Black, The Dark of Ages Past

Nothing

September 
1828

Four months... In four months, Fabien found nothing. Enjolras was becoming a bit frustrated; how hard was it for Fabien to get this information from his sister? He continued to court Ismérie as if nothing was wrong, as if he wasn't going to leave her. She still seemed to think that this entire thing was surreal. It seemed too sudden for her. But what was beginning to worry him most was his growing reluctance to leave her; he was beginning to see why Ismérie was so dismissive of Fabien and other men. She was a relatively independent minded woman and men like Fabien sought to domesticate her. On some occasions, she had mentioned in passing that should she find someone she would want to marry, she would take over the household, but she would also expect freedoms most women were not afforded such as who she keeps her company with and furthering her education amongst other things. She also stressed that she would have to be able to have meaningful conversations with the person and be on the same wavelength. 

A few times, he had been tempted to tell her of her unknown fiance, but he was a man who kept his word. But would it be going against his word to give her up at the end of eight months? He had to remind himself a few times that she was dangerous; in his world, distractions could not be afforded. She was attractive, intelligent, well-mannered, and humble. In all honesty, she was the perfect wife for him. But, he also saw what having her as a wife meant; having a family, sustaining a family, being present for a family, should his death happen, leave his family with enough means to live comfortably. It wasn't that the concept of family completely disgusted him, he just viewed it was impractical for what he wished to accomplish. If the revolution happened and he survived, then by all means, he would marry and start a family to appease his parents, but for right now, it wasn't in his plans.

But that's something that ate away at him slowly as he laid eyes on her, especially tonight. There was a dance being hosted by a Church that had seemed like a perfect event for couples. The weak lamplight shadowed her features a bit, but he could see with clarity her eyes; they reflected with the light of the lamps and almost seemed to twinkle. She looked happy, happier than he had seen her before. It occurred to him that she was actually having fun. He, of course, wasn't, but seeing her face light up made him bear with it. They were currently dancing amongst the other couples, the chaperones not too far away and keenly observing the party.Ismérie looked up at him, "I'm surprised that you asked to bring me here."

Her dress was one of her nicest ones, a relic from her fortunate youth. Mirielle and Jeanne had helped her resize it to fit her now womanly body. The sleeves were short as what was fashionable, but gave her a bit of a chill in the night. The dress itself was a light blue, nearly white, with a pink ribbon tied below her chest. Her hair was pinned up with a flower in it, multiple braids and curls reaching below her shoulders. He gazed upon her curiously rather than longingly; he didn't take her for the type to put this much effort in when going to one of these events. Then again, her family had run in the same type of societal circles as his parents had. Wait a minute... The same circles... Suddenly, he began to smile, confusing Ismérie. She raised a brow and cleared her throat, "Alexandre? What are you smiling about?"

Enjolras's face quickly returned to normal, but remained gentle as he looked down at her. Suddenly, his chest seemed to hurt. She was looking at him with large, brown, expectant eyes. As if she wanted to hear what had made the marble statue smile. He spun her a bit and gave her a small smile, "I was thinking about you as a child and it amused me. You were probably trouble."

 Ismérie pouted a bit, sticking her nose in the air, "I was not that much trouble. I knew when to behave."

"I believe the hint there is "that much". I'm afraid you've given yourself away."

"Yes, well... I'm sure it's not my childhood you're thinking of."

Enjolras sighed, "I... I was thinking about the revolution... Something I thought was going to be a hindrance might be able to be fixed."