Everything's Not Lost by Rhaella Valysar

Chapter 3: One step forward, two steps back.

The young musketeer was again mystified by the beauty around her, Paris never seized to amaze her. She had been down these roads before, but every time she visited them she found new faces. As the smells of all the restaurants and food stores overwhelmed her senses, she held herself higher by placing her hand on the carriage's window's frame – using the other to support her own body on the seat.

She felt lost in the moment until something warm crawled on top on one of her hand, the blonde gasped when she saw Louis blushing as he moved his hand away. She softly chuckled and he followed her suit, both turned away from each other when they noticed that the blond couple sitting in front of them had seen everything. Almost smirking, since they knew what was going on with the younger ones.

Corinne sighed, returning her eyes to see the streets again. She wasn't very sure why did Louis wanted to leave so early, but they barely had breakfast before he declared that it was time to go. He had briefly explained this the previous day; he wanted to take his cousin and her family on a trip to Paris. And she had agreed to escort them.

Unlike yesterday, Louis seemed a bit isolated from everyone around him, especially from her. She even started thinking he was beginning to regret the progress in their relationship. He had barely spoken to anyone, his brown eyes vaguely wandering around as they walked.

The trio of blondes was the one enjoying every single moment, on the other hand. Corinne had been told the couple had been the talk of the town for some time in their kingdom. Louis's cousin, Anneliese, was the princess. While Julian, the quiet man, had been her tutor for a couple of years before their relationship officially began.

Knowing that had somehow inspired and given hope to Corinne. If a princess and a teacher had accomplished so much, why couldn't a King and a musketeer be successful as well?

But noticing Louis's sudden change of attitude towards her took this all away, and made her think other things.

As they walked out of the carriage and started to walk around town, her trance was stopped by a light tugging on her sleeves. Small chubby hands requesting attention while a giggle made the young mother chuckle. Corinne laughed as well, playfully grabbing Adam's hand. Anneliese stopped walking when she felt the toddler shifting and opening his arms towards the other blonde girl. The musketeer tittered; she had never carried a baby before.

"No, no." She shyly said when the long haired woman attempted to hand her the baby.

Anneliese smirked in response; even she had denied carrying him for a while. "It's not that hard, Adam's a good boy."

Still not sure if she was prepared to do this, but too anxious to deny the offer, Corinne placed her hands under the baby's armpits and carefully positioned him against her chest. He loudly giggled as he hit his hands together several times. She felt proud of herself, at least she hadn't dropped him yet.

Adam's mom smiled as she cued Corinne to follow her, Julian and Louis were not so far from them, but they had gained some distance not noticing the girls had stopped.

"Sorry if what I'm about to mention bothers you Louis," Julian began speaking, making the brown-haired man look at him, "But you don't look so good."

Louis sighed, rubbing one of his eyes with the back of his hand. "I didn't sleep last night, that's all."

Other than the tiredness in his voice, his lack of emotion and sudden stiffness made Julian know something else was going on. The King's eyes suddenly fixed on something in front of him as they stopped to wait for the girls; Julian discovered he was actually staring at the musketeer carrying his son.

Since they had already established that it was simple tiredness what was making Louis act so strange, he dared to throw an itching question out of his mouth. "You like her, don't you?"

Louis instantly replied to avoid the redness that would appear on his cheeks if he thought about the answer too much. "Of course I like her. She's my friend… and my protector."

Julian rolled his eyes while Louis looked at the people passing by – some curtsying at their King, others had much important things to do and wouldn't notice their ruler standing there. Julian knew that to name someone a personal guard, trust, affection and every kind of bond had to be present between them. Louis didn't fully understand his question, maybe he should have explained better… or perhaps the young King was just avoiding the subject. "I meant to ask if you like her as… something more than a friend."

The mixed look of confusion and disbelief was too phony for Julian to buy, "Excuse me?" Louis asked, as if offended by the comment.

"I know that look," Replied the blue eyed man, crossing his arms on his chest. "I'm married; I know what it's like to fall in love."

