Author's Notes: It isn't completely finished... Milliah Korsokov and Colette Monique is the only character that I own. All others are property of Tow Ubakata *********************************************************************************

Chapter Two:

Everyone except for D'eon and Milliah were rushing out of their rooms.

"Telliagory! What the hell was that?" Durand was panicking. Screaming always brought trouble. Always.

"I think it came from Milliah…" Robin wasn't sure what to do. He wasn't as frustrated as Durand, but not as clam as Telliagory.

Then there glass breaking.

"My God! We have to get in there!"

They heard the soft, tortured voice of Lia.

Oh God.

"Damn it! Lia's probably possessed D'eon and she's attacking Milliah!" Robin and Telliagory stared back at him with hollow eyes.

The crashes and screaming had stopped.

Durand flung open the door. Milliah was wearing her nightgown, holding down Lia.

"I've got it, but I can't keep her like this forever!" She was pissed.

Durand rushed over to D'eon to help hold him down. "Damn it! Snap out of it!" Milliah freed one of her hands and slapped D'eon as hard as she could.

As soon as she did, though, the red tint disappeared from Lia's sword. D'eon was unconscious.

"Thank God…" Durand pulled himself up. There was a troubled look in his eyes. "Listen, I think that you should room with me, and Telliagory and Robin can share. It would be better if D'eon was alone so that he can't hurt anyone."

She wasn't going to go for it. He could feel it. Not after the way that he insulted her home.

When he'd first met Milliah, all he could feel was pure frustration toward her. But now he felt a need to protect her. A need to keep things under control.

But he just knew that she wouldn't say yes.

"I think that is the best thing to do." She looked up at him. The entire rage that he'd seen in her eyes ever since their first encounter was gone, and now all he could see was the genuine sadness that she gave off. He didn't understand why she was so sad, but then again, he barely knew her. "I really wouldn't mind staying with you," her expression softened, and he saw the lightest fragment of a smile. "Just don't try anything, okay?"

He smiled back.

When they were done making the room exchange, Durand and Milliah sat on their beds. They said nothing.

Milliah seemed to be staring off into space, but Durand's eyes were fixed on her.

"What is this about?" he asked. "I know what happened back there was rough, but you don't seem like the type of person who would let that shake you. What is it?"

"It isn't about you guys." She was holding her tears. "It's about … something completely different. And it is the entire reason why I live alone."

He knew this kind of feeling. The sadness that being a member of Le Secret du Roi brought upon a person was cruel, but this feeling was deeper.

"You know that I am from Russia, but you don't know why… and you don't know what has happened to me."

"Tell me." He didn't mean to sound so demanding, but he really wanted to know. "Milliah, I am a member of Le Secret du Roi, too. We all join this group for our own reasons, but in the end we all have some emotional baggage that it gives us."

"I moved from Russia when I was Robin's age. My mother had died, and there was nothing left in my Motherland for me. I was all alone."

"When I came to France, I met Lia. I told her what happened, and she suggested to the king that I join Le Secret du Roi. I went on mission with Lia and Maximillien, and I'm surprised that I never was put on a mission with you."

"On a mission to Russia with Lia, she introduced me to a young man named Tom Hitachi."

Tom Hitachi! Durand had been on at least one mission with him before. He remembered briefly the man describing a plan to propose to his girlfriend.

"He was my husband. We were married in Russia, and I … got pregnant. Eventually word got back to Louis, and I was sent back to Versailles."

"I gave birth to my son, Dmitri. I received a letter from Tom after a month. It was just a stupid love letter. He never came back from Russia. I took on less and less missions while I raised him. I didn't want him to feel like he was all alone."

"I was all alone, and I didn't want Dmitri to feel that sadness. It was awful."

By then Milliah could hold her tears no more. She was not blubbering; it was more of a quiet sob. She didn't make a noise, and there were just tears flowing down her face.

"Milliah, I joined Le Secret du Roi because my family was murdered. I came home from school one day and my family was all dead. It was horrible."

"I remember…so much blood…" There was a scorned look on his face. He was holding in the pain for so long. It was relieving to finally tell someone who could understand.

"I'm so sorry, Durand." Milliah knew how he was feeling. The feeling of being alone was sickening. But she had to say something. "Just promise me something: you and I will put this all behind us on this mission. I wasn't active in Le Secret du Roi because I had a son, but he's seventeen now, and he doesn't need me anymore…" She had stopped crying. She had a serious look on her face. "Good night, Durand."

"Good night, Milliah."

It hadn't phased her, but he'd realized that she finally called him by his name.