"Nothing like the breeze of the countryside. Don't you agree?" she leads out the stunning garden, that despite the harsh winter is somehow still gracefully bloomed with all sorts of odd plants that somehow survive the cold. But despite the sun's misleading shine, the cold air blowing is quite annoying. Rosette lets out a small laugh as I struggle to keep my hair from getting into my face - yet Mademoiselle Elisabetta seems to take no notice in us with that dreamy look decorating her eyes.
"Mademoiselle, we are here to take you in Paris. You are in great danger here; more than you could ever imagine." I speak again, trying to get her full attention.
"How did you know where I was? Are you with them?" I watch as her features harden again and she takes a step back.
"What do you mean by them?" Rosette asks curiously, but then looks down embarrassed for interrupting.
"Those men. They- they asked so many questions." her voice begins to tremble as she seems to lose her balance slowly.
"Men? Did anyone else visit you here, mademoiselle?" I ask with a soft tone, wary of her fragile state.
She doesn't seem to have heard my question, but she shakes her head oddly. "No, not me. They were asking - in the village. They were looking for me, weren't they? They killed my husband and now my daughter and I shall have the same fate." she falls towards a pillar for support and Rosette immediately runs to her side, assisting her until the large man that greeted us comes outside to help her.
"Mademoiselle, please remain calm. There is no need to panic. We are here to get you out safe and sound." I assure her.
"And why is it that I should trust you?" the Contessa regains her posture and eyes us suspiciously, her eyes welling a bit.
"You are right. Your husband's death was no accident. But if you come with us, we will make sure those people that caused him such harm will never lay a hand on you or your child. But you do have to trust us." Rosette answers her before I can, making the brave decision of taking the mademoiselle's hand.
It has always surprised me how easily that girl can connect emotionally and sympathize with people. Like I said before, a saint.
Her move seems to be working and the woman stops being defensive, instead she cracks a weak smile and nods. "I suppose I have no other choice but to show faith."
Suddenly, a loud bang on the door startles us all. The man opens and we all hurry back inside to meet the others rushing in and closing the door behind them; barricading it.
"Ι'm sorry to bother you mademoiselle. But it seems like we have company." Aramis speaks quickly.
"What happened?" Rosette yet again speaks my words before I get the chance to.
"A group of men have come into town, armed." Porthos states gravely.
"Smells like trouble, doesn't it now?" Aramis jokes light-heartedly.
A loud child's cry coming from upstairs seizes our attention. "Bernadette!" the Contessa screams as she runs upstairs to grab the infant and Rosette hurries after her so I decide to join them, ever so worried for their safety. We must be quick.
Yet as Rosette and I reach the second floor, the woman is nowhere to be found. So we decide instead to follow the child's noises coming from the infirmary. Still, the Contessa is not there and the little girl is not in her crib. The bangs on the door become louder by the second. It shouldn't be long before they make it inside.
"Mademoiselle!" I shout, desperate to find them but Rosette hushes me and points down to the bed.
Indeed, the sounds seem to be coming from under the gigantic frame of the bed. I pull out my gun, ready to take action as Rosette lifts the heavy bedding and we take a look. It is no criminal, no enemy. Just a young girl -perhaps no older than eleven years old-, holding the infant child tightly in her small arms, burying it in her narrow chest while whimpering. I simply stand there, merely dumbfounded and at loss of words.
Rosette instead acts quickly and spreads her hand to invite the girl to come out. "Do not be afraid." she lies completely on her stomach to look at the girl directly and earn her trust.
The girl responds and slowly, shakingly gives out her own hand so we pull her outside. "Please...do not harm us." she cries pleadingly.
"We will not. We are here to help you. But we need to get out of here as quickly as possible." Rosette speaks sweetly.
The girl nods and I take the baby, handing it over to Rosette as I grab the girl and run downstairs to the kitchen.
"What about the Contessa?" Rosette stops in her tracks.
"She must be downstairs. Come on, we have no time to waste." I urge her and we continue our way.
The others are already in the kitchen; waiting for us before the loud bangs turn into a deafening sound of smashing wood.
"I thought you had barricaded the door." I scoff towards my companions.
"Oh believe me, we had." Aramis laughs me away.
"There's a back door here. We can use this to get out." Porthos finally suggests.
The sounds of men breaking into the house and shattering everything in their path to seek us are convincing enough and so we all run outside, straight to the horses as we make our way out of there as quickly as possible.
Hi guys! I wanted to make up for not uploading for so long so I made two chapters really quickly to repay you! I'm so sorry you had to wait. I hope I didn't lose your support and love though. I am not sure how to feel about this chapter. I just feel like I suck at action scenes and stuff. Please let me know what YOU THINK because I really need your advice. Love to you all!