Hello, it's MM2 with a new-ish story! This is actually a 'deleted scene' from Chapter 12 of my story 'The Moon and the Sun.' If you haven't read that, I suggest doing that, otherwise this won't make sense. If you have, then enjoy this strange outtake!
When Tamar and Enjolras arrived at the Musain, the blonde held open the door, just as Feuilly had done last night. Tamar bowed to him, feeling an extraordinary sense of deja vu.
"Thank you, good monsieur," she said, stepping gracefully inside.
If Enjolras made a reply, however, she didn't hear it, for her ears filled with the sounds of the parisian nightlife. Laughter, loud talking, the clinking of plates and bottles, and the shouts of card players mingled with the singing and the violin.
She could see Courfeyrac, Bossuet, and Bahorel, standing in the back with a crowd of other men. The fiddler, a lany albino with waist-length, white-gold curls, stood on a table, dancing a jig as he played the Irish drinking song. When he spotted her, his dance stilled, and he leaped off the table, slowing the tempo of his song to a mysterious adagio.
"My lady," he whispered, sidling up to her. Tamar took a step back as the albino advanced. "Would ye do me an honor, lass?"
"Of what sort?" she asked, taking another step back. Enjolras put a hand on her arm.
The albino stopped, and bowed to her as he played a long trill. "I heard ye singing outside," he told her, his Irish accent muddling the words. "Would ye care to join me in a round? A...contest of musicians, say?"
"How do know I'm a musician?" she asked. "For all you know, I could be completely tone-deaf."
"I don't think ye are," he replied. "What do ye say, lassie?"
Tamar cast a glance around the cafe. Everyone, it seemed, was watching her. Enjolras, beside her, was giving the fiddler a cold glare. Across the room, Courfeyrac swept off his hat and raised his eyebrows, as if challenging her.
Very well, she thought. You've got yourself a deal, monsieur. She shook Enjolras's hand off her arm and stepped up to the fiddler.
"A contest, you say?" She looked down, pretending to consider. Then, she looked up to meet the man's pink-tinted eyes and cocked an eyebrow. "You're on."
"A duel, sirs!" he shouted, raising his arms high. the men in the cafe clapped and cheered.
Enjolras shot Tamar a warning glance. "We're wasting time!" he hissed. "We need to go."
"This won't take long," she whispered back. "Besides, several of the Amis are here already."
X X X
"What's your wager, then?" Bahorel called suddenly.
Tamar blinked in surprise. "Wager?" she repeated, confused.
The redhead sauntered up to her and threw a brawny arm around the fiddler's shoulder. "Of course! No contest is complete without a good wager of some sort.
"Let's see," he mused. "If Seireadan here," he gave the fiddler a shake, "wins, then Tamar has to kiss him."
"WHAT?" she shouted. the cafe shook with laughter, and Tamar stormed up to Bahorel. "Are you insane?!" she exploded. "What makes you think I'd do that?!"
"Well," Bahorel said, winking, "it's only fair. Besides, if you win, he has to pay you."
"I have to pay 'er?" Seireadan cried. "Max, you know I have no money!"
"Yes, you do," he replied airily. "Come on, fiddler! This contest was your idea in the first place!"
"I will not allow it to proceed." Enjolras spoke for the first time, his voice hard. "It is ridiculous, and your wager takes advantage of Tamar and Seireadan both."
"God's sake, Enj, lighten up!" Bahorel grumbled. Enjolras fixed him with a steely glare. "All right, I'll call the wager off."
"But the contest is still on," Tamar cut in. Ignoring both Enjolras's protests and the cheers of the onlookers, she walked over to Seireadan and offered a hand. "May the best win."
"Aye," he replied, grinning.
X X X
Someone found another fiddle behind the bar, and Tamar took it, tuning it quickly. G, D, A, E- they all sounded fine. Satisfied, she stepped into the circle of cleared floor space that everyone was gathered around.
Seireadan bowed to her, and she bowed back. Both of them touched bow to string. The albino played a D, and Tamar drew out an A.
"I didn't know you could play, too," Seireadan said with a roguish grin.
Tamar shrugged. "I can't, really," she replied, with a devilish smirk of her own.
"Is that so?"
"It is," she assured him, nodding. "I can't play the violin with any sort of skill.
"Then I'll go easy on ye." Seireadan drew out a long A flat, and began to play, slowly and skillfully. He dipped and swayed as he played, as though his body was one with the music. Tamar listened carefully, and realized that she knew the tune. the tempo began to speed up, and she grinned; any second now, she'd join in….
X X X
The dueling violins sang out into the night as the crowd watched, spellbound. Seireadan played with a light, deft hand, his skeletal fingers dancing over the strings and coaxing forth a beautiful, lilting sound. Tamar's hand was shakier, her transitions not quite as smooth, but her music had a pure, untrained beauty to it, weaving between the albino's notes like thorns on a rose. They danced beside each other, caught up in the swirl of the music, exhilarated by the sounds.
The men were dancing as only young men can dance, with leaps and twists, shouts and claps. Bossuet swung Courfeyrac around by the elbow, and they crashed into a table, to the great amusement of everyone watching.
Only Enjolras stood apart. He gazed off into the distance, seemingly completely disinterested in the contest taking place. His diffidence stung a bit, but Tamar knew there was nothing she could do about it.
The song finished on a long, high A flat, and Tamar and Seireadan bowed to thunderous applause. Someone came up behind the two of them and raised their bow hands into the air.
