Here's part three! This is where we see a little of the marble facade start to slip.. But part four (which should be up tomorrow) is where we really, truly see Enjolras's human side come through. Keep an eye out for it, mis amis!

Disclaimer: If I was Hugo, I'd be dead, now wouldn't I?

~Rosey


PART THREE: The Message

Two weeks later, Easter had come and gone, and the amis were once again drawing to the close of another meeting, the students slowly thinning out. Enjolras, who hadn't seemed quite himself through most of the meeting, sat aside, already writing another speech, as Courfeyrac sauntered over to Grantaire, taking a seat by the drunkard.

"Hello, mon ami," Courfeyrac smiled at his friend. "Did you have a good Easter?"

"It was alright," Grantaire responded from behind the bottle he was, naturally, holding to his lips. He glanced over at Enjolras, made sure the leader was out of earshot, and lowered his voice. "Thought about Apollo a lot. I hope his mother's alright."

"What he said to you a few weeks ago was very uncalled for," Joly mumbled quietly, taking a seat by the drunkard. "You're not useless, Grantaire."

"He didn't mean it," the other man said softly. He took a swig of wine, hiccupping slightly. "He was mad. And he had every right to be."

"Message for a Monsieur Enjolras?" a new, high pitched voice came from the doorway, and the remaining students in the café turned to see a young gamin standing in there, shuffling his weight from foot to foot, holding a letter in his gloved hand. "Told I could find him here?"

"That's me," Enjolras got to his feet, going to the young boy and handing him a coin. "Thank you, lad." He offered the boy a small smile, which the gamin quickly returned before tipping his hat and scurrying off into the night.

"Who's it from then, Enjolras?" Grantaire piped up from his place at the table, taking another swig of wine.

"Our servant back home," Enjolras replied, a little worry obvious in his voice. He gingerly opened the envelope, and pulled out the letter to read it by the light of the hanging lamps in the café.

The other three students in the room fell silent, watching the blond man read the note. Enjolras's face seemed confused at first, and then his features slowly melted into a look of sheer horror. Taking a stumbling step back, Enjolras sunk down into the chair he was in only moments ago, one hand going to his mouth, the other one that was holding the letter starting to shake. After another moment, his face changed to one of sorrow, and the hand holding the letter dropped to his lap, becoming limp as his eyes stared blankly forward, pain etched across his usually stoic face.

Joly, Grantaire, and Courfeyrac exchanged looks for a moment before Joly finally managed to gather the courage to step gently over to the broken looking young man. "Julien?" he whispered softly, his friend's first name slipping out by accident.

Enjolras looked slowly up, and, much to Joly's utter shock, a single tear slid down Enjolras's marble cheek*. The blond did nothing to acknowledge it, only looked hastily back down as if trying to pretend the tear wasn't even there. Reluctantly, not taking his eyes off his hurting friend, Joly reached out and gently took the letter from Enjolras's hand, feeling Grantaire and Courfeyrac coming up behind him to read the note over his shoulder.

Monsieur Julien Enjolras,

I am so sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings… I'm afraid I'm writing you with some terrible news. It's my sad duty to inform you of the unfortunate passing of your mother Madame Enjolras, as of the morning after you left to return to the university. She wanted me to tell you she loves you very much, and wants you to be careful and keep fighting for your beliefs. I am so sorry, monsieur.

Your faithful servant,

Molly Petit.

"E-Enjolras…" Joly faltered, looking over at his friend who still hadn't moved, the blue eyes holding several unshed tears. He was quiet for a moment before taking a deep breath, forcing his voice to be calm. "What do you want us to do?"

Enjolras looked up at them, forcing the tears out of his blue eyes and molding his face back into his stoic look, though his lower lip trembled slightly as he responded. "Keep fighting for Patria." The words were simple, but said enough. He didn't want help, and he didn't want comfort. He wanted things to be just as they were. He wanted justice for France, and he wanted freedom for the people.

The three students were still for a moment, before nodding, almost in perfect unison. Joly gently handed the letter back to Enjolras, offering him a soft look. "Of course, Julien. Always." With that, he gingerly reached over and squeezed the blond's shoulder before turning to guide the shell-shocked Grantaire and sorrowful-faced Courfeyrac out the door.

It was Courfeyrac, however, who stopped in his tracks, stood completely still for a moment, and then spun around and went to Enjolras's side, pulling the revolutionary into a tight embrace, burying his face in his friend's shoulder. Enjolras didn't pull back, but he didn't really return the hug either… He simply sat there, his face a forced mask, and allowed Courfeyrac to hold him close. Courfeyrac gently stroked down the wild blond hair, mumbling "It's going to be okay, Julien," softly into his friend's shoulder. The younger student gently hugged Enjolras a moment longer before finally pulling back, looking the blond directly in his eyes. "We are always here for you, Enjolras. You know that."

Enjolras only nodded numbly, saying nothing, struggling to keep his emotions at bay. Courfeyrac gave him one more quick hug before getting to his feet. "Take care of yourself, mon ami. We shall see you soon?"

The other man nodded again, but still didn't move. Biting his lip, Courfeyrac squeezed Enjolras's shoulder once before turning to follow Joly and the still-shocked Grantaire out of the Musain, each silently praying for their hurting leader.


*Totally stole this line from the brick. Yay direct quoting about how pretty Enjy is!

Poor Enjorlas... Life is so unfair, isn't it? Keep an eye out for part four within a day or two, my friends!

Please review? Stay revolutionary!

~Rosey