Beyond The Barricade | les misérables

two

I stared up at the building, my heart pounding in my throat as figures passed by the large window above me.

The door opened and revealed a beaming Marius. He extended his hand out and grinned as I took it, following him inside.

"I thought you'd abandoned me," he said.

"I would never."

We walked toward a staircase, the sounds of voices becoming more and more prominent as we climbed. I walked behind Marius, my arms crossed on my chest tightly as the stairs leveled out.

In a small room, a group of men sat around a table noisily talking amongst themselves. The man that was with Marius yesterday sat at a table, head down as he scribbled onto a paper. I sighed and looked over at Marius, who was already looking at me.

"This is pointless," I said, turning to walk away. Marius grabbed my arm and yanked me to stand next to him.

"Come on. We need to do this together." He gave me a sad look, making me roll my eyes.

"You're insufferable."

He walked toward the men and cleared his throat. They all looked toward him, their eyes ever so slowly landing on me in shock. I shifted uncomfortably as they stared.

"Boys, this is Hyacinth Toussaint. She's my closest friend and I think she should join us," Marius said, looking over his shoulder at me. I glared at him and put my hands on my hips.

"Why?" a man called out.

"Excuse me?" Marius said, turning to the voice.

"Why should she join us?"

Marius looked at me with a smug smile and I huffed, turning away from him.

"You want to tell them or should I?" he said with his hands in his pockets. I didn't answer, just stared at the wall.

"She's been talking about wanting what we want for years. I think she'd be an asset to our cause. Help us plan, talk some sense into some of you." He looked straight at the man who had been with him earlier, which earned an eye roll from him.

"Is this all true?" another man asked. I turned to look at him, sighing as I could feel Marius' eyes on me.

"Yes," I said.

"We can't just let her in." I looked toward the voice, Marius' friend standing now. He wore a red jacket, his hair was messy and he stood firmly with his hands on the table.

"And why not?" Marius said, walking toward him.

"She's a woman. She can't fight."

I gave Marius a look, raising my hands in such a manner that said 'I told you so.'

"This decision isn't up to you, Enjolras," Marius said sternly. "I say she's joining."

"I started this, you don't get to bring in some girl whenever you want and expect me to be fine with it. Women don't fight. It's not their place."

I scoffed at him as Marius turned to me.

"Scared I'll be better than you?" I said, tilting my head to the side.

"You? Please, you flatter yourself," Enjolras laughed.

"I think you're too scared that a woman could possibly be a better revolutionary than you."

"If you're so good why didn't you start a revolution, huh?" He cocked his head to the side and leaned on his hands, that we're still firm on the table in front of him.