The next morning arrived are too soon. The four musketeers and their two friends were up and back on the rode by nine O clock, eating some bread for breakfast as they went. "How far until we reach the border??" Kayley asked; Athos thought momentarily to work out the time, distance and speed "at the pace we're going, I say in about five hours" he informed. Just like the previous day, the five friends spoke, joked and laughed with one another as they travelled, yet they kept their eyes and ears open with their surroundings - they kept their guard up at all times. The hilarious topic for discussion was based around Aramis's past lovers "wait...you jumped out of a second story window because you were sleeping with a married woman but her husband came home early?!" D'artagnan asked through his laughter; Porthos was telling the siblings about the time he and Athos had found their gunman friend hanging from a very high up window ledge in town a few years ago due to a woman. "Sad but true, but I've learnt the error of my ways" Aramis stated honourably, earning a laugh from their leader "yeah, with your mate" Athos smirked; Porthos didn't even attempt to contain his grin "I ain't complaining". Chuckling, Aramis joined his two close friends in their banter "of course you're not complaining" he smirked at them; it all seemed to click in the brother and sister's minds as to what the three musketeers were talking about. D'artagnan spoke up, surprise clear in his voice "you two are a couple?!" the long time friends paused and turned towards the youngest two as Porthos nodded his head "we are, though I thought that was clear" his boyfriend chipped in "is that a problem??". The musketeers waited for their answer, staring at the two as they hoped for a good reply - why their anxiety with the question was suddenly high?? None of them knew or understood. Finally, Kayley sent the three men a smile that could only be described as adorable and heart warming "of course not" that earned a couple of smiles and mental signs of relief "why would it be??" she asked; Athos explained "not everyone believes its right, two men loving each other like these two do" he nodded towards the couple "to our knowledge, most people that know them don't mind, Treville is fine with it, even the King and Queen". Porthos spoke up, explaining how the only rule they had to follow was that their relationship doesn't interfere with their work; Aramis rubbed the back of his neck as a look of slight guilt crossed his face "and it doesn't....most of the time" that earned either a smirk or a chuckle from them each. "Well no, it's not a problem" D'artagnan smiled, his voice sounding...nervous "to be honest, if I said it was...I'd be quite the hypocrite" the statement confused the three, to which they asked why "well...em...you see...." the young man couldn't find the correct words - to be fair, he had only ever spoke about this twice. To his father and his sister. Seeing her brother struggle, Kayley spoke up to help him out "D'artagnan prefers men over women" she summed up easily, earning a look of gratitude from the said man; the musketeers were indeed surprised, though they soon passed their state of shock and smiled - Porthos even patted him on the back and joked "welcome to the club". Upon talking about what's to their liking when it came to relationships, the siblings also discovered that Athos wasn't a picky man - either men or women; their attention turned towards the fourteen year old who just shrugged "never thought about it, though I don't really think gender matters....isn't it the personality that you're supposed to like anyway??".