Louis's shoulders dropped in defeat; Julian was right. He was in love, and it was hurting like hell. Was he really being that obvious?

Remembering his cousin's story gave him some comfort, at least he had some people that understood what he was going through. Yet, his situation was slightly different, he didn't have anyone to take his place like Anneliese had, and his wife-to-be was already living under his roof without his consentient. "It's impossible." He muttered under his breath.

Julian couldn't have identified more with anyone else, "That's what I used to think."

But Louis saw that Julian didn't fully know what he was talking about; it was possible that he and Anneliese were the only ones who were aware of Anne of Austria's presence in the palace. And he couldn't risk having Corinne knowing that right now. "That's not the problem…"

"Julian, look!" Anneliese's voice interrupted the conversation between the two, the tall blond man instantly turned to his wife. "Adam likes Corinne!"

Now in front of the pair of men, Anneliese showed her husband what their little boy had done.

The man smiled, "That's great!" And he walked closer to playfully tousle the boy's hair, "He's usually very shy around strangers."

Corinne smiled, still nervous about holding the kid. She felt good about having someone comfortable with her presence, because it seemed like Louis was having a hard time noticing she was even there.

Anneliese unexpectedly gasped, the building across the street filled her with joy. She had heard so much about it, it was one of the things she wanted to do in her visit but the sudden encounter shocked her. It was one of the most famous libraries; she could have sworn that it was also the biggest. She grabbed her husband's arm as she squealed, "We must go there!"

Julian chuckled; he knew that his wife only got this excited in special occasions, it was very important to her to go. "Sure," He grabbed her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers, "What do you say, Louis?"

The man that had been absent for some time was finally called into the conversation. Even when he had been listening to everything, he had remained distant. But now that he had his chance to be alone with Corinne, he smiled for the first time in the day. "Go ahead; I'll be here with Corinne."

The musketeer raised an eyebrow when his eyes finally found hers; she was trying to play it hard because he had kept her waiting all this time, but she was truly happy he had chosen to stay with her.

When Adam felt his mother's hands on his back, he held on to Corinne's neck. It was nice to meet new people, he decided. And besides, the girl's collar was far more entertaining than going to a library.

Corinne laughed; feeling a bit more relaxed about having the boy with her. "Oh, it's okay, your highness. I can watch him for a while."

A bit doubtful about leaving her baby with another person for the first time, Anneliese nodded. She was a royal musketeer after all; he couldn't be in better hands. "Thanks Corinne. We'll be back soon."

Now, all alone, the pair found it hard to find something to talk about. It was Louis's fault for acting so weird; everything was going perfectly until this morning. Who would think that after confessing everything and seeing the beginning of a new story the other day you'd wake up to an indifferent man who seemed to be the bitterest person in Earth for no reason? The question of why he was acting such way was eating her insides, but she couldn't let him notice – not for now, she wasn't that desperate, was she?

"So," She began, turning to where the King was, "Uh…" She paused, distracted when she saw him yawing and scratching his head, "Where do you want to go?"

He smiled, a relieved expression on his face, he felt truly happy just listening to the sound of her voice. "Why don't we just walk around? I don't want to them to get lost."

The blonde nodded, "Sure."

Even though she thought things would be clear now that he had spoken to her, she discovered she was wrong. Louis barely looked at her; he appeared more distracted by everything else. Did he even remember what had happened yesterday?

Maybe she had done something wrong…

Before she knew it, Louis was out of sight. Once they entered the street behind the building Anneliese and Julian were in, he disappeared. She turned to look for him but the sea of people was too thick in this area, stores and stalls filled each side of the street.

She didn't worry though, he was the King and in an area filled with loyal subjects it would be too risky for Philippe to make a move, right?

All she had to do was to wait for Adam's parents to come out of the library and together they would look for Louis, not that she couldn't look for him on her own but it would be better to have less people going missing.

The little boy resting his head on her shoulder and sucking on his thumb suddenly squealed, he removed the hand from his mouth and began to point towards a stand. Red, yellow and green circles covered the table on its front. As Corinne walked closer, the little boy grew more excited. With shaky arms, she managed to hand the pair of coins to the salesman while trying not to drop the boy; Adam took the apple she'd bought for him.

