LES DÉSCENDANTS

Chapter 20: Merci, Enjolras

But this was not to be, for as soon as I emerged into the street, I was immediately pulled back into the shadows of the Corinthe's entryway.

"Have you gone quite mad, Elena?"

"It's you, Enjolras...future Enjolras," I grinned, then remembered what I was supposed to be doing. "We finally have a chance to save Éponine, what are you doing-?"

"And be seen by your past self?"

I froze. Had I emerged fully from the Corinthe's entryway, I would have been spotted, questioned...and worst of all, I would have broken one of the most important rules - don't be seen by your past self. "So what do we do, just let 'Ponine die?"

"She is not even there, if you are worried about the girl Éponine. I watched as one of those vermin from the Patron Minette led her away; it looked as if they were arguing, but she appeared to have left safely."

Leave it to Montparnasse.

"Then we need to get Gavroche out of there -"

"Your past self should take care of that. You have a small window of opportunity to talk to my past self, and you need to take it." Enjolras pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, where he had drawn out a route so we wouldn't be seen. "Right now, your past self is here, where Joly will find you and treat your gunshot wound. You need to go the other way, here, and prepare to meet me when I take my walk to check on the other barricades. You will have approximately one and a half minutes of alone time with my past self before your past self catches up."

"There's no way that's enough time to go over the speech..."

"It will have to be enough. Elena, if you fail...we could die."

"No pressure," I muttered, and he pulled me close to him in a hug as the bullets rained down outside, during the first attack. "We have to go now, Enjolras. The second this battle is over, they'll be back in the building..."

He nodded. "I will follow you as far as I am able. But you are going to have to do the last part alone."

"I understand, Enjolras. Now let's get out of here..."

As we snuck out of the back of the Corinthe, I felt a pair of eyes on me. I looked back, my eyes meeting a raptor gaze as Javert watched us leave from where he was sitting tied up in the main room. Another student stood watching him, his back to us...it was not an ABC member, but an ally Enjolras must have recruited, perhaps from the Courgourde. I placed a finger to my lips in a shh position, and then turned and ran.

The back alleys of Paris were dark, narrow, and maze-like in fashion. I gripped my half of the artifact and wished for us not to be seen by the Guardsmen. Its innocent glowing was the only confirmation I had that we would be safe. I caught a glimpse of Jean Valjean slipping into a dead National Guardsmen's outfit, and as I turned to stare, Enjolras gently yanked me by the arm, and we were off again. Sprinting past zones of active fire, bullets ricocheting through the air from active barricades, we stayed in the shadows and silently grieved what we could not fix.

Enjolras continued to check his pocket watch as I used the map to guide us toward the meet-up point. Cannonfire echoed around us.

At exactly 8:27 PM, Enjolras hurriedly pulled me aside, covering my ears with his hands and kissing me deeply. This kiss was different - it was full of desperation, melancholy...

At the time, I brushed it aside, with a chiding of "Aurélien!" and a light shove, before I held his hand and we continued on our journey.

Years later, I realized he was covering my ears to drown out the gunshot which killed Jean Prouvaire.