Mon Étoile

Chapter Five

Six Years Ago
When the meeting was over, Hercule and I stayed behind. He stood over the table, organizing and putting away papers as I sat in silence, staring at him as I tried to piece together this mystery of a man before me. Without looking up, he said, "Yes? Was there something you wanted to ask?"

I remained silent for a long time, but finally, I said, "Monsieur-"

"Hercule," he corrected.

"Hercule," I said with just a kind of sass, "when I met you for the first time you didn't understand anything. Yet now you're planning a revolution. Why?"

"You," he said. "Or rather, meeting you. The way you acted was so...peculiar to me. I wanted to figure out the reason. I moved into a flat in the heart of the city and just watched, listened. Eventually, I came to understand why you and others act the way that you do. My opinion of the monarchy changed. I realized the truth and started this group."

"Oh," I said meekly.

After a pause, he asked, "Do you have any means of support, to get money?"

I shook my head, explaining, "Work is sparse as it is, Mons-" I broke off at a pointed look from Hercule. "Hercule. Even sparser for someone who can't read."

Present Day
"I thought you said you can read," Léo interrupted.

Rolling my eyes, I said, "Léo, that was six years ago. It takes less than six years to learn how to read." He huffed but gestured for me to go on.

Six Years Ago
"What if I taught you?" Hercule offered.

"Taught me what?" I asked, completely taken off guard.

"How to read, write, maybe some basic arithmetic," he explained. "Then maybe we can find you a job." I hesitated, unsure if I could accept such a grand gift. Finally, I nodded. Smiling slightly, he said, "Good, then meet me here at six tomorrow." Over the next year, Hercule taught me as much as he could, and once I was fluent enough, got me a job copying old documents so that the words would be preserved. Through that time, I began to poke out of my shell around Hercule. I remained quiet and reserved around the others, but around him, I began to relax.

Present Day

"Those are some of the happiest memories of my life," I admitted with a wistful smile, fiddling with the engagement ring around my finger. "Soon after I got a job, Hercule offered for me to move in to the spare room in his flat. He even gave me the only key to the room so I could lock it if I wished. He did everything to make sure I was safe."

"So that's when you fell in love with him," Léo said, snapping his fingers together.

Letting out a laugh, I countered, "No, that's when we began to be friends." After thinking a moment, I admitted, "Through that year, I grew so much in my knowledge, but I never really grew as a person until the next year."

Five Years Ago

"Why is a woman even in the group. She never talks," Combeferre remarked, sending me a look.

Without turning, I snapped, "Good question, Combeferre. Why did we let you in the group?" Many of the boys snorted in laughter and even Hercule had to turn to hide his amused smirk.

Present Day

"I began coming out of my shell around them too," I explained. "I started giving myself the liberty to be myself. Probably the most freeing thing I've ever done." Léo opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, someone pounded on the door. With a startled look, I dashed into the already open passageway, a safety measure we put in place exactly for situations like this. Léo shut the wall as quickly as he could and opened the door to his room.

In the darkness, I could not hear about what they spoke, but I could hear the tone. One cold and indifferent. One anxious and irritated. Then two pairs of footsteps left the room, followed by the closing of the door. I sat down on the floor, knowing I was stuck here for a while.

................................................................

Léo had to restrain himself from sprinting down the corridors as he headed towards the infirmary. Once inside, he easily made his way to one of the few occupied prisoner's beds. Once he had reached his brother, he hissed, "What were you thinking? You could have been killed!"

"Yeah, thanks," Hercule replied, wincing as he tried to sit up. The doctor had unbuttoned his shirt, revealing his now severely bruised abdomen, chest, wrists, and neck. In addition, a forming bruise dusted his jaw and right eye. "It's not my fault they came into my cell and attacked me."

"You were caught trying to escape," Léo huffed, crossing his arms over his chest in irritation.

"They accidentally left the lock unlocked," Enjolras defended.

"Look, I have a plan alright?" Léo said quietly, glancing around to ensure no one was listening. "But I can't follow through with my plan unless you stay in the cell you're already in. I made a promise."

"You, a promise," Hercule replied skeptically. "To who?"

"Nicolette," Léo admitted.

"Is she all right?"

"Going stir crazy, but she's okay," Léo assured.

After thinking a moment, Hercule asked, "Is there any way I can see her?" Léo opened his mouth to say most likely not, but checked himself, realizing that the infirmary, even when prisoners were using it, wasn't heavily guarded.

"Possibly," he said finally, still piecing together a plan in his mind.