So as promised you have a very long chapter that took a very long time to write and an even longer time to edit and tweak. This is probably the longest chapter that I've written for this story, so I hope you guys are happy with it.
I was planning on updating this on Monday, but the internet on our computer stopped working, so I'm typing this at the library. I hope you enjoy it and I'll stop talking so you can read this chapter.
Louisa sat in silence in the carriage with Treville until they reach the border of France when she started to ask, "Are we there yet?"
Treville looks at her oddly and then says, "I was wondering why you didn't ask me that twelve hours ago. You usually start asking that after you spend 3 minutes in the carriage."
"Well they did teach us about patience at Princess Charm School and I might have fallen asleep in the carriage as well," Louisa replies with a smile.
"If this makes you happy, we are going to stop at the cottage to pick up your father and afterwards we'll head over to the castle."
"Courtney! Welcome back."
Nervous at first, she breaks into a grin at the sight of her father, waving and smiling at her. "Dad!" Louisa hops out of the carriage and runs to him and stops just as she reaches him, to look up. "Dad... Finally..."
"Where's my hug?"Louis says as he wraps his arms around Louisa and pulls her close.
Louisa smiles, Louis looks at her.
"What happened to you? Something's changed. Did you get taller?"
"Maybe I did. Maybe I didn't, but the important thing is that I'm home for two whole months." Louisa replied with a smile.
They walk off, arm-in-arm, back to the carriage where Treville had moved to the front seat with the driver to give the two some privacy.
"So, what's how are you, Dad? How is everybody?" Louisa asks curiously.
"Great. Everybody's great. They can't wait to see you. Three months have been too long. So much has been happening around here." Louis pauses "I don't know why, but I'm needed at the summer palace, so we'll make a quick stop there."
"A lot's happened to me, too. I feel like I'm practically a new princess!" Louisa exclaims. As they talk, Louisa keeps peeking at her father.
"What's the matter? Is my crown crooked?" Louis asks sounding fake concerned.
"No, it's just seeing you for the first time. I mean, you know... in so long," Louisa then giggles behind her hands.
"Hey, by the way, thanks for all those letters. I'm really glad I bought you all that personalized stationary you just had to have," Louis said halfheartedly.
"We meant to write, Dad, but we just got so busy with school and stuff..." Louisa trails off.
"We?" Louis questions.
"Oh. Me and my friend. I met this girl at school and we got really close. Practically like sisters. She was a wondrful girl, you know Dad."
"Why do you keep saying 'Dad', in almost every sentence?"
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize I was doing it, Dad," Louisa then pauses, realizing she's done it again. "Sorry, Dad."
They both laugh.
"Do you want to know why I keep saying Dad...? The truth?" Louisa asks.
"Because you missed your old man so much?" Louis says.
"Exactly! It's because in my whole life, I mean for these past months, I was never able to ever say the word 'Dad'. Never. Not once! And a Dad is an irreplaceable person in a girls' life. I mean think about it, there's a whole day, devoted to celebrating Fathers, right? Just imagine, someone's life without a Father. Never buying a Father's Day card, never getting their Father a' birthday present, never sitting on their Father's lap, never being able to say, 'Hi, Dad', , 'Bye, Dad, catch you later, Dad'. A baby's first words are always Dada, aren't they? Then there's 'Daddy', 'Daddio', 'My old man'... Not to mention, 'Wait 'til your father gets home young lady, and..." Louisa says before she gets interrupted.
"So, let me see if I get this straight... you missed being able to call me Dad," Louis says hiding a laugh.
"Yeah. I really have, Dad."
When they were nearly in Paris and the tops of the castle could already be seen, Louisa decides to ask several questions.
"Dad, why do we never talk about my mom? I mean, I know she passed away and stuff like that, but you must still have memories of her that you can share with me. The only thing I know about her is what she looks like. And I learned that from a picture. At least tell me how you meet each other. Please. A girl has to know something about how their parents meet."
"It's not that special. I met her in the palace when I was testing out an invention, she saved me and I had told her that girls couldn't become musketeers. She then saved my life again,became a musketeer and continued saving my life until we got married and her musketeer duties were replaced with other ones."
