A/N: This is NOT the school project I've been talking about. This is the
creation of complete boredom in literature class, and my project supervisor
hasn't gotten back to me with the revisions yet. Please stick with me if
this first chapter sounds a little sappy. It gets better, I promise!
Disclaimer: I own nothing from Les Misérables, sadly. I do, however, own Ariadne, Mathieu and Madeleine, as well as various others in the story.
Do enjoy and please review! ~Clazzic Mizfit
================
June, 1852
"It's dreadful hot, isn't it?"
The two girls sat underneath the large umbrella beside the cherry tree, laying back in the grass and gazing across the park. The leaves rustled in the light breeze that was still no consolation to the heat. Ariadne, looking positively on fire underneath her mess of long red locks, glanced over at Madeleine and nodded her consent.
"Dreadful."
The blonde Madeleine leaned back on her elbows and rolled her head back. Even in the shade of the umbrella the heat was almost unbearable. She boldly slipped down the edges of her dress over her white shoulders.
Ariadne gave a low gasp. "Madeleine, fix your dress!" she said breathlessly.
"But it's /hot/." Madeleine complained. "Besides, who's here to see?"
The younger of the two made a sound of contempt. "It's scandalous. There could be gentlemen around." She remarked, gazing around the park as if she refused to consort with the kind of person who would show her bare shoulders in public. Madeleine rolled her eyes.
"If they were gentlemen, they wouldn't be looking, now would they? Do it! You would feel much better, Aria."
"I will not, thank you very much."
Madeleine shrugged her bared shoulders. The girls fell silent. A breeze picked up, blowing their hair into tangles. The park was quiet and empty for once, but the rest of Paris was alive with activity, as always.
Suddenly Madeleine leaned forward and gave a squeal of delight. "Ooh, Aria, look!"
Ariadne turned her head in the direction that Madeleine was pointing. It was someone walking up the path. She raised a doubtful brow.
"Quickly, get up." Madeleine instructed. "Make it look as if we're leaving."
"But we don't have to be home for an hour." Ariadne protested. She was quite comfortable where she was, despite the heat, and didn't feel like moving for the sake of a man walking up the path.
"Come on!" Madeleine tugged on Ariadne's arm. "He could be a student at the law school, don't you suppose? If he's a proper gentleman he'll stop and talk-and you know that the law students are always handsome."
"I suppose," Ariadne replied, getting up and brushing the grass from her pale pink dress. She watched as Madeleine pulled up one shoulder of her dress-not both. Then she busied herself with the basket they had brought, full of wildflowers and two apples.
Ariadne turned her gaze to the man coming up the path. Now that she could see him better, she supposed Madeleine might be right-he certainly had the dress of a student at the University. He had his hands in his pockets and was apparently not watching the two young women.
As he approached, Ariadne went to the umbrella and started to fold it up in the pretense of leaving. The young man did not stop, even when he passed right by him. Madeleine, however, was not about to let him go so suddenly. She picked up an apple from the basket and rolled it forcefully enough so that it rolled out to the path, right in his way.
The young man stopped and looked at the two young ladies, kneeling down to retrieve the apple.
"Oh," Madeleine said as she rose, "I'm sorry, Monsieur."
He nodded and handed her back the apple. "Not a problem, Mademoiselle." He glanced over at Ariadne and did a double-take. The young woman sensed his gaze and turned away a little, staring intently at the umbrella. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him crack a grin. He was handsome, she had to admit-shiny black hair that fell over his face in unchecked waves, and light blue eyes. She felt herself blush under his gaze.
"What brings you out to the park, sir?" Madeleine asked, drawing his attention away from Ariadne.
"I live by the way-just coming home from the University, is all." He replied.
"Are you a student?"
He smiled. "I am studying to be a lawyer." Madeleine glanced at Ariadne, smiling. The young man nodded absently for a moment, then shook his head. "Forgive me, Mademoiselle, for forgetting a proper introduction." He gave a bow. "My name is Mathieu."
*Mathieu,* thought Ariadne. *What a handsome name.*
"And mine is Madeleine Théateaux."
Mathieu smiled and then looked over at Ariadne. "And yours, Mademoiselle? You are awfully quiet."
Ariadne looked at him and smiled shyly. "Ariadne Pontmercy." She said quietly.
