I don't think I've ever seen such an immediate response to a story as short as the prologue! I'm really happy to see that there are so many people interested in this story and how it will unfold, so I hope I don't end up disappointing anyone! New characters are soon to come, and I have at least two or three very sweet, intimate moments planned between a few different characters. Leave me a review and let me know what you think!

Chapter One

Once again she found herself in a position of needing help to dress for an important occasion, and for the second time she was kindly aided by a woman who was her superior in every possible way. The note had arrived in her room only a half hour earlier with the familiar seal pressed into the wax, and Katherine knew that she would be a fool to deny any assistance that the Dowager Queen was willing to provide. After all, she had attended far more of these ceremonies and balls than Katherine would ever hope to see in her lifetime, so Anne certainly had a better idea of what the expectations were than Katherine did.

"What if I trip on my way through the ballroom?" the young brunette asked anxiously as the Queen's ladies wrapped the sheet around her body to remove the excess water from the bath. "Everyone will be looking at me and I will have made a fool of myself in front of the King and my father and-"

"Hush child," Anne laughed softly, lifting a hand to further her words. "Do not go making trouble for yourself where trouble is not to be found."

She knew that the Queen was right, of course. But that didn't prevent the worried thoughts from swimming around in her mind as the ladies of the chamber pushed her toward another section of the room where her dress had already been laid out in preparation for her. The sheet was hastily removed from her body before she had a chance to protest and the busy work of dressing herself in the several layers of clothing that were required had begun. For a young woman who had grown up in rough linens and wool skirts, the adjustment to silks and fine fabrics had been a difficult one to comprehend. Yet they were slowly becoming a part of her daily routine while she remained a guest at the palace. Queen Anne had seen to it that her wardrobe was always full of pretty things, though she took care that they were still simple enough to not make Katherine feel ill at ease about dressing in them. Despite the parentage that had been disclosed to her only a short while before, she was still very much a simple girl who had been raised in a monastery.

"Must we go through with this?" she asked, turning her head to look at Anne as someone pushed her arms out of the way. "There really is no reason for the King to throw such an affair."

Anne rose from her chair with enough grace and elegance that Katherine could almost be jealous. She crossed the room in a few slow strides as she came to stand just beside the younger woman, wearing the same maternal smile that she always seemed to wear when Katherine was present. Or perhaps she was simply imagining things, she thought to herself as she noted the silent nod of instruction that Anne was giving to the various handmaids around her. After all, it wasn't as if she had spent a great deal of time in the Dowager Queen's company until recently.

"He seems to think otherwise," Anne told her smoothly, lifting a hand to signal something to another woman who hurried around Kate with the silk linen in her hand. "And it would not be wise for us to gainsay His Majesty."

Kate chewed a little nervously on her lip as she fought the urge to argue her point with Anne. Perhaps if the two of them were alone in the room she would be free to speak her mind and all of the worries that plagued it. But as it was they were surrounded by people who were likely already gossiping with others about the strange young woman who had come into the palace and thrown their lives through a loop. Nothing had been the same since she had first been summoned a few months ago following the altercation at the Bastille. She had helped to guide a severely injured D'Artagnan through the doors of the palace, danced with the King after her father was honoured by him, set the everyone on edge with her illness and finally been kidnapped by outside forces. If nothing else, people were likely muttering about everything had changed since her arrival.

As the laces were pulled and the last of the inner garments put into place, Kate could feel her body tense at the sudden pressure she felt on her side. Her grimace immediately caught Anne's attention and had the Dowager Queen clapping her hands, mentioning to her ladies that the corset did not need to be quiet as tight. The grateful smile that Katherine gave to the older woman did not go unnoticed by anyone.

"Dark blue?" the young woman asked with a soft laugh. "Is that not the same colour you chose for me the last time?"

At this, Anne also allowed a laugh to sound. "I believe you are right, my dear. But the colour is absolutely lovely for you. It would not make sense to choose another colour just yet."

Kate raised an eyebrow. "You make it sound as if you expect there to be many colours in my future, my lady."

There was no response from the Dowager Queen, but Katherine certainly didn't miss the smile that she wore as she moved her way around the room and quietly conversed with the young woman who appeared at that moment. Kate was left to stand in the middle of her small group of female attendants as they each seemed to fuss over their designated aspect of her appearance, wondering what the Queen had meant when she had offered that smile in response. Everyone seemed to know something that she didn't yet know and it was beginning to bother her a lot more than she cared to admit.

One of the female attendants cleared her throat impatiently as she waited for Kate to lift her arms, holding the dark blue silk skirt that she had earlier mentioned in her arms. The time had come for the outer shell to be put on, the beginning of the end. Then all she would have left to endure would be the placement of her hair and any other little details that the Queen might decide needed to be tended to before they considered going down to the ballroom in preparation.

