Hours passed by and the musketeers finally arrived back in Paris; they headed straight for the Palace. Handing over their horses to the stable boys, the six of them entered the large and grand building; they hurried down many hallways until a maid informed them of where the missing musketeer, King and Queen were "they're in the King's quarters, Derek's with them also". Now, they were stood outside of the room; Aramis and Porthos were making Jock hand over all of his weapons "try anything at all and you'll have a bullet through your head" D'artagnan warned earning an eye roll "relax, I won't". Treville knocked on the door and waited a minute until they heard someone unlock it before it was hesitantly opened a crack to see Kayley, a gun in hand. "Thank god you guys are back!!" she exclaimed as she allowed them into the room "is he the guy??" Athos heard the teens whispered question and nodded "he's agreed to admit to everything, as well as give us letter's from Rochefort, as long as he doesn't get the blame for anything". Treville bowed to the King and explained everything "Rochefort?! But he....he wouldn't!!" Louis suddenly had a coughing fit, alarming room full of people "take it easy your majesty....I know you trust Rochefort, but...there is a large amount of evidence and proof against him" this was when Jock stepped in and began to admit to everything he knew. First, the Spaniard introduced himself, stating who he was to the Cardinal; he then began to read out the letters. Louis showed many emotions; sadness and anger, but mainly betrayal. "What else do you think he has done??" the King asked with pain; the queen turned her gaze down at the question, concerning her husband and the male musketeers. "Anne??" they were completely silent as the woman sighed "...earlier....when you were asleep and you five were away....Rochefort...he attacked me" before they could yell or storm out to kill the Cardinal, she continued "but Kayley saved me and get me away before I could get hurt....but..." the woman paused as she turned towards the eighteen year old; Kayley had her arms wrapped around her small frame, heard down but gave a slight, noticeable nod, indicating that the woman could continue. Everyone else saw this and it made their worried metres go up to 100 "Rochefort....he em...he tried to...to force himself onto her" all eyes widened in horror and disgust "he...he tried to rape you?!" Louis asked as he faced the eighteen year old; they all did. Kayley didn't move, keeping her head down as she didn't want to see all of the pity and sympathy filled stares "...was he...did he..." just like the Anne, Treville was unable to ask if Rochefort was successful in his horrific and messed up attempt but the girl knew what he was trying to ask "no....Derek tackled him off of me before he could do anything....too bad". D'artagnan embraced his little sister, followed by her other three brothers "I'm sorry we weren't here to protect you Kayley" Athos whispered; the eighteen year old shook her head "I'm a musketeer Athos...I can't rely on you guys all the time....besides, Derek had my back this time". Aramis sent the girl a smirk when he witness the smile she and the Prince shared; it was as if he knew something had happened between them!! "Rochefort needs to be -" Louis was cut off by another coughing fit for a minute "....he needs to be stopped!!" he managed to gasp out. The Queen turned to the Captain "go get the royal doctor, he's getting worse" nodding and bowing, Treville left after turning to the musketeers "take. Rochefort. Down". As they began to leave the room, Kayley reminded the Queen and Prince to lock the door and to only open it for them or Treville; Anne agreed of course whilst Derek tried to follow them, the teen girl stopped him "no". She blocked him from the door as she was the last musketeer in the room "you stay here" she ordered; the man tried to protect, but the musketeer shook her head "no, I'm serious this time Derek, you're staying here". The Prince tried to use his amazingly beautiful eyes to his advantage; Kayley had to fight herself so hard to not give in. "Please Derek...I need you to stay here to protect Anne, just in case" she decided to not demand but gently suggest "...uhh!! Fine". Kayley smirked but was soon blushing when Derek leant down next to her ear "no fair, you have your cute and hot looks that makes me weak to the core". The eighteen year old quickly turned around and left the room in a hurry; the other musketeers were waiting for her, all smirking "not. A. Word".

