The Darkest Night Will End

General Lamarque's Home, Paris, April 11th, 1832

General Lamarque's Home, Paris, April 11th, 1832

"Now, where have you been hiding out for all these years?"

Jacquelyn sighed, "I do suppose a great deal has happened since we last saw each other."

"Well I can see that!" The General quipped.

"What I mean to say, Monsieur, is that it is a very long story. I don't remember many parts of it, It would probably take me, a hundred and fifty seven pages, just to write it all." They chuckled.

"Well, I've got time if you do."

With a sigh, Jacquelyn began to speak, "Well, just after we returned from visiting Normandy, my father purchased a farm, in the south. Mother was insistent that William and I continued on our lessons, and keep learning how to be 'of society"

Life on a farm was supposed to be challenging, that's what William had always said, but to Jacquelyn, it always seemed to be an adventure. It was more of a villa with a barn, and stables, than a real farm, but a farm it was called all the same. Jacquelyn could not recall many details about the living, other than that they had had their run of the place, and that they and William were always laughing, always playing, always exploring.

Their Father, a caring, compassionate man, had always let them have it that way, letting Jacquelyn dress in Williams old clothes, no matter how much their mother disapproved.

It had been a warm fall, when the villa burned. William and Jacquelyn, 16 and 10 respectively, had been turned out of doors after causing too much trouble inside, and had ended up hiding away in the secret fort they had made, tucked away in the clearing that sat on one side of the forest.

Jacquelyn could remember smelling smoke, but William had dismissed it, at least until they saw a wave of it drifting through the sky. Both siblings knew where it was coming from, upon seeing the light, casting awkwardly through the half bare trees.

In an instant they had both gone flying down the path, William pulling ahead as he shouted for their father. Jacquelyn had tripped, and by the time they had recovered and gotten out of the woods, William was staring desperately at the villa.

The world had been on fire that day, Jacquelyn recalled, as William hoarsely yelled for them to start drawing water from the well. In all their efforts to put it out, the fire raged, and Jacquelyn pretended not to hear any screams that erupted from the house. The children spent the night in the chairs they had long before dragged out to the clearing.

When the fire had at last burned itself out, William searched the ashes for anything that could be saved. Jacquelyn had followed, only for William to shove them out of the remains of the house upon reaching the parlor, warning her not to look in there.

It was only later, after he had shakily returned with tarnished silver, four napoleons and every other bit of metal that might be worth something, that Jacquelyn had put two and two together, and began to cry for their parents and for their baby sister.

They'd walked to the village with what was left of the day, peddling the things that William had saved from the fire. Not Long after that they had begun to make their way to Paris.  From there they had found jobs, rented an apartment once they could afford it, and tried to make the best out of their situation.

A few months later, they had met Grantaire, and after becoming friends the next few years they had danced around each other, hiding their feelings, and becoming friends with Adrien after running into him outside the washing house.

Jacquelyn had been 15 when they'd come home to find Grantaire shakily asking William for permission to court them, grinning as he had frowned, pretending to think before asking them, 'jackie what do you think?' and Grantaire had whirled around, blushing and stuttering out an explanation.

After that they'd spent every moment they could spare together, and even though life was hard, they were happy. At least, until Jacquelyn began to work for Montparnasse. After that free time became sparse, and to both Jacquelyn and Grantaire it seemed that the weight of survival in the sorry world they lived in had come back to rest upon their shoulders.

After the arrest, they hadn't the chance to see anyone as they'd been dragged before a court, barely managing to get a reduced sentence, on the plea that they were only a young girl. Even after that, they never saw William again, only able to send him a note, explaining everything, and when to expect her back. Of course, he'd never get the chance to meet them when they returned.

Life in the Prison had been terrible, filled with endless work and sleepless nights, forced to stay awake by necessity, driven by the fear that one of the men, a prisoner or otherwise, would find his way into their cell. The only thing that had kept them going was the thought of seeing Grantaire again, and being able to patch things up.

"Whatever I did manage to repair with him is gone now," They admitted quietly, "He blew up when Enjolras announced our Courtship."

General Lamarque frowned, "You are courting that Enjolras boy?"

Jacquelyn flushed, "Yes, we began courting in February."

"But I thought you still held a torch for Grantaire?"

"Oh-! I do Monsieur I do, but I also love Enjolras." They explained.

Lamarque looked at her for a moment before blinking and reaching forward to grab his tea with a shrug, "It's not my place to pretend to understand you Young People."

They chuckled into their own tea cup, "I don't blame you Monsieur."