"Well done last night musketeers, another successful mission" Treville praised the five; it was the next day at 12 as they had quite a bit of catching up with sleep due to the mission the night previous. They had just arrived at the Garrison when their Captain ordered them to his office "especially to our little Kayley" Athos smirked as he patted the girl on the back "you took on the guy, protected Prince Derek and kept yourself alive" they all agreed, earning them a smile "thanks". D'artagnan then asked how her now stitched and bandage chest was "it's fine, just sore". The girl then asked how the King was due to being poisoned the night before "I checked on him earlier, but it seems he's worse" their eyes widened in horror and confusion. Aramis spoke up "but I thought the doctor had said that the poison was reversible??" he asked earning a nod "exactly, that's why I believe it wasn't the Spaniard from last nights attack that poisoned him, but someone whose still in the Palace". They all thought for a moment, listing people who could have reached the Kings food and drinks "the cooks and servants, they're the only ones who can get close to the food or drinks" D'artagnan stated earning nods "maybe" it seemed their Captain was unsure. As if she could read his mind, Kayley spoke up "you think Rochefort did this??" that earned her a nod "I inspected the Spaniards body this morning and found a letter from him, stating that he wanted the assassin to kill whoever he saw in the Palace, as well as the King" their eyes widened "traitor!!" Porthos growled. Treville continued "not only that, but it seems Rochefort had picked the assassin with the help of an old friend and mentor from Spain...he helped organise the assassin" he explained "we need proof that Rochefort is a traitor before going to the King, he trusts that man more then I like" they couldn't help but agree "but we do have the Queen on our side when I mentioned it to her, she's just...having a hard time accepting it". Kayley became immediately concerned for Anne's safety "so the plan??" Athos asked, making their Captain speak again "your five and myself are going to go the old Village two hours away from Paris and get Rochefort's mentor to come back with you to confess to the King" he explained earning nods from all of the men; they turned to Kayley who kept her head still "Kayley??". The eighteen year old began to speak "I think I should go to the Palace and stay with the Queen...in case Rochefort turns on her" they agreed, thinking it was a better idea, but Aramis couldn't hold back the joke "want to go protect your boyfriend as well??" they all smirked as they saw Kayley roll her eyes with her cheeks turning a shade of pink. They saddled up and rode off, each of them telling one another to be careful before parting paths; the men galloped out of the town of Paris and towards the old village that had been evacuated over seven years ago due to a large fire that had burnt down the majority of it. "How do we know this guy will be at this village??" D'artagnan asked; Treville explained that the letter had stated that Rochefort's mentor would be hiding out at the old village, waiting for the Cardinal to visit, as well as the assassin.
With Kayley, she had soon reached the Palace and handed Sam over to one of the stable boys before making her way through the large and grand building; she asked a passing servant where the Queen was, to which he informed her that she was with the King in his chambers. Thanking the man, the eighteen year old made her way to the King's chambers in the West wing; she knocked on the door and heard the Queen call out "the King is taking no visitors today!!". You could just here the pain and sorrow in her voice. "It's Kayley Anne!!" the teenager stated, waiting a moment before the door opened and she was suddenly pulled in; the Queen quickly closed the door again and hugged the musketeer. "Oh Kayley" the girl embraced the worried woman "I'm so worried about Louis" she stated; Kayley patted Anne on the back before they parted "I know, but we have a plan" she reassured. This was when Kayley sent a glance over to their poisoned King and frowned; he was shivering, yet covered in sweat, extremely pale and unconscious. The two sat at a small table in the corner of the room so that, if he could still hear things, the King wouldn't. "Treville told the other musketeers and I about his theory on who has poisoned Louis" Kayley informed "do you...do you think it was Rochefort??" she hesitantly asked; the woman sighed as she rubbed her forehead "...I don't know...it's a large possibility but...Rochefort is my friend so I...I don't-" the teen spoke for her "you don't want to think he's the one who did it". Kayley explained the plan; how the male musketeer's had left to find the Cardinal's old mentor. "Why didn't you go with them??" Anne asked as she took a sip of her tea "if Rochefort is the one poisoning the King, I wanted to be here to protect you...in case he, for some reason, turned on you" Kayley explained. The Queen gave a smile smile "thank you Kayley, I really need a friend right now" that reminded the musketeer of something "where's John, Sarah and Derek??" she became worried for them. Anne