The Musketeer Girl

Chapter 20

Still furious, D'artagnan stomped back to the other musketeers who had heard everyone - they were sure the village that was a days ride away had heard them to be honest. They all remained silent for ten minutes before finally, Athos couldn't take it "em....D'artagnan?? Everything alright??" he asked carefully - he knew it was a stupid question but didn't know what else to say; the young man threw his bag down to where he planned to sleep as he turned to the other musketeers "no Athos!! My ungrateful, bratty little sister is in a mood I've never seen from her before!!" he snapped. All three long term friends shared a worried look as they had never heard D'artagnan speak a single bad word against his sister, let alone 'ungrateful' or 'bratty'. "Calm down, clearly something is wrong" Aramis figured out, earning a sigh from his young friend "I know" he admitted "I just....Kayley had never acted like this before....or yelled at me as she did" they all understood of course "and....she's never said she hates me before". Porthos patted the brother on the back in a comforting manner "I think I know why she's so upset" he stated, all attention turning to him as he explained his theory "Kayley had only ever known her mother, your father and you, right??" he asked earning a nod of confirmation "she lost both of her parents so now, you're all she has....or thinks she had" they all nodded to show they were following "now we all know something had something between you two" the bear like man pointed towards D'artagnan and Athos who both couldn't stop their cheeks from turning a light shade of pink. Porthos ignored the urge to smirk at their reaction as he continued "so maybe...Kayley feels you're leaving and abandoning her, leaving her out" he finished; Aramis also seemed to realise something "Porthos might be right....did any of us actually talk to her at all once we left Paris??" he asked, making them all come to realise the huge mistake they made. D'artagnan dropped his head into his hands "Uhh!! You're right!!" he was now furious at himself "all I did was yell at her!! I wouldn't even listen!!" he was mentally beating himself as Athos attempted to reassured him "it's not your fault D'artagnan, you didn't know" he placed a gentle hand on his shoulder as he looked over at his two friends "none of us did". They all sighed at their mistakes before hearing something that sounded like footsteps; their hopes all rose "Kayley??" Aramis called out but received no reply - at least not one they would like. Suddenly, the tied up horses went crazy!! Jumping up, making startled noises and tried to escape - one of them manged to do so and raced off. The four men looked around as they readied themselves as men in masks jumped out and attacked them - it was an ambush!! There were over forty masked men which resulted in the four musketeers being knocked unconscious and thrown into the back of a hidden wagon; their attackers smirked with pride as they left the make-shift camp.

With Kayley, she had taken a seat by a beautiful lake that she had found after running away; she was deep in thought, feeling terrible about yelling at her brother, especially for screaming that she hated him - which she never could. "Uhh!! Why am I such an idiot?!" she yelled at herself, her previous anger now turning on her "D'artagnan has ever right to be happy and fall in love" she told herself before sighing "I just....don't want him to change how he is with me". All of a sudden, the sounds of gallops could be heard approaching the teenager, snapping her out of her thoughts; the fourteen year old stood up as she watched her surroundings until finally, a horse could be seen running through the threes and towards her....it was Sam?! Hurrying towards her horse, Kayley calmed him down "whoa boy, easy....easy" it seemed to do the trick "that's it" she smiled before turning serious "what's happened??" she asked; Sam seemed to try to push and pull the girl, wanting her to follow him. Kayley seemed to understand this and ran by the side of her friend who kept at a pace that she could keep up with on foot until they reached where her her animal friend wished to go. Gasping in horror, Kayley looked at her surroundings - Sam had brought her back to where she and her friends had decided to set up camp....but the place was completely trashed!! Their belongings were scattered all over the ground, the still tied up horses still going mad due to being afraid, the fire half lit fire was nearly completely out and foot prints were covering the dirt ground - almost like a pattern. And yet, as she looked and searched, there was no sight of her brother or friends!! "What the hell happened here?!" Kayley wondered in worry "and where are the other?!" her anxiety and concern levels were rising by every passing second; she continued to analyses what she could, taking note of of the tracks - wheel marks and hoove marks that weren't from their own horses. "They were attacked" she figured out "...surrounded at first...they were outnumbered by over twenty five at least" the girl rushed over to Sam and jumped onto his back "come on!! We need to go save my brothers!!" her animal friend didn't need to be told twice before he began to gallop away at a speed he had never gone before. They followed the tracks that were left by the musketeers kidnappers which lasted for at least two hours.....but then they stopped?! "Wha....where could they have gone?!" she was getting really frustrated with this; she hopped down from Sam and began to analyses the surrounding ground for more tracks, but there was nothing - not even a foot print!! Taking a moment to rub her tired eyes and take in a few deep calming breaths, Kayley realised just how late it was; the night sky was pitch black, decorated with a full moon and billions of beautiful stars. Glancing towards her horse, Kayley couldn't help but send him a small smile as Sam trotted over towards a large tree and immediately fell to the ground with a thud - he was exhausted. "Aww" Kayley followed suit, sitting with her back leaning against the trunk of the three "good night Sam" she soothingly stroked her horses neck as he drifted off to sleep. Turning her head up to the sky, the fourteen year old sighed as her mind wandered towards her four big brothers "I'll find you....I promise" she swore to herself as a single tear fell down her cheek before she herself nodded off into a fitful slumber.