She's Back (Sequel)

Chapter 16

"Where's Kayley??" D'artagnan asked as he and the other three male musketeers arrived back at the Garrison; Treville was training the cadets but stopped for a moment to talk to the four. "She needed to sort some business at the Palace" he informed, making the men raise a brow eat "hmm...what business??" Porthos wondered earning a shrug "I'm not sure" they could tell that was a lie. "Has Rochefort's body been dealt with??" the Captain asked earning nods "yup, the Palace guards have moved him and will bury him tonight, somewhere outside of Paris" D'artagnan reassured "and the maids were in the middle of cleaning up when we left". Treville gave them all a smile before stating that he would talk to them all properly in the morning as the female musketeer wasn't there and it was indeed getting late; he turned back to the cadets to dismiss them. Athos rested his arm on his boyfriends shoulder "it's been a long and hard day, shall we head over to the tavern gentlemen??" he asked earning a smirk from the bear like man "must you ask??". Laughing, they left the Garrison and made their way over towards the bar, desperate to have a good drink; today was a very stressful day. Once they had their drinks, the four musketeers began to wind down, but were still worried about Kayley "what do you think she's doing??" Aramis asked as he finished his second pint "probably something for the Queen, you know how close they are" D'artagnan had a good point before standing up to order some more drinks. With Kayley, she was still at the Palace but was about to leave; she and Derek had exited the Palace and were making their way over towards the stables. The stable boys were gone, probably done for the day. "Do you have to go so soon?? It's still light out" the Prince asked as the woman saddled up "you know I have to, the other's will become suspicious that I haven't returned to the Garrison or B&B, and I really don't want to be asked a hundred questions tonight" she stated. Turning around, Kayley found the twenty year old arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her close "...fine" he sighed "but you'll be back tomorrow??" she couldn't help but chuckle "I'm a musketeer for the French King and Queen, so yes, you'll see me tomorrow at some point". Their lips connected for a minute as Kayley wrapped her arms around the mans neck; they parted after a minute and she hopped up onto her horse, Sam. Waving as she left; Derek watched his now partner race off, turning around for a moment to return the gesture and blow him a kiss; the Prince pretended to catch it and place the kiss onto his heart. Both chuckling a their childish behaviour, Kayley galloped off and away from the Palace; Derek returned to the Palace and checked the royal couple. Louis was fast asleep so Anne suggested their go eat their dinner; they entered the dining room and sat as two servants served their food. The Queen asked if he and Kayley were okay, since she had told him of the musketeers horrific past "we're fine, great actually" he reassured earning a smile "really??" you could tell she wanted to know the details "we em...we kissed earlier". Anne's eyes widened, not expecting that!! "It was earlier when we were coming back from Rochefort's office, we had to hide in a small storage room and...it just happened!!" he explained everything to the woman, from their first kiss to when the musketeer had just left the Palace. Anne was smiling like the Chester cat as she hugged the young Prince "I'm so happy for you two!!" she exclaimed "it's about time too!!". Derek returned the smile as they finished eating before they said good night; it had been a long and rough day so they wanted to get some good sleep.

In town, Kayley had returned and had sorted Sam out in the stable at the Garrison; Treville greeted her and informed her of the whereabouts of the other musketeer. "The tavern?? Of course they are" she chuckled "I'm gonna go join them" the Captain nodded before stating that he was going to talk to her and the others in the morning. Reassuring that she wasn't going to get drunk....much, Kayley left the Garrison and made her way through the town before entering the building; people greeted her, most already drunk at it was eight at night. The teenager spotted her brothers sat in the corner, all on their fourth drinks, possibly fifth; chuckling, she made her way over through the crowd and sat down with them; they all smiled at the new presence. "Nice of you to join us kid" Athos stated with a smirk as he waved the barwoman for a new drink for the girl "sorry, I had some business to attend to" she informed before thanking the woman for handing her a drink, as well as Athos as he had paid for it. Of course, the men asked what business she had to deal with but she just waved it off, stating that it was nothing to be worried about before taking a swig of her drink, relaxing in her seat with a smile. Not entirely reassured, they decided to move onto a new topic; the girls horrific experience from a few hours before. "How are you kid??" Porthos asked earning a shrug "I'm fine....it wasn't something I wanted to relive but...I had to" she sighed "I guess I'm just thankful that he wasn't able to complete the attack and that Derek ran in when he did" they all were "...at least he's no longer alive" Aramis tried to also think on the positive side of things. Holding up his drink, Athos smiled "all for one" the others smirked as they copied his action "and one for all!!" they cheered before clashing their cups together. By the end of the night - eleven at night - the musketeers had had a decant amount to drink: Porthos - 10, Aramis - 9, Athos - 11, D'artagnan - 9 and Kayley - 6. Now, as usual, Kayley decided it was time for them to turn in; the others thankfully agreed and left the tavern, stumbling down the streets and entering the B&B. Constance chuckled as she was finishing the chores as the soldiers passed her and parted into their own rooms. In Kayley's room, she quickly changed into her night clothes, setting her uniform and weapons to rest on the chair in the corner. Lying down, the young woman began to think about the days events and victories; Rochefort was dead, the King and Queen were safe, the musketeers had done a good job and last but not least, she and Derek finally admitted and allwed their feeling to show!! She couldn't be more happy!!