"Thanks." Said Corinne as she walked away, wrapping again her arms around Adam's back and he placed his elbows on her shoulders – she wasn't the best at carrying babies. As the toddler opened his mouth and moved his hands closer to his face so he could take a bite from the red fruit, it somehow slipped and fell to the floor.

Corinne instinctively leaned to take it back, but a gloved hand had already done that for her. She looked up; a tall, blond, well-dressed man was staring back at her. A strange man, she could say for sure. She placed her arms securely around the boy as she frowned; something made her feel he was not to trust.

He smiled at them and, after eyeing the apple, he decided to discard it. Corinne scowled even harder at him; yet he grinned, took out several golden coins from his pocket and gave them to her.

Adam grabbed the coins, and Corinne took them from him.

The man never changed his expression, his acid-green eyes glowing in the sunlight as he gawked at her. "Is this your little brother?" He asked in a cultivated voice marked by a slight accent that gave it added precision and deliberateness, pointing at the toddler she was holding. "Because you're way too pretty to be a nanny."

She should have known! Corinne blew some air from her mouth and rolled her eyes, trying to calm down. He was just another Casanova. Had the looks and the blarney. "I am not a nanny; I'm just watching him for a while." Cold and straight words slapped the lady-killer as Corinne turned away to leave. "By the way, thanks, Mister."

"Oh," His arm gently snatched hers before she was too far, incredulity splattered on her face. How dared he touch her? His features had somehow softened to what she interpreted was a bit more respectful manner to look at a stranger, unlike before. "My apologies, Corinne." One of his arms hid behind him and the other was left hovering close to his chest as he bowed, "I should have introduced myself first. My name is Santiago."

The blonde musketeer cocked an eyebrow at him, "How do you know my name?" Now this Santiago was beginning to be even weirder.

The blond man sniggered, "I was just kidding about the whole nanny thing; it'd be offensive if I didn't recognize one of the first female musketeers in history." Apples blossomed on her cheeks when she heard this strange man referring to her in such way; this was maybe the first time someone had said something that made her feel as an innovator. "I must say that is highly admirable. You're far too young and way too beautiful to be fighting bad guys."

She struggled to smile, "Uh… thanks, Monsieur Santiago."

He did a light curtsy again and chuckled, "Please, call me Tiago."

Corinne relaxed; he had gone from ladies' man to gentleman in just minutes. She even forgot to go back to buy another apple for Adam as she began to walk. She nodded in response to his request, and the man followed her calm pace.

"I always thought women made better fighters than men, finally someone proved me right."

The musketeer grinned, was he doing this on purpose? And she decided to speak her mind. "I must say, for a man who is wandering through the streets of Paris, you are quite refined, Tiago."

With a better posture and his hands behind his back, Tiago looked at the girl. "Well, I must start with the fact that I am not just wandering the streets of Paris." His eyes ran through the scenery around them. "I am actually taking a vacation here, I'm from Spain."

"Really?" Well, that explained a lot. She would have never been able to identify his accent. "I've always wanted to go there; I've heard it's beautiful.'

"Not as beautiful as Paris, I assure you." Tiago shook his head, "The view doesn't hold a candle to this one. Perhaps, you could give me a tour of the place."

Corinne rapidly answered, "Oh, I'm sorry, Tiago. First of all, I'm actually working and, as you can see," She moved the boy to her other shoulder as she talked, "Babysitting as well." Adam wriggled in her grip, for the first time he whined and frowned. Deciding to ignore the toddler's weird behavior and accusing the time he had spent away from his parents for it, she continued to speak with Tiago. "Secondly, I'm not from here either. I know as much of the place as you do. I'm from Gascony."

The light-haired guy gasped, "Oh! How marvelous, Corinne!" he exclaimed, "I have two imported horses that were raised in Gascony, two majestic creatures indeed…"

The clack of heels echoed through the halls, "Mister Durand! Mister Durand!" Anne called.

