Christmas was always a particularly hard time for the amis. A large portion of them no longer had contact with their parental figures, and so a holiday based around family was not what any of them really enjoyed.
Enjolras felt guilty for not being hone last Christmas. He stayed in Paris for revolutionary things, he didn't know it at the time, but that was his mother's last Christmas. Marius missed his grandfather during the holiday season. They did not get along, but his grandfather raised him, he couldn't forget him if he tried. Grantaire's melancholy behavior always got worse when it was colder. It was easy to feel like shit when the weather was shit.
Because of Christmas not being a good day, Courfeyrac and Combeferre organized a group Christmas dinner. Any member of Amis who had no where to go that day was welcome. The two men had spent all day cooking as much as they could.
There was only five people there, but they wanted their to be enough food for everyone to take home. Courfeyrac, Combeferre, Marius, Enjolras, Joly, Grantaire, and Gavroche. Gavroche had also brought his sister Éponine. For some of them, this was the only homemade dinner they'd have for months. This time of year was not kind to thise without a large income. Food was a bit harder to come by, and so a diet of stale bread was what was normal.
Combeferre and Courfeyrac were both gathered in the kitchen. Combeferre was a very good cook and so he'd made the perfect turkey. Courfeyrac, however, was struggling to make his onion soup. Grantaire was in the corner with his bottle, contemplating the meaning of life. Enjolras was watching the snow fall. Joly was treating Éponine was a minor injury to her arm. The Thénardier siblings had fled to this apartment after running into their father had led to a physical altercation. Marius was setting the table and cutting bread. And Gavroche was watching Combeferre and Courfeyrac cook, his mouth was drooling. The last time he had any form of home-cooked meal was last Christmas. They had been doing these Christmas parties for two years now.
There was a knock at the door and Courfeyrac went to answer it. He opened it to see Adeline. She was dressed in bourgeois clothing with a large bag slung over her shoulder. Her eyes were filled with tears and her face with sorrow. She collapsed into his arms, crying and shaking violently. The pair slid to the ground. She was making his shoulder wet with tears. He rubbed her back.
"It's alright, I've got you." Courfeyrac said. "I've got you."
She gripped his shirt in her hands. The cotton fabric kept her attached to Earth. She had shut her eyes as tight as she could, but that did not prevent tears from leaking out like a river down her cheeks and forming a lake into his jacket.
"I've got you." He said again. "Don't worry." He stroked her hair.
Everyone around them was watching in silence. No one was quite sure what to do. Here came Adeline, in extremely expensive clothing, carrying a bag of what she owned and crying, all of Christmas day.
After what seemed like an eternity, Adeline pulled away from Courfeyrac's shoulder.
"Thank you." She muttered.
"What happened? Are you alright?" Courfeyrac asked as he pulled her to her feet. She rubbed her eyes as he lead her over to the fireplace to warm up.
"I found out who killed Rayan." She said.
"Who's Rayan?" Enjolras asked.
"My older brother." She said.
"Well who did it?" Combeferre asked.
"My parents." She said weakly.
"What?" Courfeyrac said in response.
"He was doing things they wouldn't approve of, and so they killed him." She said, wiping away her tears.
"Like what?" Enjolras asked.
Adeline took in a breath. No more secrets. No more hiding who she really was.
"You all knew him." She said. "You knew him as-"
She stopped when there was a knock at the door. Courfeyrac answered. It was a girl about the same height as Adeline. She was wearing a thick cloak with the hood up. She stepped in and took it off. Adeline really could not hide her identity now. It was Juliette.
"It's cold. Enjolras invited me, so I thought I'd stop by." She said to the group. "I'm Juliette."
She introduced herself. Her smile faded when she caught glimpse of Adeline. Adeline looked like a mess. Her face was puffy from crying and her eyes were red. She immediately ran over to the girl and scooped her into a hug.
"Adeline, are you alright?" She asked.
"I'm okay." Adeline responded as she pulled away.
Enjolras was very confused.
"Wait a minute, how do you know Juliette?" Enjolras asked Adeline.
Adeline sighed.
"I owe you all an apology. I have been a liar. I have been lying about who I am to all of you and I feel it is time for me to come clean." She began. "My name is Adeline Belmonte. I am part of a very wealthy bourgeois family. One night in September I got curious and escaped out my window and down to the streets. I wanted to see the city, I wanted to meet new people. I got lost down by the docks and Courfeyrac saved my life. After that night, my eyes were opened. I learned that I had been born with an unfair advantage. I had never felt more at home anywhere then that little cafe. I was so eager to learn about what I could do to help others. I got so invested to Les Amis that I continued to fabricate my lie. I never meant to hurt anyone. I didn't want to cause any trouble."
The room was quiet for a moment. No one quite knew what to say. Enjolras couldn't hate her for her origins, he came from the same place. Courfeyrac couldn't get angry, she was a good friend of his. Grantaire couldn't be upset, she had shown him genuine kindness.
"It's okay." Joly broke the silence. "It doesn't matter where you came from. It matters who you choose to be."
She smiled at him.
"He's right." Enjolras said. "I came from a wealthy family, and I chose to abandon that lifestyle. I feel your pain."
Everyone else followed with words of encouragement.
"My brother, he wrote about you all in his journals. He knew you all before I did." She said.
"I don't recall ever meeting a Rayan." Combeferre said.
"He used his middle name with you all. You knew him as Ansel." She said.
"Ansel's dead?" A voice said. Adeline turned to see it was a girl she did not recognize. The girl had messy brown hair and wore only thin rags.
"I'm sorry." Adeline said. "Who are you? His journals did mention a few women."
"I'm Éponine." She said.
"Éponine." Adeline said softly to herself. "Oh my god."
Rayan's journals had mentioned Éponine several times. Including her pregnancy out of wedlock. It was quite the scandal. The journals did never mention what happened to the child.
"Is there anything else we should know about you?" Grantaire asked. "You said you wanted to be transparent."
Adeline looked down at the large ting on her finger, she'd forgotten about it for a few hours. Now that she remembered, it was as if a weight had been placed on her neck.
"I'm engaged to be married." She said.
Grantaire practically spit out his wine.
"What?" Enjolras said. "You're a child."
"I'm engaged to Victor." She said weakly. "I don't love him."
The room was silent. No one knew how to respond to that. Juliette softly took ahold of Adeline's hand and took her to a bedroom for them to talk. She shut the door behind them and they were in private.
"You can't marry him." Juliette said.
"I don't want to." Adeline said. "My parents pressured me into it."
"After we talked that one night at the party, I reconnected with Alexandre. And he made me realize what a monster Victor is. I moved into the ballet academy full time. I'm avoiding my immediate family as much as I can." Juliette said, she grabbed Adeline's hand again and got closer to her. "There's another reason you can't marry him either."
"Why?" Adeline asked.
"Because then I couldn't do this."
Juliette swooped in for a kiss and Adeline swooned as their lips touched. They did this for several minutes. No one to stop them. They were all alone and sparks were flying, it was a miracle the walls weren't on fire.
-
That was a long chapter. Anyway, please remember to vote/comment. It helps me know if you are enjoying the book.
Anyway, ---Madness--- a lot has happened since you were gone, i hope the auditions treated you well!
x -sydney