Corinne hummed as she sprayed the palace windows with Windex; it was very odd for her to do because Corinne never hums… ever. She sighed happily and wiped up up the chemical. Although the blonde would never admit this, she enjoyed working as a maid because she was able to find areas of the palace she would never be able to come across any other way, and, truth be told, she also liked learning the techniques used for cleaning.

The next few days had been better than the first for many reasons. Corinne had become closer to the three girls after learning they shared the same dream. Despite her horrible first impression, Corinne soon gained the trust of them and now they were the best of friends. She had also ran into Louis a couple of times.

Although Corinne would never admit this to herself, she did have a slight crush on him and vise-versa. Every time he would look at her she would blush and turn away, but they both were oblivious. Everyone else could see it; Viveca, Aramina, Renee, Treville even.

"Zac!" Corinne called. "I'm ready!"

A young, blonde man walked up to her in military garb, carrying a six foot tall ladder. "Are you sure you don't want one of the men to do it? We usually don't have our maids cleaning up on a ladder."

Corinne sighed. "Yes, I'm sure. Now, give me it and you can be on your way."

He smirked and crossed his arms. "You have some nerve, you know." Zac said as she started climbing.

"I know,"

He rolled his eyes. "Seriously, though." She was almost to the top. "You're like freakishly brave. I bet you'd clean out the gutters on the roof if we asked you."

Corinne grunted. "Already done,"

Zac stared at her in shock, but eventually shook his head. "Does not surprise me at all,"

"It shouldn't," Corinne furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to keep balance.

Louis smiled as he admired his work. He grabbed a laptop and started to speed-type things down.

After a minute he sat the thing down on a table. "Incredible," the brunette said as he climbed up his device. "The first water-powered helicopter with a fold down roof and oxygen-dispensing valves! Beat that, Philippe."

Louis smirked to himself and started adjusting the switched. "Sure it costed ten million dollars to make, but this is the future of the new industrial time." He gasped when he felt a jerk in the helicopter. "Wha-" Louis was cut off when the autopilot was turned off and the thing started going hay-wire. He was thrown off the machine and just barely got his dress shoe stuck in the rope ladder.

"Help!" he cried. To guards ran and tried to grab him but failed and Louis was sent off, sure to meet his demise.

"Really, you should get down!" Zac called.

Corinne rolled her eyes. "And you really should leave, shouldn't you?"

"Treville told me I had to keep an eye on you,"

She rolled her eyes. "Why? Because I pose a threat, or because I'm a crazy little girl who can't be reasoned with?"

"Both," he replied.

The blonde laughed. "Oh, really? Treville thinks I pose a threa-Oh, what the crap!" Corinne stopped when she saw Louis hanging by a boot off his helicopter. She jumped off the ladder, Zac catching her, and ran out the door to the balcony.

It took Zac a second to regain his senses, but when he did he started freaking out. "Treville!" he shouted.

Corinne rolled her eyes as the helicopter got closer. She chewed the inside of her cheek and grabbed a pillar.

"Wait, Corinne! What are you doing?!" Zac called, peeking his head out the balcony door.

Corinne grunted as she grabbed a metal bar. "Saving his sorry ass again,"

The blonde smirked and pulled herself onto the roof of the palace. The helicopter was only ten feet away, so Corinne took a deep breath and jumped. She closed her eyes as the wind blew her hair. Corinne landed a second later on the edge of the helicopter.

"Help!" Louis called.

Corinne groaned. "I'm working on it! How do I work this thing?!"

Louis whimpered a little as he still hung on the ladder. "Uh, take the cyclic stick and pull it towards you and control the rudder pedals so that you're-"

"In English!"

He let out an exasperated sigh. "Pull the steering wheel and push the pedals!"

Corinne leapt into the seat and grabbed the cyclic stick, pulling it towards her. "It's not working!"

"Pull harder!"

The blonde pulled the stick and pulled with all her might until the helicopter moved out of the direction where it would crash into the palace.

Corinne smirked and leaned back in her seat. "Well, look at that. Now I have experience for the Air Force."

"What?!" Louis called up. "Never mind, just can you get me up?"

Corinne stood and walked over to the door of the contraption where the ladder hangs. She grabbed the sides and pulled.

"How much do you weigh?!"

Louis cracked a smile. "Do you really want to know?" He shook his head. "Slowly pull the lever to your left." She did as she was told and when he was about two feet away, he reached a hand out. Corinne grabbed his, but a second later his foot slipped off the ladder and she slid a few feet towards the door opening. Just like that, she was the only thing keeping him from falling.

He gritted his teeth as he held onto her hand. "Can you lift me?"

Corinne breathed sharply, arms wearing out quickly. "I-I don't know," Louis's closed his eye, knowing he'd die there. Corinne took a deep breath and hooked her foot onto something so she won't fly out. The blonde took her right arm and wrapped it around his body.

"I'm not letting you go," she whispered.

Louis nodded and wrapped another arm around her. She pulled him a few inches and stopped, resting a minute until pulling again. Each time, Corinne got closer to getting him out until she finally got him inside. The blonde collapsed on her back as Louis rose to his feet, sliding the helicopter door closed.

