Memoirs of Les Amis de l'ABC

Chapter Twelve: Fanciful Childhood Remembrances

The golden-haired boy's eyes shone with a blue that was as vast as the ocean while the dark-haired girl watched him in silence, waiting for him to speak first. After a long pause, he finally whispered, "Mademoiselle, I will ask a favor of you to please refrain from alluding to our past in front of others."

Sybill chuckled, "Must we always speak so formally when it is just the two of us here?" She paused before adding a mocking, "monsieur."

Enjolras smiled for an instant though he did well to suppress it. "We are no longer children, mademoiselle, and it is the respectable way."

"Well, Julian, I do believe that I need not always be respectable with you," chuckled Sybill. "It is far too late for that."

"Madem-" Sybill gave him a look which silenced the boy, and he tried again. "Nadie," he said, "I do believe it is best we forget the past and develop our new relationship based around our present personalities and aspirations and such."

Sybill scowled at him. "You made it quite clear in your first letter what you believe my aspirations to be."

Enjolras sighed with a pained expression on his face. "I did not want you to return," he stated plainly. "I said what I could to get you to stay away."

"And why is that?" Sybill inquired with a growing anger. "Why would you push me away, Julian? We were so close once, and it has been so long."

"Why did you leave?" Enjolras countered with a fire ablaze in his eyes. Sybill was silent. She bit her lip, and her gaze fell to the floor as the man before her watched. "You could have stayed, Nadine, and perhaps things would have been different."

"If I stayed, I would be dead," Sybill replied bluntly, meeting his gaze. Enjolras frowned. "We both know it is the truth," the girl shrugged. "My father left, my mother was destitute, and Kylian could not yet work. I would have died like..." She shook her head. There was a hoarseness to her throat with a water forming in her eyes. "No, when they all were gone, and it was just me I had no choice. I had to leave."

Enjolras took a deep breath. "I know," he conceded. "I know. You had to do what was best for you which was to move away with that man."

"And now you are doing what is best for you with this revolution," Sybill sighed. She shook her head, "But I am not sure it is best for you."

"It was all of our childhood fantasies, Nadie," Enjolras protested. "I thought you would come and rejoice with the work I was doing."

"They were merely fantasies, Julian, from two children. One who knew nothing of the darkness of pain, and the other who needed something to inspire hope since the stars had turned their back to her." Sybill shook her head. "No, they were merely fantastic revelries to spend our depressing days."

Enjolras frowned. "You make it sound as if our time together as children was nothing besides pain and suffering for you."

"No," Sybill quickly shook her head. "No, you were..." She took a deep breath. "You were one of the little lights in the shadow I lived under after Monsieur Dubois turned us out." Enjolras visibly scowled at the name. "You... You were an endless, shining wonder to me when my days were black and cold." Upon seeing the expression Enjolras wore, she quickly added, "And 'Chetta of course."

Enjolras chuckled. "Yes, yes, and dear 'Chetta."

Sybill looked at him before taking another deep breath. "I will admit to oft envisioning the moment we would alas find each other again," she sighed. "Though I do admit I thought the dream a futile fruit of fictitious fancy."