"A beautiful name." Mathieu said, beaming. Ariadne met his gaze and dropped it. She could almost feel Madeleine glaring at her. "Perhaps we will see each other again." Ariadne smiled and nodded slowly. Mathieu looked at them both and bowed, then started to go. He stopped suddenly and looked directly at Madeleine. "By the way, did you know that the shoulder of your dress has slipped?" She stuttered over a reply and slipped the strap back up while Ariadne watched almost uncomfortably. Mathieu gave her a final grin and went on his way.
As soon as he was gone, Madeleine put the apple back in her basket rather violently and started to go. Ariadne faltered a moment and picked up the folded umbrella, running after her.
"Wait, Mattie. What's the matter?"
But Madeleine said nothing to her the whole way home. Ariadne walked her to her doorstep, as always, and handed her back the umbrella. Madeleine took it roughly and turned inside without a word to her friend. Ariadne pursed her lips as the door snapped shut curtly, and then she turned to go home.
~*~
"You've been perfectly silent this whole meal," Marius Pontmercy said to his daughter when he noticed she had not said a word during the whole meal. "What is troubling you?"
Ariadne looked up over her salad. "Nothing, Papá." She assured him.
Her mother gave her a soft look. "What did you do today?" asked Cosette.
"Oh.the usual, I suppose," Ariadne replied, swirling a leaf of lettuce around her plate. "Sat at the park with Madeleine is all."
"Virginie says you came home early today." Marius remarked.
"It was hot."
Cosette and Marius shared knowing glances.
Ariadne played with her salad for a little while longer, staring at the plate. "I met a boy today," she said finally.
"A boy?" Marius said immediately, his tone sharp. Cosette threw him a glare.
"What was his name?" she asked instead.
"Mathieu." Ariadne replied, emboldened by her mother's apparent interest. "He's a student.at the University." She looked up at her father. "Just like you, Papá. He says he studies law, just like you did."
"Then he's a lawyer, and lawyers are never to be trusted." Marius replied with a smirk. Ariadne smiled at her father and went back to her meal.
~*~
The next day was cooler, and Ariadne ventured out into the park without her umbrella. She wore the same pale pink dress as she had the day prior; it was the lightest one she owned. All the others were dark and heavy, reflective of times in her life, it seemed.
She went first to Madeleine's apartment. The housemaid, Céline, let her into the parlor. Ariadne stood there quietly, her basket held before her, and watched as Céline hurried up the stairs to Madeleine's room. Ariadne thought it was odd that her friend wasn't already ready to go-it was past noon, the normal time she stopped by to pick up Madeleine. Sometimes she was already waiting on the front step for her, and bounded down gaily.
Ariadne gazed around the parlor-decorated very finely. It was dark and quiet, the sleek curtains pulled tight and the shutters locked. The only light came from the half-circle window above the front door, which fell on the floor down the front hall into the dining room. The grandfather clock to the left of the door ticked methodically, a beat that Ariadne clicked out with her finger on the edge of the basket. It was no secret that Madeleine's family had money, far more than Ariadne herself could claim she would ever have. Life was not rough for her by any means, but definitely not as finely polished as the Théateaux family.
After a moment, the door near the top of the stairs closed and Céline returned, looking fretful. "Mademoiselle Madeleine is ill today, miss Ariadne. She says to tell you that she will call on you when she is feeling better."
Ariadne blinked. "Oh.well, thank you, Céline." She said haltingly. The housemaid gave a small bow and opened the front door, flooding bright afternoon sunlight into the parlor. Ariadne stepped out and down the front steps, taking a left toward the park.
The street to the park was bustling with afternoon business. Shopkeepers along the edges of the river were re-opening their kiosks after the daily luncheon hour and students were hurrying back to the University. Ariadne kept quiet and reclusive, holding her lunch basket close.
When she reached the park, it was almost as empty as when she and Madeleine had been there yesterday. She took a seat on the closest park bench, setting her basket next to her. She thought for a moment about returning home-there was no point in staying alone, after all. The sky was clouding up anyway, promising a drizzly afternoon spent in the parlor at home, stuck at the keys of the piano.
A voice startled her. "Mademoiselle?" She jumped and gasped, spinning around. There was Monsieur Mathieu, the student she had met yesterday.
"My pardon, Mademoiselle. I did not mean to startle you." He apologized.
"No, it's no trouble, Monsieur." She said with an unconscious smile.
He motioned to the bench. "May I sit?"
She hastily moved the basket. "Yes, of course."
Mathieu removed his black hat and sat down next to her. "Your friend, where is she?"