He leaned against the door with an exhausted look. "Thanks… again."

Corinne flung an arm over her eyes. "You really do seem to have knack for getting into trouble, don't you?" she said blindly.

Louis smirked and crawled down to the floor. He put his hands on either side of her head and stared at her until she opened her eyes. "No, really. Thank you," Corinne smiled and pushed his hands aside.

"Do you think I can have your name now now that you've saved my life three times?" he continues.

She smiled and leaned her back against the wall of the helicopter. "Corinne," the blonde gasped. "Monsieur Leferre!"

Louis smiled and held out his hand. "Call me Louis," she tried to object, but he stopped her. "I think you've earned it by now."

Corinne accepted his hand and stood up, rubbing her arms as Louis watched her in utter amazement. "How did you lift me?" he asked.

Corinne shrugged. "I grew up in the country. I don't have a brother or father, so my mother and I were the one's doing everything."

"I see," Louis smiled and went and sat down on the pilot's seat. He pressed a couple of buttons and moved the levers to the correct positions until he noticed Corinne staring at him. The brunette turned his head. "What?"

Corinne smirked. "So you don't know basic first aid, but you can fly a helicopter or whatever the Hell this thing is?"

Louis laughed and put a headset on, adjusting the microphone. "Well, when I young, I was interested in flying and mathematics and science. I always wanted to make this machine, but everyone said it was impossible. I kept going, though, because sometimes you must-"

"-pursue your dreams even when everyone else says it's impossible." she finished for him.

He smiled. "How do you know that?"

She shrugged, leaning against the wall of the helicopter. "My father taught it to me when I was little," The blonde looked out the window and smiled. "It's been my mantra for years."

"Really? That's quite interesting. I learned it from my cousin's friend's father." Louis turned on autopilot and mumbled something into his headset. "Yes, Jean, I'll come down in a minute." He rolled his eyes as they said something back. "Come on. You should be confident in my abilities by now. You're the one who taught me to fly this damn thing!" Corinne could hear the person on the other side yell. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'll be down in a minute, Jean. No, I'm not going to die. And no, I don't need someone to help me. Just hang tight, okay?" Louis nodded his head and hung the headset back on a hook.

"Are you in trouble, Monsieur Leferre?" Corinne asked him mockingly.

Louis smiled. "Maybe a little, but it's not like they can ground me." He pressed a button and the roof of the helicopter went down, revealing the bare sky. Corinne gasped. "We can't too high or we'll freeze to death, but I think it's good enough from right here."

All Corinne could do was nod. She inhaled and closed her eyes, taking in everything. Never in her life had she felt so free.

"Do you like it?"

"Oh, I more than like it. It's… It's amazing." Corinne bit her lip, staring out at the landscape. She let a shiver out and Louis took notice.

"Here," he shrugged off his leather jacket and put it on her shoulders.

"No! No, I'm fine." She interrupted. "I'm just a maid. I can take the cold."

He laughed. "I don't care if you're a maid, you know. Your profession doesn't define who you are. Even if it did, I'm pretty sure that it's not your dream job."

Corinne studied her feet. "Well, who's dream job would be cleaning the floor? Madame de Bosse's, maybe, but not mine."

"Actually, Madame de Bosse was a dancer in her prime. Now she's just a cranky old lady."

Corinne eyed him. "How would you know that?"

He shrugged. "I was young once. My father was President when I was young and when he was out of office he became apart of congress, so I've lived here my entire life. I had to do something here and when de Bosse was hired some years ago, she would rant nonstop about her 'well paid job as a famous prima ballerina'."

Corinne laughed and put her arms into Louis's jacket sleeves. "You talk a lot more than I expected."

Louis laughed. "Well, you talk a lot less than I expected."

"Why is that?"

"Every blonde I've ever met would talk my ear off and I could barely get a word in." he was alerted when a light blinked. "We're running out of fuel. I'm bringing us down."

Corinne laughed. "Don't go discriminating against blondes just because you've 'talked to' those prissy rich girls."

Louis smirked. "Prissy rich girls, huh? Well, look who's discriminating now."

Corinne playfully shoved him, but accidentally knocked him off his feet. Trying to stay up, Louis grabbed the blonde, but they both eventually fell down; Louis on the floor, Corinne on his chest. She stared into his eyes for a long moment until she regains her senses and stood up.

"Sorry about that," the blonde said awkwardly, putting a hand out for Louis who graciously accepted.

He smiled as he regained his footing. "No problem. We end up in that position a lot, though."

Corinne laughed. "Yeah,"

Louis walked over to the pilot's seat and sat, putting the headset back on, while Corinne sat in the seat next to him. He pressed a button and pulled the cyclic stick, while also pressing the pedals. Her smile faded when she saw a scratch on the dashboard.

"Was that always there?" she asked him.

"What? I can't hear you. Put these on." Louis passed her another headset and she repeated her question. "What scratch?" Corinne pointed to it again and he furrowed his eyebrows. "Oh, Something probably fell on it and that must've been what took me off autopilot."