As they made their way through the Palace, Athos spoke up "are you sure you're okay??" he asked, looking towards the teen; they were all worried. "I'm fine...did it bring back some old memories of LaBarge?? Of course" she admitted "but we have a job to do that is much more important so we need to focus on taking Rochefort down, whether it's locking him up or putting a bullet through his head" the male musketeers agreed "...okay, but we'll talk about it later, okay??" Aramis stated earning a very slow and hesitant nod "okay, now let's get to work".  After the talk, the group found themselves outside of the Cardinal's office; forget about knocking and being polite, Porthos kicked the door and they barged in. Inside the room, Rochefort was.....not there?? "Where could he be??" D'artagnan wondered as they searched the room "hmm...what about his own quarters??" Jock suggested; Aramis spoke up "should we split up?? Cover more ground??". They thought for a moment before Kayley shook her head "no...no splitting up, we stay together this time" the others agreed before leaving the office and making their way down the hall before Porthos repeated his previous action. Jock's suggestion was correct as they saw Rochefort stood at his window, staring out "you took longer then I thought musketeers, you're losing your edge" he turned around and they could all see the fury, anger and hatred in his eyes "you!!". He had clearly seen Jock. "Give it up Rochefort, the King knows all you've done" he admitted "he has all of the letters and I have told him everything, there's no getting out of this". Rochefort just spat out "traitor!!" and tried to attack him but was stopped by Athos and Porthos pushing him away "you're the traitor Rochefort!! You betrayed your King!!" Kayley exclaimed; the Cardinal just glared at her "he!! Is not my King!!". All of a sudden, the man drew his sword; D'artagnan did the same before blocking his attacks. Rochefort was a good fighter, but he was also....sloppy?? Yes, sloppy. D'artagnan had easily managed to disarm the Cardinal "this is just embarrassing now Rochefort" Jock stated as he rubbed his forehead; Aramis, Porthos and Jock were leant against the wall, nearly sat down whilst Athos and Kayley were stood up, arms folded over their chests. Had Rochefort been drinking?? Was he ill?? He was better at fighting the first time Athos, Porthos and Aramis met him in Spain all of those years ago. All of a sudden, Rochefort pulled out a gun; D'artagnan was thankfully close enough to hit the weapon out of his hand and stab him. All eyes widened as the group watched Rochefort stumble around until he approached the teenager. As if on instinct, Athos pulled the girl towards him, keeping an arm around her as she wouldn't go behind him; he wanted to shield her from the disgusting man. Rochefort just stood there, staring at Kayley before deciding to turn around and stumble out of the room; the others followed as they watched the poor excuse of a man. Sighing, they watched as the Cardinal ripped the sword from his body and attempt to use it to fight. D'artagnan stepped back as Porthos stepped forward with his own drawn weapon; he easily unarmed the man and stabbed his own sword where D'artagnan's was moments ago. Rochefort didn't want to give up, that was for sure. Finally, he began to fall to his knees, struggling to breath as the others guessed Porthos's blow must have impaled his lungs "Rochefort" Kayley spoke as the man was sprawled out over the floor, coughing and trying his best to breath; the young woman only spoke once he was looking at her. "...Burn in hell" she spat with no other emotion other then anger and hatred. They silently agreed as the man's head dropped down, his whole body becoming limb as he gasped out his last breath. That was it. Rochefort was gone. For good!! Aramis, being the holy man he was, bent down and attempted to close Rochefort's eyes "no Aramis" Kayley stopped him by her voice; all eyes turned to her "not for him...he's done too much" agreeing, the musketeer left he body by. "We need to inform the King and Queen" Athos stated earning nods "I never thought Rochefort would try to kill the King, I knew he could but...I didn't think he would try" Jock said as he rubbed his forehead, staring down at the fallen man "...I don't think he just wanted to be King" Kayley stated, confusing the group. D'artagnan questioned her about her theory "I think....I think he just wanted Anne" all of them raised a brow "I think he was in love with her, ever since they were friends at a young age, Anne said he was hurt and upset when she had to leave Spain due to marrying the King" she paused for a moment "....he couldn't have her because she was married to Louis, who just happened to be the King of France". It was a smart and well thought theory...one that might just be the answer.

