The Changed Girl

1. Tens Years Later

Chapter One: Ten Years Later

It's been ten years since the strange man took me and Cosette to Paris with him. As soon as we'd gotten there he taken us and hid us in a convent when an officer started chasing us. Everything seemed to be okay and Cosette had grown to be like a sister to me and we could certainly pass for such. We both had blonde hair but while her eyes were a subtle brown mine were a sharp green like my mother's.

We were a family and quite happy until I was fifteen and decided that I couldn't stay in the convent any longer. It wasn't me, my mother had been religious but I had never been one with God myself. I wanted to be free of the familiar walls that had become like a prison to me over the years and be able to roam the streets. Cosette on the other hand was happy to be there and saw no problem in being locked behind the walls.

Our new Papa though saw my unhappiness and allowed me to leave with the promise that I would either visit or write them every week to assure him that I was okay. I assured him I would do so and that I wouldn't leave Paris that way we could still be close to one another. I kept these promises for a year but then it all went wrong and I became one at the slums and had no choice but to sell myself for money to strangers. I stopped visiting and writing them then, I didn't want them to see what I'd fallen to. I was ashamed.

That brings me to where I am now, walking the streets with my bony frame. My messy blonde locks pulled into a poor excuse for a bun and my sad green eyes shining with hunger. I didn't look where I went until I found myself falling to the ground after running into someone. Before I could hit the ground though a hand was around my wrist and pulling me back up.

"My apologies Mademoiselle, I wasn't watching where I went." The gentleman apologized to me as I steadied myself. I looked the man over to see that he had dark brown curls that matched his dark eyes and a large smile.

"Neither was I Mousier," I pulled my wrists from his hands and walked around him as I hurried down the streets toward my small flat where I ducked inside and fell down onto the long soiled mattress. That and a small trunk were all that my room held and I didn't mind.

"Loe!" The familiar voice of my friend Ephonie called from the other side of the door. I pulled myself up off the mattress and opened my door to see her excited brown eyes staring back at me.

"What is it?" I couldn't help but smile at her excitement.

"There's a meeting!" She pulled my arm and dragged me back out onto the streets.

"Let me go!" I pulled my arm but she kept a tight grip on it so I couldn't escape from her as she led me towards the café she frequented. She'd told me of the school boys that were planning to revolt against the king. I personally found their intentions to be right but at the same time foolish since it'd surely lead to their deaths. I also knew that the only reason Ephonie attended the meetings was because she fancied one of the boys and her little brother had also taken an interest in the revolution.

"Not a chance!" She laughed as the café came into sight as we turned the corner. "I want to show you what they talk of! I'm sure that you'll find it quite interesting."

"I'll go just let my arm go." I promised her. She gave me a look over before releasing my arm and we kept walking towards the café. "So will I finally get to meet this amazing Marius?"

"Shut it!" She hissed as we walked through the doors and up the stairs. Once we were up the stairs we walked into a large room that was filled with boys who were rapidly talking of their plans and drinking wine.

"Phonie!" A tall boy with messy brown hair and sharp green eyes came over to us with a smile on his lips. From the smile that spread across Ephonie's face I knew that this must be the Marius she spoke so much about. "Who's your friend here?"

"Marius this is Aloe," she introduced me to him as Gavroche came running over and wrapped his small arms around me.

"What are you doing her 'Loe?" He gave me with gap toothed smile as I ruffled his dirty blonde hair. He reminded me so much of Cosette when we were little with his shining blue eyes.

"Ep dragged me here for the meeting," I informed him as he led me over to a table where a few guys my age were sitting. I sat down next to Ephonie with Marius on her other side and a guy with black curls on mine.

"Aloe this is Grantaire, Joly, Jehan, Combeferre, and Courfeyrac." Marius introduced me to the other men at the table. The last man though I recognized as the one I'd bumped into on the street earlier and from the grin he gave me I knew he recognized me too.

"We met earlier," Courfeyrac continued to grin at me. "I almost knocked her over when I was hurrying here."

"Be careful with him, he's a frequent flirt." Ephonie whispered and the guy on my other side, Grantaire, laughed at her words as he took a long swing of his wine. "Then Grantaire there is a bit of a drunkard, Jehan is an unknown poet, Joly's a health nut, and Combeferre seems to think he knows all there is to know."

"So how do you and Phonie know each other?" Grantaire rolled his eyes at her words.

"We met on the streets and just became the best of friends," Ephonie spoke up when I didn't. It seemed that the others understood though from the way their expressions softened a bit and Courfeyrac's smile disappeared.

"So what's this talk of revolution about?" I tried to change the subject as I noticed a tall blonde haired man walk into the room and sat in the empty chair next to Marius but he stayed silent.

"Equality for the poor!" Combeferre was the first to recover from Ephonie's words.

"The king doesn't care for those without money so we need to stand up for them and cut the fat ones down to size." Marius agreed with his friend.

"Is revolting the best way to do so?" I hesitated with my question but as soon as it was out I could see the anger in the blonde haired man's eyes. The others all looked over at him with nervous eyes, he must be the leader.

"It is the only way." The blonde almost hissed at me. "There is no other way to get the pig we call a king to listen to our calls for help! He sits on his throne and does nothing of the people dying of starvation under his watch! He is no better than Lucifer himself!"

"I do not argue with you on the wrongs of the king but there could be another way to go about getting change than throwing your lives away!" I defended myself to him as I felt anger grow inside of me. "My mother died because of the king but you don't see me running off to get myself killed!"

"Aloe," Ephonie tugged at my arm as she tried to quite me but I didn't listen to her. What right did this man have to yell at me? All I had done was spoken my thoughts just as he had done yet I was in the wrong?

"It was a pleasure to meet you all but I fear that I should be on my way." I glared at the blonde haired man before hurrying down the stairs and tried to contain my anger. I hurried out onto the street and headed towards my flat when I felt someone grab my arm. I swung around, ready to punch the person but froze when I saw the familiar face.