The bald man stopped walking to look back, he squinted his eyes to try to recognize the girl walking towards him. It was not until she was nearly five feet away from him that he remembered those brown bouncing curls the girl owned. "Anne?" muttered the advisor. She smiled at him, "Oh my Lord, look at you!" Were his eyes deceiving him? It had been a long time since he last saw her. He couldn't believe she was already here either, he had warned Louis that she'd come as soon as possible, but even he thought of it as just a precaution. His eyes scanning everything from her head to her shoes, she looked just like her mother. "You've grown into a gorgeous young lady!"

She slightly dropped her head as she grinned in gratitude, "Ah, thank you, sir."

Durand chuckled, patting his jacket's pockets to locate his glasses. "What can I do for you?" He asked, rapidly adding another question. "Has Louis being treating you well?"

Anne's smile decreased and she shrugged, "Well… I can't really answer that question right now, Monsieur. I have barely seen him. One of his servants told me that he is out in a very important trip in the city."

The short man blinked a couple of times as he put his eyeglasses on. "Ah, yes…" He agreed, "With his cousin's family."

"Yes, yes." Said Anne, with a laugh, her hands suddenly together and one tucking at the other's glove. "And I-I just wanted to talk to him about the traditional engagement ball we were to have…"

The advisor waited nothing to frown, "Ball?"

"Why yes!" She chirped, hands together and grin back under her nose. "To announce our engagement to the people of France!"

The short one ran his hand through his shiny head; he felt the sweat drips already surging from his scalp. "… Oh… yes, that ball…" How could he have forgotten about this! "Well," he cleared his throat in discomfort, "I think we could arrange some things to make that happen." The advisor saw the excitement in the girl's eyes; he knew she had been planning this since she was a child. The last thing he wanted to do was spoil it for her. But he needed time to get things done. "Does a week from today sound good?"

Anne's eyebrows slightly twisted with distress, her pearly whites suddenly hidden behind the stiff line her lips became, she'd have to wait another week. "I don't know…" She commented, "I would be very happy if you could pull it together for tomorrow."

The elderly man chocked on his own breath, this girl was going to give him a heart attack! "To-Tomorrow?" He managed to mutter as he coughed; he regained his breath and rubbed the tears from his eyes. "Don't you think that's a little hasty, dear?"

Anne's eyes traveled down to stare at the floor, her hands clasped together. "I've waited all my life to get married;" Durand could have sworn there were tears beginning to form in her eyes. "I wish I didn't have to wait any longer..."

She was right, nearly a decade planning this moment and he was going to get in the way of it?

No.

He just had to send some invitations to the most important people in France then arrange some decorations for the ballroom and somehow convince Louis to assist and everything would turn out okay. "Alright then, tomorrow it is!"

Her face lighted up once again with a grin from ear to ear. The bald man gasped as the girl jumped and snaked her arms around his flabby neck. "Ah! Thank you, thank you!"

"Oh! So you were the one who really saved the King!" His voice, somehow, had some traces of surprise.

Corinne felt the skin under her eyes burning, "Well," 'If you really think about it.' "Yeah." She still was trying to get used to all the flattery around her.

Tiago smiled, "The story is still running through all Europe, King Louis was at the rooftops running from his cousin, but then four girls came to rescue him." He then looked at Corinne again, "What I didn't know was that it was really you the one who had the major part in his saving."

She nodded, "You know a lot about Louis." She mindlessly commented, still looking at the countless stalls around her. People walking mindlessly, the yakking overwhelming her ears if she paid too much attention to it.

"Eh," Tiago shrugged, his face turning serious as he spoke of the new subject, "His cousin Philippe and I were very close friends. Louis was as young as the boy you're carrying when I first met him. But everything changed; I haven't spoken to him in years. Our fathers were also great friends, so I like to know how they're doing every now and then. "

Corinne was about to answer but the little boy hanging from her side began to whimper, his thumb no longer in his mouth and both of his arms in the air as he wiggled. She bit her lip and a cold chill ran through her spine, if she wasn't careful enough, she'd drop him.