"Brilliant!" It was Bahorel. He swung an arm around Tamar's shoulders and thumped Seireadan on the back, making him cough. "That was bloody brilliant, both of you!"
"Aye," the albino said, holding out his narrow, white hand. "Ye play a right good fiddle, lassie, even if ye are a bit rusty."
Tamar snorted. "That's an understatement." She smiled. "It was a good match, though...even though I obviously lost." Then, she winked at the fiddler and turned to the crowd. "I did lose, right?" she called. Everyone roared with laughter. "I'll take that as a yes, then."
Grinning, she placed the violin back on the bar with a nod to the bartender. Courfeyrac came up to her and kissed her hand.
"You give yourself too little credit, mademoiselle," he told her, smiling impishly. "You really do play wonderfully."
"If only that were true," she replied, with a sigh of mock despair.
Courfeyrac burst out laughing. "You are a tease!" he exclaimed. "I'd buy you a drink after that match, but…."
"Yes, I don't think that'd be a good idea," she said ruefully. "Who knows what trouble I might get into."
"Indeed." Courfeyrac winked. "I, however, have no such restrictions. What do you have today?" he called to the bartender.
"Got somethin' exotic today, monsieur," she said, bringing out a dark glass bottle. "Pineapple rum. Want to try it?"
Courfeyrac shrugged. "Why not?"
"Excellent choice," she replied, grinning. She poured some of the dark rum into a glass, and brought out an odd, spiny yellow fruit with a crown of leaves at the top.
That's a pineapple, I suppose, Tamar thought. It looked incredibly unappetizing, but the bartender cut into it, chopping out hunks of golden fruit, which she dropped into the glass.
"Here you are, monsieur," she said. "It's on the house."
"Merci, ma fleur," the student exclaimed, winking broadly. The bartender blushed.
Courfeyrac carefully smelled the drink. "Not bad, I suppose," he remarked.
"Well?" Tamar teasingly prodded his arm. "Taste it!"
"All right!" he laughed. At that, the brunette knocked back half the glass and abruptly made a face. "Mon dieu!" he gasped.
Tamar burst out laughing. "How doe it taste?" she asked, wiping her eyes.
"Too damn sweet!" he choked out, and she collapsed onto a stool, weak with laughter.
"Your face…." She trailed off, shaking her head. "My God, that was fantastic."
Courfeyrac smiled ruefully. "Serves me right, I suppose. By the way, Enjolras is staring at you."
Tamar looked up, surprised. The blonde was indeed glaring at her from the other side of the cafe. "He...doesn't look too pleased."
"You'd better go see what he wants. And, Tamar," Courfeyrac added as she stood up. She glanced at him, curious. "Pray for your life."
X X X
A shiver ran down Tamar's spine as she walked over to Enjolras. The student's eyes were darker than usual, and they were hard and cold as ice.
"What was that?" he asked as soon as she stood in front of him.
"What was what?" she replied, genuinely confused.
Enjolras made a stabbing gesture towards the bar, the crowd of men, and Seireadan the fiddler. "That," he hissed. "Why did you agree to do that? You made a fool of yourself!"
"I did not!" she shot back. "It was just an innocent contest! Nothing went wrong, and everyone enjoyed it!"
"And that's important, yes?" Enjolras's voice dripped with sarcasm.
Tamar threw her hands in the air. "What the hell is wrong with you?" she cried. "Why are you getting so worked up about this?"
"What's wrong with me?" Enjolras was almost shouting. "Ask that to yourself! You could have put yourself into a very dangerous situation!" He sighed. "Look," he continued more quietly. "You didn't know anything about that man when you agreed to play with him. What if he had taken advantage of you? How would you have forseen it?"
Tamar snorted. "Right," she said dryly. "He would've raped me; that's what you were afraid of? Where would he have done it? Here? In front of all these people?!"
Enjolras rolled his eyes. "All right, so that is a bit of a worst-case scenario-"
"Damn right it is; it's ridiculous!"
"Let me finish," Enjolras cut in, glaring at her. Tamar waved a hand, indicating that he should proceed. "I don't want you to get hurt, especially when I could have done something to help. You're one of my friends, and I look after my friends."
Tamar glanced down at her scuffed boots. Enjolras's words struck an unpleasant chord within her. She really hadn't meant to cause him worry. He was the only one who had been worried, but even so….
"I'm sorry," she said, offering a small smile. "I'll think before I act next time, I promise."
"All right," he replied wearily, "and I apologize as well. I shouldn't have shouted at you."
"It's fine," she assured him. Glancing around, she added, "We ought to round up the others. We do have a meeting to attend, after all." And when Enjolras smiled at her, Tamar felt truly forgiven.
So, there you have it! Just a little thing I wrote that was supposed to go in Chapter 12. I hope you liked it! By the way, the song that Seireadan and Tamar played was the song 'Dueling Violins.' Look it up on YouTube; it's awesome.
Also, I apologize if anyone had a problem with pineapple rum. I am not of legal drinking age and I don't really know anything about cocktails, or rum. I know coconut rum exists, so I thought that it would taste okay with pineapples, too. If there are any mixologists out there, please feel free to criticize Courfeyrac's drink.
Translation time!
Merci- Thank you
Ma fleur- My flower
Mon dieu- My God
Thanks for reading! Auf Wiedersehen! Au revoir! ¡Adiós!