Having grown bored of the conversation, Adélie had wandered away to find something else to amuse herself. An wide, open doorway had led into a very large, spacious room. She spotted a pretty chess set on a table, and walked over. She went up on her tip toes to reach it.

Her fingers had just curled around a pawn when a voice startled her, "Hello there."

The chess piece toppled over as Adélie spun around. A woman in a beautiful cream colored dress stood in the doorway. Several other women were behind her. Some looked shocked, some annoyed, and a few looked amused.

"Hello," Adélie said, putting her hands behind her back.

"What's your name, little one?" the beautiful woman asked, coming forward.

"Adélie."

Smiling, the woman knelt in front of her. "Do you know who I am, Adélie?" she asked. Adélie shook her head, regarding the woman seriously. "My name is Anne. You're in my home."

"Anne?" Adélie repeated with a frown. She heard some of the other women gasp in horror. "Oh, are you the queen?"

Anne laughed softly. "Yes, I am."

Wobbling, Adélie bobbed a curtsy that Kitty had spent hours trying to get her to perfect. "I'm pleased to meet you, Anne," she said. "Your home is pretty and really big."

"Thank you. I'm very pleased to meet you too, Adélie," Anne said, her tone amused. "Will you tell me how you came here?"
"D'Artagnan brought me."

"Oh?" Anne glanced around. "And where is D'Artagnan now?"

"He was talking to Constance in the gardens."

Standing up, Anne nodded. "I see," she said. She turned slightly. "Jeanette, will you please go out to the gardens and find Mademoiselle Bonacieux? I'm sure she and D'Artagnan are looking for little Adélie." She held her hand out to Adélie. "Would you like some of my tea?"

"Thank you," Adélie said, smiling back. She out her hand in the queen's. "Do you like being queen?"

Again, Anne laughed, leading Adélie towards the tea table that had just been brought in. "Yes, Adélie," she said, gesturing for the tea to be poured. "I do like being queen, though it is very hard at times."

"Your Majesty, I will take the child down to the kitchen for something to eat," one of the other woman said. Her tone was somewhat disdainful, and Adélie looked at her with narrowed eyes. "I will wait with her until Constance comes to claim her. After all-."

Sharply, Anne stared at the woman. "Mademoiselle Adelie and I are having a conversation," she said quietly. "I'm sorry for that, Adelie. I expected better manners from my ladies in waiting."

The woman backed away, bowing her head. Carefully, Adélie sat down and her feet stuck out in front of her. "Its all right," she said. "Most people treat me like that. I liked being in the country, but everyone was mean to me there. Are people nice here?"

"Some of them," Anne answered. "When you find someone nice, Adélie, make sure you keep them close. They're hard to find sometimes."

"D'Artagnan is nice," Adélie told her. She took a bite of her tart. "So is Aramis. I guess Porthos is nice too, D'Artagnan says he is, and he did my hair for me this morning. See?" She twisted around so that her now messy braid could be seen. Several of the women giggled. "And I don't know if Athos likes me. They rescued me."

"I am not surprised," Anne said. "How did they rescue you? It must have been an adventure."

Adélie nodded. 'It was," she said. She pushed her hair away from her forehead. "See? I fell from a horse and Aramis had to sew me back up. It hurt. Aramis said he has to take the stitches out tonight."

"Oh, you poor thing," Anne said, reaching out. She touched Adélie's forehead lightly. She looked up as the door opened and she got to her feet. "My lord!"

Twisting her head, Adélie saw a man, followed by another man in a red robe enter the room. Figuring she'd better imitate Anne, Adélie got to her feet and set her tart aside. "Anne," the first, younger man said. He paused as he spotted Adélie. "Oh, what's this?"

"This is Adélie," Anne said. Adélie curtsied again, wobbling even worse this time. "Adélie, this is my husband, Louis."

"Oh, you're the king!" Adélie exclaimed. "You tell the musketeers what to do!"

