Mon Étoile

Chapter Fourteen

Drums beat in the procession as we stood, waiting for it to pass before Hercule began to sing quietly, "Do you hear the people sing? Singing the song of angry men. It is the music of the people who will not be slaves again." Everyone began to join in and it grew louder as we continued. "When the beating of your heart, echoes the beating of the drums, there is a life about to start when tomorrow comes.

"Will you join in our crusade? Who will be strong and stand with me? Beyond the barricade is there a world you long to see?" Hercule quickly kissed my forehead before rushing out into the procession with a red flag, still singing, "Then join in the fight that will give you the right to be free. Do you hear the people sing? Singing the song of angry men. It is the music of the people who will not be slaves again."

I reached into my pocket and checked for the pistol that was hiding there. My fingers having brushed over the handle, I rushed in with the others and sang with them, "When the beating of your heart, echoes the beating of the drum, there is a life about to start when tomorrow comes." Looking up, I spotted Hercule and Marius on top of a vehicle, and, grinning, I ran up to it, trailing just behind it.

"Will you give all you can give so that our banner may advance?" we called. "Some will call and some will live, will you stand up and take your chance? The blood of the martyrs will water the meadows of France. Do you hear the people sing? Singing the song of angry men. It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again. When the beating of your heart, echoes the beating of the drums, there is a life about to start when tomorrow comes!"

"Halt!" cried a commander, facing the crowd. I spotted Hercule and Marius raising their weapons. "Draw!" My eyes scanned them before landing on a shaky soldier who didn't seem to know what he was doing. I saw it just before it happened. His finger slipped and he pulled the trigger. Instantly an elderly woman fell.

"She's an innocent woman!" a man shouted as I raised my own gun, eyes suddenly cold. With the bang of a gunshot, the man fell. The crowd parted like the Red Sea in front of me, revealing to everyone who had fired the shot. A soldier raised his weapon and aimed it at me, but I disappeared into the crowd.

"To the barricades!" I shouted, trying to be heard over the crowd as the commander ordered them to charge.

Hercule echoed, "To the barricades!" The horseback soldiers were running among the crowd now and we all sprinted off.

"Go!" I shouted, pushing him forward as he was faster than me. Reluctantly he agreed and I was left trailing behind. As I turned a corner, I heard the sound of a gunshot and flinched but otherwise ignored it and ran to find furniture falling from the sky.

"Watch out!" Hercule shouted, grabbing hold of my wrist and roughly pulling me out of the way of a large piano. He next handed me a musket and ran off again.

I was working to make the barricade  more secure when Enjolras shouted, "I need a volunteer - someone who can find out their plan and when they will attack."

"I can find out the truth!" a man replied. "I know their ways, fought their wars, served my time. In the days of my youth-"

"We don't need the full damn backstory, just go!" I shouted gruffly, pushing a chair into a spot in the barricade and shaking off the odd feeling that his voice was familiar.

Hercule climbed up the top with and I quickly joined as he called, "Red!"

"The blood of angry men!"

"Black!"

"The dark of ages past!"

"Red!"

"A world about to dawn!"

"Black!"

"The night that ends at last!" Turning, I saw Marius now beside me and rolled my eyes, and began to walk away.

"Nicolette!" Marius called. I rolled my eyes and kept walking. He caught up and stepped in front of me, blocking my path.

Finally, I rolled my eyes and said, "What do you want Marius?"

"An understanding...with you," he said. "We may die, in fact, we probably will. I should hate to end on bad terms with the wife of one of my dear friends."

"Hm," I replied, my irritation growing. "You have known me as long as Hercule and yet you still see only him as your friend. I suppose being friends with women is unfashionable." Rolling my eyes, I attempted to walk on.

"That is not what I meant at all," he countered.

"Right," I huffed.

Growing angry, he retorted, "It's not my fault we don't get along. I'm not the problem here!"

"Right," I sighed. "Clearly we're never going to agree so I'll see you around Marius." 

"Nicolette," Marius snapped, grabbing my wrist. My anger boiling over, I ripped my hand from his grip and punched him squarely across the face, resulting in him being knocked to the ground and a resounding snap to sound. I groaned, gripping my hand. 

Marius got up, glaring at me, and went off as Hercule remarked, "One hell of a right hook, mon chéri. Although might I request you don't go punching everyone." 

"He went too far," I defended, still clutching my hand and wrist. "I think I broke my wrist." With a sigh, Hercule took his loosely-tied cravat from his neck and wrapped my wrist tightly. 

"Be careful," he warned, tying it off. "We can't have you getting injured." 

"Seems too late for that," I remarked, raising my wrist in the air. He gave me a playful glare, causing me to shrug.