A probable answer, but Corinne had a feeling that wasn't what it was. The scratch was to straight. If it were something else, it most likely would have been jagged and probably not so sharp. Corinne dismissed the thought and went back watching the descending Earth below.

"So," she heard Louis's voice through the headset. "you said that saying was your mantra. What is your dream exactly?"

Corinne's breathing hitched. She was afraid of yet another person telling her she couldn't do it; that she couldn't succeed.

Surely he'll understand, She thought. After all, we both have insane dreams.

The blonde took a deep breath. "I want to be… in the First Regiment."

Louis laughed. "You're joking, right? Girls can't be in the First Regiment." He laughed. He laughed at her dream. He laughed at everything she ever worked for, everything she ever wanted to be. Corinne was more than furious.

They landed a few minutes later. Corinne unbuckled her seat belt and jumped off the helicopter in rage. She was so angry, she didn't even notice the officers crowding around the machine. Louis climbed down the thing and ran after her.

"Corinne!" he grabbed her wrist. "Where are you going?"

Corinne huffed. "Away from here," she sighed. "Let me go," the brunette obeyed.

Louis furrowed his eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

She mocked a laugh. "What's wrong?" the blonde narrowed her eyes and pointed a finger at his chest. "What's wrong is you literally just ruined my life."

"Wha-"

"No, just stop." Corine pushed his back into the helicopter. "How can the President of France envision himself inventing a enviro-progressional helicopter, and not a girl in the First Regiment? What is wrong with you?" The crowd around them gasped.

A woman, Corinne recognized as an Air Force Rifleman, spoke, "How dare you talk to him that way?!"

Corinne scoffed. "Go to Hell," A couple of men held the woman back from punching her. The blonde stomped off, not bothering to acknowledge anyone else. She stopped for a second and threw Louis's leather jacket that was still around her shoulder's in his face.

"Hey, that's Giorgio Armani!"

She scoffed. "Like I care,"

"Don't you walk away from me!" Louis yelled.

Corinne turned around so she was walking backwards. "What are you 'gonna do? Raise my taxes?" She whipped her body around and ran from the scene without another word.

Louis looked around him. "Did I say something wrong?"

A man standing next to him shrugged. "She's a woman. Nobody understands them."

Corinne ran through the palace and eventually locked herself in a closet. She slid down the wall and cried into her hands quietly, so no one could hear her.

"I am so stupid." she whispered to herself. "Why could I think for a moment that a person of his rank could understand me?" Corinne closed her eyes and her knees to her chest.

After a while, Corinne left her hiding spot and went to her training with Helene and the other girls. She was late, but she had a feeling the old woman would forgive her after she found out what had happened. But, she wouldn't forgive herself.

Corinne stomped into the training room as the three girls and Mia were shooting rifles.

"You are late," Helene said.

Corinne studied her feet. "Sorry, I was a little busy saving that no good, undeniably stupid, snobby, stuck up, asshole up there."

Helene rose an eyebrow. "You mean Louis Leferre, right?"

The blonde crossed her arms and nodded her head. "Yeah. He got stuck in that piece of crap invention of his and I jumped onto it and saved him." She paused. "But, it wasn't an ordinary malfunction. Someone took it off autopilot while he was on there."

Aramina gasped and pulled off her headphones. "Someone's trying to kill Monsieur Leferre?!"

Renee and Viveca walked over as well. "Are you sure?" Renee asked.

Corinne nodded. "Someone definitely did."

Helene bit her lip. "Then this is very serious. You mustn't tell anyone of this. Our new president's life could be at stake. It takes years to be professional at fighting, but there's no times. You have to train like you've never done before. Can you do it?"

Corinne sneered. She didn't want to help him, but she didn't want him to die. It would be a disaster. "Yes,"

"Of course!" Aramina squealed.

Viveca smiled. "Duh,"

"Ditto!" Renee shouted.

Helene smiled. "Then let's get started.

(A/N: Hello, hello, hello! It's been just over a week since I last updated! Thank you for the reviews, kind people! Okay, my computer went haywire for a couple days and I wasn't able to write, so forgive me. Anyway, replies:

lovelovelove: You did?! Good because i was afraid they were too cheesy, or boring. You really think it'll be awesome?! I really hope so and your support will help me make it even better (Hint, hint, *wink, wink* review)! Oh, I really don't have any stories to update (Unless you tell me what they are ;D), but I may, just may, be updating How To Let Go.

Guest One: Here you go.

Despicable Margo: We already worked this out, but I'll say it again. You weren't annoying to me, I swear. Thanks for reviewing!

PrincessGeekelle: Oh, trust me. I just LOVE doing that with characters!

Turquisea: Lol. He is very well-bred as well as a douche. As for Louis, he's had everything done for him from the moment he was born. He's never had the experience. One thing I find ironic, though, is that Louis knew little to nothing about first aid in this story, but should have a degree in How To Let Go.

Guest Two: Voila!

And to everyone else who read and didn't review: I love you still. But could you review, maybe? ; )

Well, that's the end of this long author's note. Peace out, my pretties.

Sincerely,

Weatherbug02

P.S.: How did you like the balloon scene? Did it live up to your expectations?)