The group rode on for hours. That was, until Kayley's horse suddenly stopped in its tracks and began to move his head to look around "everything alright??" Porthos asked as he and the other men came to a halt as well; the teenager shrugged as she stroked her animal friends main "Sam??". Before either one of them could comprehend what was happening, Sam broke out into a sprint; Kayley yelped as she held on for dear life - what the hell was wrong with her horse?! "Kayley!!" she heard her brother and friends yell out for her as they attempted to catch up to her and actually keep up - it was a struggle. "Sam!! Slow down boy!!" the teen yelled, pulling on the reigns, only to hold near to no effect on her animal friend "he won't slow down!! Something must be wrong!!" she yelled out to the four men that were on her tale; she heard a faint reply come from Porthos "let him keep going!! We're heading in the direction of the border anyway!!". If she was honest, Kayley wasn't sure if she had any choice in the matter; Sam seemed to be the one in charge right now. After ten minutes, the manic horse came to yet another abrupt halt "why'd he stop??" Aramis asked once the rest of the group had finally caught up; the girl shrugged as she stroked Sam's neck - as a way to calm the alert animal. Looking at their surroundings, Athos spoke up "we'll the border is just over there" he pointed out "let's start looking around, this Killian guy should be around here somewhere if the times are right" they all agreed to split up to widen their search "yell if you see anything!!" was the last thing any of them heard. The siblings searched were they could see each other "anything??" Kayley called out, only to see her big brother shake his head; she signed as she looked down at her animal companion "come on Sam...you brought us here" she mumbled "help us out". As if Sam understood what he was hearing, the horse began to turn around and make his way towards a very tree and bush covered area - away from her brother as he continued to look in another area, nearer the border. After a few minutes, Kayley noticed a house hidden away by all of the trees and bushes; she hopped down from the horse and hid behind a thick tree. "What is it boy?? You think that Killian guy is in there??" she asked, staring at the old and clearly run down house; Sam made a noise, as if he was replying to the question "hmm....you might just be right bud". Turning to her friend, "okay then" she patted Sam on his back "go find the others and bring them here" she ordered; her animal companion hurried to do as told, running through the trees back the way they came.
The four men had reunited where they had originally split, informing one another how they hadn't discovered anything; Aramis did, however, notice the missing teenager. "Where's Kayley??" he asked; they each looked around to also realise that the girl was no where in sight. All of a sudden, the missing girls animal companion could be seen galloping towards them "Sam?? Where's Kayley?!" D'artagnan asked as he tried to grip onto the horses reigns, only for Sam to move away and begin to walk the way he came "should we follow him??" Porthos asked, yet their youngest friend was already doing so. "Come on" Athos nudged his two long time friends as they began to follow the man and horse. After blindly following Sam, the men spotted the fifteen year old hiding behind one of the trees, looking at something in the distance; they hurried over to her, relieved nothing was wrong. "What's up??" Athos asked as they dismounted their horses; Kayley showed her brother and the three musketeers the house "Sam thinks Killian is in here...and so do I". Just as she finished her sentence, they each heard a very loud bang - thankfully not a gun shot; they turned turned the house to see it was the front door....and someone walking through it?! Taking a moment to look closely, they each recognised the man to be resemble the description the King had given the musketeers and D'artagnan of Killian. "Well that answers that question" Porthos mumbled as he wondered if the guy they were watching was England's missing criminal who they were after; they turned to one another, once they finished watching Killian grab some water from the well and re-enter the house, as Athos began to speak "we need to handle this carefully, there might be some other people in that house" he stated, followed by Aramis "and if we take action, he could take them hostage". Taking a moment to think, Porthos seemed to have an idea "I say we let Kayley go in, acting like a poor orphan who needs directions or is begging for food" he explained, earning a small yet dry chuckle from the said girl as she mumbled "story of my life". They ignored the comment...for now anyway, as the bear like musketeer continued "that way, she'll be able to take a look around and see if there's anyone in there" it was a good idea...though a certain big brother definitely had a few things to say - scratch that. He completely protested against the idea. Rolling her eyes, Kayley removed all of her weapons, minus the small dagger hidden away in the side of her boot, and handed them over to Aramis before hiding her new clothes with her cloak which she had covered in dirt - she'd clean it once they were back in Paris. "Drop the dramatics D'artagnan" Kayley flicked him on the ear to stop his protests and catch his attention as she stood next to him "I'll be fine, now stay here and don't do anything stupid" the teenager turned towards Athos who was wearing a fond look of amusement as he folded his arms across his chest "if he does, feel free to hold him down" she smirked "I find the choke hold is most effective" and with that, she began to make her way towards the house. Of course, she overheard three clearly entertained laughs and a noise of protest; she fondly shook her head as she raised her cloaks hood over her head.