Tiago noticed her struggle, maybe even felt a bit sorry for her, and he began to hover around her – making sure that if she did let the baby slip, he'd fall into his arms.

It wasn't until they heard someone speak from faraway that they calmed down, "Oh, there they are." exclaimed Princess Anneliese.

Between the sea of people in that street, Corinne was capable to spot the distinctive clothing of the royal people she was supposed to be watching. The pair of blondes already making their way to where she stood with Adam and Tiago.

The princess grinned as soon as she approached them, instantly taking her baby in her arms. Adam's joyful giggles filling the already crowded air. His father thanking Corinne for taking care of him.

"Your majesties," Tiago softly interrupted, lowering his head when he faced Anneliese and Julian, "It's an honor."

"Oh!" Corinne gasped, "I forgot to introduce you. Your majesties, this is Santiago, he's visiting Paris."

Tiago offered Julian a very formal and reserved smile, then proceeded to take one of Anneliese's hands to leave a peck right on top of it.

Julian placed the bags filled with new books of the floor, "It's a pleasure, Santiago. We are also visiting."

The Princess gently and hastily took her hands away, still smiling at the man. Adam hiding his face in her hair, as if avoiding having any sort of contact with the man. "You seem familiar…" She commented.

The green eyed man nodded, "I think we may have met before, Princess Anneliese."

This made one of Anneliese's eyebrows rise, Julian decided not to give it much thought. This was surely something she'd talk about in the privacy of their room back at the palace.

The carriage arrived, and Julian began to take their bags into it, taking the opportunity to go away from this strange man Corinne seemed to be comfortable with.

"Dah-dah!" Adam babbled as he raised his arms for Julian to grab. The Princess awkwardly waving goodbye as she walked to the awaiting carriage. "We'll wait in the carriage, Corinne."

"Of course, your highness." The musketeer answered, not even noticing the uneasiness around her. She had more important things to do, "I'm just waiting for Louis to come back." like keeping an eye out for the currently missing King.

The horses dragged them away to park in a place where they wouldn't obstruct the flow of people and carriages. And Corinne turned to the blond man as he spoke to her.

"I suppose King Louis must be near then." Tiago said, his hands behind his back.

Corinne faintly shrugged, her gazed fixed upon the crowd. "Yes, around here somewhere."

"Slipped from yours fingers?"

She took just a short glimpse at his piercing eyes, "He's a grown man now, you know."

But her hard tone had no effect on him, "A silly one too," Tiago walked closer to her, "Doesn't know he's lucky to have a cohort like you…"

"Corinne!"

The voice entered her ears like fresh, cool air. Corinne turned her eyes to see the brown haired man walking towards her. "There he is!" She pointed out.

And even though her blue eyes never detached from him as he came closer, his were glued to an object he was cradling, only looking up to make sure she was there with him. "Oh, you must hear about this new idea I have," His voice bursting with the elation he had woken up without. He held a toy for her to inspect, a dark wooden model of a large watercraft. His gaze falling on her, she was still smiling at him. "A new flying machine! But this one-" The grin on his face turning upside down when he noticed she wasn't alone, and to her surprise she didn't even had to introduce them. "Tiago…" Said Louis as he frowned.

"Louis!" The man happily exclaimed, contrasting the tone of the younger one. "King Louis, my bad." He took some steps closer, "So nice seeing you have grown since the last time I saw you." Lime eyes falling on the figure the King began to hide. "But still playing with toys, I see."

Louis ignored the insult, "I can't say the same to you, Tiago." He took a little too long to continue his argument, examining the man before him. "You've aged considerably." He face-palmed himself internally after hearing how lame his comeback had sounded.

Tiago kept his composure, "It's called experience, my friend, something you are currently lacking of."

His eyes still traveling up and down the extremely well dressed blond man, "Experience doesn't have to do anything with wrinkles and grays," Louis then remembered Corinne was still there, he walked away from Tiago and stood by Corinne's side. "We must be leaving." She didn't know what was going on, so keeping quiet at the moment seemed right. Louis's free hand wrapped her wrist and began to pull her as he walked. "Come, Corinne."