reassured her by explaining that Sarah and John had gone out for the day and would be away for the night "but Derek is somewhere here in the Palace, he didn't want to go with his parents" she suddenly smirked "I wonder why". Kayley knew what she was suggesting and just groaned "not you too!! I've got practically everyone on my back about Derek" this made the woman chuckle "can you blame us?? It's more then clear that there is something strong between you two" Kayley couldn't deny that as she sighed "I wish it was that easy". The woman stroked my shoulder "...he actually said he wanted to stay here in case you decided to visit...he wants to talk to you about something" Anne informed, spiking the girls interest "really?? About what??" Kayley asked with a raised brow "not sure, but it seemed important". Anne suddenly yawned "you didn't get much sleep last night, did you??" the musketeer asked earning a nod "I wanted to stay with Louis, keep an eye on him" it made sense;. The teenager smiled "well...how about you go and get some sleep?? I'll stay here and keep an eye on him, and I'll send for someone if anything happens" she reassured, but it was clear the Queen was unsure and hesitant "or you could have a nap on the sofa over there??" Kayley suggested. Anne smiled at the second offer "yes, I'll have a nap but stay here...I'm just going to hurry back to my own chambers and gather a change of clothes" Kayley smiled as the woman stood up "I'll be back in a few minutes". And with that, the Queen left.
Pre-Warning: Mentions of attempted rape, nothing too graphic but can be triggering. Only in this paragraph so skip to the next one if you don't want to read this part.
Kayley just sat at the table for a few minutes before someone knocked on the door and entered, setting the musketeer on edge; it was a maid with a tray. "I heard that you had arrived and thought you'd want something to drink" she explained with a smile; Kayley returned the kind gesture "thanks...do you know where Rochefort is??" she asked as she watched the maid place the tray onto the table "hmm...I saw him make his way towards the Queen's chamber's about ten minutes ago". Kayley's eyes widened with horror as she shot up and pulled the maid out of the room before locking it as quick as she could "sorry, no one can be in there right now". After rushing that sentence out of her mouth, Kayley sprinted ddown the hallways, bumping into different servants, maids and guards; they knew she must have been running at that speed for a strong and important reason, so they didn't think she was being rude for not even apolagising. After a long, five minute run, Kayley bardged into the Queen's personal quarters to see....Rochefort was holding the Queen by her arms, trapping her against the end of her bed; Anne was covering her face with her hands, crying. "Let her go!!" Kayley demanded, running over and dragging the man off of the Queen; Anne ran behind the musketeer but held her arm. Rochefort kept trying to get to the Queen "go!! Go now!!" Kayley exclaimed to the woman; she wasn't sure but after hearing the teenager yell for her to run again, the woman did as told, fleeing out of the room. Before the mad man could follow, Kayley kicked the door shut "you've lost Rochefort, the Queen hates you now and we know you're connected to the King being poisoned" she stated, pushing the man away from the door; Rochefort glared at the girl "if I can't have her no one can!!" he exclaimed, proving the fact that he really was crazy and mad. The man suddenly tackled the eighteen year old to the floor, straddling her waist and holding her arms down; Kayley kicked and hit as much as she could but it was really difficult as the Cardinal had pinned both her legs and arms down. She couldn't even grasp her weapons from her belt or boot!! "And if I can't have the Queen, then I'll have you for now!!" Kayley felt her eye widen in horror as she watched Rochefort grin and stare down at her with an evil and disgusting lust. Kayley began to fight back even more as the man began to try to remove her belt, as well as lifting up and pulling at her dress; he began to unbutton his trousers. Eventually, Kayley began to scream as flashbacks showed themselves in her mind of when she was younger, on that dark night with LaBarge. All of a sudden, most likely after a few minutes of fighting, Rochefort was kicked and forced off of the eighteen year old; Kayley pushed away until she felt her back press against the wall furthest away from where Rochefort was lay on the floor from being kicked off of her. With wide and terror filled eyes, Kayley watched as Rochefort climbed up to his feet; she pressed herself into the wall, trying to make herself smaller. The Queen rushed down to her knees as she embraced the eighteen year old and practically hid her from the man; she didn't want Kayey to see him as he turned to them. The two women watched as he looked down at them for a minute before walking out of the room; his eye was bleeding as it seemed to have been slashed. Kayley cried as she held onto the Queen "it's okay Kayley...he's not here...neither is LaBarge" Anne tried to reassure but it didn't help as the teen continued to sob into the kind woman's neck.