As the final lacings were tied into place a number of the ladies were dismissed with a quiet wave of Anne's hand. They paused only long enough to turn and curtsey in her direction before they quietly gathered the things that no longer needed to be in the room and slipped out the door.

For the first time in the past several hours, Anne and Katherine were alone.

Katherine's shoulders relaxed a little bit now that there were not so many eyes upon on, breathing a gentle sigh as she looked up at Queen Anne with a curious look. She still had this nagging feeling that there was something going on. She already knew what most of the ceremony for the evening was about, but there seemed to be something else as well. Anne knew, she could tell by the look on her face that she did.

"I still wish he would not make such a fuss," Kate confessed to her. "I feel like such an outsider at court, and I dislike being made the center of attention. Truthfully I feel as though I put his life in danger more than I helped to save it."

Her eyes dropped down at that moment, remembering the events that had led to her capture and imprisonment at Chateau Montblanc. She chewed on her lower lip once more as she recalled the feelings of guilt that she had felt in that instance, and her eyes were up almost too quickly as she looked at Anne.

"My lady, I never really had the opportunity to apologize to you," the brunette began. "For the part that I played in Louis' death-"

"No!"

Anne cut her off rather quickly and crossed the room in three quick strides, reaching out to take Katherine's hand tightly in her own and kneel down before her. The shock of seeing the Queen on her knees in such a fashion caused Katherine's eyes to grow wide, a soft gasp escaping her lips. But Anne gazed at Katherine with an expression so steady in nature that she wasn't sure how she was truly meant to feel in this situation. There was no circumstance that she could think of that should look like this, with her superior kneeling before her and looking upward with such a firm expression upon her face.

"There is absolutely no reason for you to apologize," Anne told her with a serious tone rather unlike the Dowager Queen. "I lost Louis long ago…and I had long since given up hope that I might one day have him return to us. It pains me to know that he is now beyond my reach. But at least I know he is at peace and his tortured soul is free of this Earth."

The pressure that appeared in Katherine's hand at that moment caused the young woman to look down at the two clasped hands, unsure of how to properly respond. With all of the kindness that Anne had already shown her it was impossible for Kate to think that this woman, who had already been through so much in her life, could find it in her heart to extend this sort of forgiveness. And not even that, she thought, as Anne had insisted that there was nothing for her to forgive. It almost seemed as if she were attempting to thank Katherine for the part that she had played, saving Philippe from an early grave even though it had meant that Louis would go to it in his place. No doubt her uncle would have informed the Queen that she had willingly allowed herself to fall from a high window in her effort to save the life of the man who now sat on the French throne.

Together they sat in a comfortable silence for a moment, quiet pressure being exchanged in the hands before Anne slowly rose to her feet again and crossed to stand behind Katherine, looking at their combined reflections in the mirror. Fingers reached out and started to twirl pieces of Kate's long brown hair, picking it up and pulling it back in a few different places as she considered how best to style her hair for the evening. For her part Kate just sat there in silence. If Anne wanted to do her hair then who was she to argue? Having grown up in a rather humble monastery all her life she had never needed to know such things. The best she could do was put it into a braid or up in a bun so that it would remain out of her eyes.

She knew she needed to ask. "What does he have planned for tonight?"

The smile returned to Anne's lips in an instant. "You know just as much as I do," she said smoothly. "But I know that he has something very special planned. Philippe was rather excited when he mentioned it this morning."

The nervous apprehension slowly began to bubble in her stomach once more. "Truly?"

Anne nodded to her. "I promise you, child, I know not of his plan. But tell me…"

Kate lifted her eyes once more, a slight tilt in her head she looked at Anne's reflection and wondered what it was that might now be asked of her.

"Do you love him?"

The question caught him completely off guard. Her lips parted as if to speak but the words refused to surface as she continued to stare into the mirror. She hadn't seen that one coming. How did you respond to something like that? This was perhaps the last person she had ever expected to question her like that…someone who had taken a step back and simply observed the situation as it unfolded from the very beginning.

Yet it seemed that Anne was rather patiently awaiting her response. Her fingers busied themselves with the twirling and setting of Katherine's hair in an up-do of sorts, though her eyes occasionally glanced into the mirror. Whether this was to check on the look of Kate's hair or to gauge who the young woman would respond however, was anyone's guess.

"My lady-"

"Do you love him?"

This time, Katherine paused for only a moment. "Yes," she breathed as the colour began to rise in her cheeks. "I do."

"Well," came the soft, satisfied response. "Then I think perhaps we should discuss what jewels you will wear tonight, shall we?"