Corinne stormed into the castle, slamming the door behind her "What is his problem!?"
"I don't know," Renee said, walking in behind her "Maybe because someone shot you out of the sky!"
"Just think of it!" Aramina said dramatically "His dream is to fly! But he gives up his dream to protect his true love." She sighed "So romantic."
"Aramina!" Corinne spun around to face the red head "I am not his true love!"
"You'd say nothing if you saw him when he came running for help." Viveca said "He was so worried, it was cute."
Corinne shook her head "But still!" She could feel her anger quickly diminishing.
"He was just worried." Aramina said softly "He was scared that he would never see you alive again."
Corinne crossed her arms, trying to keep her ire up. But the one person that could make her feel guilty was Aramina. And she was good at it too.
"He was just responding out of fear." Aramina said, her hands folded in front of her "I think we'd all do the same." The she sent Corinne that 'you know I'm right' look.
Corinne stared at her, determined not to break beneath the stare.
"Ah!" she threw her hands in the air, turned around and stomped back out of the castle.
Aramina smiled "Told you I could do it."
VIveca and Renee laughed "You are good."
Corinne found Louis standing beside his balloon.
"Louis?"
"Yeah."
"I'm sorry." She said letting out a big huff of air "It's your contraption, you choose if it ever goes up again or not."
Louis turned to look at her "I'm glad you feel that way. Because I have no intentions of sending it up again."
Corinne's mouth fell open "What!?"
Louis chuckled "I thought you said it was my choice."
"Well, it was till you made the wrong one!"
Louis stared at the totally determined look on her face and then burst out laughing. He couldn't help it. No matter how hard he tried to stop, he couldn't. He turned his back on Corinne, hoping to calm himself down.
"What is so funny?" Corinne demanded.
Louis shook his head "Corinne." He said as he turned to face her again "Do you want to know how many people have actually told me what to do?"
"My guess, none." Corinne crossed her arms "You're the king. They can't!"
"And yet you do."
Corinne stared at him, and then she started laughing "Sorry."
He shrugged "I don't mind you telling me what to do." He smiled as he watched the heat creep up her face "But here's where I have something to tell you. I might consider flying again after that maniac is caught. But until then, I'm not going to risk you getting hurt. Okay?"
Corinne sighed "Alright." Then she smiled "I have to get back to my chores."
Louis nodded "Have fun."
When she returned to the castle, her three friends were waiting with wide eyes.
"What happened?" Viveca asked.
Corinne shrugged "He said he might take the balloon back up when we catch the maniac."
"That's it?" Renee asked.
Corinne nodded "What did you expect?"
"A little more romance." Aramina answered, slightly pouting "He didn't declare his undying love?"
"No, Aramina. He didn't." Corinne picked up a broom "We have work to do."
The next morning, it was Corinne's turn to guard the king all day. They both found themselves dwindling their thumbs waiting for time to pass.
They were sitting in the library, Louis on one side of a desk, Corinne on the other, when she couldn't take the silence anymore "Can you ride?"
"Ride a what?" He asked, his chin laying on his left hand.
"A horse."
"Yeah. Why?"
"Because, I am so bored!" her head hit the desk "Even on the farm I had plenty to do!"
"Corinne!" Treville called "Come out to the yard immediately!"
"Thank goodness!" she jumped up "Don't leave this room!"
Louis nodded "I know."
Corinne ran out to the yard "Yes sir?"
Treville held a note out to her "This just flew through my office window."
Corinne's eyebrows raised as she read it. It said:
Tell the girl that has my pendant to put it on the Large Oak tree by the western woods.
If she does not, I will take matters into my own hands.
"If he thinks he's getting this thing back before I figure out what it is, he's got another thing coming." Corinne said as she folded the letter "He can forget it!"
"Corinne," Treville said "I think we need to find a way to protect that medallion along with you. So …"
"Whoa! Hold on just a second." Corinne held up her hands "Please don't tell me you're planning on posting guards around me morning, noon and night."
"Well, that was the idea."
"No way." Corinne shook her head "I suffer from extreme claustrophobia."
"Corinne."
"You know, no closed in spaces."
"Corinne."
"So… I'm fine." She flashed him a smile.
Treville groaned "You are the most stubborn girl I've ever met in my life!"
"Captain, I'm a musketeer. I can take care of myself."
Treville stared at her "Fine. Just watch your back."
"Yes, Captain." Corinne nodded, then returned to the library, where Louis had a chessboard set up.
"Well, it's strategy." He said teasingly.
Corinne shrugged and sat down "Well Your Highness, let's see how your war strategies are."
When the four girls went to their apartment that night, Aramina, Viveca, and Renee told Corinne about their time patrolling the town.
"We chased that crazy thief from one end of Paris to the other!" Viveca exclaimed "He was crazy!"
"But we finally caught him." Renee added "But yeah, he was pretty insane."
"Oi." Corinne sat down on her bed and kicked off her pink boots "I wish I had been with y'all. I sat in the library all afternoon playing chess with the king."
"Fun." Renee snorted.
"Tell me about it." Corinne shook her head "Tomorrow I'm going out to town for a while."
"Do you want us to come?" Aramina asked.
Corinne shook her head "No. I'll be fine on my own."
"Okay."
Her three friends looked at her curiously, but she didn't say another word.
So, when she got up the next morning, she headed straight to town, promising to help with the castle chores as soon as she returned.
"It's weird that she didn't want us to go with her." Viveca commented.
Aramina shrugged "Every girl needs some alone time."
The others shrugged, then they got to work.