"So, who was the princess and what did she want?" Renee asked as Corinne stepped out onto the training grounds.

Corinne rolled her eyes and left the questioned unanswered as she clapped her hands to gain the attention of the musketeer force. "Attention! Everyone!" The men all instantly turned to face her. "We… have a new guest in the castle. Although, I believe she's going to be her permanently."

Aramina frowned in confusion as she stepped up to Corinne. "Permanently?"

Corinne simply nodded. "The king is getting married to Princess June of Galathia."

"What!?" The other three girls echoed.

Corinne just raised her hand to silence them. "More details will come out. But there will need to be extra guards now. I'll fill you all in on the details as the need arises." She pointed to four or the men. "I want two of you outside her bedroom door and the other two outside her bedroom window. Everyone else, go on as before unless informed otherwise."

As the men all dispersed, the girls ran to their friend.

"Four guards set to one room?" Renee asked incredulously. "Who are you trying to keep out?"

The smallest hint of a smile came to Corinne's face. "It's necessarily who I'm keeping out. It's who I'm keeping in." She watched from the corner of her eye as the four men entered the castle. "I want to know everywhere that girl goes."

"Why?" Viveca asked slowly.

Corinne shrugged. "We shall see, now won't we?" With that, she walked away.

Aramina frowned. "Okaaaay. That was odd, right?"

"Oh yes," The other two agreed in unison.

Viveca shook her head. "The last time she was this close lipped about something, half the musketeer force was sent on 'vacation' to an old country home. And then we found out that there was something illegal going on there. Did we ever figure out how she knew that?"

"Nope," Renee answered. "And I've always been too afraid to ask."

Laughter interrupted their conversation and they spun around to see Corinne standing two feet behind them. "You guys know I never left, right?"

"Of course!" Aramina said quickly while the others laughed nervously. "We were just kidding."

~*~*~*Love's Destiny*~*~*~

"Are you sure about this, Your Highness?" Treville asked quietly.

Louis released a deep breath. "When have I been sure of anything lately?"

"I have a feeling that you unsureness is due to a certain musketeer. Who just happens to be the captain."

Louis shook his head too quickly. "No."

"Are you sure?"

"There hasn't been anything between Corinne and me in a long time."

"That doesn't mean that you don't wish that there was."

Before Louis could think of a response, June walked into the room and smiled. "Hi. I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

Louis shook his head, but he could swear he heard Treville mutter, "More than you know."

"Everything's fine," Louis said quickly. "Can I help you?"

June shook her head quickly. "Oh, no. I… just wanted to say thank you again for… allowing me to ruin your life."

Louis chuckled. "No problem. Was there anything else?"

She clasped her hands behind her back. "Well… actually there was. I was wondering if… since we're going to be… married, if, maybe we could… get to know each other a little more? Maybe take a walk?"

"Oh. Sure." Louis glanced at the large clock that was in the room. "Yeah, I've got some time. How about the gardens?"

June released a tremendous breath of air. "The garden sounds lovely."

"If anyone shows up, mainly Dupain, tell him I'm busy," Louis called to the former captain. "Please."

Treville nodded. "Yes, Sir."

~*~*~*Love's Destiny*~*~*~

Corinne leaned her chin into her hand as she tapped her pen aimlessly against a piece of paper, paying no mind to the black spatters of ink that all but coated the page.

"Hi," Aramina said quietly, stepping into the Captain's Office. "How's it going?"

Corinne sighed. "Oh, you know. Paperwork." She shook her head. "Now I know why the King always complained about it."

"Speaking of the King, he and the Princess are taking a walk in the garden."

"Mm-hm. I know."

Aramina frowned and looked around, seeing no one anywhere near. "How?"

Corinne smiled and waggled her eyebrows. "Like I've said before, I know everything that happens in France. Especially if it's in Paris."

"You are an odd character."

"Thank you." She straightened up and stretched her arms above her head, eyeing Aramina's huge stomach. "Shouldn't you be resting? I thought your like charges were active today."

Aramain's frown deepened. "Charge. There's no plural. No charges. Just one. Singular. Uno. Un."

Corinne laughed. "I get it. You should still be resting while you can. You never know when things will get crazy."

