wouldn't be able to find a way to save him and herself if something went wrong to the balloon. But only a several seconds passed, and the balloon's weaker basket was hit again by another air stream. This time harder.

The basket was shaken so hard that Louis fell on his back after it stopped moving, it all happened so fast that he hadn't noticed that he had broken Corinne's fall. He was slightly out of breath; Corinne froze when she realized where she had landed. Even though she wanted to stand up and apologize for what had happened, she couldn't hold it – she started laughing. The young King didn't waited long to join her.

Her hands lying on his chest and his softly holding her waist. In between the peals of laughter, the shaking shoulders and gasps for air; Louis placed a hand on the back of Corinne's head, tilting it towards his. It was now or never. And before they even knew it, their lips met.

Soft and warm, closed eyes. Her eyes sprang open, and she shoved him back. His eyes full of surprise, the rejection he'd feared was right in front of him. The blonde girl wanted to frown at him, to scold and yell at him – but she couldn't. Instead, she giggled. And Louis sighed with relief as Corinne leaned again. She was the one who grabbed his collar and kissed him back.

No words were needed, what they were about to tell each other earlier had been cleared with just actions.

The sky overhead a pale violet now that the clouds were gone, the stars small and faint. Their steps slow and calm, hands clutched together as they walked towards the castle. Even when silent, they could tell the other was happy. What they couldn't tell was that both had the same new growing worry, 'If someone sees us, what will they say?'

But that was something Corinne was trying to ignore, she couldn't care less about what people thought about her. The only thing that had been bothering her was now over; Louis knew how she felt about him. There was nothing that could make her stay in the palace bad.

He led her to her room, kissed her goodnight and even closed her door for her. She figured Aramina, Viveca and Renée were already in their rooms too so they weren't at risk - for now.

Louis sighed as he walked down the long hall smiling to himself, this day went better than he had expected. He had finally showed Corinne how he felt! He had never felt so happy and complete. And this was just the beginning.

Just when he was about to walk to his room, he heard some chattering. Two girls, he could tell. And just when he stopped walking, he saw his cousin walking towards him. Behind her, a pale woman with long chocolate-brown hair. Anne of Austria had arrived.

Louis paled; a cold wave ran though his body. He gulped and cleared his throat. He should have known his day had been too good.

His cousin looked as uncomfortable as him, Louis didn't knew her very well but it was obvious that she was faking the smile on her face.

"There you are!" Anneliese twittered, "We've been looking everywhere for you!"

The King could feel the sweat drops already forming on his forehead, and he tried to pretend that he hadn't notice the girl standing behind his cousin. "I-I was busy." He managed to say.

But the visitor had other ideas; she walked closer to her intended and stared at him – surprise to see how much he had changed. "Louis."

He tried not to flinch when she called his name, she remembered him alright. Clearing his throat again, he nodded and, with a dejected spirit, took her hand and pressed his lips against it. "Anne."

On the other hand, the girl's spirit's rose and she softly giggled with joy. "It's a great honor to finally meet you, Your Majesty." She'd been preparing for this day since she was a child, now that it was happening everything seemed too good to be true.

"Likewise." Louis dryly replied, hiding his hands behind his back and offering her a small smile that faded within seconds.

Anne stood there smiling at him, her fingers intertwined as she held her gloves. Biting her lip, and going-over the young man in front of her.

The blonde woman knew how awful Louis must had been feeling, she had passed through all of this when her mother sentenced her to marry King Dominick – she never had to do it because she was kidnapped and all. But the nerves where just as dreadful.

In order to help her cousin, she looked around the room and found a clock not so far away. Almost 7 o' clock. "Oh, well. Look at the time." She broke the silence between them, chuckling a bit. "I guess it's time for everyone to go to bed."

Anne of Austria looked confusedly at her, "But it's so early."

"Louis's got to catch his beauty sleep." Anneliese glared at Louis, giving him the cue to go with her lie. "Right, Louis?"

"Uh, yes." Anne looked at him, "A King's got to look his best." He tittered. Anne laughed a bit too; she appeared to be buying it. "Good night," He quickly turned to his door, "See you all tomorrow."

Anneliese nodded, and placed a hand on Anne's shoulder to lead her to her room. The brown-haired girl waved at him as she started to walk away. "Sweet dreams, King Louis."

The man waved back, his hand trembling. A question rumbling in his head, 'Why me?'

What was he going to do now?

Author's note:

Well, this took forever to complete. And it was mostly because this is another of those chapters a story need for the problem to take place and grow and make sense ;) Excluding the Louis and Corinne scenes, I believe the other scenes will make more sense once more chapters are added and the story gets more complex.

Other than that, it was because I've been very busy with school... and life.

Due to the fiction in his story, I needed a kingdom for Queen Genevieve (Anneliese's mother). So, Barbiegirl2435 suggested Vienna. And I think it's perfect. But because one of the characters name is 'Anne of Austria' then we decided to split Vienna in two; Anneliese's mother still being the one who reigns in both sides 'cause Anne of Austria's parents died. Like I said, this is only for fun and I do not intend to offend anything or anyone with this. And I want to thank Spirit Ella for helping me with Tiago's name! Thanks to both of you!

For the record, I don't know if the girls are really able to watch and guard from the castle's room - let's just pretend they can, for the story's sake. And yes, I know, the man who almost murdered the King is walking the streets of Paris with only a cloak to protect his identity. More illogical things have happened.

Thanks to all who have reviewed this, reviews help A LOT! :D

I thanked everyone, except for 'Guest' because well... he/she is a 'guest' in and I can't send him/her a message. So, if you are reading this, thanks for reviewing too! I'm so happy you are enjoying the story so far and I hope to update more often since I'm done with the most grating chapters ;) Now is where the fun begins!

Again, thanks a lot for reading this and please leave a review! It fuels my inspiration O.O!

Spoiler Alert - Spoiler Alert - Spoiler Alert

As she handed the pair of coins to the salesman, Adam took the apple she'd bought for him that the other man gave him.

"Thanks." Said Corinne as she walked away, wrapping again her arms around Adam's back. As the toddler opened his mouth and moved his hands closer to his face so he could take a bite from the red fruit, it somehow slipped and fell to the floor.

Corinne instinctively leaned to take it back, but a gloved hand had already done that for her. As she looked up, a tall blond well-dressed man was staring back at her.

He smiled and, after eyeing the apple, he decided to discard it. Corinne frowned at him; yet he grinned, took out several golden coins from his pocket and gave them to her.

Adam grabbed the coins, and Corinne took them from him.

The man smiled at her, his acid-green eyes glowing in the sunlight. "Is this your little brother?" He asked, pointing at the toddler she was holding. "Because you're way too pretty to be a nanny."

I hope this compensates my delay ;) It is due to changes, you know me - I'm all about details so expect more from this scene.

Tell me what you think! :D