Mon Étoile

Chapter Eighteen

We stood silently, hoping they didn't hear us. The next moment, we heard shots go off and the three men collapsed. "Go in here, hide," Hercule whispered, pushing me into one of the rooms. "I love you!" He disappeared. My heart pounding, I waited until I heard the steps of the soldiers before following after them.

Present Day

"So, together?" I said, turning to look at where Hercule was facing the ship before us. He nodded, smiling a bright, happy smile. It lit his features with an almost god-like beauty. His eyes sparkled like diamonds and his smile was so...unnaturally happy. The happiness seemed to have filled every part of him. The baggage he had carried with him his entire life was gone. 

Final Moments of the Barricade 

Following the soldiers, I just saw Hercule dash into a room before I called, "Hey muttonheads!" Every soldier turned to face me. I ran and each one followed me until I came to a large upstairs room. Dozens of guns faced me and I smiled bitterly, just glad that Hercule would survive. 

Next moment, there was the most beautiful sound to me in the world. From each weapon, a resounding bang echoed through the room. I closed my eyes, a blissful smile on my lips. 

At last it was over. 

I was dying so he might live. 

He could live on. 

My pain was over. 

I could almost hear my sister's voice. 

I could hear my father. 

My mother laughed, a sound like a trickling stream. 

"NO!" a loud voice cried and my eyes darted open. A flash of red moved towards me and I was shoved to the side. 

Present Day

Moving my hand to his neck, I pressed my lips to Hercule's. He kissed me back, but-

Final Moments of the Barricade 

"NOOOO!" I screamed, the sound becoming a sob as I saw the crumpled form of Hercule on the ground. Approaching him, I cupped his cheeks, trying to hold back my tears. 

"Nico," he whispered, slowly moving his hand to touch mine. 

"No! NO! You're not dying!" I screamed. "You're not- I'm not losing you!" 

"Nico," he whispered. The light was beginning to fade from his eyes. 

"So this is it, mon amour," I cried, trying to hold back my tears. 

"This is it, mon chéri," he agreed, looking regretfully into my eyes. 

"If I had to die, I'm glad it's like this," he admitted, his body beginning to convulse just slightly. 

"No," I whispered, blinking to try and clear my vision. 

"I love you, mon chéri," he whispered before the light faded from his eyes completely. That moment, a cry louder and more terrible than any sound those soldiers had ever heard left my lips as I hysterically screamed and cried with my head on his chest. 

They moved forward, grabbing me by the arms, and my sobs and screams mixed with shrieking laughter. 

True Present Day

"So you say she has completely lost her mind?" I asked, glancing at my father. 

"Yes, Sir Léo," the guard replied. "She mutters to herself. Some wild fantasy of her former lover being alive." 

"And who is her former lover?" Father asked. 

"That is, in fact, why I came to you both," the guard replied. "Before his death, she was engaged to Sir Hercule Enjolras. According to my sources, they were together for four years." 

"So upon his death, she lost her mind?" Father supposed. "Meaning she cannot stand trial." 

"I thought that perhaps you should prefer to handle the matter yourselves, considering the connection," the guard explained. 

"I can speak to her, Father, and see if she is truly insane," I suggest. 

"Very well," Father replied. I left the room and headed down to the dungeons. 

"This one here," the guard said, pointing to one of the cells at the far end. "She was disturbing the other prisoners too much so we completely isolated her."

"And her name?" 

"Nicolette."  I nodded and followed along to the end. 

Inside the cell was a woman. She was dressed completely in the rags of a red dress. She was curled up in a ball, rocking back and forth and muttering lowly to herself. Every few moments, her head would twitch to one side or another. 

Stopping by the bars, I said, "Can you tell me your name?" Her behavior shifted slightly and she began to laugh. It was chilling and sent shivers up my spine.  

"You don't need to know my name," she said. "For you already asked it." Her voice was light and seemed to almost come from every direction at once. It was both pleasant and chilling at the same time and seemed to almost have a faint echo. When she looked up at me, I saw that her hair was ragged and hung around her waist. Standing, she said, "I know you." She didn't seem to blink. 

"Oh?" I replied, trying to hide that she unnerved me. 

"I met you once," she said in the same, oddly almost angelic and echoey voice. "You came to see me because Hercule wanted to know if I was alright. You wanted to know the story of the revolution." 

"Why would I care about the revolution," I retorted. 

"Because you wanted to understand." She stepped closer to the bars and before I could think about it, I took a step back away from her. "You wanted to understand why Hercule would do all he did." 

"Hercule is dead," I retorted irritably. This woman unnerved me more than anyone had ever managed before and it frightened me. 

"No, he's not," she laughed. It had the same echoey, angelic quality. 

"Yes, he is!" I yelled. She just laughed. The sound echoed in my mind, getting into my head and infecting every part of it. It wouldn't stop. The sound rang in my ears until it was suddenly gone again. Without another word, I left. Two days later, I watched as the woman was forced to lay her head in the guillotine. 

Her angelic, echoey laugh was the last sound I heard.