The Barricade Girl (A Les Miserables FanFiction)

Chapter Two

It doesn't take me long to decide what I'm going to do. I don't even try to change my clothes into something more comfortable for a long walk (because, well, who knows where Marius is headed too?). My long dress is hardly suitable for trekking through Paris, and my Grandfather and Aunt would probably go ballistic if I dirtied it, but that's the least of my worries just now. I run to grab my bonnet, shawl and small bag from my room. I fix my bonnet to my head as I walk out of my room and I wrap the shawl around my shoulders. I try to walk as slowly and quietly as I can down the hallway and towards the stairs. I reach the top of the grand staircase that adorns the large entrance way of my Grandfather's house, with his study leading off to one side, and our lounge and drawing room leading off to the other. From the top of the stairs, I can hear Grandfather talking to my Aunt in his study. I tiptoe down the stairs, hoping that neither my Aunt or Grandfather hear my footsteps, which is kind of near impossible to do in the slightly-heeled shoes that they make me wear. I reach the bottom of the stairs as one of the maids, Maggie, walks by.

"You heading out, Miss?" She asks cheerfully.

"Uhm..." I clear my throat. "I'm just going on a little...uh...errand..." I whisper. "But...if Grandfather or Aunt asks...I'm in my room...and...you didn't see a thing...okay?" I flash a smile, pleading with her to keep my secret. This wouldn't be the first time that she's done this for me. "Please, Maggie?"

"Okay, Miss. I didn't see a thing!" She whispers back and does an over-the-top wink.

"Thank you, Maggie..." I breathe a sigh of relief as I walk towards the door. "And... I've told you before that you don't have to call me, Miss –" I playfully raise an eyebrow as I turn back to face her.

"Sorry, Mi –" She starts before correcting herself. "...Juliette!" She giggles.

"Call me Jules, or Julie, either is fine, really", I smile. "Thank you, again, Maggie...I'll see you later..." I open the door and make a quick exit before anyone else notices.

I look around and see Marius off in the distance – there's no way I'll catch up with him now. I start to run, but my shoes make it hard, and I don't want to completely catch up with Marius as he'd see me then. Instead, I run softly, trying to catch up a little bit, keeping a little bit of distance between us. I try to lift my skirts up off the floor as I run.

"This dress and these shoes were SO not designed for running!" I mutter to myself. I finally manage to get close enough to Marius that I can stop running, and I try to regain my breath as I keep walking so that I don't lag even farther behind. My Grandfather's house is surrounded by countryside, meaning that it's a thirty minute walk from the city. My feet start to ache a little in these stupid shoes at around the ten minute mark. "I hate these shoes and I hate this dress!" I mumble under my breath. It's seriously starting to get in the way of my snooping around! Somehow, I manage to stay close to Marius while still being far enough away for him not to see me. He whistles happily as he walks, carrying his suitcase in one hand and his coat in the other as he smiles at everyone he passes, giving a gentle nod of the head when he passes a lady. Once we get into the city, it becomes harder to try and keep an eye on my brother as he weaves in and out of the crowds of people. This is the first time that I've ever walked through the city unaccompanied. I'm usually with my Grandfather, or walking with Marius – I've never been on my own, and I'm starting to feel a little nervous. Part of me wants to rush up to my brother and walk by him for protection, but that would ruin everything and he'd probably just send me back home. He stops off at a few inns and other buildings, looking for a vacant room for a decent price. When he goes into a building, I stop outside and stand on a nearby corner, with my head slightly dipped and my back turned so that he won't see my face. When he emerges from the building again, I start to follow. We perform this routine several times until he finds a building that actually has a room that he can live in. This time he goes into the building and stays there for about twenty minutes – I guess this must mean that he's found what he's been looking for. As I linger across the road from the building, I spot a little boy. He's dressed in rags and covered in dirt, and my heart goes out to him. This happens all the time when I walk past the poor in the city. It's something that you don't see much near my Grandfather's house. I look at the door to the building that Marius is in, and see no sign of anyone leaving anytime soon, so decide to quickly visit the bakery across the road. I know I have some money in my bag, and I won't need it. Someone like this little boy will be able to put it to better use than I could. I buy some freshly baked bread, and a cupcake, and gingerly walk towards the little boy, now sat on a wall near where I was stood before. I crouch down in front of him and offer him a friendly smile.

"I want you to have this..." I can't think of the words that I want to say to him. Nothing feels right, and this is the best that I can come up with. His eyes widen at the sight of the bag of warm food that I reach out to him. His mouth opens slightly as he lets out a little gasp.

"Thank you, Miss!" He jumps of the wall and takes the bag from my hand.

"You're more than welcome..." I smile. I've never seen a child so excited to see a loaf of bread before. I suddenly feel a pang of guilt – this is something I take for granted, yet it means so much to this little boy. "...and thank you!" I nod towards him.

"What for?" He tilts his head to one side as he rips of a piece of bread and pushes it into his mouth.

"You've taught me something new today..." I let out a light laugh as I stroke a lock of his light blonde hair, pushing it out of his eyes. I slowly stand up again and turn my back to walk away so that I can watch for my brother at the building again.

"Miss!" I hear a little voice shout me. I turn back around to face him. "What's your name, Miss?" He asks, standing straight now, looking like a little man.

"Juliette..." I beam at him. "What's yours?"

"Gavroche!" He smiles one of the biggest smiles I have ever seen before running away.

"God bless you, Gavroche", I say under my breath, watching him run away down the street, the bag of food swinging in his hand down by his side.