"But, was it love at first sight?"
"I knew you were going to ask me all these questions one day," Louis says with a groan.
"But, did you see each other every day?"
"You know, this part of you reminds me of your mom. You'd think she raised you instead of me," Louis said with a chuckle.
At that Louisa starts to look rather worried until Louis continues talking, not even noticing the worried look on her face.
"Yes, we saw each other every night, every morning and every hour in-between when she wasn't off on a mission," Louis says, looking into Louisa's eyes.
"That's beyond cool. So what happened? You didn't love each other when she stopped saving you?"
"I don't know, princess. These things are complicated. One day she received a letter, which probably had upsetting news because she ripped it up. She disappeared in the night. I sent search parties out for two years and one day, one of my men told me that they found her horse near a house that had been burned down. They said that her dead body was found in the lake besides the house. Of course, there was no way to know for sure if it was her, but a bracelet that I had given her for our second wedding anniversary was found on her wrist. She had died when you were 3 years old."
"So she just disappeared and left nothing for you?"
"She left you with me," Louis then smiles and pulls Louisa closer to him, causing Louisa to smile as well.
Louis smiles as the carriage turns and passes a sign that says 'Welcome to Paris'.
Louisa looks out the window and says with a gasp, "Oh my God."
"Now you sound like someone who hasn't seen the palace in their whole life," Louis says with a laugh.
A large gate comes into view. The driver blows thorough a trumpet as he drives down the long stone path. Prince, a golden mutt, races after the car, barking.
James, Louis's valet, arrives from the side of the castle. He opens the carriage door for Louisa.
"Well, look who finally decided to come home," James said with a smile and a hint of sarcasm.
"Well it's not my fault that I had to go to school," Louisa exclaims.
"Did your old man tell you we decided no more school for you?" James asked looking very serious.
"Nope, not a word about it," Louisa replied as she climbs out.
"It got too quiet around here, Courtney. We couldn't stand it. Nobody blasting music, nobody playing hide and seek in the halls or getting lost in the servant hallways, nobody getting stuck up on the roof..." James says with a smile.
Louisa laughs as the screen door swings open and Shannon walks towards Louisa, humming as if she's a one-woman welcome home band. Shannon is the most lovable woman on the planet, early twenties, warm eyes and a great sense of humor. She lifts Louisa right off her feet and spins her around.
"Hell-o, Gorgeous! You grew, you look fabulous, we missed 't let these men talk you out of going back to school. You're a growing girl. You need other girls nearby. Are you hungry? Cook just finished cranking the ice cream. Why are you so quiet? What's wrong?" Shannon asks.
"I'm just so happy to be home,"
Louis says as he exits the carriage,"Did I hear something about ice cream?"
"It's on the table… "Shannon looks Louisa over, hugs her again. "You've changed, Courtney ... I can't put my finger on it, but something about you has definitely changed."
Prince bounds down the steps of the porch.
"Really? I did?" Louisa says with a gasp. "Hi, Prince!"
Prince sniffs at Louisa's shoes, looks up at her, and then backs off suspiciously while barking at her.
"What's with you, silly! It's Courtney!"
Prince continues barking.
"I probably smell different from being at Princess Charm School, that's all." Louisa runs up the porch steps, followed by Shannon.
"What's wrong with you? It's like you didn't even recognize her," Shannon asks Prince.
"Okay, this is it. Oh, God, I hope she likes me. Please like me," Courtney says to herself in an attempt to calm her nerves.
"Of course she'll like you. You are her daughter," Rose reassures her.
"Yeah, but what if she figures out that I'm not actually Louisa?" Courtney asks sounding worried.
"I don't think that it'll happen. Just remember that we'll be here to help you if you need us," Trista reminds Courtney.
"Plus it's too late to back out now. We're here. It looks like Hank came to pick you up. I wonder where your mom is," Aria muses.
"Over here Louisa!" Hank shouts.
"Hank? Is that really you?" Courtney asks as she gets off from the carriage, feeling kind of clueless about what she was saying until she remembered that Hank was their chauffeur.
