The Barricade Girl (A Les Miserables FanFiction)

Chapter Fifty-Five

Wasting no time, Enjolras passes Gavroche over to my care once more so that he can organise his troops. I take Gavroche's hand and lead him toward the Café Musain to get him some water to drink and some bread to eat.

"You were like...the best super hero", Gavroche beams at me as we walk.

"Gavroche", I giggle, blushing slightly.

"You were better at shooting than the boys are", he exclaims, and then realises how loudly he was talking, and so lowers his voice to a loud whisper. "Don't tell them I said that...they'll get jealous", he whispers. As we approach the doorway of the Café Musain, I hear voices, and so I linger near the doorway, not wanting to interrupt the conversation inside, hiding behind a wall, hushing Gavroche as we hide. The man who saved Enjolras was inside speaking to Inspector Javert, and I had caught them mid-conversation.

"You've hungered for this all your life. Take your revenge. How right you should kill with a knife", Javert growls.

"You talk too much. Your life is safe in my hands", the man says calmly.

"Don't understand..." Javert responds, almost inaudibly.

"Get out of here", the man tells him.

"Valjean, take care! I'm warning you!" Javert threatens.

"Valjean?" I gasp, whispering to myself.

"Clear out of here!" the man that I now know is Valjean commands.

My mind starts to drift. Valjean. I know the name. I know Valjean as a holy man. His good reputation precedes him. Parisian people speak good of him wherever he goes. He stays hidden except for when he goes to help the poor and he goes to the church for prayer. I've seen him there sometimes myself. On occasion, we have spoken. About God. About faith. About salvation. And then it clicks in my mind. Cosette's father. He is Cosette's father. I wonder if Marius knows. Surely he doesn't. Marius is oblivious, and I think it wise to keep it that way. My thoughts are interrupted by a gunshot going off from inside the Café Musain. Gavroche huddles into the skirts of my dress, hanging on to it as he reacts to the noise of the gun. As Monsieur Valjean leaves the Café Musain, I poke my head inside. Inspector Javert is nowhere to be seen. The boys, thinking that he has killed Inspector Javert, lightly applaud him. Enjolras looks at him gratefully before addressing the group once more.

"Courfeyrac, you take the watch – they may attack before it's light", Enjolras speaks. He looks at each of the boys in turn. "Everybody keep the faith, for certain as the banner flies, we are not alone – the people too must rise!" Marius, still full of adrenaline, reaches for his gun and goes to join Courfeyrac as he climbs to the watching post at the top of the barricade. Enjolras, touching Marius' arm, pulls him back. "Marius, rest". The boys settle down to rest, and Monsieur Valjean joins them, being careful to sit by Marius after hearing his name. Now he's identified Marius – the boy whose affections lie with his daughter – I'm sure he's keeping a close eye, mentally weighing him up to see if he's good enough and noble enough for his daughter. Gavroche disappears back into his den, and I tuck him in, wrapping his blanket around him, leaving a kiss on his forehead as he goes to sleep. I sit close by his den so I can keep an eye on him, and Enjolras sits himself beside me, securing his arm around me. I rest against him, leaning my head against his shoulder, my own eyes feeling pretty heavy, threatening to fall into a deep sleep any second now. Bottles of drink start to be passed around the group to refresh us. Enjolras sees my eyes closing with tiredness.

"You should try and get some sleep..." He smiles at me, his head close to mine.

"No", I yawn. "I need to stay awake!"

"Jules –" He protests.

"Maybe a few minutes then", I give in easily, making him laugh slightly. Grantaire, standing up from his spot and swinging his bottle in the air drunkenly starts to sing one of his drinking songs. "Or maybe not!" I roll my eyes.