Once she had reached the front door, Kayley gave it three firm knocks before wrapping her arms around herself, securing the cloak even more so that her clothes couldn't be seen underneath. A few cautious moments later, the door opened once again - yet much slower than before "can I help you??" the man asked - it was definitely Killian; Kayley apologised for disturbing him "I was wondering if you knew which road I should take to get to Paris??" she asked. She forced her voice to sound small and weak, even a little bit scared; Killian nodded and give her the directions. "Aren't you a little young to be travelling on your own??" he asked suspiciously, looking over the girls shoulder to see if he could see anyone else; the three musketeers and their friend ducked down as Kayley shook her head "I don't have any parents sir, they were killed a week ago by bandits" she explained "I'm going to Paris to find my uncle". Seeming to believe it, Killian offered the 'child' some bread and water who forced a joyful smile to appear on her face "oh yes please sir!! I'm so hungry and extremely thirsty!!" she exclaimed, putting her acting skills to the test; the wanted criminal opened the door even further and led the teenager into the house. It was at this moment that Athos restrained D'artagnan, Aramis and Porthos getting ready to help if necessary - Kayley wasn't kidding. The half an hour wait was....horrible!! Even for the musketeers!! They had to keep control of their own worries and anxiety, even though they knew she could easily protect herself; they had really taken a liking to the teenager - as well as her brother of course. Finally, the front door opening caught the four men's attention; they watched the thankfully unharmed girl leave the house as she thanked Killian for the food and water, as well as the directions; the man nodded as he closed the door - the girl made her way towards her friends. "I looked around and couldn't see anyone else in the house" Kayley explained as she removed her hood and opened her cloak - she was boiling in the hot summer sun and covering herself with her cloak wasn't helpful. Porthos gently grabbed the fourteen year old's forearm once she had regained her weapons from Aramis "you okay kid?? He didn't harm you or anything, did he??" he asked, which everyone else were grateful for; Kayley sent the bear like man a reassuring smile "I'm fine, now let's go get him!!".
Whilst Athos and D'artagnan secured the front of the house, the others located other possible exits - windows and doors; they were soon surrounding the house as Athos knocked on the door "don't forget, we need him alive". After a minute of waiting, the two men heard some kind of commotion from behind the house; they didn't wait a moment longer before rushing to join their friends - the first sight they saw was Porthos restraining the man to the ground as Killian attempted to violently get away from them whilst Kayley and Aramis gave him gun support. "Killian I presume??" the gunman asked, though it was more than clear as he was less than happy "who the hell are you?!" he hissed out; Kayley looked over at her brother and their leader "I'll take that as a yes". Killian, noticing the teenager for the first time, glared at her with wide eyes "you!?" he barked out, attempting to lunge at her to attack, only to come face to face with the end of her gun; D'artagnan spoke up "I wouldn't do that if I were you, her aim is quite on point". Aramis tied their prisoner's hands behind his back as D'artagnan and Kayley went to retrieve their horses from where they were previously hiding "you are here by under arrest" Athos informed the criminal "by orders from his majesty, the King of France" he and Porthos grabbed the struggling man and met their new friends half way. Porthos was forced to share his horse with Killian, however, he was soon insistent on the matter once Kayley spoke up, offering to share with the captured criminal instead; the others didn't neglect to notice the girls hidden smirk which informed them of her plan to shut the complaining and moaning musketeer up. Once they were back on their horses and had returned to the road they had previously travelled on, D'artagnan spoke up "are we going to find somewhere to stop for the night or are we carrying on till we're back in Paris??" she asked, looking towards their leader; Athos thought for a moment "it'll be safer if we carry on, that way Killian has no chance to escape". The tied up man himself eventually fell silent after two hours of non-stop whining, violent yells and protests "you have no right to do this!!" let's just say Porthos has a head ache by the time Killian most likely lost his voice. "I can't wait to get back to Paris and sleep" Kayley signed out, rubbing her eyes in an attempt to stay awake; Aramis agreed "indeed, eat a warm mean and drink some wine" none of them could disagree - Porthos turned towards the fourteen year old as she nodded "it'll be orange juice for you young lady!!". They laughed as the teen rolled her eyes, though the smile on her face didn't disappear.