Tell me would you kill to save a life?
Tell me would you kill to prove you're right?
Crash, crash, burn, let it all burn
This hurricane's chasing us all underground

Hurricane – Thirty Seconds To Mars

"They must be trapped on the other side..." Treville suggested, not daring to think of the alternative. The one day I decide to bring her with me, he thought miserably as he walked closer to examine the explosion.

"I don't believe this was intended to harm anyone, sire."

"If it didn't mean to harm, then why was it there?" Louis inquired.

"A distraction perhaps," Aramis muttered, leaning closer to the wall of debris. There was no sound of life from the other side, only a few stones shifting. Give me a sign, he prayed. Tell me they're both alive.

"I'm afraid the only way to the other side is through, your majesty," the architect said, looking sadly at the remnants of the newly restored hall. "There is no adjoining rooms or halls around us."

"Well, what are you still here for?!" Louis demanded. "Find someone who can clear this mess out of the way!"

The architect gave a bow, and quickly made his way down the hall. When he rounded the corner, they all heard a loud gasp echo towards them, followed by a shot from a pistol.

The musketeers reacted quickly. Treville led the king towards the nearest door, just as the shooter looked around the corner. Aramis had his own pistol pointed towards the man and a second later the shot found it's target. They closed the door behind them, and listened for anyone advancing.

"I thought no one knew we were inspecting the restorations today Treville," Louis blurted, interrupting the silence. This wasn't the first, or the last, time people would come for him, but he certainly wasn't used to anyone entering the palace to kill him.

"Neither did I, your majesty," Treville answered tensely.

"Oh, but Anne is still out there! She will be defenceless if they find her."

"Iris will protect her, your majesty," Marsac quickly assured the king. As the king frowned, he instantly regretted having said anything.

"Surely you don't mean the rude young girl I met earlier?"

Aramis bit down hard on his tongue to keep back an angry retort. Iris was one, if not the most polite woman he had ever met.

"Mademoiselle Chevalier has... certain skills, unlike other women her age. Or women in general," Treville slowly explained.

Louis stared at the captain, not sure if he was hearing him correctly.

"You cant possibly expect me to believe that that girl can keep the queen safe."

"I have every reason to believe she is more than up to it, though I can understand it must be hard to imagine."

Louis stepped closer to Treville, and now spoke in a dangerously low voice.

"There is no way a woman can defend ANYONE, let alone herself against such men. You disappoint me Treville," he hissed, looking at the captain in disbelief. "If ANYTHING happens to Anne, it will be on YOUR head."

Treville glanced at Aramis and Marsac, and hoped they were right about the words they had spoken of Iris yesterday. If not, more than her life would be at stake.

A loud ringing filled her ears when Iris opened her eyes. Pushing herself up on her elbows, she looked around her in surprise.

The ceiling above the explosion had caved, and she could glimpse the rosy walls of the room above her. The fallen debris had created a blockade in the hall, cutting everything off. At the sound of someone coughing next to her, Iris turned around and quickly crawled over to aid the queen.

A layer of dust had settled on the beautiful gown, and the blow had ruffled her hair, but otherwise Anne seemed unharmed. She looked up in surprise when Iris stopped next to her.

"Are you all right your majesty?" Iris asked concerned, helping Anne into a sitting position.

"A bit ruffled perhaps, but otherwise I feel fine," she answered. Anne glanced around them, a look of worry forming.

"Where are the others?"

"They must be on the other side of this, your majesty."

"You don't think anyone could be trapped underneath-"

The rest of her words drowned in the sound of a pistol being fired, echoing towards them. Iris felt her heart beat faster.

"What was that?" the queen whispered, her blue eyes filled with a sudden fear. Without the usual company of the musketeers, or even the cardinals red guard, she felt vulnerable.

"We must leave your majesty," Iris insisted, getting to her feet. Reaching out a hand to the queen, she glanced at the wall of debris again. Hopefully, the shot hadn't been fired at any of her friends on the other side.

Anne followed Iris closely down the hall, though she had no idea where she was headed. Her instinct just told her to get the queen as far away as possible – sooner or later they were bound to run into someone who could take them to Treville and the others.

Looking around a corner, she felt her heart sink. A group of men stood in a circle some distance down the hall, but Iris could easily see that they were neither musketeers nor red guards.

They must be here to take away the king and queen, she thought. Looking back at the queen behind her, she felt a stab of anger. Anne looked like a strong woman, only a few years older than herself. She knew the queen was kind, always taking her time with those who were underprivileged and in need of help. Not understanding why, she knew she would do whatever she could to keep this woman alive. The men had split up, and one of them was making his way towards the corner where they stood.

"Whatever happens, stay here your majesty," Iris whispered, taking a deep breath.

"What do you mean?" Anne whispered back, taking one of Iris' hands in hers. The gesture was touching – despite being afraid for her own life, she worried for Iris as well. Reaching into her boot, Iris withdrew a knife she had carried with her since almost being choked to death. Anne's look of worry turned to alarm at the sight of the knife, and Iris quickly gave her an assuring smile.