Ariadne faltered a moment and turned to face Mathieu. "She's ill today."
He gave a snort of laughter. "Ill indeed." He muttered.
She furrowed a brow and turned her head innocently to the side. "What do you mean, Monsieur?" she asked inquiringly. "That's what the housemaid said."
"I know it's what the housemaid said. I didn't mean that you were lying, Miss Ariadne. What I meant was that she is lying to you." Ariadne did not reply, instead looked at him with that innocent, oblivious gaze. Mathieu smiled and shook his head. "She is jealous, apparently." He explained.
"Why.jealous of what?"
Mathieu stared at her a moment. Ariadne did not catch the slight grin that crossed his face. "Of you, of course. Yesterday, when she called me over, she was obviously expecting a much better greeting than the one I gave."
Ariadne leaned back against the bench. "Hmm.well, it doesn't sound very much like Madeleine, but I suppose you could be right." Mathieu put his arm on the back of the park bench, smiling. Off in the distance, the clouds were gathering. Ariadne looked at him suddenly. "I thought you had classes at the University? What are you doing out here in the afternoon?"
Mathieu blinked, the question apparently catching him off his guard, and opened his mouth as if to reply. "Well-I don't have classes in the afternoon, you see. So I come this way on my way home."
Ariadne nodded slowly and looked away shyly, sensing his gaze on her. Mathieu smiled.
"It looks like rain-might I walk you home before we get stuck out here?"
She looked at him again and smiled. "Well.I suppose that would be all right."
Mathieu rose to his feet and held out his hand. She took it, feeling bold, and let him help her to her feet. Then she took her basket and walked with him from the park. He walked her through the streets, where he stopped at a river-side kiosk and bought a pink carnation. If Ariadne had been paying attention, she would have noticed the amount of money he had on him-far more than a student normally would have on them.
He took her to her front door and handed the pink flower to her. "Tomorrow then, will I see you?" he asked. Above, the clouds started to rumble.
Ariadne smiled. "I see no reason why not." She replied. Mathieu took her free hand and kissed it, raising his eyes to her and winking. She blushed but did not pull her hand away, quite taken with his charm.
"A good evening to you, Ariadne." He said as he backed down the steps.
"And to you, Mathieu." She said, turning for the door.
Mathieu, son of Claquesous, waited until the door was closed before turning away with a grin that was almost devilish.
Disclaimer: I own nothing from Les Misérables, sadly. I do, however, own Ariadne, Mathieu and Madeleine, as well as various others in the story.
Do enjoy and please review! ~Clazzic Mizfit
================
June, 1852
"It's dreadful hot, isn't it?"
The two girls sat underneath the large umbrella beside the cherry tree, laying back in the grass and gazing across the park. The leaves rustled in the light breeze that was still no consolation to the heat. Ariadne, looking positively on fire underneath her mess of long red locks, glanced over at Madeleine and nodded her consent.
"Dreadful."
The blonde Madeleine leaned back on her elbows and rolled her head back. Even in the shade of the umbrella the heat was almost unbearable. She boldly slipped down the edges of her dress over her white shoulders.
Ariadne gave a low gasp. "Madeleine, fix your dress!" she said breathlessly.
"But it's /hot/." Madeleine complained. "Besides, who's here to see?"
The younger of the two made a sound of contempt. "It's scandalous. There could be gentlemen around." She remarked, gazing around the park as if she refused to consort with the kind of person who would show her bare shoulders in public. Madeleine rolled her eyes.
"If they were gentlemen, they wouldn't be looking, now would they? Do it! You would feel much better, Aria."
"I will not, thank you very much."
Madeleine shrugged her bared shoulders. The girls fell silent. A breeze picked up, blowing their hair into tangles. The park was quiet and empty for once, but the rest of Paris was alive with activity, as always.
Suddenly Madeleine leaned forward and gave a squeal of delight. "Ooh, Aria, look!"
Ariadne turned her head in the direction that Madeleine was pointing. It was someone walking up the path. She raised a doubtful brow.
"Quickly, get up." Madeleine instructed. "Make it look as if we're leaving."
"But we don't have to be home for an hour." Ariadne protested. She was quite comfortable where she was, despite the heat, and didn't feel like moving for the sake of a man walking up the path.
"Come on!" Madeleine tugged on Ariadne's arm. "He could be a student at the law school, don't you suppose? If he's a proper gentleman he'll stop and talk-and you know that the law students are always handsome."
