Here is yet another chapter! I'm so sorry this one is coming after such a gap of time, but I needed something to fit in between the other chapters that I had previously written, and this one gave me far more trouble than I anticipated. Thank you so much for your patience, and thank you to those of you who have recently favourited and/or followed me and my story! This is only the first of many that I plan on writing, and I'd love to hear your opinions! Reviews are always appreciated, and constructive feedback if you have any is welcome as well. Just remember that I won't tolerate flamers, because well...they're damn annoying.

Chapter XI

"Mademoiselle?"

Katherine jumped back a little, a hand flying to her chest as she felt her heart momentarily stop beating from the shock of hearing a voice so close to her ear, turning sharply to look at who it was that had called for her attention. From the shadow of the corner she had just passed stepped a familiar figure, looking at her with an expression of slight concern written across his handsome face. His hands were folded behind his back and his boots tread lightly across the carpeted floor of the corridor as he approached her, allowing her to see his face in the light and breathe a small sigh of relief when she came to realize just who it was that had wandered down the corridor.

"Monsieur Tolbert," she said softly, allowing her hand to fall back to her side. "You startled me."

At this the man gave a soft chuckle and moved a little further into the corridor, circling around to the other side of her with the same slow pacing that she had so often seen her Uncle use in times of deep thought. "I believe this is the second time that I have done so. Forgive me."

But Katherine shook her head a little, offering him a small smile in return. "There is no need to apologize," she said lightly, as if the issue bore no consequence at all. "I suppose a Musketeer must learn to move about the palace quietly so as not to be observed by anyone. It would be of great use to you in battle I am sure."

The Musketeer ducked his head a little in a failed effort to hide the smile of his own that was growing on his lips beneath the thin line of growth that had begun to show on his upper lip in the same auburn as the hair that sat on his head. He was without his hat this time, she noted carefully, observing the differences in his appearance from the last time they had encountered one another. His sword still hung around his waist though, an essential piece to his uniform regardless of the occasion. Even when called before the King himself, she knew that his men wore their weaponry in case any danger should surface, at which time they would be able to defend their King with their very lives if necessary. Her father and uncles had spoken of doing such a thing many times when a young child had asked the questions that lurked in her curious heart, having watched them in fascination as they donned their uniforms and prepared to leave the monastery once again.

"We are taught that any skill is an asset to our profession," he answered smoothly, holding out his hand to her as he bent himself a little at the waist. Again she lifted one of her smaller hands and laid it gently in his, watching as he touched his lips again to her knuckles and then allowed her to take it back in the same smooth motion as before.

"Forgive me for asking, but are you alright? You seemed to be in rather a hurry to leave the gardens just now. Was someone bothering you?"

Turning her head to look back down the corridor, Katherine realized that she could no longer see the way she had taken to come from the very place that she had left Philippe, and in her mind that seemed to mean only one thing. Tolbert must have been watching her for much longer than it would take to round a corner.

"No," she told him, hoping that he did not know it was with Philippe that she had previously been, for she knew how it would probably look if he were to find out that the pair had been alone together in the garden thanks to the reputation Louis had established. "There was no one. I am afraid I am just not comfortable here in the palace."

She knew that she had told him a lie when it came to the company she had been keeping, and for that she would need to go and beg for forgiveness before God. But her disliking of being in the palace could not have been closer to the truth. She was used to a far smaller space in the monastery, without the finery of court and the numerous guards and servants wandering around as they did the bidding of some high lord or another.

Things were far simpler for her back home.

The young man nodded as he gathered his hands behind his back once more, moving a small step forward to a more familiar spacing between them. "I wish there was some way in which I could help you," he said, his eyes locking onto her own as he spoke in his gentle tone.

It was this softness that made Katherine smile a little at him, dropping her eyes for a moment as she felt the burning of a blush begin to creep into her cheeks. "Monsieur is too kind," she murmured, unsure of whether to move herself away from him a little or maintain the closeness in which they stood.

