Mon Étoile

Chapter Twelve

Shoutout to both WifeOfEnjolras  and letothersriseseries  for their overwhelming support with this story and others. So appreciative of you both!

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I woke to a pair of strong arms wrapped securely around my waist. I smiled, the familiar feel of my fiancé's arms a comfort to me. Rolling over, I lay against his chest, making sure to avoid the bruised parts as best as I could. With a small groan, he began to stir, pulling me closer to him as he said, "What time is it?"

"Around six," I replied.

"Always so early, mon chéri," he chuckled. Smiling, I kissed him quickly and got up. After breakfast, Hercule and I faced Léo to hear what he had to tell us.

"I have found a way to get you both out of France, but it will take longer than we thought," he admitted. "It may be a month before I can manage it."

"Can we risk waiting that long?" I asked. "Shouldn't we escape the palace at least?"

"Then I should have no way of getting to you," Léo pointed out. "Think of it. Mere days after both of your escapes my sudden frequent disappearances out of the palace would be more than adequate evidence to have me under serious suspicion. Even my hiding in my room all the time is suspicious."

"Léo is right, mon chéri," Hercule admitted. "Until we can think of something better, we simply need to remain where we are."

Sitting down, Léo said, "In the meantime, how about getting on with that story of yours."

"Very well," I agreed, sitting down with a sigh.

Two Months Before

"What's wrong, mon amour?" I asked, grabbing my things to head out to our rally outside General Lamarque's house.

"Nothing," he said offhandedly, trying, and failing, to button his cuffs.

"Hercule," I scolded, placing my hand on top of his.

He sighed, but admitted, "This is all beginning to unravel. I'm worried."

"It's just a rally," I countered.

"And what if it isn't?" he countered. "How do you know that it won't turn deadly. We have been fortunate enough to only have one serious issue at a rally before. With the tension growing ever greater it only gives more cause for me to believe that someone is going to end up wounded."

Beginning to button his cuffs for him, I sighed, "We are all worried, Hercule. They don't want you to see it because you are their leader, but I see the frightened glances they cast around the room as you talk. But believe me...they will fight to their very last breath."

With a small chuckle, I said, "Now, shall we go and change the world, mon amour?"

"Only if you are right there beside me, mon chéri," he replied. I smiled as he kissed my forehead and soon we were meeting up with our group on the street.

"Remember the plan," Hercule called, glancing back at the others.

Once we reached the platform in front of Lamarque's house, I said, "I shall keep an eye out for Javert. Be careful."

"Of course," Hercule replied. "And remember to stay out of sight."

"Always," I replied, giving him a quick hug. His lips pressed against my cheek quickly before I ran away. In a matter of minutes, I had scaled one of the higher buildings and was looking around for a flash of black uniform, but I was close enough to hear what was being said.

"When's it gonna end?" Courfeyrac shouted.

"When we gonna live?" another voice called.

"Where are the leaders of the land?" Hercule shouted passionately, looking over the crowd. "Where is the king who runs this show?"

"Only one man, General Lamarque," Marius cried, "Speaks for the people here below." My brow furrowed as I saw Courfeyrac whisper something to Enjolras.

Turning to the crowd and standing, he called, "Lamarque is ill and fading fast. Won't last the week out, so they say."

"With all the anger in the land," Marius picked up. "How long before the judgment day?"

"Before we cut the fat ones down to size?" Hercule added.

"Before the barricades arise?" Marius finished.

After a moment, I spotted Javert and some of his men. Instantly, I scurried down the building, shouting, "It's Javert! Run!" The crowd instantly dispersed and I ran to find Hercule. Before I had, he had found me and we were rushing down the street.

"So, where to now?" I asked.

"Musain," he replied. "We have a meeting tonight."

"Ah," I replied. After working for a time, the others showed up and we began the meeting.

"The time is near!" Hercule cried as we, me and the boys, sat in the cafe for a meeting. "So near, it's stirring the blood in their veins."

"And yet beware," Hercule resumed. Moving forward, I snatched a gun from a man that seemed rather drunk. "Don't let the wine go to your brains."

"We need a sign, to rally the people, to call them to arms, to bring them in line," I called authoritatively.

Hercule turned to the plans I had been looking over as voices drifted over to us. "Marius, wake up. What's wrong with you today? You look as if you've seen a ghost."

"Some wine and say what's going on,"  Grantaire said, pouring him a cup as I rolled my eyes.

"No, we need to store the ammunition here," I muttered, marking the spot with my pen.

Hercule nodded, making a few adjustments as Marius gushed, "A ghost, you say, a ghost may be. She was just like a ghost to me. One minute there then she was gone." Hercule looked up with an irritated expression.

"What is he talking about?" he muttered irritably.

"Boy fancies himself in love," I murmured. Don't get me wrong. Love is a grand endeavor, dare I say it even gives life meaning, but to place all the weight of your life on one interaction? Not so.

"I am agog, I am aghast," Grantaire teased. "Is Marius in love at last?" With a teasing smile, he added, "I have never heard him ooo and ahh." Standing, he gestured to Hercule and I as he added, "You talk of battles to be won, and here he comes like Don Juan. It is better than an opera."

Hercule sat at their table as I stood behind him and said, "It is time for us all to decide who we are."

"Do we fight for the right to a night at the opera now?" he scoffed. "Have you asked of yourselves, what's the price you might pay?" My grip on the back of his chair tightened.

Cutting in, I said, "Is it simply a game for a rich, young Bonaparte? The colors of the world are changing day by day." Marius glared at me.

"Red," Hercule said.

"The blood of angry men," I filled in.

"Black," he resumed.

"The dark of ages past," I said.

"Red."

"The world about to dawn."

"Black."

"The night that ends at last," I finished.