ADIEU » LES MISÉRABLES | ✓

CHAPTER FIVE

As the days slipped away, fear dulled itself into curiosity. Life in the Court of Miracles was repetitive and most of all, lonely, with nothing from the outside world to keep it company - not even the sun. The sunlight rarely reached the ground completely, even in the middle of the day, and when it did, it was always damp and pale and diluted. Claudine found herself longing for the light and freshness of the streets above, albeit a little guiltily.

She made her way over to Melanie, who was trying to free herself from the rope that tied her to the fence. Her father thought it sad that her only companion in the Court wasn't even human, but she didn't care - she could understand Melanie in ways she couldn't with people.

But someone else reached Melanie before she could. A small figure appeared out of nowhere, darted over the fence in a quick, agile leap, and began to untie the knots in the rope with a swift, practiced ease. Believing him to be one of the gypsy children, Claudine let her guard down, but as she drew closer, she realized that she had never seen him before - he was not one of them.

Alarmed, she sprang into action. She sprinted across the dirt path, her bare feet giving her the silence she needed. The child barely had time to be surprised before he was caught, the collar of his dirty shirt clenched in Claudine's vice-like grip.

"What are you doing here?" She hissed.

The boy, a measly creature caked in filth, stared sullenly at her. Claudine, struck by how familiar his gaze was, narrowed her eyes at him. She was certain that she had seen him somewhere, but she couldn't exactly pinpoint when or where it had happened. 

"Do you know what you've intruded upon?" Claudine snarled quietly, glancing over her shoulder to ensure that no one was bearing witness to this exchange. "Do you know what they'll do to you? They'll hang you! They spare no mercy to those who intrude upon our land."

The child, determined to keep his mouth sealed, fidgeted wildly in Claudine's grasp.

"Promise me you won't speak of this place to anyone, and I'll let you go."

He didn't. Claudine was nearly at her wit's end. The boy's hair was all ruffled and his green eyes were wide with fright - he was just a child, really - but the gypsies would never accept that as an excuse. They hung all the intruders, young and old alike. But as much as she wanted to spare the child, letting him go would mean compromising the safety of the entire gypsy clan. 

"Promise!" She shook the boy violently by his collar, as if that would force the words out of him. In response, he pinched his mouth even tighter. 

There was a sudden rustle in the trees to her left. 

"Gavroche!" A feminine voice cried out, and Éponine burst into the clearing, a flurry of dark hair and skinny limbs. "Let him go!"

Claudine, startled by the appearance of her friend, loosened her hold on the boy, and he took this opportunity to escape. He moved fast, and in a split second, he had disappeared into the shadows of the trees, no longer visible to anyone. 

The gypsies were waking up. Claudine could hear them, the light patter of their footsteps on the ground, their harsh, argot tongues chattering in a language foreign to all but their kind.

"Go," she whispered, to both Éponine and the boy. "Run. I'll follow you."

___

After a few earnest explanations and many solemn vows, Claudine came to believe that both of them never meant - and would never mean - any harm. According to Éponine, they had spotted Marius Pontmercy coming out of a carriage with a large bouquet of flowers in his hands, and had decided to follow him to see whom it was for.