Beyond The Barricade | les misérables

seventeen

We set out for the rally almost immediately. I held a stack of papers to hand out in my hands and stood beside Marius. Enjolras was behind us talking to some men in the crowd. I was pushing papers into people's hands quickly, smiling as they took them gratefully. Marius stayed beside me and kept an eye on me. I knew he wouldn't want to risk what happened at the last rally happening again. If he felt I was walking too far away he'd grab my arm and pull me back. It annoyed me, but I understood. And, despite my pride, I was thankful.

I went to hand a man a paper, but he pushed it away.

"Is there a problem, monsieur?" I asked, an eyebrow raised.

"You're a woman," he said plainly. I could hear the disgust in his tone and he looked to Marius, awaiting a paper.

"And?"

"You should be at home. Doing your job," he sneered. I scoffed and pushed the paper to his chest harshly. He looked at me in shock, scanning my face. "Learn your place," he spat.

"She has."

I heard him behind me before I noticed his presence. The man looked at him as he put an arm around me.

"Clearly not. Keep your woman under control."

"And stop her from taking care of people like you? No way."

The man scoffed and turned away. But he took the paper I had forced him to take. I smiled and turned around, meeting eyes with Enjolras.

"I could've handled him," I said.

"I know. But I didn't like how he was speaking to you."

I shook my head with a small laugh and walked back to Marius. My stack of papers was nearing it's end. I heard Courfeyrac chanting to the people, getting them riled up. The street was loud with shouts as we encouraged the crowd.

I looked around, seeing people disperse. My eyes widened and my heart stopped as my eyes landed on Anthony.

"Marius," I said in panic. He looked up and caught sight of him too. He grabbed me and turned around to cover my body. He looked me in the eyes, the fear in his eyes mirroring my own. Then he began searching around for someone. Marius won't be able to keep me hidden for long. They expect him to be the one to keep me. My mother would target him any chance he had. I heard the horse come closer, the crowd separating even more.

"Marius.." I said again, the terror I felt coming through in my voice.

"I know," he mumbled. "No one is looking."

I glanced over his shoulder to see how close Anthony was. He was nearly three steps away from discovering me. Marius tensed and I squeezed my eyes shut. This was it. I'd never see the revolution take full force. I held my breath as I heard Anthony drop down from his horse.

He laid his hand on Marius' shoulder, though he hadn't looked around him yet. But he'd soon see me. And I'd never see anybody ever again.

As I opened my eyes and accepted my fate, an arm wrapped around my waist. All of the boys had joined Marius, standing with him. I looked up to see Enjolras pulling me into the crowd as Anthony stared down all of the boys. His eyes were filled with worry as we vanished from sight. We went all the way to the Café Musain and wasted no time going inside. Once we were inside, he grabbed my face softly and stared at me before moving them to my waist. He pulled me into a hug and just held onto me. I hugged back, closing my eyes as I tried to regulate my heartbeat.

I held onto the shoulders of Enjolras' jacket tightly. My breathing was irregular and quick with panic that hadn't gone away.

"You're okay," he whispered. "You're safe."