She had no experience with young men, and so found herself in a situation that she could not easily cope with as she had so often in the past. This was entirely new, causing a lightness in her stomach that Katherine had never before experienced. And yet she did not find the sensation to be unpleasant either, a fact that brought forth a small amount of confusion in the young woman as she stood under the tender gaze of Tolbert, alone in the corridor.

"If I may," he began slowly, turning his head slightly to glance in either direction and ensure that they were alone. "Perhaps I could be of assistance in this matter?"

It struck her as being a rather odd request from a young man who knew nothing of her, but Katherine found herself lifting her head to look at him with a curious expression upon her face. "Assistance?" she asked him with the same quizzical air. "I am curious to know how you might assist me. I shan't be a guest of His Majesty for much longer, I am sure."

Despite Philippe's questions from earlier about how best to go about covering up the chaos that they had found themselves in, Katherine had been fairly certain that she would return to her quiet life at the monastery in a short while. Of course, D'Artagnan was not well enough to endure the journey back with her, for the one leading to the palace had been incredibly slow and all together too painful for the young woman to watch as he winced and grit his teeth with every bump in the road. And yet there was none that she could trust with his care, afraid that perhaps someone else might come in and neglect him in a way that she never could. So it seemed that she would be staying for a while longer, she realized, at least until this ceremony nonsense was safely behind them and any suspicion was removed from her father and uncles. Tolbert continued to look down at her with the same soft gaze, making it rather difficult for Katherine to maintain any sort of eye contact with him.

"If you will permit me, I have an idea."

His lack of explanation only proved to be a further lure to Katherine as they stood together in the corridor, a small touch of a smile appearing in the corner of her lips. Was it improper? Perhaps it was, but as someone who was not at all familiar with the ways in which people her age were meant to interact, especially at court, Katherine found herself nodding in agreement.

"Very well. What idea is this?"

A smile broke out onto his face when he saw that there would be no resistance from Katherine, and so the young man boldly reached forward and wrapped his gloved hand around her smaller one. "If you meet me in the courtyard in half an hour, I will show you."

He gave her no further time to respond before he gave her hand a squeeze and released it all at once, hurrying his way down the corridor with only a silent wave of farewell. Rooted to where she stood, Katherine was speechless as she watched him move away, the only sign of her recognizing his words was the small movement that came from her hand as she too seemed to wave goodbye. But at all once she came to, and her mind immediately started to whirl around with thoughts of what he could possibly have in store for her to help make her more comfortable around the palace. And she only had a half hour to prepare herself?! Without further ado she turned on her heel and rushed back for a familiar sight, hoping to make it back to her room in time to make herself a little more presentable before she headed down to meet Tolbert in the courtyard.

She didn't know what he had in store for her, but she was certainly excited.

She was nearly breathless when she at last made it down to the courtyard to find a rather dashing young man waiting patiently for her to arrive. His hands were again folded behind his back as he slowly moved along the edge of the fountain where first he had met Katherine days before, but he no longer wore the uniform of a Musketeer. Gone were the gloves, the hat, the sword and the dark blue material of his tunic, having been replaced with a simple white shirt that covered his chest and arms while tucking nicely into the top of his pants. For a moment Katherine couldn't believe that they were one in the same person at all, until at last he turned around at the sound of her approach and offered her a bright smile. It was almost as if he had been pacing in anxious worry, afraid that the young woman would rebuff his invitation and leave him standing there like a fool. But Katherine could bring herself to do no such thing and was immediately glad that she hadn't when those unfamiliar feelings returned to her body at the sight of his smile. Now she was glad that she had taken the time to refresh herself when she had finally found her way back to her room, pulling her hair back up into a more respectable fashion and putting on a fresh shirt of her own. She felt like she was in much better order than she had previously been when Tolbert had found her in the corridor, and that was enough to make Katherine feel a little better about all that had happened in the past few days.

