𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑷𝑹𝑶𝑷𝑯𝑬𝑪𝒀 || 𝐄𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐥𝐫𝐚𝐬

10. 𝑳𝒆 𝑷𝒍𝒖𝒔 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒖𝒙 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒆

Chapter 10.

✎ᝰ

June 7, 1832.

4:02 AM

SHE LAY NESTLED between Enjolras and Gavroche, she could feel their warmth radiating against her in the chill of the evening.

The barricade was far from safe, and as the night wore on, Elizabeth felt a familiar urgency prick at her.

She wriggled free from their grasp, and began climbing to the top, where Courfeyrac stood sentinel. He greeted her with a smile, though it was tinged with exhaustion.

"Shouldn't you be asleep?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"I couldn't leave you up here all alone," Elizabeth replied, settling beside him with a shiver.

The wind bit at her skin, and Courfeyrac draped his jacket over her shoulders.

"Thank you," she murmured, feeling warmth seep through the fabric as she leaned against him.

The night was dark, the street below still and haunting.

"What would I do without you?" she asked with a light-hearted chuckle.

"You'll never have to know," he replied, managing a smile.

They sat side by side, overlooking the chaos of the street below, their familiar silence replacing the tension that buzzed in the air.

Elizabeth leaned into him once again, resting her forehead against his shoulder.

"Everything is so complicated," she admitted. They had both been waiting for the other to say something. They had a lot to get off their chests. "When did life become so burdensome?"

"I thought this revolution would bring clarity, an end to the suffering." he admitted, then paused. "...you're pregnant, aren't you?"

Elizabeth nodded slowly, and without warning, Courfeyrac wrapped her in a tight embrace.

"You have to tell Enjolras," he urged, pulling back to look her in the eye, his voice earnest. "He deserves to know."

"I can't," she said, shaking her head slowly. "Not now. Not here. Everything is so uncertain."

A lump formed in her throat as she fought back tears. "When did life become so complicated?" she said quietly, the words holding a world of weight. "This revolution isn't what I thought it would be either. I am afraid, Courfeyrac. Afraid of everything."

For a moment, they sat in quiet. He sighed, his shoulders sagging under the gravity of it all.

"I wish the world could heal itself," he mused. "I wish I didn't have to give my life to try to heal it. Sometimes, it feels like we're fighting an unseen force that'll never relent."

Elizabeth felt a surge of sympathy for him and instinctively offered comfort, squeezing his hand. They sat in silence for a moment.

"You know you're my best friend, right?" Courfeyrac finally asked, breaking the silence. Although he wished he could tell her the whole truth, how he was desperately in love with her. But he kept it to himself.

"And you're mine, Courf... Even if you are insufferable sometimes."

"Insufferable? Never! I'll be the best uncle to the child," he declared proudly, puffing out his chest.

"Godfather," Elizabeth corrected him. "You shall be the godfather. Don't let that go to your head."

"I would never!" he grinned. "In fact, I'm going to take that title with great seriousness. You should see my list of qualifications for such a role."