CHAPTER EIGHT: Make Me a Rebel


Grantaire flips open the trapdoor and jumps down with a large thump, startling Eponine. "Prince Marius, huh? You've got a thing for him and that's why you wouldn't join our revolution?"

"He's just Marius to me," she snaps in return, still annoyed. "He's not the one oppressing your people, alright? He's - he's -" Eponine was having problems searching for the right word.

"Clueless?" offers Bahorel, who had also lowered himself into the room.

"Why do you even like him?" Joly sounds perplexed, as if it was that simple. "He obviously likes that other girl."

"He's ... nice," Eponine mutters, refusing to look at them. "And funny ... and lots of other things that I'm not telling you, so there!" She is scowling full-on now, her previously sunny mood completely crushed by Marius' announcement.

"You're a lot nicer to him than you are to us," Grantaire says, still upset about the rug incident. He shoots a sideways glance to Bahorel, who grins at him knowingly.

"I'm coming with you all, aren't I? Or did you miss that part while you were eavesdropping?" Eponine challenges, her hands on her hips as she goes across the room to rummage for a pack.

Combeferre rakes a hand through his hair, shrugging at the group in general.

Enjolras appears to be as annoyed as she feels, albeit for a different reason. "You can't be serious. Just a moment ago you were completely against it, and now you want to come?"

"Well, I changed my mind." Eponine grips the ladder for the trapdoor as Bousset offers it to her, and proceeds to haul herself up. "I'm going to pack, and then we can go."

"You've lived in a tower your whole life," Enjolras adds pointedly, not convinced.

Eponine snorts audibly from upstairs. "You can't possibly believe that. I know my way around these woods better than you. I've lived here my whole life, as you say." Nothing had ever stopped her from going for twilight walks, and these boys weren't going to stop her from going with them. Simply put, she wasn't going to let them retract their previous offer. "And you were the one who offered," she reminds him. Eponine isn't going to take flack from some blonde ex-prince, regardless of his charisma and good looks. She'd raised herself better than that.

Enjolras sounds almost apologetic as he replies. "I just don't want you making a hasty decision that you'll regret later. You're not exactly the definition of a rebel."

"You can make me one, then. Trust me, the only people with regrets will be Marius and his monarchy," Eponine quips, stuffing some more things into a worn bag. She uncorks one potion to pour over the lot so nothing will break. She adds glass vials and bottles to the mess of stuff before tying the bag shut. Eponine's isn't one for neat packing. Slipping her bag over her shoulder, she goes to unlock a small jewellery box on the desk in her room, emptying the contents into a small pouch that she kept tied around her waist.

"Ready?" Combeferre asks as Eponine comes back down, landing almost silently on the balls of her feet. Enjolras still appears disgruntled, but raises not further objections.

Eponine turns to smile impishly at Bousset. "Looks like you get to carry my hair after all."


A tall boy cloaked in a ridiculously bright hooded cape is watering flowers in his front yard, which just so happened to be located in the middle of the forest. The wildflowers are doing quite well, he thinks to himself, and they do not require magical assistance of any kind, despite Cosette's heartfelt offers.

Jean 'Jehan' Prouvaire looks upwards, peering past the filtered sunlight to check the approximate position of the sun. It is late afternoon now; around the time he normally goes to visit Cosette, actually.

The two of them had first met by accident, he remembers. He had been wandering in the woods, trying to work out the muffled notes he was hearing when he'd found her hideaway. Since then they'd been the best of friends, even though Cosette's parents had told her to stay away from strangers. Sometimes Jehan would climb her tower and she would let him braid her long hair with flowers. All in all, it was a splendid way to spend the afternoon. Or most of his afternoons, since she was really the only person he paid house calls (tower calls?) to.

A short walk later, he finds himself staring up at Cosette's lovely dimpled face. "Oh, Jehan! I have the most wonderful news!" He's never seen her this lovely or dimpled before; her smile is wide enough to split her entire face in half.

Jehan now finds himself slightly wary of her enthusiasm, but he smiles nonetheless. "What?"

"I met a boy, and he wasn't all like Mme. Thenardier said boys were like. He was nice! And he has freckles, like you. His name is Marius, and oh, he's going to come visit me again later today!" Cosette is beaming brighter than the sun as she releases her blonde hair. Jehan watches it sail down the side of the tower, almost hitting him in the face. "Oh! I'm sorry about that," she calls down, waving her hand in the air. "Are you alright?"

"I'm a boy, too," he points out instead as he grips her silky mane of hair. "You're not scared of me. Or, to be more direct, you weren't scared of me when we first met."

"You're different," Cosette says offhandedly. "Marius is different. He couldn't harm a fly, I'm sure of it." She helps Jehan in as he reaches the top.

"Yes, well, what are you going to do?"

Cosette's chipper cherub face becomes confused. "Do?"

"About Marius. You can't spend your whole life in this tower. Eventually you have to leave," he tells her truthfully.

"How about you? You can't be a hermit for the rest of your life," Cosette retorts stubbornly. "You'll have to leave, too."

"I'm happy where I am, Cosette," he shifts on his seat a bit. "You and Marius won't be happy if you stay locked up in this tower. In order to have a proper happily ever after you have to both live in the giant castle." Jehan knew at heart she was just as much of a romantic as him. "That's how the fairy tale works. I think you'll make a very lovely princess, by the way."

"What happens if you stay in your little cottage is that you won't meet the right girl," Cosette says confidently, looking as though she thinks she's won the conversation.

"Somehow I think that's not the problem," Jehan sighs. "But when is Marius coming by next? I want to meet him." And make sure that this boy was really as nice as Cosette said he was. No one was going to be taking advantage of Cosette while he lived and breathed.

"Sometime today," Cosette grins widely again, giving off a kind of blinding sort of happiness. She clasps her hands together on her lap. Jehan notes that the 'good dress' has made an appearance today; a floaty, periwinkle purple thing that reminds him of lilacs. "I'm sure you'll both be the best of friends in no time at all!"

Jehan nods, although he's not sure because he has the feeling they won't. It's not in his nature to be as easily trusting as her; he's been alone for far too long for that. Anyone who could win over Cosette so quickly still gave him reason to be suspicious. "I suppose I'll just stick around until then."

Cosette looks excited, shy, and a tad nervous all at once. "Do you think you could finish braiding my hair before he get here?"

Her enthusiasm is infectious. "Of course, Cosette. I'd love to."


AN: Well, it's back to school for me, with the heaviest course load I've ever taken. :/ Hope to see you all very soon for the next chapter, although I'm unsure how likely that will be.