Tiago paced to them, his gloved hand taking mildly Louis's shoulder and stopping him. "You know, Louis, it's rude to treat a lady in such way," The King's frown grew darker and harder, his brow nearly covering his eyes and his lips now a neat pale line beneath his nose. "My apologies, Madame D'Artagnan." He addressed Corinne with a calm and composed voice, "Louis hasn't learned how to behave properly." The Spanish man ventured to stir more anger from the other man by taking Corinne's free hand and slowly kissing it as well. Louis clung to her other hand as if it were a lifeline to him, suddenly squeezing it harder than ever before. "It was a privilege and a delight meeting with you today."

Corinne felt as if she were trapped between a sword and a wall, not being able to even answer to control her expression. She was abruptly pulled again, and her face felt numb. Was she embarrassed? Discomforted? Disturbed? Or maybe… nah, it couldn't be, she was never nervous. She couldn't be, at least not about this.

"Nice seeing you too, Tiago." Spat the man crushing her hand in his as he stormed off.

Then again, as she looked up and saw Louis's face, she knew she wasn't the only one who had been nervy.

It had been a 'normal' day for the girls, as normal as any other they had spent waiting for something abnormal to happen. Renée would only call a day irregular when someone involving Philippe happened. But what happened today was also interesting.

She just wished it was Aramina who received the love note from one of the guards, so she would stop gushing over how dreamy it would be and Viveca would be the one stuck with her.

Having Aramina on cloud nine didn't help when it came to be aware of when was Monsieur Treville coming. Viveca and her admirer had agreed to meet by the garden – just to talk and know each other. But trying to prevent any kind of problem, the girls had left a rope hanging from one of the library's window in case of the sudden arrival of their boss.

So, when the door opened, the pair of girls gasped and hurried to try to hide the line on the window. Their chests relaxed when they saw a brunette enter the room, they didn't know who it was but at least it wasn't the old man.

Rapidly noticing the pair by the window, Anne of Austria walked towards them.

Her usual welcoming grin upon her face, "Hello…" She greeted them, waving her hand. "You must be the musketeers everyone's been talking about."

Renée raised an eyebrow, they didn't know her but how did she knew them? "Uh, yes." She bluntly replied, "And you are…"

"Oh!" The girl exclaimed, walking closer and grabbing the sides of her yellow dress to make a small curtsy. "My name is Anne of Austria." Both Renée and Aramina gasped, "But you can call me Anne."

"Oh dear, Your Highness!" A look of sincere repent was on Renée's dark face as she realized how rude she had been to the royal. "My most honest apologies, I didn't recognized you."

Anne shook her head, "Not to worry, I don't always enjoy formalities." And as she took a seat near the girls, she fixed her dress and continued speaking with the nearly red-faced girls. "Besides, I should be the one paying my respects to you girls. Being the first women to be official French Royal Guards is an outstanding accomplishment."

"Thank you!" Aramina chirped. The brown haired girl nodded, pointing at the couch the girls had been sitting on. "Please, take a seat."

As Aramina and Renée looked at each other and obeyed the Princess's request, she asked, "What are your names?"

The redheaded one said, "I'm Aramina."

Then her friend followed, "And I'm Renée"

Anne grinned and drew her hands together, "Ah! Such beautiful and colorful names! Mine's so plain compared to those! Mother had horrible taste." The pair of musketeers nervously smiled, confused and trying to figure out whether it was polite to smile at Anne's own insult. The brown headed woman sat more comfortably in her chair, "So, I heard you girls are here because Louis's cousin escaped."

Renée nodded, "Yes, he's on the loose."

With a bit too dramatic tone, Aramina added. "He and his goons kidnapped two musketeers after they escaped. And knowing Philippe, he'll probably come back here for revenge!"

Anne placed her thin, delicate pale hands of her jaw, "Oh, dear!" Then on her chest, "Thank God you are here to protect the King!" She smiled at the girls, her brown eyes wandering around the room. One of her brown eyebrows rising, "But I was told there were four of you, there's one with Louis, so there's another one missing."