When the man was only a few paces from being able to see them, Iris stepped out into the open. She held the knife securely behind her back. The man stopped mid-step and gave her a wicked smile.

"You shouldn't be wondering the halls alone. There's no telling what could happen."

"I was just about to say the same," Iris muttered, loud enough for him to hear. The smile faltered and turned into a scowl.

"Step aside willingly, or I'll have to force you."

"I'm not going anywhere."

As he came closer, Iris desperately tried to remember everything Marsac and Aramis had taught her, but found it hard to concentrate with the adrenaline pumping through her veins.

When he lunged for her, she slashed the knife through the air, leaving a bloody streak over one of his arms. Letting out a hiss of pain, he shoved her to the side where she collided with the wall. The impact left her light-headed for a moment, and then she was pushed around to face him.

"Feisty one, aren't you," he snarled as he closed his hands around her throat. Her knife had disappeared from her hand, and she felt a throbbing in her head. The man towered over her, obviously enjoying having the upper hand.

"New lesson," she heard Marsac's voice say in her head. "Do not attack an opponent bigger than you, without a plan."

"What do I do when every opponent is bigger than me?" she had asked.

"You start thinking."

Pulling her legs up beneath her, she pushed herself away from the wall, with more force than she had expected. Both of them tumbled to the floor, and Iris crept towards the knife she had lost earlier. As she her eyes fell upon it, she felt the air leave her lungs when he threw himself on top of her. A hand knocked her face into the floor, and she tasted blood from where her lip had split open.

"Why do women always insist on fighting back?" he cursed, holding her down. Frustration cursed through her and she reached out to close her hand around the knife.

"Death will be easy," he continued, twisting her around so he could look her in the eyes. He was too focused on her pain, to realise she held her weapon in her hand again. "Just give in – show your weakness."

"I am... not... weak!"

Grasping the knife tightly in her hand, she forced it into his chest. His eyes grew big in surprise, and a spasm went through him. Iris watched in silence as the life left him. As he struggled to breathe, she pulled the knife out, shoved him away from her.

Dragging a last shallow breath, the man was silent. Iris stood up slowly, her body trembling. Blood covered her hand that still held on tightly to the knife.

"My God."

Iris turned to see the queen stare at the dead man at her feet in awe.

"How?" she whispered, moving her eyes to meet Iris'. Before she could answer, they heard footsteps behind them. Iris whipped around to see another man who was staring confused at them. When his eyes fell on his fallen comrade, his hand moved towards the pistol on his belt.

Iris threw herself to the ground and grabbed a pistol from the dead man. The other had only just taken hold of his own, when Iris shot him.

Picking up the rest of his weapons, she walked back to the queen who still stared at her in awe.

"Perhaps I shall have the honour of explaining this to you some day, your majesty," she explained and gestured for the queen to follow her. "Right now, I'm afraid, we'll have to focus on other matters."

"The queen is safe!"

The words were repeated down the hall till they reached Aramis and Marsac. It hadn't been long before the sound of the explosion had attracted the red guards, and the search for the queen had begun. Almost everyone of the intruders had been killed, though a few had been left alive, but wounded, for questioning.

Aramis and Marsac glanced at each other and hurried towards Treville. The queen stood with the king, and Aramis felt relief when he saw that she was unharmed. Protection of the king and queen was an important part of their work, and it relaxed him to see the separation from her protectors hadn't resulted in any harm. Looking around, he saw Iris standing not far away from the royals, and his relief turned to dread.

Stains of blood was splattered over her dress, that now looked torn and dishevelled. Her knuckles had turned white from holding on to a knife, that was also bloody. Her face was streaked with dust and sweat, and he saw that her lip was split and swelling.

The worst thing he saw was her eyes. The joy he had grown so accustomed to had vanished. Though it had been no more than an hour since he had last seen her, she seemed to have grown older. She held herself differently, and an innocence he hadn't paid much attention to before had vanished.

Treville walked over to them, and glanced at Iris.

"Take her back to the garrison, Marsac, and keep her there till I return."

Iris didn't notice anything around her till Marsac stood in front of her.

"Why don't you let go of the knife?" he suggested slowly, reaching out to gently pry it free from her hands. When she let go, she tried flexing her fingers.

"We're going home," he continued, and put a hand on her back to lead her away from the crowd of people that had started to look at her. They stopped when the queen stepped towards them.

"I owe you my life," she announced. "Whatever I can do to repay you, let me know."

"I didn't do it to gain anything, your majesty," Iris whispered hoarsely, and let Marsac guide her away.

A/N

And we're nearing the end! Next chapter is about dealing with her actions, and the much anticipated trip to Savoy...

I also want to thank everyone again, especially those who come back to read the new chapters. This story now has 600+ views, which is just awesome, so I thank you all and hope you stick with me and Iris.