"I am glad you came," he said to her in his soft tone, again kissing the back of her hand with a little bow.

It seemed like such a formal movement, and yet Katherine bore no objection to the attention that he seemed to lavish on her. "How could I not when I received so kind an invitation?" she laughed gently, trying to ignore the tingle she felt in her fingers. "May I ask what it is you plan on doing?"

Tolbert simply smiled, offering Katherine his arm. "Not so much what as where."

The confusion swiftly returned to her bright blue eyes as she slipped her arm around his and looked up at his face once more, allowing his body to gently lead her away from the fountain in the courtyard and along one of the many paths in the garden. "You are being rather secretive, Monsieur," Katherine told him lightly as she allowed him to lead her away from the palace and into the maze of flora that sat at beyond the courtyard. "I'm not so sure that I approve of such a thing in a gentleman."

A hearty laugh sounded from the young man as he continued to lead her slowly from the sights of the palace and into the greenery that surrounded it. As she was still rather unfamiliar with the different places that could be accessed from various points of the palace grounds, Katherine was completely in the dark of where she could possibly be going, her curiosity growing more and more with each passing second.

"On my honour, Mademoiselle, I am not leading you astray. But I sometimes find that a walk can be good for clearing one's head of difficult matters."

It was rather evident by her expression that she did not fully understand what it was that he was alluding to. Of all the possible scenarios that Katherine could have gotten herself into this certainly seemed like the strangest one in recent memory. After all, it wasn't as if she found herself in the company of a man such as this every day. Sure there were men always around her, but those men were always far older than herself and entirely devoted to their way of life within the monastery, which meant that while they respected the young woman that she had become, they did not have the time to spend on young women the way that some of the King's musketeers would.

"What would make you assume that my mind is plagued with difficult matters?" she asked him innocently, allowing her eyes to lift from the path they took and toward his face instead.

Oh, please do not let me be so readable, she prayed anxiously in her head. That was something that she believed to be rather unattractive in a woman, especially in those moments when she was clearly distressed about something. And to have such a bold young man on her arm, not to mention a rather handsome one at that, would surely make things worse for her as she attempted to keep her head. But the young man simply smiled at her as they continued on their stroll, taking her deeper and deeper into the foliage where all of the natural beauty was well hidden from prying eyes.

"Your eyes," he murmured to her. "They speak of a heavy weight that sits in your heart...a weight I wish to help lift, if ever I can."

Katherine couldn't believe her ears. Not only had Tolbert seen right through the guise that she had failed to keep in place, but he had also offered himself to her as one whom she could trust, someone who wished to help her better cope with this new change in her life. And all the while, the young musketeer had been nothing if not kind to her, a stranger whom he knew nothing about at all. All he knew was that she was a young woman in a strange place, thrown before the eyes of a King who did not have the best reputation when it came to the young women of his court. Yet he said nothing of what this King might have already said or done...no, he simply looked at her with genuine concern, causing Katherine's heart to melt little within the confines of her chest.

"I am afraid that only time can help me now," she replied softly, her words a bare whisper as she found herself captivated by his gaze.

The young man nodded solemnly, acknowledging her decline of his help for the time being. He stopped their slow walk through the gardens and turned to face her, now taking her one hand in his again as he had before. It was then that his eyes seemed to stare intently into her own, leaving Katherine with a rather tight feeling in her chest, as if her bodice was far tighter than it needed to be. "Then I shall wait until such a time when you may have need of me. I shall remain in wait for your word."

Keeping the same steady eyes upon her, Tolbert bent forward and pressed the back of her hand tightly to his lips, allowing them to linger much longer than they had ever done before and bring forth a tingling sensation in Katherine's spine. Not another word was spoken between them as they both moved to continue their walk. Nothing else needed to be said. For Katherine, words would have failed her if indeed she even attempted to make a sound. But as for her bold companion, he knew that nothing else was required on his part.

Not yet.