The girls' jaws went slack, their hands nervously playing with their skirts. "Uh, yeah…" Renée admitted.

"She's not really missing, you see -" Aramina added, but the dark skinned girl interrupted.

"She's taking a break."

"Oh, I see." Anne, with a confused look still on her face, asked, "Do you take turns to watch the castle then?"

Renée slowly shrugged, smiling sheepishly, trying to buy some time as she figured out an answer. "Well… sorta…" But failed.

Aramina, on the other hand, couldn't hold the precious and romantic secret. "She's in love!"

Renée's blood ran cold for some seconds as she hissed, "Aramina!" and then pinched her arm to keep her quiet. She looked at Anne with an apologetic and sheepish smile, "But Monsieur Treville wouldn't approve if he knew, so it's really just between us." Internally praying that the girl was honest enough to keep their dirty little secret.

Aramina cheeped with happiness, ignoring Renée's continuous nips on her arm. "They are together right now! He even sent her a love note!"

Anne's brown eyes sparkled; she brought her hands together and smiled at the musketeers. "Oh, that's so romantic!"

The red-haired musketeer gasped, "That's what I was going to say!"

Renée sighed, relaxing her body and making a mental note to pull Aramina's ears when Anne left. "But, please, you must keep it a secret, your highness."

"Oh don't worry," the heavily dressed girl answered, waving a hand, "I understand your friend."

Puzzlement overtook both musketeers as they looked at each other. "You do?"

"Yes…" Anne's face was a bit less bright this time; a hint of sadness began to stir in her expression. "I also have a… seemingly forbidden love."

Aramina walked closer to Anne, her eyebrows twisted with concern. "Really?"

"Aramina!" Renée hissed.

Anne looked at her, "It's okay," And then at the girl closer to her, "And yes I do. Right now… it seems impossible to be by his side…" She sighed, "But you must keep it a secret. It will be resolved in some time, anyway."

Aramina ventured and sat by her side, apprehension twisting her features. She had a hunch in her chest that was whispering the reasons of the other girl's sadness. "But what kind of man would regret your love, Anne? You're sweet and beautiful…"

Anne shrugged, "The problem's not the man; it's the actual circumstances…"

Aramina and Renée shared a look, both feeling guilty about knowing something Louis's bride-to-be didn't. "Well… I'm sure time can fix it, Anne. All you need is patience."

The girl stood up, smiling, "Oh, you girls are so nice. Thank you for your kind words. But I have to go downstairs or I'll be late for tea! Would you girls mind to join me?"

Renée shook her head, no longer holding in the remorseful expression on her face. "We'd love to but we can't."

"Oh, right, your friend, well, it was great meeting you girls, and I wish your friend the best of luck with her beloved!" The slim girl looked at the clock on the skillfully adorned wall once again, and waved her hand as she closed the door behind her.

"Thanks Anne!" both musketeers said in unison.

They look at each other, an innocent bride-to-be who has built up hopes and dreams believing Louis waited like her for the big day to come. "Poor Anne…" Aramina sadly said, "She knows Louis doesn't love her back."

Renée nodded, "And worse… she thinks that will change."

Author's Note:

Hello people! And Good Morning too! It's 5 am here. D:

I'm sorry if the last scene was a little bare on thoughts and detail, it's 5 am and I'm expecting the honeybun in a couple of hours, gotta get a shower and some sleep! But I wanted to update soooooo bad!

Anyway, sorry if you saw any grammatical horrors, you know the drill all too well if you read my stories.

So… what else can I say, I was also planning the following chapters for this story – so it won't take a year again for me to update – and it's complicated, it really is.

So I wanna thank everyone who sent me PMs and insisted on me to update this. Also the ones who reviewed! Oh, and to 'Guest' You'll see more of Julian for sure in the next chapters, he's a big part of the story. Remember what happened with Renée in the previous one, that's a hint ;)

You all rock! I love you guys and leave a review so I can know what you think about the latest addition to the story. :)

Till next time!