Hey everyone, here is yet another chapter to help speed things along. I've been thinking about this story all week, even when I'm technically supposed to be working and focusing on other things, so hopefully it makes some sense to you guys. It's not overly long, but I wanted to give you something else to help give you a sense of where we are in the storyline as the end approaches. Hopefully you'll feel like you're reading some parallels and things that are already familiar to you! Feel free to leave me a review when you've finished reading it!

Chapter XXXI

"Oh, my head…"

Everything hurt, but it was her head that seemed to be the worst of it as she pressed a hand against her temple and blinked to try and clear her vision. The images before her were blurry, swirling in a way that was completely unfamiliar as she attempted to take in her surroundings. The last thing that Katherine could remember was being helped into the carriage and bidding goodbye to her Papa and Uncle Athos before she left for the monastery again, anxious to get as far away from the palace as possible. Tolbert had left her a letter, she remembered that, a letter telling her that she was in danger, and therefore so was Philippe. It was that thought that had propelled her to go back to a place where she had believed that she would be safe, out of reach of those who wished to hurt him through her.

But that wasn't the last thing she remembered. No, there was something more. As she pushed a hand against the cold stone floor on which she lay and closed her eyes against the spell of dizziness that threatened to overcome her once again, Katherine was sure that she could remember more of what had happened on the road. The journey back home was not a short one, but it would not have taken as long as the initial journey to the palace had been in order to accommodate her uncle's weakened condition either. It had been perhaps an hour, maybe two? All she knew is that they had cleared the gates of the city itself when suddenly the carriage lurched forward at breakneck speed, slamming Katherine back into her seat with vicious force. She had called out to her driver, trying to figure out what it was that had prompted the sudden burst of speed, but there had been no response at all.

And then there was a shift in weight, and Katherine could feel the carriage itself sudden lose its balance on the road and begin to turn sharply to the right hand side, watching as the sky became more and more visible out of the windows to her left until at last everything had come to a stop. But she had hit her head when the carriage had overturned and began to fight in order to remain conscious. There had been shouts from above her, a man barking orders to other people about something when the carriage door had been pulled aside and a figure jumped down to reach her.

That was all she remembered.

"Ah…I was wondering when you might wake."

That voice…she knew that voice. Turning her head in the direction from which she thought the words had come, Katherine continued to try and push herself into a seated position while looking about her in an effort to locate the figure that was sure to accompany it.

"Tolbert? Tolbert, is that you?"

He chuckled darkly in a way that made Katherine flinch against the noise. "Yes, my dear. It is me."

The world slowly slid back into focus as she felt her back come into contact with the cold stone of the wall, blinking a few more times until everything had put itself back in place and the picture became clear. She was seated on the floor with her legs tucked out to the side of her beneath the soft material of her skirt, the room itself rather small with only a cot and a tiny window inside. Tolbert had seated himself on the edge of the cot and grinned down at her with a look that instantly made the girl uncomfortable in his presence. Something was wrong, she knew that instantly. Her head turned in every direction, looking for something familiar that might tell her what had happened and where she was.

"What happened?" she asked him, worry slipping into her words. "Something happened on the road…I was going back home when-"

"You were attacked," he said simply, lifting his hands in the air and rising to his feet to stand above her. "And now you're a prisoner of the King. Welcome to Chateau Montblanc, Mademoiselle."

Katherine blinked. "A prisoner of the King? That's impossible. The King did not even know that I was leaving the palace to return to the monastery…Papa was going to deliver a letter after I had left."

The chuckle sounded again. "Oh, don't worry, my dear. The King knows far more than you think he does."

"But I do not understand," she protested, shrinking back a little until she had moved herself as close to the wall as she could manage. "Who ordered you to bring me here?"

"That would be me."

All of a sudden, Katherine felt the entire room grow cold. Her eyes flew wide in a combination of shock and fear as she felt the sneer of Tolbert looming down upon her, but it was the voice that caused her heart to begin pounding in her chest. From the doorway just beyond where her captor stood she could see the outline of a body, a silhouette that closely resembled the one that she had previously seen walking the corridors of the palace and strolling the paths of the grounds. And while the voice could easily have passed for the other, there was no warmth in the tone at all which betrayed the identity of the speaker.

"You."

Louis smirked, stepping slowly into the room. "That's no way to address your King, now is it?"

"From where I sit, you are sadly lacking in a throne and a crown, Your Majesty."

The venom in her words was unmistakable as she narrowed her eyes and hissed in his direction, which brought a scowl to the face of the young man who previously occupied the throne. Clearly he did not appreciate the reminder that he had been displaced by his younger twin brother, the one that he had tried so hard to conceal for the past six years. In the end he had failed in his task, and this creature who sat on the floor at his feet was all too pleased to remind him of the fact that his greatest failure had led to his removal from power. Louis continued to sneer down at her with cold distain, until at last he remembered the details that had secured his place in his plot. Then the smile returned, a calm overtaking his face.

"For now," he said with his usual confidence returning to him. "But we will shortly be able to remedy that, won't we Tolbert?"

"The letter was delivered, as per your orders, Your Majesty," replied the musketeer with a bow toward the younger man. "By this time, D'Artagnan will have surely read it and informed the others of your demands."