"Let's get you home now. Your mom wanted to pick you up, but the mission in Russia isn't supposed to end for another week. I'm sure you're eager to rest. Your grandmother is eager to see you as well," Hank says leading Courtney towards the limousine where he gets into the front seat.
Courtney has the window rolled down, her head resting on her hands, as she soaks up the sights. "This is so amazing! What a city!"
"You were only at Princess Charm School for three months and suddenly you act like a tourist. What am I saying, Princess Charm School is in Vienna. The sights are still the same. You didn't even go to school in another city. What's gotten into you?" Hank exclaims with a laugh.
"That's what going away from home is for, silly. Makes you appreciate home and everything in it," Courtney says.
They soon arrive at an elegant town house on one of Vienna's loveliest streets. The Limousine pulls up and the Hank gets out, opening the back door for Courtney. She steps out and looks up at the house. "This is it, 18 Forget-Me-Not," Courtney says to herself.
Hank grabs the luggage as Courtney rushes up the steps. She places her hand on the big round knob, turns it and enters the house.
"Hello?" Courtney says in a whisper.
She peeks into the Drawing Room, doesn't see anyone, heads around the stairs, counting the doorways and stops at the kitchen where she sees someone standing by a counter, frosting cupcakes.
"Grandma, I'm home," Courtney says softly.
Louisa's Grandmother, Marie D'Artaganan, a tall and thin woman rushes towards Courtney with a smile.
"Is that my little girl? That tall gangly thing? Is that you really you, Louisa?"
"Yes, it's me," Courtney replies.
"Did you have a good time, sweet pea?" Marie asks.
"Uh-huh... Great..."
"What are you doing?" Marie asks stifling a giggle.
"Just smelling," Courtney replies.
"Smelling? What are you smelling?" Marie questions with a laugh.
"I'm making a memory. Years from now, when I'm all grown up, I'll remember my Grandma and how she always smelled of peppermint and cupcakes." She pulls her close; she rests her head on her shoulder.
"Sweetheart, I think you should go to bed now. Something with your mind isn't right if you want to smell me to make a memory," Marie exclaims.
"But what about mom? Do I really have to wait another week to see her?"
"She'll get home sooner if you go to bed earlier. She called half an hour ago and told me that she would be here in two days at the latest. Something about the mission ending early."
"Goodnight grandma. I love you," Louisa says as she walks up the grand staircase to go to her room to sleep.
When she woke up, Courtney looks around the room confusedly. She knew that she wasn't in her dorm at Princess Charm School, nor her own bedroom in the palace at home. So where was she? Her eyes land on Louisa's name painted on her wall. Suddenly, everything came rushing back to her. Switching places with Louisa last night, meeting grandma for the first time and falling asleep in her sister's bedroom.
Courtney slowly got out of bed, went down the stairs and walked into the kitchen to see her grandmother preparing breakfast.
"Good morning Louisa. Did you sleep well last night?"
"Good morning grandma. I sleep wonderfully last night. What's for breakfast?" Courtney asks.
"We have pancakes and eggs. As soon as you finish eating, get changed. We're going to the market. We're out of fruits, baking powder and who knows what."
"Grandma, will you let me do some of the shopping by myself?" Courtney asks, hardly being able to contain her excitement. She had never gone out of the palace unaccompanied by guards.
"Of course. We always do shopping like this," Marie replies.
"Grandma, I think that was the best shopping trip ever!" Courtney exclaims.
"Really? Because you always seem to dread having to go shopping," Marie says as she looks strangely at her granddaughter.
Courtney opens the door and walks into house. She stops abruptly in the doorway before slowly walking over to the grand staircase as if she were stuck in a trance before she lays eyes on her mother for the first time in her life.
"Louisa? Is that you?" Corinne asks.
"Mom?"
"Honey, welcome home!"
Corrine rushes down the stairs as Courtney flies up toward her. Courtney falls into her mother's arms, tears flooding her eyes.
"I thought you were coming back tomorrow. I can't believe you're here today!" Courtney says stifling a laugh.
"I can't believe it's you. I wanted to surprise my baby girl. Oh, my! You got your ears pierced?!"
Courtney nods.
"Looks very chic and sophisticated if you ask me, although nobody ever wants my opinions," Marie says from the doorway.
