The Musketeer Girl

Chapter 10

Upon knowing the barrel's location, the two lovers parted way as the man ran in the direction the maid told him to; it confused the teenager but she didn't have time to ponder. She wasn't about to let both of them get away. Pulling the dagger out from the side of her boot, Kayley hurried to creep up to the maid and placed the dagger against her neck, earning a gasp of fright "what the hell are you and that man planning?!" he demanded an answer; this terrified the woman as she begged for her life, promising she'd tell the teenager everything she wanted to know. Kayley didn't even attempt to hold back her smirk as she didn't remove her weapon "oh I know you will" she stated "now tell me what you and your friend in the black cloak are planning?! And what's in the barrel you hid?!" she asked; the maid instantly obliged, truly believing if she didn't do as she was told, the dagger would be used to slice her throat "he plans to light a barrel of gunpowder in the stable next to the throne room to make it seem like Wales were attacking!!" she blurred out "it was all his idea!! I just had to hide the barrel!! I swear!!" she cried. Kayley glared at the woman, not removing her dagger from her neck "so the letter the Duke and Duchess had received not too long ago, that was you as well?!" she knew the answer before the pitiful maid nodded her head in fear. Seconds later, Athos and D'artagnan could be seen racing towards them "Kayley!? What are you doing to that maid?!" the leader asked in confusion; the teenager shook her head "no time to explain, the cloaked man is planning to explode the stables right next to the throne room" she exclaimed "she hid a barrel of gunpowder in there and it'll harm whoever's near it!!". Their eyes widened at the information "go warn everyone in the throne room and get them out!! Take the traitor with you!!" D'artagnan ordered, earning a nod from his sister "he went that way!!" she pointed towards the last place she had seen the intruder as her two friends sprinted away. Turning towards the still sobbing maid, Kayley returned her dagger to her boot as she glared at the woman "you better hope and pray they stop your friend in time" she stated "and if any of my friends are injured, the King's sentence for your betrayal will be the least of your worries" that was a promise; the teenager pushed the maid out of the tunnels as fast as she could - she needed to hurry, though she wasn't too worried for the people in the throne room for a certain reason. She just hoped she was right with her theory.

The two racing men soon caught sight of the intruder as he exited the stable; he ran the opposite direction as soon as he saw Athos and D'artagnan heading his way. "Stop the barrel from exploding!!" Athos yelled to his friend as he chased after the hooded man into the trees; D'artagnan didn't have to be told twice as he forced his feet to move even faster than before - he barged into the stable. As his eyes widened in horror, the young man feared the sight of the flammable string meeting the gunpowder filled barrel; he only had just enough time to spin around and rush out of the door before the entire stable exploded and was consumed by fire and smoke. Too close to the explosion, the man felt himself be thrown to the ground as his back suddenly felt extremely hot....too hot!! Groaning, he rolled over as he put out the fire that had attacked the back of his jacket. Back in the throne room, Kayley had reached her friends and told them of the plot as she handed the maid to one of the Palace guards "we'll take the traitor to the cells" one of them informed before dragging the woman away. All of a sudden, each person jumped at the sound of an explosion "that....wasn't next to us??" Anne spoke her confusion as they looked at one another; Kayley smirked as her theory was indeed correct - Treville also worked out what had gone wrong for the two traitors "the maid hid the barrel in the wrong stable!! he exclaimed. Kayley couldn't help but begin to worry "what about my brother?! And Athos?!" she knew they had raced to the correct stable which had just blown up - were they okay?? "Go after them, they'll need help with the fire" the Captain ordered; neither she or the musketeers needed to be told twice as they rushed out of the room and through the Palace till they found themselves sprinting through the gardens - Porthos led the way. The whole stable was up in flames. 

"D'artagnan!!" the teenager spotted her brother lay on the floor only a few feet away from the explosion ; she grabbed him by his arms and pulled him away from the untamed flames before kneeling next to him - he was hurt!! "Porthos, Kayley" Aramis set himself next to the wounded man as be began to inspect his injuries "you two need to stop the fire from spreading!!" he stated; his lover did as told as he began to retrieve water from a nearby well - Kayley wasn't sure if she wanted to leave D'artagnan's side. The gunman knew and understood this of course "I'll take care of your brother, but you need to help Porthos" he promised; the fourteen year old hesitantly nodded before joining the bear like man. "Where's Athos?!" Kayley wondered as she looked at their surroundings whilst filling up a bucket of water; a voice called out "over here!!". Looking over to where the voice had come from, they noticed their leader leaving the area of trees, the cloaked intruder in his tight grasp - some nearby Palace guards took the traitor to do the same thing that they had done with his friend. Soon enough, they managed to control the fire until it was no more; all attention turned to the now sat up injured man - his vision was no longer blurry and showing him double of everything "you idiot!!" Kayley exclaimed as she carefully embraced her brother - she watched out for his back wounds; they chuckled at her reaction as Aramis spoke up "you have a minor burn on your lower back, I'll treat it once we're back at the Garrison". The five friends returned to the throne room where their Captain, the Cardinal, the duke and duchess, as well as the royal couple, were waiting for them. "Well done musketeers, D'artagnan, Kayley" Louis smiled happily "you did it again" his wife instantly checked on her new found friend - she seemed to always find herself feeling protective of the fourteen year old girl. "Good work men....and girl" Treville praised, earning a multiple of chuckled, smirks and a playful eye roll "head back to the Garrison and clean up, as well as do some training" he ordered fondly; the group bowed their goodbye before making their way to the stable that their horses were kept in.