"I suppose," Ariadne replied, getting up and brushing the grass from her pale pink dress. She watched as Madeleine pulled up one shoulder of her dress-not both. Then she busied herself with the basket they had brought, full of wildflowers and two apples.
Ariadne turned her gaze to the man coming up the path. Now that she could see him better, she supposed Madeleine might be right-he certainly had the dress of a student at the University. He had his hands in his pockets and was apparently not watching the two young women.
As he approached, Ariadne went to the umbrella and started to fold it up in the pretense of leaving. The young man did not stop, even when he passed right by him. Madeleine, however, was not about to let him go so suddenly. She picked up an apple from the basket and rolled it forcefully enough so that it rolled out to the path, right in his way.
The young man stopped and looked at the two young ladies, kneeling down to retrieve the apple.
"Oh," Madeleine said as she rose, "I'm sorry, Monsieur."
He nodded and handed her back the apple. "Not a problem, Mademoiselle." He glanced over at Ariadne and did a double-take. The young woman sensed his gaze and turned away a little, staring intently at the umbrella. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him crack a grin. He was handsome, she had to admit-shiny black hair that fell over his face in unchecked waves, and light blue eyes. She felt herself blush under his gaze.
"What brings you out to the park, sir?" Madeleine asked, drawing his attention away from Ariadne.
"I live by the way-just coming home from the University, is all." He replied.
"Are you a student?"
He smiled. "I am studying to be a lawyer." Madeleine glanced at Ariadne, smiling. The young man nodded absently for a moment, then shook his head. "Forgive me, Mademoiselle, for forgetting a proper introduction." He gave a bow. "My name is Mathieu."
*Mathieu,* thought Ariadne. *What a handsome name.*
"And mine is Madeleine Théateaux."
Mathieu smiled and then looked over at Ariadne. "And yours, Mademoiselle? You are awfully quiet."
Ariadne looked at him and smiled shyly. "Ariadne Pontmercy." She said quietly.
"A beautiful name." Mathieu said, beaming. Ariadne met his gaze and dropped it. She could almost feel Madeleine glaring at her. "Perhaps we will see each other again." Ariadne smiled and nodded slowly. Mathieu looked at them both and bowed, then started to go. He stopped suddenly and looked directly at Madeleine. "By the way, did you know that the shoulder of your dress has slipped?" She stuttered over a reply and slipped the strap back up while Ariadne watched almost uncomfortably. Mathieu gave her a final grin and went on his way.
As soon as he was gone, Madeleine put the apple back in her basket rather violently and started to go. Ariadne faltered a moment and picked up the folded umbrella, running after her.
"Wait, Mattie. What's the matter?"
But Madeleine said nothing to her the whole way home. Ariadne walked her to her doorstep, as always, and handed her back the umbrella. Madeleine took it roughly and turned inside without a word to her friend. Ariadne pursed her lips as the door snapped shut curtly, and then she turned to go home.
~*~
"You've been perfectly silent this whole meal," Marius Pontmercy said to his daughter when he noticed she had not said a word during the whole meal. "What is troubling you?"
Ariadne looked up over her salad. "Nothing, Papá." She assured him.
Her mother gave her a soft look. "What did you do today?" asked Cosette.
"Oh.the usual, I suppose," Ariadne replied, swirling a leaf of lettuce around her plate. "Sat at the park with Madeleine is all."
"Virginie says you came home early today." Marius remarked.
"It was hot."
Cosette and Marius shared knowing glances.
Ariadne played with her salad for a little while longer, staring at the plate. "I met a boy today," she said finally.
"A boy?" Marius said immediately, his tone sharp. Cosette threw him a glare.
"What was his name?" she asked instead.
"Mathieu." Ariadne replied, emboldened by her mother's apparent interest. "He's a student.at the University." She looked up at her father. "Just like you, Papá. He says he studies law, just like you did."
"Then he's a lawyer, and lawyers are never to be trusted." Marius replied with a smirk. Ariadne smiled at her father and went back to her meal.
~*~
The next day was cooler, and Ariadne ventured out into the park without her umbrella. She wore the same pale pink dress as she had the day prior; it was the lightest one she owned. All the others were dark and heavy, reflective of times in her life, it seemed.
She went first to Madeleine's apartment. The housemaid, Céline, let her into the parlor. Ariadne stood there quietly, her basket held before her, and watched as Céline hurried up the stairs to Madeleine's room. Ariadne thought it was odd that her friend wasn't already ready to go-it was past noon, the normal time she stopped by to pick up Madeleine. Sometimes she was already waiting on the front step for her, and bounded down gaily.
