Valerie (An Enjolras Love Story)

Chapter Eight

Later in the evening more people had gathered in the café for another meeting. Enjolras, Combeferre, Feuilly, Courfeyrac and myself were all crowded around the large table in the room going over the plans for the barricades, making sure that everyone knew exactly where they were supposed to be build when the time came for the revolution. We needed everything to be flawless if we wanted this to succeed.

"The sections are prepared at Notre Dame" Combeferre states

"At Rue de Bad, they are straining at the leash!" Feuilly added in.

"Students, workers, everyone! There is a river on the run, like a flowing of the tide. Paris is at our side!" Coufeyrac cheered and Enjolras turned to address the rest of the room.

"The time is near, it's so near it's stirring the blood in our veins! But yet beware, don't let the wine go to your brains!" Enjolras said glancing at Grantaire who held up the bottle of wine he was holding in a mocking way. I just shook my head laughing at him.

"The army we are going to fight is powerful and dangerous, something that will we could never possibly match. It may be easy to sit here and swat them like the flies they are, but the national guard is hard to catch." Enjolras said looking around the room, stopping his gaze at Marius, who had not moved from the same position all day. His mind was somewhere else, and no one could figure it out. I had a feeling it had something to do with that girl we saw this afternoon. Joly walked over taking a seat next to him at the table.

"Marius, what on earth is with you today, you look as if you've seen a ghost." Joly said concerned about is friend.

"Here, take some wine and tell us what's going on in that head" Grantaire said passing Marius a glass of wine.

"I don't know, She, may have been a ghost. She was there one minute, and the next she had disappeared." He said looking down sadly. I knew it. I thought to myself as I moved across the room to join them at the table, Marius smiled up at me as I took a seat at the table.

"I am agog! I am aghast! Marius? In love at last? I've never heard him ooh and ah!" Grantaire said. He stood up taking a swig of wine. "Enjolras! You talk of battles to be won, and here Marius is like Don Juan! This is better than an opera!"  he said laughing. I turned to see Enjolras walking over to our table, he gave Grantaire a stern look before turning to Marius.

"It's time for us all to decide who we are." He started at Marius. "Do we fight for the right to a night at the opera?" Enjolras turned in his seat to look around the room again. "Have you all asked yourselves, what is the price you could pay. This is not some game for young boys to play." He said. My mind started to wander. I never had thought of what could happen. I was so invested in this cause with Enjolras, that I never thought what could happen to him. If he were to fall, I'm not sure I could go on. I felt my heart sink at the thought of it.

"The colours of the world are changing day by day." Enjolras said pulling me out of my trance. "Red, the blood of angry men. Black, the dark of ages past. Red, a world about to dawn. Black, the night that will end at last!" He said as he started to get up to go back to where he stood before, but Marius stopped him.

"You of all people should know how I am feeling. How you are struck to the bone with breathless delight, how your world is changed with just one burst of light. And what was right, seems wrong, and what was wrong seems right." Enjolras switched his gaze from Marius to me, I just stared up at Enjolras his eyes softening slightly when he looked at me. I know his intentions were good, he needed everyone to be on their best game for the revolution coming up, but Marius was right, we do know what if feels like for feel in love.

"Red!" Everyone turned towards Grantaire who chimed in.

"I feel my soul is on fire!" Marius chanted.