Louis chuckled. "Yes, I do," he answered. "Anne, where did she come from?"

"Apparently, she came with one of your musketeers," Anne explained. "D'Artagnan to be exact. Though how he came to have her in the first place, I haven't been able to learn yet."

"Well, I'll have someone escort her out," the man in the red robe said, making a gesture. "We do have several proposals to discuss, Your Majesty, if we can move on?"

Anne put her hand on Adélie's shoulder. "That's not necessary, Cardinal," the queen said, her tone cool. "I've already sent someone to find the musketeer."

Glancing between the adults, Adélie frowned. "I was merely trying to relieve Your Majesty of an unnecessary burden," the Cardinal said, his tone stiff. "Looking after a common street urchin is not something a person of your status should be doing, however charming the child may be."

"Why do you speak to Anne like that?" Adélie asked. "You sound helpful, but your eyes aren't." Richelieu stared at her in amazement, but she was already turning to the king. "Your Majesty, may I ask you a question?"

Surprised, Louis nodded. "You may," he said.

"Why aren't girls allowed to be musketeers?"

Queen Anne laughed as her husband stared at the girl in shock. "Do you want to be a musketeer and protect France, Adélie?" she asked.

"No," Adélie answered honestly, causing the room to fill with laughter. "But if I did, I couldn't and that wouldn't be very fair."

"Men are musketeers because that is their choice. They're brave and strong," Louis informed Adélie. "Women remain at home where they can be protected."

Adélie frowned. "Oh," she said, considering this. "So what if a girl was strong and brave and wanted to be a musketeer? Could she?"

"That would certainly be different," Anne laughed as her husband struggled to figure out what to say.

"Oh!" Adélie said suddenly. "She would be different, wouldn't she, and different isn't always good. I understand. All right."

"Adelie, would you excuse me if I were to take a walk with His Majesty, the king?" Anne asked, smiling at the girl.

Several of the ladies in waiting gasped in astonishment. "That's fine," Adelie answered, smiling sweetly. "I have to find D'Artagnan again anyway. He won't like it that I've been gone so long as it is."

"Finish your tea first," Anne instructed, setting the tea cup on the edge of the table so that the girl could reach it. "Then, someone will take you to Constance and D'Artagnan. I look forward to meeting you again, someday, Adélie."

Smiling brightly, Adélie curtsied and reached for her teacup. "Au revoir, Anne," she said as the king and queen left the room. She sipped the tea and then climbed back onto her chair. She regarded the waiting woman and the Cardinal seriously as she finished the last of her tart.

"My child, where do you come from?" Richelieu asked.

Frowning, Adélie shook her head. "I'm not your child, monsieur," she informed him. She took one more sip of the tea, wrinkled her nose, and slid off the chair. "Anne called you 'Cardinal'. Does that mean you're Cardinal Richelieu?"

"Yes, it does," Richelieu responded. "And you-."

"Good bye," Adélie said. She darted for the door since her way outside was now blocked. Exclamations followed her, and the ladies in waiting hastened to catch her.

Growing more and more worried, D'Artagnan met up with Constance at the bench where they'd split up. "Did you find her?" he asked the lady quickly.

As Constance shook her head, D'Artagnan heard someone call out his name. Turning, he found the king and queen approaching. "Your Majesties!" the young Gascon exclaimed, bowing. "Constance and I were just…"

"Searching for a small child by the name of Adélie?" the queen said, with a smile. "I was just having a lovely conversation with her. She is very charming. You must have Constance tell me how you came across her. I believe you should go fetch her as she was doing her best to get on the Cardinal's bad side."

D'Artagnan flinched. "Of course, she was," he said. "Thank you, Your Majesties. Her father would be very unhappy with me if I'd managed to lose her."

"We left her to finish her tea," Louis said.

"Excuse me," D'Artagnan said, bowing again. The royal couple nodded and D'Artagnan took off.

A/N: I think I am being very evil to D'Artagnan right now. :)