Okay, so just a clarification: Most of the dialogue will sound pretty modern, but this takes place in some… Not modern… time. I'm just lazy as f*ck. Thankfully, I automatically type anything Les Mis in a way so that it sounds awkward and stuffy. This may just help me rather than harm me. :)

The Cosette in this will be a mix between the slightly sassy musical Cosette and the book Cosette.

Cosette loved her dresses. She could spend a whole day in a dress shop, running her delicate hand over the many fabrics and relishing in the various ways they roughed her fingertips. They spun and they swished, and whenever her Papa was gone, they took up the space he left behind. It was a simple, content, burgoise life. She never knew her mother, and her adoptive father was the only person she'd ever truly loved. She had eyes for men, (Specifically the handsome devil she kept seeing in the park) but marriage seemed to be such a frivolous prospect at her ripe sixteen years of age.

The door to the foyer opened with the loud creak that she was accustomed to, and Cosette cheerfully ran to greet her Papa. She smiled and welcomed him warmly with a kiss on each cheek. However, there was something terribly wrong. His kind eyes were troubled and he could barely manage a thin smile. She frowned. He always had time to smile at her. Always. Why was he so sad?

"Cosette, my darling, I must pack immediately." He avoided her concerned gaze and pushed past her and into the house. "Toussaint! Please pack my smallest bag with my simplest clothes."

The servant did as was told, and Cosette turned to her father. "But Papa, you always wear your finest suits on your trips!"

"Not this time. And, Cosette, you shall be in the care of Toussaint for a little longer than usual. I shall be gone a long time." He said, his voice short and clipped and unfamiliar to Cosette.

"Where will you go?"

"Somewhere that you needn't worry your pretty head about." He managed a smile at her and kissed the crown of her russet head in a manner that the impatient girl found demeaning.

"Really, Papa! I'm no longer a child and I want to know where you're going and why it's so sudden!" She cried, suddenly, pushing his broad chest away from her. She stormed into the dining room and sat down in one of the velvet chairs, glaring at her Papa. She felt bad for causing the hurt in his eyes, but she knew that she needed to know.

"I'm going to sea, my child." He said, sadly. She frowned, again.

"Then why are you being so secretive? Silly man, you've gone-"

"This time is different. Cosette…" He said, looking her in the eye. She straightened her shoulders, somehow sensing that the truth she'd longed for was finally going to emerge. "Have I told you of the time I stole some bread?"

Marius had only a few francs in his pocket, and as he was a young man, he didn't know how to spend them in a way that did not involve drinking. So he sat in a seedy tavern by the harbor and sipped on cheap wine. Greasy, hearty food was placed in front of him by a blushing waitress, but he wasn't much in the mood to eat. His first night away from home was spent here, and he had a bag on the seat next to him and a lock on his heart.

On the other side of the tavern, a group of young men conversed loudly. They were all in simple wear, despite their burgoise appearances, and seemed to be under command of a formidable man with piercing green eyes. Marius recognized the lot as sailors.

There were officers in the tavern; and there were much more than Marius thought necessary. They all had their eyes on the group. Marius soon forgot about the odd scene around him and began wondering, absentmindedly, if the tavern offered rooms for rent. Just then, two of the sailors slid into the chairs opposite of him. As one of the officers made his way to stop them, the ruddier of the two barked, "Calm down, monsieur. We're just chatting with this bloke! Nothing illegal!"

The officer reluctantly retreated, and the man turned his attention towards Marius.

His friend made the first move, sticking out a beefy hand and smiling a genuine smile. "Lesgle,"

"L'Aigle! The eagle! How grand!" Marius said, impressed. The man laughed and returned the younger boy's smile.

"Indeed, but I'm called Bousset by my lot there." The man, Bousset, rubbed the back of his bald head. "The name on your bag, Pontmercy…"

"What of it?"

"I believe we were in a law class together, many months ago." He said, conversationally.

"So it may be," Marius replied, still confused as of why the two men wished to speak with him in the first place.

"Why do you have that bag there in the first place?" The other one asked. He also stuck out his hand. "Courferyac."

"Well, I've just come into mind that I need a new place to stay." Marius summarized, and the two men before him exchanged a glance.

"Why don't you come with us?" Courferyac asked, his kind eyes alight with amusement.

"To sea?" Marius asked, incredulously. He nodded.

"See, we're prisoners, and having a burgoise on deck may lessen our bad treatment." Bousset said, and he received a hit on the head from Courferyac as Marius choked on his wine.

"Prisoners? What did-"

"Treason against the king." Courferyac answered, simply. "None of us are sailors… Actually, we're all students but for Bahorel. Calm down, mon ami, we did nothing too violent."

"TOO violent?" Marius asked, still trying to calm himself down.

"We attempted to build a barricade, but we were rounded up before a shot could be fired." Bousset assured, and Marius did calm down a little.

"So, will you come?" Courferyac asked, excitedly. Marius shrugged, and before he knew it he was being dragged towards the formidable man with his bag clutched tightly in his hand. "Captain Javert! You said the crew was too small and I've found a recruit."

Javert did not smile. Instead, he regarded Marius with a cool gaze and nodded. "Do you have any experience with ships, boy?"

"I-uh-I went to England with my grandfather once."

"I suppose that's better than these schoolboys have to say. Welcome to the crew, sailor."

Short first chapter, and hopefully the others will be longer. Please review! And, if you find yourselves to be fans of the Seafaring AU, I strongly recommend "Of Sand and Distant Shores" by Cannibalistic Skittles. I believe it's in the musical category. And it's quite well written. :)

Also, I am in need of a beta reader. Anyone? Anyone?