Leaving the room, Aramis and Porthos left to go find some guards to collect the body, hen to find some maids to clean up the bloody scene; Athos and D'artagnan did the same, but left to escort Jock back to his horse and out of Paris. They would warn him to never return to Paris again. Ever. So of course, they left it to the female musketeer to inform the King and Queen of their success; she wondered why they always did that?? She recalled Aramis saying she had a good way of explaining the situations they were in, as well as their action; it came in handy when they had to do something against Treville's wishes or orders. Knocking on the door, the eighteen year old waited until it was opened a crack before it was fully opened by smiling Derek; the kind gesture was returned as she entered the room. Looking over at the bed, Kayley saw that the King was sat up once again, being looked over by the doctor with Anne by his side; Treville was sat in the corner, hand on the hilt of his sword until her saw who was at the door. The Captain and musketeer nodded at one another; it was their way of saying the job was done, as well as it being successful. "Take a spoon full of this medicine once every three hours and drink lots of fluids your majesty, preferably water" the doctor instructed as he packed away his things "you should be back on your feet within a couple of weeks". They all thanked the man before he left the room, bag in hand; Kayley closed the door behind him before stepping forth. "Kayley!! Thank goodness...where are the other musketeers??" Anne asked, a hint of worry lingering in her voice; the younger woman smiled "they are fine" she reassured before explain where each of them were. "And...what of Rochefort??" Louis asked, partly coughing it out "...he is no more your majesty, I can assure you of that....the scene in his office that the maids are attending to will agree" they all sighed of relief, happy that the disgusting and barbaric man was no longer with them "good....I do not care what they do with him, as long as there is no grieving...he deserves nothing of the sort" he King stated. It was more then clear the man felt completely betrayed and hurt; he trusted Rochefort completely....yet the man had tried to kill him more then once!! "Of course your majesty, I'm sure we can have someone bury him in the middle of the night" Kayley reassured earning a nod "...yes...yes, have someone do that" Louis approved before entering another coughing fit "rest my love, the threat has passed...you are safe" Anne soothed earning a nod as the man lay back down. Treville, Kayley and Derek left the room, giving the two space, as well as piece and quiet. "I must return to the Garrison, I've been gone too long" Treville stated earning a nod "of course" Kayley glanced over to the other man who was staring at her "...I will see you later, I em...have something I need to clear up". The Captain nodded, a hint of a smirk tracing his lips "okay, take as long as you need" there was a noticeable smile on Derek's face from that sentence as the teenager nodded. The man turned around and left, leaving to the two alone "...should we go somewhere more private??" Kayley asked earning a nod "definitely, these walls have ears" they both chuckled at that before rushing off, hurrying through the Palace until they reached the mans room.

Derek closed and locked the door so that they would not be interrupted; the discussion they were about to have was one of incredible importance. "...Derek look....we can't be together" his smile dropped "why??". Kayley couldn't hold back the sigh as she rubbed the back of her neck "you're a Prince!! A member of the French royal family...and I'm just a musketeer" the man tried to protest "we're too different!! It...it would never work". Derek took a step closer to the woman "I know we haven't known one another for more then a couple of days....and I know you will think I am either lying or delusional" the musketeer couldn't help but become confused as the man took her hands in his own "but....I know one thing is for sure and that is my feeling for you". The eighteen year old sighed as she lowered her head "you....you're just confused -" the man shook his head "no, I am not" he stated sternly as he gently lifted her head up so that he could look her in the eye "I love you Kayley". Her breath was caught in here throat "you are an amazing young woman, brave, selfless, strong minded as well as strong willed" he began to list off things from his mental list "not to mention, the fact that you're the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on" now if Kayley's cheeks weren't a shade of pink before, they were now!! "Please Kayley...you're everything I want" he spoke softly as he held her hands "and I know you feel the same...to an extent at least" she couldn't deny that he was right "I...I am damaged Derek!! In a way that cannot be repaired!! You won't want me!!" she exclaimed, stepping back as she withdrew her hands from his grasp; she could feel the tears forming and didn't want the man in front of her to see them fall. To her dismay, Derek indeed saw this and gently grabbed her hand, pulling her back and against his chest as he embraced her "what LaBarge did to you done not change my feelings for you, but only deepens them" he stated "the fact that you went through that and came out on time just proves that you are stronger and better then most". Kayley never thought about it like that, but she still wasn't sure "and yes, you can't get back what he took, but I don't care...I just care about you" she caressed the woman's cheek. "please...give me a chance" he begged softly "give us a chance". Kayley tried her best to fight against her feelings, against her heart, but it was too hard; it was probably the most difficult thing she's ever had to do. And she's commanded an army for god sake!! Derek began to lean down and captured her lips with his own; he felt the musketeer return the kiss, making a wave of relief and happiness wash over him. The kiss was slow and gentle, like their first from a few hours ago, but it soon changed as it seemed that the both of them had wanted to do that for so long. The moment deepened, the kiss becoming more passionate, rough and hungry. Derek pinned the eighteen year old up against the wall as he trailed down her neck, leaving a small dark mark which made Kayley giggle "easy, my uniform doesn't cover my neck" she stated; th Prince chuckled "and why would I want you to cover your neck??". They continued until Derek spoke once again "so...this is a yes?? You'll be mine??" he asked. Kayley paused for a moment so that she could gain her breath "....yes" she grinned "yes, yes, yes!!" the woman exclaimed as Derek picked her up and spun her around, making her laugh as he exclaimed with joy. They lips clashed once again as Kayley felt her feet return to the floor they parted for a brief time, resting their foreheads together "I am yours" Kayley muttered as they smiled "and I am yours".  They returned to kissing.