24/11/13

Hey guys, so I have a little thing to ask of you. Does anyone know how to improve self-esteem and generally get rid of shyness because I just feel as if I am ignored unless it suits someone. It is just because I want to comicon today and it was a fabulous day but I felt left out and within two minutes my friends had found a 'better' Loki than me and were messing about and leaving me out. I just wish that I could be a more interesting and witty and generally good looking person but I just can't. Sorry to rant at you guys but it is just that on the internet I can be the person I desperately wish to be.

Anyway, thanks to all you that read that long AN and enjoy the next chapter

Sorry again but just wondering whether I should go as Loki again next year or I was debating going as Captain America. Also if anyone wants to see funny pictures of my Comicon escapades then PM me :)

Chapter 3

"I can tie a bow tie!" Enjolras snapped as Grantaire tried to help him dress. He was still furious with his father and his stupid ball; but unfortunately his new hand slave was bearing the brunt of his anger. Grantaire stepped backwards nodding silently and Enjolras looked over the slave. All the staff was required for this event and Enjolras was not impressed with the change to Grantaire's uniform. He was in a ridiculously tight white shirt that showed off his muscles from the hard labour. The neck revealed too much of his torso and the black waistcoat amplified it. He was protective of the twenty-year-old boy; and this infuriated him even more. Eventually the tie was tied and Grantaire held the door open for Enjolras. He just stormed out in his fit of rage. He just hated it. Grantaire followed two steps behind him and slightly to the right until they reached the ball room. "R," Jehan yelled from the stairs to the kitchen and his slave disappeared down there.

Enjolras sat on one of the futons round the edge of the hall. This was less like a ball, more like an old men's club that young ones were forced to attend. There were even rooms round the side for people to go for 'privacy'. It sickened him. His best friend, Lucien Combeferre, wasn't forced to attend these things with his father. Combeferre's father was one of the only decent adults there was in the world. He treated all his slaves like paid staff and some like friends. That's what Enjolras wanted to be like when he grew up. He downed his champagne and sighed as a slave refilled his glass. Upon seeing the slave he found himself concerned for his latest project. He hadn't seen Grantaire since the beginning of the evening. A girl came and sat down next to him. "Looking for some entertainment tonight, sir?" she asked jokily and he found himself smiling.

"Do I ever Ep?" he asked Eponine, one of the kitchen maids. She giggled softly and leant on him.

"Thought you might like to excuse yourself from this function I know you hate," she giggled and for once he shook his head.

"I need to keep an eye out for the new guy…so he doesn't get into a mess," Enjolras sighed and Eponine visibly tensed.

"You mean the new guy who was just dragged into a private room by Napoleon II, looking on the verge of tears," she mumbled, within milliseconds Enjolras was on his feet.

Enjolras ran round the hall, shamelessly listening to each door. It was easy to pretend he was drunk and just falling on them but his disguise came together when Eponine grabbed his arm. "Thanks Ep," he whispered in her ear as he pretended to kiss her.

"Anytime, what's up with the new kid anyway?" she asked.

"He is my new slave bought off none other than Napoleon II. Napoleon sold him after his son started to do 'things' to Grantaire," Enjolras explained as the fury rose in Eponine's slender frame.

"I'll kill him," she hissed. "No one does non-consent to one of us," she growled and they renewed their search with more vigour. They peered through the key hole of one of the suites and Enjolras snarled. Napoleon II was sat on the bed with Grantaire laid on his lap sobbing. His hands and feet were bound and he was curled up in a fetal position. Enjolras' nails almost drew blood as they clenched into fists. Grantaire's too tight shirt and waistcoat were discarded on the floor as the emperor to be stroked Grantaire's hair; every touch made the man flinch. His trousers were somewhere in the room and Grantaire's underwear hung round his hips torn.

"What's wrong my little dog…did you miss me?" Napoleon, Jr. asked as Grantaire just trembled. Enjolras wanted to kick the door down but he couldn't without getting himself, Grantaire and Eponine into trouble. "I miss you my angel, I missed the nights we spent together," he whispered, brushing Grantaire's ear with his lips. Grantaire whimpered trying to move away but the man just laughed. "We will get to that soon, Nic," he chuckled and Grantaire stiffened in fear. "I'll be less violent if you enjoy it this time," the emperor's son threatened subtly and Grantaire's sobs died down in fear. Eponine picked the lock and barged in before Enjolras could stop her.

"Sir, the duke of Albufera wishes to speak with you urgently," she stated standing emotionlessly in the doorway. The young napoleon sighed in despair before patting Grantaire's hair.

"I will be back soon, mon petit," he giggled before laying Grantaire on the bed and handcuffing his arms to the bedpost. Grantaire's head dropped down in defeat; it pained Enjolras to the soul.