"Well, what's done is done. You can't change it now," Corrine says as she looks Courtney up and down.
Courtney laughs, shakes her head, and looks up at her mother with tears in her eyes.
"What is it, sweetie?" Corrine asks sounding concerned when she sees the tears in Louisa's eyes.
"I'm sorry, it's just... I can't help it. I missed you so much. If only you knew how much."
"Knew what? Oh, never mind, but it really seems like it's been forever since I've seen you," Corrine says as she hugs Courtney tightly.
"You have no idea." Courtney says with a faint smile.
Courtney enters her mother's room for the very first time. A gasp can be heard when Courtney takes in the room... it's beautiful, feminine and gracious. Tea has been laid on a corner table. Corrine leads Courtney to a small love seat. "So tell me all about what happened at Princess Charm School. Were there any battles to fight?" Corrine pauses for a breath before continuing, "Why are you staring at me as if you've never seen me before?"
"No there were no battles or fights. And to answer your second question, I guess I missed seeing you. I love your room, it's beautiful!"
"Nothing's new... it's just as it's always been. So... c'mon, tell me... Did you like everyone? Was it fun?"
"Yeah, it was great and I liked this one girl a real lot, I mean... in particular. She's from Paris, actually," Courtney pauses for a moment before continuing, "Have you ever been to Paris?"
"Yes... I lived there for several years. But that was a long time ago, before you were born," Corrine says as she pours tea.
"Oh my goodness ... I didn't realize you were so beautiful," Courtney says after staring at her mother for a long time.
Just then, Marie knocks on the open door and holds up Courtney's china tea set.
"I found a tea set in your suitcase. It looks like it's real china."
"How did it get in here?" Courtney exclaims. At that Corrine turns to her daughter in shock. "It belongs to a girl in my room... It belonged to her great-great-great-great grandmother. I don't know how on earth it ended up in my suitcase. Maybe because we had the same type of suitcases and she accidentally put it in mine?"
"What are we going to do since it isn't ours? It's too pretty to throw away, and it probably costs a ton. And I thought you were rooming with Trista, Aria and Rose." Marie asks.
"I'll mail her to her. She loves this thing a lot. A lot. A lot. No, no, can you just put it in my room? Thank you, grandma," Courtney says as she retrieves the set.
"Wait, can I see it? It looks like something that I've seen before," Corrine starts as Marie exits the room with the tea set and walks into the hallway.
Just then, the phone rings. Corrine walks over to answers it.
"Hello? Hi... Really? Can't you manage without me? I just arrived at home to spend time with Louisa who got home from Princess Charm School last night... Well, what's the problem?"
As Corrine talks on the phone, Courtney crosses to the dresser and runs her hand across her Mother's brush, her pearls, smells her perfume, then lifts up a photo of Corrine as a little girl. Courtney looks back at her Mom. Corrine makes a face on the phone call and Courtney laughs as Corrine continues on the phone.
Courtney notices her mom's closet door is open and she enters, gazing at all of her clothes. She looks at a row of her musketeer uniforms and gently touches the beautiful fabrics.
"Courtney!"
Courtney pops out of the closet, worried she's been caught trespassing.
"Can you come with me to check on the guards? They say that they have a problem."
"Of course I'll come along. I don't want to miss a single second that could be spent with you." Courtney replies as she reaches for her mother's hand.
Corinne and Courtney can be seen walking along the streets, hand in hand as they walk to the palace.
"Come on, let's see what all the fuss is about... Let's see what disaster awaits us," Corinne says as they enter the training grounds.
"Corinne! I'm so glad you're here. The 'big boys' have gotten into another argument about who's better and decided that the only way to find out is to challenge you to a …" Viveca trails off.
"A duel? Sure why not?" Corinne says as she grabs a sword and manages to defeat both of them in less than two minutes. "Wait. What happened to the battle? Oh, you're both too tired to continue. That's a shame. Well, so between the two of you, who's better?"
"Neither of us. Because you're better," Both men mumble in defeat.
"Mom is too cool," Courtney says to herself.
Corinne walks over to Courtney triumphantly and smiles at Courtney. "I know we were going to spend the whole day just the two of us, but can the girls come over for lunch. They said that they'll bring Rose, Trista and Aria. Is that okay with you?"
