Chapter 1
Paris, 1831
Adeline Pontmercy was a beautiful woman and that was not up for debate at the ABC Café. Her skin was a milky color that appeared pure according to Grantaire. Her eyes were a golden brown color with hints of green that were definitely one of her best features. Her hair was dark brown, like her brother's, but it was of course longer and wavy. However, she kept it in a side braid most of the time. Adeline was a soft spoken 20 year old woman, unlike her older brother, Marius. Adeline and Marius were almost nothing alike except for the fact that they looked alike. The only characteristic they shared was that they were outspoken and stood up for what they believed in.
It was clear that Adeline and Marius' family was rich. Everyone knew their father and grandfather. However, money never mattered to the two siblings. They supposed they got that trait from their mother. They were both students; Marius studied politics while Adeline was training to be a nurse. But Adeline didn't want to be a nurse like the rest of the girls her age; she wanted to be a politician like her brother and his friends.
"Come on Adeline! We need to leave now so I'm not late!" Marius called up the stairs to his sister.
Marius watched as his little sister descended the stairs wearing a simple white dress and her hair was braided and draped over her right shoulder. He swore she looked more and more like their mother every day. Marius was taking Adeline to Café today in an effort to stop her from asking him so many questions about it. He was quite nervous though, because there were only men there except for two or three women who were waitresses. He knew some of these men were hungry for a young, beautiful girl much like his sister.
"Are you ready?" Marius asks his sister.
"Yes. Sorry, I didn't know what I was supposed to wear." Adeline tells him as they walk out of their grandfather's mansion.
It was relatively nice day; it wasn't too hot or cold and there was barely a cloud in the sky. Adeline smiled as a group of children ran past her but quickly saw an Inspector on horse galloping towards the children. She supposed that the children had either stolen something or were messing with the Inspector and his horse.
The walk to the café was not a long one but it was almost sunset by the time they arrived. To Adeline the café looked like a shack but she would never admit that. As Marius and Adeline walked up a small flight of stairs, the smell of alcohol hit her. It was just enough to make her gag which caused Marius to smile a little.
"You'll get used to the smell." Marius says as he opens the door.
The instant Marius opened the door, all eyes landed on his sister. It was as if none of these men had seen a woman in their lives. Marius took his sister's arm and led her to where she would be semi-safe from the ravenous looks. Grantaire was the first person in the group to notice Marius and his lovely sister who he had met multiple times. Marius watches as Grantaire nudged Enjolras and Courfeyrac and nods towards them.
They say that a glimpse of a woman's eyes was said to be the source of the love dart and Enjolras just realized that it was true. The moment his eyes landed on the girl next to Marius he thought he was going to pass out. His breath had become hitched in his throat and he could seem to tear his gaze away from the beautiful angel next to Marius.
Adeline eyes were glued to a blue pair that belonged to a man who looked to be around Marius' age. His skin was tan and his was blonde and curly and he was very handsome. Adeline thought if God had created the perfect man that this man would be him. She was brought back to reality when she felt her brother tug on her arm. She quickly realized that Marius was dragging her towards the three men.
"Gentlemen I would like to meet my sister, Adeline. Adeline, this is Courfeyrac and you know Grantaire and this Enjolras the leader of the Friends of the ABC." Marius explains.
Grantaire was the first to step up and greet Adeline. He gave her a hug which caused her to reveal a perfect smile in Enjolras' eyes. Courfeyrac gave her a small smile and shook her hand before sitting back down. However, Enjolras was different when greeting Adeline. He took her hand and gently applied a small kiss to it.
"It's nice to meet you Mademoiselle Adeline." Enjolras says in a hushed tone.
It was strange to Courfeyrac, Grantaire, and Marius to see Enjolras acting like this. He normally wasn't this polite to people and would never kiss a woman's hand and call her Mademoiselle unless he was at some fancy party. Enjolras' actions caused Adeline's pale cheeks to turn a light shade of pink. She had never been treated this way by a man.