As Eponine distracted the man now in second place on his most hated list, Enjolras ran into the room to rescue Grantaire. It took his longer than he would have liked to pick the cuffs but eventually Grantaire's limp body hit the bed. "Nic, Nic, come on look at me," he encouraged, lifting the boy's chin. Grantaire looked up at him with that same mask of indifference but his eyes showed different emotions. His eyes radiated unbridled fear but inside there was a spark of something Enjolras was pleased to see, gratitude. Enjolras darted around in a flushed frenzy finding all of Grantaire's clothes and slowly helping him into them. He knew that Grantaire needed to take things slow but Enjolras was dying to get the fragile child out. "Play along," he whispered as he linked his arm with Grantaire's. Enjolras forced on a smile but Grantaire was still obviously completely shaken as he clung to his master's arm as if Enjolras could protect him from all the evils in the world. It was an improvement. If Grantaire trusted him then Enjolras could finally do something with him.

Enjolras hurried through the crowded hall avoiding his father and Napoleon II. They managed to get up the stairs before anyone noticed them properly. Eponine joined them on the stairs holding Enjolras' other arm to look inconspicuous. They hurried into his room and sat Grantaire down on the bed. Eponine turned to face the new kid and gawped in a similar way to Jehan's reaction. "Nicolas!" she exclaimed and he looked up. His face brightened considerably, it was like he was a different person.

"Madame Thénardier, it is a pleasure to see you once again, my lady," he smiled weakly as if they were drifting into an old routine. Enjolras stared perplexed again but after some encouragement from Eponine, Grantaire spoke up, quietly. "Eponine was the Duchess of Parma's chambermaid when I first came to be in Napoleon's service. She taught me everything I needed to know to survive as a slave. And she was the first person to treat me like a real person since the time I was on the streets with Jehan," Grantaire explained with a blush spreading across his golden brown cheeks. Enjolras could see that he hated admitting things about his past; but Enjolras needed to know about him. The mystery was killing him slowly.

"Nicolas, you can trust me," Enjolras stated and for once it looked like Grantaire was agreeing with him. Obviously saving him from the vicious clutches of the royal family had allowed Grantaire to actually thank his owner and he prayed he would open up now. "I would like to know what you have been though," he murmured tentatively and only just concealed his shock when Grantaire reluctantly nodded. They sat next to each other on the bed with Grantaire trembling slightly but acting strong. Eponine sat by the door, keeping an eye and ear out for anyone that might want to disturb them.

"I was born into an aristocratic family in Paris," he began with a sigh. "However at the end of the revolution we lost everything. We weren't a bad family, I know how revolutionary you are, but we weren't cruel on the poor. We kept what we needed to live on and donated the rest to people who needed it more; yes we had servants but that was just to get people off the streets!" he exclaimed, defending his honour. Enjolras nodded with a smile; he liked families who used their riches as the Grantaires did. Grantaire's parents seemed like good people. "They were killed at the end of the Reign of Terror for having money," he mumbled, and Enjolras' heart sunk. He loved revolution but he hated what happened after the last one. "The revolutionaries didn't have the heart to kill a four-year-old boy, so cast me out on the streets with nothing. Said it was to teach me what it was like to live without money. I starved for weeks until I was found dying in a gutter by some older urchins that took pity on the poor infant," he continued, his voice began to fail him slightly. Enjolras rested a hand on his knee reassuringly. Grantaire flinch and slowly shrank back into his shell. Enjolras could tell he was still unsure about his master's intentions; and of course he hated physical contact, that was to be expected. But after a reassuring nod from Eponine, he began to talk again. "They taught me how to live on the streets until the revolutionaries who were giving us food found out who I was. I was cast out or they would stop getting given food. At this point I could pickpocket and fend for myself. When the Reign of Terror ended soon after, there began to be more and more poor families and children were on the streets and we started helping each other. It was five years later when I met Jehan. He was kicked out of his family for being gay and different when he was five. I took him under my wing, remembering how lonely and lost I was on the streets at that age. We lived together and I raised him until I was thirteen. Things got bad so I started breaking into houses to feed us both," he sighed and Enjolras could see where this was heading.

"One day I was caught breaking into a rich house to get us some food and something to sell to buy Jehan new shoes. I lied telling them I was eighteen so they wouldn't stick me in some orphanage. I was taken to Toulon for a sentence of twenty five years. But four years in they worked out how old I actually was; as I was a minor they couldn't legally keep me in prison but as I was seventeen, one year in an orphanage wasn't enough of a punishment. So they sentenced me to a lifetime of slavery. The only way I could be freed was through marriage to an aristocratic family but no one would want to marry an ex-convict, gamin slave," he finished with tears running down his face.