"I guess so. But only if you promise after lunch, we'll spend the whole afternoon together," Courtney says seriously.
"It's a deal," Corinne promises.
Corinne and Courtney make their way towards the castle gates, passing several dueling musketeers.
"So why did you and dad separate before he 'died'?" Courtney asks curiously.
"Why the sudden curiosity about your Dad?"
"Well, we have an assignment for school where we need to make a family tree or something and we were told to do research on our family over the break," Courtney lies, hoping her mother would believe it.
"I'm going home to prepare for lunch. See you in half an hour." Corinne says while waving to Viveca, Aramina and Renee.
Corinne and Courtney head back down the circular staircase.
"So, what happened? And I want the truth."
"What? What are you talking about?"
"Mom, I need to know. It's for the project at school. If I don't do this assignment, then I could get kicked out of the school of my dreams. Grandma let you follow your dreams when you were old enough to try. The least you can do is let me try to follow mine."
"Okay. But I'm not a hundred percent sure that you're ready to hear what I'm going to tell you," Corinne says as she guides Courtney to a bench to sit down.
"Of course I'm ready mom, I was born ready for everything. Or at least almost everything." Courtney says with a laugh.
"I have a confession to make. Your father wasn't an ordinary man, he was never ordinary. He was, I mean is the king of France. Louisa, he's still alive." Corrine says slowly so her daughter can understand what she's saying.
"Mom! Why would you keep this information away from me. And why would you tell me that he's dead?" Courtney exclaims, pretending to be angry.
"You have to understand that you weren't old enough to know about this. I was planning on telling you on your 13th birthday. That's still in three years."
"Oh, I'm sorry mom. But can you please continue with the story?"
"Before I married him, I was a musketeer. I wasn't a noble until then, so some people thought that I was unfit to be queen. They would send letters telling me to leave, but I couldn't leave the man I loved. I tore every letter in my office and then burnt them so your father would never see it. When you were 1, there was a letter that threatened that they would kill your father if I didn't leave within the next 24 hours. I got so upset about it; I tore it in front of your father. He gave me an odd look, but didn't say anything about it. I wasn't going to. Leave the man that I fought so hard to have! It was unthinkable. I was so feed up with those letters that I didn't realize your father was in my study when I tore the letter."
"So, it was a stupid letter that made you leave dad?" Courtney questions. "That doesn't sound very you."
"No, something else happened later that night that made me leave. If you stop interrupting, I'd be able to tell you the whole story." Corrine says with a sigh.
"Oh, sorry again," Courtney says with a blush.
"That night, you couldn't fall asleep, so I took you from your crib and started walking in the garden with you. Suddenly, a man came out of nowhere and grabbed you from my hands. He held a gun to your head and threatened to kill you right there on the spot. I was completely powerless because I had no weapon to fight him with and very little energy at that time. He said that your life would be spared if I left at that moment without a fuss, and if I didn't, he said that he'd kill you right away and find a way to have me killed. If he wasn't holding you, I think I would have let him try to kill me. Many have tried to kill me and all have failed so far, I'm too good to die."
"Mom, I know that this sounds super weird, but why didn't you let him kill me? Then you'd still be with dad, right?"
"But you have to understand Louisa, when you're a mother, the safety and happiness of you children are of the utmost importance. So I surrendered and left the palace for the last time. I never saw you father again. I think that's what hurt the most of leaving him. I never got to kiss him goodbye and the fact that you had to grow up without a father."
"But mom, don't you still miss him?" Courtney asks as she looks at her mother's face closely.
"Yes, I miss your father very much. I had honestly thought that he would come out and look for me, he promised that he always would." Corrine looks away, "But I guess I was wrong, and he didn't love me enough to look for me."
So, the cat's out of the bag. Long kept secrets have been spilled and emotions let out. I know it's kind of rushed, but I have something planned somewhere in my mind. Now, I only need to find it.
If you find that the changing perspectives and names are a little confusing, I can try to do something else so it's easier to understand.
Feed back is graciously welcomed.
Cheerio,
Lasting Violet