After five minutes, Kayley had managed to stop her cried and calm herself enough to let go of Anne; that's when she saw that they weren't alone. Derek was stood there, just a few feet away, staring at her with a sad and sorry look; he was the one who had kiched and dragged Rochefort off of her. He had been there to see her coware away and sob. The Queen helped the musketeer stand up, quickly adjusting her dress so that nothing was showing that shouldn't. The two women sat down at a small table "did he...did he-" the woman tried to asked but Kayley cut her off as she knew she was finding it hard to question "no...you two got here before he could" she felt sick to her stomach. Derek finally spoke up "...what should we do??" they looked over to him "the King is too ill to deal with this, the other musketeers aren't even in Paris and we're clearly not going to the Cardinal". Their eyes turned to the only musketeer in Paris "....I don't know...I really don't know this time" Kayley sighed as she rested her head into her hands; Anne rubbed soothing circles into the girls back as Derek stared at her. After a minute, the young woman stood up and picked her belt up off of the floor before tying it around her waist; she didn't bother to retie up her hair - which had fallen out during the attack - and placed her hat on her head. "Kayley??" Derek spoke, catching her attention "...both of you go to the King's room and lock the door" she ordered as she handed Anne the key "stay there until I come get you". The two royals shared a look of worry "what are you going to do??" the Queen asked; the eighteen year old explained that she was going to sneak into Rochefort's office and try to find some paper work and letters connected towards the assassination from the previous night, as well as the poisoning. "Are you sure?? What if he catches you??" Anne asked, concerned that it wasn't the best plan "we need to find evidence for these things" was all Kayley said before leaving. The two royals sighed before doing as told but they decided - for extra safety - to go through the servants tunnels. "Anne...can I ask you something??" the twenty year old spoke earning the Queen's attention "of course" she gave a smile to encourage him to continue "when you were trying to calm Kayley down...you said 'neither is LeBarge'..." the woman realised what she was about to be asked "who's LaBarge?? And why did you have to reassure Kayley that he wasn't there??". The Queen sighed as they turned a corner "it's not really my story to tell but...I guess you'll find out sooner or later" she stated "when Kayley was younge, and I mean maybe eleven years old....a man that once went by the name of LaBarge...he had attacked her one night in her home village and...and forced himself on her". Derek's eyes widened as he came to a harsh halt "he...he raped her?!" he was horrified as the woman nodded "yes, LaBarge is dead now though but it still haunts her". The Prince was trying to process the new information "...that's why she won't accept her strong feelings for you" the young man's head shot up "wha...Kayley has feeling for me?!" did he hear her correct?? "Indeed, but...she fears them" that confused Derek as he asked why "due to what happened to her, Kayley lost something she cannot get back" the man knew Anne was talking about her virginity "she believes no one would ever want her because of this so she's cut herself off from the romantic side" the woman explained "but now that she's developed these strong feelings for you, she's scared because she thinks you'll be disappoint or even mad" this truly broke Derek's heart. They suddenly found themselves outside of King's room "...I'm going to go help Kayley" Derek suddenly stated before bolting off; Anne called for him but they fell on deaf ears. The woman sighed as she entered the room and relocked the door.