Ariadne gazed around the parlor-decorated very finely. It was dark and quiet, the sleek curtains pulled tight and the shutters locked. The only light came from the half-circle window above the front door, which fell on the floor down the front hall into the dining room. The grandfather clock to the left of the door ticked methodically, a beat that Ariadne clicked out with her finger on the edge of the basket. It was no secret that Madeleine's family had money, far more than Ariadne herself could claim she would ever have. Life was not rough for her by any means, but definitely not as finely polished as the Théateaux family.
After a moment, the door near the top of the stairs closed and Céline returned, looking fretful. "Mademoiselle Madeleine is ill today, miss Ariadne. She says to tell you that she will call on you when she is feeling better."
Ariadne blinked. "Oh.well, thank you, Céline." She said haltingly. The housemaid gave a small bow and opened the front door, flooding bright afternoon sunlight into the parlor. Ariadne stepped out and down the front steps, taking a left toward the park.
The street to the park was bustling with afternoon business. Shopkeepers along the edges of the river were re-opening their kiosks after the daily luncheon hour and students were hurrying back to the University. Ariadne kept quiet and reclusive, holding her lunch basket close.
When she reached the park, it was almost as empty as when she and Madeleine had been there yesterday. She took a seat on the closest park bench, setting her basket next to her. She thought for a moment about returning home-there was no point in staying alone, after all. The sky was clouding up anyway, promising a drizzly afternoon spent in the parlor at home, stuck at the keys of the piano.
A voice startled her. "Mademoiselle?" She jumped and gasped, spinning around. There was Monsieur Mathieu, the student she had met yesterday.
"My pardon, Mademoiselle. I did not mean to startle you." He apologized.
"No, it's no trouble, Monsieur." She said with an unconscious smile.
He motioned to the bench. "May I sit?"
She hastily moved the basket. "Yes, of course."
Mathieu removed his black hat and sat down next to her. "Your friend, where is she?"
Ariadne faltered a moment and turned to face Mathieu. "She's ill today."
He gave a snort of laughter. "Ill indeed." He muttered.
She furrowed a brow and turned her head innocently to the side. "What do you mean, Monsieur?" she asked inquiringly. "That's what the housemaid said."
"I know it's what the housemaid said. I didn't mean that you were lying, Miss Ariadne. What I meant was that she is lying to you." Ariadne did not reply, instead looked at him with that innocent, oblivious gaze. Mathieu smiled and shook his head. "She is jealous, apparently." He explained.
"Why.jealous of what?"
Mathieu stared at her a moment. Ariadne did not catch the slight grin that crossed his face. "Of you, of course. Yesterday, when she called me over, she was obviously expecting a much better greeting than the one I gave."
Ariadne leaned back against the bench. "Hmm.well, it doesn't sound very much like Madeleine, but I suppose you could be right." Mathieu put his arm on the back of the park bench, smiling. Off in the distance, the clouds were gathering. Ariadne looked at him suddenly. "I thought you had classes at the University? What are you doing out here in the afternoon?"
Mathieu blinked, the question apparently catching him off his guard, and opened his mouth as if to reply. "Well-I don't have classes in the afternoon, you see. So I come this way on my way home."
Ariadne nodded slowly and looked away shyly, sensing his gaze on her. Mathieu smiled.
"It looks like rain-might I walk you home before we get stuck out here?"
She looked at him again and smiled. "Well.I suppose that would be all right."
Mathieu rose to his feet and held out his hand. She took it, feeling bold, and let him help her to her feet. Then she took her basket and walked with him from the park. He walked her through the streets, where he stopped at a river-side kiosk and bought a pink carnation. If Ariadne had been paying attention, she would have noticed the amount of money he had on him-far more than a student normally would have on them.
He took her to her front door and handed the pink flower to her. "Tomorrow then, will I see you?" he asked. Above, the clouds started to rumble.
Ariadne smiled. "I see no reason why not." She replied. Mathieu took her free hand and kissed it, raising his eyes to her and winking. She blushed but did not pull her hand away, quite taken with his charm.
"A good evening to you, Ariadne." He said as he backed down the steps.
"And to you, Mathieu." She said, turning for the door.
Mathieu, son of Claquesous, waited until the door was closed before turning away with a grin that was almost devilish.