"Please call me just Adeline or Addy. It's nice to meet you all." Adeline tells the group.
Enjorlas still seemed quite mesmerized by this woman. "Enjorlas? Shall we start?" Marius asks.
"What? Oh, yes. Of course." Enjorlas replies.
Adeline sat in the chair that Grantaire got for her and started to listen to the men talk about politics. However, what really got Adeline's attention was when they started to talk about the idea of a revolution. Marius knew his sister wanted to stay and listen to more but he didn't want her to be exposed to all of the violence that was really happening in Paris so he demanded that she leave. Adeline was smart enough not to argue so she quickly said goodbye to the men before exiting the café.
Adeline walked alone almost every day but never at night. She knew it was dangerous to be walking alone at night but she really had no choice and much to her dismay she heard a men's voice come from behind her. It only took a second for the man to grab the woman and hold a knife to her throat. Adeline's eyes flashed in fear as the large man pushed her onto the ground and held her down with his knees while undo his pants with his hands.
"Please Monsieur! I'm begging you not to do this!" Adeline screamed a couple of times.
"Stop screaming you stupid bitch or I'll kill ya." The man yelled at her.
She attempted to kick him but it did nothing but earn her a punch in the face. Adeline felt hot tears begin to streak down her throbbing face. She heard the sound of horses' hooves walking along the stone road and hoped it was the police. All of the sudden she heard the shouting of several men and felt the man who was trying to rape her being tore away from her. Adeline quickly curled up into a ball in fear of more men attacking her.
"Take him to the station. I'll check on the girl." She heard a deep, gruff voice say that belonged to a man.
Inspector General Javert had been riding along with a few other Inspectors when he heard the sound of a woman screaming and went to check and make sure no trouble was occurring. He stumbled upon a large man just about to rape a young woman and with the help of the other Inspectors; he was able to peel him off of her. The woman was now lying on ground, shaking, and sobbing. Javert wasn't a people person but it was his job to make sure this woman was okay.
"It's okay Mademoiselle. I'm an Inspector. Can I please see your face?" Javert asked with a hushed voice.
Adeline felt like she could trust this man so she looked up. The man was dressed like an Inspector and seemed trustworthy. He was an older man who looked about 40 and had dark hair with flicks of grey and a goatee. His eyes were blue in color and he actually looked concerned. He was dressed in navy riding pants, a navy wool jacket, and black riding boots and his hat was tucked underneath his arm.
Inspector Javert felt his heart of stone sink a little as he saw the woman. Her face was pale and almost glowed underneath the moon light. Her brown eyes were large with fear and her dark brown hair was in a matted mess. She looked as if she could be pretty but the busted lip was throwing him off from deciding. He could tell she came from a wealthy just from the fabric of her dress. Poor girl, she had probably been sheltered her whole life and didn't know that it wasn't safe for women to come out at night.
"Mademoiselle, what is your name?" Javert asks her.
"Adeline Pontmercy." Adeline replies with a small voice.
The Inspector offered his large hand to Adeline which she took and helped her up onto her feet. She quickly brushed the dirt off of her dress and looked at the Inspector who was quite a bit taller than her. He was handsome but he was much too old for Adeline.
"Where do you live Mademoiselle?" Javert asks her.
"Just a few minutes down the road." Adeline replies.
"I'm going to walk you there. I would hate to see you get hurt again." The Inspector tells Adeline.
Adeline nods and follows Javert to his horse and starts to lead the way to her grandfather's home. Adeline and Javert did not say a word to each other as they walked to her home. Adeline was naturally shy girl and Javert was not social around people period. Javert was quite relieved once they reached the girl's home because that meant he could get back to his job.
"Thank you Inspector for walking me home and for basically saving my life." Adeline says and gently kisses his cheek.
"It's my job Mademoiselle. Is it appropriate for me to leave now?" Javert asked.
"Of course Monsieur." Adeline replies before walking into her home and straight to her bed.