The red head eyed her friend for a long moment. "Do you have any suspicions of when things might break lose?"

Corinne just nudged her towards a bed that sat in the corner. "Get some rest, Aramina."

"I'll take that as a warning." She hurried over to the bed and laid down, sighing happily as Corinne flipped a blanket over her. "Wake me up when things go crazy."

Corinne chuckled and headed for the door. "Don't worry. You'll know."

~*~*~*Love's Destiny*~*~*~

"I love Paris already," June sighed. "It's so… peaceful."

Louis smiled. "Well, I think we have the musketeers to thank for that. Without them… this place would be chaotic."

"You really respect the musketeers, don't you?"

"I do. They deserve it." He looked up at the sky. "They've saved my life so many times…" He suddenly looked towards the terrace as he caught sight of something pink, instantly recognizing Corinne leaning against the railing, her gaze staring far into the distance. How long has she been there?

June followed his gaze. "That's the captain, right?"

He nodded. "She is."

"Would you mind if I ask why a girl became a captain? Not that I have anything against girls but… why a captain?"

A small smile lit his face, his eyes never leaving the girl on the terrace. "Because, she deserved it and everyone knew it."

June frowned ever so slightly as she looked from the king to the captain and back again. Am I missing something?

He seemed to suddenly remember that the princess was there and quickly turned to her. "Where were we?" He motioned towards the path they were currently walking on.

"Well… speaking of captains and musketeers, my captain should be here later today. Then we can talk strategy."

Louis nodded. "Sounds… good." They walked in silence for several minutes till they were further back in the garden. He glanced over his shoulder, a ghost of a smile came to his face as he spotted the blond musketeer still in her spot on the terrace. He remembered that she used to stand up there for hours, just staring into the horizon. They shared many thoughts, hopes and dreams up there. And up in the sky. An ache formed in the pit of his chest as memories of their many balloon rides together flooded his mind. He had rebuilt the machine after it had been destroyed in the forest fire four years ago but… he'd never taken it up again. When they had parted ways, all of the sudden, flying seemed like a senseless pastime.

"Are you alright?" June asked quietly.

Louis snapped out of his thoughts. "Uh… yes. Everything's fine. I'm just… thinking, that's all. I hope we can help your kingdom."

She smiled up at him gently. "You already have." She suddenly frowned as somewhere nearby, a branch snapped. "D-did you hear that?"

Louis nodded. "It may have been an animal…"

Just then, a large man emerged, a sinister grin on his face. "I heard that a little princess fled her nest."

Louis instinctively stepped in front of the girl who appeared frozen in horror. "Who are you?" He demanded.

He threw back his head and laughed. "I have no dealings with you, Boy." He pulled out his sword and pointed it at them. "My business is with the princess."

Louis frowned. "Who. Are. You?"

June sucked in a shaky breath. "T-that's… Mordeu."

Louis stiffened instantly as the man laughed again, stepping forward, the tip of his sword coming closer and closer.

"That's right. Now, all you have to do is cooperate and-" He was suddenly cut off as a figure slid between his sword and Louis.

Blue eyes flashed against the otherwise seemingly calm face. A sword was gripping tightly in her hand. Her stance was daring as well as threatening. She paid no mind to the tip of the man's sword that was less than a foot away.

Louis blinked in surprise. How did she get here so fast?

Mordue snapped out of his shock a moment later and a deep growl slipped from his lips. "Step aside, Girl."

Corinne shook her head, her icy eyes never leaving the man before her. "I have no authority to stand between you and the princess," she said calmly. "But when my King stands between you and her that's all the authority I need." She frowned, her eyebrows lowering into a deathly glare. "You threaten my King… your fight is now with me."

(I AM still alive people! Sorry it's been several weeks… again! I am still working on that job assignment that I'm running a bit behind on. But hopefully, I will have that completed in a few days and be able to return to my Pleasure Writing. :D And READING! I miss reading )you guys stories SOOOO much! Hopefully, that will change shortly. Thanks for staying patient with me!

And, as for the person who asked about Chad Dailey… Hmmm… we shall see. ;)

Ah, I love making Corinne just know things. I don't know why. I'm crazy probably! :D

Well, laterz peoplez!

Thanks for the F-F&Rs!)