"Good," Louis replied. "Then I doubt we will have long to wait."

Turning himself to exit the room, Tolbert bowed once more as the young man passed him by and made as if to follow. The disgust that Katherine felt boiling in her belly seemed to boil over at that moment though and she couldn't help but spit her words at them without any heed for what might later occur from her spite. She pressed back against the wall and did her best to place some of her weight upon her feet, rising unsteadily against the cold stone wall.

"If you think my father will trade my life for that of the King, you are sadly mistaken," she hissed, eyes narrowed in her rage. "I do not know what it is you want with me, but I would sooner die then help to inflict your tyranny upon the people of France once again."

Before she knew what was happening, Louis had stepped around Tolbert again and crossed the short length of the room until he stood before her, his hand closing around her throat as he worked her back into the corner and held her tight. Katherine struggled against his grip and brought both of her hands up to try and pry his fingers away from her neck, gasping for the air that was being denied to her lungs. She could hear Tolbert attempting to call Louis off of her, but the villain simply ignored him and leaned in as close to Katherine's face as he could so that he could return the venom that she had previously showed to him.

"Perhaps they will not," he said, letting the words rumble in his chest. "But I know that my brother will not let you remain here as my prisoner. He has already become far more attached to you than I could have imagined he would be."

There was no mistaking the disgust that laced itself into his words, or the smirk that presented itself on his face now. "But worry not, my sister. I will not kill you yet. You are far more useful to me alive than dead."

And with that he released her, watching as her body sank back to the floor in a crumpled heap and she began to gasp for air. A round of coughing began to rack her body and had her doubled over with a hand to massage the tender skin that had been so viciously attacked only moments before. But there was no time for further words as both men exited the room and slammed the door behind them, leaving Katherine alone to hear the click of the lock that would keep her captive within those four walls.

There was no way for her to know just how far away Chateau Montblanc was from the palace itself, which meant that there was no way for her to guess just how far she had been taken from her Papa and the others. How long had they kept her there? How long had she been unconscious? And worst of all, what had Louis meant by his words? While he had opted not to refer to Philippe by name, he had still referred to their blood tie that kept them bonded. But he had called Katherine something similar as well, which had her stomach churning in knots as she thought that perhaps she had misunderstood him. Someone like Louis would only want to get her worked up, knowing that there was nothing she could do to free herself from this situation. And if Tolbert was working with him, there was no doubt in her mind that he would have fed all of the information that he possibly could to the enemy, which meant that Louis knew about her illness and he was going to use it against Katherine.

And that meant that the others were probably in more danger than they realized.

"Where is he?"

The fear in her voice was all it took for D'Artagnan to ignore the rest of the people who stood in that room and hurry over toward Anne, letting her press her hands against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her waist protectively. Without needing to ask, he knew exactly what it was that Anne had come in to ask. Somehow, despite all of his careful planning and the orders that he had barked at his men in order to ensure that things went smoothly, Philippe had managed to slip through a crack in his plan and had left the palace.

He was going after Katherine.

"We will get him back," he promised, holding her close for a moment as he turned his eyes to look at the others.

The alarm was evident in their faces as they too came to realize what was happening, knowing that things would need to happen even more quickly now that Philippe had willingly put himself in harm's way. They could guarantee nothing anymore. A wrench had been thrown in their plan and they would be expected to accommodate it as if they had expected such a thing to occur all along. And so they would, for he could see immediately see the wheels begin to turn in their minds at twice the speed as before. Aramis examined the map once more before he straightened himself up and turned to look across the room, his gaze sweeping along to meet his friends and Andre, who had proven himself to be a valuable ally in recent weeks.

"We know that Tolbert is the one who has betrayed us to Louis," he said, his features darkening as he frowned. "Which means that he will have almost all of the same information that we do in regards to Katherine and everything else. The only thing we do not know is how Louis knows about Katherine."

"It does not matter," declared Athos with a wave of his hand. "If Philippe has gone to Montblanc in order to try and rescue Katherine, then to Montblanc we will go."

D'Artagnan nodded, turning his gaze back to Anne. "We will bring them both home," he murmured to her, pressing the back of her hand to his lips. "I promise."

And with that they all filed out of the room, leaving Anne to stand alone and watch as they all disappeared through the doorway and out of sight. All she could do was stand by helplessly and pray that they would all return safely, remembering the last time that she had said goodbye to her love. Were it not for the very girl that they were now trying to save she would have lost him once before. And as she stood there, Anne couldn't help but wonder if she would be so lucky as to get him back a second time. All she wanted was for everyone to return home safely, without bloodshed or any massive battle that might threaten their lives. She wanted a happy ending, something she could smile upon as the years advanced and her own health began to decline.

She pressed both hands to her lips and closed her eyes. The words of her silent prayer began to roll through her mind, pleading with God to spare those she cared for and see this through peacefully. She could not bear the loss of either Philippe or D'Artagnan, and her heart would ache terribly if Louis were to become a victim of his own foolishness. But Katherine…the child was innocent, knowing nothing of her past or why it was that she had been brought into this plot to begin with. Her family needed to remain intact after all was said and done.

She needed to come home.